It has been a while since we have been able to update. We decided to share some of our journey about homesteading. Sometimes sharing can be hard as we are private people. But, the things we learn, experience, and struggle with are worth sharing if they can make a difference for one person. That journey is more than just a garden, cows, and cooking. It is about values, work ethic, and love. Our family is centered around homesteading. We recently moved to a small plot of 4 acres that gives us the opportunity to grow. We are able to expand our garden, our herd, and our love.
Our garden this year was planted later than normal. We had started our seeds in our old home’s garage and lost them all with the move. At first, I was disappointed. I blamed myself for not being able to split my attention between home projects, baking, working, and more. But, that is life. Failure teaches lessons. My lesson this year has been flexibility. We bought plants from the store and moved forward. I haven’t always been able to go with the flow. Our garden, although planted late, has already been feeding us! We have had radishes, broccoli, and peppers. We are almost ready to harvest tomatoes, zucchini, and more. Not only does this move allow us to have our garden, but expand it! We now have started our orchard! We couldn’t be more excited and impatient. We have planted blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and green and purple grapes. This fall we will plant apple, pear, and peach trees. All of our plants are picked with a purpose. We have early, mid, and late season-bearing plants to keep us fed and not overwhelmed with too much produce at one time.
When we are out tending the garden we often have spectators. Most often, it is Clyde, our Nigerian Dwarf goat. This move provided us the opportunity to bring our herd home. We now have our animals on the same property where we live. Before our move, we had to drive to them daily, never knowing what we would pull up to. Sometimes, they were angels, behaving as they should. Others, their head were caught in something unimaginable. Some people can relate that goats are escape artists. We dreaded the calls or texts that they had found a way out of the pen. Now, we are so blessed that they are 100 feet from our front door. They have more grazing room than before and we can be more involved than ever. Our herd is an extension of our family. Their needs are just as important, if not put above ours. We provide for them as they are going to provide for us. Since we have been over here, we have welcomed 2 more cows. Cheddar is a Dexter Highland cross and Cream is Butter’s calf being full Dexter. They are both settling in and Butter is taking care of them.
Last, but not least, our love has been able to expand.
Working through a move alone can be challenging. Not only did we move ourselves, but we moved our dreams. We were planning on building a home of our very own, with our own hands. Pausing that dream was heartbreaking. We felt like we were giving up on ourselves and letting others determine our fate. After finding this property, our excitement slowly built back up. We spent many late nights changing plans, working out the kinks, and thinking of our future. We decided that the most important aspect of this move is room for growth. Nicholas and I have been struggling to start a family for a while now. We have been to doctors, had testing done, and tried almost everything we could. We don’t share much of that journey as it is private and can be painful. But, we are planning on expanding our love to children who need it. We are almost done with our fostering license and pray that we can take a child in and show them the love they need. We couldn’t be more excited, or nervous, to become foster parents soon.
Our love for living off the land and building family pours into everything we do. Now that we are settled, we are excited to share it with you all again.