Wednesday, May 15, 2013

How We Homestead Series-Week One

This is the first in a 5-week series about beginning a homestead.
We hope you will come back each Wednesday to read about
how 5 very different families are living and working toward this goal.


Here's our story:



How It All Began

All of my life, I've been attracted to the farming lifestyle.  Spending most of my growing up years in the suburbs, it was apparent that something was missing.  I was able to explore some of those feelings as a youngster riding and showing horses.  The smell of a tack room still sends me.  For the most part, the desires just got pushed aside.




When Big K and I got hitched, we lived on an acre
in an area where folks had animals 
and pretty much did as they pleased.  
It appealed to us.  A lot.
Some time after moving further north and back into suburbia, 
we realized it wasn't the lifestyle for us.
We don't fit into the soccer-mom, 70-hour workwee
that most of our neighbors aspire to.  
Our family of three yearned 
for a place to celebrate our uniqueness 
without the watching eyes and judgement
of those who don't understand us.  
Creating simplicity was a driving force.
And we wanted chickens...
Enter Jenna Woginrich.


Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life


When I first read Made From Scratch
it was as if she was writing  just for me.  
Here was this twenty-something woman,
creating her own niche on her own terms.
Then I stumbled onto the Cold Antler Farm blog.
I was hooked.



It suddenly all made sense to me.  
All those longings, all those skills that tugged at my curiosity
could indeed be fulfilled.  It was my responsibility to cultivate it.  
Big K and I truly feel that we belong on acreage, 
and that Lil' Guy's life will be exponentially improved 
by living a more rural lifestyle.    
Although we may still be a year away from our dream property, 
we continue to immerse ourselves in all things homesteading.



My profile used to say, "I'm stuck in suburbia", 
but I now know that this is all part of the process.  
We wouldn't have realized where we truly belong 
if we hadn't gone through this transition.  
Until we are able to make the dream come true, 
we'll enjoy every step on that ladder
knowing that God has our backs.

 
     "We write our own destiny; we become what we do."
-Madame Chiang Kai-Shek

Visit these four bloggers 
who are sharing their wisdom in this series:

Amber at Making A Home
Meg at Little Homestead
Staci at Life at Cobble Hill Farm
Tammy at Our Neck of the Woods





14 comments:

  1. Nice story ! I was raised on a 200 acre farm that we lived off of as I became an adult I , moved to a small farming town when as I got older that small farming town grew into a huge ugly city of over 500,000 people with in 20 years I longed to get back to the country but couldn't at the time then I met Papa and we both wanted the quiet simple country life . We live in a small but wide country valley village with enough property to do what we want for now but I see us in the future owning our own hobbie farm with miniatures , chickens , and more ! I have country and farming in my blood ! Thanks for sharing . Have a good day !

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    1. Love the vision! Thanks for sharing your story with me!

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  2. Hey Daisy! I love your story! It's so funny because I just blogged about how I grew up in the country yet, at one point, desired to live in the suburbs! I'm so glad that we didn't make that move and we have fully embraced living rurally (as I always have lived anyway.) I am most definitely going to check out the book and the Cold Antler blog links you gave. I've never heard of either of those! Have a blessed day!

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    1. How blessed you are to have grown up in the country. Enjoy the resources. I think you'll like them.

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  3. Oh, I loved that book! It spoke to me as well. I'm kind of a nut for homesteading blogs. I loved reading about your story and can't wait to read more!

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  4. So awesome! I really enjoyed reading more about your story. For me, it was a documentary that led to where we are today, and it looks like a book kind of set you on your path. I'm so thankful for outside influences that can help us realize our deepest desires! I'll have to look into that book and blog because I think I'd really enjoy them.

    I'm so glad you didn't get stuck in suburbia forever! :)

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    1. That documentary changed me forever too, as it did many people. We just have to be open...

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  5. Oh you are going to enjoy every step of that ladder. Cold Antler Farm is a great blog to learn about the desires of homesteading.
    I am looking forward to reading more about the climbing of that ladder. B

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    1. So glad you stopped by! Enjoy all of the bloggers in the series!

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  6. You are so right that it took the suburbia lifestyle for you to realize where you really belonged. Isn't it funny how we know instinctively what is right but we still fight it? Human nature I guess. :) Loved the post - thank you so much for participating!!

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    1. Yes, we do know what we need, don't we? Thanks for thinking of the idea for the series!

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  7. Daisy, I can really relate to your story. Thanks so much for sharing. I grew up in the suburbs too, but I would always pretend and play that I lived in a cabin on a farm. I think I was very influenced by the Little House books. . . .

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    1. Love those books and the tv series as well. I've always been attracted to stories about the pioneers. Good to see you here!

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