Relatively speaking, of course. It's been in the 50s of a morning up my way. It seems a bit early, so I am wondering what this winter is going to be like. It could be so dry in January and February that we're conserving the water in our catchment tanks, or it could be bucketing rain - we have had, memorably, 33 inches in as many hours during one November.
I am in a bit of a quandry, because, as usual, I feel a sense of urgency to get seeds in the ground. This usually hits me when I am a day or two out from heading to the grocery store, especially on a bill-paying day. (I guess I am not the only one, as I read this blog from Small Farm Girl).
The greenhouse we built is just too small to house everything I want to plant, but putting things in the ground like normal climate gardeners is a gamble. Remember when my carrots ended up four feet downhill from where I planted them? We put a bid on a huge commercial greenhouse last week, using my husband's savings he pulled out to start a new venture - but we were outbid. The greenhouse was 60 feet by 108 feet. It was quite overkill for one full time farmer (husband) and one extremely part-time farmer (me), so it was probably for the best - but now we're thinking of how to put up a reasonably large structure to increase our flooding-subtropical-rain-proof food production.
I absolutely, in theory, support the living on one income paradigm, particularly when it means time to devote to more self-sustainable living, but the reality has been quite an uphill battle. Hanging laundry and being more diligent with the kids about turning off lights and computers is one small change that has paid off; as has turning off one cell phone and decreasing packaged services on the other. Driving a smaller car and getting a job closer to home was helpful, too. None of these even touch the real problem which is a mortgage grown large through educating four kids or the rising cost of gas, food, and feed. We're so fortunate in so many ways, but the change of moving from two incomes to one is going to take some getting used to - and some shifting around of things are done.
Which brings me to the fact that a lot of the time, I feel pretty pressured and stressed - and I recently read an article that said, no matter how well you think you are shielding your kids from your stress, you are not at all successful because the transmittal is automatic and divorced from words and actions. Now, I don't know how much of that premise is true - but way to add to a parent's stress. You're already stressed and then you find out your stress not only translates to your kids, but it causes grave health problems for them. Lovely.
Actually, I have a strange sense of humor and thought that was humorous in a dark way, which just goes to prove, I must not be that stressed after all.
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