Drifting

My only regret over this past summer has been the fact that homesteading activities have not been what they were in years past.  Sure, I canned my quota of tomatoes and strawberry jam, continued hanging my laundry out to dry, and made my own laundry detergent, so perhaps I shouldn't be too hard on myself.  Summer in these parts tends to be a time when you reap the bounty of the garden and not much else anyway.  It's too friggin' hot to do much more than that, even here on the coast.

But we sit here with almost two acres of land and have, so far, done nothing with it, and that bothers me.  We only just got our first two planting beds built last week, and have yet to get them filled with dirt.  We had to buy some new kitchen appliances (a new stove and dishwasher), due to the age and energy use of the fleet that was here when we moved in -- an unexpected, but necessary, expense.  But I feel a little like I'm drifting right now, with no true mission or purpose here except to continue making this home more livable for us as a family.  It's happening.  But it's expensive and time consuming.

But I don't want this to turn into a decorating blog, even though I love decorating.  This is a homesteading blog, and maybe a wine country blog on occasion, and of course a midlife blog.  

There was no pear wine this year, but we did get three chickens who produce delicious eggs on a regular basis.  No summer veggies, but that did allow me to visit the local farmer's market and see what an outrageous mark-up the folks here put on their locally grown produce.  I may not have dirt in those raised beds yet, but I do have compost ready for them.  It's six of one versus a half-dosen of the other.  Progress rarely happens on all fronts at the same time.  But there is still progress.

Yet, without working the land and growing things, I do feel a little like I've drifted through this summer, entertaining family and friends here at the house, attending cultural and wine-oriented events, and learning my way around.  There are some advantages to drifting, however.  Drifting allows you to be carried by the current and gives you the chance to observe the course you're on, the scenery to each side of you as you pass, and lets you take in the lay of the land slowly, with time to digest what you're seeing and how you feel about it.  I'm still learning the lay of the land here.  Soon we will have food growing here, and perhaps some more animals.  But it's going to take some time and some money.

And so, for now, I drift.