
Thoughts On the Seasons Of Life
I love seasonal living. And like so many others, fall is my absolute favourite time of year. The weather cools down and so does the laundry list of chores and projects and obligations as the general busy-ness and chaos and sweaty, sticky, uncomfortable heat of summer subsides. I even like the rain that starts up again, because it offers an excuse to stay inside and cozy up with some hot chai and a good book.
Of course, fall is still busy with its own set of chores. We’re still preserving the harvest and prepping our garden beds for winter and gathering firewood and buttoning up all sorts of other projects that need to be finished before winter sets in. But in general, fall is the time of year when we start to slow down just a little bit and begin to really enjoy the fruits of our labour; The final products of months of blood, sweat and toil (and yes, sometime tears) that we put into our homes and gardens and lives in the spring and summer seasons so that we might be blessed with abundance come fall and winter.
Yes, I love seasonal living, and I love fall most of all. And I’m especially glad that seasons come and go each year and don’t last forever, because each one has its virtues as well as its drawbacks. I would never want to live in any one season too long.
And yet it seems, even though summer has come and gone this year and the cool, crisp days of fall are upon us, it seems that we are very much still in the summer of our lives right now.
Because just like each year has four seasons, so too does each lifetime.
I’ve thought a lot about this at various points in my life, and I’ve been thinking of it an awful lot lately. The past few years have been trying ones for us. To say we’ve been busy is a massive understatement. We rarely get a weekend as a family to just be. We’re either renovating or building or moving or birthing or coping with loss or moving relatives or going to work or pursuing higher education or starting businesses or tackling homesteading and gardening chores of all sorts… There’s rarely been time in our lives over the past few years to take a break to savour our accomplishments, (although I will say that we certainly make gratitude a priority every day).
At 35 and 31 years-old, respectively, my hubby Ryan and I are right, smack-dab in the busiest season of our lives, which I liken to summer. It’s the time when everything seems to be happening all at once with no end in sight. The to-do list seems to be never-ending, and there’s always so much going on in all corners of our lives that it can feel overwhelming and hard to keep up with it all. But then I remember that it is, indeed, only a season.
Sure the seasons of our lives last longer than the seasons in a year, but all things come to an end. I know we won’t be in the summer of our lives forever, and that certainly helps me to get through the hard days and to practice gratitude instead of wishing my life away. Still, summer is a hard season. It’s busy and chaotic and jam-packed with responsibilities and “things to do” before fall. And that’s where we are right now.
Still not sure quite what I’m talking about? Let me break it down season-by-season, starting, as most all life does, in the spring.
Spring
Spring is all about birth, growth and preparation. For our gardens it means sowing seeds and nurturing seedlings that will grow into big, healthy, nourishing plants as the year progresses and the seasons change. For humans (and other animals too) it means being born, learning to walk and talk and do many of the things that will serve us later on in life.
The spring of our life is all about learning and growing and becoming. Spring is never about products or results. Instead it’s about sowing the seeds that will one day blossom into all of the goodness of tomorrow. It’s about initiating the hard work of building a good life for ourselves, for much like gardening, if we begin this process too late in the season, we will be at quite the disadvantage later on in life.
Indeed, spring is hard work. But it is also forgiving. In the spring, time is on our side. There’s time to make mistakes and start over again. There’s time to play and learn and discover new things. There’s time to simply enjoy the process of growing up without all of the responsibility that comes with actually being grown up. Spring is hard work, but it’s not as busy as summer.
Summer
In the summer, things really ramp up. In the seasonal summer, life revolves around weeding and and watering and building projects and harvesting and gathering and preserving, as well as the busy-ness and chaos of all of the social commitments, weddings, special events and children home from school. Summer is fast-paced and jam-packed with activities and obligations, and while it can be loads of fun, it can also be stressful and overwhelming if we try to fit too much in.
