Last week I spent some time in the garden doing something that feels a little bittersweet this time of year, cleaning up what was finished and making room for what comes next.

The garden was cleared of the plants that had run their course, the things that were no longer going to produce were pulled, and the fall garden was planted. There’s something satisfying about looking at a space that has been cleaned up and knowing that even though one season is ending, another one is already beginning.

I also stepped away from the garden for a little while – in between picking more tomatoes than I know what to do with, peppers, and cucumbers – and took some time to do the same thing inside my home.

I was on vacation and instead of feeling like I needed to fill every minute with something, I found myself wanting to simply get things in order. I cleaned and did a little organizing, went through things that had been sitting around, and started listing and selling things that we no longer use. Sometimes making room doesn’t mean adding something new. Sometimes it means being willing to let go of what no longer belongs in this chapter. And we’re not finished yet. We’re continuing to work our way through the house, one space at a time, keeping what we use and love and finding new homes for the things we don’t.

I started the week in our house and ended the week in another, the chicken coop! Just like the garden, the coop needs a reset. At the end of each month the old bedding comes out, everything gets cleaned up, and fresh bedding and supplies go back in. It’s a little reset that gives them a clean, comfortable space to start the new month.

And as I was cleaning the coop, I realized that the chickens have become another unexpected part of this chapter of my life. I had thought about getting chickens and even did some research, but I never really thought that one day I would have chickens. But here we are. And somehow, they fit right in with everything else I’ve been drawn back to lately, the garden, making things from scratch, and finding joy in some of the simpler things in life.

So, this week, we’re moving from the garden to the chicken coop.

I’ll share a little more about how the chickens came into our lives, what I named them after being told not to get too attached, what I’ve learned so far, and some of the things that have made caring for them easier.

I suppose that’s what this chapter has been about lately, looking at what I have, deciding what still serves me, caring for what I’ve chosen to keep, and making room for whatever comes next.

Sometimes a fresh start doesn’t have to be a major life change. It can be a small decision, a cleared-out corner, a new routine, or simply choosing to do something a little differently than you did before. I’ve been doing some of that for myself too. There are some changes I’ve been working on, and I’ll be sharing more about those in the weeks ahead. Because just like the garden, sometimes we have to clear a little space before we can see what we’re capable of growing.

Until next Sunday,

Kristen