August has been a big month. A lot of preserving has been done and I have had a lot of feelings.
The homeplace is growing in so many ways. It’s going to look so different by next August.
I don’t want to forget how it feels now.
I think it’s good to take some time to reflect and see how things are making you feel. It gives you a chance to see if what you are doing is still right for you and your family.
As I get a little older, I am trying to make sure I enjoy each season. They all go so fast.
Our oldest is 15, and youngest is 5 months. I feel like I blinked and that 15 years has went so fast. The realization that things are changing quickly has felt heavy at times. But, it as also felt good.
As a family we have matured in many ways. To think what the next 15 Augusts’ will be like, keeps me dreaming of the summer magic.
The garden is a magical place.
Each day something new emerges. A little surprise for its host. As the season continues on the gifts begin to show up in bigger ways. Then all of a sudden we, the host, realize the gifts will be coming to an end soon. We must keep pushing on, to gather all the gifts, before it’s too late. Before the magic disappears for another year.
The August garden is so full of life on one hand. On the other hand its also dying. Plants are at their peak, while others have passed.
We have worked so hard to gather its bounty, but feel the tug of a slower season coming soon.
It has been a privilege to have taken part in the magic of the garden.
We are here. It’s the end of summer. The air is definitely feeling cooler and crisp. I have been feeling it for a couple of weeks now.
The mornings are foggy, the leaves are settling under the trees and the evening have been coming faster.
The turkeys and broiler chickens have filled our freezers. Our layers have been laying more. The heat had challenged them, they to needed a break from it. Our cows, Glory and T-Bone, have been enjoying the cooler weather right along with us. The pups have grown so much.
So have I.
This year I needed the garden and animals more then ever before. I needed the busyness of spring and summer to help me heal.
But now I need fall.
I’m ready for the slower starts to our mornings and routines of the afternoon. I’m ready to put on a sweatshirt and hear the crinkling of leaves under feet.
The garden has been so good to us. It has offered such beauty and pleasure for months. She is ready for a rest also. She will keep producing for a little while longer. Then she will settle in for a restful winter, getting ready for another busy spring. We have big plans for her next year, rest will be good.
The end of summer homestead is beautiful.
It’s worn, but better then it was before.
This homestead and I have talked through a lot and we know each other better now. We know what is expected of each other to help the other be its best.
This piece of land and I have come a long way in the past 3 years and I cannot wait to see what we achieve in the coming years.
