Your homesteading dream

Okay I guess I am dumb. What does getting capped mean in reference to you m.u.d?

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"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord,which made heaven and earth.."Psalm 121:1-3

Always a fun thread....

Realistic goal: 2-5 acres, a small (under 1000' SQ) house, a fenced area for agility/dog training, kennels so I can do board-and-train, enough space for a horse and some goats and chickens.

Dream goal that would take waaaaay too long but might eventually happen- 40+ acres, all of above + arena, kennels, and a couple small houses/niceish trailers that I can rent out to some of my younger friends in exchange for labor and crittersitting.

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"Dogs may not be our whole lives, but they make our lives whole." Roger Caras

ditto

MUD provides water and sewage for district, in turn, no wells, septic allowed. Thats the agreement, company provides water, in turn, you have to use the services even if you don't want it.
The folks who had this place before us went with the district utilities. The MUD capped the well, no longer usuable. We cannot use septic or open new well.

I've always like these threads. We've been on our place for a long time now and have most of bugs worked out. We've got the orchard producing great; we have cows, pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, horses, and kids galore. 30 of the prettiest acres that you have ever seen, we will have it paid off in 3 or 4 more years then I plan on scaling back my job and spending more time on the place.

The main thing about making the dream come true is to just do it. Take the plunge find a place and buy it, put up with the hour plus commute to work. It will be worth it in the end. Dreams can come true but you have to work for them.

Good Luck

Jim in MO

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There is no problem so great that it can not be solved with the proper application of high explosives...

Almost EXACTLY what moonwolf said.

A cob cottage (possibly cordwood hybrid) house for us, and perhaps a few tiny cob/cordwood guest cottages for friends, B&B potential. Hoping to take on a reliable tenant in partial exchange for animal sitting and general help. The goal is to be off-grid if necessary, using sustainable energy and waste systems.

With the addition of (if the land/zoning is right) a commercial kitchen for cheesemaking and value-added products. Looking into requirements for Grade A facilities (eek). And maybe host the occasional wedding or workshop (I'm in the event industry). Perhaps join up with other producers' CSA programs. I want to specialize in pastured meat products (goat, a few hogs, broilers) rabbit and duck/duck eggs for restaurant/direct sales, heirloom veggies.

The goal is to raise enough to feed ourselves, pay the bills and generate supplemental income. I've got all my debt paid off and am just waiting for my credit score to improve a wee bit (whoopsie, had some trouble paying bills on time in the past). Cash in on equity on my house, which I'll rent out.

I'd love have enough space/isolation to set up a range (archery, firearms) without freaking out the livestock, my poor boyfriend or the neighbors. I'd be a bit concerned about all the lead, too. Trout pond? I wish!

We'd also like to reserve some space for creative projects--we've got friends with mad metalworking/carpentry skills, and we figure if we provide them some room to work on large projects (mostly art stuff) we can con them into helping us with construction and McGuyvering our own facilities. My beau's far more social than I, and though he's rabidly excited about our plan I know I've got to be prepared to have our friends come to US.

It's so great to see everyone's replies...but it gives me way to many other ideas!!!

Well i must start by saying to everybody who has a homestead dream do not give up keep dreaming, planning, designing, working and setting goals. Because if you do not keep going you will regret it when you look back later. I am ahead of schedule on some goals i set but behind on others and i keep reminding myself of the ones that i have not started on yet. But with all that said i must say getting to the stage that we are at now has been great. It has brought our family closer together but brought some stress to life we did not have before.
We have our land with a spring, some woods and a year round creek running through the pasture and lets not forget a view of the mountains that would bring a tear to your eye when you consider where we were stuck living for awhile. But i wish the guy next door would go ahead and price that other pasture we talked about. And the guy on the other side would go ahead and price that section of woods he said he did not want when he bought the package deal he got.
We still live in the temporary mobile home we purchased to live in while we built our house.
We have our chickens, rabbits, pigs but not our beef cows or meat goats or that horse i promised my daughter as the fence has not been completed.
We still have the tractor under a tarp in bad weather since the equipment shed is not done yet. But thank god that my best friend found that tractor for sale chained to a powerpole across the street from the church where he got married.
We got our small orchard of 44 fruit trees started but the grape vines, blackberry, raspberry, blueberry bushes are not planted yet.
We have our garden but not the greenhouse we have planned on.
We have a terrific australian shepherd to move the livestock but we do not have the Great Pyrs to protect our livestock and property. Oh yeah we do not have the kind of livestock that needs moved. As of now but their coming.
But most of all with all the things we planned on having, i do have the one thing that means most to me a yard where my daughter can run and play with her dog without someone scaring her or harming her dog to get back at me for doing my job. Remember do not put off your dream or give up on your plan.

