What DID get accomplished at Shalom Engedi Farm this summer?

Summer is drawing to a close and honestly I always feel a little sad when September rolls around.  Cooler fall weather will soon be here and the lazy days (cough cough) of summer will soon be behind us.  As life changes gears once again into more activities away from home I have the sense that I need to cram as much into the next few weeks as possible.

My To-Do-List-That-Never-Ends has a few items that if not done soon will need to wait till next year.  I find myself re-prioritizing to bump up some painting projects and bump down some gardening plans like setting up the hoop house. I'm making some trade-offs when I wish I didn't have to.

• I didn't get as much outdoor painting done as I wanted to.
• My gardens around the house are a mess - especially by the back door where the 8 kittens and three cats like to play. They sit in my flower planters and squish all the flowers, they have knocked my window box over so many times it looks like it's been through the war, they play hide-and-seek amongst the plants - which I have to admit is really cute...however!
• My basement has exploded as I try to find places for all my canning plus the leftover jars and equipment.
• I lost a whole box of cucumbers that a friend gave me because I couldn't keep up and I fed a half bushel of going-going-almost-gone apples to the animals (who loved them) for the same reason.
• My garden scheme has far too much ragweed in it!
• I didn't hang as much laundry outside as I wanted to.

Several friends have mentioned lately their frustration in not being to keep up with everything on their list of things to do and all of them have incredibly busy and complicated lives - what ever gave us the idea that we had to do it all - right now?  Send some love to Mrs. T if you have a minute - she just moved to her homestead this spring and has some great stories to share about how things are going.

I am guilty of this as well.  My mother has told me many times:  Rome wasn't built in a day!

So I decided to look back and celebrate what DID get accomplished this summer.

• We got the barn repaired - everything is nice and tight and the eaves troughs are doing their job.
• We cleaned up an old burn pile/garbage pit that contained years of old metal and junk. 
• We built a chicken coop that has functioned wonderfully!
• We will have raised three batches of meat chickens this year - the most ever so far - and increased our layer hen flock to 100 birds.
• I painted the garage and besides a little piece I can't reach - it's done.
• I painted some outdoor furniture.
• I fenced the front garden and expanded it greatly.
• We added more fruit bushes and learned how to prune others for better production.
• We cut and hauled firewood from some trees we had cut down.
• I got more total canning done this year than any year ever before and I am still in full canning mode.
• I learned how to make soap and my first solo batch is drying and looking wonderful!
• We got the driveway fixed - more parking area and less bumps.
• We are almost finished fencing the back paddock - my fencing guy has gone AWOL - it will hopefully be done this week.
• I survived a fridge meltdown in mid summer!
• I've become better organized in some areas. I'm still figuring out what works best in terms of where to put stuff for ease of access on the farm.  It's getting better.
• We're getting to know our 80+ year old neighbour who used to live in our home and is full of great stories and information about our community and how things were way-back-when.
• We've taken time for family and friends and FUN.

In between all this there's all the regular stuff - like some of our kids getting married and another sweet couple engaged and then every day chores and just life chaos in general.

Regardless of where you live and what is going on in your life are you taking time out to ENJOY it?  There's always lots to do and the list never seems to end - time for a cup of tea and a walk around the garden.  How do you manage your To-Do List?