It’s been 5 years since we moved here. At that time there was a house, a shop, an old barn with a caved in roof, two sheds, some fruit trees, and lots and lots of lawn and farmland. Sometimes it feels like we just aren’t getting anywhere. Actually it feels like that a lot - or maybe we’re just impatient, because when I do stop to look around…dang, we’ve done a lot. So how did it happen?
(the old barn)
(the original tilled garden)
(the two sheds - summer 2016)
We used to talk about a “5 year plan”, and my parents really liked to tease us about it. I don’t even remember what this plan was all about. Actually, it was Jon’s plan to not have kids for 5 years…and that was 5 years ago…and our oldest son is 3.5 years old…and he was planned…sooo… I digress.
The thing about plans is that farmers don’t really get to have plans. I know this. I grew up on a big busy cattle farm and plans changed often and quick. There are so many variables.
So no, it wasn’t the 5 year plan that got us here. It wasn’t a gushing bank account either. It wasn’t anything concrete.
Jon has lots of great ideas, and I have lots of great feelings. We hold them close, and then when an opportunity comes along, we take it.
(The first winter with chickens we used our greenhouse as the coop. It was the greenhouse’s first winter, too. Spring 2020)
It doesn’t feel like we’re the ones driving this bus. We might do something that turns out to be a total flop. It’s like someone saw where we were headed and then put up a stop sign, forcing us to pause and see what direction we should go next. Maybe there’s a a better way to do something, instead of just barreling straight through.
I don’t need to drive. I just need to choose what direction to turn next.
(We converted the green shed into the winter coop, added a lean-to, and built the wood pen. Fall 2020)
One example of this, is our gardens. We’ve had so many set backs (or stop signs). They have forced us to look around, and we found permaculture.
Here’s a few Permaculture Principles:
Principle #1: Observe and Interact
Principle #4: Apply Self-Regulation and Feedback
Principle #9: Use Small, Slow Solutions
Principle #12: Creatively Use and Respond to Change
Our latest project has been the pathway to our greenhouse. It was something that I started last summer. I was pregnant then and found the project way too hard to complete. Getting out of bed and putting shoes on was hard enough. Digging out sod was just…dumb. So it was left a big mess all winter and spring.
(The greenhouse pathway, left unfinished. It was messy so we used pallets to walk on. Summer 2020.)
Now, we want to get our pigs and chickens moved into the storage garden area to spend the rest of the summer tearing it up. To prepare for this, we needed to build a short section of fence, and gate, to connect our wood pen to the greenhouse. This also seemed like a good time to readdress the greenhouse pathway.
The good news is that now we have some more materials to work with, that we didn’t have last summer (bricks!). It’s also good that we waited because having the fence changes the original design of the pathway.
(The new section of fence and gate are finished. The greenhouse pathway is a work in progress (I’m just playing around with the design here). Spring 2021.)
Every little thing that we’ve accomplished here has been a series of stop signs and redirections (maybe “green lights” is a better analogy). This time, the next path to take, was literally a pathway.
So instead of an outward concrete 5 year plan - we go in. Set an intention, surrender and let it manifest.
What will manifest in the next 5 years? More kids? The human or goat kind?
For more, come watch us work on our Natural Greenhouse Pathway in our YouTube Video.
