It’s been a minute. Thanks for sticking around while I caught my breath. I’m back-ish. I won’t promise weekly blog posts, but I’ll be around more than I have been.
You see… I haven’t had a lot to say, because I’ve been asking myself a lot of questions lately… the biggest one being:
What’s next?
Because I have no idea.
And that’s strange for me, because I’ve always known.
But for the first time in my life, it feels like I’m staring at a blank slate.
I’ve been an “influencer” (ugh) for 15 years, long before it was even a thing. I know how to grow a platform, write hooks, solve problems, and pump out content… and I was damn good at it.
But do I still want to do that? I don’t think so. At least not in the same way.
The truth is, I don’t identify with the homestead movement like I used to. Sure, I still garden and bake bread and gather eggs—but the rest feels foreign. It’s turned into an ideology and a tribe. And those are two things I’ve learned to steer clear of.
And these days, I’m more than that.
I’m running a restaurant.
I’m deeply immersed in my local community.
I’m driving my kids to a million activities.
I’m pushing myself harder with my horsemanship than ever before.
I’m still cooking, but it’s different than it used to be. Instead of baking bread with toddlers at my feet, I’m recipe testing for a cookbook and creating high-end suppers with my team in the tiniest small-town restaurant.
The forties have hit hard, man. Not a midlife crisis, but a midlife awakening, to be sure.
This shifting, transforming Jill doesn’t quite fit the box I once built here. On one hand, that feels exactly right. On the other, it feels uncharted. Which is why I’ve gone quiet.
I’ve been leaning heavily on this Wendell Berry poem all year. I can’t think of any words that fit my situation better right now:
“It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.
The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.”
I know I don’t want to walk away from this platform. But I don’t know where I’m headed. And it scares me—in the best of ways.
So I’m going to start showing up again, but differently. Random, real pieces of my life. The way blogs used to be—more letters from a friend than polished broadcasts.
And that feels strange, because I’m very much a “what does this content accomplish?” sort of person. But right now, the point is simply sharing my life as it is. Not the polished, curated “homestead influencer” version—just the everyday Jill version.
It may not look tidy or curated, but it’ll be real—and that’s exactly where I need to be. And you’re welcome to come along. ?
If you’re still here, thank you. Leave a comment and tell me what you’re curious about in this season—restaurant behind-the-scenes, cookbook experiments, school projects, horsemanship progress, or how I’m juggling it all (sometimes well, sometimes not).
I’m so grateful you’re here,
-Jill
P.S. To answer two of the most common questions I’m getting right now:
YES! The planner is back for 2026. You can pre-order yours here.
And I’m working on bringing the podcast back soon. Thanks for your patience with me on that!
“more letters from a friend than polished broadcasts.”
Hallelujah! 🙂
Well, I’ll bite. I still check this blog.
I’ll also be quite frank. I”m a native Wyomingite who has been in agriculture my entire life, and who raises livestock at the commercial level, although I am, like you, doubly employed. I note that as while I’ve found your blog to be interesting, and I find the homesteading movement interesting, it is, in my view, and has always been, an “ideology and a tribe”.
Frankly, it’s nearly a cult.
I regard myself as an agrarian, but a realistic one, and that’s quite a bit different. By working in town, as you likely have to, or at least see the advantage of doing so while still keeping your feet in agriculture, you’re more of an agrarian now. I see that as a positive development.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. And I agree- it is nearly a cult these days.
Thanks for writing. I check in here occasionally, pull up your podcast page frequently when driving, and check out your videos when I’m replicating one of your activities–like quartering a chicken or canning pinto beans.
