About 18 years ago or so Mary and I moved up in the holler into a single wide trailer situated on approximately 1/2 an acre of land. We gradually got a few chickens and rabbits and started a decent size little garden which really got the ball rolling to where we are now. We started working the land to what we thought it should be and I can’t tell you the things we built in the wrong place, fences that had to be moved, animals that didn’t work where we put them, along with a whole list of many other goof ups. We raised 3 kids on that little 1/2 acre of land until about 2 1/2 years ago.
We definitely learned a lot on that piece of ground. We learned to pressure can our food, making jellies and jams, succeeded and failed with many different vegetables and fruits, and raised many different poultry and livestock. We honed our skills on herbal remedies and even grew our own herbs for medicinal uses, seasonings, and teas. I read books on everything herbal I could get my hands on, every homesteading book we could buy, and every permaculture video I could find on YouTube. We learned so many new skills and improved on the ones we already had on that place. I have said all this to say: YOU, yes YOU, can homestead right where you are because most of the homesteading principals are the skills not the farm. We had a good set up on that 1/2-acre plot which took about 15 years to get it to where we finally wanted it.
I just want to pause for a moment and discuss patience. About 2 1/2 years ago we decided to start looking for a new home and land. We searched and searched wanting a place with more land, a homestead to move to because our old trailer had seen better days. We were honestly tired of living in a holler that was always damp, in danger of flooding and only got about 4 or 5 hours of sunlight a day. After months of searching we found a double wide on 24 acres that I believe still needed some minor improvements and repairs to finish. I had cleaned around the home for the appraisal, and we were already making all these big plans because in our minds we just knew we had it. I told my wife we were going to call it Holy Homestead because I wanted it to be dedicated God. On the evening before thanksgiving, we got the call from the bank and the home was denied, we were approved for well over the amount, but the bank said the house wasn’t worth the amount the owner wanted. You talk about devastated; we were just that, almost heartbroken because it was something we wanted so bad. So, we just gave up and decided we would just try to repair the trailer and make do for a few more years until we found something else. To make a long story short, we got a message from one of Mary’s family members about a home and land that was for sale. We met with the owner of the home, and she said that there was another person who was interested in the same home from South Carolina who had cash to buy it. The more she talked and got to know us the more she seemed to connect with us. She told us she didn’t know what to do so we told her to just pray about it, and we would pray about it. Within an hour or so of leaving the property, she called us and said she felt God was wanting us to be there. We purchased the home and have been here for over 2 1/2 years now and we named it Holy Homestead, like we always said we were going to do. So, the moral of that story is sometimes we just have to stop and be still and know that he is God and that he is always faithful in his promises.
Now here on our new 12.75-acre homestead, we are beginning a whole new journey. The thing is we are starting from scratch no lots, chicken coops, pig pen, no compost place, no set garden spots. It’s like having a blank canvas, we just got to figure out the perfect layout for our new home. I always wanted more land that I could turn into a working and productive homestead. We have a lot of stuff to build and a lot of future projects to do so follow along as we try to document it all though here on our website and our new YouTube channel Holy Homestead. You can also follow us on our Facebook page, Holy Homestead. We are excited to start this new journey, and we hope you will join along as we begin this brand-new experience.