Run, Run, Run

It's been a really busy month and I'm feeling keenly the tradeoffs I have to make because I choose to live in the woods with a bunch of animals at the same time that I have a full-time job.  Dinner for the last week or so has been a few forkfuls of cottage cheese standing in front of the refrigerator as I run from one thing to the next in the few evening hours I've got.  Wednesday night I had to finish something at work and got home about a half an hour later than usual.

Wednesday night was for picking blueberries, so I quickly changed into picking clothes and picked berries for an hour until 7:30. Got a whole 1-2/3 pints.  Woo hoo (dripping with sarcasm)!  These freakin wild berries are small and hard to get to.  I've come to the conclusion that picking berries for sale will have to stop until some time in the future when I don't have a full time job and a 45-minute commute.  Giving up two nights a week just to pick berries is too much.

The goats decimated Area 5 in a single day, but I haven't had the time to move the fences (and am NOT fond of the sticker-y, brambly, slippery task) so I put them back into area 4 Wednesday morning.  Good thing I left area 4 up! They complained a lot, but thankfully were still inside the fence when I came home.  It was getting dark, and because the goats hadn't gotten a good day's food, I took them on a long, slow walk to their digs, stopping at every brambly place along the way, so they could get a bellyful of yum before bed.

That's when I remembered that I had forgotten to feed the chickens.  Oh brother, I'm a bad mommy.  They were already in bed when I put the food and water into their coop, but managed to rouse themselves for chicken yum.

After all that it was hair color time.  Yes, it's a choice too.  The gray was getting too shiny and bright for my liking, so the rest of the evening, up to and past my bedtime was for that yukky task, now done for another month.

Yesterday morning I moved the goat fence to give them something to munch until this weekend when I can build them a new Taj Mahal of weediness.

Wednesday night, my first "free" night this week was run, run, run all the way to bedtime.  Last night is the only other free night this week, and I'll be picking more blueberries and delivering to Melanie.  Then two more days of busy and I think I can rest a little on Sunday. 

All this busy doesn't even include cucumbers, zucchini or anything else that's ripening. As I was speed walking by the garden the other day, I noticed some ripe cherry tomatoes and popped a few in my mouth! 

I shouldn't complain - I chose this life and I'm thrilled to be living it. I know that as long as I work a full-time job, things are going to ripen and die in the garden, things will remain un-painted or unfinished.  As long as all my animals are alive, safe, moderately happy, and fulfilling their function I'll count myself successful.  (Lost a cat earlier this year, so not quite successful.)  Oh, and alive, safe, moderately happy and fulfilling my function for ME as well.