A Sample of my Homestead Life
On the homestead we share it as much as possible with wildlife. We have an owls nest in an old tree we left for the owls that claimed it. We have huge black bears that come through and much more. We leave some of our acreage for them to live and be happy. If we fall a tree with good bark and leaves we wait to harvest until the ruminant herds have had their fill.
Yesterday I thought I spotted coyotes in the back acreage so I decided it was a good day to treat the flocks and the ground for parasites. Diatomaceous Earth is safe for flocks and humans. We try to live on the homestead as natural as possible. Not always can we. I will explain more in the next paragraph. I added Diatomaceous Earth to the flocks food, hen house, nesting boxes, the ground especially in the mud puddles and their sand dusting area so they can shake off mites. I also added fresh sand to their dusting area.
If we make a choice for the homestead we try to go ecofriendly. Not always can we unfortunately. We have an area with invasive roots that are destructive. I would get pigs who would happily hog them down but I cannot ensure the safety of large beasts quite yet. I do not have a livestock trailer and cannot afford one quite yet. We have had an arson on the homestead on the Forth of July last year. Unfortunately we will have to treat the invasive species this year chemically due to it is too close to structural damage to wait and due to humans I cannot ensure animal safety. I can for the flocks but beasts are out of the question.
When we use up a chemical or even a simple sponge and toilet brush on the homestead we replace with a zero waste or eco-friendly replacement. I make the cleaners when the chemical version runs out. I also make compost and manure tea for the plants. We will be upgrading the homestead gradually to items that are eco-friendly. Most of our garbage we either compost, re-purpose or sort to recycle. We try to be as intentional as possible. The livestock are given herbs to help them. We really try to live as eco-friendly as possible. We are recluses who don’t bother anyone and mind our business. We do have some that try to creep onto our land to harass or mettle. I really don’t have many answers for others all I have is allot of work. Anyhow, there is a sample of my life on the homestead. I fell in love with simplicity as a child at a family cabin off grid. We would like to go off grid but even that is impossible in this political climate. All we can do is make the best with what we have and be grateful. We started grateful for little, blessed with much, then grateful for little…. Through that we learned value is not based in things. And even that statement can be mocked by some, perhaps. I don’t have the time to entertain. My cat has the zoomies… Gotta go!