Coffee Chat
I don't know about all of you, but 2025 has been a tough year...and we still have a few months to go. There have been a lot of changes in my life and a lot of realizations. The few constants this year, have been working on changes around the farm, enjoying my time with veterans and returning a focus on my own boundaries.
In just a few short weeks, we have the honor of welcoming 10 disabled veterans to our farm. While this is our biggest event in the 7 year history, the same work is put in. Making a 3-day event a great experience for every veteran, is the goal. It's humbling to visit with each veteran and to be reminded of how much our lives have benefited from their service to our country. It has also been humbling when they are grateful for events focused on them, the majority have not a single entitlement bone in their body. It's refreshing! As I said, this year we have 10 disabled veterans attending. They will be arriving from Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas. We have 8 that have attended before and 2 that will be attending for the first time, and sadly had 12 that we weren't able bring in this year. It has been an exciting year for this event, with several first time sponsors, and the feed back has been incredible. The few bumps we have encountered, have been overcome and have worked out great in the end. I am now in the final weeks of prep work, and ironing out last minute details. It's always a little stressful but the results always work out.
A few changes around the farm, overall have been small...while we determine the exact direction we want to grow. A much smaller garden this year, with a new design, new species of plants...didn't work out well. The design is great, I love it, but the plants/seeds were awful. We had so much rain and humidity this year, we just didn't get much to grow. That's the risk you take though. We raised some pigs this year again, so I have pork in the freezer I can eat again. We had a few challenges with sheep and lambs this summer and the heat played a big part. I lost most of my ducks and chickens, to neighbors dogs and a fox. That was not a great thing. Now, my flocks are pretty small. Again, depending on our direction, will determine what my next plans will be. The fire pit area has been reallocated to become home to our new shed, while the firepit was removed and will be used in the driveway as it was when we first started out. The inside will see some more reorganization, as time allows. Sorting, pitching, organizing and purpose changes are the plan. It's a slower process when you sort through memories, and decide what no longer serves a purpose.
As I step into the "ber" months, which was once my favorite time of year, I am more reluctant to get overly excited. I am putting all my focus on what I can do, what I have to do and what I want to do; and stepping away from everything that just drains me. I wish you all an incredible month with more blessings than lessons!!