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Oh Lord bless our horses, keep them safe, I pray in the name of He who was born in a stable. Amen

I'm new to this forum but have been living and working on my homesteading dream for 16 years now. So much has changed, so many of the things I planned were not what I had hoped they would be & others have brought me so much joy! Guess that's what they mean by live & learn. Started with 5 acres which seemed like a huge piece of land at first but seemed so small after living here awhile. We bought ajoining properties as they came up for sale & now have 20 acres (still wouldn't mind having more!). The land is all paid for but we're still living in the 720sf "temporary" cabin we built when we moved here. We started with oil lamps, pitcher pump, outhouse - very primitive. At least we have solar power & a real bathroom now! Finally starting to get rolling on building a bigger house, milling our own lumber, it will be passive & active solar powered, not too big, I don't want to be a slave to housework, I'd rather be gardening. I think the biggest mistake I made was trying to run a home based business. The business was doing well & growing every year but not reliable enough to quit my part-time nursing job. Between the 2 jobs I found that I just didn't have enough time anymore to grow a decent vegetable garden, milk my goats or have any quality time with my family & friends. This year I decided to get out of the home business, it just didn't make any sense to keep knocking myself out working like that & have to go buy inferior food products at the grocery. I figure if I'm frugal & produce the majority of my food on the homestead I can live just fine working 2 days a week at my nursing job & have all the rest of my time to homestead. Having your own business is just so much work, especially if you're doing most all of it yourself, when you figure it out the hourly wages are pretty sorry! I've also cut way down on the number of animals I keep, I kind of went crazy at first with 7 dogs, 2 cats, 4 horses & an assortment of goats & birds. That is a lot of work too & most of them weren't contributing much to the homestead's success. Other than that this life has been everything I'd dreamed it would be, we have our privacy, still can't see another house from here after all these years, beautiful woods with a nice creek, delicious well water, & a long growing season. I could never go back to the city (or even the suburbs) again, even though it's 30 minutes to the nearest town & an hour each way to work. I'm living the dream & I love it.
That's my story & I'm sticking to it!

Ok!!!! This is awesome! Don't mind if it gets a little unrealistic

First of all, it would be in the city. I know the exact peice of land. It's 150 acres, and it's swappy meadow right now. It's a whole block, with zip on it. Right near malls and everything.
The house would be a French-style mansion deal. Big. Lots of room for everything, and maids, 'cause I hate housework. I hate it with a passion. The foyer would be marble, a creamy colored type, and it would have a pond in the middle, with a fountain and some nice, big, gorgeous koi. They'd be something like a garage attached to the house for my rabbit rescue. The house would be on a large hill in the middle of the property. That's how far I've gotten on the house.
Now, for landscaping, I'd plant 100 acres with nice, lush, green grass, making rolling hills, and a nice, big pond in front of the house. Koi, frogs, turtles. And there'd be fencing around with the ducks, geese and swans inside. Anconas; Wood Ducks; Mandarins; Silver Appleyards; Swedish-Blue and Black; Calls in Mallard, White, Apricot, Silver and Snowy; Saxony. Muscovies, Pekins, Runners in fawn and white, and East Indies too.
There'd be Pilgrim, Sebastopol, Pomeranian, Toulouse, Embden, Giant Canada, Chinese, Swan, Snowy, Barnacle, Bar-headed and red breasted geese.
Trumpetor and Mute swans.

