Congrats on raising kids with common sense and work ethics!
The problem with my lists -- which are ponderously long and include many items similar to yours -- is that I find some of the same projects and goals listed for multiple years. Plus, I keep adding on to the darned things And, often, if I have to choose among the many things that need to get done, I surrender, retreat and ignore all of them.
Rabbits girdled my young apple trees, so I bought four new ones this year. Last week, I realized the golden delicious had succumbed to a fungus. I could buy truckloads of apples from the local orchard for what I've spent on replacement trees over the years.
I'm usually disappointed that I haven't made better use of some of the fruits that grow on the property. This year, I intentionally let the birds eat all the mulberries (I can't find any way I really like to prepare those to eat), the aronia berries (still have some frozen from last year) and the pears (not a huge pear fan and the tree is very tall). Learning to let go was better than having pangs of conscience because I was "wasting" food. Instead, I was feeding wildlife. Okay, I do regret that a coyote came into the yard to eat pears. Until then, I had no idea coyotes liked fruit so much.
Speaking of coyotes, that's a contributing factor to my sleeplessness -- including the wee hours of today. My dogs spring awake at the sound of coyote singing, whether close or distant. Frantic barking ensues until I get up, take the dogs out on leash or run outside on my own and scare off the visitors. It's hard to settle back to sleep after all the activity.
I'm pretty confident that my poultry is all safely housed at night. But, I have one sheep left and two goats (I've been reducing their numbers by natural attrition the last few years). So, as long as there are ruminants here, coyotes will be a sleep-depriving threat.
But, I can only blame the coyotes so much. There's still all the stuff that runs through my head when I'm trying to sleep and can't.
