Progress

First two raised garden beds have been planted. We are growing tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupes, strawberries, and watermelon. My four goat does have had babies, three of which survived, so we are also milking a goat and will be dabbling in cheese making very shortly.

My husband is finally finished with his work move and is able to help around the farm. In celebration, we’ve taken on 9 baby chickens in hopes of having eggs in 15-17 weeks. Plans have been made to breed geese as well. I’m encouraged by this progress. Once our debt has been paid down enough, we’ll be able to get a tractor and build our dream barn and spend more time working on developing our 10 acres into our ideal homestead. 

Hooray for progress!

Goals. Easy to Set.

My husband and I have been living out on our 10 acre plot for almost four years. We’ve moved from a tiny travel trailer (about 200 square feet) to a three bedroom, two bathroom single wide. I sort of regret it. I mean, there are some serious perks….  have more than one bathroom, being able to cook on a full sized stove, but costs have also increased. the new house is expensive to heat and cool, and it really seems like if it could go wrong, it did over the last year.

I really wanted to be established by now. I wanted to have my gardens planned and seeds ordered, I wanted to have the barn for my goats built… I wanted to have  a permanent water line run and buried. I don’t have any of that done as of yet.

But this is January; new beginnings and all that sort of thing.

I’ve got a firm promise from my husband that as soon his big work projects wind up in late March, or early April, we will start the land prep. This involves renting an skid loader to dig the trench for our water line, and installing a proper septic system. We will then dig a burn pit, and start disposing of the junk that’s marring up my land. We’ve got a ton of junk that was here before we got here, and some that we brought that can’t be saved or reclaimed. We’ve also got tons of brush that needs to go because the snake population will be pretty high come summer.

We need to skirt the house, and dig our root cellar. I need to start sectioning off plots for my gardens. Yes, gardens with an “S”; as in more than one. I’m going to start a kitchen, or food garden, also a medicinal plant garden. I’m supposed to start herbalism training later this year.

I really need to start paying off the debt we’ve amassed in getting this land and house paid off, plus the car and truck we’ve had to buy (not a I think I want to buy a new car debt, but the dang, my car just totally died and I need a way to get to work new car debt). Once our debt is paid off, my personal goal is to quit my “in town” job and be a stay at home homesteader.

All of the projects that need to be completed are really big. They cost lots of cash. I don’t have any to spare… I’ve got to start small… one small thing a day, even if it’s taking one big project and breaking it up into tiny bite sized pieces. If I stay in here, in the house thinking about how impossible it all is, it’ll never get done.

The trash gets picked up tomorrow. I think I’ll have a few more bags than normal out at the end of the driveway.

New Year, New Beginnings

I’m the only one awake on New Year’s Day, with the exception of Gabby, my black lab pup. She’s seeing what trouble she can sniff out while I’m occupied with writing my first blog of the new year. 2015-a year that is bright and shiny and new. And Cold. But I’m not going to hold that against it. Not yet anyway. I’ll wait and see how I feel in February.

I guess a little background is in order. I’m not new to blogging, I’m just starting over. I took a leave of absence from my previous blog and lost track of it. decided it was best to move on. New year, new beginnings.

I currently reside in Oklahoma. I grew up here. I like it here. I don’t love it anymore, but we have an understanding, Oklahoma and me. We will respect each other. I was born here, and I have always felt that within it’s borders is my home. I spent a little time in Nebraska when I was in college. I met my husband there. It seems like Nebraska is a good place to meet people. He’s from Iowa. We met and were married in 2004. A whirlwind 10 month romance and courtship, and 10 years later, we’re still happily married and taking it one day at a time in Oklahoma.

We are as different as night and day. I was born in the suburbs of Oklahoma City, There are 4 or 5 shopping malls within driving distance. Just a quick trip on any of the 4 interstates that go through the center of OKC…. there’s always something going on here. Concerts, plays, sporting events, parties, fundraisers, races, and museums.

My Husband grew up in Iowa and a few small towns in Nebraska. Nebraska is a very pretty state, and the small towns are very charming. Unless you live in one of the three or four decent sized cities, there’s really nothing to do. He’s adjusted to the city very well.

He’s the oldest of 9, I’m the middle of 3. He’s a literal genius, I”m a college drop out. There are half a million differences, but when I met him, I felt complete for maybe the first time in my entire life. 10 years later, here we are; on a 10 acre homestead, roughly 16 miles from the interstate in a suburb of Norman, which is a suburb of Oklahoma City. My town is a sub-suburb. No human children, we have a small herd of goats, a small gaggle of geese, a small brace of ducks, two dogs, and cat. And a stray brother-in-law who helps out with the chores in exchange for room and board until he can get his own place.

We all live together in relative harmony.

We have a tractor that doesn’t work, a car or two that doesn’t run, a lot of junk on this 10 acre property. This blog is dedicated to track my progress, my growth, if you will. I have some really big goals to get under way this year. I want to start brewing my own beer this year. I want to take classes in herbalism, I want to make a quilt for my bed, and get my tractor fixed, and my place cleaned up, and start a dairy goat farm. I want to learn things, and live off the land. I want to start going back to the basics. and I want you to come with me. Lets learn stuff together! it’s January 1, 2015. No better time to start. Ready or not, here I go!