Brooke Sta

Bethany Brown wrote: I try to look at what I’ve already accomplished, think about how much better I feel when I can eat fresh real food, and remind myself of what I value and visualize my goals. Then I work towards them at a snail’s pace. 🐌 Don’t give up. But taking breaks to rest is healthy.

Thank you for the encouragement, Bethany. I haven't given up yet!! The fresh food is a huge motivator for me as well. There is a lot of personal satisfaction in growing my own food and providing for my family and animals off the land.

Maieshe Ljin wrote:

For example, if I am spinning and the spindle keeps dropping again and again, I lose spoons (https://permies.com/t/48536/spoon-theory) and if I were to persist mechanically (which I don’t do), then I would drop the spindle even more often and then break the spindle, give up on earth, life, and everything and throw myself facedown on the ground. Then after twenty minutes like that I would go and pick some wild greens. Although this is not likely to happen because I generally know when to take a break from such activities to avoid hurting myself.

Thank you, Maieshe for sharing the spoon theory. It was totally new to me and I enjoyed and benefited from quantifying my efforts. This weekend I integrated this practice into my routine and found the compartmentalization helpful. I agree that sometimes after a momentary defeat we will experience a great peace reuniting with nature. It is also an exercise in recognizing and accepting our limitations and things outside of our control.  My grandmother used to frequently say, and this too shall pass. Channeling her wisdom and fellow permies, like yourself, through our community here has given me perspective and inspiration to continue fighting the good battle for land and food independence.

Jim Fry wrote:You just need to make the tree into small pieces.

So the half of the tree over the fence is cut off, what's left is the base of the tree that is still in the ground. Wedges have been cut and I am patiently waiting for the next rain to soften the ground and planned on using the tractor to pull it back to break off away from the fence. Also had to cut two smaller trees that were holding the large one that fell. I have one big boy chain saw and a smaller electric chainsaw I prefer due to it not being super heavy but it does have limitations. My big boy bar got stuck in a tree. Something else to work on... I do try to pick up useful items at estate sales when they present.

Great thread, Larry! A great inspiration to those faced with adversity. Much luck and many blessing to you and your family.

George Booth wrote: A great quote once told to me goes, "If you're ripe you're rotting, and if your green you're growing". To me being ripe is to think you've figured it all out and have no more growth left in terms of learning. Even giving up to hardships is a bit of ripe move, it suggests you know exactly how hard it will be to get things right again but there are likely many fantastic ideas to make things easy that haven't been thought of yet.

I really like that quote and would also like to think of myself as green and still growing. This land teaches me something new every day. I have a beautiful moth collection. I always wonder which caterpillar makes what winged beauty. It's important to take the time to enjoy the things that make county living wonderful and not get lost in all the chores. I'm just worried a week or two of not weeding will mean my garden is lost to the bermuda. But I do have a better plan for next year or this year's fall garden thanks to all the great Permie posts. Thank you for the quote, George.

Jeff Marchand wrote: It is for these reasons I named my homestead "Persistence Farms".  Only those who persist can farm.    

What I have learnt through bitter experience is to only do what I have time for and what I have proper infrastructure for and slowly work towards my next goal on the farm.  I call this my no effing around  farming. I am not as self sufficient as I would like but happier.

Bottom line is if you don't give up you may get there. If you give up you never will.

Thanks, Jeff. I like the name. I consider myself, she who persisted. I think you're right, I'm trying to do too much, too fast. I have been taking my time with my projects and trying to make intentional projects with lasting benefits. It's just the things I want to work on aren't necessarily what I need to work on. I love my critters and garden but have an ugly drainage issue that only surfaces two months a when we have heavy rains. I would also like to profess my disdain for recovering garden space from Bermuda. Don't worry I won't give up! I really do appreciate your encouragement in my pity party.

Jim Fry wrote:I've moved 40+ buildings from 6 counties in N. Ohio, to our farm. They are now arranged as a village. If I had ever thought about doing all this work, when I began, I never would have done it. The trick is to not think about all you have to do. Just think about the next thing to do. ~~Pound this next nail, not think about pounding the next 10,000 nails.

You must have big muscles moving all those buildings. The fence is harder than it sounds, it need the broken tractor to pull it off the fence. It's still in the ground and mostly alive. I was thinking of colonizing with mushroom plugs in a sort of totem fashion, but the last monsoon proved as the ground softens it will simply fall harder and crush my fence. I agree tho, you can eat the whole world one bite at a time. Thank you for responding.

Nate Davis wrote:I find myself asking "why did I ever bother doing this in the first place? Why did I leave the easy life I had to do this insanity? Maybe I should go back to the easy life?"

I have been asking myself this more and more frequently. You're right tho, the struggle is the reward, the opportunity to achieve. As a woman, I've spent the past year building my comfortable nest and mostly ignoring the encroaching wilderness of acres. I wanted this land and it is my dream, it's just a lot to bite off and every turn seems to be an insurmountable obstacle. I'm tapped out, feeling defeated and missing my family in coastal NC. I did a lot with 1/4 acre back home. I'm sure a year from now I'll look around and see more to do but feel accomplished in what I've done.

Anne Miller wrote:I believe in the power of positive thinking.

Thank you Anne, I believe in positive thinking as well and things in my area are lush and green for now. Spring is my favorite time of year, with all the critters excited for what is to come. I'm just going to have to let it go for a while, I'm just a little concerned that all my forward progress will backslide and I'll have to start from scratch. The positive aspects of rural living thread was lovely. I can see the Milky Way here and Gene Autry said it best "the stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas." Thank you for sharing.