The To Do List

Spring is here in coastal Texas and that means tons to do. Does anyone else have this problem? Don't get me wrong, I loooove all this work and I feel very lucky I get to do it full time but this morning I made a list of all the things that need doing and found it very hard to know where to start.

 

Some big things have already been scratched off the list: the new chicken house got wheels and is now out in pasture (I'll do a post later about building the chicken house), the property got seeded with crimson clover and rye, seeds were started, fallow garden beds got amendments and fresh mulch and a lot of cleaning happened.

However...

To Do List, Spring 2011:

• Fence lines need to be cleared
• New fence to be installed
• Old fences need some repair
• Gates need repair

• Build new beds in garden, planted with tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant, hot peppers, ground cherry and cardboard mulched (every year the vegetable garden gets expanded)
• Winter crops out of old beds, spring crops or cover crops in
• Other vegetable beds need expanding and amending so I can plant corn, okra, winter squash, summer squash, and sweet peppers.
• Still other old bed needs to be cardboarded and mulched again so I can plant gourds.
• New trellis needs to be built and installed for cucumbers or beans
• Herb transplants go in everywhere
• More seeds need to be started

• Very large ornamental beds in front need a little weeding, then amendments, then fresh mulch
• Huge new ornamental beds need cardboard and mulch
• Property needs to be picked up... particularly the detritus from the baby chickens' long term stay near the house.

• Nest boxes to be built for both chicken houses
• Perch for baby hens (not so little any more!), front door to their house fixed and latch on backdoor
• Significant repairs on chicken retirement home (like entire walls need to be replaced)
• Wings need clipping

Plus...

• Garage needs to be finished, work bench and shelves get unloaded, swap location and get reloaded
• Porch roof needs replacing
• Bathroom is going to have a total overhaul
• Kitchen cabinets need to be repainted, doors built then painted and hung
• Front door needs replacing
• Bedroom and hall painting
• I need to mow my parent's yard
• I still need to go to the post office (Emily, you must think I am a total idiot!)
• Car tire needs repair
• In two weeks we'll pick a mass of strawberries and make jam

And then there are the daily rounds of laundry, cooking, bread making, dog walking, yoga, etc.

There are a lot of immediately important things to do plus longer term projects to plan but since it's spring the garden takes priority. If I don't get the garden beds built or repaired or prepped then things don't get planted at the right time which means we don't have as much to eat. This is the year I plan to grow all our tomatoes, peppers (both to be canned), beans (dried), and garlic for the year.

So, if my blogging seems sparse over the next few weeks you can blame it on spring.


Anyone else feeling overwhelmed?


(I shared this post on Simple Lives Thursday at A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa)