There’s a misconception that homesteading begins with land. I’d say that homesteading begins with the posture of your heart and a little curiosity. In my case it first fleshed itself out with a loaf of bread.
Several years ago before the age of high-speed internet, Pinterest boards, and social media influence I was simply eating some bread and decided, ‘I could make this.’ So, naturally as a stay at home mom I asked for a bread machine for Christmas. I’m under the impression that if it benefits the family then it benefits me ( which is why I’ve spent a few nights up researching Berkey water filters because thats what I’m asking for for Christmas this year.) Those things are pricy! Now, back to rolling out dough. It wasn’t long before I shucked the machine and started kneading the dough myself. Such satisfaction! I was getting closer to the product and my heart was moving closer to a more self sufficient lifestyle.
Soon we put our house up for sale and it took three years to get out from under the debt of high living. We found a small historic house in town and spent three years there trying to regain our footing. We began homeschooling and had our fourth baby. Strapping her in a ring sling to line dry her cloth diapers in the driveway I had another epiphany, ‘ I could make these!’
A friend gave me a sewing machine and at night I taught myself to sew and began making and selling Ring Slings under my new small business; Baby Hugger Ring Slings.
Our boys were growing and would spend their days in a Red tip bush at the end of the driveway, they called it “the hideout” but there wasn’t much hiding in this hollowed out bush where everyone from town passed by on their way home from work.
With our house backed up to the railroad tracks, a concrete plant on our left and the annual festival parade blocking our driveway every year, we had had enough. We needed out of here, with urgency, we needed the woods.
After three years we decided to sell our house and sold it to the first buyer within a month. Maybe it was the homemade brownies I left on the table for them? Whatever the case we were moving! We bought some land and rented a house one street over with a six month lease.
In God’s providence our neighbors would be the catalyst for our homestead. Who knew that this precious couple in their late 70’s would be the role models we needed for living off the land?
Tucked in their tiny backyard was a flock of chickens, a gorgeous, flourishing garden, and a beehive.
One day I looked off the back deck into their backyard to find my children helping them butcher their meat chickens. “ I figure you need to know how to do it for when you have your own.” he explained.
We spent the next six months working sun up to sun down on our land and house, doing most of the work ourselves we built a simple home. Before our house was even finished our coop was built with old wood from the lumber yard and my neighbor donated one of his laying hens to mother a clutch of chicks I picked up from the feed store.
After sundown we delicately placed the chicks under mama hen and by morning she thought she’d hatched them all out herself. I would stick that trick in my book and use it many more times over the years. Even more times than that someone like my neighbors would invest in our future by pointing the way, offering up supplies, wisdom, and most importantly encouragement.
I knew my boys needed some woods to get lost in, to explore, and to just breathe in the freedom of nature, but what I didn’t know is that I needed it just as much. To work with my hands in the dirt, to watch the live birth of an animal, and to plant a seed that would feed our family has been so rejuvenating and life giving. And it all started with a loaf of bread and a curious spirit that knew we were made to be a little closer to the things we consume.
Over the years we’ve experimented with bees, sheep, goats, cows, pigs, chickens, ducks and turkeys, we’ve tried out different garden plots and filled our freezers with wild game. We’re still figuring out how to get the most out of what we have and still asking the question, “could I make that?”
I began my homesteading journey from the perspective of a Nutritional Therapist, closet herbalist, and beekeeper. This mentally gave me a few barriers to diving into the conventionally accepted tools for animal health such as antibiotics, injectable vitamins, generic minerals and mass produced bagged feeds…
I am not well traveled. I’ve never flown on a plane. I’ve never been north of Ohio or west of Texas.I’m not as well traveled as some may say one should be, but this piece of land has housed all of my fondest memories…
Do you ever worry that your kids will miss out because of this homesteading lifestyle choice? This fear crosses my mind time to time. I’m sure many, if not most of you, could agree that it can be extremely difficult to get extended time away from the homestead for more than a full day, especially in the busy summer months when daily chores demand our regular attention…
“In some Native languages the term for plants translates to ‘those who take care of us’ … the land knows you, even when you are lost.” – Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass…
Babies, Business, and Bumper Crops: How I am Learning to Homestead with Babies in Tow
Have you ever had one of those days? You know the days when you are cleaning the baby’s diaper, milking the cow, scooping poop in the barn, wiping noses, and cleaning more poop off of kids’ shoes…
One year ago, I resolved that I would learn to make all of the bread products my family needed. With an ever-shrinking bank account battling current inflation prices, I would walk the aisles of our local markets frustrated that I did not possess the skills required to make most of the things I needed to purchase…
Hey there, Homesteading Mama’s!
I’m Rachel from @frontier_homesteading. My husband Ryan, three children and I have been homesteading for about 10 years now, first in Wyoming and now in Alaska.
We currently have milk goats, pack goats, sheep, a pig, a cow, chickens, rabbits, bees and a dog. Seasonally, we also have more pigs, meat chickens and turkeys….
Stained glass windows date back to the 7th century. With the earliest known reference dating
from 675 AD when workmen were imported from France to Britain to Glaze the windows of a
monastery…
Homesteading and growing food is not the easy way out of this life, i would say it is the hard way as there’s nothing convenient about it. It’s a lifestyle, a life change not a trend or hobby. Well, that’s my opinion any way…
