THE IMPORTANCE OF SYSTEMS

Many people romanticize the idea of moving out to the country to start a homestead. Currently, homesteading is experiencing an exponential rise in popularity as more and more people become fed up with city life.

The complications of living in the city such as traffic jams, noisy neighbors, cost of living, crime, etc. are assumed to be eliminated by living in a rural country-tpe setting. The assumption is correct for the most part.

Depending on how far out you move, crime may still be a problem as there are those who will come onto your property to steal whatever is visible. Traffic jams are minimized, but they still occur as the slow-moving tractor hauling hay makes its way over the hills and valleys in a long no-passing zone. Those who move to the country but still carry their hurry-up city ways add to the traffic jam with their anxiousness that cannot wait for a safe area to pass.

There are a multitude of trade-offs if you are used to the city way of life and then suddenly find yourself in the backwoods area of your state.

Probably the biggest trade-off that comes unexpectedly is the loss of recliner time in front of the tv. There is simply too much to do when you slow down to the speed of life.

In order to get most of it done without pulling your hair out, you need to have systems in place that help with the regular heartbeat of the place you occupy. That is why you need to think in terms of systems.

Before I explain the meaning of systems, it is important to know the kind of work that you will be doing.

Regardless of how small or large your homestead is, you will be occupied with chores, maintenance and projects.

CHORES

Chores are those tasks which are done daily or almost everyday.

Depending on the size of your family and the amount of livestock you have, chores are a significant portion of daily life.

For us, Gracie feeds the two dogs and the cat and prepares our morning health drink. She makes the bed and sweeps either inside or outside depending on need. During this extreme heat wave, the daily care of plants and flowers are added to the daily routine.

I take care of the night soil since we don't have a flush toilet. I also fill the 5-gallon water tank for the day's use of washing dishes and hands. I empty the two compost containers of vegetable scraps and coffee grounds as they become full.

When we add chickens and maybe goats, there will be daily chores associated with those also. Eggs will have to be gathered and milk will have to collected.

MAINTENANCE

After the chores are done we then have the time for either maintenance or projects, both of which are necessary to keep the place running smoothly.

Maintenance is necessary to insure that you don't have any breakdowns that throw a monkey-wrench into all your plans. For instance, a car break-down caused by failure to maintain it properly is a major headache when you live almost 20 miles from the nearest garage.

Keep ALL your tools--mechanical and hand--in top working order. Machines need grease and oil and air filters. Each machine probably has a regular maintenance schedule which should help you to plan your time. Hand tools may need to be sharpened and wooden handles oiled with linseed oil to protect from rotting.

Gardens require much maintenance to be successful at providing food for your family. Weeding, harvesting and next season's preparation are all a part of maintenance for your garden.

The grounds around the house also need the maintenance of mowing and trimming.

Maintenance chores are regular, but not as regular as daily chores.

PROJECTS

Projects are all the various things you want to add to your living space. This will probably go on until your last breath on your beautiful piece of earth.

For us right now, projects are the major aspect of our life. Gracie wants different flower beds developed. I am still building necessary aspects of our living quarters. I recently completed the first phase of converting the shed into a workshop.

I also need to build a chicken coop and install fencing for the possibility of goats.

A pole barn for the housing of tractor and acessories, hay and feed, and other items still needs to be built.

There are days when either Gracie or I slump down feeling completely overwhelmed with the enormity of what we have bitten off to chew in our golden years. Thankfully, it hasn't happened to both of us at the same time. One of us is always available to encourage the other in those dark moments.

SYSTEMS

Developing systems for all that must be done is mostly a trial-and-error process as you figure out what works best for you in your situation. Things will change--sometimes more than once--as your lifestyle takes on some sort of routine.

For instance, the first compost bins I built were close to the outhouse which was a source of some composting materials. That proved impractical for a number of reasons.

One, I built it small thinking I could turn the compost by hand like I did when I was 50 years old. Twenty-eight years later makes a big difference in my abilities in that area.

Secondly, not only did I need to make it large enough for the front-end loader, I needed to put it out by the garden area where most of the compost will be distributed.

Taking materials to the compost bin will take longer with this method, but the trade-off is worth it in the long run. Being able to access the bins for maintenance and use will save hours of time.

Our original thought for the chicken coop was to have it close to the house so that gathering eggs and feeding the hens table scraps would be easier. However, when I began to think about the maintenance of the coop, it made much more sense to have it out near the garden and compost bins.

I have a system in place for collecting rainwater, which is our main source of water for cleaning and irrigation at the time. We have a system for bringing in drinking water, but that is about to change and I will need to develop a new system.

Thinking in terms of "systems" will help to save much precious time for you to enjoy your homesteading journey.

In the comment section below, tell us about any systems you have discovered so far.

Until next time, enjoy your work, play hard and love those close to you.

BECAUSE WE CAN

 THE HEAT WAS HOT AND THE GROUND WAS DRY

(America--"Horse With No Name)

This has been a challenging week here on the Hill Homestead. We have been hit with another heat wave with temps going to the upper 90s and the index reaching above 105 degrees. Needless to say for old folks like us, our time to work each day was cut rather short.

