I think everyone is happy to see the back of 2020 – I certainly am! Between the huge political divide in our country that seemed to spike as the year progressed, the deadly devastation of Covid-19 and, on a personal note, my battle with cancer followed by a work-stopping broken wrist, I vote we leave 2020 behind and move quickly into 2021 with hope and expectation!
Yes, there were some really bad times this past year, but there were good things as well. From a homesteading perspective there were three that especially impressed me —
The panic buying of seed in the spring that meant I wasn’t able to plant everything I wanted held a hidden blessing. This nationwide seed shortage told me that people who’ve seldom (or never) grown their own food were trying to do just that. If even only one family started down the very rewarding road to self sufficiency, then missing out on some of the seed I needed to plant here on The Little Half Acre was more than worth that sacrifice.
Another silver lining in the black cloud of 2020 was that new gardens popped up all over the place. Everywhere we drove this summer on roads we’ve often traveled, we saw newly tilled and planted gardens. For the first time in perhaps several generations, country side lawns were tilled under to make space for garden beds. This happened so often I started counting them. In our county alone and only on those roads we often drove along, I saw 16 new garden beds and even more existing gardens that had been enlarged.
The third blessing to come out of this horrible year was that my organic produce and microgreens sold better than in the previous five years. Sales from one market almost doubled, and there were a lot more new people coming through the farmer’s market where I set up my tent every Saturday. It seemed that people were suddenly committed to taking care of themselves by buying freshly harvested, local organic produce.
Who knows what will happen in 2021? It could be a good year for politics and Covid and it could be another terrible year. I will try to find whatever hidden blessings there may be and look on the bright side. So from The Innocent Bystander (hubby) and your Happy Homesteader (me) and our kitties Thomas and Rusty, we wish you a happy, blessed and prosperous 2021!
