Welcome to the homestead! I am Melissa and I am excited to share our homesteading life with you!
From raising (and processing) animals, to gardening and preserving the harvest, I will guide you through the basic tools needed to sustain your own homestead- no matter the size. Homesteading is my passion and helping others fulfill their homestead dreams is a wonderful bonus!
Homesteading life is full of ups and downs, laughter and tears, and lots and lots of shi poop. It’s not the easiest life but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
My husband, Mike, and I have been homesteading for 8 years. I grew up in the country and learned a lot of my skills from my parents and grandparents. Canning, for instance, is something I have been doing as long as I can remember. On our 5-acre homestead we currently raise chickens, ducks, turkeys, pigs, one steer per year, a bottle calf or two and a couple horses. Of course we also have our beloved dog Lily, and a few cats. In addition, we have a small apiary with two honey bee hives and an orchard complete with apples, pears, cherries, raspberries, peaches, grapes, and rhubarb. Two large gardens give me plenty of space to grow enough food to last us through the year and in the winter we tap maple trees to make syrup.
Oh, did I mention the human kids? We have three of those as well. Eli-9, William-6 and Loretta- 3. By far, the most challenging (and rewarding) of all to raise ;).
Homesteading hasn’t always been my passion. Growing up, I longed to own a farm (specifically my grandparents farm- which is still a dream of mine) but I thought I wanted to raise/breed horses. Those childhood dreams didn’t factor in the time, effort or money involved with such an endeavor, of course- ahh… the simpler days! Times have changed and my focus has shifted. I still love horses but living off the land, ethically raising a variety of animals and gardening/preserving the harvest, has become our greatest joy.
As I mentioned, I grew up canning but I didn’t really take it seriously or see the value in it until I was married with a growing family. Although my parents didn’t raise any animals for food, our dinner table always had home cooked meals and my parents canned a variety of things. When I moved out, I thought it was pretty fun to go to the store and buy whatever I wanted. That got old, real quick! Not only did I experience sticker shock, it also didn’t take me long to notice that things just didn’t taste as good. My own gardening/preserving, food from scratch, and animal raising journey started out slow but now I am canning hundreds of jars every year, cooking everything from scratch, and tube feeding calves without a second thought.
When my husband and I purchased our homestead (it was “just” a home at the time- we weren’t homesteading yet), we soon acquired chickens. Something my husband vowed he would never do. Now he loves them as much as I and we raise over a hundred every single year. Our animal load has grown quite a bit since then and we love learning and growing with the herd! We just added a family cow to the craziness!
Our homestead has grown from those first years and so has our family. Someday we aspire to amp up the crazy factor with a larger piece of land, including a CSA farm. Until then, we will enjoy raising our family and expanding our homesteading knowledge on this wonderful piece of land.
To learn more about me, my family, and our homestead come say hi on our Facebook Page, Instagram, and Pinterest Boards.
Visit us on the homestead on our new YouTube channel!
Tell me in the comments (or shoot me an email), what do YOUR homesteading dreams look like?
Thank you for stopping by the homestead!
Melissa
