Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.

Albert Camus

Soooo… it’s been a while friends! I will full heartedly admit that I greatly underestimated the size of the garden we put in and the amount of work it would require. It’s HUGE. Just today, Hazel and I harvested 47 pounds of tomatoes and it’s about the third or forth time we have done that, with many more tomatoes still out there ripening to their full potential. And guys… that’s just the tomatoes.

I have struggled this summer and I feel the need to share because I know that I am not alone. I have felt called for the past few years to do more. Do more for my family, do more for myself, do more for our animals, just do more. The things I felt called to do more of were homemaking, cooking from scratch, being the best mom and wife that I could be. I have always had some old fashioned values, however the past few years of events in our country have amplified those values in my heart. With that being said, I wanted to go big with the garden. I had a list of canning projects and of course the fresh eating veggies taste so much better when you harvest them within an hour of cooking dinner, right? So, big is what we did. Oh my did we go big. Over 80 tomato plants, 30 bell peppers, 20 jalapeños, and the list goes on and on. Well, all of that produce needs to be dealt with, which leads to long days in the kitchen canning, my freezer is stuffed full of tomatoes and peppers that I couldn’t get to right away, and I am exhausted. Throw in there parenting a little spitfire of a toddler, and back to school for Ada, and a husband who works well over 40 hours per week, and I am tired. Tired like I’ve never been before.

Guess what else I am? Content. Fulfilled. Proud. So many emotions flow through me as I slowly watch my pantry fill with spaghetti sauce, salsa, pickled peppers, peaches, pears, pear sauce, homemade rotel, diced green chilis, and so much more.

What Has Been Happening?

Of course, the garden is in full swing and it is chaos. Have you ever seen a fall garden? The garden that is the product of an exhausted gardener? It is overgrown and wild and still producing like wild. The pantry is filling up, the kids are fed and happy, and the animals are all getting the best care. We have all been healthy all summer and just having the best time- roping, riding our horses, playing carefree in the dirt, and living our best lives. We even managed to squish a trip to the state fair in as well as a trip to a local water park. Oh, and Ada started her first year of cheerleading, which has been a blast to watch, but adds to the chaos, ha!

What Hasn’t Been Happening?

Housework. Every little bit of housework has been put on hold. If not on a complete hold, it has definitely been put on a major slow down. I am the one who hates to clean, but also hates a dirty house so I have a weekly cleaning schedule. Each room has a designated day of the week for cleaning. That has gone out the window. Dishes have been getting done all at once at the end of the day, instead of my typical as we go style.

Yard work and our small projects around here that still need to be done from when we moved in have also stopped happening. The dogs have destroyed the yard, so I just keep the grass knocked down and will plan for a more aesthetically pleasing yard next year. There is fence to be built, a pole barn to be put up, water lines to be run, and so much more. It’s not happening right now.

This blog and the website have also been on hold. I can’t promise I’m back fully yet, remember those 47 pounds of tomatoes? I can promise, however I have tons more recipes to share, some recipes I want to try to get right for you guys, and lots of blog topics written down and waiting for me to sit down and finish them, including time management on the homestead, which I have had to figure out this summer in a rapid hurry!

So Now What?

More of the same! Our garden will be pretty similar next year, and I will be trying my hardest to add a produce stand on our property. The difference will be that I know what to expect now… kind of. I have come to accept that the chaos is just the season of life that we are in right now. We are doing our best, everyone is happy and healthy, and our property is providing for us in abundance. The laundry can wait, and the baseboards can be scrubbed another day. The blog will be back on track, my live cooking demos will pick back up again, and I am working on launching a YouTube channel as well!

I will keep hustling through this season and I know as I watch the leaves change colors, the rain will start back up, and I will be sipping my coffee waiting for spring and planting to begin again.

Mamas- it’s ok. It will all be ok. Let’s all just roll with this chaotic season of life and enjoy it while it’s here.

~Tara