by Texas Homesteader
You know, last year was a hard one for us as I was diagnosed with breast cancer – those frightening words no woman wants to hear. RancherMan encouraged me to start a blog. Mostly I think to distract my troubled thoughts but also to give me a creative outlet during a prolonged period of treatment & recovery. (Yes, I do LOVE that sweet man-o-mine!)
So timidly I dipped a toe into the blogging world & it was more fun than I could have imagined. I happily wrote short stories about our lives here on the homestead to share a glimpse into our world with those outside our gates.
Starting My Blog
Because I wasn’t going back to a traditional desk job in an air conditioned office, but bouncing around the pastures on a tractor or pushing cattle through the chute, my doctors cautioned me to take it easy for quite awhile after my surgery. Of course RancherMan wouldn’t allow even milder tasks such as mowing the yard for several weeks even after I was released by my doctors. So blogging took up much of my idle time and allowed me to use my creative side in a way I had never experienced before.
I started putting the word out there that there was a new blog in town – marketing my little blog on Facebook and Pinterest, Google-Plus, Twitter and LinkedIn. It was slow going at first but as I added each of these social media outlets for my blog it grew faster and faster. I learned about blog parties and how to put your blog out there using the best presentation of properly-framed pictures, and that certain angles on food pictures worked better than others, etc. It’s a whole complex blogging world out there!
Blogging’s A Lot Of Work!
Before I started my blog I had really enjoyed reading other writers blogs. But I assumed they just sat down at the computer and hacked out words about their day, threw in a few pictures and hit “PUBLISH”. Since starting my own blog I’ve discovered exactly how much work goes into each & every post.
Not just the actual words themselves and post editing but taking all the photos, photo cropping & editing, labeling, post scheduling, as well as endless promotions on blog hops, twitter, Google-Plus, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook, etc. Kudos to you hard-working bloggers out there that pump out awesome content day in & day out!
But now things are speeding up on the homestead. I’m not a full-time blogger, but a full-time homesteader and I really need to strike a balance in my life. Spring and summer are traditionally busy times for our duties since our cattle are calving. And properly-timed trips are needed to the vet for recommended procedures such as vet-administered BANGS vaccinations. Our days are filled to the brim with calf weaning, pasture rotations, hay moving, chicken & goat raising, pasture mowing etc. The list goes on & on.
And of course the garden is going full speed and all its veggie-goodness surplus needs to be preserved by either dehydration, freezing or canning. The garden needs my daily attention since weeds not picked early become bigger problems.
And with our NE Texas heat & humidity you really can’t afford to let weeding get ahead of you! Growing plants need to be staked or trellised, mulched and watered. All you gardeners know that although it’s a labor of love, there’s many hours of hard, sweaty labor that goes into a healthy productive garden as well as properly putting away that surplus food.
And our community responsibilities are still in full swing such as obligations to our church committees and our local food pantry are fulfilled by us as promised. So with this wonderful yet complex workload speeding up I’m thinking it may be time for slowing down my blog posts.
But I love my blogging way too much to stop it completely or even just start putting out random posts every few weeks. I’m thinking maybe I should stick to a schedule where I publish posts about twice each week throughout the summer, then maybe pick back up to four weekly posts again in the fall and winter. What do you think?
What are your favorite type of posts to read?
- Recipes
- Gardening
- Ranching
- Beautiful Scenes
- Frugal Living
- Food Preservation
Weigh in and I’ll try to focus on those topics. Thanks for understanding y’all!
~TxH~
I love the way you write from the heart and enjoy all of your stories. I first started following because a preserving food post got my attention. As different topics appear I found I enjoyed these even if they might not have attracted me in the first place. They are a ray of sunshine to read. I think to keep your writing style first and variety topics will give you more freedom to enjoy the blogging. Being too restrictive on one topic may mean you enjoy the blogging less. I work full time too and think that you are fantastic to do even 2 posts a week during the busier time. Enjoy it rather than force the creative flow. Regards Fran
I personally like coming here to read how fellow Texans do it on a larger scale. I don’t have cattle Just chickens and small garden –on our small acreage . But I do enjoy reading about your experiences. I especially like reading your frugal tips and stories. Hang in there. I hope you’re able to post twice weekly – I’m going to subscribe so I’ll know when you post! Pat
Not sure where I would be in my homesteading journey if it weren’t for the advice, encouragement and transparency of faithful bloggers such as yourself. Whatever you choose to do, I hope you will follow your heart. If you do that, it will be apparent in any topic you write about. Thanks for all you do.
Having growing up on a farm myself,I hear ya and understand when you say things have been busy on the ranch. There’s Always things to do, things that need fixing, livestock to care for, etc. Basically it’s a never ending job from sunrise to sunset and beyond. There’s never a dull moment when living on a farm or a ranch so I understand your situation perfectly.
Your topics are Always interesting to me no matter what you write about.
I have a love of animals, so you talking about your animals brings great joy to me; plus I’m a little ole country gal so your writings about life on the ranch interests me deeply.
Face it; I just enjoy reading no matter what you write about of which is much appreciated. You give us a variety of everything which is nice.
Enjoy your evening and have a wonderful weekend and stay cool.
I like all your topics and really appreciate the variety. I am retired and live in a small studio apartment, but come from a farm background. I am living the rural life vicariously through you and some other bloggers I follow. I hope you continue to post regularly, even if not as frequently. That said, please take the time to keep a good balance in your life.
I like all the posts about animal raising!!
Some how my comment vanished–so if it reappears and is duplicated I apologize.
I just wanted to say that I enjoy your blog because I do not feel that you post just for the sake of posting. In my book, quality trumps quantity every time. What I like best about your blog is your practical and frugal approach to gardening, cooking, preserving etc. I think you intertwine topics perfectly. You give a very nice snap shot (sometimes literally) of how to live a more sustainable life; I applaud and appreciate that.
It’s hard to pick a favorite – I like all your topics and I especially like Throw Back Tuesdays. Keep writing and I’ll keep reading! Cynthia
Your overall ranching entries attract me. I do hope that you can settle on at least two regular posts a week as I so enjoy your offerings.
My favorite posts are about ranching itself, along with your beautiful pictures. That’s your unique perspective and what I love about your blog!
I enjoy all the topics. You always choose fine topics for wordless Wednesday. I now have a composter like yours; what a great idea that was. I used to put vegetable leftovers straight into the garden but it looked messy. I will gladly read whatever you have time to write, especially the practical ideas. Thank you for sharing your ranch life.
OMGoodness Judy, what a sweet comment to start my day… 🙂 Thank you. ~TxH~