You’ve heard the expression, “it’s like drinking from a firehose” to describe the furious effort to keep up with tons of information coming at you. Funny, we never met anyone who ever drank from a firehose in the literal sense, but we all can relate to the metaphor. That’s been us the past few months.
We’ve already shared that we are “over our heads” here, to use another metaphor. That’s part of the adventure, really. We left a comfortable and predictable environment deliberately for one that was vast, new, unknown and beautiful. It is keeping us closer to God as we learn to rely on Him for wisdom, insight and a willing heart as we meet with discouragement.
We both are “doers” and get gratification from seeing the results of our work (especially Bob). Some of the things we intend to accomplish this Spring (in addition to the house build) include:
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Finish our second raised garden bed and rainwater reclamation system
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Plant a small fruit orchard beginning with apple and peach trees and blueberry bushes
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Train Elgie Bear, our livestock guardian dog to guard the sheep when they arrive
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Fence the South pasture with an electrified, high-tensile fence to support goats, sheep or cattle
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Raise Cornish Cross or Red Ranger chickens for meat, starting with a flock of 25
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Build and care for two hives of honey bees to pollinate our gardens and fruit trees (and provide honey next year)
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And, (maybe…) begin with a small flock of sheep for meat initially, then for milk and lambing.
That has challenged us this Winter because we have to learn how to do most everything before we set out to get things done. Here are a few of the learning opportunities we’ve invested in (and continue to invest in):
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Christi joined a women’s inductive Bible study of the book of Ephesians with the women of Wills Valley Community Church
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Bob looks forward to beginning a men’s discipleship group with a small group of men at Wills Valley
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We finished an online Introduction to Bee Keeping class offered by the Madison County Beekeepers Association. We had no idea beekeeping was so complex and fragile!
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This weekend, we are attending the Alabama Beekeepers Symposium to supplement what we learned online and to network with other aspiring beekeepers
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We enrolled in the School of Traditional Skills, a comprehensive curriculum of practical homesteading wisdom taught by those who have gone before us and lived to tell about it:)
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We joined the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association at the urging of our friends and neighbors Philip and Jean, to learn about raising cattle and to network with those who do. The monthly dinners are time well-spent.
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Then, there’s our newfound Great Pyrenees/Anatolian Shepherd puppy and the huge learning curve she entails. Overcome by her charm and the “save and buy today” price, we brought her home before we were ready. Maybe that will be a lesson to us…
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We are so thankful the Lord has brought you guys to Wills Valley Community Church. I love seeing people come in that are so ready to jump in and get involved. You two are a blessing to us and I’m so excited about your homestead and the things that you guys are doing. We all can learn from each other! Oh and Ellie Bear is beautiful! 🐾 🐾
She’s adorable!!