Thinking of spring...

It's a little hard to do, considering this area is still covered with much of the 40" of snow we got a little over a week ago (Biggest Storm in Recorded History!), but it does seem like that time of year. I'm seeing people breaking out the seed catalogs and making their gardening plans. I will give it another shot this year, despite my lack of space and the bigger challenge, full sunlight... but my main focus will be working over at my CSA. They put a call out for volunteers, starting in the greenhouse, and I'm planning to join them. It should be a really fun way to learn more about sustainable, organic farming. Even if it is on a scale much larger than I would ever want!

In the meantime, I am still dreaming about having chickens. I'm know it's not not sure if it's legal, but I'm considering giving it a shot this year. I got a great book about raising them for Christmas (thanks, mom!) and I'm thinking about plunging in. There's so much to consider - do I start them from chicks? what if I end up with a rooster? where will they live? But, really, it sounds like a pretty fun adventure to me. (It does not, however, to Jay... but he's reluctantly willing to play along.)

I'm also planning to get our composting plan set up. It's funny, these two projects... If I manage the chicken plan, I won't need much in the way of composting - my flock will be happy for any scraps. But, I think I'll give it a go. And just to make sure I'm not doing anything in a 'normal' way, I'm thinking about worm composting!

Another plan to keep my county-life seeking brain busy, I've started horseback riding lessons. I'm trying to drink up as much of the outside, natural life as possible! My first horse was a serious jerk challenge though, so I'm looking forward to meeting my new horse this weekend.

It's not quite the small farm I'd like, but it's certainly making the most of what I can do now!

My "To-Do" List

I have quite the "To-Do" list forming in my head these days. It's more of a "Wanna-Do" list, really... but I'm planning to tick away at it over the coming weeks (possibly months). In no particular order:

1. Set up a composting plan (and learn more about worm composting...)
   
2. Research and "road test" more natural skin care products
3. Make an earnest effort to find good local wine (Stop laughing, Dad)
   
4. Figure out the difference between "Free Trade" and "Fair Trade" (is there one?) and any other descriptors I need to consider for buying coffee... must. have. coffee.
5. Trying making butter and cheese (Cheese has been on my list since, um... April)
6. Research the possibilities of finding/starting a community garden
7. The Great Chicken Plan... oh, yes...

That should keep me busy! 

And we begin again...

Ok, so here's the deal. I started this blog because it had become increasingly important to me to have a sustainable, local and mostly organic lifestyle, and I wanted to document my transition. Well, document my successes while I transitioned. It very quickly became obvious that it was harder than I ever realized. And since I wanted to talk about my success... well, I had little to talk about. It's not to say I haven't had successes, because I have, but I've had far more, um, lessons learned than I expected.

So I think from now on, I'll have to talk about the whole story. I haven't given up, not by a long shot. I'm just finding it harder than I expected, which was pretty naive to begin with.

Coming soon, I'll recap some of my successes (local milk? check) and challenges (local wine? um... not so much). Stay tuned!