This weekend we got a little piece of what spring will be like on the homestead. Moving here, it was easy to day dream about the reasons anyone wants to be a homesteader; self reliance, happiness, peace, and living a healthier lifestyle. Although we knew it was also hard work, it’s more fun to just think of the peacefulness. This weekends beautiful weather was a quick reminder that a large percentage of homesteading is WORK!
Our house is a never ending project. As we shared in an earlier post, we had to get the inside in a livable state in a short amount of time so we could move in before the baby was born. We will update you all soon on how it turned out soon! However, the outside needs plenty of work as well, both cosmetic and repairs. We want to make this house as beautiful as possible and have plans to do just that. So today, we started with the front porch on the house. It had a very dated awning that had to go. Honestly, it was a pretty easy task to take it down and made, what we think is, a world of difference. It will need more work, boards will need replaced, siding needs patched, the porch needs shortened, and we will be putting a metal roof over the area. It will take little money, a lot of work, but it will be a small part of giving this old farmhouse the makeover it needs! Future plans include painting the front door and adding some window boxes but those projects will come when the weather really starts heating up. My father, who luckily lives less than a mile away, helped me tackle this project. We needed his tractor with a loader on it to hold the awning up as we took it down. Meghan tackled our inside chores, cleaning and laundry, and spending time with our ever changing daughter. She did have a front row seat to the show though!
After taking just a little bit of time to take the awning off, it gave us a surge of energy to tackle more duties on the “to do” list. So, my willing father brought a trailer, hooked it up to his tractor, and began the daunting task of removing A LOT of rocks in the yard. We don’t really prefer them for our landscape, and my dad had the perfect spot for them in a wooded setting. Three tractor buckets, two large trailers later, and the sun setting, it was time to call it quits for the weekend. Thank goodness! We were beat. We were rewarded with homemade beef jerky that my mom prepares annually, but a bit late this year due to all of the help she was giving us to rush into the new house.
The chickens also enjoyed their time being outside of the coop. As we picked up rocks that had been in place for decades, they were right by our side picking the bugs simultaneously as each rock was lifted. After their back breaking day of scratching and eating, they are as happy to be roosting next to each other as I am laying in my recliner with Meghan and Harper by my side.
Sitting here thinking about the weekend, it’s easy to actually understand the happiness, self reliance, and inner peace that homesteading brings. It isn’t sitting on the porch, with a cup of coffee, watching the animals graze. Sure, that’s an amazing experience as well, but the hard work that homesteading is makes the memories we strived to make when we moved out here. I feel fortunate to be able to spend time out working with my dad, making memories, and being self reliant.
