We Want a Homestead

In the documentary, To Make a Farm, a farmer talks about how if you farm for 30 years, you only have that many times to plant a particular crop. She was talking about planting potatoes and how she was already at a disadvantage for not starting to farm earlier.

It was not until this summer, that we learned what a sweet potato blossom looked like. This year was our first time planting potatoes, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash. We’re just now really understanding the seasons and what grows when. We’re really learning and understanding how to eat seasonally. We’re just now learning the art of preserving. We’ve only raised one flock of chickens.

I think I’ve feared going too public with these plans because I feel as if we are crazy. We’re city slickers and know very little about farming or homesteading or raising animals or anything involved with living off the land. All of our farmer friends know, because we’ve been asking for advice from the start and I’ve been hinting at the move to the country for a while now. But now is the time to actually make it happen. To get serious. To save every penny. To sell our house and move.

Our dream is to have a home on at least ten acres. We want a variety of animals like chickens, turkeys, sheep, pigs, and cows. We want a huge garden. We want fruit trees. We want lots of things that living in the city prevents us from doing. I’ve contemplated homes such as a Yurt, a bus, a shack, a tiny cabin, and a really cheap foreclosed house with holes in the walls in the last few months just to make it happen cheaper and sooner. Patience is definitely not my strong suit. Bryan had to talk some reason into me with some of those possible homes. Then I’ve been sucked into dreaming and have pondered the beautiful historic colonial homes and old farmhouses out of our price range.

Let me try to explain what’s been going on around here since the beginning of the year. I’ve been reading memoir after memoir about farm life and moving to the country. I’ve got a bad case of barnheart, just take a look at the sidebar. I’ve searched for great pyranees puppies on Craigslist while Bryan has had his eyes open for tractors. We admire barns while we’re driving. Bryan and I both have been reading how-to-farm books. We’ve been to discussions on chickens, beekeeping, gardening, and organic farming. We’ve toured and helped out on farms. We’ve noted breeds of pigs and cows and turkeys and sheep that we hope to someday have. I’ve got an awe inspiring Home Sweet Homestead board on Pinterest where my dreaming really gets kicked up a notch every time I look at it. I check the listings on LandWatch daily for houses with more than 10 acres. Bryan and I listen to podcasts about farming and about permaculture. We’re hooked to this docu-drama. We’ve got the passion and motivation, and hopefully the finances to make it all happen will catch up before too long.

So we want a family farm, a homestead, a place where we can grow and raise our own food. Are we nuts? Probably. Are we serious? Yes. We’re already several growing seasons behind. We’ve got to get started and as soon as possible.