So what do Homesteaders do for fun??

Watching the antics of the goats and chickens. Sitting around the fire pit roasting marshmellows and hotdogs. Bird watching. Lots to do, just not enough time to do it all.

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http://sonshine-littlebitofsonshine.blogspot.com/

Christian Homesteaders Forum
http://christianhomesteader.forumotion.net/

I would agree with above posters , my life is my hobby, my hobbies are my life . That being said you may find you work harder at this then you have previously, but love every minute.

Have bon fires, ride quads, go hike around the property, shoot guns, bbq and sit out on the deck with a cold beer.

Working in the garden and tending to animals may seem like it is work, but most of the time it is a real pleasure and a great way to relax.

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Chick with a gun.

Homestead.

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

What do we do for fun?

That depends!

I tear things apart and scrap them or use the parts for something else.
We do Civil War reenacting.
The DD and DW make some, sew, dehydrate food, make jerky etc..
We go down to the lower part of the property and shot targets using anything from flintlocks to semiautomatics, depending on what we feel like shooting..
I just happen to be lucky enough to be the Captain of the 45th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Company K, so that keeps me busy preparing for the next reenacting season and scheduling events, talks, symposiums etc..

Also constantly trying to restore our 1750's home.
Tending to the garden and fields.
Restoring the few antiques I get at auction.
Re purposing items..

It's all fun!

Then there is work, where I'm happiest when I'm drawing.. I'm a draftsman by trade, but besides drawing I also do the plumbing estimating for commercial and residential customers.. Ranging in pricing from $10,000 to $500,000. Depends on what they want and how big..

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Pennsylvania Constitution, Article 1 Section 21 "The Right of the Citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned"
www.pafoa.org
http://www.45thpacok.com

What do I do for fun?

I don't know of anything better than going down through the woods on a good horse and maybe a dog or two. The smell of rich woodsy humus, the crunch of fall leaves, birdsong drifting through and the quick glimpse of a red fox, deer, or the silent flight of an owl disturbed in the middle of day lifts my heart. A sunrise casting it's golden light across a late spring morning. Moonlight on an endless carpet of sparkling snow. The lowing of cattle from over the hills at my neighbor's farm. Picking up a basket of eggs after feeding horses and taking them into the house for the freshest breakfast ever. Suddenly smelling the perfume of honeysuckle drift through the window on a sultry summer afternoon. Seeing the sun reflecting on water like a million diamonds makes me feel richer than anything money can buy.

It is indeed a lifestyle, but it's precious because the gifts here cannot be bought at any store. I think of them as God-gifts, transient moments of natural beauty offered with love from above. I'm awed and humbled by their offering.

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‎"The trouble with quotes over the Internet is that you never know if they are genuine." - Abraham Lincoln

We have a big working farm, yet we have time. We travel when we can, I've gone back to school full time, and my husband has a woodmizer and woodshop, he cuts his own lumber and makes furniture. We do a lot of improvement projects around the farm, but after 27 yrs, it's pretty much "improved".

not a professional homesteader maybe (dont' make a living at it) but I ride my horse and make cheese. go for walks and visit friends. have time for it, sometimes less, sometimes more so. sometimes just have to MAKE time for it, but it works.

Between two full time jobs and a small farm, we don't get to do stuff just for fun very often. But over the Labor Day weekend, we did get away with a group of family members for some R & R.

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It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with the simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.
Laura Ingalls Wilder

I do the same things for fun that I did before I retired. I just have more free time to do them is all.

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"I didn't have time to slay the dragon. It's on my To Do list!"

Reading, board games, kayaking, fishing, hunting, walking in woods, watching birds, visiting with friends, playing cards, campfires, sketching, my wife does a lot of needle point, flea markets, going into town for an ice cream cone...

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"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow the fields of those who don't."-Thomas Jefferson

I retired form retail after being a manager for 31 years at the age of 48 YES 48

the first year I named the fish in my 7 ponds after catching them several times

so what do you do when you have 2 miles of cable check out my zipline on my farm

Ride horses, hunt, fish, Drive the buggy.

