Let's Begin....Again

Each January it seems that many of us like to start over. Whether it is a new diet, new book, new hair style, new journey or moving to a new part of the country we all like to start again. I was just saying to a friend the other day that I love new calendars. I have three in my house. One for the family located where they supposedly see it, one that works as a planner for the farm and one that acts as a place to jot down appointments and reminders. Probably overdoing it a little but all three are nice, clean, and crisp and most of all, ready to be filled. With all the ways to keep up with appointments in our modern world I still like the simple method of writing down that appointment with an ink pen.

You may be wondering what my little homestead looks like and why in the world am I calling it that in the first place? And if you aren't wondering, please bear with me for a moment. A few years ago it seemed fitting to fling open the gates and have visitors come to see what I had growing in the greenhouse. As time travelled forward it became obvious this just didn't work with our lifestyle. Farmers markets became the normal way of doing local business and it has worked very well for the past seven years. My little homestead consists of our home. Nothing fancy but we like it and it suits our needs well. I grow all of my herbs in three greenhouses that are within walking distance of the house giving me a little exercise each day on my commute to work. There is also a very large two story shed that once was The Herb Barn, the farm's shop back in the day. Now sitting slightly unused but always ready to house whatever I need it to. There is land that surrounds my little homestead with lots of trees. As the years have gone by the trees have become so numerous that they often shade out garden areas. I have had to get very creative as to where I grow the vegetables and herbs we love to eat. Bartering at the farmers markets helps supply us as well. I often grow herbs or provide a much needed herbal tincture in exchange for tomatoes, apples and yummy canned goods.

I have a cozy office where the business is operated from, where articles are written, where blog posts are agonized over, where the bills get paid and where I may just curl up in a chair and read a good book for an hour. Its walls are painted green apple and are showing their age but for now it suits me. The overstuffed bookcase needs a good cleaning and maybe some book recycling but I know that if I start that project I will spend too much valuable time reading the discard pile and not getting work done in the greenhouses.

So, let us begin, here at the homestead. Let us begin the seed starting, the garden planning, the work that is the business of Possum Creek Herb Farm and the journey of another year.