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Our first year.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014 9:17
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Our first year in a new homestead, in a new State has come and gone. No fan fare from us of course, it's been much more difficult than expected.
We arrived with great expectations. We became the ant trying to move the rubber tree plant. But we have high hopes. (For those of you old enough, you are welcome for the ear worm).
We settled in as best as one can without a ceiling, walls, or electricity, and a rotting floor. At least we now have a ceiling. We made the best of what we had, still I found myself scared and alone during the harshest winter seen here is 20 plus years. We were unable to drive up our drive way, and had to walk the half mile in snow and ice. The last time we drove up on ice, we went flying backwards at 20 mph to a blind curve, one side a 75 ft drop, the other a steep hill. It was eerily calm in the truck, as though we accepted out deaths. Nervous giggles erupted once the truck stopped moving and we were safe.
The boys kept my spirits up.
It felt hopeless. Husband gone back to Kansas for work. Me unable to prove I lived here. Our budget so tight that I didn't eat for several days just to make sure I had enough for my growing boys.
Spring came and I tried to find the happiness that had initially brought me here. Business picked up and I no longer had to sacrifice meals. I could also proved I lived here. Husband took on a 2nd shift job that is making him miserable. But we all make sacrifices. We did, once, love the land.
With spring came planting. Our tiller broke, so we worked the soil by hand. It was trying work, and I was unable to plant all that I wanted. As summer encroached, I stopped worrying about feeding everyone this winter.
Summer is rapidly coming to a close. My cows still escape, my fences are patched daily, I still do laundry in the creek (except Mondays when I can catch up at the laundromat). The hens have begain to lay eggs. Nuts are almost ready to harvest, and mushrooms are being gathered.
It's sort of looking like the life we had hoped it would be here. Maybe in the next five years we will find our way, find the love, and not be so stressed.
Time will tell.
Source: http://a-homesteading-neophyte.blogspot.com/2014/09/our-first-year.html
