Independence Days Update: Fish or Cut Bait
Sharon March 5th, 2012
Sorry I’ve been so dilatory on the ID updates - between an elbow injury and some upper respiratory plague, I’m way behind on a bunch of things. Add in the fact that the coming of March makes it necessary to make some decisions I’ve been putting off, and I feel that the last few weeks have been a time of hesitation rather than progress. The good thing is that I’ve been here before - I know that there are times when things move as slow as molasses and times when they speed ahead, but not being the patient sort, I’d still prefer universal forwardness an it were possible.
The big decision facing us is one that I never really anticipated - we were told that there was a significant need for foster parents in our area, and particularly for foster parents to take larger sibling groups, and assumed that our home would be full and busy. At times this year it has been, but we’ve had no placements longer than a month, and none at all for the last two months, which leaves us wondering whether our county really needs us.
First, it leaves us wondering whether we should remain with our county or switch to an agency, or whether we should start seeking out children legally free for adoption from other places - so that’s one part of this. Second, because we don’t have a stable placement situation, I’m not sure what new projects to take on for spring - three to five more kids are likely to cut into my time for new business projects, and I’d anticipated this might be a quiet year while our family adjusted, but given the absence of any kids, it isn’t clear where to go next - lots of decisions to make.
As the world reawakens, I’m also tense with anticipation of finding out for real what the long term garden damage caused by the flooding last year was - I haven’t made any commitments to selling perennial plants this year because I honestly don’t have the faintest idea what survived or will come back. The total lack of snowcover (until last week) is also an issue - ironically, warmer winters are actually probably harder on my plants in many ways that our normal ones are. Usually we can count on fairly consistent snow cover to provide insulation for perennials from bitterly cold temps - but not this year. We only had a few short periods of really bitter cold, but without any snow, the plants got the full brunt of it. The extreme weather fluctuations are tough too - consider that tonight’s low is expected to be 2 degrees here - and by Thursday we’re anticipating a high of 65 degrees. If the weather forecast is right (and when is it?) this is the last stretch of cold weather for weeks, though, and spring is on its way - which will reveal many truths about my garden.
Despite my being on tenterhooks in a lot of ways, we have done a few useful things. The rabbits are bred for babies in a few weeks, and on Thursday will move back outside for the rest of the year (they very successfully spent the winter on the sun porch). Does are being dried off in anticipation of spring kidding, and we think almost everyone is bred (we hope 
). Plants are proliferating on every windowsill and seeds are being sown at fairly regular intervals. At this point the next big dream is getting the barns cleaned out!
Progress on many fronts has been limited, but at least there’s some, and I swear this is the last time I will be sick or hurt for the forseeable future, dammit - too much to do to have the creeping crud!
Plant something: Tomatoes, Basil, lettuce, bok choy, nasturtiums, sweet peas, malva, kale, parsley, celeriac
Harvest something: Milk, eggs, sap
Preserve something: Made some maple syrup
Waste Not: Nothing New
Want Not: Nothing New
Eat de food: I haven’t been eating all that much lately, honestly - no innovative cooking as I’ve been busy coughing up a lung.
Build Community Food Systems: Worked on a community garden plan for a friend
Skill up: Totally mastered sitting on my ass .
Well, you all are going to be way ahead of me this week!
Sharon