Shootin' it Straight - Measuring Stick (Free Access - Not Paywalled)

Measuring Stick

Although not quite fully engaged, you can hear the grinding of gears as springtime attempts to engage. It's time to evaluate where we stand and pull ourselves up by  bootstraps as we put winter in the rearview. I always treat the dreary winter months as planning sessions. Cooped in the house for more than my daily average I plan my warm weather projects. From expanding the fencing on the farm, building that back deck, gardening, or getting around to wiring the work shed it's is on the list.

 The ideal of self sufficiency isn't a new novel mindset but with the scourge of Covid and world wide shortages the mentality of "doing it yourself" became en vogue. Have we progressed any over the cold season? Picked up any new skills or polished up others? We should be driving in stakes and pulling twine for straight planting rows soon. Getting the stringers cut for those new steps should be a doable task at this point. That shiplap wall you've avoided all year should go up just as the home improvement books you've studied says. Breaking that mower tire down off the rim isn't a job you need to pay a professional for. A little winter homework would have you tackling it. That sidewalk you've been pondering pouring yourself? Tackle it. Buy your canning equipment now and be ready for the crops harvest. 

 Winter is the time to sharpen skills. We all can improve or learn. I, personally go into a semi-funk in the cold months longing for lengthy warm days. As much as I despise it I try to make solid use of the days. I read, I study, I practice, and prepare. What you know and what you can do fully for yourself is things others can't take away from you. None of us will ever be fully on our own but we should pride ourselves in how little world turmoil affects our daily routines.