I want to preface this entire blog with a disclaimer: we are not experts, nor even mediocre, at this whole homesteading business. We're learning as we go, we will make mistakes and hopefully learn from them.
Another disclaimer: I (Sarah) will probably be doing 100% of the blogging. Brandon is supportive, but not as interested in online scrapbooking as I am. So when I say/type "I," know that it's Sarah (myself) that I'm referring to.
We do have some areas of expertise and/or experience that may come in handy. For instance, I have 10+ years of experience raising, breeding, and showing chickens! And I've got the embarrassing pictures to prove it:
That's me at my peak, competing in poultry showmanship at the national level with my silver-spangled hamburg pullet. (Pullet = a female chicken under 1 year old.) The white uniform and hat are hallmarks of the California 4-H program. My experiences in 4-H are my primary source of info on all things agriculture, at the moment. Through 4-H, I raised and showed chickens and rabbits, but never raised a market animal (the ones that go over auction, and then are slaughtered for meat) or large livestock -- but I did beg my parents to let me get a goat at least once a year.
Though I never raised market animals or large livestock myself, I got a lot of exposure to small-scale farming practices by helping out my friends with their animals and helping with the cleaning and upkeep of our community 4-H farm.
Brandon, on the other hand, has zero experience with livestock. But, he does know how to build and fix a lot of stuff from helping his parents build the second story on their house and acting essentially as a property manager for a couple income properties of his parents'. One of those properties is the house we live in now, which I affectionately call "The Earl House."
So far, we've made a pretty good team. He's got the muscle and the know-how for most landscaping and construction-y things, and I've got the ability to crawl into small spaces, a knack for working with animals, and some amount of farming knowledge.
We both have a lot to learn, and I hope you enjoy reading about our future successes and inevitable failures!
Another disclaimer: I (Sarah) will probably be doing 100% of the blogging. Brandon is supportive, but not as interested in online scrapbooking as I am. So when I say/type "I," know that it's Sarah (myself) that I'm referring to.
We do have some areas of expertise and/or experience that may come in handy. For instance, I have 10+ years of experience raising, breeding, and showing chickens! And I've got the embarrassing pictures to prove it:
That's me at my peak, competing in poultry showmanship at the national level with my silver-spangled hamburg pullet. (Pullet = a female chicken under 1 year old.) The white uniform and hat are hallmarks of the California 4-H program. My experiences in 4-H are my primary source of info on all things agriculture, at the moment. Through 4-H, I raised and showed chickens and rabbits, but never raised a market animal (the ones that go over auction, and then are slaughtered for meat) or large livestock -- but I did beg my parents to let me get a goat at least once a year.Though I never raised market animals or large livestock myself, I got a lot of exposure to small-scale farming practices by helping out my friends with their animals and helping with the cleaning and upkeep of our community 4-H farm.
Brandon, on the other hand, has zero experience with livestock. But, he does know how to build and fix a lot of stuff from helping his parents build the second story on their house and acting essentially as a property manager for a couple income properties of his parents'. One of those properties is the house we live in now, which I affectionately call "The Earl House."
So far, we've made a pretty good team. He's got the muscle and the know-how for most landscaping and construction-y things, and I've got the ability to crawl into small spaces, a knack for working with animals, and some amount of farming knowledge.
We both have a lot to learn, and I hope you enjoy reading about our future successes and inevitable failures!
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