Embracing the current homestead
This year has been my
favorite one on the farm so far. Yes, I dropped the ball in certain
areas and have also been babying a sprained ankle for the last two
months. But we got enough done to feed ourselves and to stay happy and
healthy, which is what really counts.
Meanwhile, Mark's class
has been extremely inspirational, allowing me to thrive on his
second-hand enthusiasm. And I've spent so many golden hours on my yoga
mat watching the goats graze that I feel like I've lived more deeply
than in years past.
One big epiphany I had
this summer was --- there's no reason to always be at the end of my
rope. Yes, a homestead will consume very ounce of your energy and time
if you let it. But if you're in the adventure for the long haul, it's
better to savor each new experience and eke it out to its fullest before
expanding in yet another direction.
So I'm not actually
yearning for any new perennials or animals this fall. I'm quite content
to coast on my cover crop, goat, garden haze for quite a while longer
before embarking on a new adventure. Here's hoping the happy glow of
listening to the chomp, chomp, chomp of well-fed goats will last for
many years to come.
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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Thanks to everyone for their positive comments!
Carole --- I'm cutting back the garden a bit too, but my goal is just to concentrate on the areas that have good sun and soil. I suspect we'll get nearly as many crops for a lot less work.
Deb --- Yeah, that's the kind of thing I'm trying to break myself of doing.
Glorious post--you've made it! You guys are truly inspiring. You've accomplished an impressive amount in the last 9+ years, and I'm really happy for you that you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your 60-acre empire a bit.
...although I have to admit, I hope you'll stay curious enough to keep trying some new things!