I found this quote on Pinterest the other day.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~Leonardo da Vinci
After I initially read it, I gave myself a smug pat on the back, since as a homesteader, I’m all about simplicity, of course.
I have quotes about simple living plastered all over my house, and I am constantly using the word “simplify” in my conversations.
But as I pondered it, I began to wonder if maybe I don’t know as much about simplicity as I think I do.
My mind wandered to the activities of the previous week…
We had a mama goat die, which left us with 2 bottle babies. I had spent countless hours in the barn milking extra from the other goats and cow so the orphans would have something to eat… Not to mention trudging down to the barn 3-4 times a day to make sure they had regular feedings.
And then there were the bum calves we took on last week. The neighboring ranch had a few extra, so we agreed to put them on Oakley for a while. But, my timing was poor, since she happened to be in heat the very day that the calves arrived. Quiet ol’ Oakley is a wild woman when she is in heat, and it took a whole lotta extra energy to wrestle her and the calves so they had a chance to nurse. Not to mention that I was monitoring her to make sure she was spending sufficient time with the borrowed bull we have right now.
Our abnormally warm spring has made me feel in a hurry to start working my garden/beds and preparing to plant. The great debate right now is should I plant the potatoes a whole month and a half early, or wait? We are also getting an additional 150 trees planted this spring, so hubby has been running around like crazy scrounging up a plow and tiller set-up so we can prepare the rows.
And then I log onto Facebook the following night and read the statuses of my non-homesteading friends. They are talking about what TV shows they watched that night, and I know that they got home from work, had zero chores, and then probably ate their frozen dinners on the couch after zapping them for a quick 8 minutes in the microwave.
So. When you compare it like that, who REALLY has the simple life?
Now, don’t misunderstand. I wouldn’t trade my life for theirs. Ever. I love what we do and I find it totally worth it, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s misleading when we always refer to homesteading as “simple living.”
I think people consider homestead life to be “simple” because we do many things that remind us of a simpler, slower time when technology didn’t control everything- gardening, cooking from scratch, canning, animal husbandry, etc.
But let’s face it, homesteading is a lot of work. While growing your own food and keeping animals isn’t necessarily rocket science (thank goodness!), it does take a lot of time and energy. (Which is why I wrote this post on 10 minute chore ideas!)
When I compare my lifestyle with someone who lives in town, has no animals or garden, and buys all of their food pre-made from the grocery store, I hate to admit it, but it seems that in some aspects, they seem to be living much “simpler” than me…
So no matter what type of homesteader you are or aspire to be, urban, apartment, or semi-rural, keep in mind that while this lifestyle is absolutely worth it, it will “complicate” your life to some degree.
It’s fulfilling.
And rewarding.
And soothing.
And empowering.
But simple?
Er, maybe not so much. 😉
Ok guys- weigh in with your thoughts in the comments! Do you agree or disagree?
Wow, so well spoken! I think once in a while how easy it is for folks who come home from work and sit down and watch tv! Of course they have the household things to do, and being gone all day at work is more than I can imagine, so not a perfect life! Homesteading is a lot of work and time, but certainly worth it! Thanks for sharing your great thoughts.
Jill–in my opinion, what you’ve described is simplicity at its best! It’s hard to explain to others, but when I look back a few years at my life in the suburbs, that life seems very complicated in comparison to how I live now. No, it’s not easy, but the work is so much more fulfilling. For me I know a big part of that is being closer to nature–I picture it as less shiny chrome and fewer polished surfaces, more soft dirt, animals, and plants. Give me soft over shiny any day!
True Marie! I guess it depends on your personal definition of simplicity. While bottle feeding babies and worrying about when to plant things definitely can “complicate” life, it is definitely “simpler” than the rat race of living in a big city… 😉
Absolutely agree! On all counts, even…
Totally agree! I still like the word simple though because in a sense, it is. Homesteading is a simple, basic lifestyle. No frills. Is homesteading easy? Definitely not. But SOOoo rewarding! I could never go back to city life.