Things change over time, and once you’ve reached a certain point, it may seem that there’s less that is noteworthy and new to post or podcast on. Of the things you listed, one I’d most like to see is the juggling act. You’re far busier than I am, but I usually feel like I’m juggling six balls and I only have enough talent to keep two in the air. A lot fall to the ground. Right now, I have black walnuts all over the grass, but I don’t have time to hull them, because I’m trying to finish the chicken coop that the chicks in the house can move into as soon as it’s ready, and on and on. So being better at prioritizing is something I need to grow in. Coping with setbacks is a rich field, too: you have posted some of that, most notably the hail and the herbicide-tainted hay. What other challenges are you facing–now and in the past? Failure (and overcoming it) can be inspirational.
Thanks for the content that you have provided over the years. It has helped me immensely as I try to do more.
Thanks for still blogging. I am looking forward to whatever comes next.
I have just stumbled across your podcast in the last year. With all the crazy things that have happened over the last few years, I am grateful to have “influencers” such as yourself. I’m not an entrepreneur myself, but my husband is and I help him where I can and do all the same crazy running around. I also brought a childhood passion of riding horses back into my life 5 years ago and we just brought our horses home from a boarding barn this year. It has been inspiring listening to your homestead & healthy eating podcasts and has encouraged me even more with the land we have recently obtained to do more stuff that is self sustaining and less consumeristic.
It’s important for me to be able to hear that other women struggle with all the things from time to time! So, kudos to you for just saying so and taking care of yourself. I’d love to hear more about what you’re doing on your homestead, what you’re doing with your horses, restaurant, life, etc! All the things! The good and the struggles! Talk about the things that make your heart happy. Even when those things shift. We don’t have to be one thing. We can be many!
I, for one, am grateful for what you have already put out to the world. If you stopped here it would still be more than this wild place known as the internet deserves. Personally your work has given me the courage and knowledge needed to leave my suburban California existence and build my own paradise in Idaho. Being a few years behind you I still lean heavily on your content, especially your cookbook and planner. I have been blessed by what you have posted, podcasted and published. It has impacted me and others I know in profound ways. Your more personal, casual cup of coffee across the table content has been a delight and I can’t be the only one who would love to see more of that. Either way I want to thank you for the way you have changed this internet strangers life.
Love that you are sharing life and still love your content. You were the first homesteader I found in my own journey and have followed the whole way through. I still reach for your cookbook every week! I have always found your content to be refreshing and real, but understand that you’re on the next step. I think we get to a point where we have amassed the knowledge to get through and fine tune what works for our families. We too have gone back to our horsemanship roots the last couple years. I bought a weanling for my husband, I have a daughter who’s horse crazy and we chose to get her a yearling to work with, then I had to have one too. Oh and we bred two mares for foals. Seasons of life ?
I really enjoyed your blogs from back in the day and I love the ideas of letters to a friend. Go where your heart leads you. The more genuine you are, the better the “content”. I’ve followed you for the better part of a decade and I adored your early posts. They were good reminders of what I needed to get started and it was nice to know that you were competing with the same elements (wind, snow, wind).
I’ve been with you since before the beginning, I’m still in all of you, and I love watching you grow. It’s a pleasure knowing you, and working with you, and watching your spirit rise. You’re still influencing, even when you’re not blogging. You’re a good human, raising good humans, and I’m so proud of you.
I’ve always enjoyed your content, even when it was more homestead influenced. I think you hit the nail on the head, with your description. Part of me is thankful that people are curious about raising their own food, mindful of what they’re feeding their families, and putting in their bodies, and what kind of education their children receive. But there is something about the mainstream idea of what homesteading “looks” like. The attitude that is portrayed. I can’t quite describe it. I’ve always leaned more toward ranching than homesteading. Although a lot of things we do can be considered both. I hear and appreciate what you’re saying here. One step at a time, that’s what I tell myself. And pray that God helps me see the direction of that next step.
I love that you have a restaurant! Especially in the middle of nowhere. I have always thought that doing a pop up restaurant a few times a month would be fun. I love cooking for people, have worked in cafes and such a few times in my life. Most of my cooking these days is for my family and the crew of hungry cowboys/neighbors that helps us with ranch work from time to time. There is something about gathering around food that just fills my heart.
