Bits From Around the Farm

It’s been quiet around here for a while now, not for lack of things going on, but just because it is a busy time for me.

The season change has brought lots of rain this past week. This brought with it some good and some challenges. It always gets muddy, but the rain also uproots older trees that weren’t tended to before we arrived here. So we had several trees come down in the winds and rain. One fell on the fencing that still needs to be tended to. Another, my kind neighbor took down for me when it was obvious that it was going to come down on it’s own if we didn’t tend to it. The tree had tipped more than a foot to one side and was in danger of taking out a power line that runs to the house. There is still a pile of of wood for us to deal with, branches and logs that need to be taken care of, but this will have to wait a little while until it isn’t a muddy mess.

The kids were a bit sad to see our tree come down, as it had been one they had climbed in and swung under since we moved in. I’m trusting that something good is coming from this, and that another lovely tree can hold their swing.

The grasses have started to come in green and strong all over the property. I’ve been trying to decide where I want to lay out plans for planting my willows that I’ve been rooting. Close enough that I can give them a good water source, and with enough room for some good growth. For many reasons I’ve been considering that cutting down on the amount of animals we have would be fruitful in helping to be more financially able to do repairs around the property, and allow me to focus more on the plants and trees side of things. I’m still pulled in many directions by my kids needs, so I need to be able to focus on something that will be both practical financially for us, long term, and beneficial for us with regards to giving me the time and flexibility to be available for the kids needs. The animals are wonderful, and we’ve enjoyed them, but I’m not sure long term, aside from the benefit of eggs and meat, they can serve us. Especially when I don’t have the time available to focus on things that I’d like to do with them, (ie, breeding, pelts, etc.). And so back to the grasses…this means that I need to figure out where to lay out weed barriers and tarps that can help me take down the growth…the process of laying out the tarping will help to kill off the growth of weeds and allow me to have a fresh slate to do planting for the willow and anything else that I might come up with. My brain is always working/considering!

The benefit of focusing more on the plants side of the farm is also that they can be easily propagated, with little effort, and the costs will be lower. I’m sure that I can come up with a water-saving idea fairly easily. We don’t get a ton of rain, so the focus will be more on what will be native to our area. That’s really important because it will also cut down on costs in the long run.

What I have in mind so far:

Willow

Crocus

Marigold

Different types of Eucalyptus

Various Herbs

Keeping the variety of things to a minimum will help me keep my sanity! Often times I over invest in things which just leads to issues later on. I also come back to the idea of simplifying things. Simple is good. And can help you know whether something will work long term, and whether it is something that you can see yourself investing your time in long term, as well.

This life seems to be somewhat experimental. I’m learning that a lot that has to do with the farm is seeing what will work and tweaking things until it is the way I like it and can work with it. No exception with minimizing what I invest my time and money in!