Friday, January 13, 2012

Just once I'd like to be caught up around here.


It's a new year and there's a lot of work to be done around here.  It seems that we just finished harvesting, processing and storing last years crops.  It's time to get things rolling around here for the coming year. Here's a sample of what needs to be done this winter:
  • We've got a new hen house to outfit.
  • Turn the old  hen house into a rabbit house.  
  • Cull many of our old laying hens.
  • Hatch or buy some new birds to replace them.
  • Change the oil, hydraulic fluid and lube our tractor. 
  • The 136' fence around one of our gardens has to be replaced. 
  • There are four new gates that need to be hung not to mention setting the poles to hang them on.  
  • The bee hives need to be readied for spring. 
  • Two new sixteen foot above ground planters need to be built south of our other raised grow beds.  
  • There are burn piles to be burned. 
  • Compost piles to be turned. 
  • I need to split the rest of the firewood we cut last fall and stack it in the wood shed.
  • The new sink system needs to be installed and plumbed on the patio, but before I can install the sink, I need to relocate a cabinet that's in the way.
  • Two of the roads around the property need to be re-cut and leveled.
  • Several large trees need to be cut down and bucked into firewood.  
  • The roof and one wall on our pump house need to be repaired.
  • The rabbit butchering station needs to be set up.
  • A goat enclosure and shelter needs to be built.
  • The fire break on the west side of our ridge needs to be extended.
And that's just what needs to be done before we start working on the gardens. We also work our day jobs.  Farm life is not for the lazy.


In the end we reap the benefits of our labor.  We know where most of our food comes from and how it was grown.

2 comments:

Stan said...

I grow weary just scanning the list...this sort of life might have been suitable for me to grow accustomed to 5-10 years ago. If the SRHTF here I will likely flee to Mexico, or Central or South America...

Steve said...

Stan,

Fleeing may not be an option. Survival is a matter of mind set. Everything else is gravy. Primitive skills personal defense, animal husbandry, gardening and food preserving & storage are just things to make life easier. Even if nothing bad ever happens, it's like money in the bank.