When we think of homesteading, we often think of hard work and the simple pleasures. Two essential ingredients in our homestead are coffee and beer. One gets the day going and the other pushes you to get to the finish line. The thought of an ice cold beer as a reward will get you through the last chores of the
Read more
Yes folks, it’s that time of year. The weather outside is frightful, the days are short, and the wood stove is cranking. Looking through a frosty window pane, we stare out at our garden covered in snow, and think about how nice it is to be warm. Only fellow homesteaders know that winter time is actually our rest and relaxation
Read more
When we think about homesteading we always think of images of chickens and fall harvests. We rarely see pictures of the tools that make homesteading possible. No two homesteads are alike, and neither are their tools. What makes homesteading great is that you get to do it your own way. You can choose your own land and what crops you
Read more
On a cold February day, my son Luke and I set out to make an ax handle. In the process, we received an unexpected lesson. In a world with Home Depot and Amazon, we give little thought to buying the things we need. The things we need are always at our fingertips, or at most a short drive or two
Read more
Years ago when I was a kid, my parents installed a wood stove in our house. We always had a fireplace but this was just a bit different. For one, it actually heated the house. I’m sure it offset our heating bill in some way, but I was too young to care about that. What I cared about was
Read more
two branches homestead 