I have always had a passion for gardening, raising animals and living the “country” life style. I grew up in a large beautiful home on 3 acres of land on a dirt road. My parents where fortunate enough to give myself and my siblings the ability to grow up with a stay-at-home mom who made from scratch meals every night. I remember playing flashlight tag with the neighbor kids and running between our yards on warm summer nights, taking long walks down the dirt road with my dog, and cutting down our Christmas tree at the old man’s house down the road. We had every pet growing up, dog, cats, birds, ducks, chickens, hamsters, and horses. Looking back, I see now how hard my parents worked to give us this lifestyle.
Life has gotten a little more complicated since the 90s and 2000s. When my husband and I decided to buy our small house, on a small 7,000 square foot lot I still wanted that country feeling. We live in town, which is walking distance from local parks, the library, and some small restaurants.
I call what I do “town-steading” I am finding small ways to bring the country to us. There is so much that can be done on a small amount of land. Granite, we will not have horses anytime soon but a garden can be grown anywhere. Canning and food preservation is not exclusive to homesteaders, baking bread can be done in any size kitchen, and cultivating a life you want can be done anywhere with a little determination.
My social media feed is always showing me videos and pictures of these beautiful homesteads with many many areas of land, giant gardens, and livestock dogs watching over goats and sheep. My goal in this blog is to teach everyone that we can do most of those things right in our own back yards. If you love homesteading but do not have the land, large garden, or farm animals, come town-stead with me! Join me on this journey!
Merissa