11/05/2026
Our Homestead Journal Entry- #1
The reality behind our little homestead 🌱
If there's one thing homesteading has taught us, it's that you can make all the plans in the world, and Mother Nature, the animals, and sometimes just plain bad luck will have other ideas. 😂
When we first started building our little homestead, we had plans. Big plans. Ideas for gardens, animals, bees, and all the things we wanted to grow, raise, and accomplish.
But here's the part that doesn't always make it into the pretty pictures...
The setbacks. The unexpected expenses. The heartbreaks. And all the times you have to go back to the drawing board.
We've had our fair share.
Our beekeeping journey hasn't exactly been a walk in the park. We've dealt with hives that didn't make it, swarms that packed up and left, and those dreaded wax moths. 😖 If you know, you know. Every time you think you're getting somewhere, there's another lesson waiting for you.
Then there's the rabbit side of things. Losing our first litter of kits was heartbreaking, and dealing with false pregnancies in our does has been another reminder that raising animals doesn't always go according to plan. There's a lot more involved than simply providing food, water, and a place to live.
Our garden has also taught us a thing or two about knowing when to adjust our expectations. What started out as bigger plans eventually became a decision to scale things back to something more manageable. And honestly, there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes less really is more.
Weather? Well, that's a whole other story. Too much rain, not enough rain, and trying to work around whatever Mother Nature decides to throw our way. You can plan, prepare, plant, and hope for the best, but you can't control the weather.
And then there's the money side of homesteading.
People see the garden beds, the plants, the animals, and the little improvements around the property. What they don't always see are the expenses behind them. Even something as simple as buying mulch adds up. But sometimes spending money upfront means less mowing, less w**d eating, and a little more manageable upkeep down the road.
It's funny how you start out thinking you're building a homestead, and before long, you're also learning to become a beekeeper, gardener, animal caretaker, problem solver, weather watcher, and amateur accountant all at once. 😂
We've learned that sometimes you have to change direction. Sometimes you have to scale back. Sometimes you lose something you worked hard for. And sometimes you spend money trying to prevent a problem, only to discover a whole new problem you never saw coming.
But that's part of it.
We're learning that homesteading isn't necessarily about doing more, having more, or making everything bigger. It's about figuring out what works for us, what doesn't, and how to make this little piece of land something we can actually enjoy and maintain.
We're still learning. Still making adjustments. Still making mistakes. And most certainly still having those "well, that didn't go as planned" moments.
But we're here, and we're still at it.
Because behind every pretty homestead picture is a whole lot of work, a few headaches, some hard lessons, and a story that probably didn't go quite the way we originally planned.
And this is ours. The good, the bad, the muddy, the expensive, and everything in between.
Real life isn't always pretty, but its still part of our story. ❤️
Welcome back to the unfiltered side of our homestead. 🌱🐝🐓❤️
