As our son continues to heal physically, we are able to make quick trips to the land every once in awhile to check on things, or do a quick project. It's terrifying trying to get back to any semblance of normality...what if I give him too much space? What if, what if, what if....but I am learning that I have to let him live his life, and our lives have to keep being lived too while also supporting his recovery from the accident mentally, emotionally, and physically. We are nearing Spring, and if I had to walk away from the land for months on end to care for him, I would; but thankfully he is doing well and nature waits for no one.
Woodchuck had to fix the man door on the garage recently, as some shifting occurred and the door wasn't latching closed. Not only did we not need winds blowing the door open, or people easily gaining entry, but we didn't need wild animals in there either! I also need to get some wood filler into areas on the frame and repaint it, it's already chipping and rotting in some spots.
Our most recent trip was to cut the blueberry bushes. We didn't cut them down far enough last year and they grew crazy and tall again. So we put our fears aside and just did it. I've come to realize how scared I am of the trial and error method in some things. Most likely that comes from a financial point, but honestly, it's the way that most humans learn. So we went in easy the first time, hoping to not mess up and lose the bushes, and that didn't work for the proper growth. So this time we went in heavy and in the recommended way! We cut 8 bushes this year. There were a couple of more but we couldn't get to them because of the water from the leaking side of the pond.
Before 👇
After 👇
Then we talked about this area. It has a monster of a bittersweet vine in it and has killed a lot of stuff. I tried getting into it to start cutting things back and treating it last year, but I am going to need help. He also wants to take the trees down right here, but I am always more for working in steps.
On our walks over the past couple of years in areas we don't normally get into, we found MORE blueberry bushes. They are a distance away from the original ones we always work with, and with the property lines being so wonky in spots, we weren't sure how many of these are on our side. It is out in a lot of vegetation in the middle of nowhere, and more easily accessed from our property than the neighboring one, but since we weren't sure, we just cut back two that were sure were on our side.
There's at least 4 or 5 of them in a row! Once we start working at establishing the boundary line on this side, we will now for sure if we can utilize them all. 👇
If we have the chance to work the land more, bigger projects this year include cleaning up the edges of the pond, hauling in clean fill on the leaking side, getting stone on around all banks, putting in the barley straw extract that I bought last year to try, and figuring out how to get movement in the water to help keep the that clear. With a Monday of nice weather coming up next week, we are going to work on finishing removing invasives from the watershed preserve. I was shocked when I looked at the calendar recently and realized that we have less than a month left to be able to work out there until October of this year! I know there are a few autumn olives left that I had tagged, and I need to do some research on when a control burn is the right thing to do. The mat of grasses is so much thicker now than when we first bought it and I know the previous owner did at least one controlled burn out there. We also recently ordered trees from a water and soil conservancy....arborvitae, serviceberry, and elderberry! Those will picked up in April.
Here at home though, I am still focusing on cleaning out! I have a very large pile of things that I have been working on listing on eBay and we will be doing an indoor rummage sale with next month. While I've shelved the art business for now, I have been making some lists of things that I would eventually like to put some time into. Changing the name, getting new business cards, finding a different platform other than Etsy so sell on, etc. I have also checked into a couple of markets. I am not going to pressure myself! I am done with pressuring myself and life has me under enough of that as it is. The only thing I can manage right now to work on is some cross-stitch in the evenings. My brain just can't handle anything else creative right now.
Vehicles still tend to be a sore point around here. I have had a sensor go out two or three times already this year. We have taken a little time to hit some car lots and the prices for new cars are out of our range and Woodchuck has been resistant to buying used again. So we are down to one decent car (mine) that I use for getting our son and myself to medical appointments, and Woodchucks work car that has 300,000 miles on it (but also a forever warranty). Again, I am not pressuring myself to make decisions right now about vehicles and although my boundaries are constantly being butted up against, I am standing strong at this time.
I start therapy for myself tomorrow and am really looking forward to it. There are days that I am under so much pressure from my guys and life circumstances, that I feel like my heart will explode. I am ready to let in the feel good stuff and the beauty and the joy and the peace. I am ready to heal and thrive. I hope that you find all these beautiful things for yourself in your life too 💜
(this picture is from where I currently live. I had to walk back home after dropping my car at the mechanic down the road to get the sensor replaced again). 👆
