Ah, sustainable living. It’s the dream, isn’t it? Growing our own food, reducing waste, and nurturing the land. But let’s be real—sometimes it’s a royal pain in the ass.
Take our wood chips, for example. They were one of the few good things that came out of those horrible storms last year. But guess what? They’re frozen solid right now, when we need them the most. We thought we could use them to cover up the mud, but no such luck. Frozen chips are about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
Then there’s the tractor situation. We borrow it from my mother because we haven’t justified buying one of our own yet. Problem is, it hasn’t been run in a year. We put off messing with it in the freezing cold, and now we’re kicking ourselves because we suspect we’ve missed our window to use it for spreading the wood chips. If it’s too wet, we just get stuck. If it dries up or freezes again, then maybe—just maybe—we can borrow it.
The plan is to use the wood chips to cover large areas that lack grass or have poor grass coverage, like the old garden spot. Before I was born, we had a utility lane that ran between two properties. My grandfather, who worked at the coal mine, would bring up truckloads of coal to cover that lane instead of buying rock. Over the years, grass sort of took over, but it’s sparse at best. We’re hoping that by covering the lane with wood chips, they’ll break down, feed nutrients into the soil, build organic matter, and boost grass production. Sounds great, right? If only the frozen chips would cooperate.
And don’t even get me started on the interconnectedness of it all. The area where the wood chips are currently piled is going to be our new garden area. It’s a classic case of “one thing depends on another,” and it’s enough to make anyone pull their hair out.
Now, let’s talk about some of our ongoing sustainable living practices that can drive us up the wall:
- Not Using Chemicals: Do you know how easy it would be to just grab some chemicals and get rid of those pesky weeds and pests? But no, we’re committed to doing things the natural way, even if it means pulling weeds by hand and dealing with insects the hard way.
- Cooking from Scratch: Being an ingredient house is great until it’s midnight and you’re snacky. You stare into the pantry, realizing you actually have to make something from scratch instead of grabbing a ready-made snack. It’s like a cruel joke sometimes.
- Butchering Our Own Animals: It’s so much easier to just not care about what’s in the meat and buy from the store. But no, we choose to butcher our own animals to ensure the quality and ethics of our food. It’s rewarding but definitely not the easy route.
- Letting Our Birds Free-Range: Sounds idyllic, right? Until you realize you have to be mindful of the poop all over both porches. Free-range birds mean free-range poop, and it’s everywhere.
Sure, most of these are temporary spring problems that will pass in a few weeks, but in the meantime, they’re a reminder that sustainable living isn’t always the smoothest path. Despite the frustrations, we keep going because the rewards—when they finally come—are worth it.
Got any sustainable living gripes or triumphs to share? Let’s hear them. We’re all in this together, after all.
