Have you ever thought about Homesteading?

Have you ever thought about Homesteading?

     There are many reasons to start your homestead. First you can be more sustainable in how you live off the land. Second no matter whether you live in the suburbs or in the country you can still use homesteading as a secondary source of income. I know that Suburban living will limit what you may be about to do but you can plant fruit trees and a garden.

So where do you start?  

     For those who live in the suburbs you many choose to raise chickens*. Maybe you are thinking of buying property in the country just to get started with your homestead. Just keep in mind you do not need a hundred acres to have a small homestead that you can survive off of. That includes one acre of land. Things to think about when buying land; what are you going to do with it? Are you going to farm the land or raise animals or possibly both? Will you build a house or will it have buildings already? You may find a piece of land with a house on it and maybe an outbuilding or two or you may want to build a new house. Just make sure they are all in good condition for future use.

 For land you will be purchasing undeveloped do you have access to water on the property you are looking at? Will you have road access to it or will you have to share road via easement? Will it be something that may be cleared of some of the trees? You know that using the lumber from your land purchase is a big help when saving money not only for lumber but for fuel and possibly food. Some things to think about when you do purchase the land is what it will cost you? Will you have money to pay down, and what will the land tax be? Will you have the options to have gas electric, county water or well, sewage or septic, and internet? Is the soil a good soil for growing?  Does your area support solar power? This will be something to think about for sustaining your homestead.  Think about where the winter sun will be when you build. Will you need pasture area?  What you can do if you have a rocky area to clear, these rocks can be used in so many ways such as building, marking of small flower beds, etc. Once you have found that piece of land don’t just scoop it up right away, if you can, think hard on it. Will it serve all the plans you may have even in the future. This is a big decision that takes great thought.

     Once you have bought your property have a survey done to make sure where your property starts and finishes so you are not infringing on your neighbors land. Something to think about as far as fencing and pastures go is what is the best area for them and where will it be in reference to the house and barn. Use your land to your advantage. Make a map to design what and where you will place each area. Now days you can download a map of the property from Google Earth to have a good look at the Arial view and use it to decide some of your plans. It even gives you tools to show property ends and the measurements of the land to help get a good idea of scale.

     Plans may take a while to sort out but in the end researching is your best friend. I can say this we came into our property because we lost our house in town and we had a friend that was willing to sell it to us since he had another place to live at that time. We didn’t get to choose the setup of where we wanted out house or anything back then. We ended up with about 7 acres and it was up the hill from the road (700 feet straight up) and despite the fact we ended up with an old trailer that was falling apart I wouldn’t trade it for anything. We have a large area of oak trees for wood. We have a 90 foot long patch of blueberries and a few fruit trees. Enough yard to enjoy a pool and patio with the family. There is plenty of space for pastures for our animals and more. I could only wish the well was still intact but it quit before we moved here, but we do have county water with septic. The driveway has a lot to desire as every time it storms we have a washout. That is a lot too it is about ¼ a mile long. We also have a ravine that runs through the upper part of it that was once part of the original wagon trail in the county. I have a view of the area for miles and that makes it so special to me it is like my own paradise. The flowers help too; down both sides of the property runs a row of yellow bells and daffodils crepe myrtle and azaleas dot the property. We have made a lot of progress to making it our homestead. We have built a garage and barns, Fenced in pastures and I even have plans for a pond in one part of the ravine for my Goldfish and Koi. This year we are going to build a small house using the ravine as part for a basement so we have a storm shelter. More on this in the future.

     Now if you think homesteading is something you would like to do in the future, I hope this helps you make up your mind. Making a decision takes a bunch of thought and planning. I know we never thought we would be living on the farm but now we produce our own meat and eggs and have a garden every year for food and fruit trees to supply us with sweet treats. When the house is built it will be a very sufficient house with geothermal heat and cooling and solar power. We are using recycled materials to help cut cost. Dream, plan and do it if you choose.

     Today’s quote:

She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies; and all that’s best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes.
–Lord Byron (1788–1824)

Scripture of the day:

Is. 65:21 They will build houses and live in them, and they will plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. 21 They will not build for someone else to inhabit, nor will they plant for others to eat.

 Today’s Weather:

Here in Banks County we get to enjoy the warmth of the day and no flooding. For those less fortunate keep that umbrella close and grab an oar or two to keep afloat. It’s all downhill from here.

* Raising chickens posted yesterday if you missed it.

