Ten directions at once

Don came in from the shop the other day, looking a bit frazzled. The problem, he explained, is he had so many projects to do that he felt scatterbrained about which one to tackle first.

He was pulled in so many different directions that he would do just a bit of this and a bit of that, without bringing a particular project to completion.

In particular, he wanted to get a chicken coop built, but felt a more pressing need to begin the barn infrastructure for getting cows. (We can always get fertile eggs from our neighbors and hatch our own chickens, but he was worried we might have trouble finding Jersey cows.) The trouble is, accomplishing one thing was often hinged on first accomplishing another thing first, which in turn was hinged on accomplishing yet another thing … and so it went, until he felt like he was a hamster spinning on a wheel, unable to focus and accomplish anything at all.

So we decided to do something we did many years ago, when a similar dilemma arose as we were developing our last place into a homestead: Make a list. Simple, right? But there’s something profound about seeing it in black and white that propels people out of immobility.

We hammered ideas back and forth for our “wish list” while I typed it up. Wishes ranged from the immediate to the long-term, from lesser priority to greater. Here’s what we came up with:

• Build deck for Older Daughter’s suite
• Build storage platform above shop
• Organize a yard sale
• Fence the pasture
• Build chicken coop
• Build more garden beds
• Build wood shed
• Order drip irrigation supplies
• Install hand pump for well
• Build loft above shop
• Cut firewood
• Make a well house
• Re-plumb pressure tank
• Disk field for corn
• Coat decks with sealant
• Install sunshade on western wall
• Build deck storage room
• Clean gutters
• Build cattle infrastructure in barn
• Clean out shed
• Buy cows

We looked over the list and came up with two priorities. The first is to build a deck off Older Daughter’s suite. She has an outside door installed, but it’s three feet off the ground and her cat Frumpkin has no place to go outside. Building a deck (and then installing deer mesh so the cat can’t get out) would also allow her to open the door and get more cross-ventilation in her rooms.

The second priority is to get cows, but before we can do that, we have to build the infrastructure inside the barn to keep them in comfort (including a milking stall, calf pen, and feed boxes), and to find room for hay storage.

Right now the barn is still a mishmash of tools, equipment, and mountains of things we plan to sell at a yard sale. We also have some items in long-term storage for Younger Daughter. Before Don can work on building barn infrastructure, we need to clear floor space. He hopes to build a loft above the shop where we can store some bulky but seldom-needed items.

This is what I mean by projects hinging on other projects. Doing this hinges on doing that, which hinges on doing that, which hinges on doing that, ad infinitum.

But at least Don now has firm guidance for which projects to focus on first. Number one, Older Daughter’s deck (which she’ll help build). Number two, the loft above the shop.

It might seem strange that something more homestead-related isn’t higher on the list – such as a chicken coop or more garden beds or something – but there’s a method to our madness. We can build a coop later in the summer and it’s too late for a garden anyway, so we may as well focus on different things.

And frankly, getting cows is becoming our top priority. We have all the lumber, fencing, and other materials necessary to install cows on the property. We just have to get these projects done.