Why Do I Homestead?

The other day, I was thinking about why I chose to come back to the homestead after college, and work alongside my parents. I moved away for a while after college because I wanted to become independent of my parents and be able to be seen by others as an adult, not as the teenager that most of my parents’ acquaintances were remembering me as.

I could have chosen to live in a town or go live in a city. For a time, I did live in a town. So, why didn’t I stay in a town or a city? Why move back to the homestead after some time on my own? Living on a homestead is a lot of work. A lot of work!

However, it can also be extremely relaxing.

Outside, during the summer, I often hear the sound of songbirds, the wind in the trees, a stream, and the sound of cicadas if it’s heading to evening. Sometimes, on our homestead I will also be listening to the sound of spring peepers, or bullfrogs.

I dearly love having so many animals around and nothing beats the taste of food that you raised yourself. Each year is different and special. I always look forward to seeing the new goat kids, lambs, calves, chicks and other animals that are born on our place. There’s just something special about being able to raise a goat kid on a bottle, or see a calf that comes running and playing when it sees you coming out to the pasture.

There is also a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in a job well done. When you look around after putting in a lot of sweat and tears into something you’ve worked on, and see for example a thriving orchard or garden that you’ve grown. Rows of cans of food that you raised and canned. Being able to pull meat out of the freezer and be able to know everything about the animal that it came from.

That’s why I chose to homestead. Because I love the lifestyle and the benefits it brings. Even if it can be hard work. You learn to take pride in the work. To love it!

Until next time,

Emily