Goals for 2010

I don't make New Year's Resolutions simply because they are rarely kept for very long term. One thing that I do, however is to take a long look at my goals where we are at in accomplishing those long term goals and what I would like to accomplish for the next year. The difference between goals and resolutions is simple. A resolution is set in stone in your mind and so when life throws a brick at you and knocks you off course, you lose your map and can't ever find your way back to the path toward the resolution. A resolution is something that must always stay within sight right in front of you or is lost. A goal is something that you can see at some point on the map. And you see that there are many paths to that goal. So when life throws a brick at you and knocks you onto a different path you simply take a different route toward the goal on your map. A goal is a point in the future that you will someday get to even if you can't immediately see it physically. So, all that being said I have sat down with my journal from the past year and this and thought about our and my goals and what I would like to see accomplished this year. So here they are:
Grow in my relationship with Jesus Christ, work to come closer to Him and what He wants for me.

Have more patience with my husband

Plant a new orchard

increase the size of the garden, grow some new varieties of tomatoes, and more sunflowers

Spend more time sewing

At least build the outdoor oven, would like to have the whole summer kitchen but....

Raise ducks and turkeys for the freezer

Incubate more eggs to increase the size of the flock

Keep only one spring doeling! Butcher all bucklings and sell extra doelings

Get one to two inches of compost spread in the goat pasture, garden, and orchard pasture

Increase the compost piles (both size and number)

Get firewood cut and stacked earlier in the year

Make time for target practice

spend more time with the horses

have more family game nights

rebuild the solar shower (outdoor summer shower)

plant a berry patch

thin out the pine thicket

get rid of excess clutter

My goals are relatively simple this year and some things like the orchard and berry patch probably won't be complete, but a start would be great. Things that are homesteading goals I really don't mind doing in small chunks and simply taking my time to get them complete. This year I would at least like to add a couple of apple trees to the orchard pasture and get some blackberry bushes for the berry patch. Of course, in the long run I would like more than that but starting is good on a homestead and when you are working within a budget sometimes you must take it slow to get toward the eventual goal. The pine thicket has been a goal of our for a few years now, but the underbrush has made this goal almost impossible. However, thanks to the addition of our small goat herd this year they have happily taken care of much of the underbrush and we can now see areas that we can start to get in and thin the trees. Pine trees grow like weeds around here and this stand has taken up a large portion of one of the pastures. It also starts to present a fire hazard after so much time. Since it runs along the outside fence line I would like to keep it there and keep the larger healthier trees. However, I don't want a pine beetle infestation and don't want a fire and don't want to lose my large pasture so it needs to be thinned and if we at least start that will be a good accomplishment. My personal goals really are things that I work on continuously, but it is good to really sit down and think about just those goals sometimes. It keeps them clear and to the front of my mind when things get so busy around here. Once I have thought long and hard about where we are and where we want to go then I put my goals down in my journal and think about ways that I can possible accomplish those goals or at least work on them. For instance, I have found a local supplier for the orchard trees that I would like to have. I know the cost of those trees and so I will save my writing money and sewing money in order to purchase what I can. Same thing with the berries. That way those things will not eat into the household budget or money that we save for emergencies. Getting rid of some of the clutter that we have is a big priority this year. When my mother in law passed away a couple of years ago most of her things were brought up here. I have been slowly getting rid of those things and using what I wanted to keep. She was a huge collector and has some fabulous things and some not so fabulous things. I know I brought box after box after box of pyrex up here and cannot possibly use it all. So I think I will put the pyrex in the country store and if anyone wishes to purchase it at reasonable prices then that would be great. She also did loads of crafts and I brought all of that stuff up here. However, I know that I cannot possibly use all of it and some of it I just don't want to pursue so I will put those craft supplies up also on the country store blog. I do believe that bartering is great and so these things will be offered for trade or sale. Barter to me is a win win situation. Just getting rid of the boxes of those two items will be a huge step toward decluttering our little farm. Well, that is about it for goals this year. I think if I accomplish all of that then I will have accomplished quite a bit. So what are your goals and aspirations for the coming year?