Likewise is the summer of our lives. This is the time in life when we are busy establishing ourselves. Perhaps we’re getting married and having children and shaping our careers and buying homes and setting up homesteads and trying to build wealth while simultaneously haemorrhaging money trying to do all of the above. It’s exciting and fun but also stressful and overwhelming.
For many of us, “summer” means raising children of our own and nurturing them through the spring of their own lives as we try to fulfill all of the duties of our adult lives as well. It means responsibility and keeping up with all of life’s demands at once and feeling pulled in a million different directions. We may even find ourselves “praying for rain,” so to speak, so we can just get a break from the overwhelm.
Luckily, just as sure as the seasons change each year, so too do the seasons of our lives. They must, for no mortal being could ever keep up with the pace of an endless summer.
Summer is always sure to fade into fall, eventually. And when it does, we find often find ourselves breathing a sigh of relief as things begin to slow down.
Fall
The seasonal fall brings with it a feeling of gratitude and abundance as we give thanks for Earth’s bounty and enjoy the fruits of our summer’s labour. Sure, there is still work to be done harvesting and processing and preserving and preparing for winter. But the work of fall is the work of finishing projects, and comes with the satisfaction of checking things off our to-do list once and for all.
In the summer, there is always more to be done. In the fall, however, projects get finished and food gets stored away and most of our gardens begin the sleepy process of being put to bed for the winter.
In life, fall means much of the same. It’s the time in our lives when we really begin to reap what we sowed in the spring and worked tirelessly at growing in the summer.
Perhaps it’s the time in life when we feel our careers are well established at last and we start to enjoy the benefits of better pay or a better position at work or simply more money in the bank that we’ve sacrificed for years to save and invest. Maybe the fall of your life means seeing the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to paying off your mortgage or finally seeing your dreams become reality, whether those dreams are of building your perfect business or homestead or family or life.
Fall is also often the season of life when our children are perhaps not fully grown, but grown enough that they are able to genuinely contribute to the household because you spent the necessary time teaching them the things they need to know to become independent, thoughtful human beings who understand the value of hard work and pulling their own weight.
And fall is also the time when we get to slow down and sip a cup of tea and simply just enjoy being. It’s cozy and comfortable and much less stressful than the summer. Sure, there is still much to be done, but we can make time for a walk in the woods on a crisp morning. Maybe even a little vacation?
Of course, after fall comes winter.
Winter
Seasonal winter is first time for celebration. It’s the ultimate time of joy and merriment and kicking off your boots to relax by the fire with a rum and eggnog at long last.
There’s some busy-ness at the start of winter for sure. The holiday season brings with it a time of social events and family gatherings, travel plans and dinner dates and parties and gift exchanges. It’s as if everyone is trying to cram as much fun and as many festivities as possible into the short time they have left before winter really socks in and we all turn in to hibernate through the rest of it. Because after the raucousness and gaiety of early winter comes the slow, reflective, quiet of late winter.
This latter part of winter is when we slow down, relax, reflect on the past year and make plans to do things differently next time around. It’s the time of year to prioritize ourselves for once, and to focus on our physical, emotional and spiritual growth and wellbeing. It’s a sleepy time of year when, on our own time anyway, we have total permission to sit back and do nothing at all should we so choose.
We’ve done the hard work in the spring, summer and fall. We’ve celebrated and lived life to the fullest in early winter. And now it’s time to wind down and bask in gentle enjoyment of our year’s worth of hard work before it starts all over again.
For in seasonal winter, there is always the promise of another spring; Of another year of seasons ahead. Not so, however, when it comes to the winter of our lives.
More On The Winter Of Our Lives
The early winter of our lives might look much like the early winter we experience annually, full of excitement and celebration and fun. Maybe it’s around this time in our lives that we find ourselves retiring, making more time for friends and festivities, travelling the world and seeing and doing all the things we’ve never had the time or money for in previous seasons of life. Indeed, this time in our lives can be just as busy as any holiday season as we rush to knock things off our bucket lists before we become proverbially “snowed in” for the rest of our days.
