Putting Things Into Motion On The Homestead
To say it has been a rough last three months would not at all do the statement justice. After losing my furry baby, Miss Rooh, on November 18th, my whole world came crashing down around me—and hard. I suddenly had the wind knocked out of me and didn't have any idea of how I would continue.
You have to understand, my furry babies were my life—they were literally my driving force to get up in the mornings, to work my job, all so that I could keep them happy, healthy, and provided for. When I lost Miss Rooh, the last of my two babies having lost Baby Booh in November of 2018, I no longer felt I had a purpose.
With this considerable life-altering change, I had to rethink what I did and did not want to do when it came to my plans for a homestead. When I first started thinking of having my own place, with my own land, it was with the purpose of finally having something for my furry babies and me to call our own. I am saddened to think that I am 53 years old and have nothing to my name, nor no hope of any kind of security. I rely too heavily on others, and things can and will happen—that is the world we live in.
I still work from home—all the time mind you—with no days off. It is not like I really need a day off per se, except here and there for appointments or to visit a dear friend back home. I have always had a fear of crowds to some extent, but have found since losing the girls that concern is one hundred fold. I used to take them with me when I went out of the house, as much as possible, and in the end, have come to realize that they were my emotional stability. I was fine, as long as I had my girls with me. When I would feel anxious, I would touch them, rub their fur, and all was right again. I no longer have that option, so I rarely leave the homestead by myself. That makes it really rough when grocery shopping needs doing, but I get it done if only to end up wiped out for the rest of the day.
I still have plans to get my chickens and goats at least, even if I don't have my land yet. I have not entirely ruled them out, and I still have a week or so before having to commit on the chickens, and a month or so to commit on the goats. The thing is I really want them, and know that I am more than capable of taking care of them.
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| The trailer that I will be using to build my chicken coop on/ Image: Tracy Few |
I have been working my hiney off, and putting in extended hours for my customer service and writing clients so that I would be able to have finances in place to keep from making the initial setup for the animals less stressful. And, after months of looking, I think I have found both a source of straw and hay for the goats. Although I will have to travel almost 2 hours one way to get their hay, it will afford me the chance to visit my dear friend back home as where she lives is along the way. I plan to only go once a month for the hay since the building I am looking to get has the added feature of a loft.
I have not given up on my dream of land, but the finances are not progressing as smoothly as I had planned, as several hiccups and bumps in the road have occurred. My original plan to put back a specific amount out of each paycheck had to be taken down a few dollars and as such is having me take another look at my savings plan. It is not that the land is not doable, it is just not going to be feasible as soon as I had hoped.
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| The inspiration for the coop I am wanting to build/Image: Backyard Chickens |
I also have plans to extend my garden for this growing season and plan to add in more varieties of veggies as possibly some herbs as well. I even thought of maybe trying my hand at growing loofa gourds, which to me is a fascinating idea. Then there is the compost bin that I want to build, starting small and adding on as needed. Logic, at least for me, dictates that if I am going to have animals, the compost bin is a good idea, as I will have a method of not only disposing of the animals bedding but putting it to further use down the road.
My current goals to achieve by mid-March include:
1. extend my garden
2. get my early crops planted
3. build my compost bin(s)
4. build my chicken tractor
5. purchase/order my chicks
That may not seem like a whole lost to get done in the next month to some homesteaders, but when you factor in the constant rain we have gotten all winter, and the fact that it is just me getting it done, you can understand the slight feeling of being overwhelmed I am having right now. Never at any time did I think this endeavor would be easy, and I knew going into it that it would be entirely on me, so I am going to have to keep my nose to the grindstone and work, work, work. Once I have the principal items in place and get the routine down, I should be fine 😊
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