The Homestead- The Beginning

Last October the Hubby and I got the keys to our first home. It is exactly what we had been wanting for such a long time and truly was a dream come true. Nothing extravagant just a small house on a little over an acre and a short ways from town. We wanted outbuildings, lots of room for our kids to play and a house that wasn't over the top so we could make it our own.Well, since we had some minor renovations to get done on the inside throughout the winter we are now beginning the outside projects. Spring is in the air!

We have researched until our eyes were practically bleeding, priced out resources and now have mapped out the general plans for our "homestead". Our "homestead" will have designated areas or "zones". For example, we are going to have an inner yard for the kids and dog to roam free but contained with an inner fence. This will be the house, yard, and patio. Basically the areas we would entertain guests.

We are fencing off the entire outer perimeter of the property and will have small sections designed to optimize particular areas and their resources.We will have a playground which will also be fenced to keep critters out and my munchkins in. :) We have already bought a wooden play structure this winter and plan to find more play equipment to add!

My biggest project right now has been the garden and chickens. Thankfully, the previous owners had/left both. We are moving them to a better location to meet our plans but are happy to have the remains of their chicken coop and pen. We will also be fencing off the garden areawith a six foot fence to keep the deer out. This area is going to be about 35'x45', we will talk more about that in another post! Adjacent to the garden will be the chicken coop and run. We want the two close together so that after harvest the chickens can roam free in the garden area to clean and fertilize the ground! We are getting chicks this spring! The existing property has a small "orchard" as I plan to make it and fruit patch. There are two apple trees, two pear trees and a netted strawberry patch. We are keeping all of these and are adding to it. We plan to plant more fruit trees and then are utilizing some empty space to plant raspberries, blueberries,and blackberries. I can't wait to preserve all this food!!

We have some empty space left for future planning and may down the road include small livestock, but we will see! Plenty of jobs to get done and we have begun where we can without breaking us or our budget. I plan to keep track of all our little projects and our journey of living on a one-acre homestead.