January is halfway past us already. Between snow storms and illness, I am struggling to find my feet. I have spent so many years pushing myself so hard, the past couple have kicked me hard! Realizing that I am only human, that I am only one person, and that there are only so many hours in a day...seems logical, right?! Well, I have always pushed myself hard. I have held the weight of the world on my shoulders, and it caught up to me. An injury started my slow down in 2020, and it's just progressively gotten worse since. I know better than to slow down too much, but out of fear...I did it anyway. I slowed down, I allowed too many outside opinions to capture space in my head, and then did one thing I am determined to conquer....doubting my own mind.
The past decade brought me into the transition of menopause. Let me tell you, this has been an experience. The hot flashes and night sweats are tolerable...the rest, not so much. There is just way too much to break down. Since most of the women I know, my age, are going through this...we can all just shake our heads knowingly! The absolute worst for me has been the headaches, the skin sensitivity, and uptick of pet peeves.
Keeping that in mind, some things...I haven't really changed on, they just got worse. Like seeing so many messes in my house, but no one else can. Leaving a drawer partially open, the lid off the trash can, clutter of any kind, animal hair not being vacuumed up daily, a dirty bathroom, trash in the yard, regular trimming around the yard not being done...and not taking time to actually enjoy our farm. Just working from before daylight, to well after dark. A farm is a lot of work, but there is no good reason to not enjoy regular bonfires, cookouts or some yard games. 2024 has already shown us that a lot of things need to be fixed, redone, or designed differently. It has also shown me a lot more. Every year, around my birthday, I set my goals for my next year. Sometimes they are new goals, sometimes just updating old ones. I have found setting goals for myself helps me to stay focused.
One part of my new goals was setting boundaries with consequence. Setting boundaries does not do much when others run right over the top of them. So, you set your boundaries, someone else doesn't like them, so they beat you down until you basically give in to their whim, and discard your own needs. Setting boundaries with consequence is a whole new level. Keeping this on a personal level, while I have plenty to do every single day, my goal is to not be so "busy" that I can't enjoy my life. That means limiting a lot of extra activities. This is upsetting to a lot of people. I constantly hear, "you can't be THAT busy," or "can't you just get someone to take care of your farm?" So, here's the thing. No, I am NOT so busy that I can't take time down or just relax. I have worked hard to make a life that I DO NOT need a vacation from! Period! I refuse to run all over the country for anyone or anything. I love my home, my farm and my family. I don't want to leave any of it. It is my sacred place, my refuge. The second part of that is, NO, I can not get someone to take care of MY farm. It is no one else's responsibility to manage this chaos. Not even getting into the issue of not having anyone who will or can help out, there are not people here to do that. We ALL have our own farms, our own responsibilities and while we can help each other in an emergency...just taking a "vacation," is NOT an emergency. I have a child I am still teaching, livestock that needs tended to at least daily, indoor pets that need cared for, in the Spring to Fall - I have gardening and food preservation, in the Winter - the roads suck! Once it snows, I do not drive. There are enough idiots on the roads in those conditions, they do not need me there too!!! I can't drive well in the snow, it makes me too anxious, and I refuse to put my life or anyone else's in danger because my own lack of skills.
After the start to 2024 has been what it is, I am realizing not only many areas of improvement that need to happen, but also many areas that I have done that have helped my family. I have talked about preparations for years now. How you prepare is dependent on how you live. What I have noticed is that having to be very general, means a lot of people get bent out of shape, claiming to be an exception or allowing themselves to be victims. I have had remarks from not having room, to being to broke, to hearing that I am just a "conspiracy nut," and even that "the government" will help in times of trouble. Okay, if you say so. You do you. Whenever I discuss preparing, I HAVE to be general. Not only do I get censored on social media - almost daily, but also there are targeted words on you tube that ding you too. My generalized preparation videos are meant to make you THINK! Not to tell you what to do. The government is nearly $35 TRILLION in debt, they can't help themselves let alone any of us! No one is going to open their home to people that are going to just deplete their own supplies while those "guests" did absolutely NOTHING to help themselves. As I have said a lot the past few years, when someone or something becomes an anchor, it's time to cut the chain and be done. To be honest, I've found that that could include anyone from friends to family! With this in mind, I encourage each of you to keep preparing, keep improving your skills, get your finances in order, get your physical health in order, get your spiritual health in order, and look at your circle. If your circle is NOT doing anything to help themselves, you need a new circle.