They'red be pastures everywhere, and surround most of the house would be about 40 acres of lovely forest (a golfcourse and some pacific northwest rainforest). In the middle of the forest, there'd be a 10 acre clearing (field). That's where there'd be ringneck pheasants- and I'd have a golden eagle and I'd falcon.
In a corner, I'd have my vet clinic, but so it can't be seen from the house.
The chicken yard would have wyandottes, orpingtons, hamburgs, araucanas, marans---- forget it. I'd have a pair of every kind of chicken in every variety (that is pretty).
I'd have Impeyan pheasants, java green and indian blue peacocks, red golden pheasants and koklass pheasants (along with the ringnecks).
Button quail in every color.
Turkeys and guineas in every color.
Pigeons- Birmingham Rollers, Homers and Lahores- about 120
And can't forget a nice, friendly old emu

Horses. I'd breed horses. Dun Akhal Tekes, white Arabians, and black and chestnut Pintabians, and paint quarter horses. Maybe six of each breed? For endurance, show and barrel racing
I'd have a cow. A nice jersey, for milk
Llamas! Bay and paint and white. About 17 of them, for fibre and packing, and show
Alpine, Angora, Toggenburg, and Oberhasli goats. 12 of each, for showing, milk and packing
Scottish Black faced and shetland sheep. 15 each, for fibre and packing, and show

Rabbits! Angoras- English and Satin;Jersey Woolies, Netherland Dwarfs, Crème D’Argents, Bleu D'Argents, Champagne D’Argents, Harlequins, Belgian Hares, Checkered Giants, Silver Martens, Tans, Flemish Giants and Palominos. Showing!

Lots of barn cats and Norwegion Buhunds, too.

I'd have a garden and a greenhouse, and an orchard with plums and peaches and oranges and apples, and everything nice. A beehive too.
I'd eat the culls of all the critters (except the bunns), as well as rasing beef and piggies.
Goals? Simply to be HAPPY! Ok, really, be compeletly self sufficient, except with vegetables that I can't grow here, and I'd buy clothes. Not have wool everything.

Realistic? No.
Probable? No.
Possible? YES!

Our dream is to live in a place where there is a lot less people, live off the land
as much as possible, to live where people are not in such a hurry, where people are more human and down to earth. It's crazy here people look at your weird if you talk to them in a checkout lane! I want my kids to be able to have a creek/brook to play buy and run like the wind and have trees that they can actually build a fort in!

Instead of just dreaming, we had one realtor come and do a market analysis on
our home and another is coming tomorrow. Hubby has already started his job
search in the area we want to move or atleast 30 minutes out of the area we will actually live. So far he has already had interest from companies there.

We are looking for land and/or pricing simple modular homes or a newer home already built.

We have decided not to wait a year and a half or more we are going to make
our dream happen this summer!

So today will be filled with fact finding on pricing of modular homes. We don't want a "McMansion" just a simple house. We want to buy outright so then
hubby won't have that hanging over his head like here.

Give me acreage, an open porch and throw in a rooster or two and I'm happy.

Never having to drive to the grocery store. Stepping out into my garden or larder for delicious food, fruit off the tree vine or bramble... Peaches. But also having a neighbor or live in (maybe my dad or fil) who will help with big jobs and cover the ranch (definitely livestock at least chickens turkeys cats dogs) so we can go away sometimes. A swimming pool or clean swimming hole.

"God Speed the Plough or Success to the Farmer

Come all jolly fellows who like being mellow
Attend unto me, I beseech you
For a pint when it's quiet, come lads let us try it
Dull thinking will drive a man crazy

(chorus) I have lawns, I have bowers
I have fields, I have flowers
And the lark is my morning alarmer
And it's hearty boys now
And God Speed the Plow
Long life and success to the Farmer

Now all who are able, come sit at my table
And I'll not hear one word of complaining
For the tinkling of glasses all music surpasses
And I long to hear bottles a-draining

For here I am king, I can laugh, drink, or sing
And let no man appear as a stranger
Just show me the ass who refuses a glass
and I'll treat him to hay in the manger

May the wealthy and great roll in splendour and state
I envy them not, I declare it
For I eat my own ham, my chicken and lamb
And I shear my own sheep and I wear it "

And to hear that song sung in the wooden public house room where my folk sing group meets, all the voices rising in a harmony that is greater than any of the best of us.

Here's a really neat thing along the lines of Dreams.....

Write yourself a letter about your dreams and goals. Where you want to be a year from now. Put the letter (hopefully 3-4 pages at least) into a self addressed envelope. Then give it to a real good friend and ask them to mail it to you in exactly one year.

