The Slow Season

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We have definitely entered the slow season of things around our little backyard homestead. It’s even slower now that we do not have the chickens. I am not walking back and forth a couple times a day to deal with them. I am just a little bit bored now and going slightly stir crazy. Being almost six months pregnant is not helping much either. So, what exactly are we doing around here? Read on to find out!

Slow Season Skills

The slow season is such a great time to work on honing older skills and learning completely new ones. Of course, the slow season also means holidays. Holidays mean lots of cooking and baking so we will definitely be experimenting with new recipes and perfecting older ones.

One of the recipes I am looking forward to perfecting the most is this awesome, simple no-knead artisan bread. I’ve only attempted it once so far and it was absolutely amazing. Such a wonderful addition to our morning. Really hoping to incorporate this recipe into our lives more.

I have a couple other recipes I found that I would love to try. I found them on Pinterest (where else) and they are apple focused. This hand pie recipe looks absolutely delicious! Oh and I have always wanted to try making my own apple butter, so I found a recipe for that as well. Absolutely so excited to try both of them and will definitely report back!

Not Everything Is Food Related….

Just kidding, food is everything right now. Even more so when pregnant! However, not all of our slow season skills are focused on food. Some are focused on homemade health products like this magnesium lotion or this calendula salve. Others are focused on learning new things like making goat milk soap, European mounting a deer skull, and maybe this year I will finally teach myself to use my sewing machine lol.

This time of year we have a lot of free time on our hands. The weather is wet and gray. More often than not it is also windy. I hate it, but I also secretly kind of love it though. Why? Because we get to spend a bit more family time together. I am not quite as busy running around the entire place like a chicken with my head cut off. It is definitely a time to rest and recharge.

I have a large “to be read” pile of books that I am trying to work my way through. Currently, I am reading Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman and holy crow is it different than the movie! I absolutely love the movie, but feel like I was a little cheated. On deck after that is The Urban Farm Handbook, which I am super excited to read! Which brings me to next part of the slow season: garden planning!

Garden Dreams

Is there anything more exciting than planning a garden? Combing seed catalogs, Pinterest, and picking the brains of my friends are all ways I start my garden planning. This past season our garden started off really promising. Then, all of a sudden everything just stopped. We could not figure out what on earth happened. Several people in our area had some of the same problems, so I have some plans for what to do next year.

Part of the plan we have for the garden this year is to do a medicinal herb portion. I have a few ideas on what to grow, but not a whole lot. I’d love to grow my own calendula, comfrey, and lavender. This is where I will be picking the brains of my friends and readers! So, what other medicinal herbs should we grow?!?

Even though this weather drives me nuts, I am looking forward to slowing down a bit more. Turning inward, especially during pregnancy is so vitally important. Planning and daydreaming about the next year will help the dreary days pass by as well.

What are your plans for this slow down season? Share them below!