Normally I would post some journalistic blog post on New Year’s Day, or I would write down a set of goals for the year, or something to tell both, where I have been, and where I am going. Maybe by 47, I have come to the understanding that if I am alive at this time next year, that would be the most I could ask for. Okay, not really. I do have hopes and ambitions for this year. Last year was so consumed with paying down some debts that many of the goals we had hoped for have been missed. But last year at this time we were mailing out over $150 a month in interest payments, too. Much rather put that to a purchase or a savings than to an interest fee! That all paid down, this year we are working on a couple of major purchases that we need in order to kick this place into high gear. They are the fridge, the log splitter, and a deep tiller. We also need water access closer to where we keep animals and gardens. Carrying buckets in the winter is awful!
We bought the fridge in November on an interest free for one year purchase, and the log splitter at the end of December on another. They are both in need of paying down now, but I think we can pull it off for both of them interest free. Gonna try for it. It is going to take a bit of juggling, but I think it can be done, and still get the deep tiller in the spring to get the gardens sorted out.
Having the log splitter for about five days now, I have already split as much wood as we have burned so far this year. We are restocked to where we were when the season began in October! The day before we decided to go and just get it, I was not sure we would last the winter. But today, I know we will, even in the worst of weather conditions. Happily, we seem to be continuing the summer drought, so that is no worry. I say “happily.” That is a lie
The deep tiller is required so I can get the hard pan down low enough for the roots of our gardens to grow. The past few years when we have tried to garden, I have only been able to break down about two inches with our current tiller. The soil is too hard for the little tiller, too hard for the plants, and too hard for my old bones to break up with a shovel or fork. I hope to get past that this year, once and for all, and really put our garden on the map on this homestead. Also, I will need to look into soil amendments that will balance the PH where it needs to be to grow our food. I think at that point, we will be getting pretty serious about our gardening, and can then look forward to a greenhouse or other tools to follow. We’ll hopefully try this out this year, and see if it is worth the investment.
Water on this place is incredibly difficult to get around in the winters. There is one spout up at the front by the garage, which means that most of the animals can only be accessed via a hose that goes around the house, or by carrying the water. I have always had troubles with my frame, and just one trip with the two five gallon buckets is enough to do me in. Unless it is one of those rare, particularly good days, I am done by the second trip. But by then, the animals are still thirsty. Of course, that’s not on. I am to the point where the easiest method is to put the buckets on the trailer and carry it around the yard that way. Not too easy in bumpy snow, but at some point I will get that tank I have sorted out and carry more water, without splashing it all out, that way.
What I really need is a water spout put in near the llama and dog pen, so in the service yard, and one by the gardens and orchard, and finally one in the back near the chickens and goats. On the way to the service yard, we could do with stopping one off across the front gate from the rubbish bins, then I could pull out a hose and fill the horses and llamas across the street with water. Water at those places would really solve the majority of our troubles,and make it possible to carry buckets short distances or use a short hose that is easy to drain so that it won’t freeze. That would ease these old bones a good deal!
The only thing I have left is a tractor and water shares so we can properly farm the area across the street. Missus has some goals over there, and I want to achieve those, but that is going to take a lot more than a bucket and shovel to do.
Now, a word on goal setting. I get the picture in my head of what it is I want. Once I do, I tend to obsess over it till it comes to be. I don’t have to write it down, tell people, or take manageable bits according to a well developed plan. Instead, I obsess over it. I eat, drink, sleep, and always think of that goal, and as soon as I am close to it, I either make the quick move, or the slower one, whichever it takes, to get that plan into action. Otherwise, it is all baby steps with eyes on the goal, and no plan on exactly how to get there. Instead, it is just a general understanding of how I WANT to get there, such as a manageable debt, with no interest, or saving a little at a time, depending on the cost and when I need to have achieved it.
To this end, I probably owe Missus Bacon an apology for my obsessions. It is usually one right after another. But I am working towards a big plan in a way that makes sense. As an example, this year, with the log splitter, I hope to free up more time and effort to other goals, such as the gardens. At the same time, I want to work ahead for the first time on our split wood pile and seasoned wood for future years. I also want to feel what I have felt this year for the first time since putting in the wood stove and heating with it three years ago, and that is abundance. Some people measure wealth by the dollars in their wallets. I measure it by the wood I have stacked in the woodshed.
At the same time as I want to get the deep tiller, I also want to get the chicken-plucker so we can process chickens efficiently and fill our freezer every autumn. I also would like to squeeze in a cow this spring, if possible. I need to replace the goat fence first, and get them back to their proper home.
The orchard is desperate. I have never seen anything so pathetic and short of its dreams. If possible, I will get that sorted out this year with trees that will produce sooner than these puny things we have been trying to plant, and instead have been killing. Hopefully a more mature tree will stand up to us better, and I do have better ideas on how to get water to them often even if we don’t get the water access everywhere we need it.
So, here’s my New Year’s installment.
Things are going pretty much the same as last year at this time in the other areas. People in our neighborhood don’t socialize with us because we don’t run down to the Church every Sunday to pay the Bishop a pound of flesh. I m to the point that I don’t think I really care. I consider it like living on a mountain top, with only the few people that we talk to around us, and everyone else is just tourist traffic. I give a hell of a lot of myself to others when I meet people out in public, and try to give everyone a reason to smile. If our neighbors cannot appreciate that, then I don’t have much to say about that. That said, there are a few exceptions to the rule, as with anything, and those exceptions are people I really appreciate, and am very glad to know.
In other news, our pipes are frozen. We lost cold water to the toilets, and the bathroom sinks and shower and tub. It is almost ironic that the only thing working completely is the kitchen sink. That is usually the first thing to freeze, but we managed to use the alarm on my weather station console to keep it running on low when needed, and keep it defrosted.
Politics are a farce right now. At the moment, 800K Federal Workers are having their salaries held hostage for a wall by an idiot who says that border security is a national emergency, and that we need to be protected, while not even considering that he himself is endangering all of those people who work for the government, and all the people they service. I cannot wait till this vile imbecile is out of office.
Lastly, I am off Facebook for four months now. It is a lot les social for me, but I don’t feel missed there, and I feel more free to worry about things that matter in my inner circle. My finger is off the pulse of panic, and I am instead worrying about my family and not so much about the national discourse. That has been great!
Happy New Year!
Kelsey J Bacon
