My DH bought 60 acres about 200 miles from where we are now in MI. and didn't tell me untill I had to sign the papers. He is now building a log home on the land. If he gets it done we will move in this summer. I don't know where to start. We will have wood heat and gas as a back up.The well is in and so is the septic. I don't know about this I need help.
nothing like being thrown in the fire so to speak! hehe... well, you'll learn everything quick.. and here's the best place to be! How much homesteading do you want to do? I'd suggest learning about canning veggies & meat...
SurPRISE surPRISE surPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess the FIRST question is, what kind of lifestyle do YOU want????? There is many a person who lives in the country but has a city-type life. Or not.
Ask for a copy of Carla Emery's Encyclopedia of Country Living for the holidays. Find out why your husband didn't tell you sooner and work on your communication!! You'll need it these next months. :yeeha: Take on one project at a time. Start with weeding through your belongings/yard sale and giveaway before you move. Don't try to get animals or set up a huge garden until you are moved in. Read books about wood heat/burners. Be patient with yourself. And congratulations!
Well, what sorts of things interest you? Are you a homebody? A socialite? Somewhere in between? Do you like to cook? Garden? Like animals? What area are you moving to? I'm on 40 acres in mid-Michigan, but it's only 20 minutes to stores galore. Just because you have a large amount of land doesn't mean you'll be out in the boonies. Michigan varies widely in it's towns and rural areas. I was born in the Detroit area, grew up in the Lansing area, married a man from the NE shore (Alpena area), lived in the far northwestern UP (Keeweenaw Peninsula), lived north of Bay City/Saginaw, and now am in one of the few farming areas left between Lansing and Detroit. So I've seen major city, suburbs, small towns, and really rural places all in one great state. What does your husband have in mind for your new home? What does he do for a living? Will he work from home or commute to a large city? My dh works for GM, so commutes to work. Will you work outside the home? There are endless possibilities. The key is to finding the ones that meet your interests, your goals, and your finances. My dh, although he grew up in the northwoods and loves to be outdoors, doesn't know much at all about animals and could care less if we had any. He also doesn't care where his food comes from, as long as it's there to eat when he's hungry. I, on the other hand, grew up pretty much in the suburbs, and I am really concerned about all the chemicals and hormones in food these days. I also love to be outside working in the garden and caring for livestock. So I plant and tend a big garden, can as much as possible, and take care of the meat animals (so far it's only chickens as we just bought the place last year and finished building the house enough to move into in Sept of this year). I'm hoping to get some feeder pigs in the spring (mil used to raise them for us, but doesn't want to anymore) if I can get hog-tight fencing up between now and then.
I would like to have a garden and I do like to cook. I like to sew and quilt and have 24 sewing machines to keep me busy new ones and old ones. I don't know about haveing animals I have asthma. My DH is retired from GM. We don't have any bills to speek of we pay as we go. We have wild game on the land and we like to hunt. The new house is out side of Mcbain Mi. a small town. We will be moveing from Flint Mi.
I grew up in the Flint area get ready for culture shock. Cadillac is a great town though. Buy some snowmobiles and snowshoes your in the snowbelt area. mikell
Jofran, Cadillac is a nice area. Nice sized town for conveniences, but lots of rural spots too. Do you like winter sports? Cross country skiing? They do get more snow than we do here in the Lansing area or in Flint. Sounds like with all those sewing machines you will be able to find plenty to do to pass the time indoors in the winter if you want to (I like to sew too). As far as the asthma goes, my 10yo ds has been asthmatic since the day after he turned 4 (he will be 11 in March). We found that outdoor animals don't usually bother him, but having pets inside was disaster. So, if you like animals, I'd say give it a try. . . outside! Supposedly rabbits are less allergenic than other animals are. If you don't like animals, well, you have an excuse to not get them, or get them and have dh be responsible for their care.
Will you have internet? if not get it, and come here to ask all the questions you can think of!!!!!! You will think of things that others need to know and things that the ol'timers need to be asked to jog the memories! WECLOME HOME! Take your time with everything, learn as you go and you will do just fine.
