MASS CONFUSION
So I was looking at the weather report the other day and I noted we were supposed to have ten straight days of beautiful, sunny fall weather here in Olympia. “GREAT,” I said to myself. I’ll write in the mornings and work outside on the urban farm in the afternoons.
So I got my to-do list out and familiarized myself with what had to be done and then I began. What followed that first day can best be described as “a little of this, a little of that and absolutely nothing completed.”
I was too scattered, pure and simple. I had no direction.
Enter Bev.
Bev came home that same day and provided direction. It just so happened that she was thinking about the urban farm while she merchandized stores that day, and she was thinking that we needed to list our “to-do” list according to priorities.
So that’s what we did.
We re-focused!
WHAT’S THE POINT, BILL?
Well I’m glad you asked.
The point is the old “forest for the trees” cliché. We had lost sight of our primary goals and priorities because there was so much we wanted to do over the next few years…we had lost our way in a choking forest of desires and ideas. I mean, we want to double the number of quail next year, and we want to increase the quail business, and we want to dig a pond and put up a greenhouse and…and…and…and….
Whew!
I had forgotten one of my own mantras…..start small….make small, doable changes…keep moving slowly with deliberation.
I want it all but I can’t have it all right now.
So suck it up and focus, Bill!
IMMEDIATE PRIORITY
The number one priority….it’s not even close to number two…is to make sure the animals are safe this winter. That has to be done before anything else is considered.
The next priority is to build another aviary (or quailary as Bev calls them).
Everything else will have to wait until those two things are done.
SO NOW I HAVE FOCUS AND DIREC TION AGAIN
The weather is still cooperating and I’m on track.
How about you?
What are your priorities as winter approaches?
Thanks for stopping by. I’ll catch you next week.
Bill
The Urban Farm Yard Sanctuary 
Love it. Set meaningful, measurable goals. Set the play, work the plan. Good for you!
Happy Fall!!
Bill 😉
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Thanks Bill. It’s unusual for me to get so scattered, but I sure did the other day. Thank God for Bev. 🙂
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The garden is still going strong here, Bill. My priority is to get as much of it preserved for winter as I can before a killing frost and then get everything cleaned out. I probably need to get a few more bales of straw for the chicken pen, too. Enjoy your beautiful weather!
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Thanks Deb. Except for the potatoes, it’s all over with here. Now we plant the winter cover crops…just waiting for an extended rainy period to do that. There is always something to do. Happy gardening to you!
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Focus is so important! (Said she who has spent the last two weeks chasing in circles!) Really, I don’t know how you manage to keep yourself focused! I asked the universe for more money going into the fall, and it is responding, but I feel so discombobulated by things that –well–focus??
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Audrey, I live with someone who spends her life discombobulated…I understand as much as I’m able to. Good luck, my friend.
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Yes, I get scatter brained too many times. I have made to-do lists every now and again. There are such things as priorities before winter comes. Ours is stacking the wood for the fireplace when it becomes too cold to go outside. Well that is about in a month for me. Then we got bulbs yesterday to plant and well I have some that I have no idea where I want to plant them.
Your place looks so nive. I wish we didn’t have an HOA and I could raise quail like you do. I would also like goat…..he that reminds me….did you get that goat and what kind did you get and how is it doing?
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Thanks Debra! We had three miniature Nubians at one time but they were too much for an urban farm. If I had acreage I would have them again in greater numbers, but not in the city without room for them to roam and forage.
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I happened across this blog at the most appropriate time. Living in the northeast I realize we can have a frost and yes, even snow this early in the year. On days when it hasn’t rained, I’ve been busy pulling up the garden fencing, rolling the wire, and storing the posts. The raised beds have been cleaned out and the rest of the garden was tilled today. I planted garlic today and will plant more tomorrow and then I’ll wait for it until next July. I also started cleaning out my double barn door shed in order to get it ready to store the tiller, lawn furniture, rakes, shovels, pruners, the weed whacker, and leaf blower. I too have a tendency to go helter-skelter if a to-do list isn’t in front of me. Today that list worked like a charm when I realized the first priority was to pay bills before feeding the birds, wildlife and tackling the outdoor activities. It is definitely “crunch time” in this area as I scurry to get those last minute outside painting jobs done, as well. Whew…I’m tired.
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I’m exhausted looking at what you’ve done, my friend. Well done! Now you have me energized and ready to tackle the rest of my list. 🙂 Thanks for dropping by.
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Baby steps. Goals and intentions. You know, if I knew three years ago what I know now, I would have done quite a few things differently. I knew I wanted to write, but yes, I got bogged down by “I want to do this and this and this and this and this and this” and lost focus. But well…we re-set and re-evaluate and we’ll get there. 🙂
I hope you have a fabulous ten days, Big Bro. As for me, I’ve got the writing itch again. Not for blogging, but for story writing. That’s all I’m sayin’ cuz when I blurt out what I’m doing, it all fizzles out for me. So mum’s the word. 🙂
Sending big hugs! Can’t wait til your novel comes out – totally sounds like the genre I love to read!
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Mums the word, lil Sis! We shall not speak of such things again until you decide what you want to do and begin it. I know you’ll figure it all out eventually…as for the book, soon….soon…another week probably. I must be patient…I must be patient…I must be patient. 🙂
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