Happy New Year and Welcome to 2018..  Man 2017 was a wild ride in many ways.. the aftermath of a major drought year combined with some of the worst flooding in a hundred years and now we are having record breaking cold..  tell me again that the weather is not being effected by those hotter and colder then normal ocean currents.

The farm’s livestock and gardens had adjustments in 2017, some that were heart breaking to me and others that I just dealt with.. the first and I hope only year where we had massive predation. It does not matter to me that we have a program for some funding at the losses, it does not matter to me that it happened at all the other small farms around me..

What does matter is that I failed as a livestock owner in that animals in my care felt fear at their ends and that the only way I could make it stop was to barn them and allow very limited outside time (something that I hate to do to any of my critters) This spring will see us making a new outside corral with hot lines so they can at least loaf around under the tree’s, doze in the sun and feel the breezes as all animals should.  On a side note.. it was brutal on the budget.. when you have pasture for your livestock, you expect to be able to use it and not be buying and feeding hay due to the local coy-wolf pack

The Reno’s seem never ending and far more costly then expected but when do they not..  I was doing so well on the farm tracking and the blogging and I am sad that I was not able to keep up.  However for me at least Blogging, photos, writing and so forth are a creative force and I found when I was so tired that I could barely do more then keep up and crawl into the bed the very idea of writing created a “blank”

So upward and onward.. Its a new year and normally I write out all the things I want to do on the farm, in my life and on the blog..  but NOT this year folks.. This year I am free flowing it! 😛

Here is what I am offering up for 2018 (a much more relaxed list to be sure for those that have been my readers for years)

• I will plant less gardens if needed in order to keep up on what I have and I will NOT break a new garden until I have my older gardens fully cleaned up and planted.
• I will not buy new tree’s bushes or fruiting canes until I have cleaned up, pruned and replanted all the babies from my current bramble of goodies on the farm. Unless I can get them free from the local wild area’s. (example I want more High Bush Cranberries)
• I will not expand any of my breeding programs, I will focus this year on repairing infrastructure and culling to improve the quality of my current programs.
• I will work to produce enough meat, eggs, milk for the farm needs
• I will work to produce enough fresh eating and to put up at least 400 jars worth of garden produce.
• I will work to produce enough seed to save from at least my top twenty favorites this year. I will offer seed from at least my top ten favorites.
• I will continue to work with and promote local plant, garden and food farms
• I will continue to work with an promote and teach locally in regards to canning, preserving and wild edibles.
• I will continue to give talks and presentations on all kinds of homesteading things.
• I will blog as often as I can and we will see what that means by the end of next year
• I will work hard to continue to get healthier for 2018

Everything else is a bonus..