Going back to my roots and trying to live life without government intervention. Learning to live off the land.

We have 10 acres that we are raising chickens on for meat and eggs, I am considering adding rabbits, couple of calfs and pigs to raise so that we can have a variety of meats. We also have a very nice 1 acre pond on the property that provides us with our fish, and we are supplied water through a well and also have a spring that we use the water from.

The land we bought, had an older, small home and three out buildings on it. The house is in need of a remodeling, and we will be tackling that over this winter hopefully. Stay tuned for pictures of the progress as we go. The barns are in decent shape, just have not been used for raising anything for years though and had quite a bit of vegetation grown up around them.

We do have some old timber on the back of the property which will provide us with firewood for heat in the winter, as well as milling the larger logs into lumber for building and remodeling around the property. Right now, there are several old large oak trees (probably 75-100 years old) on the property that have died in the last year or two. These trees will be taken down and the wood that is not suitable for lumber, will be used for firewood. I would like to find someone with a portable saw mill to come out and mill these for me if we can. After the house is remodeled, I will use the oak and walnut lumber to build furniture that can be used in my house and also sold to provide extra income which will be used towards fuel for the tractor, more animals, etc.

All trees that are removed will be replaced with either fruit or nut trees, and also raspberries, grapes, and blueberries. Over time, I want to be able to grow everything I can to replace 90% of our grocery store buys. I will also be adding a greenhouse so that I can start my own bedding plants and flowers for the garden, as well as trying to provide some fresh veggies throughout the winter months. I will still need to buy flour, yeast, and those types of items, but it will make a significant decrease in our grocery bills.

 I have been researching and learning about things such as making butter and cheese at home with milk from our own cows when I do get them. You would really be surprised at how easy it is to do some of these things.

 I will be building a smokehouse over the winter so that we will be able to preserve some of our meats the way it used to be done, as well as providing some good ol fresh bbq. There's really nothing better than some fresh pulled pork that has been smoked for 12 hours over wood smoke and a dry rub. MMMMMmmmm, maybe if there was something better, God has kept it for himself!

We will have a large garden in the spring that will provide all of the fresh fruits and vegtables that we eat, and will freeze or can the extra's for the winter months.

One day, I hope to be able to add solar panels, so we do not have to buy much electricity from the power companies. We will never be able to be 100% self-sufficeint, but my goal is to be about 90% in the years to come. 

I would like to invite all of you to follow my progress, and at times, enjoy the fruits of my labor with me when there are surplus items. This is a labor of love for me, and as you can tell, this will be my only job. There is no way I could even begin to do much of this if I still had to work a regular job.

favorite music: little bit of everything, cept rap

favorite movies: don't watch many

favorite hobbies: working on the farm

favorite tv shows: survivor

favorite restaurants: my kitchen

favorite vacation spots: the back 40