February

Ever Changing…

Since my first post it has been nearly a month and a half and it seems like the time just disappeared. As my list of things to do grows ever longer, my time to do the things on my list grows ever shorter! Even though this blog has not taken up any time at all I think I want to make it my goal to post something every month. The more I vividly I bring my dreams forward they more likely they are to become reality, or so I’ve been told. If nothing else it will be a good record for my children and who know I may even be able to self publish a book at some time in the future. I have managed to make some real headway on my storage shed/workshop in the past few weeks. The walls are framed and standing, the door is installed and I’ve sheeted over the lower section of all the walls. I’ve got a list of building materials that I need to purchase in order to move ahead on the project. I try as hard as I can to spend a lot of time with my family. With a new baby in the house my lovely wife needs all the help she can get. At times it’s a struggle, but when it’s good…it’s GOOD.

With the sometimes trying sleep schedules of 2 children under 3 years of age. The nights seem to pass just as quickly as the days, possibly even faster. I find myself waking up to my alarm clock to get ready for work feeling like I just gone to sleep. The other morning I was standing in the kitchen in the dark thinking that there must be a better way…and there is!

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” Ecclesiastes 3:1.

So as I am standing in the dark I think to myself “I would really like to wake up to the sun, and go to bed when it gets dark.” We have the perfect alarm clock and it was created by god. Electronic alarm clocks are a poor, poor substitution.

Planning my planting

The other day I managed to get a row of Yukon gold potatoes planted right before a storm rolled in. That got me thinking about what I was going to plant this season and where I might fit everything I want to get in. I’ve got about 1.5 acres that I am using at my parents house to hone my agrarian skills. My family lives in town at the current time but my goal is to move to somewhere we can homestead. I started having the desire to till the ground around 4 years ago. When I was around 10 years old, my father and I planted 550 apple trees on the 1.5 acres where I now plant my crops. As the apple trees matured I helped prune, water and mow. We grew the apples organically and sold them to stores in the area. 17 years later I decided that I wanted to use the land to grow a bigger variety of fruits and veggies, so I took all but 8 of the trees out. My first few years it was a struggle trying to find a balance because I didn’t know how much my family was going to use and I ended up wasting a lot of time and a bit of money. Slowly but surely I am getting better at planning. Up till now I have managed to grow more than my family can eat, but I haven’t sold anything just composted it or fed it to the chickens. Selling produce seems to me like a big time consuming headache that I don’t really need, but I have been kicking around the idea of setting up a roadside stand to sell my extra increase.

Blessings

I recognize that I have many blessings in my life, but I have noticed that I am prone to just looking at the problems. I am going to make a concerted effort to acknowledge our Heavenly Father for the blessings in my life, and find the blessings in things that I once would have seen as problems.

Day Job

Sitting in a financial meeting yesterday at my job I realized that I am no doing what I want to do with my life. It’s not a difficult job, but I feel I could be better benefited physically, mentally, and spiritually by a move to an agrarian lifestyle. I also know that my wife and children would benefit from me being home more.

Until next time...