I learned something early about goal setting.
"If a goal is not written down...It is not a goal. Its just an idea" (and probably wont get done)
Periodically, I sit down with a scrap of paper and jot down a few lists. First, What needs to be done. Second, What needs to be purchased. Third, What is my wish list to get done. Fourth, What is my purchase wish list. Then I stick it on the fridge.
Now, I always have grand plans...And I always beat the crap out of myself over how little I actually get done...But periodically I knock that list off the fridge and have to pick it up off the floor. When I brief over it, Im always amazed how I have actually achieved two thirds or more of what I wrote down and it turns out I have accomplished a lot.
Well, winters almost over (Times Up) and its time to start getting things done.
So, tell us all your Goals of the year. Write it here as a permanent record...that you might stumble upon some time in the future. The more specific, the better. Make it tangible. Something like "get in shape" is too abstract.
These are some of mine.
Build a solar hot water heater and tower, with lines to the indoor shower and an outdoor shower.
Build a closable gate to the front of the property.
Add more No Trespassing and security signs.
Cut doors and windows onto the shipping container.
Get the tower for the windmill up.
Reinforce the garden fence and get it all stained.
Build a small roofed structure, out the front door for a low tec, outdoor kitchen.
Transplant local plants into the new ponds.
Start thinning every third birch tree and buck them for firewood
Cut the fields again to keep building deep mulch on the garden.
Transplant some grape vines from the food forest to other corners of the property to start new food forests.
Tell us your years goals . Lets motivate each other. If you only can fit in one small goal, that's good enough. Write it down.
Remember, "A goal not written down is not a goal. Its just an idea."
I have a Tactical Harness and I have a Tool Belt. The Tool Belt is more Useful.
I'm building large hugelbed at the cabin - ongoing.
Need to fix the chimney there this year.
Start beating the architect to produce some blueprints- Really want to get a driveway into the new homestead.
I'm building large hugelbed at the cabin - ongoing.
Need to fix the chimney there this year.
Start beating the architect to produce some blueprints- Really want to get a driveway into the new homestead.
Gardening. Check!
Fire Safety. Check!
Beating the lying contractor with a stick then laying the boots to him. Check and double check!
Before driving over him on the mud ruts that are supposed to be a road...check.
I have a Tactical Harness and I have a Tool Belt. The Tool Belt is more Useful.
Goals for this year..
Replace the shingle roof with a metal roof on the "newest" part of the house
Repair work on the big barns roof
fence the front yard (so about 3/4th of acre
Build the round pen
Build six more outdoor pens- for all kinds of critter uses
Plant more of all kinds of things in the food forest
Build a new rabbit hutch (one for momma) and a split one for grow outs
Better butcher set up, I have a two sink stainless steel with counter, want to set it up in a more permanent way
There is more but that is enough..
http://livingmydreamlifeonthefarm.wordpress.com/
Goals for this year..
Replace the shingle roof with a metal roof on the "newest" part of the house
There is more but that is enough..
Metal Roof! Rock On. 8-)Good name for an eighties hair metal bar band. We have a crappy house but I can easily tolerate the crappy part because it has a metal roof.
I have a Tactical Harness and I have a Tool Belt. The Tool Belt is more Useful.
Am I missing something ? why are many people putting a fence or gate on the front yard ? Is that for security ?
May I suggest using a spreadsheet with columns ,,, then you have keep adding / substracting / reorganizing
and you can print it out and stick that on the fridge.
I found lists all over my house and it is more organized to put it on a spreadsheet and just
keep reprinting.
Looking forward to winter ending as there is alot of stuff I want todo.
- research putting in a simple pump onto the well along with figuring out how to hide it
as it is in front yard.
- buy another propane tank for the backup generator
- get an excalibur and start dehydrating
- redo any dimmer lights with a dimmer that works with CFL and LED
- redo more lights into more energy saving
- repair a bunch of lights that need new fixutres
- figure out something for an alternate heating source , such as a multi-pellet type fire place insert
- build another raised garden bed
- replace a window with something more secure on storage room ... Hmmm not sure what that will be
- clear out that storage room which is filled with junk and it is damp in there, and then determine what it can be used for.
- buy a bunch of stuff on my shopping list
Am I missing something ? why are many people putting a fence or gate on the front yard ? Is that for security
Yes. something that a 4x4 could probably push through...but suffering front end damage or a bent frame. It says, "Do not enter here even if you think you can". Same goes with a city front fence that you can lock. You cant keep a pro out, no matter how good your security is. What you want to do is make amateurs look for an easier target. You just have to slow them down so they worry they might get caught. Create a barrier between you and the outside world. If they climb over a pad locked gate, there is absolutely no mistaking their intention. In third world countries, many have gated porches so no one can surprise you when you try to leave your house. If they want to break into your house, first they have to break into your porch...after they break into gate.
I have a Tactical Harness and I have a Tool Belt. The Tool Belt is more Useful.
Mine fence/gate is so that if my horses/sheep get out, they are still fenced in, also will allow my hounds to be let out the main yard as well as into their side yard, and this is a good thing in keeping deer out, plus it will allow me to free range my chickens/ducks in my food forest and run the geese in there as well.
http://livingmydreamlifeonthefarm.wordpress.com/
Mine fence/gate is so that if my horses/sheep get out, they are still fenced in, also will allow my hounds to be let out the main yard as well as into their side yard, and this is a good thing in keeping deer out, plus it will allow me to free range my chickens/ducks in my food forest and run the geese in there as well.
Um...Er....That too 😳
I have a Tactical Harness and I have a Tool Belt. The Tool Belt is more Useful.
set-up larger battery bank for solar system
finish hugel beds and plant it
finish north edge of pond with large rocks
plant area around pond
plant more trees, shrubs, plants in food forest
add more recycled insulation to the building
develop spring with irrigation pipes to and from pond
Build composting toilet
continue work on recycled window greenhouse
“Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.” -- Henry Ford
Short term:
grow more food that I am able to store myself
get more heirloom plants and get a seed harvesting and storage system going
get bicycles repaired and tuned up and create a cargo system for as many as possible
set up one of my extra properties to grow food not grown in the home garden such as grains or corn (I know corn is a grain, but...)
train dogs to pull and build a sled/trailer
get a regional support group going
chickens
long term:
build a root cellar
install alternative/renewable energy for certain systems in the house
purchase guns and begin a stockpile of ammunition (I know this should be on the short term list, but I have my reasons)
A few projects I am looking at for this year:
- rebuild an old building and turn it into a garden shed for long handled tools, lawn mowers, bicycles, etc.
- install the washboard laundry tub that I bought two years ago
- pipe up a reverse osmosis unit
- fix the manure spreader, stooker, hay rake and farm trailer
- plant some more apple trees, transplant some wild rose
- purchase a side-delivery hay rake
- put a timer on the lights in the hen house
Long term plans:
- build a cold room in cellar.
- small butter churn and “County Living” brand grain mill.
- dehydrator
- greenhouse
- Dakota Alert
"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences." - Proverbs 22:3
"The man who has a garden and a library has everything." - Cicero
Expand the roof slightly on my solar shed to allow for two more panels.
Figure out why the windmill looks cool, but doesn't actually produce much power.
Install an indoor water storage set up to substitute in when the water line freezes.
Fence a separate 'summer' paddock for the horses giving them access to the pond.
Build a small masonry heater (leaving soon for a 1 week course in N.C. Yeh!!!)
Create a beginner aquaponics system.