Homesteading Where You Are: Goals

Does it seem possible that today wraps up our seven week series?

Week one: Intro 
Week two: Make 
Week three:  Grow
Week four: Preserve
Week five: Save
Week six: Raise

And this week is "Goals".

Oh goodness, I could talk about goals and ideas for this farm/farmhouse 24/7.

 Only mostly no one listens much to me around these parts. Probably because I'm a broken record talking about all the things that excite me.  There's so much I want to do, all in time.  In fact, it's crazy to think about how much we've done to this place and we haven't even lived here a year and a half yet.  (Run down of our progress at year one is here .) So many plans and ideas! But to think there might be a few readers wondering what's up next?!  I ought to share with you more often!

Short term (in the next year, give or take):
-More babies!! (Okay, not happening, since I'm the only one shouting this from the rooftops!)
- Improving the soil in the garden
- Improving our sugaring experience.
-Improving the watering situation
-Using all these elderberries.
- Possibly purchasing some sort of tractor to help us with moving, snow removal and rototilling.  We have been looking. My kid told the Kubota guy that he doesn't like Kubota, he just likes John Deere. (Sigh.)
-Possibly adding either a milking goat or bees. Bigger pastures.
-Fix the barn door, fence pasture for the goats, make chicken run so they can be outside more.
-I'm in the planning phases of our "Farm Time Story Hour."  Once it's nice, I'm planning on offering a drop in family story time. Perhaps once? Perhaps monthly or weekly if folks like it?  Just getting the groove and knowing I'll decide what's right for us/others when the time comes.  The plan is Farm books, farm songs, farm trivia and then watching the train go by followed by a projects and/or animal time and/or picnic time.  I'm hoping to put a donation jar out, so folks can contribute to our animal fund.  Hopefully this would be enough so that I'm not making and selling bread nearly as much as last year.  (Our goal is for the farm to support the farm.  Our salaries do not go towards animals, our kids are expected to help us earn money to keep them.  They are great helpers and are proud to count their dollars to buy food.). 
-Cont. the tradition started last year of having an annual party to fund raise/ have a toy drive for the Bags of Love ministry.
-Expand the orchard. Add a vineyard.
-Get the barn fixed up for a play zone.
-Fixing things so our pipes no longer freeze.
-She wants a barn cat.


Long term (in the next 5 or so years):
-Get the washer/dryer out of our kitchen. 
-Update the bedroom and add a full bath attached to that room. 
- Possible broiler chickens.
-My son wants a team of oxen.

Longer term (one can dream, right?!):
-More regular times for others to explore the outdoors here.
-Setting up a bed and breakfast?
-Solar panels?
-Digging a pond (that's my husband's idea).
-They both want horses.  And a giraffe. 


Mostly, we'll just keep on keeping on.  Loving and living our dream.



 

 And I hope you'll stick around through the years. I'll still be blogging, I'm sure.  Sharing our adventures, one day at a time.
 I can't wait to see what's in store for us!

Want to get inspired?  Click on these links and you will, I promise.

Daisy, at MapleHill101, currently homesteads with her family in the suburbs of Central Florida.  Her vision is to move to a more rural property in North Carolina later this year and continue fostering a self-sufficient lifestyle, which includes chickens, a large garden and a permanent clothesline.  

Mary, at Homegrown on the Hill, lives in Southwestern Ohio with her family on a 5 acre homestead. Their goal is to be as much self sufficient as possible. In helping with this goal, they raise a big garden and keep chickens, rabbits, and cattle for food. 

Staci, at Life At Cobble Hill Farm, was bitten by the homestead bug in 2006 and although she began her homesteading ventures in a rented condo, is now homesteading on less than an acre in Upstate NY.

Sue – at The Little Acre that Could, shares her body with an auto-immune disease, and life with her husband. They live in a once-working Victorian farm cottage now bordered by a modern subdivision. She has dreamed of homesteading as long as she can remember and continues to strive toward that goal in rural Atlantic Canada.

7 comments:

  1. More babies-yay!
    I love the idea of a farm story hour! That's a fantastic way to bring books and the farm together to share the best of both with others.
    You've named your blog well, my friend. I'm looking forward to watching you make it all happen.

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  2. Ha ha - I want to stay at your B&B and visit your giraffe. :) My goodness you will be busy!! I vote yes on the more babies - more adorable littles!! Love that you are trying for the farm to support itself.

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  3. Beautiful photos and wonderful goals. This may seem like a lame question, but how do you improve the soil of your garden? I'm thinking I need to do that with my garden. I compost but I'm not quite sure how much is needed.

    I would love to have solar panels. We live in a condo but I was thinking of getting a small stand-alone panel to reduce some of our energy consumption.

    Thanks for sharing.
    xoxo

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  4. I vote for a giraffe! Haha! Beautiful photos. I just love that one of Adrian and the ox yolk, and the goats pulling the wagon. they're all lovely memories. As for your goals...Wow! You are serious. I plan to stick around for a long time. :-)

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  5. I love these photos! We have quite a few similar goals, including getting a tractor, milking goats, and digging a pond. A pond is David's greatest dream!

    Can't wait to see what the future holds for you guys and follow along in your journey :)

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  6. With your idea for the "Farm Time Story Hour" make sure and have people sign some kind of disclaimer. They won't sue you if someone falls down and bonks their head :) Great pics, and I love the goat harness. I just posted recently about training goats and dogs for harness work...

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  7. You are my hero. Honest. I just can't stop reading your blog and wishing I could follow in your footsteps!! I'm SO inspired by your goals. How do you do it?!

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