I retired but work 16 hrs a week now. If you want hobbies, make time for them. Life is about priorities. I take walks down by the creek. Make all our cheese, yogurt, butter and cottage cheese from goats milk. Garden. Raise goats, rabbits, chickens and pigeons. Woodwork, build small rental cabins, treehouses and playhouses from recycled wood. Hunt, fish and roam the woods for edibles. I live for good weather and being outdoors, so winters are spent getting things ready. I don't have to worry about tomorrow, today is what I make it....James

It is the "wholesome" life style that I enjoy most as it simply relaxes my insides! It is also the fact I no longer need to compete with anyone to progress as I want, unless I want to compete with myself, which I often did prior to retiring anyway. No longer do I need to play in a political arena as I did when building my career. All this that I no longer need to do has helped my "body" to relax as my brain no longer holds my emotions to attention.

Initially when I retired it was to care for my precious mother who was in the last stages of parkinsons disease. This brought a "need" for self preservation and the only means I had to accomplish this was in finding something I could enjoy on the 6-acre homestead. (This was no easy task for a woman who had been holding 2-3 jobs the majority of her years prior to retirement.)

The first thing I did was to strengthen my focus on the spiritual part of my life. This component of my being was always strong; but now I connected it to absolutely everything I involved myself in, i.e. moving rocks/tree roots to clear the acreage AND digging 2-4 ft holes for construction/fencing AND putting seeds in the ground, tending the plants, harvesting the produce. By now we had a small herd of dairy goats (I made the breeders my pets and often stayed with them in the pasture, sitting under shade trees while they graze and letting them lay their heads in my lap...even their babies sleep...in my lap.) and different types of fowls.

Taking "time" to get to know and understand each type of animal we brought onto the place merged my need to be a workaholic with my need to release stress/emotion. Creating bonds with whichever animal/fowl would permit it was taking me even farther away from the "plastic" world I had survived in prior to retirement and into the "wholesome" world homesteading permitted.

EXAMPLE: We had wild guineas living in our trees. One fall I noticed one was nesting on the goat bedding inside the barn. It had a terrible time walking. To help it eat, I would often toss it a handful of cracked corn. Then I noticed it had no toes (I can only guess it broke them and they came off.); so I named her "No-toes". When she was able to walk (without toes), she would often visit me while I was milking...in order to get more corn. This went on all winter. Come spring she started roosting in the trees, yet woud still return when I was milking to get her bit of corn. One day she disappeared for several days. (I figured she had become the victim of some predator.) Then one morning as I was milking, No-toes landed on the rail beside me and started fussing loudly. I tossed a handful of cracked corn on the ground beside me, she jumped down, ate quickly, then disappeared. In about 3 days No-toes showed up with 3 baby keets following her around. (This is just one of the wonderful situations that can occur while homesteading.)

I have now been a homesteader on a very small place for over 17 yrs. I have personal experiences with both domesticated and wild animals that continues to bring a smile to my face and elevates my heart. Mixing all this with the constant reminder all around me of a loving Heavenly Father produces both peace of mind and an overwhelming sense of joy I had never had prior to homesteading.

I do hope, when you do reach that point in your life, that you reach it "without" debt and with an openness to the differences you are bound to encounter. Open your heart to joy and it will walk right in!

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I am what I am! Acknowledging this is the beginning; and my growth is yet to end. http://motdaugrnds.com/farmsales ~~~~~ http://motdaugrnds.com

Follow Highlands and Shrek you can't be to far off.
For me What I don't have to do
drive 45 min in rushhour traffic at 7 in the am
drive an hour home in rush hour traffic
worry about traffic
listen to traffic
deal with the city and stupid people ( yes they are still out here but a lot less)
Steve

Listen to the quiet........play with dog.........see family.......neighbors.......putter around property.......pick and eat fruit of puttering.......work with diamond willow........watch the birds.....watch the wild animals that come around......canoe on one of several lakes around here......snowshoe.....fish with grandkids....bar bingo....you may wish to look at the thread about Minnesota that was posted a few weeks back...

We occassionally go to Chicago to visit our son and then really appreciate coming home to the woods!

I like watching the chicken channel and sitting on the porch with a cup a joe. Otherwise I'm usually pretty busy...but doing things I enjoy too...cooking, taking care of animals, going for walks with the dog, gardening. That's fun to me

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http://littlehomesteadonthehill.blogspot.com/

What we do for fun with free time? The simple things that are most enjoyable. I play the fiddle with my brother playing the banjo on the porch...Watch the sun go down...Play with the horses and dogs...Make things - like leatherworking and gear for the reenacting events we do...There are so many things! And we do sometimes go to the movies.

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