Last night we turned the clocks back and gained an hour sleep, which was awesome because I have some sort of bug that is stuffing up my nose and making me cough. Not too bad - just annoying and tiring. Seasons out here are different that where we lived before. We've enjoyed watching the corn grow in the fields behind our house, and the soy beans grow in the fields across the street. The seasons are marked by planting and harvesting, newborn animals in the fields, and the bravery and friskiness of animals who are ready to mate. It's a beautiful way to watch the year pass, and it all puts the season and life in perspective a little bit. Fall festivals make a little more sense when they coincide with harvesting crops and marketing mature animal products, and Spring is even more renewing. Right now we're dying to see the corn field behind us be harvested, as have most of the other fields in the area been in the past few weeks.
Most of our trees are planted and much of our brush burned. Burning brush is new to us. we were very cautious at first, and enjoyed building a bigger fire once we became comfortable with the burn. We still have to finish off the trees and brush in the back yard, and take down the dead trees along the road in the front. We have a definite plan for our animal yard - the barn and fenced area that we want in the front yard by the field, and all the pieces that we will need to build that. We have decided to get a couple dairy goats, a couple sheep, a couple angora goats, our meat and layer chickens, and possibly an alpaca (I think Shelby has decided this already, but is waiting for the right time to let us decide). We have also picked a spot for our bees, and the gardens that will fill the back yard and different plots around the front. Our deck is decided, the septic is working, and we are working on setting up our oil delivery before winter gets too cold. Plans galore but, even better, a plan on when and how we can do all this before spring! This first year is transitional - a year of firsts and a year of making this house ours. Learning what's what and where everything is, what works and what needs work. And figuring out how our plan for sustainable will be obtained here. This first year will be BUSY, a lot of work, a lot of learning, and very rewarding as we look back on what we have next Fall!
We finally started our compost pile. Nothing fancy - no fence or anything. Just a spot to throw our leaves, food trash, and other compostable material. I am very happy to have finally made this step, because it reduces our trash quite a bit. With composting and recycling, we have been setting out trash out every two weeks instead of every week, which is a great step for us.
Shelby has ordered her/our spinning wheel, which should be here this week. This means that the fiber from our angora goats, sheep, and alpaca(?) can be harvested, washed, spun, and knitted/crocheted into clothing. Super uber excited about growing our own clothes! So, as I feel everyone should know how to do everything (maybe not master, but at least know), I plan on learning how to knit and crochet this winter. This will be good for our family and a good teaching experience for my future classroom. Drake is already dedicated to this process, and Cora is following closely. Shelby is, of course, the master.
Professionally, I have been subbing pretty heavily, mostly at Camden Elementary. I have also been applying to Miami U and other places as I see jobs that might be in my realm. Hopefully a full-time job will come soon, but I am lucky to be subbing in the meantime. I have decided to hold off on school until I get a job - it just doesn't make sense to add more debt when I am not working full-time. If time allows, I think I will start working on thematic unit planning on the topics close to me, like gardening, maps, my Florida/Ohio comparison, etc. The goal is to move forward and keep planning as I look for that job that is bound to get here eventually.
We still have a connection to Kettering, although the connection is weaker. We have friends in Dayton that we visit, we Trick-or-Treated in Kettering this year, and this weekend has been back-and-forth for blood donations, doctor appointments, overnights, and Ecova event stuff. But, we are slowly becoming more aware of local events and living that allows us to travel less. Cora and Drake's birthday parties are at our house this year, and we're having Thanksgiving here this year, also, so people are becoming familiar to the drive out here to even things up a bit. Winter is pretty likely to reduce our trips to Dayton, especially if winter is as bad as we hear it will be...
So, we're obviously busy, and have plans to keep busy for awhile. We'll see what other things life brings our way in the coming months, and what surprises winter will bring.
