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Finding Contentment while Ignoring the Trends

Hello Friends and a giant wish for a happy new year to you all.

I enjoyed my break from routine. I barely opened social media, and swiped left on most email (whoa the email ads were fierce!). The food was plentiful, I am now in a baked goods detox, tired of eating ham, and searching for some good local greens to reset my system. I am sure you get it. While most of the time we eat homecooked, basically from scratch, locally sourced or home made food, (well at least one of us does), it’s ok to enjoy a treat now and then, too. I usually find that I don’t feel well after adding dessert to my meal, so that helps me curb the enthusiasm for eating too much of the cookies pies and cakes.

I also spent some time detoxing my brain from all the trends that I am apparently supposed to follow. I recently posted about this on my instgram account and loved the feedback. There is one point I do want to clarify and I will use this space to attempt this.

One of the reasons I came to substack was to get away from the message that if you aren’t following trends, you are not doing it right. Well, I don’t usually follow trends unless they specifically fit me, and that rarely happens.

I began seeing the usual recap videos, lists of goals, and focus words as we approached the end of 2024. None of these are wrong of course, but I wasn’t ready. The winter is not my most energetic season. I like to ponder my way through winter and when the energy of the sun returns in the spring, my focus becomes clear. Winter is for daydreaming, writing, being creative, enjoying time outside without sweating to death or scratching a million insect bites. I love it.

Winter for me, is about being completely present, and allowing my mind to wander at the same time. When I am feeding the animals, I have time to linger, as no garden chores are waiting. Several fleeces remain waiting to be skirted. Instead of it being a task, it is a special way to sit and mull things over in my brain while picking “barn tinsel” from the wool. This is a slow time and I look forward to it, especially since the other three seasons are basically unhinged with all the farm work calling every day.

There might be a list of yearly goals later this winter, or it might be a year of sustaining what is already in place. I might focus on a word, or phrase, or possibly sit quietly with many ideas, like a waiting room in my head. Being quiet and ignoring trends.

So, as the pages in my planner are still neat and legible, I wait. The story will unfold, and written in these pages. It’s a story of a farmer, wife, mother, grandmother, entrepreneur, wool maker, and business owner. I know who is holding the pen, and He will not be absent from this story.

Are you a non-conformist like me? Do you see a trend forming and immediately know it’s not for you? I would love to hear your stories.

Until Next Week,

Janet

Barnyard Update

We’ve survived the first winter storm. Usually the pattern here is a couple inches of snow followed by some icy rain, slick ice patches, freezing, melting, freezing…. until a stretch of mud season comes in.

This time, we had nearly 9 inches of snow fall on the farm. It was glorious! It was also very cold. No melting from it this week. Paths were formed to make chores and carrying water easier. The chicken pens had covers on them that could not withstand the snow weight. They collapsed, dumping snow drifts into the runs. The chickens wanted no part of that fun, especially with the heavy winds. They chose to stay inside.

The sheep, on the other hand were quick to enjoy the belly deep drifts. Once I dug out their feed bowls and deposited the warm alfalfa soaked pellets, all was right in their world. At first the sheep poop settled into the snow and the area looked pristine for a day. But sheep are not ones to remain inside on a sunny or rainy day so now it looks like a barnyard again.

How do we prepare our animals and farm for winter weather? Short answer is we prepare all the things that they require to avoid stressing them out. Animals and birds are built to withstand weather, as long as their needs for food, water and shelter are met. We fill water jugs in case the pump freezes. We have one heated building on the farm and as long as the heat stays on, the water will work in the sink for refilling jugs. We make sure that they are fed as close to normal time as possible, although it does take longer to trudge through the snow!

I am beginning to see evidence of the farm hoses peeking out from the snow. Just in time for a light snowfall that is predicted.

Stay Safe and Warm, Friends

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