Garden Planning
This Week on the Homestead 22 January 2023
Reflections on the Challenges and Rewards of 2022
I have been compiling the end of the year review, and I am incredibly proud of Dave and myself. This was our first full year in Texas and it was a breeze compared to our last three on the East Coast. It wasn’t the savings bonanza we needed, the homestead simply needed too much work from the previous “loving” owner. We did make infrastructure improvements to the house and the land. We haven’t fixed all of the problems by any stretch, the original windows and roof replacement are the next big ticket items in the next few years.
We have both been creative in solutions and learned new skills. I pickled something for the first time in my life. While sauerkraut isn’t something we eat frequently, I still learned how to do so and can replicate it should we ever get a bumper crop of cabbage. Dave did a lot of back breaking work outside, from digging holes to planting trees to fixing fence line to keep Kahlua contained. Admittedly, the fencing still needs work but we are going to get quotes come the new year.
We planted a successful late summer garden, would have had a successful spring garden but for two puppies. We raised a flock of roosters, unintentionally mind you, and had them help us amend and revitalize the soil. We have a better idea where the sun is the strongest for planting this year, and what to plant when. Hard to believe that it is time to begin planning the garden already!
All the hard work and challenges have been good for us. They have forced us out of our comfort zones, into activities some days we would just rather avoid entirely, and made each of us stronger and healthier as a result. We will be continuing that journey in the coming year, more intensely focused on the healthier life choices and moving more.
2022 kicked our butts and made us stronger. It was a rebuilding year, just not the type we anticipated. It was a year we can be proud of upon reflection. We invested in ourselves and our future. We spent the time and money, even when one or both were painful. We made the choices necessary to make the future better, sometimes at the expense of immediate comfort and security. It was challenging, rewarding, heartbreaking, delicious, and joy filled. I wouldn’t change a thing, well maybe the Cedar Fever and stomach bug we have both been battling this week.
2023 will be here in a blink of an eye and personally I am looking forward to the challenges and joys in the coming year. I fully expect 2023 to kick us when we least expect it, to be filled with unexpected joys, and to present us new opportunities to invest in ourselves. Last year was a vast improvement over the previous three, and I am confident that 2023 will continue down that same path. I welcome the unexpected forks in the path and I know that with Dave by my side, family, friends, and God the path forward will always be brighter than the path behind.
Have a fabulous week on your homestead, be it large or small! May your blessings this week outweigh your burdens.
Pecandarosa 