FIRST DEVELOPMENTS

It's kind of difficult to begin this blog as if we were just beginning to work the property. Truth is, we've been working it for a few years now.

The property has been in the family for almost 40 years, but we only began to develop it about three years ago. That is when I built what is referred to as "The Deer Shack."

To the right is the Deer Shack under construction, 2020 August. Originally, it was supposed to be just a shed for keeping the tractor and for being able to work inside on various projects.

However, it soon became the living quarters for my brother-in-law, Bob, who is also working the property with us.

Bob has been a heavy-equipment operator most of his life, and is using his skills to clear some of the land and to build roads where needed.

This has been a life-saver for us, because when we first began coming out here in 2008, it was almost impossible to get here duirng the spring rains. Soft spots and mudholes made it quite difficult even for 4-wheel drive vehicles.

Bob brought the gravel in to put under the shack and made a level space for it. It is built right on the ground—something I won't ever do again. It was level when I started, but before I got all the way through the construction, some settling had begun making "plumb and level" a bit of a comedy routine.

After the building was commandeered for living purposes, additions had to be made. We had to close in the front space in order to keep the heat in during the winter. 

I am currently working on a space for a new cabin for me and Gracie. I will bring in a pre-fab building from an Amish dealer and set it up on piers about 30 inches off the ground.

I am still capable of building the cabin myself, but the price for the pre-fab is not unreasonable and I am much slower now than when I was building in my 40s.

I am hoping to have the building set in place before winter sets in so that I can do the interior work of insulating and wiring.

That's all for now, folks.

Click the "SUBSCRIBE" button to be notified of each new post highlighting some aspect of the homesteading movement.

#homestead #beginninghomestead #homesteading

WORDS TO LIVE BY

The current movement away from the cities and into the country goes by a variety of names.

Each of these names means something to those who use them, but none of them are limited to only one aspect of the phenomenon. As a result, some folks new to the movement express consternation when going from one group to another on social media as they think they are looking for a specific lifestyle.

HERE'S THE TRUTH—There is no single term with a pure definition to describe what it means to look for a simpler lifestyle.

Even the word "SIMPLER" as used above is fraught with difficulties, because there is nothing simple about trying to live independently to provide your own needs.

This, however, is the ultimate goal of most everyone involved in the "movement"—to live independently at some level. The main goal of independence is to provide your own food without depending on the chemically processed offerings we have grown accustomed to .

OFF-GRID usually refers to being without an electric and water company for whom you are dependent upon their services.

"Off-grid" is being used by those who are looking to "disappear" from the reaches of government intrusion, but it is also being used by those who take the simple thought of not having either electric or water service provided by a company.

Interestingly, though, many "off-gridders" post on social media by means of their cell phone. This is one of the confusions encountered with terminology. We know what they mean, but we know it is not completely true.

PERMACULTURE is a contraction of the two words "permanent culture." Permaculture is a design for living that greatly minimizes the amount of work necessary to maintain your independent lifestyle.

Permaculture is a principle that is mainly about your food supply and all that goes into it—water, fertilizer, seed production, etc.

Permaculture gets at the heart of a "no-waste" mentality and eventually provides a low-cost maintenance of life.

COUNTRY LIVING is espoused by those who are looking to move out of the city into a more rural area. This can be done by simply moving to a small town of less than 3k people. Or it can mean moving onto a small acreage somewhere outside the city limits.

The usual goal is to be able to have space between you and your neighbors with an option for raising small livestock like chickens, rabbits or a couple of goats.

It is possible to live in the country and have the comforts of city life like water, gas and electric provided by others. Having these things provided by a company in no way limits the possibility of learning to live more simply by providing your own food and recreation.

HOMESTEADING is the word currently in vogue as the main descriptor for the move to independent living.

Modern homesteading refers to a self-sufficient lifestyle—living on your own with minimum help from others. Essentially, it includes subsistence agriculture, renewable energy sources when possible, preservation of food, zero-waste living, and, depending on your skills, even homeschooling, and craftwork.

For me, this term encompasses everything that is meant by pursuing a simpler lifestyle. However, when you look at the list above you realize it also includes a lot of WORK. There is always something to do, something that needs doing in order to maintain existence.

It should also be apparent that this is not something most people can just "jump into" without much preparation. There is a steep learning curve for any who dare to try homestading.

Fortunately, though, there are a multitude of resources from which you can begin your journey toward self-sufficiency.

I hope that I may be one of those resources for you as I document our foray into homesteading in this blog.

Click the "SUBSCRIBE" button to be notified of each new post highlighting some aspect of the homesteading movement.

THE BEGINNING

 

I began dabbling in the aspects of homesteading back in 1975 in Pensacola, Florida.

 

 

 I had enrolled in Bible college and rented a house for me, my wife and our two children. It was on a ¾ acre lot in almost what was considered country living.

I wanted an organic garden, chickens and rabbits.

There was no internet back then, so the library was my source for learning about how to leave city life and return to the earth.

I found a hatchery which moved their hens from one building to another once a year. The manure that laid on the ground of the vacated building was free for the taking, so I shoveled a trailer load and hauled it back to the house.

I found a cotton gin which had an outside dump for the cotton refuse. This was also free for the taking, so I got a trailer load and hauled it back to the house.

I located a horse rancher who let me muck out the stalls. I loaded a trailer of horse manure and hauled it back to the house. I also went to a wooded area and gathered a load of oak leaves.

None of this is available these days in 2023 as people have learned there is profit to be made from waste. Or, as in the case where I live now in southwest Missouri, the owners use the waste for their own gardens.

I piled those four loads together and covered it with a sheet of black plastic to aid the breakdown.

I then rented a tiller and began breaking up the sandy area I wanted for my garden. Centipede grass grows quite well in northwest Florida even though there is nothing but sand underneath it.

When Spring arrived, I uncovered a rich mound of compost and spread it on the tilled area and began planting the seeds I had bought. My first garden was stupendously successful, and I have never had one since then that came close to its productivity.

That was 1975 and this is now 2023—48 years later—and I am still trying.

I have learned much along the way.

I have planted vegetable gardens in Florida and Pennsylvania. I have planted two separate gardens at two different locations and times in Missouri.

This blog is about the journey of learning from 1975 in Florida to 2023 and beyond in Missouri.

I hope you will enjoy taking the trip with us.

Click the "SUBSCRIBE" button to be notified of each new post highlighting some aspect of the homesteading movement.