Winter finally made its appearance. Weather, it seems, is not as predictable as maybe ones use to think it was. Never the less, we have been prepared. We have learned to stay prepared. Yet, now it seems as if we shall have an early spring. Daffodils and hyacinths are blooming.
This post/sharing is about homesteading and beginning where one may be. Starting with small steps and praying about each step. Praying is a great necessity.
Think of how you define homesteading. As you research the meaning you will find it has changed over the many years from what it began to be. I found an article worth reading from Mother Earth News July 13, 2007 issue, you can google and find it. An excerpt from it states, " homesteading is about self sufficiency where ever you live." This is true. Many ones live in large cities, smaller town neighborhoods, or apartments and have found ways to homestead.
Self sufficiency is putting effort to grow, make or produce what you can and not rely so great on an outside source as the grocery store for one. You may think you can not do this, but you can. You may not can do as much as ones in rural areas, but every little step is a step in the right direction. I think I will begin with our beginning of homesteading
In 1983 we were living in a rural neighborhood. I had always, way back in my mind, had ideas of living a pioneer lifestyle, but did not know how to ever begin, didn't know anyone else living or desiring to live that way, so it kept being pushed back. But I did have an uncle and aunt who at one time ran a farm, and when I would visit them, I was so awed and loved everything about it. The hay smell in the big barn, we use to climb upon and tumble down, finding eggs along the way, that the hens had secretly laid, walking in the vast corn field between the rows, almost being invisible the stalks were so tall. There is something about the 'smells' of a farm that I find wonderful. So, with these memories, they would surface from time to time, keeping a faint ember of a life I desired to live. We began to subscribe to different magazines, BackWoods Home, CountrySide were the main ones. Also had found a set of the FoxFire Book series and read them.
Being in a neighborhood and no land to garden, I shared my thoughts with a dear friend of mine and what she would suggest to begin with first, right where we were at the time. She said canning. The two most simplest to begin with, green beans and tomatoes. Green beans have to be pressure canned, and tomatoes are hot water bath. She told me of a lady that had a garden and would be glad to sell me some green beans and tomatoes. So this was the beginning of my learning to can. We also were told of an older couple that sold raw milk. This couple had several jersey cows they hand milked every day. We began getting milk from them. As we became more involved with them, they taught us many things about their cows, hand milking and churning. They were a great source of information.
In 1990, we moved to the country. We bought a very small piece of land, 1/2 acre wide and an acre deep. We were in heaven. We got chickens and had a few pigs. We did not have the space to garden, but a neighbor across the dirt road said we could on some of his land. How very neighborly "). We continued to buy our milk from the couple in town, they were right on the outskirts of the city limits. After several years, the neighbors on each side of us sold their land to us as they moved. Now we had 6 acres, plenty of room for livestock. Of which, we began with goats. We did not keep them but a few years as we preferred cows and the products we could get from them. The couple in town sold us our first jersey cow. Now, 26 years later, we continue on with the lifestyle. We have grown in knowledge, wisdom, and many aspects of homesteading and believe we will always be.
Let me say, we do not live in the state where we began our homesteading journey, we have moved to TN. We plan to continue till death to live this life as we believe deeply it is the life God intended man to live. It is a life of purpose, fulfillment, contentment, and hard work, sometimes disappointment, but very worth while.
May I encourage any reader who happens upon this post to pray, search, read, gather any information from the sources that are so abundant. I would caution to not begin with more than you are able. Do not believe that you can't. Begin somewhere. Do not look at ones that have started out BIG.
Carla Emery wrote a wonderful book, The Encyclopedia of Country Living. It is a very practical and information book, nothing complicated and addresses various aspects of homesteading.
A very important thought, if you are single, well and good, you have only your dreams and goals, but if you are married, working together on each ones desires and goals is a must; be flexible, remember you both are traveling on the same path to reach the same goal.
I wish you success and much joy in your journey of homesteading.
In Joy
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