I agree with everything you said, but perhaps we see it as “simpler” because no matter how busy it is, it’s feels more meaningful and peaceful…? We can enjoy the simple pleasures of green grass and sunshine, or new babies and bright veggies, without needing expensive, time consuming entertainments to distract us.
I agree Jamie- It definitely feels way more meaningful, which is why I think we see it as simple, even though it’s definitely not uncomplicated. 😉
When I read your post my first thoughts were of how many people/children don’t know where their food comes from… much less how to make it or grow it! They certainly aren’t taught any of that in school… Our children benefit in knowing these basic survival skills.
Absolutely! It makes me so very happy to be able to raise Prairie Baby this way. 😉
Is homesteading a simple life? No way. But we simply live, which is what I love. I’m completely with ya on how busy it is and how much hard work is involved, but it is a simple life. I sometimes envy those co-workers who can just hop out of bed in the morning, get dressed and go to work, while I have a plethora of chores to get done before I can even think about getting ready to leave for work! And the evenings are the same. I get home from work and have to do all the chores, plus the gardening and housework and other odds and ends that have to be done. This time of year is especially busy with planting and babies and having more daylight to ride my horses as well as everything else that comes with making a homestead work.
During the heat of all the spring/summer work and planting I sometimes get frustrated. Then, I remember how absolutely BORED to tears I am during the winter months when I do get to just come home and do little more than get the animals cared for and sit and watch TV. Because honestly, I’d rather have all the hard work that comes with my choice to simply live.
Oh, Jenn ~ Please don’t be envious of us city dwellers who get up every day at 6 a.m., struggle with being tired from the day before because we are living unfullfilling lives, getting to work on time and trying our darnest to make someone happy for a company that we don’t have stock in. I am a city dweller homesteader wann-be (I just made that up! Lol). I garden, can, cook from scratch, but I depend on local farmers/homesteaders for the majority of my food supply. I work two jobs to make ends meet and can’t wait for the day when I can be in the Nebraska Sandhills living the simple life. Yes; homesteading is definately busy and alot of hard work, but on the other hand it’s very fullfilling and well, simple. I spose we should not compare ourselves to one another, just learning to be content with what we have where we are at is sometimes the greatest challenge. (I don’t really have a point, but now I’m just rambling…Take care and I’ll be living the “simple” live vicariously through you guys!!!
I admit, as much work as there is, it is the most fulfilling and rewarding work out there. There are those mornings, however, especially those cold winter ones, when my alarm clock goes off at 5 and it’s dark and cold, my bed warm and snuggly and I know I have to go venture out in that cold for a good hour to do chores before I can get ready for work. That’s when I envy the city dwellers the most!
This year I am venturing into the farmer’s market business. In past years I’ve only grown enough produce for my family, but this year, I’m increasing my garden three times it’s normal size and planting all heirloom crops. It would be fabulous if I could earn a bit of money from the sales, but I’d be happy just covering cost. I get so much satisfaction from seeing people enjoy the goodness and wonderful flavor from the crops/eggs I produce that I want to expand. Up to this point, my co-workers have been the recipients of the excess from my garden and henhouse.
I hope you achieve your dream some day, because it is a good, simple life.
I think it all depends on how you look at it. The most common definition of simple is easy, which homesteading is not. But another definition is not elegant or sophisticated, which homesteading is. I can’t wait to get there myself.
This morning as I was hanging clothes on the line, I watched the cows grazing, listened to the chickens cackle, and enjoyed the breeze that helped to dry my clothes. I also looked around at the other chores that needed to be completed. I wouldn’t trade this for anything. Simple No, but I love my life.
I enjoyed reading your post (I’m also glad to have recently discovered you website!). And I had to laugh out loud at your desciption of your non-homesteading friends. I think it’s a simple life in the fact that on a homestead you know where your food comes from and exactly what’s in it. And we’re in tune to the animal world on a much deeper level. In getting our homestead going, none of the people I work with in the city can understand why we take on such hard work. And it really is! But we have never been happier in our lives and find so much joy in the sense of satisfaction we get from all that we are accomplishing and creating!
