I guess this is the time of year when you look back at the previous 12 months and reflect. I tend to not do that much, as I enjoy looking to the future, but I did finish phase 1 of the clearing of the woods, which was a major amount of work. That's kind of a big deal for me because now I can move on to other endeavors in my life. But for contrast:
That's a photo I shot yesterday. All of the trees left are beneficial for either animal or man, and now they have space to grow correctly and fast. I also have enough empty space for the planting of trees I want, namely fruit and nut trees. Lots of possibilities now without the scrub. Now for what this same space looked like several months ago:
My dog had treed a squirrel which you can't see for the choking vines, but that is what I was dealing with. Just junk all around. It's nice to have a blank slate in which to create for the future. I'm excited for the possibilities.
Now that I have more free time I went ahead and contacted a previous client of mine to see if she needed work done and she was very excited I had contacted her. I hadn't worked for her for over two years due to building my house. It feels good to be wanted, haha. Even after I explained my labor price increases due to inflation these past few years. So I'll resume various home improvement tasks for her while also sporadically working for the Amish fellow. I decided a while ago that I need to get out and do something different besides staying home and working on my property. It makes for a muted existence to a point, although you can get some stuff done. It also makes you not appreciate it as much because you are too close to your "work". I need some separation and some seed money because I decided also to pursue another endeavor:
I'm going to create a mushroom growing operation and dip my toes in the Farmer's Markets this Spring. Some of you may remember my documentation of learning how to grow gourmet mushrooms so I have a solid base of knowledge from which to pull from, I just need a grow space. And I want to do it as cheaply as possible while still looking professional and being efficient. Fortunately I have a bunch of building materials left over from the house build that needs to get used and this would be a great opportunity to put them to use. I'll keep you guys posted.
Also, today I will be resigning from my last Fire Department. It's time, as I don't have a desire to do this anymore after close to thirty years of service. I am old per fire dept. standards, and there is a young group within the dept. that is rising up just as I did many years ago, but the main reason is that all of my friends that are older like me have left and I have nothing in common with a bunch of twenty year old kids. Life moves on and it will be a relief not to have to monitor every incident within my town and county.
All right friends, hope everybody had a good Christmas if you are into that, and a better New Year. Cheers