What nobody tells you about homesteading

Ok, so maybe someone told you, but you didn't believe them. You buy some land, it may or may not have a house on it. You get started, and someone has to work a real job. Unless you saved for years and years or someone left you money. Not likely, but possible I guess. We have one full-time regular(ish?) worker in our household. That of course is my DH. If you know him, you know that he LOVES his job. (If you don't, then now you do.) His job is not what someone who homesteads would think of as a homesteading type job, but I assure you that he is helping to make our area (and the world) a greener and healthier place. I'm not going to go into what he does, this isn't really his blog after all...  BUT. He helps out a LOT!

We have been planning a better rabbit hutch and looked at some online. We found a picture and modified it to meet our needs. We are working on building it now, and I'll do a separate blog about that later. But today, I'm going to introduce you to what he does all the time on The Silver Fox Homestead.

He said this was his best side. I think all his sides are best. But, I digress. That is 1 tree, and he cut some already!

This is another pile we cut down. And I'm sure I could take more and more picture of brush piles all over the yard. But I'll spare you.

Of course, our little helpers are collecting sticks too. But they play with them and then leave them around.

Since it is just about fall and the weather has gotten cooler, we are going to have some bonfires soon. We might even do up some of these natural hotdogs. So, if you plan to homestead you should plan to cut and clear many trees from your land, unless of course you buy property that someone else started homestead on already. I'm sure you will pay more for that too.  We are trying to make room for chickens in the spring and goats next year. After that we are anning for piggies. All of these animals must earn their place to stay. I am a big proponent of culling animals that bite, do not care for their young or if I have too many males. I am a meat eater and it's just a fact of life. I wanted to go deer hunting this year, but I didn't get a weapon yet and the budget doesn't have room for extras like that right now. 

Not to mention that I'm trying to save all my money to plant some fruit and nut trees on the property. 

I've got a crazy notion that I'm going to grow peaches up north and sell them at the farmer's market. Peaches in the store are going for $2 a pound. They are tiny, little, unripe, flavorless things. I aim to do better-much better. There are currently 3 varieties that will grow in my zone and I want to plant them all. 

But in order to do that, I have to make room to plant them. These junk trees need to go. I call them that because they are either dead or dying. Poplar trees don't live very long and then just fall over. And most of the Red Oaks have the oak blight. So, we are moving some White Oak trees, they are less susceptible to the blight.

Well, I better get back to chopping wood and burning my piles before it starts to snow here. 

Thanks for stopping by to see what's happening on the Silver Fox Homestead!