The Homestead Journey

When it is processing time and I post pictures on Facebook or Instagram, one of the things I hear a lot from people is, "I don't know how you can raise animals and then eat them." I see many homesteaders in groups who struggle with the emotions that come from processing animals or losing animals to disease or natural causes.  I have shared with you before some of the emotions that I...

We are heading into that time of the year when the days are short and the nights are long. It can be cold and snowy and dreary.  My guess is that if I were to do a poll of homesteaders, for many, their least favorite season would be winter.  On this episode, we talk about embracing the suck; how maybe a difference in perspective can help with the winter blues on the homestead.  I also bring you up...

 I am sure that none of us thought 2020 would turn out to to be like this. Quite frankly, it has sucked. But, on this episode, we talk about the things that I am thankful for, even in the middle of the COVID-19 Pandemic. I count my blessings. What blessing do you have?  Don't forget about our giveaways this month. We will be giving away some HJP Merch, including some mugs from http://www.cree...

On this week's episode I give you an update on this year's experiment with the Ruth Stout gardening method; what went well, what didn't go so well and what we plan on doing different next year. Don't forget about our giveaways this month. We will be giving away some HJP Merch, including some mugs from http://www.creekroadpottery.com as well as some T-shirts from our new TeeSpri...

On this week's episode I am joined by my two favorite homesteaders in the entire world, my mom and dad, Rod and Cora Wells.  We talk about our family history, what they are doing on their 1 acre homestead as well as what homesteading means to them. On this episode I also talk about the geese and ducks we processed this weekend.  Here are the links to the recipes we used. https://www.almanac.c...

A couple of months ago, I ran across this post on the artofmanliness.com website.  I immediately thought about how what they were saying could apply to homesteading.  If we are not careful, we can homestead not based on our plans or our desires, but based on what everyone else is doing or what everyone else thinks we should be doing. SO, on this episode, I give you some of the strategies that I us...

One of the most common questions I am seeing in the Facebook groups and, homesteading forums goes like this. "Help. I just closed on my new homestead. Where do I start?" Now. Let me first start by saying this. It is natural and normal to feel a bit overwhelmed at this point. You've had these dreams of having a homestead and these dreams are starting to become realized, and reality s...

A couple of weeks ago, I had a listener reach out to me and ask what we did for watering during the winter.  Watering animals during the winter when you live in an area where it gets cold and stays cold for a long period of time is a challenge.  How do we deal with the winter watering woes here on the homestead?  On this episode, I share with you some of the things we have tried so far on our home...

There is no question that we currently live in a very polarized society.  We are polarized politically and culturally.  Throw in the COVID-19 pandemic and a contentious presidential election and it feels like things are almost at a boiling point.  Relationships with both friends and family are being fractured as a result.  On Friday afternoon, I witnessed a motorcycle accident as I was getting rea...

The old adage is that good fences make good neighbors.  There perhaps isn't an animal with the exception of goats where that rings truer than with pigs.  On today's episode we talk about some of the things you should take into consideration with regards to fencing as well as different fencing strategies.  As always, enjoy!!  Brian http://www.thehomesteadjourney.net/shop http://www.thehom...

 This week I had a listener contact me on our Facebook page and ask me about the types of shelters we use for our pigs here on 3B Farm and Homestead. So, I decided to shoot some video with this week's episode and not only tell you about the types of shelters we use, but also show you the shelters we use.  But, before we jump into that, we talk about some of the things you should consider befo...

There’s part of me that feels guilty that I’m not a four season gardener.  Honestly, I’m not sure that I’m anything more than a summer gardener.  But, I’m starting to be ok with that.   This year I started feeling the pressure to be a multi season gardener.  In part, I think it was the pandemic.  I had this incredible urge to grow as much food as possible.  To grow as if our lives depended on it. ...

One of the positive things from COVID is that people are waking up to the fact that the system is broken.  Now, some of us have been waking up to that fact for awhile.  That certainly doesn’t make us smarter/wiser/etc.  All of us come from different backgrounds with different life experiences and perspectives.  The fact is, sometimes you cannot see a problem until you are directly impacted.  And t...

