It is the 17th day of February 2022 and it already feels like spring outside. Even the animals are acting like it.
But, as we have known in Kentucky from countless years of experience winter can return sometimes and that with a vengeance!
I have never been a big fan of spring time because you have to get started up on yard work again and it is so important to get everything trimmed before it starts to grow, because once it starts to grow it is all out of control then. In the early months of summer we usually have to mow 2 times a week the grass grows so fast.
However, I plan to create a natural habitat on an area of our "Back 40" lot where I grow flowers, have a bird bath, and bird feeders, where bees can come and go and hopefully the flowers will hang around for a while.
I am in the process of taking out the garden posts and cutting down some trees that are either dead or looking long in the tooth so mowing is also easier. I'm going to have to get a landscaper to come in and grade the lots so there aren't so many holes in the ground and so the water runs down the drywell better. It is a lot to do.
If I can get everything done, then the process of keeping things look trim during the year will not be quite as burdensome.
Maintenance is the work of life.
Having full responsibility over the house and land also makes me aware of how much there is to do just to keep things in order. It seems that everything you do is some sort of maintenance on something. I guess these are called "Chores" in the country vernacular. Nobody likes doing them and they can take up a lot of time, but if you don't do them life really becomes a burden and catching up later really becomes an issue.
The problem is that it seems that we spend an awful lot of time maintaining our lives and that leaves little energy to do things that propel us forward.
I know that when I think of how much my Mom did for the family over her lifetime it makes me respect her more and more. If there was anyone who did her Chores and didn't make a big fuss about it , it was Mom. So many tedious details of our family business she did with grace. She did it all for us. I don't know if she would have ever done that much for herself.
That is why having someone else to do things for makes it so much easier to do them. So, if I want a clean house, I have to invite friends over, so they can enjoy themselves. I think a lot of the time when you see people who leave things to get messy and out of order are often those without any visitors or someone to clean up for.
But, really, one should do it for themselves. It is a sign of self-love.
Outside Work - Inside Work
I have been contemplating camping this year, like in a tent. Going out for a couple of days just to be in nature and do some hiking. For some reason I worry about getting Ticks and rained on all of the time. When we had our sailboat we could camp out on the water where there were no Ticks, so that was actually a good situation, but you didn't do much hiking, more swimming, but not really swimming, but more like floating around with a life preserver on. It was still being out in nature and getting a lot of good ole Vitamin D from the sun!
Working on the computer is inside work and it is easy to get caught spending all day in front of it and not getting out into nature. I hope to be more conscious of this as time moves on.
Enjoy your life! You only have one!