Learning to say “no” sometimes

During my professional career the one consistent thing I always heard during performance reviews was “you really need to work on saying no sometimes.” During job interviews when asked “what would you say are your challenges?”  I would turn what could be a negative into more of a positive replying “sometimes I struggle with saying no to requests and then feel stressed about it because I try to under-promise and over-deliver.”

While the lion’s share of my professional life is in the rear view, life at Wittbrich Acres presents daily opportunities to say “no.” In keeping with my way of being, the struggle persists.

Mike too is also an over-achiever so it’s not all that surprising that the two of us are in a perpetual state of being challenged by “just say no” opportunities.

Can’t say no to rehoming a rooster

Early this month, Mike helped a total stranger who showed up at our house asking if we could rehome a rooster that the city had gotten on their radar. I guess the good news is that he didn’t rehome him to our home (we have just the right hen to rooster ratio and hopefully new chicks on the way soon that may yield more roosters of our own). I reluctantly uttered the hard to say “no” but Mike made a few calls and found the rooster a new home flock so my no didn’t prevent him from turning it into a yes of sorts. We did a good turn for a stranger and that’s gotta be good karma.

Letting nature take her course can be hard

I went out to our two-sided compost bin to add some rich carbon matter and was shocked to find a litter of six newborn squirrels nested in the bin. Mama squirrel was on the second side of the rotating bin and she had eaten a hole through the plastic divider ring that separates the two sides. I could hear her scrabbling around in the second side, but the babies were all peacefully napping in the rich compost that has been carefully nurtured for my garden this season.

I said no to removing the litter, opting instead to leave mama and babies to take priority over amending my soil with fresh compost. Mike, by the way, had no trouble saying no to this as well and we found ourselves the surrogate parents of a litter of baby squirrels. They’re not even our favorite critters, but they gifted the Acres with their presence so were were duty-bound to leave them as we found them. Let’s just hope a family of alligators don’t decide to move into our pond! Update: despite our best efforts, nature had other plans for the squirrel family and they did not survive life amid our cozy compost.

As soon as the weather cooperated for a couple days, I pulled out my chainsaw and started taking down dead trees from around the property that I had identified and marked last year. I said “no” professional help with this task, despite the urging of all four of our sons. I wanted to be especially careful about damaging healthy specimens in the clearing process. It’s slower to do it that way, but I’m generally opposed to taking out any living greenery so the slow and steady route means extra time and work but less collateral damage. Clearing out the debris has provided a rich environment for healthy new undergrowth to begin flourishing. I will be planting elderberry and hazelnut bushes in newly cleared spaces!

Mike overseeded the entire front acres with white clover so our bees will have an on-going, readily available nectar source throughout the summer. Dandelions and clover used to be a hard “no” at our previous address, but at Wittbrich Acres, saying “yes, it’s good for our bees,” is the unexpected mantra we’ve adopted every time we encounter what we once considered the bane of our manicured lawn. My new bee colonies are due any day now and they will find a dandelion field for appetizers followed by the main course of newly seeded clover.

Hoping for the best from a broody hen

Rather than refusing a brooding hen her hormonal yearning to relentlessly sit on eggs we opted to let her try and hatch out chicks. It’s our first go ‘round with this particular effort so we’re not certain she’ll be successful, but we’re trying. We’ve set up our hen, Sita, in our chick house so she has a safe, quiet, and secure place to sit on eight eggs and do her utmost for 21 long days to bring them to hatch. So far she has been diligent in her parental responsibilities and we’ll know by the end of the month if saying yes to a broody hen was wisdom or folly. Worst case, Tractor & Supply is celebrating chick days at present so we can replenish our flock one way or another.

So it doesn’t seem like I ever did learn to say “no” very well. But at least at Wittbrich Acres, every “yes” brings some new learning, which is a gift I to which I won’t say “no.”

Thanks for reading along! Until May when, based on the April “showers” we had this month, the gardens should be awash in flowers! Until then may your days be filled with peace, harmony, and gratitude. Reach me at tami@toyourwealth.com with your comments, suggestions, and tips. They’re always welcome!