Happiness is within the eye of the beholder. For me, homestead happiness comes in many different things, but one really stands out among the rest. My homestead happiness comes from the plants and animals that we raise on our homestead.
My happiness stems from being able to watching things grow. I see the end result as a reflection of myself and all the hard work that was put into the plants/animals success. Working the soil, planting, weeding, and harvesting or working with animals is something that I find enjoyment in. It can be hard work and there are days were you think to yourself, “I really do not want to weed today” or “I will get to the garden tomorrow,” but it is necessary to its success. Without putting the time into projects, they are destined to fail or not produce well. Without the necessary upkeep, any time that would have been put into the project would just be wasted.
Putting the work into projects, like a garden, makes one enjoy the successes they reap. When I sit back and look down at my dinner plate and see all the food that we have grown, it makes the meal just that much more enjoyable and taste that much better. I have the satisfaction of knowing where the food came from, and I know that it was raised in a natural/organic way. Also, something about getting to watch a seed grow and mature gives one a sense of pride in their work.
While it often takes many, many hours of cultivation, sweat, and work every year, I would not want it any other way. Like I said, while there are many things that bring me happiness on the homestead, watching all of the plants growing in the garden and being able to see the results of all the time/hard work is what brings me the most happiness on my homestead.
Thanks for reading!