Road to Mecane

… 

When the weather started getting warmer—as warm as most of New Albion got, in any case—the landed nobles tended to migrate back to their seats of power to manage said land. In a world where food production and storage were still pretty old school and traditional, much of the populace's schedule ran at the whims of seasons. 

Winter was a time to hibernate and rest. Maybe catch up with indoor tasks in the rural areas. 

Spring brought with it the need to start preparing for planting season and citizens venturing out a bit more now that travel was less blockaded by snow or ice.

Of course, this didn't hold true for all landed nobles.