Homesteading?

I think the question I get asked the most is "What is homesteading?" And there are as many answers to that as there are reasons to homestead.

For me and my family it is primarily a means of getting back to the basics and living a simpler, more connected life. A way of getting back to living the way my great grandmother did. In the picture above you can see my great grandma Garnet in her rows of plants. She always had impeccable rows and an amazing harvest. And she did it all herself. She knew down to the salt on her table where every piece of food she fed her family came from. How much of it she was able to provide herself through the garden and the livestock she kept, and how much had to be supplemented with store bough items.

One of my favorite stories about Garnet takes place during wartime. Upon entering the store to purchase a loaf of bread she saw that the price of bread had doubled. A loaf that would have cost her $0.05 last week was now priced at $0.10. She set the loaf back down and swore she would never buy another loaf for as long as she lived.

And she didn't.

Great-grandma Garnet made her bread for the rest of her life.

Now if you were to go to someone today and tell them that the price of bread has doubled and you now need to make your own bread, they would either laugh in your face or give up bread all together.

Some where along the way to better, simpler lives we lost out connection to the land. A connection that was as natural two generations ago as breathing. Now to find a connection we have to find enough nature to connect to and then focus on feeling the pulse of the ground below our feet.

Homesteading is a way back to that connection, back to the past, but while keeping our eyes fixed on the future.

It's a movement that started gaining speed in the 70s and has picked up more steam as the decades have gone by.

Now Homesteading means something different to everybody who does it. For some people it might be all about getting out of the cites and as far from civilization as humanly possible. This is definitely one of the biggest draws for Tim. He always tells me it's getting to peoply in Taylorsville. Other people have that hippy soul and want to live a life in beat with the seasons and the planet.

And some people just want to have chickens and grown food.

We all homestead for our own reasons.

So whether you want a full 40 acres in the Midwest, or a small urban garden in the city, anybody can homestead anywhere.

I've learned over the years that there are people out there, homesteading right now who don't know there's s name for it. They're just doing what they love.

It is my hope and deepest dream that one day my family will find a few acres on which to homestead. To take the dreams and plans we've tested on an urban level and practice them full scale.

If you're reading this, and it hasn't been too long, send a thought or a prayer our way. Maybe one day we'll be able to send some honey yours.

Lots of love

The Klinks.