According to the old agrarian ways, March 25 marks the beginning of the new year. You can read all about it in this post, so for now, I'll just say that this makes more sense to me than sticking the new year into the middle of winter.
Spring is a great time to start working on new goals, and Dan and I spent the earlier part of the month making lists and discussing priorities. 2025 is going to be the year of maintenance and repair. We honestly don't have any major improvement or building projects. I guess finishing the last two rooms in the house would be about closest to that.
Seasonal spring tasks focus on planting, so that's the upcoming priority as we approach last frost. Then summer will give way to harvest and preservation. Besides that, there are less pressing things like spring cleaning, annual fence maintenance, cleaning up areas that have become messy (like where our dead fig trees are), purging saved building supplies we'll likely never use (old storm windows and T&G from the front bedroom walls), repairing the foundation of our little garden shed, and repainting the outbuildings.
It's nice to have nothing pressing on the horizon. I know many people strive to avoid the mundane, but being able to take life day by day, to appreciate the little things, to maintain contentment, is so much less stressful than the habit of seeking excitement. It's one of the biggest reasons we chose this lifestyle.
How about you? Are you making plans or just winging it? Anything interesting coming up in your lives?
10 comments:
How fabulous to have your bigger projects behind you. It's fun to focus on tweaking the homestead and making things better for ourselves and our critters.
The only big thing I'd like to do this season is put up a fence (or have one put up). It would be great to diy it, but I don't think I have it in me. The goal is to keep the chooks in, as we have two girls who insist on either climbing the net fence or hopping over it. Other than that, it's just gardening as usual, which is fine by me.
Hope you have a healthy and productive week!
I agree on the agrarian year making a lot more sense that beginning the year partway through winter.
We too are making plans. Garden planning is of course here and to some extent, already completed though the work remains. My commissioned wood project is starting up and I have a few other things to build for myself should I get decent garage working weather this year. We are also planning some trips with our kids so this may be the last summer our eldest isn't working or learning. I do have a house project but have hired that one out as it requires tools and skills I don't possess and since it is a one and done sort of thing, it doesn't make sense to learn and buy just for that. It actually starts tomorrow and I'm sure will be a blog post in the future.
Leigh, I realized this morning in reading through Old AF Sarge's blog that this was the first year in almost 25 where I would not have "yard work" to do. That was a pretty big change.
That said, there are things I can do. Our weather is starting to turn, so I think I can try planting another round of grain and looking at my balcony, there might be another planter or two I can squeeze in there. Another round of purging is likely in the works as we work to unpack (even after a year). And then there are some projects - sewing is something on the list, and I think forays into different kinds of home-made foods (I tried making protein bars this past weekend. It was not "Clif Bar" successful, but they work).
I also think we can spend some time exploring the new area as well. Spring and Summer here are glorious.
Everywhere I look I see something that needs to be done, indoors and outdoors. This would be less of an issue if I had competent staff support ;)
Daisy, one of our early goals was to get the big stuff established as soon as we could, knowing we'd slow down as we got older. Even so, the ideas never stop coming! I tell Dan that new projects should be things he feels like working on. We're learning how to ask if we really need a thing before comitting to it.
Ed, it sounds like a full summer ahead for you. I always like reading about your projects. Do enjoy those family moments! They grow up all too quickly.
Gosh TB, no yard work. You poor thing. Dan's least favorite chore is mowing the lawn! Still, you have a lot of interesting and productive things to keep you busy.
Quinn, you mean your goats don't volunteer to help! Mine neither, lol. But, that's the way of things, isn't it?
I am laughing because in your third paragraph you listed the various things you will do, starting with spring cleaning, all of which left me admiring your tenacity and work ethic. In the next paragraph you talked of nothing pressing on the horizon! I guess it's all in one's perspective. Enjoy the spring!
Bob, in my book spring cleaning is never pressing. ;) I guess it feels more relaxed this year because we have the rest of the year to chip away at things. The garden, of course, is seasonal and always a priority. The other stuff, not as much.
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