Homesteading is something husband and I have talked about in length over some time now. At least seriously over the last 4 years. First we weren't sure if he was saying in the Army, but once it looked like we were going back to the US, we started talking about it more seriously.

I always have loved plants, and I've always been shit at keeping them alive. Ha. Well, the inside ones anyway. But, while we were in Germany I had the random urge to buy a cherry tomato plant, that came with tomatoes already on the vine! Whatever, I don't call it cheating, I call it "using my resources"!

I really think that was the first step in the direction of wanting to try and do what we can to provide for ourselves. I was in contact, of course, with friends back in the states and I had a friend who got chickens. That made me want chickens SO badly! So, I started doing research.

my lady

When I do research it's like a giant rabbit hole down into Wonderland. I come across some page that makes me open 7 new tabs and each of those tabs has several links that I must open to save for later reading. So that brought me around really to figuring out something like homesteading was what I was really interested in.

Now to the point.

Homesteading is important to me because...

It gives me something to do every day. You see, I struggle with depression among other ailments and some days I just don't want to get out of bed. But with my homesteading, I have animals. I have 22 chickens, 3 quail, 3 geese, 4 ducks, 2 rabbits, and 2 dogs - I have to get my ass out of bed and care for these creatures. I have to. There's no way around it. They rely on me to care for them to the best of my ability, and I really go above and beyond for them.

Animals are what makes my world go 'round.

Animals are what I care about, they're my passion. I can seem to feel what they're feeling and figure out if they're happy and healthy. Having all of these creatures around me brings me so much joy I can't even begin to explain to you the way it really makes me feel deep down inside. Animals are what I am meant to do. I am just meant to be around them and care for them.

Out here, I have the opportunity to get almost any (legal) animal I want. I am around nature all of the time, and I investigate it. I learn about it at length and try to benefit the nature around me and make it fit into my homestead, rather than trying to exclude it.

Homesteading is more than just providing for yourself.

It is also about being a good land steward. Being a good land steward means taking care of your land in a responsible way and taking into consideration the wildlife around you. This is a big thing for me on my homestead. I want to provide a sort of safe haven for beneficial creatures (obviously I'd like to deter predators... and ground squirrels... lol). I want and need the nature around me.

I guess when it comes down to it, homesteading is all about the animals for me. It is important for me to care for them the best way that I can. I feel my birds organic, even if it's more expensive, my dogs and rabbits get spendy food too. Sometimes our finances are out of whack because of this and while it's a little stressful - I feel so good doing what I am doing.

There's just nothing else out there for me.

I could really go on and on, and maybe I will add to this some day and make another post. But this is what has come out of me for now.

Thank you for this great prompt that got my fingers typing furiously, @kiaraantonoviche - Go read the challenge and tell us why homesteading is important to you!

As always @farmstead here blogging from FarmsteadSmith!

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Photos by me using my iPhone 6s, unless stated otherwise!

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Blog Series

Nature on the Farmstead - These posts will be educational and informative about the nature that happens on my farmstead. Look forward to posts about wild animals, birds, wildflowers and plants, insects, and more!