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”
Tag Archives: homesteading
Custom Greenhouse and How to Lay Pavers Imperfectly
Its not until July 4th in northwest Washington that you can bank on warm weather. June around here goes by another name…Juneuary, because it is frequently 50’s and rainy. That is a hard pill to swallow when the rest of the country is already comfortably swimming! Of course, its also cold in JANuary when tomatoes are toContinue reading “Custom Greenhouse and How to Lay Pavers Imperfectly”
Shoulder Season Hog Keeping
Back in the day, pigs used to be let loose in the nearby woods to forage and fend for themselves all year, then harvested in the fall/winter. They were referred to as “mortgage lifters” due to the low input to high output qualities. Our woods are far away and there’s a creek in there withContinue reading “Shoulder Season Hog Keeping”
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”
Oh my scrapple, we’re homesteading now
My friend John used to live on a blueberry farm. He loves to tell the story of the day his truck got stuck in the infamous mud of the Pacific Northwest, and his neighbor, who lived on a hill that looked down on John’s property, watched the scene with amusement for a good 20 minutes beforeContinue reading “Oh my scrapple, we’re homesteading now”
Free Range Chickens: Little Vulturous Destroyers
Our chickens are tireless. They’ve got serious moxy. They laugh at fences, sleep in trees, and throw large sticks aside in search of anything that moves. One day I came home to rubbermaid bins and chicken feeders broken on the barn floor because some bird was looking for a new nesting spot. We keep themContinue reading “Free Range Chickens: Little Vulturous Destroyers”
The day pig becomes pork
People who know me describe me as practical, no-nonsense, tough. (I’m sure there are other adjectives, but those are the ones relevant to this story. Hush.) While the pigs were growing, people frequently asked me whether I’d be able to butcher the them when the time came, since I frequently told stories about the pigsContinue reading “The day pig becomes pork”
Cover the Earth
If there’s one rule I am following while attempting to bring the soil here back to life after decades of neglect, its this: keep it covered. All the little crawlers, fungi, and beneficial bacteria present in healthy soil can’t stand direct sun, too dry, or too wet. Like us they respond quite nicely to sturdyContinue reading “Cover the Earth”
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”
Bellfern Homestead 