I’ve been a little behind on updates – the weather has been stunning, if not a bit too hot, and the pressure of summer ticking away has pushed me towards focusing on anything but writing. As I work, I’ve been…
Achieving Semi Self Sufficiency on the Homestead: My Goals – A Revisit from the Farm
In early January of this year, I sat down to write about my goals for my future farm life. It’s wild to look back on now – not because the goals have changed (they haven’t), but because I wrote it…
Week 4 at Farm 96: Shoveling Compost, Planning the Fall Garden
This week was a dichotomy of waiting and shoveling. When I wasn’t shoveling, I was waiting for someone – an internet technician, a contractor for a quote. And when I wasn’t waiting, I was ankle-deep in the compost pile, pitching…
Week 3 at Farm 96: Installing Garden Beds, Exploring Old Hay Lofts
New scratches and bruises crop up daily, along with inflamed welts in a variety of sizes from flies and mosquitoes alike. My muscles are sore, but not in a debilitating way – what alleviates it is further movement, so starting…
I bought the farm.
The best parts of the past four years have been bookended by highway drives; it was the price I had to pay to spend time at a 20-acre hobby farm owned by my mentor/friend. Sometimes I made that drive covered…
Next week, I will buy a farm.
I’m buying a farm next week. Next week, I will buy a farm. Two weeks from now, at this very moment, I will be a farm owner. There’s no amount of saying (or typing) it that makes it feel true….
Buying a Farm: Process Update 5 (6 Weeks Away from the Homestead Dream!)
I am just 6 weeks away from closing on my 10 acre farm!!!!! A few times per day, I suddenly remember that I’m buying a farm – and I usually exclaim this out loud to whoever is nearby. My friends,…
Stamped Metal Tags: A DIY, Zero Waste Garden & Greenhouse Option
Those little plastic plant labels are the bane of my existence – I find them in the compost, I find them in the yard, I find fragments of them in the soil when it’s time to plant in the spring….
Spring Break as a Part-Time Farmer
While I don’t own my homestead yet, I am very privileged to get to be a part-time farmer at my adopted family’s 20 acre hobby farm… which is conveniently right next door to the ten acre farm I am under…
13 Useful Ideas for My Homestead from Self-Reliance Magazine (2024 Issues)
As I prepare to close on my very own 10-acre farm, I’ve been revisiting some of the materials I have collected over the past ten years of working towards this purchase. I’ve read hundreds of books and watched thousands of…
Spring Greenhouse Update: 2.5 Months Out from the Homestead Dream
I am just 10 weeks away from closing on my 10 acre farm!!! This is by far my busiest season at work – I am a teacher, I coach a spring sport, and I’m finishing up my Master’s degree, so…
Getting Ready for Farm Life: 3 Months To Go
After a lifetime of planning and dreaming, it’s hard to believe I’m less than 3 months away from owning my own farm. I’ve been finding myself recognizing the little things I’m really looking forward to, things I greatly enjoyed but…