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You know its funny, I chuckled when I read your post. It’s so true, It’s not a simply life but its a good life. Its hard work but good work. I too read all my friends blogs and posts mainly on FB with one eye (cause its late when I finally have time to sit) and my first thought is Whatttttt! I think Homesteading is simpler, meaning the outside world we don’t let effect us in ways it effects other -were too busy with family, farm, livestock, gardening and living off our land. I would not change my life for anything – Hmmmmm 🙂 Well maybe on one of those days when I’m chasing a buck that has just been in a fight and had his horn knocked off and I trying to stop the bleeding, Maybe then Calgon can take me away!!!! (kidding)
This post my my heart happy. It’s easy to get self righteous when my sister tells me its so much easier to buy eggs at the store, and maybe it is. But next time there’s a salmonella scare in the grocery store I’ll still be eating omelets.
I think the homestead life is harder physically (and sometimes emotionally) but better, motives are simpler and more pure. My life is simple, I don’t know one designer from the next and I only buy new shoes when the current ones fall apart. I’d rather be a slave to my turkeys than fashion. I can eat a turkey, but a 900$ sandal isn’t much use to me.
It depends upon what your definition of simple is. For me it is getting away from the rat race. Being content with less. Homesteading can be very physical, but at the end of the day I feel much more satisfied with the results.
I’ve passed a blog award onto you.
Well, I’m learning to live the simpler life. I used to be one of those women who would just get the hamburger helper off the shelf, put milk and burger in it and call it a home-cooked meal. I mean… I cooked it! It’s home cooked, right?
I learned to cook several years ago, and still try to teach myself new things all the time. I’m never going to be a chef at some fancy restaurant, but, my hubby and kids like it, so that’s all that matters. My parents and grandparents (and obviously before, tho I never met any of them) all had gardens, but my parents split up when I was very young so I never really got to spend much time with him until I was older. My mom got a full time job at a major car manufacturer and quickly climbed the ladder and didn’t have time for a garden any more. My husband (who is Native American but knows virtually nothing of living off the land.. LOL) and I started a garden last year. When we bought our house 3 years ago, we put in 2 apples and a pear tree. Last year we put in 5 raspberries, 4 grapes, a 4×8 bed of strawberries, 2 blueberries, a mulberry and 6 4×8 beds. This year we’re putting in 3 more beds and hopefully going to build a chicken coop and run this summer. We’re a far cry from completely living off our land, but, we enjoy what we have, and we are getting better at it. I just thank God that there is the internet for me to look things up, and phones so I can call my mom! LOL
While not always “simple”, it is gratifying. So often when you live day-to-day in the rat race it becomes difficult to find those “simple” things that many homesteaders have on a daily basis.
Ours is the simple life. Its true, no matter how complicated it can become working with animals, weather, other humans, family, trouble shooting problems, we do have the simple life. It is humble, lasting, satisfying, hard work, rewarding and so on. Simple can be thought of as easy, but that isn’t the only way the word is defined.
I copied from the online dictionary the definition of simple:
: free from guile : innocent
2
a : free from vanity : modest b : free from ostentation or display
3
: of humble origin or modest position
4
a : lacking in knowledge or expertise b (1) : stupid (2) : mentally retarded c : not socially or culturally sophisticated : naive; also : credulous
5
a : sheer, unmixed b : free of secondary complications c (1) : having only one main clause and no subordinate clauses (2) of a subject or predicate : having no modifiers, complements, or objects d : constituting a basic element : fundamental e : not made up of many like units
6
: free from elaboration or figuration
7
a (1) : not subdivided into branches or leaflets (2) : consisting of a single carpel (3) : developing from a single ovary b : controlled by a single gene
8
: not limited or restricted : unconditional
9
: readily understood or performed
10
of a statistical hypothesis : specifying exact values for one or more statistical parameters — compare composite 3
— sim·ple·ness noun
I think you hit the nail on the head. Our lives are not necessarily simpler compared to others who live differently because of all that we do. Like you I wouldnt trade it. I am just at the beginning of this homesteading lifestyle but I am so thankful to be able to do it. Our cow just had her first calf so we are both learning the routine of milking. I really liked your article!