And then, just as one year turns to another and January sets in, we too begin to slow down in the late winter of our lives.
At this point, the most important work still to be done is on ourselves. It’s the time when we reflect not just on the year gone by, but on our entire life. Do we have regrets? Are there amends to be made? Did we live a life true to ourself and our beliefs? How can we grow most meaningfully in our remaining days? What would we do differently if we were promised one more spin around the sun? What lessons and legacies do we want to pass onto the next generation before our time is up?
What I Know For Sure
As I sit down for the third time to finish writing this, squeezing this passion of mine that I have for my little blog in where I can as I charge forward through the midsummer of my life, I am reminded that in life we only get to experience each season once.
For me, my spring has already come and gone. I’ll never get it back. And while I look forward to fall when a few weights might hopefully be lifted at last from our shoulders and we can finally begin to really take the time to enjoy the life we’ve created for ourselves, I wouldn’t trade the seemingly endless, busy summer of my life for anything. Because all of the chaos and overwhelm; The births and babies and kids and marriage and mortgages and projects and financial struggles and the fact that there just never seems to be enough time in the day to get it all done…
All of that only comes once in a lifetime. And for all we know, one lifetime is all we ever get.
So as we ease into fall here on our new little homestead-in-the-making, we have every reason to give thanks this season. For even though we are still very much in the summer of our lives with no seasonal change in sight, I know deep down that winter is coming, and fall will be here soon enough.
So enjoy whatever season of life you’re in, because it’s the only chance you’ll ever get to live it. Life ticks by whether we’re present and enjoying it or busy wishing it away.
Even if you’re struggling or suffering or simply stuck in a rut, find something to be grateful for in this moment of your life. In good times and in bad, always remember, “this too shall pass.” Just as sure as the seasons change each year.
What about you? What season of life are you in right now? How do you celebrate the season you’re in and practice being present where you are right now? Let me know down below.
Oh, and Happy Fall Y’all 🙂
Related Posts:
4 Comments
Submit a Comment

ABOUT ANNA
You Might Also Like
How to Use a Rocket Mass Heater to Cook & Heat Off-Grid
* This article contains affiliate links. For more information, please read my Affiliate Disclosure. Learn how to heat and cook off-grid with a rocket mass heater, and why this is an even more energy-efficient solution than a traditional wood stove! This is a...
My Favourite Things – 2022 Edition (aka. The Modern Homesteader’s Christmas Wish List)
* This article contains affiliate links. For more information, please read my Affiliate Disclosure. Every year around this time, I compile a list of my favourite things: Things that I love, use or covet for my own homestead, and things that I know other modern...
If you haven't checked-in lately, the last week or so, we've sorta been in the trenches of homesteading and life over here. While some make it out to be glamorous all the time there are high's and low's just as there are in life.
With all that's going on, I've been making a point to find my way back into the garden, which is not only needed to feed my family, but also for some personal spiritual nourishment.
I just want to take a minute to love on my favorite veggie today, Broccoli! 🥦 It's one we plant over-and-over and I'm leaning into its abundance this year.
Not only is it one of my favorites, but we've also found it's one of the easiest veggies to grow so if you haven't tried it or added it to your garden yet, there's no better time than the present.
I've got an entire post on How to Grow Broccoli from Seed here: https://thehouseandhomestead.com/how-to-grow-broccoli-from-seed/ if you're looking for any tips or tricks.
In my "How to" post you'll also find a link to one of my favorite recipes for Cream of Broccoli Leaf Soup!
Can I be honest?
Sometimes you've gotta take a step back and look at the life you've created for yourself and ask yourself "is this truly what I want?"
The other day I shared about losing two of our rabbits this week to Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease. The stress of losing them comes amidst a backdrop of heightened tensions around here...
