Homesteading

Homesteading:  A weekly account of our journey to becoming off grid homesteaders.  Our path will be long as we are only paying in cash and our funds are very limited.  Mike and I have no idea what we're doing so we'll be learning as we go.  I know we'll make mistakes and that's ok.  It's all part of the process.  

We would love to read about your homesteading experiences, so if you'd like to share your favorite resources, tips, funny stories, recipes, books, website or even just a photo from the week, please leave a link in the comments.

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Of course we didn't make it up north this weekend, but I wanted to share a few projects we worked on last week.  

*  We played with our new (to us) wheel barrows, collecting leftovers from the neighboring farmer's hay bales.  We'll use the hay for our compost toilet.  

*  Speaking of the compost toilet, we finally finished our outdoor bathroom.  We built it completely out of the free palates we picked up this summer.  If you want to know more about compost toilets, humanure and how it all works, you can read about it in the first issue of our newsletter coming out October 1st! 

*  Earlier this year, I made a necklace using tree branch pendants and my hand dyed yarn.  I've been getting so many compliments, that I'm thinking of adding a few to the shop.  What do you think?

*  Jake tested his theories on using pine sap for fuel in a survivalist situation. It burns for a very long time, in case you're interested, and he was able to heat his tea with the small flame.

*  I made a natural dye solution from a large piece of birch I found on our walk through the woods (The birch didn't do diddly, in case you're interested).  I'll post more about the natural dyes tomorrow.  

What's happening on your homestead this week?

4 comments

  1. i love composting toilets. back when we lived in tucson i wanted to do a whole outside bathroom thingy. composting toilet and a solar shower. (path to freedom had a great solar shower on their blog that they had made.)

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    1. We are hoping to have the outdoor solar shower area done before winter, too. I don't think we'll be using it any more this year though. It's getting much to cold to be running around wet in the woods!

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  2. I remember fondly my grandfather taking us for rides in a wheelbarrow and wagons.

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  3. Stumbled across your blog and just wanted to say that I really enjoyed reading it! Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful little glimpses into your homesteading life.

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