Just when you think you’ve “arrived”, you realize you’re lost, or something like that. One step forward, three steps back. There are other ways that one might want to characterize homesteading. None of it is easy. Spring is particularly busy and I always think of selling the farm and “retiring” to a genteel life filled with laying poolside, chatting about absolutely nothing important, drinking mimosas, and dining on food that someone else raised and prepared. But, I digress…
I have written about my experiences in SurvivalBlog in 2022 and in SurvivalBlog in 2023. Now I write about where the farm is at in year 3.
Let’s see… in three years I have cycled through a lot of farm animals: chickens, guinea fowl, goats, rabbits, cows, pigs, sheep, cats, dogs, and more cows. A neighboring farmer asked me if I was going to get a Giraffe just to round things out. Ha! I’ve spent three years trying to grow a large garden… the bane of my existence. I started a side hustle of selling excess raw milk (in accordance with my State’s laws).
The good news is that the infrastructure is humming along although it was a significant amount of work and money. I no longer worry about not having enough water for the cows (new well), or the roof leaking (new roof), tornadoes ripping the old siding off the house (new siding), mice eating the animal feed (barn cats and critter proof containers), etc.Continue reading“Year 3: An Honest Look at the Farm – Part 1, by SaraSue”