Saturday, January 26, 2013

I feel like I should talk about our first year on our property, and how we got where we are. I need to write it down to let go of those first year missteps and frustrations.

Photo Credit: cwwycoff1

Mr. S. and I had talked about buying property and homesteading for years. Saving money was always an issue for us. We would get a little saved and the car would die, or there would be another hospital bill to pay, or something. It was always something. I had read Carla Emery's The Encyclopedia of Country Living from cover to cover a bazillion times, pointing things out to Mr. S. and we knew this was the life we wanted. We just couldn't get out to the land.

The property we are buying now pretty much fell into our hands. We were visiting friends and talking about our desire to move from our then current residence where we had a draconian landlord. They mentioned that the property next to them was empty, and had been sitting empty for a few years. We went over and peeked inside windows and walked around. There was a shed that needed a new roof, and a few outbuildings that had been used for chickens. We found out who the owner was, and Mr. S. actually knew him! Advantages of living in a small town.

So before we really knew what was happening, we were contracting to buy the property. Since the housing market was tanked, and land here is pretty cheap anyway, the price was something we could handle. The payments were no more than our rent had been. The house was, technically, too small for our family, but we planned to add on. We had big dreams.

It took us a month to move in. By the time we were done, we had blown another month's rent on the old place, and had spent money on a fridge, stove, washer, dryer, completely rebuilt the bathroom and substantially rebuilt the plumbing to make the house habitable. The rebuilds had lowered the cost of the house, so we knew there were going to be issues, but we didn't expect the financial outlay. We cooked on the grill, in a crockpot, and in an electric skillet for a month while we looked for a used propane stove so we wouldn't have to pay to have one converted over to propane.

By the time we got somewhat settled in, it was July. Outdoor temps were over 100 degrees. We tried to plant a basic garden with some tomatoes, carrots, and a few other things, but the summer heat just did us in. So we shelved our garden plans and hung out inside during the day, trying to stay cool under the ceiling fans. We would sit outside in the evenings, grateful to finally be able to get outside. If we were quiet enough, we could watch the deer go through the yard.

Photo Credit: NatalieMaynor

I did get a compost bin started the first summer. I can still see the remains of that first compost pile, with some stuff not even broken down yet, because I didn't know what I was doing.

We had some fantastic storms, and lightning struck in the yard one day. We got hit by a microburst while huddled in a closet in the boys bedroom. We lost power with every storm, and loved every minute of it. Well, except for that whole huddled in a closet thing. That kind of sucked.

Summer started winding down, and we had a new issue. Bears. Lots and lots of bears. We built a trash enclosure, and still they came. Oh! The compost bin! Yes. Bears, and deer, love compost bins.

Fall came in a rush and we realized the house was nearly impossible to heat. We have a wood burning stove, but it simply doesn't do the job when it's 20 below 0. Or 20 above 0. At that point we began talking about demoing the house and putting a modular on, once the property is paid off.

We got dogs, a Golden Retriever named Rocky that some friends were desperate to re-home, and a mutt puppy named Bellatrix. Rocky sleeps through even the bears in the trash can, while Bella loses her mind when the deer walk through. Never a happy medium with those two.

We made it through the winter with no frozen pipes, although I slept in the living room with the woodstove and the kids. Mr. S. could sleep outside in a blizzard, so he slept in the bedroom.

When Spring made her glorious appearance, I was in a hurry to DO.ALL.THE.THINGS. Everything I'd ever read about, I wanted to get going right then and there. I got the herb garden tilled and the vegetable garden prepped and then? I decided it would be a good idea to start selling Scentsy. Note to self and other homesteaders: Do not attempt to start a business while you're also attempting your first few years at homesteading.

I got busy with the business, which is a good thing, but then, before I knew it, it was too late to plant anything. Then it got into summer and the kids were home and the business died a slow, painful death. Not only was I out of my mind to take on such a venture, I feel guilty for investing money into it. That money could have gone into our homestead, or bought groceries, or bought a truck.

Our first year was over and we had done...exactly nothing on our homestead. It was a combination of being overwhelmed, the whole Scentsy thing (I'm not talking bad about Scentsy, just about my decision to sell it) and wanting to do too much, too soon. I've always had a bit of a problem staying focused.

So I sat down, looked realistically at my business, and our homestead, and our priorities. I talked with Mr. S. I meditated. I prayed. And came to the realization that had led us here all along. The priority has to be the homestead. This land we've been blessed with, that is our responsibility to tend and bless, to make it grow and be.

Summer wound down, and we bought our first chickens. Fourteen noisy, chirpy, adorable little chicks nested for two weeks in my bedroom (the only place we could isolate them from the dogs and the cats that come inside). We did some repairs on the coop, then moved them in. They grew into adult chickens who still don't give us eggs yet. We have Easter Eggers, Australorps, and Barred Rocks. If I ever need to buy new stock, they will be Australorps. They are HUGE.

We gave one of the roosters to a neighbor who didn't have any, when we found the first fox in the yard. We all made it through the winter, and I was much warmer, and in the bedroom, because Mr. S. bought me an electric blanket for Christmas. The kids survived. The chickens survived. We were doing it.

So now, I'm looking at Spring again, her glorious appearance evident by the chinooks that are already blowing down the mountains and knocking out our hot water heater's pilot light. We've had some amazingly warm days, although today is a bit cooler and cloudy. I no longer plan to do ALL.THE.THINGS. At least not right now. We're pretty buried in stuff to do but not overwhelmed. If I can't get outside today because of the weather, so be it. I have plenty of stuff to do in the house.

Today I made Make Your Own "Bisquick" mix, and made waffles for breakfast, along with a batch for the freezer for breakfast on a weekday. I have to clarify some sausage fat and do more cleaning. Always cleaning. I'll be making more plants pots (which is vastly different than pot plants) and if I can get outside I'll move more leaves to the garden.

Dinner tonight will be a pasta casserole, herbed bread, and green beans.