I just read this after posting about our not so simple night here on the farm. I am no where near the blogger you are but had to share about our simple life NOT!
But none of us would ever want to give it up would we?
I am so sorry that you lost a Momma goat. That is hard. We don’t have goats, but a friend of mine used to raise them.
Homesteading isn’t all that “simple” but it sure is rewarding! You know what goes into your food, and what is not in it. The same goes for your meat if you raise it. I would love to have 4-6 hens, but haven’t been able to talk hubby into it yet.
We are still waiting for the garden to get dry enough to get it ready for planting. I want to plant enough to can some and dehydrate some of the things that we grow. We put up 179 pints of vegetables and several quarts of roast last year. And last summer, we were in a drought! We did water the garden every day, though. As hot and dry as it was, we did good to get what we did.
Preach it, girl! I wrote about this last fall – I think it’s so helpful to tell it like it is, because many of us seem to struggle with our “simpler” lives. Thank you!
http://homesteadgeek.com/2011/10/15/a-well-intentioned-lie/
Last weekend after plowing, tilling, and raking mounds until I thought I’d vomit- we planted almost 3,000 onions, 300 strawberries and heeled in 100 fruit trees. All by hand. Simple? Maybe. When you’re down on your knees, working the soil you can certainly zone out and clear your mind. I was too tired for more complicated thoughts, like what would I make for dinner. And like some of you, I finally came inside and checked out what my friends had been up to on their face book status. They went to the beach, stayed in hotels, ordered room service or went out to eat. But the next morning, when I looked out over my fields and saw what I had accomplished with my own two hands ( and those of my husband and son) I felt such a complete sense of sweet satisfaction. To me, that is pure, simple bliss.
Simple and easy are not always synonymous! The things homesteading requires are not necessarily complicated, but that doesn’t always mean easy! My husband and I spent our Spring “Break” puting up fencing…simple? Sure, nothing complicated there, but easy? Not for me! But we love our life!
Agreed. And I feel you with regards to the week you had. My husband has been away on business travel, in which wrestling two (very wild) steers; caring for all of our poultry and a very pregnant mare (who thank goodness hasn’t foaled yet) and two toddlers (ages 2.5 and 15m); as well as (like you) preparing for our garden and re-seeding of our fields, has proven to be anything but simple. But wouldn’t trade it for the world! I like hard work!
Well put, Jill! My husband has pointed out to me many times the lack of freedom and constant work that running our homestead takes. While I am lucky he is supportive (for the most part!) of my desire for the homesteading life, he is busy running our business and tends to look at things like a businessman and not a homesteader. If something takes a lot of time, why not delegate it out or pay someone else? How I answer him is that the joy is in the journey and the work itself. It’s incredibly gratifying to eat something that you’ve raised, grown or harvested yourself. The simplicity also comes from knowing the purity of your ingredients and the clean sweat you put into doing it yourself. Simplicity comes from a very short chain of food- your property, your work directly to your table and plate!
I love my lifestyle, I have lived a “country” life almost all my life. I lived in the city for a few years and worked a corporate job but was never more happy than when my life was on the farm. As we have gotten older we have had to simplify things to adapt to our age and health but we still love our life. Our 6 kids are gone and have families of their own mostly living in the cities but enjoying coming home. They also enjoy the benifits of the fresh eggs we bring them a few times a month, the fresh fruit and vegetables they don’t have to pay a fortune for at the “Farmers Market”. My daughter has taken an interest in canning so she is here during the season to learn those skills she wasn’t so interested in growing up. (what teen wants to spend their weekend in a hot kitchen?) The grandkids enjoy coming for the weekend and gathering eggs, feeding kids and picking things from the garden. We have had to scale things down as our health and age has made it hard to do what we once did and sometimes we do have to hire in for things we would have done ourselves a few years ago. But we still enjoy sitting out on our porch and having a cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea, watching the humming birds at the feeders and the kid goats joyfully leaping thru the pasture at the end of the day.
