Some days I just don’t want to do it anymore …..
I want to escape. Have you ever felt like leaving it all behind? When I get in this particular funk my go-to daydream is to escape to the country. I call this my homestead pipe dream. Sell our suburban home and by a 100-acre homestead. To live on the land with more space than I know what to do with and a healthy distance from the rest of society…… And to the local real estate web site I go to scour all the rural properties.
I often wonder how much money I would really need to achieve this dream. Would it actually be fulfilling? Would you even like it? I am a long time reader of Frugalwoods a blog about a couple who leave their jobs in Boston and moves to rural Vermont to start their homestead adventure. Recently I have started watching youtube channels on people who have done the same thing, in particular, the Hollar Homestead. I’m also devouring all the books I can get my hands on by Joe Salatin, a farmer in Virginia who is completely changing the perception of farming.
It’s a fun fantasy to play out in my head. The clear blue sky, the gentle breeze rustling the grass over the rolling hills. The hiking trails that I have built through the massive woods that surround the property. Listening to the babbling brook as I lean back against an old cedar fence and enjoy a good book.
Back to reality
Anyone who has actually worked on a homestead is probably laughing hysterically now. Obviously my fantasy of homestead life is incredibly romanticized, it’s all of the good without any of the work or the rain for that matter. As far as I can tell, in reality, the homestead to-do list is never done and sitting down in the sun to read a book is an unlikely occurrence during the busy summer months. It appears I would like to live the English lord kind off homestead life. You know like something straight out of Downtown Abby, not sure you can call Highclere castle a homestead but you get the picture.
It’s fun to have these kinds of dreams as long as you realize that they aren’t rooted in reality. But like so many things when you analyze the fantasy you gain some perspective. Currently, I live on a ¼ acre subdivision lot. I have a modest vegetable and flower garden that I enjoy tending. I would love to expand these gardens and most spring’s you can find me making big plans. However, I almost always run out of time or downsize my expansion plans to meet with my very real-time constraints. This is just the reality for the season of my life. Young kids a busy work life a side business and this blog. Some day I will have lots of time to dither in the garden and enjoy the fruits of my labour. But for now, I can find some joy in my min homestead because in reality that is what fits in my life right now.
Will I ever achieve my homestead pipe dream of owning a 100-acre homestead, probably not but a lovely 10-acre property that seems reasonable someday.
Happy Dreaming.