Busy Weeks

Somehow, it always feels like the month of April is my busiest of the year while also being the most expensive, while producing the lowest income of the year.

That's an unfortunate and typically frustrating combination that leaves me feeling like I'm going backwards, rather than making progress. Of course, the fact that it is "tax season" here in the USA doesn’t make things better!

I have often wondered why governments collect income taxes from people who live at poverty level... only to turn around and hand it back to those same people in the form of "benefits." Wouldn't it be simpler to just exempt the low income people... thereby also getting rid of a whole lot of bureaucracy?

I suppose that would just "make too much sense"... and governments are not exactly known for making sense!

Meanwhile, it is also spring time. Spring around here means that it is time to start planting our vegetable garden so that we will have a good harvest of food come summer and autumn.

As uncertain as the world feels these days, growing our own food has become increasingly important to us. Not only from the perspective of the supply chains being a bit sketchy sometimes, but also from the perspective of the ever escalating cost of living.

This year, we are doing something a little different. I just ordered some seeds for plants that have not been part of most vegetable gardens since the middle ages. Not that there was ever anything wrong with these plants, except for the fact that they were not suited to be taken to market and sold in quantity.

It is interesting how much the modern world creates things more according to how easy or convenient it is to market them rather than based on their actual utility to people.

One of the things we will be growing this year is so-called "sunchokes" which are basically a root vegetable much along the lines of a potato, but it's problem from a marketing perspective is that the tubers are not particularly attractive and they can't be harvested by machine. The other problem is that they are monumentally invasive and unless you want them absolutely everywhere you need to have a metal or stone barrier around them going at least 18 inches down in the ground.

Of course, we are also going to be growing regular potatoes which have long been a gardening favorite of mine.

Overall, our gardening efforts is also a part of a long-term endeavor to reduce the amount of grass that needs mowed, and instead use that land to grow things we can eat. Part of the challenge we face is not so much getting rid of the grass that's the fact that our local heard of deer to eat pretty much anything in their path!

Which is actually another benefit of some of the medieval plants we will be growing they are highly resistant to deer.

One of the things I actually enjoyed the most about gardening is the fact that it reduces my "screen time."

There's no way around the fact that I derive most of my income from working online, so getting completely rid of sitting in front of screens is just not part of my reality. However, I can limit my screen time to where it is purely dedicated to my work, and not to endlessly surfing funny videos with cats!

Spring busyness also means that I have a lot of house maintenance to take care of. One of the really big projects for this year is cutting back a bunch of the trees that are leaning over the house, because our insurance company is starting to make noises about canceling our policy because there are too many trees that could fall and damage the roof.

I am hoping we can reach a compromise on that one, because I really like all our trees... they offer a nice screen and some privacy.

For now, though, most of my focus is just going to be on getting taxes done and then I'm preparing the soil for spring planting!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week!

How about YOU? Do you have a time of the year when you are busiest? What time of the year is that, and what makes it so busy? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2026.04.06 16:05 PST
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