My mom loved bread; she once told me that the happy place in her mind was the center of a warm loaf of bread. In one of my favorite pictures of her, she has a warm dinner roll pressed against…
5 Months from the Homestead Dream: 5 Tasks to Complete
The closing date for my dream farm is just under 5 months away – it’s a perfect 10 acre blank slate that will allow me to build the homestead dream I’ve been working towards since I was a kid. While…
13 Useful Ideas for My Homestead from Self-Reliance Magazine (2023 Issues)
For the past couple of years, I’ve had Self-Reliance magazine delivered to my apartment mailbox every quarter. Flipping through the articles in my third floor city(ish) apartment, I couldn’t help but feel far-removed from ever putting these ideas for my…
Designing An Orchard for a (Semi) Self Sufficient Homestead
In approximately 4.5 months, I will close on my new 10 acre farm, and the race will be on to get as much done as possible before summer comes to an end. I’m excited to hit the ground running, but…
Customizing a Coat for an Ungrateful Goat
I think the most important part of being a homesteader is adopting the homesteading mindset – the ‘do it yourself’, problem-solver, make-use-of-what-you-have approach to life. After all, that’s self-sufficiency, isn’t it? Relying on yourself before you rely on corporations? Meet…
Buying a Farm: Process Update 3
Earlier this week, we got our second significant accumulation of snow – a welcome contrast from last winter, when it felt like it didn’t snow at all. The seller sent along beautiful photos of the farm in the snow. While…
Books for the Future Homesteader: Stay Motivated with 6 Great Reads
It was the summer before my junior year. Being 15 years old is a formative and tenuous experience in and of itself, but to add insult to injury, my mom had just been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. I…
Buying a Farm: Process Update 2
Last weekend, I was riding horses with a friend at my family’s farm. From the saddle, I looked out over the farm with my future home and farm in the background. I couldn’t help but think about how surreal it…
Preparing for Homestead Life: Prioritizing Tasks & Budgeting for Success
With less than 6 months before I close on my new 10 acre farm, my mind has been swimming with a million ideas and questions and potential problems that need to be addressed. As I shared in a recent post,…
Buying a Farm: Process Update 1
On November 18, I received a text that changed my life: I was going to have the opportunity to buy a 10 acre farm. I had reached out to the owners by handwritten letter over two years prior. I had…
6 Months from the Homestead Dream: 6 Tasks to Complete
In just under 6 months, I will receive the keys to a 10 acre farm – a blank slate on which I can build my dream semi self sufficient homestead 🙂 Because this is an off market sale, I was…
Buying the Farm: What exactly is included in my farm purchase?
I am less than 6 months away from closing on my new 10 acre farm, with the goal of turning it into a semi self sufficient homestead! Here is what’s included in the farm I’m purchasing: Additional benefits include: a…