2023, a time to reflect...

2022 has come and gone, the year went by so fast it felt like I blinked and it was over.

From the time I tried to start blogging recipes till now lots has happened. Let's quickly catch up shall we?

During the pandemic I had time to cook and write recipes and post them but once Covid calmed down we all went back to work and I stopped doing recipes. In 2020 We built our first home and there was where Jackson built me two small raised garden beds and I got back into gardening again.

We also got a puppy and named her Athena, she’s a cute little Rough Collie and she is so gentle and sweet. I left my full-time job in 2021 and started a small business selling crafts. At the end of 2021 we bought a small piece of land and moved to Central Victoria from North Queensland in the hopes to start living a more sustainable life, growing our own food and raising our own animals.

We arrived to our new property and found out there was water damaged to the house that caused mould and damaged to our kitchen, laundry and toilet. It felt like the universe was really testing me, the renovation went on for a whole year. I had no kitchen to do what I love the most. I did set up an outdoor kitchen with a portable gas stove but it’s not the same, we had no bench space to prepare food and every time I needed to wash veggies, I would have to go all the way to the bathroom and use the sink, I also had to wash the dishes in the bathtub. The renovations are finally done, all that is left to do is the electrical outlets. So that’s the quick summary of what has been happing these last couple years.

It has been quite a slow start to 2023, I’ve felt quite lost. There are so many tasks that needs to be done that I get too overwhelmed and I end up just sitting in one place. For the past 2 days I have gotten back into my routine of meditating and I feel that it has been helping me move things along. One of the things that has come to my attention is that I haven’t properly reflected on how far we have come and what I’ve learnt since moving to the farm the past year. So that’s what I will be doing today, it will be a good way for me to come back to read this in the future and see what works and what doesn’t and if I really learnt my lessons or not.

So, to distract myself for the renovations I pretty much spent most of my days outside in the garden. I wish I took more before photos and photos during everything but when you’re in the zone of doing something it’s hard to stop. But here is a dodgy photo I managed to put together from a video I shot in at the end of December 2021 before I started working on it.

This is the backyard right behind the house, this area is open and receives full sun. A perfect place for a veggie garden. Looking back at these photos it’s really amazes me how far the garden has come. I always tell my fiancé that I need to finish the garden and that I haven’t done enough on the farm, it drains me physically and mentally. But now sitting down and writing this blog and reflecting. I’ve done a lot in one year and I should be proud of what I have achieved. I follow a lot of homesteading and gardening pages on Instagram and I always compare my garden to theirs forgetting that other people have gardened for many years. I’ll get there eventually; I just need to practice patience.

I hatched my first clutch of chicken eggs Jan 2022 in the incubator and bought some ducklings. We build the animals a run with coops made from recycled pallet wood. I planted a bunch of vegetable seedlings bought from bunnings because I didn’t have any seeds or trays at the time yet.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows on the farm, as much as I wish that it will always be happy times there has been lots of tears and disappointment. From losing our animals to failed plantings. It’s all part of the learning process and I’m sure there will be more to come.

Harvesting vegetables are one of the many things I love to do since being here. It brings me so much joy, it feels like I’m on a treasure hunt and I’ve found gold! Food grown from your own garden also tastes better, I don’t know if it’s just my mind playing tricks on me but there’s more flavour in the vegetables. We started to get an abundant of vegetables as Autumn came around. The garden was starting to take shape, it looked greener and plants were taking off. I also built a greenhouse in preparation for winter.

I love winter, my favourite season of the year. I like the cold and how plants go dormant to rest during this time of the year before bursting with life again in Spring. It is a reminder to myself that we as people need times of rest too. Probably not for a whole season but throughout the year, take time to yourself to recharge.

Winter mornings are something else on the farm, it’s quiet, peaceful, cold and calm. The frost so think it looked like a layer of snow. I like to stand on the deck and just be in the moment to watch the sun come up. I’ve really slowed down since being here, there’s a kind of serenity being farm from the hustle and bustle of suburban/city life. Things that use to matter to me doesn’t anymore, what I thought I wanted before is the last thing I want now. It’s funny how the environment that you put yourself in changes you…. or does it bring out the real you and the person who you were was just a façade that you put up because it’s what you believe people expect you to be?

Something to think about, right?

This was my first winter using a woodfire heater, my fiancé taught me how to chop wood. It was fun the first few times but then it got tiring really quick. Long story short; my fiancé is on wood chopping duties now. The outdoor fire pit was put to good use during these colder months, sitting by the fire outside with a hot cuppa while listening to the sound of the fire cracking and birds singing. Times like teaches me to appreciate the small things.

One of the big mistakes I made was starting seeds too early for the zone I live in. I thought we live in a temperate climate zone but it turns out we live in a cool…. My greenhouse was full of seedling trays and a lot of them did not make it unfortunately. It didn’t help that our winter dragged out unusually long as well, it pretty much skipped spring and went into summer. Sad times but you live and learn. (Note to self; buy some heat mats) The garlic was a great success, same as the leafy greens but the potatoes not so much. I’m not sure if I put too many seeds in one bag that’s why they turned out quite small or if I didn’t water them enough? I’m not sure but I shall try it again this year.

Flowers are a must have in my garden, I love colour and I love having the bees around to help pollinate the plants. Dahlias have been a great hit here and the roses are doing pretty well, I am hoping to get some rose hips this winter so fingers crossed!

Well, I think that’s all of the farm reflection I have. I can reflect on other areas of my life but that’s many other topics that can be saved for another time.

So, everything that I have learnt in 2022, in all aspects of my life:

o Be patient, all things take time

o Home grown foods are the best!

o Learn my climate zone!

o Start small, don’t do too much at once

o Be more grateful

o Be more mindful

o Appreciate the small things

o Do what makes me happy

o Call home more often

o Other people’s opinion doesn’t affect me

o Don’t be too quick to judge

o Let go of things that does not benefit me

o It is important to look after yourself

o Look back and reflect on your accomplishments

I hope you enjoyed this update/blog of what has been in 2022.

One of my goals for 2023, is to be more active on this website and post more blogs. I’ll leave this here so I keep myself accountable.

See you next time!

Jay xx