Homesteading

Homesteading… what is it? Why bother? Can I do it?

Wikipedea defines homesteading broadly as a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of foodstuffs, and it may or may not also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craftwork for household use or sale. Pursued in different ways around the world — and in different historical eras — homesteading is generally differentiated from rural village or commune living by isolation (either socially or physically) of the homestead. Use of the term in the United States dates back to the Homestead Act (1862) and before. In sub-Sahara African, particularly in nations formerly controlled by the British Empire, a homestead is the household compound for a single extended family. In the UK, the term ‘smallholder’ is the rough equivalent of ‘homesteader’.

I am not a homesteader in the truest sense of the word.   I depend too much on outside sources for WAY too many things however, I am moving toward homesteading.  I have preserved food my whole life.  As a child, I aided my mom in canning.  As a young adult, I found the joy of making my own beef jerky (it was way cheaper) and I had an aunt who owned a fruit stand and blessed me with fruit.  As a young mom, I found that gardening was therapeutic and canning came out of that, again.  Later, living on the Oregon and California coasts gave me access to fresh tuna and salmon causing me to learn to can meats.

I also enjoy quilting but hate sewing my own clothing… I think I am too much of a perfectionist to be able to sew for myself but I love the cuddly warmth of a quilt.  My  kids love quilts too. ~~~~~~~~

We raise chickens for meat and for eggs.  I love the satisfaction of knowing that while I don’t feed my birds organic food, I do know where their food comes from and I can see that they are healthy.  Our duck and goose population are more for general enjoyment (well… I do enjoy their eggs for baking) than for any kind of production right now.  We do have plans to begin a breeding program for a couple of our pairs.  We also are looking forward to incubating our own chicken babies this spring. I am not sure that there is anything cuter than a baby chicken or duck!  🙂

We plan for more animals in the near future but at the moment poultry is the extent of our animal population.  A pig and cow would round out our farm quite nicely if I have my way!  🙂