Happy New Year 2018!

I can't believe we are already in 2018. Oh how time flies! Sorry I've been MIA on the blog, I've been occupied with an office job in order to help fund our homestead dreams as they are super expensive. But hoping to post more now that we have some down time from gardening in the winter.

Currently we are dealing with -15 degree weather with wind chills making it feel like -26. This caused two of our pipes to burst. So we had to call a plumber to fix the pipes as well as specialist to deal with the water damage.

The photo above is what I walked into Wednesday morning from the pipe leak from the room above. We had to rush to cover the leak, while my husband found the shut off valve. The rug, walls and insulation are soaked and we need to remove all of the bookshelves as well as the pellet stove. The joys of being a first time home owner. It's frustrating because we just finished fixing another unexpected issue of a leaking broken foundation as well as purchasing a chainsaw early to deal with an old fallen Elm tree during a windstorm and we were hoping that would be it for awhile and we could be able to focus on our planned home improvements.

But enough of these learning experiences, let's focus on the accomplishments of 2017.

• Tap maples for maple syrup

• Prune fruit trees & berry bushes

• Windbreak

• Black locust hedge

• Mulch fruit trees & berry bushes

• Compost tea sprays for orchard 2x

• Mulch patches in orchard

• Evergreen privacy screen

• Install Simple Pump

• Vegetable garden

• Protect blueberries from birds

• Harvest & preserve fruits & vegetables

• Forage for food & medicine

• Fix cracked foundation

• Fix basement leak

Bonus

• Water kefir

• Black walnuts and walnut stain

• Chainsaw and ax practice

Things we didn't get to this year

• Switch pellet stove to wood stove

• Drainage ditch for road

• Plant shrubs & trees - Chestnuts, Black Walnuts, Elderberry, Autumn Olives, Lilacs, Roses, Hardy kiwi

• Rain catchment system using IBC totes

• Raised beds

• Compost bins

• Dog composting area

• Pathway to front door

• Plant nursery

• Paint interior

Although we didn't get to accomplish everything on the list, I'm still proud of everything we have done so far. I oscillate between being overwhelmed at all the things we still have left to do and grateful for everything we have accomplished. Everything is a learning curve for us and we are taking it one day at a time.

So our goals for 2018 are to finish what we didn't get to in 2017, as well as:

• Mushroom logs

• Chop firewood

• Temporary fence

• Living fence

• Start trail building

• Tap maples for maple syrup

• Prune fruit trees & berry bushes

• Mulch fruit trees & berry bushes

• Compost tea sprays for orchard 3x

• Mulch last 2 patches in food forest

• Plant perennial layer of forest garden

• Vegetable garden

• Harvest & preserve fruits & vegetables

• Forage for food & medicine

Highlights of 2017