One thing I disliked about working in the world of rectangles was that regardless of the season, the work was always the same. Get up, get dressed, go to work, work for 8 hours, go home. Hope for good weather on the weekends so you could do your yard work and play a little. It might be spring, but the temperature was the same in the office so you could wear the same things  to work that you did in the winter. The yard needs seeded and fertilized. The house needs cleaned. You might have a kid who wants to learn to ride his bike. You may need to change out the snow tires from the car. Not to mention its a beautiful day and you’d like to take an extra hour for lunch.

But because of the needs of the office, the daily work requirements don’t change. There is no allowance made for the seasons. In most office you can’t work a few extra hours on a dreary rainy day, and take off on a sunny one. Maybe you can if you plan ahead, but weather is prone to change and you could find yourself at home with time to plant your garden but it’s pouring. The weather doesn’t work around your office schedule, and you certainly can’t adjust your entire office’s schedule around the weather.

But homestead work is completely weather-dependent. No need to wait for a sunny day on a weekend, you can plant your garden whenever you get an hour of sunshine, any day of the week. You always have to care for the animals, but the care you provide and the time of day you do it can differ. When you don’t have to give the best hours of the day to an office, you can weatherproof a hutch or coop while the sun is still shining. Much more pleasant. Or if the day is nice, you can let the animals free-range in the yard for the afternoon.

Poor weather can be spent indoors. Unless you have put off an important errand, there is no need to get in the car when the roads are in bad condition. There’s always dishes or laundry to wash, or a winter craft of knitting or sewing to do. Bread is nice to bake (and smell!) when you’re staying indoors. So are cookies.

I find that I prefer having a weather-dependent lifestyle. The outside chores pile up during the winter, and get all taken care of in the first few nice weeks of spring. The inside chores pile up while I’m enjoying the fresh air of nice weather, but a couple rainy days in a row get them cleared out.  Every week is different, and every day in that week is different. The life is just as busy (definately!), but the schedule is more laid-back. It’s definately the life I prefer.