Hello fellow homesteaders!

**chickmom3** · 09-11-2008, 03:39 PM

I have been coming to FV for a number of months but never posted. Never joined until I saw the homesteading forum

! We are a family of 5 living in a rural area. Most of the lots are 1-2 acres (we have 1). We have a flock of almost 50 chickens, 6 rabbits (for 4-H shows), 1 duck (pet), 1 dog, and 2 cats. We just finished butchering 73 meat chickens and have 3 turkeys that need a little more time. We have raised pigs in the past but gave it up for a while. We are considering a dairy goat/ mini dairy cow in the future. We have AWFUL soil where we live. Pigmy forest isn't too far away. Once we finish a house addition I plan to get the yard fenced in to keep the dog in and deer out and then maybe I can get a raised bed garden in. We just finished juicing all the apples from our tree in a borrowed cider press and had a great time. The apples are small and get really mealy when ripe so we just juiced them all. A neighbor lets us pick his apples in Oct which we use for canning, drying and freezing for pies. I have made my own laundry soap in the past and make bread as I can. I have 3 kids (ds16 dd12 ds 10) whom I homeschool so time is a huge issue. I also work part-time for my husband's contracting business. Whenever I need my frugal batteries recharged I make a visit here. You are all such an inspiration. I love knowing how to do things for myself so I can if I ever have to or want to. Sometimes I forget not everyone does these things and it becomes so automatic I need to be reminded that I am making progress on our property and our frugality.

**Dancing Lotus** · 09-11-2008, 06:34 PM

Welcome, thanks for finally raising your hand.

Most of us don't live on a homestead but some do and many of us dream of it. I know I want to.
I make my own laundry soap and choose not to use paper towels when I can sew my own cute ones. My daughter takes her lunch to school and another kid told her it was funny that she used a cloth napkin and real silverware.I choose not to let her buy the lunches because it's served in Styrofoam and they use plastic forks. Sometimes I forget how many people aren't on the Eco and economically friendly bandwagon.

**PrairieGirl** · 09-11-2008, 06:35 PM

to Frugal Village!

I'm sure you'll find lots of great info on here from fellow homesteaders! I'm an urban homesteader; growing a garden at home and one rental plot in a community garden, unfortuntely we cant have chickens although I would love to have some. I'm trying to convince DH we ought to get some rabbits.....he's a wee bit skeptical at the moment

and worries about our future kids getting too attached to dinner and asking "where is bugs bunny??" as they eat rabbit....

Cant wait to hear about your experiences on your small farm!!

again, welcome!

**Sara Noel** · 09-11-2008, 06:58 PM

Just wanted to say welcome to frugal village.

**Michelle** · 09-11-2008, 07:45 PM

to the Village

Your homestead sounds wonderful!

**Missy** · 09-11-2008, 07:49 PM

Urban homesteader here. I have my small garden, few chickens.

Welcome to the village!

PS...I'd love to see pics of your chickens!!!

**madhen** · 09-11-2008, 09:06 PM

Greetings!

I'm out on ten acres that I'm slowly clearing of brush and scrub. I've got chickens and goats, but they are for eggs and fiber, as I just get too attached to them to use them for meat. Hard to raise a baby goat from the day you wipe him off and get him on his feet, have him follow you around like a dog, NAME him (biggest hurdle), and then whack him some day when he least suspects it.

All my goats tag along with me whenever I'm out in the pasture, checking fences, clearing brush, etc. When I'm around the house, I usually have a small devoted chicken following. They see me as the great two-legged corn dispenser and they worship me accordingly.

I'm trying to get some small orchards started, but my biggest challenge is water. I am on a well with very poor output, and while I have not had a problem yet, my neighbor's well runs dry every year, so I am somewhat conservative with water. One day, I'll either: a) deepen the well and hope for the best; b) invest in some more holding tanks; or c) end up on county water and hopefully get an agricultural discount on my water bill!

**janis362529** · 09-11-2008, 09:13 PM

Welcome to the Village

**latierra84** · 09-11-2008, 09:47 PM

Welcome to the Village!

I dream of having a few acres of my own and homesteading. DH and I have talked about it quite a bit. He's from California and we've been thinking of moving out there for a while but its SOOO expensive. We're in Texas right now and I've been growing our own veggies and herbs for a while. The heat is pretty killer though and it makes it difficult to grow things sometimes. My tomatoes pretty much shriveled up the day I stopped watering them. I didn't mean to stop, I just skipped a day and them WHOOSH... dead.

**Dave'sGirl** · 09-12-2008, 03:55 AM

Welcome to the village.

I live on 8 & 1/4 scenic acres. I would have never guessed this is where I would end up, but after my house fire we decided to get out in the country a bit. So, when that door closed this window opened up wide

We don't get into the animal part because we travel sometimes and getting my daughter to watch the dog is enough. I don't think anyone would take the trip to take care of chickens

We put in a 45 x 30 fenced in garden and we've grown so much of our food I can hardly believe! It's a beautiful garden too. It looks like a magazine pic everytime I walk out there, we're both so proud of it! We spent more time out there for our entertainment than we did in the swimming pool! LOL

We have a 1/4 acre pond with bass and blue gill. Dave's daughter fished this past spring and we did eat some. The blue gill were quite tasty!

Anyway, I love our little homestead. We named it 'the next life'. When we looked at the place with a realtor friend, her comment was that 'gee, in her next life....' and Dave and I explained that this IS 'OUR' next life

so it stuck.

**FrugalMomof3** · 09-12-2008, 01:26 PM

Just wanted to chime in and say

to FV!

**katholc** · 09-18-2008, 12:40 PM

Welcome to the Village!

**dpence** · 09-19-2008, 10:08 PM

Wanted to say welcome!

**Mom23boys** · 09-20-2008, 03:45 PM

Hello and welcome to the Village.

**Goodwin17** · 09-20-2008, 08:33 PM

:howdy: Hello and I wanted to add my welcome to FV. I'm not a homesteader, but I certainly dream of being one someday. I live in an area that is closer to rural areas than suburban. I'm going to start working on a garden next year. I'd like to buy some land close to here in a few years so that I can eventually build the homestead of my dreams. Always love learning from everyone here.