From work pressures for Ryan to me trying to run a business and handle a very fussy, colicky 2-month-old (and a very busy 6-year-old), to things ramping up in the garden again and all of the other million things that need to get done (including multiple loads of laundry a day thanks to more spit up than I ever knew a baby was capable of producing), I finally felt like I was ready to crack this week.
Oh, not to mention we're doing this all on next to no sleep thanks again to our sweet boy.
I know this is all part of what we signed up for, but when it all happens at once, it can feel completely overwhelming. And when I'm completely overwhelmed and stressed out, that's exactly when I get sick too, which is exactly what happened a couple days ago.
Then yesterday (Saturday) I woke up feeling awful and decided to scroll Instagam as I nursed Noah. I saw other mothers with 6, 8 or even 10 kids somehow keeping it all together getting three square meals on the table every day while managing to keep a tidy kitchen and find time to Instagram about it.
I saw other homestead bloggers reaching new levels of success in their business that I can only dream about right now. And as I sat there in bed, covered in spit up with a ravenous baby nursing off me as I tried to console him, I felt sad for myself in that moment that I couldn't live up to the folks I was comparing myself to.
Later in the day I had to work, so Ryan took the kids to the beach and I stayed home. And I felt sad once again; Sad that I was missing out on yet another weekend with my family because I had created a life where I now have to work weekends just to keep up.
But the silver lining was that the work I had to do yesterday forced me out into the garden, and it was probably the most soothing thing I could have done for my soul.
(Continued in comments…)
Sometime homesteading looks like homegrown vegetables and freshly laid eggs and sourdough rising on the counter.
And sometimes it looks like tears when you have to bury one of your animals 😔
Ryan went out to feed the bunnies yesterday and Flopsy -our little black and white bunny- was laying dead in the pen. There was no blood, other than a little bit by her mouth. Seems like something internal happened. We’re not sure what.
Evelyn helped lay her to rest yesterday. It was a hard weekend for her. First she stayed with grandma and went with her to put her sick, 17-year-old cat down. Then she came home to the news that Flopsy was gone.
But I believe she’s more resilient because of it. We talked to her about how death is a part of all life, and allowed her to go through the stages of grief and process it however she felt she needed to.
Homesteading isn’t always sunshine and rainbows and snuggly barnyard animals. Homesteading teaches us hard lessons and helps us to become stronger and more resilient by challenging us daily.
Yesterday was a sad, hard day. But I’m glad we got to experience it together as a family.
A few years ago, Forbes published an article titled Dear Homesteaders, Self-Reliance is a Delusion.
Let’s unpack this…
What does self-reliant really mean? Is it actually achievable, or just a pipe dream?
Over on the blog today I'm unpacking all of these thoughts, and the things I do know for sure as a homesteader, mother and member of a strong and self-reliant community.
But I really want to hear from you! Post in the comments below what self-reliance means in modern times, or what steps you're taking to be more self-reliant.
Read the full article here: https://thehouseandhomestead.com/what-is-self-reliance/ or at the link in my bio
The spring issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine is out now!
It’s that time again...
The time when things begin ramping up in the garden, the barnyard and the home.
From trays of seedlings to baskets full of eggs, spring is in the air and I don’t know about you, but I’m here for it!
It’s also time for a brand new issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine, and boy do we have a good one for you…
In the spring issue, we cover a diverse range of topics from how to trade your skills for land to the realities of going off-grid, from seed-starting to what to do with too many eggs, and from the simple joys of a homemade herbal cocktail to the sometimes heavy emotional toll of raising meat animals.
In this issue, you’ll find:
🌱 What it really takes to live off-grid, with Tammy Trayer of Trayer Wilderness
🌱How you can trade your skills for a piece of land with the SKIP program from the folks at Permies.com
🌱 Everything you need to know about seed-starting to set your garden up for success and abundance!
🌱 What to do with too many eggs! Author Mimi Dvorak-Smith shares 800+ ways to use ‘em up when your hens start laying.
