Come On In

Don't worry about the mud on your shoes. We are used to it. Or perhaps I should say I have been forced to become used to it, being the only female in the household with three men. I had to choose between putting up with it or going mad. Took me 19 years but I chose to ignore it.

Mud season is trying to arrive in earnest, fighting with Old Man Winter who refuses yet to let loose his grip. Tomorrow we plummet below zero again. Such is life in north central Wisconsin. The garden catalogs had arrived along with the Christmas Cards and are long recycled because clutter is another problem I am trying to beat. Garden catalogs should come NOW when the long winter is wearing us all thin, we have cabin fever and we are looking forward to some color and fresh veggies off the plant.

I see the pretty seed packets in the store but do not stop to look. I cannot start seeds in my house as it is too dark and until I come up with some sort of lighting system and a place to do so there is no sense in looking.

My husband has been laid off for five months and finances are getting tighter every week. For the first time yesterday I realized I didn't have any money to get groceries. The last three unemployment checks went out to pay farm insurance, our few bills and school needs for our youngest. He is a senior in high school and so things like yearbooks and a lock-in have come up that need paying for.

We have aprox. 30 acres that need planting this year. Another 70 or so are on their last season for hay before they need to be replaced. But we worry about that next year. It is this year we need to plan for. We try to do one large project a year here. Last year it was a new well. Our little hand dug collapsed and we went all last winter without running water in the house. That was when I decided fighting dirty floors was a waste of my time.

The year before it was a new roof.

So far this year I have gotten my hallway insulated and drywalled. Husband finally had enough of laying around and did it. I told him he's much better looking when he's doing something! Ha ha. Here is a before of that mess (with my eldest son and my "adopted" son).


I will get an after photo when they get out of there.

I lost my wall I used to hang my horse gear on. Perhaps that means I will actually get my BARN this year. In the meantime I need to find another place to hang it all.