Summer is over and we are excited about winter— yet not nearly as prepared as we should be for its arrival. Today, I finished building two lean-tos off our shipping container. One side will be used as a woodshed and a dry place to do mechanic and carpentry work. (I hope to have a fire-pit and a couple of lawn chairs for winter nights with northern lights.) The other side will protect the tractor, ATV, lawnmower, bicycles, coolers, tires, tools, and other farm equipment. They were started weeks ago, but with other projects to tackle, and my learn-as-you-go approach to life— they took longer than expected. 

A few days ago, I sent Just Like a Soldier to my formatting guru and then started working on the next book. Working on the new book is a reminder of why I love to write so much. To enter the imagination and craft new characters, dialogue, settings, and worlds is one of my favorite things to do! It was a wave of relief to put Just Like a Soldier in somebody else’s hands, to step away from it until I have a printed copy in my hands to proofread. I can now focus on our monthly Stark Raving Mad Newsletter, growing our YouTube channel, researching agents (I might not self-publish the next one), and looking into a SubStack account. (I need to make more $ with my writing! Food ain’t cheap!) I can focus on extending the loft before the twins arrive.

But that’s not all, of course. 

I am trying to fix our new rig, Fort Yukon, with my good friend, Barry White. We dropped the fuel tank and tried to replace the pump, but of course we tried the wrong one twice before ordering another one that will be here on Tuesday. If it doesn’t fit, we will have to special order one from the dealer. It’s been a pain in the you-know-what; however, I enjoy learning and doing mechanics— with guidance on certain tasks. I am hoping to drive it out of his garage on Tuesday and bring it home.

We planted 1,000 bulbs of garlic and covered the beds with straw. We pulled the plants out of the gardens (besides Brussels, cabbage, and Beets to save seeds) to be composted. We need to cover the beds with straw to prevent erosion and leeching of mineral and nutrients. Firewood, packing dried herbs, making bath salts, storing potatoes, cleaning & preparing the yurt to be a studio, tire changeover, winterizing engines, winterizing coop, and of course— the endless chores of parents. I wish somebody would have taken time to explain the unceasing responsibilities of active parenting! Laundry, sweeping, cooking, cleaning, playing, baths, deescalating conflicts, driving, shopping, wrestling, movie watching, over and over… While it’s a lot of work, and I am deep down a lazy bookworm who wants to do nothing more than read The Stand until it’s done, I wouldn’t trade this season of life for a cottage on a lake in New England.