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How did we get here?

If you’d asked me six years ago if I was interested in homesteading, my answer would have most likely been no. I knew next to nothing about agriculture or farming. My parents occasionally had a small garden growing up and we had a few family members that lived on acreage, but that was the extent of my interaction with farm life.

I went to college in a small town in Northeast Missouri, where the locals either worked for the university or farmed. I made friends that went to our college specifically to study agriculture science, which (to be honest) I didn’t even know was a thing. Continue reading “How did we get here?” →

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Our A-frame Mobile Chicken Coop

Our chickens (who still aren’t named, sorry y’all – we’re slacking) are almost six weeks old! Most of them have all of their real feathers and are almost ready to pack their things, move out of the garage, and out into the wide world. And by the wide world, I mean the chicken coop and tractor we’re building to keep them safe and secure.

When we brought our ladies home, all we had was the brooder box and the basics for keeping chicks, knowing that we’d have a few weeks to figure out a plan for a chicken coop and to build it. Every time we’d drive into town, we’d slow down as we passed farms with chickens, trying to get a glimpse of that family’s coop, to see if it was something we liked. Continue reading “Our A-frame Mobile Chicken Coop” →

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Blackberry Basil Lemonade

Ah, the sweet joys of summer. Temps in the high 90s, humidity that makes your hair stand on end, vicious little mosquitoes.

Alright, maybe those aren’t the highlights of summer. But if the humidity has got your hair in a tizzy or the heat has worn you down, I’m here to save the day by offering a refreshing way to cope.

Blackberry Basil lemonade

Y’all. This is a game changer. Lemonade is a must for the dreaded hot days of summer, but adding blackberries and basil? Lemons never had it so good. Continue reading “Blackberry Basil Lemonade” →

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Bringing Home Chicks

Last night brought an exciting, new adventure to our homestead – baby chicks! Phill and I have talked about raising backyard chickens for years, but prior to our recent move to our homestead, we previously lived in one of the few counties that prohibited chickens. Thankfully, we now live in a place where we can raise chickens, or any other animals we’d like. Pretty sure our neighbor said something about getting rid of a goat … But for now, we’re starting one step at a time, with seven fuzzy little pullets. Continue reading “Bringing Home Chicks” →

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Trellising Tomatoes

Did y’all enjoy your holiday weekend?

We had our first “farm warming” party, which lit the fire under us to get our house and property in tip-top shape. Or, at least, in decent enough shape to welcome our extended family and friends. We spent the 4th doing what most Midwesterners do – enjoy barbecue burgers, potato salad, and sit around outside talking about how hot it was. Continue reading “Trellising Tomatoes” →

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Homemade Pound Cake with Whipped Cream & Mulberries

Last week Phill came home from work excited to share what he had harvested from the grounds of his office. Out of his lunch bag he pulled out a small container of mulberries.

Before he came home with fresh fruit to taste, my knowledge of mulberries stemmed from the nursery rhyme we sang as children “Here we go ’round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush…” I had never seen a mulberry, or, frankly, thought much of them.

It turns out that mulberries are delicious. They are almost like a blackberry, but smaller and sweeter. So sweet, that Simon ate them by the fistful, stem and all. Continue reading “Homemade Pound Cake with Whipped Cream & Mulberries” →

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