Prepping this week looks like: No planting this week at our place. This is the moon sign for any "fruits" you haven't started yet. Squash, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, etc. I am cheating this year and buying whole plants in June. We can't put them in the ground until the end of June, so for me it makes more sense at this site to just buy them. The rabbit nest boxes are in, and I am checking them twice a day, waiting for babies. This week I will breed the rabbits that didn't get bred last time. All of the breedings this year are targeted for the 4H fairs at the end of the summer. We have 3 fairs nearby, with specific guidelines for maximum ages and types. Anything that doesn't sell will go in our freezer in August. April has been a lot colder than usual, and I am really glad I waited to breed this year, so the weather will be warmer for babies. I have been doing a hard look at the economics of food lately, and what will be getting the first price jumps. I have already started getting a little extra at each trip to the store. Last week it was honey and sardines, and this week it will be batteries for the solar fence chargers for the livestock. Our tax refund just hit, so getting tires will also be on the "sooner than later" list. In the next few weeks I need to switch the small animal housing set-ups to summer mode. The rabbit barn is a new addition, so this will be a learning curve for what summer mode will look like. My original idea was a really simple swap, but the prevalence of stray dogs in our neighborhood and the coyote pack that moved in next door mean I need to change my plan. Since the birds are new, their setup will have to be built from scratch, because the greenhouse they are in will be too hot by the end of May. This summer I am doing growing trials for several medicinal herbs that I have not grown before. These trials, are how I test what will actually work for my specific site. I just try 2 or 3 plants in a spot I think they will do well. Then I take lots of notes on watering, sun damage, soil needs, and if they are ready to harvest before our first frost. There are about 20 more plants I want to test this year, but space and time are always limited.

The longest living people around the world don't live near big cities or fancy hospitals or go to gyms. They don't use fitness trackers, or take expensive supplements. They eat food they grow in their backyard or was grown by a neighbor. They cook simple meals from scratch (with lots of repeat meals). They walk a lot. They have friends they hang out with. They feel like they have a role in their family and community. They have a spiritual practice that is meaningful to them. As the world gets more and more crazy, remember the little old folks in mountain villages around the world. What would they care about right now? How would they respond? We need to focus less on billionaires and more on Italian (or Greek, Japanese or Hunza) grannies. Not buying into the race will be the biggest flex. I am here if you need guidance on what to focus on to prep your family for the wild ride ahead. This is not going to be just another round like the COVID-19 restrictions. 1. In general, when you go to the store, buy twice as much as you would normally get. I'm going to go into more detail next week, but the price jumps are not going to hit all at once. The first jumps will be things that are imported. Medicine, grains, tea /coffee, olive and coconut oil, processed food, canned fish, pasta and some beans. 2. Start practicing cooking at home and using things that are in season. The way out is actually a much healthier path. If you need help shifting to cooking from scratch or seasonal eating that accomodates special dietary needs, I am ready for you! Image: Rabbit nest boxes are in place.

Peas are a favorite treat for ducks and snow peas are one of the few green things my son will eat. They are nitrogen fixers, so growing peas improves your soil and they are really easy to grow in the spring (even in our chilly climate). Peas need to be 4-6" apart. Honestly, it took longer for this video to load onto Skool than it took to plant 80+ pea plants. 😆 FYI: lentils are even easier to grow. Same technique but they don't need the vertical support. They should be about 8" apart because they are a bushy plant. I don't grow them these days because they are so inexpensive at the store and the yield is not as productive per sq ft as other crops.

Psst , don't tell anyone....although it sounds super fancy, with all the stuff I do, it really doesn't take a ton of time. I have developed systems and rhythms that reduce both the time and mental load, so a lot of it runs on mental autopilot while I am half awake and thinking about other things. My planting list for this week took less than 10 minutes to do. (Except the houseplants). Which is why in February I break it down week by week what I need to plant for the season. Then each week I just look at the list and do the small steps. It is easy enough to be able to do even if my life/ADHD is super challenging that week. My 100+ houseplants take about 10 minutes per week to care for. The 20 rabbits now only take 10 minutes a day (total) to care for (except for breeding stuff). Systems and rhythms are my biggest strength. They mean I can keep going when I am sick, or busy caring for family members, or just really distracted. The concept of permaculture is an established set of 12 steps to build systems that are efficient, reduce inputs or waste, and sometimes run themselves. It was originally for ecologically based food systems, but the sequence applies to medicine, families and business as well. What is one task in your week that you wish you had a better or more streamlined system for? What is one system or rhythm that you have developed that you are really proud of? Image of tulips blooming in my yard from a few days ago.