We came home from work last Thursday to find our two gilts (girl pigs) missing from their paddock. This was not completely unexpected. The wire fence surrounding their paddock is old and loose in places, and they had pushed under it twice the week before. Once they made it as far as our junk pile, and once intoContinue reading “Underestimating the determination of a bored pig”
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The cost of novice homesteading mistakes
I really admire people who carefully research their ideas and plans of action before they go ahead. I bet they experience little waste and a high rate of success. Josh and I are not those people. We’re the people who jump in and then learn how to swim. It’s a useful strategy for us, becauseContinue reading “The cost of novice homesteading mistakes”
Spring on the farm
It’s spring, so of course there’s so much going on at Bellfern Homestead, and I’m too tired to organize it all into an interesting and themed narrative. This is going to be a casserole-style blog post: take what you have, mix it all together, add cheese, and hope it holds together. We’ve got over a hundred chickensContinue reading “Spring on the farm”
Makin’ Bacon
Josh and I grew up in the Midwest–me in Illinois, him in Ohio and Iowa. At some point in our childhoods, we both came across the game “Pig Mania,” and it’s not because it was a virally popular game at any point in history, not even in the Midwest. It’s a dice rolling game, except that the diceContinue reading “Makin’ Bacon”
The fruits of winter, part 2: cider
This winter sucked. Ask anyone from the PNW. It was colder, snowier, and blowier than most of the old timers ever remember for this region. We’re finally getting some glimpses of spring. Our grass is growing, nights are staying above freezing. You know what I liked about winter? I liked that I left for workContinue reading “The fruits of winter, part 2: cider”
The Myth of the Self-Sufficient Homestead
“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” – Isaac Newton Many people start homesteading because they want to increase self-sufficiency, and decrease dependence on systems that seem fragile or likely to fail. Should The Big One strike (referring to the devastating and periodic earthquake along the Cascade Fault ofContinue reading “The Myth of the Self-Sufficient Homestead”
The moment Bellfern began
I know, I know, it’s the most boring email exchange ever. It’s so innocuous, so bland, so void of significance. But you know what it is? Of course you do. It’s the first email exchange (a hundred would follow) between me, Josh, and our realtor about Bellfern Homestead. But of course it wasn’t Bellfern Homestead yet,Continue reading “The moment Bellfern began”
Homesteading is not as sexy as it sounds
Maybe you have a fantasy about homesteading someday, and you have a vision of yourself wearing flannel and Carharts harvesting mountains of winter squash for your root cellar, and hosting apple cider pressing parties with your neighbors. You envision raising pastured cattle, who happily much on your luscious green grass, and you imagine quaint daily choresContinue reading “Homesteading is not as sexy as it sounds”
The fruits of winter, part 1: winter jam with quince
Around late August you’ll read a number of smug blog posts by me and every other homesteader and gardener glorifying the harvest of summer. You’ll see baskets mounded with zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, and squash. There will be photos of quart jars filled with freshly canned applesauce, pickles, tomatoes. Maybe an article about freezing pesto in iceContinue reading “The fruits of winter, part 1: winter jam with quince”
Nine months; a gestation period.
Its been 9 months to the day since we moved from our tiny urban lot to these 7 acres. Included in the deal was a mostly-renovated farmhouse, two leaky unswept barns, “the chalet,” “the bakery,” and a laundry-shed-cum-chicken-coop/rat factory. All of which, including the pastures, paddocks, and ancient apple trees have been unlimited sources ofContinue reading “Nine months; a gestation period.”
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