I participated in a session where the facilitator took the envelopes and mailed them after a year. It was really amazing to get that letter and see what I had and hadn't done.

Mike

My dream would be to make enough income off of my land to be able to pull my own weight WITHOUT having an outside job.

My NEXT dream would be to live on my land so that I can have livestock, and to be able to have a fish'n pond. It would be lovely to sit down to a fried fish dinner, with milk of my own producing, and a home-made berry pie. LOVELY! :haha:

First things first. FIRST the income, THEN perhaps we can afford to build!

So much the better. Get in the habit of writing down your goals with at least a weekly written accounting, and you will get to where you want to be. You, of course, realize that it will take time for you to become legal. You can't even legally play the lottery at 13. But you can still do the goal setting and learn self-discipline and persistence, two things that will pay off for the rest of your life. First day of school, the teacher says that a humongous project is due at the end of the semester. Break it down into weekly segments and then plan your week with time allotted to that part of the project. You will find that it is easy to accomplish. Certainly a lot less stressful than the last minute all-nighter.

I do know that the more you know, the more options you will have in life. I would strive to get the most you can out of your classwork. You are there for more than getting grades--you are there to learn about what you don't currently know. The learning never stops til you die. (I am currently reading theology books, gardening and animal books, quilting books. For what purpose, you ask? I dunno, I just like to learn.) The classes are designed by people who DO know what the future holds, so learn about it even if you cannot see the reason today. Get the best education you can for what you want to do. Everything you learn is another step forward toward your goals. Understand that the goals will change over time as your circumstances change. That's not only OK, but desirable--it is part of life and part of maturing (something I am still doing at 70).

From what I have observed from your posts, you have a strong interest in animals. I can picture you working in a zoo, or being a vet, or having a ranch, etc. Set your goals accordingly. Today, you might not know exactly what you will want to do to earn a living, but you can write down your interests, analyze what gets your juices flowing, exploring various career fields to learn the pros and cons of them, what the educational requirements are, etc. People love it when young'ns ask about what they do. If you show interest and purpose, they will bend over backwards to give you the info you need. What do you most like to read, what are your favorite things, TV shows, travels, what do you like about the animals? Pay attention to these things. Do you like elegant solutions to the problems they raise? Take the tests seriously that they give in school to determine your strengths and weaknesses and plan to use the results constructively. I had to do a research project in the 9th grade on a career. I chose Interior Decorating. I ended up doing all kinds of left brain activities which didn't suit me, and should have followed my dream. My right brain really needs nurturing. You may be different, so pay attention. What you love today is pointing you in the right direction.

Really look at your next few years in terms of the question, "How will this (action) affect me 10 years from now?" I still ask that question and make current decisions based on my answer. I will tell you that the only person I remember from my high school days is Van Cliburn, so what they thought about me and my "weirdness" is totally unimportant. I had a lot more fun with later friends, many of whom I still keep up with. What does matter is what kind of life you are going to have. Only you--not your parents, not your teachers, not your counsellors--can determine what that life will look like. Make it the best you can, because for most of us, it lasts a long, long time.

I taught my kids to keep a Life Book. In it, there were sections for various important things one needs to keep records of. One section was medical, in which were kept dates, location, doctor of any surgeries. I kept a shot record with dates and type. Dates of childhood illnesses (especially mumps, measles, ch.pox) Another had a list of every address I'd ever lived. If you ever get a security clearance, all those are necessary. Another was cars owned with VIN # listed. Another listed loans, loan #, address of lender, and amount--of course the date, and the date it was paid off. The front four sections of this book is for your goals, etc. (see previous post). You will use other notebooks to keep the day to day records.

Many of the posters here carry a certain envy of where you are today. I think all of us wish we had been a little less stupid at that age and a little more forward looking. Make the best of it.

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Best wishes,

Sandi

"Anger is an acid that does more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to the object on which it is poured." Corrie TenBoom

Oh yes, I really like my animals. I already know I'd like to be a vet... one that specializes in small animals (we need more of those around here!!!), small dogs (people spend lots of money on them :P), and if I can horses (because I like them). I looked up what I need to get in to the University of Saskatchewan too, 'cause that's where I'd be going (if not, then the dreaded USA where it costs way more for us). I get an A or a B in everything but Math (I'm working on it). I'd also like a farm. Maybe not as big as my "dream" but a farm.