Here on my farm, we spend about 8 months preparing for the remaining 4 months. Our annual preps truly begin before the bad season is over. My garden planning, preservations, and inventory have already began for the next winter season. The physical planning begins in February with the start of garden seed in the greenhouse. Learning to increase your skills, as time and finances allow, means I have not only added my little greenhouse to my cache of tools, but this year...I have added seed starting heat mats and grow lights. It means learning to container garden when the big gardens are full. It means learning how to add additives to my gardens to help increase productivity in the future gardens. It means taking inventory of what has to be grown from year to year to guarantee my family has what it needs each winter. It means planning annually for how much meat has to be butchered to get through a year. It means having and maintaining plenty of freezer and pantry space to allow for the annual preps. It means knowing how much sugar, flour, baking soda, paper towels, etc. we use in a year to maintain plenty in reserve. So, we don't have to worry about things like the great toilet paper disappearances from 2020. Knowing that if we get snowed in or lose power(like we have recently experienced) we can eat, stay warm and not lose our food. Yes, I did find some areas we need to improve, but overall....we were as prepared as we could be. The thing is, had our power stayed out for a week or more...or the roads been uncared for, for another week...we may have had some issues. So, even in all my own planning and preparations...I found holes. So, if I did...I would be willing to bet there are some a lot worse off than us. Meta data is my companion in all my planning. I keep a copious amount of notes. I have notes going back to 2018, and some much further than that. I have an estimated average of everything we use, how much we use, and how often we go through it. I have notes on the hay usage, feed usage, straw usage, mineral use, and about every other dang thing under the sun. I may not have a paying job...but my full time jobs never end...teaching, managing the farm/house, etc. Anyone that lives on an active farm or homestead knows the juggling it takes. We have been given multiple tests so far this year, and while it has been challenging...now we know, and "knowing is half the battle."
In addition to everything everything else, we have an active dumpster fire in our country. I will tell you, it does not matter about political parties anymore. They are both a dismal failure. With the continuously rising debt, the invasion allowed to continue in the south, the increasing number of homeless Americans, the complete disregard and neglect of our veterans, the increasing number of American's having to turn to food pantries and welfare...our governments have FAILED!! We are paying taxes many times over on every item bought or sold. Our tax monies are only increasing salaries, not paying to improve our lives. The divide in our country is not organic, it is fueled. Rather than focus on fixing issues or improving America, too many are using the divide and conquer techniques to keep the focus from the elite politicians that are all screwing everyday Americans. The B.S. numbers we are being fed about unemployment does NOT constitute for the hundreds of thousands that left the job market during 2020. Their numbers are seriously flawed. The inflation rates we are hearing about is ONLY a year over year rate, not the FACT that most of us remember the prices of things just 4 years ago. If they came out with real numbers, Americans would come out in groves against the government. As long as they continue to keep us distracted, battling amongst each other, and too busy to pay attention - we continue to stay complacent and under their control. At some point, I pray that everyone's blinders are lifted so that everyone can see what is really happening!
Anyway, I am working through some more notes and managing regular trips to the barn to check for new babies. A "Back to Basics" series is being planned. Still trying to figure out the best way to manage that, but it will be happening. Basics of household management, basic cooking, basic tools, basic gardening, basic food preservation, everything possible to bring the basics to those who want it.
See ya'll soon!
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