Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Saturday, January 1, 2011

New Year, New Goals

So here is last year's list re-cap:

*Dad decided that it is time to start going to church regularly again. We have been going somewhere off and on, but haven't found anywhere permanent. We may not.
*Momma is going to lose some serious weight. I am working with the Livewell Clinic. Turns out there was a lot going on I didn't know about that was going to cause some serious damage in the future, and most likely contributed to issues I had in my pregnancies. No serious weight loss yet, but definitely working towards better health, then the weight should come off on its own, as it is directly related to the health issues.
*In momma losing weight, we are taking more steps toward self-sufficiency in our lives, more of our food coming from our own work. We're getting there. Each year we make steps in the right direction, and I think this goal gets fulfilled a little at a time due to it.
*A business plan, name and beginning of work for the business I am embarking on with dear friend Sarah so we can "open our doors" so to speak in 2011. We have our name, we have a website, and I will be shipping fleece out soon to be processed. Look for more information on Swingin' Goat Farms-our collaboration- soon.
*House improvement so it flows, and we can better use the massive amount of space we have. We had a lot of work with the flood and lightning damage this year. We have done work on the basement and more is planned. Lots of paint, lots of reorganization and repurposing. The birth of the man-cave or den happened, as well as a swap between the office and music room that has worked well. We didn't take out any walls, but it is still on the list. One step at a time.
*Shelter built in the back so the sheep can be moved back there, and the flock grown, at the very least by a new breeding ram. New ram has been purchased and will move here soon. We divided the existing shelter to better work the animals. We will put a new shelter in the back at some point, but are seriously thinking a full size barn would be nice, so we are on a longer work schedule.
*Add a large tree for wind break (an addition to the line of small ones already out there) No large trees, but quite a few new small ones. We'll just keep adding and someday we'll have a nice tree line.
*Add a couple nut trees, start paw paws (again) Paw Paws started, and we added cherries instead. Nuts will come this year.
*Two new grape vines for the vineyard Done
*Stain decks Putting off for spring this year.
*Remove chicken coop fire debris Done
*Shred through the paperwork leftover from Dad's father's death Done
*Move gardens closer to the house, and do specialized beds, rather than large multi-species plots Slowly adding raised beds. Decided to keep the gardens where they are, but may be running water line out there.
*Hoping Pony Gal starts reading Working on letters, and some sight words and sounds are working well.
*Superboy pottytrained So, so close.

Now for this year:
*List products with Iowa Food Coop-hopefully lamb/goat products, maybe eggs or poultry. We'll see.
*Roll out the Swingin' Goat Farms products on the new website
*More trees-nuts, another paw paw, another pear and some more hardy kiwis
*Run a low hotwire on the center fence to be able to graze the shorter animals back there
*Move buck pen to the apple orchard area
*Add more raised beds
*New door opening in basement from den
*Paint summerhouse bathroom
*New paint in upstairs main bath
*Quilt for summerhouse guest bedroom
*Quilt for our master bedroom
*Master bedroom built in bookshelves
*Stain decks
*Put lattice on decks
*Install strawberry patch
*Plant a lot more herbs
*Wood stove in the summer house
*Start solarization plans for house, starting with solar hot water heater
*Install rain barrels
*Paint goat barn, white wash inside of it
*Sign for the farm
*Start farm activities currently being brainstormed and discussed with our sister farm
*Talk with engineers about building a bigger pond
*Clear debris along the creek

1 comment:

  1. oooooo - a sign! I'm so jealous. I wish I could have a sign.

    ReplyDelete

I welcome hospitable, intelligent discussion. I do not welcome mean-spirited comments. Though they are "moderated" I post pretty much everything, with a very, very small exception-that being spam and those who aim to hurts others intentionally. I'd love hear what you have to say, otherwise!