We didn’t work much over the Christmas and New Years time, and the year started slowly. But from Easter to summer we have had a lot of new orders, so we really have to keep our noses to the grindstone (hart und lange arbeiten) for the next few months.
The origin of this expression comes from knife grinders who would bend over when sharpening blades, putting their faces near the grindstone in order to hold the blades against the stone.