My life is usually spent juggling time. Time for chores, time for projects, time to plant and time to harvest. Then there's time preparing good food so that I have the energy to juggle more time. I try to save time by improving efficiencies. Being efficient is something I'm pretty good at which is lucky as that skill is certainly needed here. This morning I was out doing chores but in the few minutes heading back to the house I managed to gather some swiss chard for a green smoothie, enough raspberries to add to frozen blueberries and chia pudding for a treat, and a couple of daikon radish that had been growing by the hazelnut tree, which will head to a noodle soup. It's these little things that make other activities a lot quicker.
Back in the kitchen after chores to clean up breakfast dishes, I also threw my kale chips into jars and removed seeds from ripened cucumbers to briefly ferment then dry for seed saving. By the way the kale chips weren't that great. I had forgotten to add salt to the mix so they tasted a bit bland and had a cardboard like texture. Haha! Oh well, they will be great added to a soup or stew - time saving!!
While out feeding a handful of hay to my cows then wandering back, my attention was drawn to the suns first rays hitting my swiss chard. Even if you couldn't eat this plant I think I would still have it growing in the garden. The stalks are just so vibrant and colourful, they really add a burst of colour to the greenness of my kitchen garden.
Today I managed to find some time to work on my chicken coop project. I moved all the walls up to the top of the garden and was just thinking through how to get them all up and secured in place when my neighbour Deb turned up. Yay!! A trade of produce (eggs) for assistance was negotiated (she would have helped anyway!!), then Deb helped lift the walls and held them in place while I screwed everything together.
What a time saving!! I had anticipated that taking all day. I generally like doing things myself, but maybe, just sometimes, I should ask for help. People are very generous and quite willing to give their time - I just have to ask!!
I did use that extra time saved with the coop doing a few 'ten minute tasks'. These tasks always seem to accumulate so getting on top of them is always rewarding.
Also rewarding this afternoon was watching the light on my kitchen garden and up towards the hayshed while I harvested a few brussel sprouts and new potatoes to add to my carrots and home raised chicken. This one pan roasted meal was absolutely delicious and a great way to celebrate another day on the farm.