Fertilizer Spikes

 On November 16, 2020... we put fertilizer spikes around the apple trees and pear trees, and also around the persimmon tree and the blueberry bushes. My hope is that the spikes will provide some needed nutrients and give a much needed boost to our orchard. Two of the apple trees and the pear trees were planted probably 3 years ago, but the deer got to them and did a-lot of damage.     

Mowed The Future Homestead Again

 I have accepted the fact that this property is not yet a Homestead. So....I will refer to it as The Future Homestead. Anyway, we mowed the grass on November 9, 2020. I am so thankful that we aren't still contending with bushes and briars at this point. The regular mowing has helped put a stop to them for now. Of course, if we missed mowing for one season, I'm sure the bushes and briars would return and take over. I sure hope we can get enough money together to turn this property into a real Homestead. I am pretty much a hermit, and I enjoy the free-range-life that country living offers.

Worthless Land

 Today there are expensive houses built on land that 100-years ago that house would never been built there, no matter how great the view may be. It's too far from town. It isn’t farmland. With the exception of the timber, such land is worthless. The only reason such land is valuable these days is the automobile made the land valuable.

Automobiles define us by social status, wealth, age, class. Education define us. Social standing is how we are viewed. It’s what we are. Heck, even our expensive cell phones define us, rather they are paid for or not.

These days hardly anyone can believe someone can be happy without a refrigerator and television. In this current culture of convenience, when someone goes off grid people say they’re crazy. Their own close kinfolk will say they're insane, out of their mind.    

There used to be a time in America when people helped each other. If there was a poor family in the community, neighbors would try to help them. Now, in this culture of convenience, the neighbor calls Child Protective Services.  

 

 

Raw Land

This writing is a little late. 

On September 18, 2020, we built an extension fence to place 2 Apple Trees on the Homestead. My plan is to have a small orchard. I sprayed weed/grass killer on the new driveway, on a dirt pile, and in several other areas. 

On October 2, 2020, we mowed the Homestead. The weed/grass killer made weed-eating much less, and easier. 

When we purchased this lot, it was raw land. There was no buildings on the land. Nothing. There still isn't any infrastructure. The land, as it is right now, is almost worthless. There are no resources to build with, no old dug well or cellar hole. I suppose it could be argued that the land is junk land. I know one thing, it will take extensive work to make it marginally productive. 

Mowed The Homestead Again

 I must be getting old. Mowing the Homestead seems to lay me up for a day or two. We mowed Monday (9/14/2020), and I'm still feeling the punch at this writing (9/16/2020. I thank God that I still can mow. 

Mowed The Homestead

 Mowed and weed-eated the Homestead yesterday. The neighbor's cow or cows had broke into our property and cow manure was everywhere. The manure did a nasty job on the mower. Thankful we got it mowed.  

First Mowing After Building The New Driveway

Yesterday (July 29, 2020) we mowed the Homestead for the first time after building the new driveway. We got some work to do, cleaning up the loose gravel. But it sure is nice to finally have a real driveway into the property. Next, I hope to get something to live in. Of course, we still have to fence the property.   

New Driveway

Finally...I can write something about a major finished project on the Homestead. Today I met with the young man who built our new driveway, and I must say they did a swell job. I'm really happy with the job they did. I paid him $1800.00, and I'm sure somebody else probably would've charged me more. It was like a breath of fresh air to be able to actually have a driveway to drive in-to our Homestead. I am happy to have the driveway built and, hopefully the State Road Department will approve the job and leave us with their blessing.    

Building A Drive

It looks like for us to get a driveway built into the Homestead, its going to cost at least $1800.00. I think this amount is expensive for us poor folks, given the fact that the driveway is going to be only 16-feet wide and about 40-feet long. But we can't do anything about it. We're damned if we do, and damned if we don't. I hope and pray God smiles on us after this, cause we need a-lot more stuff. One thing we need is a cabin or some type of a camper for us to live in. We don't have money enough to do anything else right now.

Staying Determined Is Sometimes Challenging

I have had one setback after another. I have felt heartbreak and discouragement. Why? Nothing is going well. One Horse Homestead looks so lonely with nothing happening but mowing. The Homestead offers so much potential, but it isn't happening. Lack of money is one hindrance. My age and declining health is another hindrance. Lack of physical help and labor is another hindrance. Lack of farm machinery to make things happen faster is another hindrance.

If you are reading this and you are a praying person who believes in the power of prayer, please pray for my wife and me. We sincerely want to make good homesteaders, but I believe we will need a miracle for it to happen. 

More Mowing

Mowing the grass is all we are getting accomplished. The garden I'd planned fell by the wayside this year. 

Mowing The Homestead

Thus far all we've been able to do is mow. However, we did plant some blueberry bushes and herbs. Although I call this property One Horse Homestead, it probably doesn't qualify as a homestead just yet. But to me it is a homestead, leastwise in the making. I hope my next post will include more finished projects.