Yeah, right…despite resting as much as possible over the last few months, I have not been able to recover from burnout. It feels like I’ve hit a wall. Recovery is definitely a work in progress.
Phoenix here, talking about homesteading and working while dealing with burnout. I took time off in September and December for self-care and rest. Now, I am actively trying to figure out if it’s possible to ease back into work, which happens in a few days. I suspect I will re-experience what happened in the fall, with burnout returning in a matter of days. I need to be gentle with myself and with my expectations, remembering that self-care is what makes it possible for me to manage my career and the homestead.
Regardless of burnout, the homestead work continues. We slaughtered a ram in November with our neighbor and split the meat. K and I ground around 45 pounds of meat and froze it in 2-pound portions. So far, we’ve made Shepherd’s pie, burgers, stew, and chili. Our friends and neighbors have enjoyed some mutton as well. Being out in the middle of nowhere, maintaining our sanity requires social connection with our neighbors. These connections, through sharing resources and spending time together, enrich our lives.
K and I have set up some planters indoors and have been harvesting greens, peppers, and tomatoes in the winter. We’ve found it more manageable for us to maintain a few plants year-round and harvest a few vegetables throughout the year rather than growing a lot of plants during the growing season and trying to preserve everything for the off-season. It would be different if we were feeding more than two people and if we didn’t have work outside of the homestead, but these few plants provide a manageable amount of produce for the two of us.
During the two weeks I’ve taken off during the winter holidays to continue burnout recovery, three lambs and three kids (baby goats) were born. The lambs are able to survive outside in subzero temperatures soon after birth, but the kids need about a week before they can maintain a high enough body temperature on their own. I’ve been bringing them in at night and bottle-feeding them with their mother’s milk for the past few nights and may need to continue to do so for another week since temperatures are supposed to drop. It’s been so fun watching them running and jumping around. Our 1 ½ year old dog has gotten in touch with her mothering instincts and tries to nurse the little ones.
Life on the homestead, particularly with entertaining animal interactions, refreshes me and helps me cope with the other aspects of my life, including my full-time work as an environmental scientist. And for that I give thanks.
Next post: Part 4: Burnout–returning to work while continuing homesteading