Feeling Overwhelmed? Try KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) Therapy!

Before we moved to California, I complained a lot about all of Mother Nature's tantrums in Pennsylvania. Time and experience have completely changed my perspective on the four seasons we get to enjoy here (I prefer to not enjoy all 4 seasons in the same week but beggars can't be choosers). The Central Valley where we lived was dry, smokey, blazing hot (as in triple digits from May to October 🥵), and brown...oh was it brown. Water was at an absolute premium and you had to irrigate everything for it to survive. I needed time away from where we grew up in PA to fully enjoy lush green grass that needs mowed every week, weeds that need pulled from a garden, and the bother of covering plants because of unexpected cold spells. It's the time of year I need to keep perspective on what a privilege it is to work the amazing resources we have. The days have been EXTREMELY long the last few weeks and in truth that won't end until the fall.

I was talking with Dave about how I've been stretched so thin and as we were working through how to alleviate some of the strain, I realized I needed some good ole fashion KISS Therapy...Keep It Simple Stupid. Here's what we've been doing and how I'm simplifying things to survive with my mental health mostly intact 🤪

First off, our gardens. I currently have 3 flower gardens that I personally need to maintain and continue developing. Since the day we moved in, I've been working towards no fuss, perennial flower beds that will show beautifully from spring to fall. I'm not quite there yet but after 4 years, I'm really close. I decided it would be fun (and hopefully income generating) to add another flower garden at the edge of our pasture. The kids planted giant sunflowers and zinnias from seeds I harvested after last year's crop. Both flowers are relatively easy to grow (Dave tilled a patch and we literally sprinkled the seeds throughout), the seeds were free, and we can trial it with minimal effort to see how things go. Doesn't get much simpler than that...if it works.

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I was able to plant my entire raised bed with lettuce, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapenos, and Hot Hungarian Wax peppers. Not having to tend to the "babies" (ie the sprouts) has definitely helped reduce workload. The onions we planted last week are already coming up and I'm still holding my breath on those shriveled potatoes we sowed. Dave got lucky and his dad gave him a seed planter so he was able to plant all of our beans and peas in less than 30 minutes! We did it by hand as a family the last 3 years and it took all five of us several hours! What a time (and back) saver!

Next up, birds. Oh my, the birds. I went live on Facebook Sunday to talk chickens and it occurred to me, I have inadvertently become the crazy chicken lady. Not in a "come snuggle on my lap" kind of way but rather how much we have learned about them. Sunday was moving day for our Cornish Cross birds and young pullets. I woke up and showered so naturally we decided to move all 60 birds right after. We walked over to take care of them (they were 12 days old and we usually kick them out at 10 days) and when we opened the door it knocked me back a step. I wish smell-avision was real because woo wee there's nothing like chicken brooder smell when it's time to evict. I told Dave to circle the wagon cuz those birds have got to go right 👏🏼 now 👏🏼. So we loaded them up and got them into the pasture where they belong. My two favorite times in the meat bird process are picking them up from the post office and kicking them out of the brooder.

We also needed to figure out how to get our pullets out of the dog kennel in the barn and into an outside space. These are some spunky hens and every time you open the door they make a mad dash for it. After a little creative brainstorming, I came up with the idea of blocking off one of the chicken runs in the coop and attaching a tarp over one end. It's been working great and as an added bonus it's slowly introducing the new pullets to the existing flock to help ease the transition in a few weeks. A win, win.

As for the rowdy roos...there's a first and last time for everything. I still have about 2 months left with these guys and I'm over it. If they weren't for a customer, I'd be tempted to open the door and let survival of the fittest run its course (I wouldn't have the heart for that but you get the point). They aren't penciling out financially, I don't particularly enjoy raising them, and they take wayyyyyy too long to grow out for the amount of work. Putting that on my KISS list and crossing it off.

I made my first loaf of sourdough sandwich bread this week and oh. my. word. Game changer. My bulk fermenting times are a bit crazy because of the heat (I had to throw my bread in the fridge at 230am so it wouldn't over-proof 😴) but otherwise it was pretty straight forward and well worth the work. Our family is officially off store bought bread! One more big step to self-sufficiency and in reality, better health.

I've had a lot of hair-brain ideas on my to-do list lately: build out our back deck, make a farm stand to sell produce and eggs from, build a greenhouse, make patio planters with string lights, learn how to make homemade butter and cheese, and offer sourdough workshop classes. Because you know, that's all achievable on top of tending to 100 chickens, gardening, canning and raising 3 kids. So, I've moved many of those hopeful ideas to the KISS list. I absolutely have to figure out how to trellis my cucumbers because I'm short on garden space and then I'll start working through some of my wish list. As far as the business side of things are concerned, we are going to focus only on pasture-raised poultry for now. We have honed in our process and I love my Cornish Cross birds. We will branch out to hogs after trialing our next breed. Homesteading works for us because we keep everything on a tight budget and fit it into our life. It's never been an obligation for us but if we aren't careful it could quickly become a burden. We don't need fancy business cards or a homemade farm stand today. We do this for us and that's more than enough. I tell the kids less is more and I need to follow my own advice.

Chelsea wants to learn how to sew scrunchies (I think I was her age when I last used a sewing machine 🥴), Farmer David needs some new tools, and I have flowers to plant! See yinz next week for more adventures on Roberts Family Farm!