Final Plans and Homesteading

Things have been so busy and chaotic here for the last few days. We have settled in our new chicks, which are from the same group of chicks we got in the beginning. Our friend decided to down size some more and the folks he was sharing with didn’t show so we were asked if we wanted them. We now have 5 Dominique, 3 Rhode Island Reds and 5 Australorps. My 3 kinds of heritage chickens for my project of good layers. One large egg layer and two medium ones.

The other day I went to feed and our goat was out of her pen. I was truly afraid we would have to chase her down but she went right back in as soon as she seen the feed bucket for her. And then there is Scapey the pig! She is no longer able to go through the fence to get back in with the other girls. She is always out roaming the yard or in with the boys. Unfortunately I think she is pregnant. She has found the row of blueberries and spends a bit of time eating them and she has one spot she favorers to rout, which is better than just routing up everywhere. I tried to lure her back into the pen with the other girls and one of the momma pigs rushed out the gate. I love that if you bring food they just follow you anywhere! Back into the pen momma went but not Scapey. She will not go through that gate. So back in with the boys she goes. She has been a bit more trusting  when I am in the yard, she comes to see me when I call her but  I only ever touch her nose. She is such a funny pig.

Last night my granddaughters brought over their rabbits so now we have three. I am going to have to sex them to get them separated into pens or we may have more than that next month!

Hubby fixed the leaky faucet in the bath. So no more drip, but what a booger that was. I have put the final measurements to the house plans, making sure all cabinets fit in their places in my kitchen. Also measuring furniture for the space we will have to place it. I have scaled way back on size now and figured how to save us a lot of money. We are added 16 feet to each end of the existing house and the trailer will be history. No more shifting walls and floors or leaky roof! This renovation won’t take as much time neither. Less materials and less work. As soon as the truck gets its new gaskets etc. we will be on our way and the parts come in this week, and the truck has already been tore down and ready to install the new parts! For the first time here I believe my homestead dreams are starting to come together! The grand kids are excited too because the front closed in porch will become their bedroom and they will have everything they asked for. One loft bed, their own bath, a window seat and plenty of space for them to play school. We will also have the Library/ Office one the other part where I have my indoor greenhouse. That part may be the last of the project on the house but it is in the plans. It is my grandkid/parent suite as it may. 

I know our goat is not pregnant now because she has gone into heat and the male goat that was coming with her may not come at all. My daughter said they have tried for the last week to catch him. I think he will be staying there. I don’t want to have to chase him here if he ever would get out! We have put out the word we are looking for a Nigerian buck.

This has been a busy last few weeks. I made my deodorant and some arnica salve for my oldest daughter. Maybe I can get some soap made soon. We are getting close to the end and it takes a month or more to cure. With all this rain I have to get back out and mow again too. Not to mention electric fence still needs to be run in the bottom part of the field down low to keep the pigs in and around the top area too. I want to get the garden in for the fall growing crops too. Homesteading is a never ending job. I hope this time next year we will be making money off of it.

Mending Fences

Despite the fact it has been raining here almost every day for the last week I have managed to get a lot done. I have been working on refinishing a big coffee table that my daughter gave me for the new addition of the house. In between rains I have been sanding and waxing it little by little.

Also we have got the new pool up and running. The girls have been little fish all day long, even in the rain. This year we converted over to a salt water pool. Already it has paid off.

My daughter’s boyfriend is giving up farming for the time being and I bought two goats from him; a male and female and she may be pregnant. Not sure what kind they are yet and don’t really care at this time as I need someone to mow down the pasture some to share with the pigs. I spent the morning mending fences and fixing pens. The goats will be delivered sometime today or tomorrow. I will be ready for them.

I have been doing a lot of research on homesteading. I want to get serious about what we have going on here with our pigs and chickens. The goat will provide milk for us sometime in the near future too. I can use it in my soap too. I want to make some money off the animals we have now. I do need a few more chickens, but that will come soon enough too.

Blueberry bushes are ready for picking. They are the nicest ones we have had in a while with all this rain we have been getting. So picking and preserving is on the list of things to do. Not to mention mowing the yard again, if the rain stops enough for the yard to dry up a bit for me to do it.

The house plans are still in order and we have to pick up poles soon. The Sumac trees are tall in the back of the house again.It's due to the crazy weather too,and that means work all over again removing them before the poles go in. Ugh how I hate how those trees keep popping up everywhere.  We have called about roof supplies and we may have got some help with the build that would be a blessing for sure if we do. Anyway I have been a busy little farmer. Time keeps on ticking and one day my house will be done and I will be happy. Until then I will keep plugging away at it.
Just finished my table!