The Incredible Childhood that Influenced my Adult Life! Why I have ALWAYS been a HOMESTEADER!
My childhood has influenced me in many ways...
My childhood homestead in print.
I grew up in a small coastal New England town in a dairy-farming community, in quite a different manner than most of my peers. While everyone I went to school with had cable and video games, I had gardens and animals. We had a small, self-sustaining farmette that provided most of our food. My parents were very passionate about raising their five children off the land.
Picking the ripe raspberries and cherry tomatoes was a summer-long chore that I remember fondly. We had gardens everywhere and preserved or fermented what we didn't eat fresh. My mother encouraged diversity in the garden to keep the insect population happy and well-balanced. She had an eye for attractive chaos in her layout and still does to this day on the same land. You can visit her Humble Jungle at "Grammy's Potager" https://www.facebook.com/GrammysPotager on Facebook. Everything was grown organically, of course. My parents wouldn't have it any other way!
I remember watching my mom milk the goats and feed the chickens. We had some beautiful Nubian goats that provided all the milk we needed to drink and to make into cheese. We had chickens, ducks, and geese that gave us eggs and meat. I remember raising a hog until it was big enough to slaughter for our freezer. I never remember being sad when we ate our food because they had a good life and provided for our family in the end. It made sense!
We never had processed foods in our house unless Grampa came by with some treats for us kids. My mom refused to allow white sugar, flour, or rice in our pantry. Instead, she would get things like raw almonds and honey, in 5-gallon buckets, from the local co-op she co-founded. Our only source of heat in the winter was a wood-stove. We were all cloth diapered and breastfed. No chemicals were used as we could clean just about anything with vinegar. Most illnesses were treated with natural remedies. It was a very comfortable home with plenty of nurturing and affection.
My mother says it best...35+ years ago!
So, today I wonder if my own four children will be as proud of the simple life of homesteading as I am? My older two have always loved to eat from the garden and eggs from our chickens but they no longer want to help mom like the younger two do. The goats are a newer thing that my teenagers just think I'm the Crazy Goat Lady but the little ones adore our goats and the milk and cheese they provide.
I wonder now as my eldest goes of to college soon if one day she will call me up and ask me how to start a garden...or ask Ryan to build her a chicken tractor? One can only hope!
Thanks for reading!
I have a youtube channel with a ton of videos to check out if you are interested!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRFL-VU0wM9JZDCulQPDp4g/featured
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I'm envious of the way you were raised up, I imagine that your daughter will come to you for garden advice one day. Sadly, I was raised on boxed crap and frozen peas and tin canned green beans... It wasn't until I was 35 that I actually ate a Zucchini, Eggplant, Sweet Potatoes. Scary to think. I am still not a veggie lover but I have been getting better. When you grow up eating poorly, you become picky. The fact that your littles eat so well at their age is a testiment to great parenting.
I envy you the life you grew up in and the way you live now. I wish I had a small place in the country where I could raise animals and a garden to provide my food. I do the best I can on this small lot in the small town but I do dream of a country place someday. BTW I posted that Pickled Beets recipe this morning for you, LOL.
Thanks, it's a great life! Full of many rewards that money can't buy! Small lots can do big things! My mother's home, featured in the article and where she still lives, is full of Permaculture Food! Oh yay! Beets!
The first thing you raised is those children. Organically, wholesomely, and with the love that was passed down to you. The best sustainable crop!
Thank you! It has been a rewarding crop!
I loved growing up on my homestead. with all of the livestock we processed for meat, fresh eggs and vegetables from the garden.
It really is a blessing most don't understand!
I absolutely love your story. Your family passed the legacy on to you and now you're passing it on yourself. Thanks for sharing.
thank you!
No offense, but by the looks of those photos your family lived like some people do in third world countries... Don't take this the wrong way, but most people aspire to an improved standard of living. If you children don't like subsistence living, can you blame them?
I'm a retired farmer/rancher, so I'm no stranger to ass-busting work 365 days per year. I've lived the better part of my life with dirt caked under my finger nails and cow shit stuck all over my boots, floor mats, and everywhere inbetween. I raised my kids right, and they worked like slaves until their work-ethic was second to none. We never collected one dime of welfare ( like a lot of the mother Earth hippies did) and we turned a good profit.
My point in all this is: if you have kids who are raised dirt poor and they see no future being a homesteader , then you can't really blame them for wanting do do something else in life?.....
Great story. Thanks for sharing this teachable moment... Up voted, resteemed and subbed...