Priorities

Have you ever looked around at your life and wondered "Why do things seem to be moving so fast, and I don't seem to be enjoying them as much as I thought?" Well I recently had that question pop into my head. We have been living in our straw-bale house for almost three years. And to be honest it took ALOT out of us to build this home. Then we got busy planting like crazy. We homeschool. Then I decided to buy goats before we were ready and we had to bust our butts getting that all ready. And then there is/was the milking two times a day. I think I have just put too much on my plate. I need to scale back and readjust the priorities of our daily life.

Sooooooooo, currently I am drying off the goats. We are going on an overseas trip mid-Oct. and I just didn't want to have the added expense and worry. I have to dry Flora off anyway since this was her first freshening. We are not breeding Bea Bea again since we don't like her milk. And then I got to thinking about vegetation cycles coinciding with breeding cycles to optimize the milk's nutrients. This would mean breeding in Aug. Yeah, August for a January kidding. This way the goats would be eating green grass when making milk for their kids and us. Since we don't get frigid weather it makes more sense. August is far away from now. So if I do go through with this plan then we won't have fresh milk again for a year and a half. I am still deciding.

The garden took a back seat to the goats this season. Actually I think it got out and decided to walk. It was pretty pitiful. I need and want to focus this next year on getting the garden to the level of production that I envisioned when I moved here. And we are so far from that right now. As much as I want to, I can't do both the goats and the garden construction. But once things are up and running in the garden then the goats will be more an asset than a drain. Right now I have loads of goat manure waiting to go onto the garden beds. The chickens are doing a great job of gleaning and scratching and I need to plant a cover crop soon to turn in.
Pacific tree frog diggin' it at the mini-pond on the west side in the below picture:


We want to build a green house, a shade house, a mini grey water pond system and construct more raised beds. I really want to do these projects this next building/working cycle. So I need to focus our efforts and not get side-tracked again. I have a few trees I want to add or replace but the major perennial planting is on hold while we assess which plants did well and where we want to expand. There is also the question of water. Some of our irrigation lines are getting maxed out.

There are only so many hours in the day. And for us only so many months where working is realistic. Also we have obligations which are not farm related such as apprenticing, raising and tending to children, various hobbies

and visiting with friends and family. But I do have a great sense of accomplishment when I look around and see our trees growing, our biodiversity increasing, and our children getting excited about their land really turning into a permaculture farm instead of just a vast expanse of wild oats. So onward! But keep your priorities in line with your heart. :)