I had great plans for the week, but they got clobbered by my fields at the Stockton house. I had let the grass get ahead of me, so it was necessary that I try to mow the fields regardless of the temps.

That did not prove to be much of a problem. I had a floppy hat that I kept soaked with water and was able to get the mowing done. Problem was that it took two times to get it all down.

Johnson grass had begun to show up in the midst of the fescue I had planted, and some of that tough grass was taller than I.

After I finished the mowing it was evident that I had to rake it, because it lay like a heavy blanket over the entire field. It would have easily killed the grass underneath.

I raked it into piles, loaded those piles by hand onto the truck and the trailer and brought it out here to the 40. It still took another trip back to Stockton, which I did on another day.

All in all, Monday through Thursday was taken up with the grass problem.

I brought it out here and piled it in the garden area. Gracie raked the piles out to cover the ground as seen in this photo. The area is approximately 50x30 feet.

We are using the "lasagna method" to enhance the rocky ground we have been blessed with. I will lay out the pathways and where the raised beds will go. Then we will place cardboard in the pathways, and the enitre area will then be covered with straw.

Sometime in the near future (we hope), I will be able to build the raised beds. Yes, we know that raised beds do not hold the water as well as the ground. However, at 78-years-old I don't need to be on my knees trying to weed a garden or harvest vegetables.

We have made a commitment to NOT plant a garden next year, because the garden has definitely slowed the progress on building our living space. Also, there is no place to process the harvest and we have no freezer as yet.

We both love to eat what the land provides, but it is just not practical at this time.

While Gracie was raking, I was assembling a cart she wanted to pull behind the lawn tractor for watering, weeding and harvesting.

This coming week will also be crimped as I have a doctor appointment Monday which will occupy all of the morning and into the early afternoon. We are predicted to get about an inch of rain and that will be a good thing. All my rain barrels are almost empty, the shower barrel has 4 showers left in it, and the IBC for laundry and dishes is down below 175 gallons.

I meet with a group of area pastors Tuesday mornings, and then do some grocery shopping after that before getting home. Thursdays are done with office time at the church and Bible study in the afternoon. Yet, we are still managing to get things done.

Most of you probably have no idea how much fun this is! Gracie and I ask ourselves on a regular basis, "Why? Why are we doing this?"

Two people approaching 80 years of age who should be finding ways to relax and play cards with friends and neighbors have taken on a project such as this.

Why?

Because we can.

It is that simple.

We are so aware of others our age who spend their time going from one doctor appointment to another to fix what ails them. We have both been blessed with good health, and we do not take that for granted.

If you are in good health, regardless of your age, be grateful. Take care of yourself and those you love.

Until next time, do your work, play hard, and enjoy the life you have been given.

A BLESSING

 

Last week I ended on an almost sour note due to the extreme heat. I said  Gracie was ready to cry "Uncle!" and give up. The heat was truly becoming almost unbearable.

But, then BLESSING OF BLESSINGS!!

RAIN!

We got a goodly amount and then a few days later we got some more. I was able to fill the shower drum and the IBC for our water needs of shower and laundry and plant care. We don't use the rainwater for drinking or cooking.

We are once again waiting for the rain to come to fill the blue catchment barrels we have on the four corners of the shop. You can see one of them just over the bed of Big Bird next to the wall.

That rainbow was a promise of more to come, and we are expecting some the end of this week, beginning of next.

The rain brought cooler temps and we were able to make progress with our move onto this property.

I had shown you the tent structure for the temporary garden shed, but now Gracie has it filled with most of the things from the Stockton house. 

There are still flower pots and tools to bring over here, but this has allowed her to move forward with her blank canvas of this property. She has made each place that we have lived into a thing of beauty with her skill at understanding colors and plants.

If you are able to enlarge the photo, you will see some things that do not belong on an organically-inclined homestead.

We know that. We are just moving everything without discrimination. We will take care of sorting through it all at a later date.

We do not have a contract on the house in Stockton, but we do have a verbal agreement with some folks we know. It may still be a couple of weeks before we know for sure. If their application for the loan falls through, then I will put it on the market.

Gracie spent most of one day last week moving things out of the deer shack so that I could have more space for the tools in the workshop. One of the things was this table, which was over against a wall.

We moved it outside for her to use when she is working on the potted plants. You can see some of the work she did to the left of the table on the ground.

She had to separate a peace plant that I have had for more than 20 years. She has had to do this before for the same reason--the plant had outgrown its environment and was becoming root-bound. It is now thriving once again and producing its beautiful blooms.

During the process of the separation, one of the blooms was broken. Gracie saved it and it now graces our dining table. The blossom appears to be larger than the little vase, but it isn't. I just wanted to emphasize the flower when I snapped the photo.

All in all, it has been a good week. We are looking forward to the coming week, anticipating whatever curves are thrown our way while we make our plans as to what we would like to see.

Until next time, do your work, play hard and enjoy the time and space you have been given.

Thanks for listening.