Five Years Go By and Still I Learn

In five years so much can happen! I'm living proof.




I never thought I would be living in the woods, yet here I am.
I never thought I would be jobless and happy about it, yet here I am.
I never thought I'd be able to cook a decent meal, yet I do it regularly. 


When I think of all the opportunities I've had to learn and experience new things, it's pretty overwhelming. I wouldn't trade it for the world. But then, who would want this messed up world anyway?




I always had a garden in Florida but it wasn't much of one. A few tomato plants, some green peppers and jalapeno peppers. Lots of flowers - some even survived! Some geraniums bit the dust and were considered an annual sacrifice.




"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" Remember that children's nursery rhyme?




Well, mine has expanded more and more every year. It's a garden that provides food enough for Wally and I and then some. I go overboard on tomatoes and can never get enough of them. I've found that field peas grow very well in this soil, more so than any other pea out there.  They've become a favorite!




Lettuce wouldn't grow for me in FL but here, no problem! I have twenty four lettuce plants in the ground and, nature providing, they should be giving us food within a month. We've had so much rain that they may have drowned - fingers crossed that this isn't the case!




So I can say that I have learned to grow new things and in doing so I myself have grown for gardening is always a learning experience.




I sure get my hands dirty this time of year and now that I know how to make Karla's "Gardeners Hand Scrub," I get them as dirty as I can knowing they'll be sparkling clean afterward!




Losing a job of twenty years was a bit daunting. Okay, it was more than a 'bit' daunting, it was darn right scary. I found myself wondering what I would do all day, how would I pay my bills, what about my savings? All those things go through your head all day and all night. About a week after not working, I realized that everything would be okay. In fact, everything turned out great.




I have an income so the bills get paid. I'm fortunate in that I don't have to work and instead can be in the yard on pretty days and in the cabin, toasty warm, on rainy or snowy days. No more traffic worries, no more stress of the job, no wear and tear on my car, no planning for time off.




The instant I open my eyes, I think about all my family and friends and I hope they are as happy as I am. I never know what time it is, except when it's time to eat and that's only because my stomach tells me! I don't live by a clock. I track the days on my calendar but only because I don't want to miss a birthday or other such important date. I don't even take the keys out of my car.




Because we have seasons here, I get to see so many beautiful things every day. From the trees blooming in spring to the wild roses growing on the edge of the yard. From the creek running through the property to the ice, frozen on the porch in winter. Even the birds change from season to season. I'm always amazed how nature knows what to do and when. I'm learning to take those clues!




Who knew this Florida girl would love a wood stove so much? Hauling and stacking the wood, gathering kindling and sizing up the wood pile to determine whether it's enough. Sure it's work but it's so gratifying when that fire roars and warms this home. It's a beauty to watch, it's a skill to build and it's a source of heat that can't be beat. hahaha did you know I was a poet? LOL me either!


Speaking of hauling wood, I have a sizable pile of it out in the yard that needs to be stacked right now. The problem is we've had so much rain that the wood is wet. Wet wood is heavy, very heavy. I'm not that ambitious and it will still be there when I do get in the mood to stack it - another benefit of not going to a 9-5er every day.


In the spring I plant. In the winter I haul and stack wood. In the summer I can vegetables and mow the grass. In the fall I watch the leave changing colors, seemingly overnight. During all seasons I walk through the woods, I even have a walking stick that Wally cut down for me. It's small enough for my hands and has a cool vine winding around it. Sorry if you get bored with all those photos of the woods on facebook!


I never tire of being in the woods. I know it's not for everyone and I totally get that. I always knew I wanted to be in the woods, I just didn't know how happy it would make me. People here always wonder how I could leave Florida to move to Tennessee. I guess they like heat, humidity and endless traffic?


I started putting my food pictures on a separate facebook page and so far, lots of people have liked the page. Some of them I don't even know? I love the comments from everyone and especially ideas you have for new recipes! Barbie Beeler - keep 'em coming :)


I have to say there aren't many things better than standing at my kitchen window on a cool spring morning with the smell of bacon frying, biscuits in the oven and tomato gravy simmering on the stove top.  All that canning in the summer really pays off when fresh tomatoes aren't available.


Today is sunny and the high is 68 degrees. I think this post is done seeing as how nature is calling me to the other side of the door...


"How is it that one match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box of matches to start a campfire?" ~Christy Whitehead