Hey readers 🙂 Let’s jump right in. Early in our adventure here, we realized that, after 4+ years of the vegetation being allowed to grow freely while we were living in Washington state, our property was in need of some help beyond what Jeremiah and I were equipped to handle. We had someone come and bush-hog the 2.75-acre property, allowing us to traverse the area easily and start mapping out in our minds what in the world we wanted to transform, and what we wanted to leave as-is. I can’t even begin to describe how exciting this simple first step was, and the amazing thing is… that excitement of dreaming and imagining possibilities has yet to fade. Maybe it’s because we’re naive and have ZERO background in homesteading/farming/etc., so we don’t realize the extent of the work and challenges and heartbreak awaiting us. That’s okay. I certainly appreciate the perspective of wise and seasoned masters of any profession or trade. I know we’ll be leaning on such folks for a long time as we try to navigate this journey into homesteading. But I also acknowledge that coming to this scene with fresh eyes and a different kind of energy could prove useful. We shall see. To help prepare my naive self for what’s ahead, I’ve been squeezing in a lot of reading when I’m not working or enjoying way too much Netflix with the hubby.
Soon, I hope to create a little “Resource” page on this site that includes books, websites, etc. that have been helpful for me as I learn about homesteading, the food system, sustainable practices, healthy lifestyle, etc. There’s SO MUCH to learn, it’s overwhelming at times. And I’m the kind of person that has to read/see/do several times before it sticks. Jeremiah is the opposite; he has incredible memory, and it makes me feel like a goldfish. So he’ll be out saving the world, while I re-read for the eighth time.
Not long after we had the land bush-hogged, we contacted the county and realized that our initial plans for a small cabin-like home was not going to happen (that story is coming in another post). Instead, it was going to be a much longer and more complicated process for us to move onto our future homestead. Not the news we wanted, but it was out of our control, and we’re striving to be thankful no matter the circumstances. So I did what I could at the time, and gladly accepted a few plant divisions from my amazing mom– a couple of hosta plants and a “live forever” plant as she calls it– and put them in the ground where I figured they could establish and grow until we have a house and can join them.
A lot of our early-on visits to the property involved thinning some of the trees (still more of that to do!), clearing the property lines and the area where our house will be, and basically just cleaning stuff up – there are about a billion pine trees on the property that needed dead limbs removed and pine straw relocated. So we now have multiple massive piles of trees and branches that we’ll eventually put through a wood chipper to create a ton of mulch!
I think there is much joy to be found in using what would often be discarded, instead giving it a new purpose and reducing our waste. We see this process in nature all the time; inputs and outputs are balanced, nothing is wasted. We want to do a better job of this ourselves and believe we’re honoring the God of this creation by practicing thoughtful stewardship. Practicing is a key word for us; I know we’ll have quite a few missteps and revisions along the way. I hope you’ll stick with us in our journey, forgiving our shortcomings and sharing in the beautiful victories to come.
Until next time,
Holly