Where has the time gone?! Half way through the year, the official start of Summer, and 6 months until Christmas. Yikes!!! I'm not ready for that yet!! Seriously, I LOVE Christmas, but I am not ready! I'm loving my garden time, my time outdoors, not have to wear 40 layers of clothes to leave my house, bare foot walks(before everything got crunchy), and fresh veggies! So, I'm later in the day to start writing, I spent my morning researching and gathering some information I needed. I need to get busy this afternoon on some projects, but I'm moving a little slower after a tumble the other morning left me with a twisted and sore ankle.
So, where to begin is always a challenge for me since my mind moves at a million miles a minute! I'm constantly going through thoughts, plans, information and projects. Let's start on farm happenings. In my immediate area, we are in a major drought. It's been over a month of no rainfall, high temps and pasture/hay is burning clear up. In this instance, what hay we can and have gotten has a serious depletion of nutrients. The lack of rain, is hampering so much. One of our local livestock markets has been flooded with the sell off of livestock, due to the lack of hay and the cost of hay/feed currently. I know those in Southwest, will understand that, all too well. We are hearing several "old timers" talking that they expect this drought to turn around here shortly. I am sure hopeful!! With decreased rainfall, that means not only has hay/pasture become premium in price, but the crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat will also. What does that mean? Well, anything that uses those crops, will become high priced too. For example: flour, corn meal, many cereals, breads, etc. will increase in price as more crops die off from the lack of rainfall. This also means that feeds for livestock - cows, pigs, chickens...will continue to rise, raising the prices of eggs and meat. It's one of those snowball effects. It could ultimately lead to many shortages on the grocery shelves, as well. I will just throw in another reminder to be getting your pantry stocked up!!
Gardening, for me, is not only an essential part of my family's preparations, but also a form of relaxation and sometimes stress! It's a mixed basket. I love time in my garden. It's quiet. It's my time to think, pray, and just "be." It's revitalizing to know that I have worked for what I get. I learn something new, nearly everyday. I spend my winter time, learning as much as I can to better my garden every year. From new techniques of planting, maximizing smaller spaces, garden additives, plant regeneration, pest control, trellising, and so much more! I take great "pride" in putting all that I learn into practice. Each year, I learn new techniques that help improve my odds of getting the most out of my harvests. I learn new recipes, new ways of preservation, and ways that didn't work so well too. There are so many ways that work, some work better for others, but finding what works for me. Learning my soil type, my growing days, the frost dates, how to grow from seed and plants, learning how to grow in a greenhouse - which is a beast in and of itself, and so much more!!! It's rewarding! The frustrations that happen from elements out of my control, namely Mother Nature. Late/early frosts, drought, excessive rain, or any number of other variables out-of-my-control, is a challenge. I do get frustrated by them, but I ultimately learn from them too. Learning to preserve foods has been a rewarding challenge. Having to learn this as an adult, was equivalent to "teaching an old dog new tricks." I didn't grow up knowing how to do this. I learned as an adult! Since then though, I have worked hard to get it down pat! I still make mistakes, I still find things that does not work. However, I have found a lot of things that do work. I have the successes in my pantry, every year. Depending on the year, 500-1000 jars of my own fresh food to feed my family. It's not easy!!! Battling Mother Nature, insects, neighbors dogs, racoons, or any other variable can knock out a garden in no time. I've had years that the weed population exceeded my vegetables by about 1000:1. It's work to keep a garden viable, productive and honestly...alive! It's not something, you put in and leave until July/August and voila, you have food. Gardening is a year round project. From planning, gathering, seeds, plants, planting, mainenance, water, weed removal, harvest, preservation, to putting your garden to rest for the winter - cleaning out, cleaning up; it takes work and effort. I personally love seeing the fruits of my effort, and hard work.
Summer time at my home. Boy, does that get messy sometimes. I've said many times, when you live on a farm, you spend 6 months getting ready for the following 6 months. This is beyond true. Typically, from May until until November, we are in preparation mode, for November through April. That means having enough hay for each group of animals. Having enough straw for animal bedding for each group of animals. Beginning the ramp up of having 2-4 weeks of extra feeds on hand, in the event winter weather won't allow for deliveries. It means making sure the human foods are stocked for a minimum of 6 months. Getting any major repairs done around the farm, that must be done before cold weather sets in. This year, our major repair is replacing our water lines that keep springing leaks. There's been enough repairs for the problem areas, they must be replaced completely, before we have a much bigger, and costlier problem. I have to get fencing moved, and my coop repaired enough to get through another winter. Building or buying a new coop right now, is not possible. Once we get some rain, getting some new gardens worked up, is necessary! Moving some compost to my orchard and grape vines is necessary. None of this covers the events already scheduled on the farm...8th grade promotion, a wedding, the veteran deer hunt, and the Christmas Open House. Keeping up with the inside of the house during summer...is a challenge. I hate being stuck indoors. I honestly, do bare minimum. I slack pretty bad when the weather is nice enough to be outside. Usually, I wait for rainy days to worry about the inside much, but this year...so far, my house would be 6 foot deep if I did that. Not to mention, the past couple of years....any injury or illness I've gotten, has knocked me down, pretty bad. It has taken many months to get past illnesses, and even some injuries have taken as long or longer. I find myself frustrated by not being able to physically do some of the things I have always done, or having to ask for help and wait until someone actually helps.
It's also the time that I start planning our school year, our holidays, and typically by this point...I am Christmas shopping. Not this year though. I have not even started! I'm more concerned with food for us and the animals, at this moment. I am a list maker, a planner. I don't do chaos or disorganization well. It makes my mind feel cluttered, and then I lose my shit. When stuff doesn't have at least a basic plan, it makes me edgy, angry, and full of attitude....worse than normal. I spent a lot time, battling stress and that is not good for me. I don't handle stress well, it causes me to lose weight, quick. I also do not gain weight back easy. So, that becomes a double edged sword. It messes with my immune system, it messes with my ability for thinking rational, it causes me to find every possible area of issue and then the negativity starts setting in. There isn't much I can't handle, but without outlets, it does get the better of me. So, planning and organizing, helps me to keep it all in check. I'm also someone that likes to talk out issues...not just sweep them under rug in hopes they will fix themselves. Communication seems necessary for me. Which seems to be something seriously lacking today. So, that tends to play in too, when so many just want to have surface conversations.
For today, I am planning, and organizing my thoughts. I'm prioritizing projects and thoughts. I'm looking at ways to pinch pennies. I'm digging for more recipes and food preservation ideas. I'm doing things that will help my family in the big picture...not just right now. I'm looking beyond the current struggles to get a grasp on future plans. I'm learning to accept that I have the 24 hours in a day, that everyone else has....and understanding that at some point taking a few breaks isn't going to cause the world to crash around me. It's not easy but necessary.
So, a short coffee chat to start off Summer. It's hot, it's dry but we will survive, somehow! It's a beautiful life with a few temporary hardships!
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