I also like to learn (why I'm here). Mostly about critters, but anything's good. I've gone through just about everything I'd like to own, and learned basic care.

I just wish thing would speed up a little, because my parents aren't pro-farm and we only have an acre. I would like a couple sheep and a couple goats and some poultry and a horse, but they don't. Especially my mom... she's anti-farm. But I still try!

I know things will come eventually, but I'm impatient. Especially at the moment. I'll be out of school by 18, then vet school, maybe 5-7 years? so that'd make me 23-25. Then, I'd need to get started and settled and get some money in the bank, another 4? I'd probably be around 30 till I got what I really wanted.

Ah, my homesteading dream. Well, first of all, beside my homesteading dream, I have the dream of one day hiking the Appalachian Trail. But as for homesteading... I am currently a homeschooled junior in high school. I live on approximately forty acres that was once farmland. A farmer had been working two of our fields on lease, but has recently downsized, so we're not really a working farm anymore. After college, I home to come back and turn the place into a homestead.

We already have a handful of chickens, but I'd like to have slightly more free-ranging chickens, as they have to stay cooped up for most of the winter. Also considering Muscovy ducks for meat.

I would continue raising rabbits, but I would like to try to successfully raise some meat-only stock colony style, while continuing to raise the love of my life, the Harlequins, and perhaps some French Lops, as they are meaty and have excellent fur.

I would like to fence in the field closest to our barn and try my hand at a small flock of Katahdin or a similar breed of hair sheep, as well as a few head of beef cattle. Dexter seem very ideal, with their small size, and I've heard that they can be used for dairy purposes, as well?

I have also read that pot-belly pigs can be used for meat, as well, and as I am a fan of pretty much any variety of pig-meat (pork, ham, bacon... it's all good!), and this variety looks like a more more handleable size than some.

The second of our three feilds is separated from the first by a stone wall on one side, and from the third by a pond and treeline, and I would like to maintain this field as hay for stock. It was last used for alfalfa.

I would likely fence-in part of the third field, which has been used for field corn, along with the pond that runs between the two fields. The remainder of the field would likely be used to field corn. I can use this for stock and the wildlife (turkey, deer, and squirrel) seem to enjoy the post-harvest.

I would also like to convert our old farmhouse back to a wood heating system. We had a wood/oil furnace installed, but the insurance company apparently didn't like this, and my father switched completely to oil. However, the old chimney and ductwork are still there. We also have a small woodstove in what used to be a closed-in porch.

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Blogger, Christian libertarian, and INTP
NY wife to my PA dh (05.29.10); mama to ds1 (03.19.11), ds2 (12.30.12), and #3 (EDD 01.21.15)
Weaving the threads of life in the country with autism

I love to read everyones dreams.

Mine, have 20+++ acres, half pasture, half timber. A farm house or log cabin, 3 bedrooms, 11/2-2bathrooms(we only have one now) a nice kitchen, with eat in or breakfast nook area. Woodstove. A nice little flower garden around the house, window boxes, hanging baskets from the porch, and yes a nice porch. A nice area for an herb garden as well both for cooking and medicinal. Barns, one for my horse, donkeys, and another horse or 2. Would love to have an area to start schooling and possibly small breeding of QH's.
Animals:
Chickens, eggs and fryers. Sheep Katahdin, small to moderate size herd, mostly for personal use, other for selling. Pigs, can't forget my piggies. Would love to have more area to free range them all. Also some heritage breed turkeys. A few steers for finishing.
Large garden, love my veggie gardens. Especially for more corn, and a pumpkin patch.
Would love to have an area for an art studio. Don't have the time for it too much now a days but most definitely want to get back with it. Also an area for crafts especially soap and candle making. And a nice shop area for my husband, he needs it, tired of tools migrating into the laudry room, and for some reason the dewalt kit finds it's way into our living room? :no: Don't quite understand that.
After all that, start our family. I want to have our children be able to enjoy our dreams and hopefully catch the same 'bug' we have. I want them to have every opportunity to experience all of life and nature, and hopefully inherit both our love for animals. We'll see.

Well that's my synopsis. Whole lot more we'd like but that's the basic 'plot' we have now*l* Oh and a place to fish and for me to kayak!

Good luck for those still working on theirs!