Simply walk out my door to take care of my critters.
Simply pluck the eggs from the hen house to fix my breakfast.
Simply turn the irrigation open to water my fresh vegies.
Simply let the hens out to debug the yard.
Simply talking to my dog, cats, chicks, etc. while doing chores.
Simply having the time to notice the spring flowers are popping thru the soil, or that the stray cat looks a little more plump… oh no!
Waving at neighbors… some I have not yet met, But the wave still says good morning.
No…. I do not miss traffic, unhealthy drive thru meals, and meeting after exhausting meeting, rushing here rushing there, deadlines, heels and dresses….
I love simple! Simply barefoot, loving nature as God intended.
I cant agree with you more!!! Simple living isnt that simple, but I simply love it and thats all that matters to me and my family.
Simple…I think you put it all very well. I have had so many people say, “Wouldn’t it be easier if you just bla, bla, bla” .
Homesteading is definitely more work, I’m not sure if it is more simple. I just wrote a post on managing broody hens. I wondered what my non- farmy friends were going to think? “That sounds like alot of work, wouldn’t it be easier to just buy chicks, or easier still hold the chicks and get your eggs at the store…it is cheaper” so, they think.
I’ll take my hard work and peace of mind over “just running to the store” any day!
I grew up on a farm (where I am also currently living with my parents as we wait to buy a home) and it is NOT a simple life. 🙂 Your life is dictated by the weather and the season. Plans to go out? Oops! A cow is out and in the neighbors yard. Plans to go on vacation? Nope, the beans are ready to be picked and canned. 🙂
However, it is a bit more laid back. Life is more fulfilling….and the air is so much nicer out here in the homestead country. 🙂
Amen Sister……..! I couldn’t agree more. I am so far removed at times from the “outside” world that when I go out in it, I feel like a stranger from a strange land….
Too many people out there equate “simple” with”easy”. We all know that just is not the case. While, in this day and age, there is technology available that can make “Simple” living a little easier, it is still even more than a fulltime job. I am in envy of those who truly live the Homesteading lifestyle. While my job as a Project Manager can be challenging, there are too many days that I simply feel that I do NOT have enough to do, and that time is being wasted. Yet I am still chained to that clock. “Simple” for me means pleanty of hard work, but work that means something every minute, every day. Activities that truly contribute to my life, and to those around me in a meaningful, and productive way.
I appreciate this post!! And the comments are wonderful too. I am still in the dreaming phase of our homestead, but we hope to at least expand our garden some this year. Trying to remind myself that as Joel Salatin says, you can do with what you have now, not necessarily wait until you have acres and acres to get started. He puts it much better though. Everyone can homestead in some way or another! And I agree, it is simple to walk outside and get some fresh lettuce or tomatoes.
I know the feeling. http://dailylifehomestead.blogspot.com/2012/01/so-you-want-to-homestead-part-1.html
Simple – um, not so much. Self-fulling, satisfying, self-reliant, most definitely! No fooling & all kidding aside, homesteading is hard work. My mom (she’s 87) came from ‘the old country’ and calls me ‘nutz’. Homesteading wasn’t a fad back then, but a hard way of life. The beauty is that you decide the ‘degree’ of homesteading that’s right for you. It can begin with a little ‘simple’ change in attitude and the way you handle day-to-day living. 🙂
We, too have a small farm and our share of births, deaths, poop and chores. And we love every (well, most) minute of it! My kids are not driven around for lessons and teams, instead they learn and grow and love right here at home. A few years back I was asked to give a talk during Lent on “Living a Simple Life” and I laughed out loud! But I did it and learned as much or more than I taught. Thanks for the post reminding us that simple-is-as-simple-does!
