I recently started a new habit that I’ve really been enjoying; waking up early. To some that may not seem like a big deal, especially if waking up early comes naturally for you. Me, I’ve always been a night owl. Rarely would I get to bed before midnight most nights (mornings?), which in turn meant I almost never got out of bed before 8am. Being a work at home Mom and a homeschooling family, I’ve never really had to wake up earlier than that. But I always wanted to! I’ve always wanted to be an early riser, enjoying the peacefulness that can only be found just after the sun comes up and the air is still a bit crisp. I pictured myself waking up at 5am and having quiet time to myself before the kids wake up, to get things done and to add a few hours to my day (my biggest complaint used to be there were never enough hours in the day to get things done). So I’ve started going to bed earlier, which was a big challenge for me, and waking up earlier. Each week I set a goal for myself to wake up by a certain time. This week my goal was to be up by 7am, but I’ve already accomplished that and have been waking up at 6:30. I’m aiming for a goal of 5:30, but for now I’ll happily take 6:30. Today was such a beautiful morning, I walked around my garden taking pictures, watered the plants, and then sat out on my deck and read the Bible. It was fantastic. This early-riser thing is getting much easier, and it’s so worth it.
After a lot of rain here, even for the West Coast, we’re finally seeing summer temperatures and the plants are thriving. The Calendula is blooming and is ready for picking, and the Centaurea Blue Boy (also called Cornflower or Bachelor’s Buttons) is now flowering. The petals on both flowers can be used in salads or in teas which I can’t wait to try. I wanted to make sure that everything I planted in my garden was useful in some way, either for eating or for medicinal purposes. I also have Nasturtiums growing, which are great in salads and also for attracting aphids, which in turn keeps the aphids off of your other plants. I’m trying to grow Yarrow this year which has great medicinal properties. I attempted it last year and the year before, but I haven’t had any luck getting it to grow. I’m hoping third time’s a charm.
Centaurea Blue Boy
Single Orange Calendula ready for picking
I took a peek at my blueberry bushes and was so excited to see this, and had to share.
Ripe blueberries
As promised, I’m going to show you my water storage. So far I have just one barrel, which is exactly like my rain barrel only without the attached gizmos. This barrel is in my carport and right now I probably have space for 4-5 more so I’ll be working on getting those put in soon.
55 gallon water barrel filled with water for storage
I also have several 5 gallon containers filled with water, as well as a few cases of bottled water. I’m not big on storing bottled water because of the waste factor of the plastic bottles, but when they go on sale for a really low price then I pick up a case or two. My focus though is on the barrels and containers. They say that for emergency preparedness you should have 1 gallon of water per person, per day for cooking, drinking, and cleaning. With my current water storage we have enough water for 23 days, and that doesn’t include the rain barrel.
I don’t use my carport for anything other than storage of miscellaneous stuff, as you can see.
My messy carport
It’s horrendously messy and unorganized, but I have plans for this space. It is going on my project list which I will share about in another blog post. It involves furry cuteness. That’s all I will say.
I hope you enjoy this beautiful Sunday, and thank you for making my blog a part of your day!
This Little Homestead 