Changing Gears

I think its an appropriate name - Changing Gears.   I've been posting about the house and the fix up and the move.   That's all important but today I want to talk about something else.

In my desire to live a more self reliant I am learning a great deal of things in these woods on this hill.

I'm becoming a bit anxious.  At first I figured it was the winter blues.  I usually get bummed when winter is coming and have a variety of ways of dealing with that.   UV lights was one way I used to deal with it.  Exercising outdoors was another but things are different now.

I still spend a lot of time outside now.  I check my chickens and rabbits and bees frequently but I am getting nervous about them and the impending winter.  It's like bringing home your first child. You've read the books and talked to gobs of people about how it will be.  You made it through pregnancy and the baby is coming home. Will she survive and will I know what to do to keep her safe.  (that was my experience) Having these animals is, ok not quite the same but there are similarities.  Winter and these animals is a new experience for me and I'm not entirely confident that I can keep them safe.  Water freezes so they need fresh water many times a day.  Bees need to be wrapped up so the hive doesn't freeze.   Bunnies need to be sheltered from the wind and snow so they are comfortable.   I've read and read many suggestions online and think I have a plan for them.  I've made many adjustments to transition from 70 degrees to 0 degrees. I hope they survive. I will take it day by day as is the only way I can.

I don't exercise any more, except for an occasional bike ride on the single tracks nearby.  I used to be an avid skater.  Each morning after the kids would get on the bus I would take off through my neighborhood and skate for a hour or more.   I would easily get 10-12 miles in each morning.  It felt good.  If there was snow, as often there is in Northern Illinois I would snow shoe and occasionally run if my knees would let me.   But here skating isn't an option any more.  I could pack them up and go to my old neighborhood or a nearby, flat, park but I haven't done that yet.   Running is out because my knees are getting worse.  So I hike though my woods but there are so many other things to do that I don't always make the time. I do miss skating though.

I haven't mentioned before the driveway.  Its formidable.  3/10th of a mile long up a hill and all gravel.   We have a devilishly sharp turn before a steep ascent to the house.   Even when it's dry my tires will spin occasionally.   When we moved in we bought a work-horse 4-wheeler with a plow in the hopes that the machine would suffice in pushing the snow out of the way.   But, we continue to hear that this winter might be a bad one for snow.  Lots of snow is coming our way.   I'm not confident that the 4-wheeler will be enough.   So we are looking for a plow truck but that costs money.  More money.  What if we get stuck?  What if there is a lot of ice? How will we get our kids to the bus stop? People have mentioned those things to us before.  I has me thinking about it.   But I remind myself that the previous owners lived here for 20 years.  They got out.  Though I think they had a plow truck.

Speaking of snow.  I need to get better boots for my kids.  In the old neighborhood the streets were plowed and I often snowblowed the sidewalks to the bus stop that I could see from my house. They kids could get away without wearing snowboots to the bus stop.  Here we have no sidewalk only and crazy, scary, forever long and windy driveway.   How will my kids walk it?

We have a wood-burning stove.  I love it.  It's beautiful and warm and I had no idea how much work they were.  I wonder if we will have enough wood for the winter.  Don't get me wrong, we have other heat in the house if I choose to use it.  Feeding a wood-burner takes a lot of attention and I have no idea if I'm doing it right.  Soon I won't be able to hang my clothes outside to dry either.

Leaves.  Leaves are another thing I'm learning about.   Of course I know trees lose their leaves in the fall. But....I have never lived where there have been so many trees.  I have never lived where we needed to worry about cleaning up leaves.   We have dozens of trees in front of our house. They just keep falling...and falling...I spent 2 hours the other day burning leaves.  It was exhausting.  We already filled my garden with leaves. There were so many more.  The driveway is covered with them.

I've had to adjust many things in my life here and sometimes I wonder if its for the better.  Day by day I am very happy.  I look around at the trees and the woods and my "farm" animals and smile.   My kids are happy playing with the chickens, the dog, the bunnies and the tire-swing and I know this was a good move for them.   This is something so different than suburbia.   They have friends that come over all the time.   Their new friends love it here too.  They can run in the woods, play on the trails we have built and be free without the watchful eyes of nosy neighbors.   That's good but I still wonder if it was right.

Winter is coming.   That line has become famous in recent years.   Here I fear it more than I did in the  flat, city plowed streets of my old neighborhood.   We are facing new challenges with winter.  From suburbia to the big woods we are changing gears.