🌱 How to make your own healthier cocktails with homemade botanical syrups
🌱 Dealing with the emotional toll of raising meat animals on the homestead
Visit modernhomesteadingmagazine.com to login to the library and read the spring issue (current subscribers) or subscribe for just $19.99/year to read this issue and gain instant access to our entire library of past issues!
#modernhomesteading #homesteading #selfsufficiency #springonthehomestead
If you grow plants from seed (or if you want to), you’re likely going to want to start a few of them indoors. And if you start your seeds indoors, something that will make your life so much easier (and make your seedlings bigger, stronger and healthier) is an indoor growing stand with grow lights.
I've got a post I'm sharing with you today that will walk you through choosing the best type of lighting for whatever you're growing and then a step-by-step guide of how to make your grow stand, along with product recommendations if you want to make yours just like mine!
Ours can accommodate up to about 200 seedlings, but you can make yours as small or big as needed:)
You can check out the post here https://thehouseandhomestead.com/how-to-build-indoor-growing-stand/ or at the link in my bio.
Let me know in the comments what you're growing new, or what you're most excited about in your planting journey this year!
Theme of the Month: ADIDAS
No, not the textiles brand, it stands for: 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗜 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 because it's officially March and we are in full swing around here!
Before you just start throwing seeds in the ground or into red solo cups on your windowsill, it’s important to take some time to read your seed packets and get to know each crop’s specific needs.
Understanding the information on a seed packet is super important when it comes to gardening, especially if you want your plants to get a strong, healthy start and produce an abundance of food for you. And what gardener doesn’t want that?!
Set yourself up for success and take a minute to read through my 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦, before your weekend gardening plans begin.
Grab the guide link in my bio, or get it here: https://thehouseandhomestead.com/how-to-read-seed-packets/
Happy Planting:) ✨
This all-natural homemade toothpaste recipe is made with just four simple ingredients that are good for both your body and your bank account!
I’m on a personal mission to replace every commercially-made, toxic product in our home with homemade, all-natural alternatives. One-by-one, I’m getting closer every day.
The benefit of making all-natural toothpaste at home is avoiding the unhealthy additives found in most commercial toothpastes by substituting ingredients with proven benefits for oral health.
So if you’re also on a mission to rid your own home of toxic products and replace them with healthy, all-natural versions that actually work, then I highly recommend whipping up a batch of this all-natural homemade toothpaste.
Wishing you health, wealth and squeaky clean teeth… The all-natural way;)
You can find the recipe here https://thehouseandhomestead.com/all-natural-homemade-toothpaste-recipe/ or at the link in my bio.
It's that time of year 🌱 seed starting season!
I know you can feel it too. The transition from winter to spring is truly a special time. It’s when life begins again. It’s the very first taste of all that lies ahead.
So before you go just planting any and every seed you can get your hands on, I've got a list of 8 Things to Think About Before Starting Seeds, to get you off on the right food!
I will walk you through, planning, sowing, containers, watering, lighting and more, and if that's not enough you can download my Seed Starting Cheat Sheet at the end to lay it all out.
I hope you're as excited as I am for the beautiful Spring season that lies ahead:)
You can find the list here https://thehouseandhomestead.com/before-starting-seeds/ or at the link in my bio.
What are you planting this year? Anything new you've never tried before? Share with me in the comments!
Ever thought about growing mushrooms at home??
A great EASY way to get started is with one of these mushroom grow kits from @northsporemushrooms
All you need to do is cut open the pack, spray with a little water (the kits even come with a handy little spray bottle), and then sit back and watch the magic happen!
And seriously, watching mushrooms goes does feel a little like magic because they grow so fast you can practically see them growing, no time lapse necessary!
The mushrooms are ready for harvest in just a few days. No gardening experience or land necessary! Even a newbie homesteader in an apartment in the city can grow these babies!
