I always have a million goals on the horizon. Saturday got my summer juices flowing. Mucking out the goat yard, raking the what will be lawn, seeing the first green iris leaves. Now I can't wait for the kids to get their school done for the year so we can spend our days outside working on projects.
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| chickens working next year's garden |
Previous goals (It's nice to see these written down so I don't get discouraged with ALL the things I still want to do, these were my goals not that long ago and now they are achieved):
Build a house on a little land (2 acres with no trees). Have a nice place for the kids to play in the back yard. Have a nice lawn. Start seeds and a small garden. Learn to pressure can. Raise chickens for layers and meat. Get a riding lawn mower so I can mow my little fields. Get my husband or myself to learn to butcher them (husband). Install a wood stove. Finish the downstairs of our 2 story house (now a 5 bedroom). Build a bigger garden, put the chicken coop in the middle and have a run/garden on either side the chickens take turns trading for garden space. Get a grain mill and grind grain for bread. Have a nice compost pile. Have a pretty flower bed. Build a pretty fence (partly done). Plant a tree line for wind protection. Buy a large chest freezer for our harvest, salmon and the caribou my husband hunted. Collect chain link panels for holding goats. Get goats, milk them, make cheese and yogurt, etc. Breed them (and sell the babies, almost there.) Get a 2nd garage fridge for all the milk. Get the credit card paid off.
Current goals:
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| one of our first milkings of 2 does |
Build a root cellar. Learn to dehydrate. Plant another row of trees because the first row is too far to protect from wind. Learn to butcher goats and cook/eat them for a staple. I'd like to do the same with rabbits and I'd love to learn how to do stuff with rabbit fur. I'd like to keep sheep and make things from their wool. Learn to crochet (sister helping me there), learn to spin wool. Build a seed collecting garden, put some asparagus plants in there too, will have to mulch all very well over the winter. Start an apple orchard, build 8-10 foot high fencing for that to keep the tree eating moose out. Build a new bigger deck and put a greenhouse on one end against the house. Learn how to actually build things and not be afraid of it. Stock up on a years worth of food (working on that currently). Grow more root veggies that will last all winter. Grow and can my own tomatoes in a greenhouse. Grow and save more spices. Learn to grow hay and barley. Pay off the house so we won't be actual slaves any longer. Teach my kids to love farming and to love learning and to teach their own kids how important it is.
Husband’s goals, achieved:
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| making her papa proud |
Learn to fish. Get a 4wheeler. Learn to hunt birds (ptarmigan, spruce hen, ducks). Teach kids to shoot. Teach older kids to hunt birds. Learn to hunt larger game so he can teach the kids (ongoing process but much achieved). I think he's leaning to appreciate the farming side of meat collection, he likes knowing he can put this particular animal into the freezer in 3 months. Incubate and hatch out eggs.
This summer's goals, he really mostly thinks a year out at a time at the most, he thinks I’m silly to have grandiose plans:
Learn to tend bees, bees ordered. Build a woodshed, fill it with wood. Go hunting and fishing.
We are both in agreement that we can never prepare for TEOTWASKI if we never learn these skills we were not raised with. Little did we realize how rewarding this life could be.
Country Jane, chomping at the bit