For me it is a healthy life. Work is good for you. Out side …. I feed everything as healthy and natural as I can . cows and chickens. Used to have horses, goats, Love showing the kids what farm life is like. yes it is work…..and some time we loose animals. We sit up when we need to. Have slept in the barn many a night.. Then there is the pruning and work on the land…… It is calming to see my animals and all the natural canned goods……. Simple is ……for me…. natural healthy work………
Jill, I thought of this post when I read this passage on L.H. Bailey who was horticulturist & botanist from the early 1900’s.
“Bailey represented an agrarianism that stood in the tradition of Thomas Jefferson. He had a vision of suffusing all higher education, including horticulture, with a spirit of public work and integrating “expert knowledge” into a broader context of democratic community action. As a leader of the Country Life Movement, he strived to preserve the American rural civilization, which he thought was a vital and wholesome alternative to the impersonal and corrupting city life. In contrast to other progressive thinkers at the time, he endorsed the family, which, he recognized, played a unique role in socialization. Especially the family farm had a benign influence as a natural cooperative unit where everybody had real duties and responsibilities. The independence it fostered made farmers “a natural correction against organization men, habitual reformers, and extremists”. It was necessary to uphold fertility in order to maintain the welfare of future generations.”
I took this from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Hyde_Bailey#Agrarian_ideology
Leaving you an award! Love this post! Well said! Hard work, but wouldn’t trade it for the world! ;)http://thechickncoop.blogspot.com/2012/03/versatile-blogger-award.html
I cannot believe this post showed up just when I needed it. Three months ago I left my full time (high paying) job to be with my husband full time on our 13 acres in Missouri. I thought it would be such “fun” to do something different and “retire” early. After surviving the winter with no income (to speak of) and feeling like I made the biggest mistake of my life, for the past couple of weeks, there have been so many changes–we get our first 4 chickens this weekend and just getting their housing ready was so much fun. Also started the strawberries, rhubarb and asparagus in the garden and today planted the first of the red onions, lettuce and radishes. Put in a whole bunch of wildfowers by the newly erected greenhouse and lately, I have been getting up early and listening to all the birds, looking for the purple martins, and seeing everything turn green and I can’t imagine anything else. I go to bed exhausted and I am covered with dirt when I come in the house to cook supper, but I am soooo happy. I thank God every day for the wonderful husband he sent me and the opportunity to live my dream.
Hear hear hear!! There is nothing simple about this life. It is many many wonderful things but never simple.
I have a Quaker friend who often quotes Ghandi “Live simply so that others may simply live”. It took me awhile to wrap my head around it but I think of it as my living simply has less impact on the planet and this is my small part that I can do and I’m raising kids who hopefully will embrace this lifestyle and make a better future. Living simply also frees me from so much of the pressures in our consumer society, It is not easy but is rewarding.
It is very labor intensive and time consuming work. I work in healthcare fulltime and feel I am literally working two jobs. I get up early to do milking, bottle feed babies, let out chickens, water my new fruit trees and replenish water troughs with clean water. When I go inside I clean all the milking equipment. My wife is waking our children and keeping them on task to get ready for school. I go to work in field that has it’s own unique stressors. Once a week or so I leave work early so I can get to the Farmers’ CoOp before they close to buy feed. When I get home in the evening I do the milking, feeding of animals, collecting eggs, plant the garden, weed the garden, or do some minor repair work, etc (glad for Daylight Savings). On the weekends I usually have a bigger project like setting posts, stretching fence, shoveling out the chicken coop or goat stalls and composting that material, trimming the herds’ hooves, de-worming, splitting wood, mowing, etc.
I feel like I have two full-time jobs. I love what I do on the farm though. I wish I could do it full-time. It helps me to decompress from the work that actually pays the bills.
