A New Year. The Good, The Bad, and The Hopeful.

Wow. Just wow. No matter how it hit you last year was one for the books, no question there. But it honestly shaped me for the better and that is what I’m going to hold onto going forward.

The Good for me that covers a lot of things. I look at my beautiful children, and I see how much they have grown. And I’m not just referencing how I’m now going through clothes, and ordering the next size up of shoes. And by the way, with 4 children, it feels like I’m always needing to weed out the clothes, while at the same time not having enough. But what I’m talking about right now it’s how they have matured. It’s the little things, like my baby being a full on, big attitude toddler (I say that with love) or my son growing out of that toddler drama (THANK YOU LORD!) or the big girls writing and reading more words, and doing helpful things on their own. Like washing a few dishes, or making pb&j sandwiches. Sometimes we all need to take a moment and just marvel at our children.

Another Good thing for me is all the experience, and confidence I’ve gain over the last spring, summer, and fall in regards to homesteading. I am STILL growing food. Snow covered my crops, but there are still hardy greens, and root veggies down there. I didn’t have a high yield of anything. But I didn’t plant a lot of any one thing ether. I feel so much bolder going forward. But more on that in a minute.

The Bad *sigh* because of everything connected to that ‘c’ word. My plans have needed adjusting, again. Really that ‘c’ word has help ouch me towards the good too. So I’m not heart broken. But I am bummed out. Because things had been going right along, and we were so close to starting work on our house. We walked the land, I bought plans, it was time to start figuring. And then I realized that my husband won’t be able to do much anytime soon, because he is at work 6 or even 7 nights a week. He hardly has time to cut wood, let alone clear dense timber, and start construction. And on top of that. The cost of most supplies has jumped way up. 3x the cost it has been, or so I’ve been told. And that it what has really taken the wind out of my sails today. I had already accepted that we should plan to start this fall. But now I know we must wait longer. It used to feel like I said that every year. But as this saga continues, I do not lose hope. Oh no. I am grateful for the time to glean knowledge, so that when we do get to take action, it will be done with wisdom.

And that brings me to The Hope ah, when I think of the wonderful path I’ve already sat out on this year, my mind is put at ease. I’m developing a plan that will maximize our assets as they are. Let’s start with what I’ve done.

I’ve bought a lot of seeds. At least it seems like a lot to me. There are a few other things I’d like to have, and I will probably get them as live plants. Lots of corns, and sunflowers, and herb seeds, and fruiting plants I’d never even heard of before. Now we just need to get the new garden set up. And I’d like a few more raised beds. Those are both things I will require help with. I’d be pleased if we get them in by March. So I don’t feel pressured about it.

I’ve ordered chicks. A full electric poultry netting set up. And a yardbird plucker. I have never processed a chicken. And I have NEVER dispatched anything more then a bug, and one mouse. But I have committed my self to this standard of producing as much of our food as we can. And I do eat chicken, and I am physically able to do this task solo if I must. So come Apirl I will do the unexpected. Although I doubt I will have to do the whole thing on my own. I only got 15 broilers. I also ordered 15 pullets of 3 different breeds, and 15 straight run of Delaware’s. We have an old small coop we can refit for a brooder. So I’m pretty set for the birds.

There are a few larger purchases I need to make. Seed trays. And I’m going for the best, those from Bootstrap Farmer. As well as more birds. And I’ve been working on how we could have a dairy animal. Once again that is going to require help. But I believe I have got a solid plan. There are other things, other animals I hope to make a part of our farm this year as well. Probably just to raise and harvest, before we commit to brood stock. I’m not decided on that as of yet. So there’s that.