This is a great way to dip your tow into the much bigger world of mushroom growing and harvesting, and to try out a few new varieties that you probably won’t find anywhere else.
I grew Pink Oyster Mushrooms, Lion’s Mane and Blue Oyster Mushrooms (all pictured here). I’ll be using the Pink Oyster Mushrooms in a rigatoni pasta for dinner tonight. I turned the Lion’s Mane into Lion’s Mane “crab cakes” and the Blue Oyster Mushrooms are delicious as part of a stir fry or sautéed in butter and spooned over sourdough toast.
If this reel intrigues you, you can grab your own mushroom grow kit (along with time of other mushroom related products, including fruiting blocks, outdoor log kits, medicinal tinctures, capsules and more) at northspore.com. Use code HOUSEANDHOMESTEAD for 10% off your order!
And if you haven’t yet, be sure to check out my interview with Louis Giller of North Spore Mushrooms in the winter issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine. You can also find my recipe for Lion’s Mane “Crab Cakes,” along with other delicious mushroom recipes and an in-depth feature on medicinal mushrooms including Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Chaga and Cordyceps in the winter issue.
Visit modernhomesteadingmagazine.com to subscribe or login to the library and read the current issue.
Mushrooms really are pure magic, don’t ya think? 🍄 ✨
#mushrooms #mushroomhead #shrooming #eatyourshrooms #mushroomsaremagic #modernhomesteading #urbanhomesteading #homegrown
If you’ve been following me for any length of time, it probably comes as no surprise that I don’t exactly love relying on the grocery store to provide for me and my family, and that sentiment is only getting stronger as time goes on.
Between supply chain issues, rising food costs and the plethora of unhealthy ingredients, chemicals and GMO foods on grocery store shelves, I’d rather toil in the garden and kitchen all year to grow and preserve my own food than have to rely 100% on grocery stores to provide for me.
But that being said, we are in no way 100% self-sufficient so when I do go to the grocery story, I haveI have some ingredient guidelines in mind that I use when shopping for my family.
Check out my shopping tips, what I do and don't buy, and where and who I like to buy from here at this link https://thehouseandhomestead.com/healthy-grocery-shopping-tips/ or at the link in my bio.
Usually by late February/early March, right about nowish, I’ve pretty much had enough of winter and the thought of enjoying a tropical fruit platter and a cold adult beverage on a sunny beach in *insert tropical vacation destination here* seems to be just about all I can think about...
But with a newborn at home that's about the last thing on our to-do list right now! So this year, I will be visiting my tropical escape via my favorite Low-Sugar Mango Jam recipe.
If you do have tropical vacation plans, have a piña colada for me 🙏🏼, but if you don't then this recipe may be just what you need to "escape" for a few minutes into that tropical paradise:) 🥭🍹
Check out the recipe here https://thehouseandhomestead.com/low-sugar-mango-jam-recipe/ or at the link in my bio.
Let me know how the recipe works for you, and if add in any additional fruits to change it up!

This is absolutely beautiful. I’m so glad I stumbled on it. You should submit it for publication somewhere, I can totally imagine this being the back page of Victoria Bliss or something.
Oh that’s so sweet of you. You made my day. Would love to see my work in Victoria Bliss! That’s one of my favourite magazines! Food for thought…
This is a beautiful post! I too, love seasonal living and recognize there are seasons to our energy and our lives and even our careers, beyond the rotations that the earth brings us. I too, at almost 35, am in the “summer” season. I’ve had a difficult past few years. No wonder, I hate summer!
I read your post about hating summer! I’m with you. It’s too chaotic for me. I’ve started waking up before dawn so I can have quiet, contemplative time to myself before the world awakes and the light of day brings a sense of urgency to the day. I think it’s just what I need right now, because I’ve learned that there’s no fighting the season we’re in, just like there’s no fighting the seasons throughout the year. It is what it is. But there are pockets of peace in between if we seek them out.