Spring is Kicking My Butt

I thought of trying to say it nicer than that, but I always like to keep it real here, and this year, spring is kicking my butt.  I am one of those odd people who not only likes change, I thrive on it.  Usually.  This change of season, however, has really thrown me for a loop, so instead of pretending that everything is rosy, I am going to just talk though it and let you know what I am doing to fix the problem!

Last week I had a come-apart.  There were tears and everything.  First I vented privately to my homestead blogger friends about how much I hated our current evening chore routine.  Then I yelled at vented to Eric about it.  It just wasn’t working out.  I was exhausted and I had no idea how to change it.  

Looking back now, with a little more focus, I can see the real problem.  The seasons changed.  The chores changed.  My routine hadn’t changed.  I was trying to lump all of the added chores of spring into the same time-periods that I had been using over the winter.  And much like me trying to squeeze into my high school blue jeans, it just didn’t fit anymore.  

It was time to face the facts.  I needed a major shake up in my schedule!  

During the winter it made perfect sense for me to do my computer and blogging time when I first woke up.  It was dark and cold outside, and I could let the children sleep in a bit while I worked in peace.  When we made it to the barn, we just needed to feed everything and milk Beulah.  With her calf on her most of the time, I was getting about half to one gallon of milk a day.  No biggie.  

Suddenly I found myself sauntering to the barn at the crack of 9 to milk three goats and Beulah, who is now giving three gallons of milk per day, and caring for chicks, ducklings, goslings, hogs, and bottle baby goats.  Ahhhhhhhh!  Stop the insanity!  It it any wonder that I couldn’t get anywhere in a timely manner or that I was exhausted?  Or that I couldn’t find time to work in the garden or post on the blog like I wanted to?  

The problem is that each of these things was added one at a time, so it didn’t feel like a big change.  Then suddenly, I was that metaphorical frog in a pot of boiling water with no idea how I got there!  

That was then this is now.  What I needed was a new plan.  Here’s a rough outline of the changes in case it helps you in anyway.  

• In the morning I wake right up and fix breakfast for Eric and send him out the door to work.  
• Next, I need to get right out and attend to my garden for a short time while it is still cool and peaceful outside.  
• After that, it is time to wake up the children, feed them and then get down to the barn for chores.  They all pitch in, but they can’t milk yet or feed the pigs, so those are my main jobs.  
• Then we head to the house to strain the milk and start any cooking projects (cheesemaking, etc. that need to go for a long time.)  
• At this point, we can start our school work or knock out other projects as needed such as pool care, watering gardens or setting up fodder trays.  Laundry should fall in there somewhere too.  Stupid laundry.  (Have I mentioned my disdain for laundry lately?)
• Once all those things are done, I have finally earned myself some computer time in the afternoon before playing in the pool with the kids, harvesting veggies, cooking dinner, driving to karate and doing bedtime chores!
• Oh, and here’s another biggie:  bedtime chores were beginning to feel like a 3-ring circus filled with 5 exhausted people bumping into each other and shouting.  Now the children go to bed, and Eric and I go down to the barn to quietly milk and put the animals to “bed.”  I just can’t tell you what a difference this has made!!

So, if you are local, I’ll go ahead and warn you.  It’s not that I don’t want to see you this summer, truly I do, and sometimes I will make the effort to get out of the house, but please understand if I try to invite you to visit me instead of meeting somewhere.  

If you just follow me on the interwebs, I ask your patience as I get through my busy season.  I probably won’t be posting as much as I like this time of year.  I do promise that I’m taking pictures of everything!  In fact, I would highly recommend following me on Facebook and Instagram, as I can update those pages “on the fly” pretty easily!  

And while we are on the subject, 2 posts this week really spoke to my heart about this issue of scheduling and changing seasons.  I’ll share them here in hopes that they will help you too!  

My friend Ashley at The Browning Homestead is overwhelmed too.  She writes about it in this post called “Truth Be Told.”  I hate that she’s overwhelmed, but honestly, it was so nice to not feel like I was all alone in this!

Chris at Joybilee Farm offers up 9 Tips for Strategic Time Management on the Homestead.  It was so timely I almost cried.  Really.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy my “For the Farm” Pinterest Board!  Also, be sure to sign up for Beulah’s mooooosletter so you don’t miss any of the action!  (It’s a farm update from the cow’s point of view.  It’s funny!)

 

 

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