On this episode I chat with Jack and Jackie from The Mindful Homestead Youtube channel about their journey into homesteading.  They recently made a HUGE step in the journey as Jack changed careers as a result of having a better quality of life that is more conducive to homesteading.  They raise meat birds, layers, and forest raised pigs as well as have a garden.  Along with their two year old Emma...

Sometimes we get so focused on the tasks at hand; weeding, harvesting, preserving or we are so focused on planning for the next season, that we neglect to note the things that have gone well or haven’t gone well, the lessons that we have learned so that we can set ourselves up for success the following year’s season.  And, if we aren’t careful, we will find ourselves repeating the same mistakes ov...

This coming week would have been our county fair.  Like so many county fairs across the country, it has been cancelled due to COVID-19.  You have no idea how bummed that makes me feel.  I absolutely LOVE our fair.  I love the sights, the sounds, the smells, the exhibits, the shows, the demolition derby, and of course, the food!!!  Alas, this year, it's not to be. But, on this episode I share...

As I was thinking about this episode, I took a step back and started asking myself; what constitutes a tool?  Is my tractor a tool?  Are 5 gallon buckets tools?  Are my All American Canners Tools?  What about shovels, rakes and pitchforks?  How about wheelbarrows and wagons?  What is a tool? What I decided to do was focus on hand and power tools that I have found to be the most helpful here on our...

When it comes to our homestead journey, I don’t have a lot of regrets.  That’s not to say that things have always been easy or have gone according to plan.  That’s certainly not the case.  There have been a lot of failures along the way.  Or, actually, I like to look at them as Thomas Edison did when he was accused of failing 10,000 times before inventing the light bulb.  He said, “No, I didn’t fa...

Taking vacations can be complicated in and of themselves.  Deciding where you are going, where you are staying, who is going (and sometimes who is NOT going) can all be stressful.  But, adding a homestead to the equation makes things that much more difficult.  Depending on the size of your homestead and the season, it can be very tricky to get away.  This episode is being released the Sunday after...

On this episode I am joined by Adam and Michelle from Farm Life Outfitters.  They are a family that is homesteading in North Carolina.  You may know them from their YouTube channel as well as their graphic T-shirt business.  We talk about their journey into homesteading, some of the things that have worked and some of the things that haven't worked.  They also share with us their vision for t...

This week I had a friend offer me some roosters for processing.  The only thing that he asked for in return when I butchered them were the feet...... and the combs.  Now, I was familiar with using chicken feet in cooking.  In fact, a few weeks ago, I tried making some stock with the chicken feet.  (As you may recall, I botched the attempt.)  However, I had never heard of using cockscombs in cookin...

Just like we have seen an interest in people gardening and raising their own meat, lately there has been an increase in the number of people wanting to learn how to can.  But, some people find this to be a daunting task.  In fact, I know several people who have a pressure canner sitting in a closet because they are too afraid to try it. So, if you’re one of those people (new to canning or too afra...

For many people, when they think about preserving meat, the first thing that comes to mind (and the only thing that comes to mind, is freezing.)  And while that is certainly a good option and it is a relatively cheap and fool proof option, it is just that, an option.  What many people don’t realize is that there are many other ways that you can safely preserve meat on your homestead without the us...

Many homesteaders dream of the large property; 5, 10, 15 or 20 acres of land on which they can grow all the things, raise all the things and do all the things.  Today's guest, Brenda Scott from http://wellfedhomestead.com is someone who had an opportunity to realize that dream.  She and her family left a small suburban lot for a 30 acre homestead.  And they quickly learned that bigger isn&apo...

I had planned on covering a different topic on this episode.  But this past Thursday a local farmer had a serious accident.  Somehow she was entrapped in a hay baler.  It was so bad they had to fly in a surgical team to surgically extract her from the equipment.  That really is just a polite way to say that they had to cut off her arm. Now, this certainly is not the first time I’ve been aware of a...