Love this. As one who longs for your kind of simple life, it can be a romantic dream that is not reflective of the reality. Thanks for being honest. Still, I long for it. IN the meantime, while we didn’t have animals to feed tonight, I’m working on my garage rooftop garden plan (and somewhat grateful we didn’t start a month ago as we are expecting frost tonight!), looking for sources of free compost, and studying those plans for a vermicomposting bin and self-watering planters. And yes, we did run to orchestra and violin lessons yesterday. [sigh]
Living simple is a challenge when your family is not on board with consuming less and strategies for reducing debt.
What are some tips on getting buy in from family members on frugal living?
Gatting wonderful help from your wesite..keep it going….
Thank you…
I enjoyed yours tips post on the website…..
Thank you
You tipes helps me many ways.Thank you for shareing your thought……
I guess it all depends on what simple means to you. It’s definitely not the easy life though, for sure. We are just heading into our own homesteading journey, albeit without the goats (they’re a maybe if we cope with the rest of it all) but I am looking forward to simplifying our days with good old fashioned hard work.
Do you know how hard it is to die? Headaches, fatigue, heart problems, gout, high blood pressure, IBS and the list goes on and on. I’m not saying that farm people don’t have these issues, but I would be willing to bet the occurrence is quite small in comparison to their city cousins. It is NOT simple or easy to feed yourself incorrectly for years, go to work sick, can’t think straight to raise kids properly and stress about expenses that you don’t need. If you’re going to take care of your family, you’re going to work to do it whether in the city style or the homestead style. I would think that doing it the homesteading way would actually be much more simple, because it will be done and you will be a lot more healthier (if nothing else) in the process.
You just have to remember that “simple” doesn’t mean the same thing as “easy” 🙂
Great post! It’s definitely not “simple” if you think of “simple” being easy, totally agree 🙂 But it makes you appreciate things more, and is very fulfilling doing things yourself. So sorry to hear about your goat death. I would be willing to take a few animals off your hands 😉 hehe. Again, loved the post, great work!
Jill, you penned it so perfectly! I wouldn’t trade my life for anything and we are just beginners. Thank you so much!
You are welcome Tammy! 🙂 Thanks for reading.
I agree with you, I truely enjoy gardening and growing up we didn’t buy everything from the Dad fished gigged frogs and we had pigs,rabbits chickens and Dad did some hunting but we always had a garden and Mom would freeze the veggies and we never thought life was rough, I honestly thought that was how everyone lived until I got older.
I now have a very small garden and smal fruit trees and we enjoying the fruits and veggies we are getting from them and we are also looking for a small peice of property so maybe we can get some animals and live a different type of life then living the husle and busle type of life….
Thans for sharing with us all.
My husband and I are preparing to retire within the next 12 months. While we have always had a garden and put up our own veggies and venison, however two years ago,in preparation for our retirement we began mini homesteading. We have 25 egg chickens, just processed 20 meat birds, make our own cheese, butter and yoghurt from our local milk csa, and of course garden, can and whatever else needs to be done. It is anything but simple at our house. We both work 45 to 50 hours outside of the home and then come home and begin our farming chores. It is a lot of work, especially right now before we retire, but so well worth the time. Our grandchildren benefit from this in many ways. They enjoy the food we make and they see what life in the country is all about. Retirement can’t come fast enough, but in the meantime, we don’t regret our simple mini farm life. It’s the sanity that we love in this crazy world.
” It’s the sanity that we love in this crazy world.” <------ THIS. 🙂
Well said. Your friends are living an unsustainable, life style of the rich, which is at the cost of many, much poorer people in foreign countries. You, are not. Their lifestyle won’t last. Yours will. You are offering your family health, happiness and sustainability. Your friends can’t offer that with the way they are living. Nothing is more satisfying than drinking milk produced by your animals and brought to the table by your own hands. Homesteading is hard work but the benefits and satisfaction are endless 🙂
I couldn’t agree more Leona– well said!
Maybe a better word would be “basic”.
Agreed. 🙂
Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better!
Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate!
He always kept talking about this. I will forward this page to him.
Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
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