Well… We did it.
We bought a house.
With some land.
It’s not a lot of land. Only 1 acre. But after being in town for 2 years and in situations where we couldn’t have our homestead dreams before that, it’s a huge step in the right direction!
So we actually took the plunge in March (and now it’s July) but we’ve been so busy I’ve barely had time to catch my breath, let alone time to start a website!
We’ve had to clean out the entire house (previous owner was a hoarder), redo all the plumbing (including a new line from the main to the house), build two walls, paint, change the kitchen faucet (twice!), build a fence, build a chicken pen, fix the leaky roof, haul off all the junk in the yard (still have the port-a-potty he left…), and try to unpack while juggling 6 kids ages (at the time of moving) 3 months to 11 years old.
It’s been crazy. But amazing. Hectic but exciting. Exhausting but totally worth it.
We have gone from having no self-sufficiency to having meat rabbits, chickens, and a compost pile. It’s not a whole lot, but it’s a start.
And would you believe that this all happened because of a compost pile??
When we were living in town, I had someone come till me a garden and I planted tomatoes, various peppers, corn, lettuce, cabbage, onions, and green beans. I loved having the memories of helping my grandparents tend their garden when I was younger and I wanted that for my kids.
I also wanted to teach them about living more intentionally and in a way that was better for the earth. So we started a compost pile. They got to learn about what things decompose, what doesn’t, and how each helps/hurts the planet.
I told my husband, Sam (you’ll see me mention him occasionally), that I wanted to get chickens and rabbits to further help them learn about the circle of life and how our food is grown, but we weren’t allowed to have chickens in town and he didn’t want rabbits there. He also said the compost pile didn’t make much sense living in town. (I never could convince him that Urban Farming is a thing.)
So he said that our next house would be in the country so I could have my farm. And he pulled it off!
We have makeshift pens currently thrown together with pallets, tarps, and scrap fencing. Not pretty, but they are effective.
No garden yet because we have to cut down 7 trees before we’ll have sunlight in the backyard.
And even though we have a barn, we can’t use it until we finish hauling the hoarder’s stuff out and fix the parts that are in disrepair. Hoping to have it usable within the next month so we can move the animals into it.
But all the work to do aside, we have made one heck of a start and I can’t wait to bring you along on our journey!
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our NEW Facebook Page Huckleberry Farms! Get daily posts about the goings on at the farm, funny memes, and information bites that can help you with your homestead journey!
