(an old truck we came across while digging some excellent soil out of a ditch.)
Gerri came up with that name because we are working towards being granolas, but we were, (and still kind of are) living what is somewhat a commercial lifestyle.
Our ultimate dream is to start a real homestead, complete with an animal shelter and hopefully fully off-grid, but for now, we live in a small town in the remote north of British Columbia.
As far as towns go, it's pretty great for our kind of lifestyle. It's a perfect way to transition from where we were, just east of Toronto and working like dogs to get a few scraps; to where we want to be, somewhere further south in BC and working for ourselves.
(Chickens: You give them love and they crap all over it.)
So back to our little town.
We wanted a place that the kids could be free to play like kids should. You know, play Manhunt, hang out in the park, walk or ride bikes everywhere and not have to worry about being with them at all times when they are outside. It's not that bad things don't happen here, they do, just not like most other places.
Here's our latest police report. It's actually a bad one, and it's for a whole month.
(Notice how most things happened on two days?)
We also wanted a place where I could earn a living and not have to drive a tractor-trailer into Toronto every weekday, just to barely get by. It was really getting to me. Emotionally, physically, and mentally. I figured that when I actually approached a motorist who dangerously cut me off, gave me the finger, and then got stopped at a red light, it was time to give that life up. Absolutely no good can come of that situation.
The soul-draining, earth-raping oilfield. The money was great, when you had work, but the life was not great. You have money, then you worry, then some more money comes in, then you wait by the phone. It was nerve-wracking, and it didn't help that I truly despised what we were doing.
So I didn't renew my safety tickets. I then couldn't work on any site, so it forced me to look elsewhere. Companies would call and offer to get me my tickets, but I knew if I had them I would end up back out there. By then I was on as a temporary machine operator with the province's highway contractor. I worked there for most of the summer, then got called back for the winter shift plowing snow.
Home every night, a bit of overtime, but not too much. Went from working 7 days a week and 12-15 hour days, to 7-10 hour days and 5 days a week.
Then I got laid off and we went back to Ontario to take care of some business, see family and friends, and just have a relaxing vacation. We camped all across Canada and enjoyed each other. We are really great travelling companions.
Then I got called back to work. After that a few people quit and then I had the most seniority for a temp, so I get to work year-round now. I'm still a temp, but a year-round temp. In a job that I can be proud of.
We didn't touch on our timeline yet, so here goes.
May 2010 - Started dating
June 2012 - Married
July 2015 - Moved across the country in an old school bus to start a more simple, sustainable life
June 2022 - Kids are both graduated and independently wealthy giving us an allowance of $2000 per month.
We won't need their money, but we will welcome it.
In actuality, we are planning on having a property within the next three years. We are looking further south in British Columbia, but not the island or the lower mainland. It's too humid and who could afford to homestead there anyhow?
This is a rough draft, so far.
We just want somewhere close to a small town; a warmer, but semi-arid climate; and relatively untouched, inexpensive land that we can mold to our liking. That's to start.
From there we will probably buy a sea can and put it on the property to house tools and provide a base camp. Next will come a sawmill and firewood processor to utilize the wood that we clear. I know that it isn't a romantic way to get firewood, but we don't want to kill ourselves in the building process, plus we want to experiment with cordwood buildings, so I imagine we will go through a lot of it.
I'm thinking we may end up with another used school bus as well, but that's not a definite. It's just that they are a very affordable way to move a lot of stuff, plus a pretty comfy place to camp out. I guess we will see where that goes.
While we are building our homestead, we will also be composting what we can and trying to build up soil quality with a wide range of techniques that we have been learning about via Small Farm Canada, Joel Salatin, and the rest of the internet. We will need some animals to help with this and have been studying different breeds of cattle, piggies, goats, sheep, and poultry. It will all depend on the property, I suppose, but I am thinking Dexter cattle and Chantecler for chickens. We like the Kunekune pigs, but I think we will need more of a rooter because we will have cattle and chickens for grazing and possibly sheep and/or goats. I haven't looked into tilling with pigs very deeply, but that is in my near future research.
We are also dreaming of having a place to shelter animals that get abandoned or abused. We started our rescue efforts with:
(He's a good, climbing boy)
(If you could smell his breath you would understand my face.)
(Can you tell they are brothers?)
We also rescued a couple of older hens, but one had to be put down when she broke a leg. The other one doesn't get her photo here because she doesn't contribute to the homestead. Maybe throw us a couple of eggs a week and we'll see if your status in the family changes, Bruiser.
When I think of it, she might be upset that I always comment on how big and mean looking she is, compared to the other girls. I'll try to quit shaming her and we'll see if she lays more.
This summer we are planning a bunch of stonework in the yard. Raised hugelkultur beds and whatnot. We have some haskap bushes to plant and I dug up and split a gooseberry bush that popped up under the big spruce at the front. We'll be removing a bunch more lilacs from the yard and planting some fruit producing trees in their stead. Something that doesn't shoot suckers all over the yard and actually has a food value. Mostly Saskatoon berry trees, but I have some apricot trees that sprouted and we have replanted as well.
We have been digging up the front flower bed as well, and should have all lily of the valley eradicated by this summer. It is now going to be our herb garden. We have a bunch of different herbs growing there now, and we will be adding some more this year.
I guess there isn't much more to add, other than to say we are happy to join up with such a great homesteading community. I hope we can add some value here, and try to glean some hints and tricks off of the rest of you.
