Imagine you are an average 17th century farmer in Ukraine, without good martial or literary skills. Describe your usual day in Summer and in Winter. When do you wake up/go to bed, what do you and your family do during the day?  What property and plans do you have?
I am Oleg, a Ukrainian yeoman, a *muzhik*. I am blessed enough to own my small plot of land, but I am not bound to it. I am blessed to have a lovely wife and four healthy children. 

On summer days, my family and I wake up well before the sun rises. My sons and I often work every other day, toiling under the summer sun first to harvest the spring wheat, and then preparing to plant the winter wheat and rye. My wife and daughter did their own valuable work: tending to the animals, baking, mending, cooking, and spinning. In those days we often go to sleep around sunset, needing it to wake up again early for more labor.

In winter, the temperature often hovers around freezing, meaning the ground alternates between ice and mud. During the day then we tend to the animals and eat what we have previously stored. We repaired buildings and gathered firewood to stay warm. My wife also ensures that the children are themselves literate. The people around here value having some level of literacy, for both men and women.

We have about a half-acre of land ourselves, as well as some pigs and chickens. Together the village owns several oxen, which are kept in a common field and used by different farmers use to till our respective plots throughout the year.

The times seem so uncertain, we don't really have many plans for the future. We work to simply maintain the prosperity we have already been blessed with. We give thanks to God, whispering our prayers into the earth.