If you have been following this blog for some time then you know that 2023 has not been a great year for us. We have dealt with death, failure, job changes (which I realize was a mistake) and more negatives than positives.
That's life. It was the hand that we were dealt.
Now that Thanksgiving day is upon us (and at the time of publication, past us), it occurs to me that we do have some things to be thankful for. We do have good friends and a strong family. We do have money in the bank and jobs that we are successful at. We have our health.
We can change some things and work on making our lives better.
We also have, perhaps overly ambitious plans, for the winter and next spring. We plan on painting this winter, which has been on the agenda for sometime but still has not been accomplished. If we manage to get one room done then I'll consider it to have been a success.
Then in the spring, I think I'll put off planting anything like a traditional garden and instead invest my time and energy into the creation of a trellis that would hold strawberries, grapes, raspberries and blueberries. If at all possible I'm planning on growing varieties native to Pennsylvania.
I like the idea of creating a edible and natural fence that would not only allow for these perennial plants to grow and produce but would also provide some privacy between my neighbor (who has since moved) and my yard.
The house next to us has an extra acre of mostly wooded land, and currently sits empty, we are hoping that it goes on sale, allowing us to possibly buy it. Not only would that give us another acre of land to use but would also possibly generate another source of income for us. However for now the property sits unused and does require a lot of cleanup.
In either case however a living fence would be providing some sort of privacy and clear distinction of the property line.
This past year has been one of loss and I think that we need to step back some, reconsider our goals and dreams and just try to determine what we will be doing and how we wish to do it.
I still want to get my trees planted, and feel that this more important than ever. I would like to plant at least two apple and a persimmon. Although I have mixed feelings about growing a persimmon due to the size of the tree once it matures as they can be quite tall and wide. A dwarf variety might be better suited for my goals.
Planting a pawpaw has crossed my mind, but again they would require some care I'm not willing to give at this time. Again, all of these are native to western Pennsylvania and would provide food not only to myself and Susan but to some family in the future.
Protecting them from deer during their initial growth phase is also important but I'm also hoping that the apples and persimmon's would keep the deer away from any future gardening efforts.
We will have to put up fences of some sort to keep the deer at bay regardless.
In the coming year, I really do need to take more advantage of the resources around me. I feel like I'm flying blind most times; and failing. I think this blog may change a little to. I'm still a fan of Solar Punk and it's goals, but I think it's politics are wrong....and it has to much emphasis on dreams and not enough on action on today's reality.
So fiction? Maybe, we will see.
It's not a feeling I like and just tells me that I have to tighten my focus about what I want to accomplish here. The first thing I have do do is some wood splitting.
Time to get to work.
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