Hi Jill, hang it there and do what you need to do for you. Life gets busy and changes. I am 60+ and grew up on a Ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills, Homesteading was what the pioneers did. I always considered what I did was just living and taking care of me and my family and preparing for the future. I still enjoyed your blog and seeing how others did things. You Do You!
Girl, thank you for the honesty and sharing. I found the “tribe” online in 2021 and thought I had found my people. I flew to one of the big homesteading conferences alone thinking they would all wrap their arms around me and welcome me home. ( naïve, I know.) Quite opposite. The “influencers” were rude, cocky and some of the worst energy I have ever felt around me. Not one person was welcoming (except for the locals that were attending).
Broke my heart but also woke me up to the nonsense of it all.
Your work is still very much appreciated and I envy your busy and full life. Take all the time you need to slow down again.
I am not a homesteader, although I have a few friends whose families are. I have enjoyed your real-ness. Polished isn’t my thing, but relationship is. Not that I have a homestead or even bake bread right now, and I like in a small suburb.
The real you is what drew me, and will continue to do so.
Blessings in your new endeavors. I am looking forward to seeing the 40s Jill.
I love your honesty! I think when we are all willing to share the realities of life with each other we are all better off for it. We are comforted in knowing that we are not alone in the struggles and crossroads if life. We learn from each other. Thank you for sharing the poem. It describes where I am right now as well. So thought provoking! Do what feels right for you now and do it without apology. You and your family are the most important!
I tuned 45 this year and it hits different for sure! My husband and I had our big homestead dreams back in 2011 and you and another YouTube family we would watch. Fast forward and we do have our growing little farm but have also changed a lot of our focus. It’s fun to see your journey and how you have evolved. I sit with younger moms staring their homesteads journey and listen as they talk about doing all of the things. I smile and say we’ll have fun, as I know the exhaustion that comes with it and how your focus changes as your kids grow. There are a lot of skills that I have learned but I don’t want to do anymore I find my time so valuable these days and to lessen the load is greater to me. Thank you for sharing I also believe social media is going the direction of back to being real and raw I miss the old blogs.
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Jill,
You and your content has always inspired me so so much! I have been following you for years… Probably about 10 or 15 years now at least. Thank you for all of the wonderful inspiration! I would love to get out and see your restaurant one time. I had hoped to make it out there this past summer, but wasn’t able to do so. One day!
For years, I wondered how you got so much done so I sure appreciated your honesty when your kids got busier in sports and it became harder as that’s the life. I’ve been living for so many years as well.
I look forward to purchasing your new cookbook in the fall of 2026 as I have your first one as well and have purchased many of your programs and even your planner!
More intimate updates from a close friend and more content about how you juggle it all would be awesome, but I love all of the other things you suggested as well. Especially since I grew up riding horses, and I love that you are so into that as well!
I too am in a season of facing a new chapter – empty nesting – so I look forward to continuing to follow you.
Blessings on your journey… and blessings and mason jars (as you always used to sign your emails). ?
Love from Central Minnesota ?
I am so happy to read this.
I agree completely.
Happy to see that someone is vocalizing it. ….I always knew you were intuitive and smart ?
I’m so excited for your new cookbook! When will it be available?
It will be available in Fall 2026!!!
I have followed you for a long time and I feel as if I have “grown up” along with you, although I haven’t had the same life experiences. Love your thoughtful content and all the new and exciting adventures you are on!
I’ve been listening to the podcast for years all over from Central Europe and I have to say I am going to miss your calming voice. But I am very happy that you chose your path instead of forcing yourself to go mainsteam. I wish you and your family all the best on this journey and I know it will be amazing!!
I’m still here! Not going anywhere.
I’ve followed your blog/podcast for years. It was super helpful when my husband and I moved to WY 6 years ago and I had to relearn how to garden in prairie soil and bake at such a high altitude. I’m looking forward to whatever is next! It’s like I’m cheering on an old friend.