What I Love About Homesteading

For a while now I have been struggling to balance homesteading, my job, my business, and being present with my family. Sometimes when the stress of life gets too much it can be helpful to take a step back and think about why I chose this life.

Being a homesteader can make things harder on a day to day basis. Do I really want to get out and rebuild the deer fence after the snow storm? What about building a new garden to help feed my family? Preparing land for future plantings...

Sometimes the list can seem to go on and on.

But yet in the long run this is the life that I want to live. Despite the hard work I love being a homesteader--perhaps the hard work is part of what I love...

So what do I love about homesteading and why is this life worth the hard days?

Connecting with Nature

I was raised to value the natural world and being a homesteader is one way for me to express that side of me. When I build and plant a hedgerow and then see the flocks of birds using it that feels me with joy.

When I look outside and see wild ducks and geese coming to the pond I built I smile.

When I see a coyote using one of the wildlife tunnels I built under my deer fence I'm thrilled that I have managed to strike a balance with nature and that my hard work is making a difference.

Just tonight I stepped outside and heard chorus frogs singing from the wetlands I have been enhancing.

Nature is all around me and by building my homestead to work with nature I'm living up to one of my core values. This connection with nature is something I can't imagine giving up and is a major reason why I love homesteading.

Watching My Little-One Experience Nature on Our Homestead

The other day my wife and son were out exploring the land. They were walking by our new pond and came across an old fence post lying on the ground. My son just wanted to sit down and enjoy watching the pond.

My son is not even 2 years old, and he’s already drawn to the natural world. I honestly think it’s in our DNA. So many of us spend most of our lives un-learning that side of ourselves, only having to rediscover it later.

It’s amazing to me how naturally my son takes to the outdoors.

I do my best to connect with nature on a daily basis but it is through my son's eyes that I truly find the space to reconnect with the natural world. He inspires me every day with his curiosity to love of the outdoors to get outside myself.

I Love Exploring my Homestead with my Family

Exploring my homestead with my wife and son is simply a joy. Picking raspberries, cherries, strawberries, and other home-grown delicacies is a wonderful way for us to spend time together.

Oxygen, movement, and spending time in nature are natural healers, and sharing that time together as a family really strengthens our relationship.

It still seems unreal to me that we can simply step outside our front door to the trails and paths where we can watch birds fly or enjoy spotting bees buzzing between the flowers.

Exploring that beauty together, holding our son’s hands, is truly precious and amazing.

Just this morning we were all standing together huddled up with some blankets watching the sunrise next to Mount Rainier while listening to bird songs.

It is those moments that remind me why I love homesteading.

Homesteading is a lot of work, but the result is an amazing wild homestead that is connected with nature and is a great place to raise a family and to simply enjoy being alive.

I’m so grateful to be able to share the homesteading life with my family.

What do You Love About Homesteading?

For me my love of homesteading is tied to family, nature and the land. I'm writing this post today to share with you all but really to remind myself why the hard work is worth it.

These last few weeks have been very stressful and I needed a little reminder.

But I would love to hear from you all what you love about homesteading. Please leave a comment and don't forget to like this post if you found value in it.

If you like this type of post then please follow me to get more all about working with nature to grow your own food and build your homestead.

This post is an updated version of a post I wrote at the start of the year that is up on my website.