Long Weekend

I had a long and wonderful weekend! Friday I left for my mother's house and came back Sunday evening. While I was there I attended my little sister's graduation pool party. The food was amazing and many of my cousins' babies were there. I got to hold all of the babies and they were positively delightful. I love babies and can't wait to have one of my own. Hopefully in the next couple years I'll be blessed with my own bundle of joy to dote upon.

Aside from the party, I did a lot of homesteading chores. Re-planting, staking, watering gardens, plus feeding and watching poultry and hunting for the eggs. One day we found fifteen eggs, the next we found thirteen. Not bad at all, considering two chickens were broody and their eggs couldn't be collected. It was a lot of fun to go out and get my hands dirty and do real work. I miss life like that. Although I don't miss being attacked by roosters. Most of the roosters just get happy when you bring their feed rations or an extra treat from the kitchen, but one little banty insisted on jumping at my legs. A soft nudge with the egg basket and a harsh word sent him scuttling off a few feet, but we watched each other closely from then on.

Now that I'm home I needed a little time to recoup, but I'm feeling very refreshed. I spent the last two days with hubby, watching movies and hanging out to spend some quality time together on his vacation, so I didn't have time to post or even think about posting. There wasn't much very interesting going on to report anyway. Oh, other than I've been looking into local properties, but haven't found anything quite right for us. I've also been doing research on livestock, mainly sheep, and livestock guardians, mainly dogs. Hopefully I'll one day have the land and fencing to keep my own flock of hair sheep, I'm really wanting St. Croix. They seem completely delightful!

Going Back to the Land

What does that phrase even mean? Ask twenty people and I bet you'd have twenty answers. What does going back to the land and homesteading mean to me? I want to know and appreciate where my food comes from. Giving up convenience for better quality seems like a small sacrifice. Working hard to support your family, and coming away from a long day feeling satisfaction and pride in what you've done. Helping to preserve the Earth's resources by making what you can and shopping locally for the rest so that your children and grandchildren will have a better future. These are all things that mean a great deal to me now that I've done a bit of soul-searching. I didn't come to my decision to go into homesteading lightly and it won't happen overnight, but to me it is a dream worth reaching for.

What does going back to the land mean to you? Are those values that you also hold dear? Have you ever wished that you could wake up every morning to the sounds of the barnyard? Perhaps hearing an old rooster crow to greet the day. Even if you live on only a small patch of ground, you can have your own small homestead, and I'm going to prove it by sharing my own journey with you all. Maybe I will inspire some of you to go out and do a little extra work in your garden, or even to strive for small things to do a touch of your own homesteading. Even if I don't, I'm glad to have you with me.