Follow along Tara Dodrill and the adventures and challenges she has to face on her 56-acres homestead.
It was another busy month here on our homestead. Summer is commonly thought of as the busiest time, but in reality, those weeks between the end of long sunny days and the falling of leaves is equally filled with necessary chores. We are still getting the rest of our wood in. This shouldn’t be so … Read more
It has been a tragic couple of weeks here on our survival homesteading retreat. We lost our most long-standing and skilled self-reliance tribe member, the last of my ducks, and my favorite chicken. We have not had major predator issues since our first few months on this property. Something, and I am thinking it was … Read more
It was hot, I mean a record-setting heat wave on the homestead this weekend. In spite of the 101 degrees heat and off-the-charts humidity, we accomplished some essential chores, infused some self-reliance training of the grandkiddos in with a play structure project, AND finally welcomed Pearl’s new kids to the barnyard. Pearl has been waddling … Read more
It has been another busy and new experience-filled week here on the homestead, folks. I thought the swarming yellow jackets who deeply disliked their nest under the boards of an old barn we are tearing down and repurposing would be the most exciting part of my week…but I was wrong. Let’s start with the yellow … Read more
Something awesome happened on the homestead this weekend, folks. For Mother’s Day, our daughter surprised me with three Nubian nanny goats, two Rhode Island Red laying hens, and two Silkie roosters! It was a banner Mother’s Day indeed. After we bought out homestead and I was finally able to begin stocking the barnyard – after … Read more
We had 48 straight hours of no rain on our homestead this weekend! We made great use of all the dry daylight hours we could to get some spring maintenance and upgrading projects going once again. But our weekend was not filled entirely with sweaty homestead chores. Nope, we worked in some self-reliance skills training … Read more
Well, my fellow homesteaders, we had quite an unusual and interesting weekend here on Serendipity Acres. Some many things happened I barely know where to begin. Let’s start with the comedy relief, every hard-working homesteaders surely deserves a chuckle after a long hard week toiling away on the land – na On Friday evening I … Read more
Knowing how to deal with puncture wounds after an attack by either a domestic or wild predator will play an essential role in saving your animal. Both my husband and I have had extensive first aid training and practice; I highly recommend learning both human and livestock first aid to every homesteading family. Accidents and … Read more
I am relieved and thrilled to report that Pearl seems to be on the mend. She is not out of the woods yet after being the victim of a dog attack, but is a whole lot better. Two days ago, Pearl bolted out of her stall when my husband and I opened the door to … Read more
It has been a very busy week on the homestead…again. We have been incredibly productive, but while averting one tragedy, another happened. As NLOAH readers already know, we have been living in a mud bug created by an unusually harsh winter with a mountain of snow and flooding to contend with. We seem to keep … Read more
Our homestead was bustling this weekend. The weather finally broke and we could all move about on the roads and take care of outdoor chores far more easily. We were flooded in on Thursday, shivered through both rain and snow on Friday, and then a big snow and ice storm that caused Level 2 emergency … Read more
Today on the homestead I finally threw up my hands over the wayward chicken flock. I am DONE trying to get them to go back and live in the coop. Apparently the taste of freedom free-ranging from dawn until dusk gave them prompted the revolt that caused the flock to take up residence in the … Read more
It has been a combination of a very exciting and a very frustrating week here on the homestead. The weather keeps fluctuating between spring storms (and mud) and then winter rears its ugly head and we get two to four inches of snow – that turns the ground into a skating rink. A big snow … Read more
Hello fellow homesteaders, The mystery about what exactly happened to Flock Leader Jr. just took another strange twist. The wretched arctic chill finally evaporated here in my part of Appalachia. The ice and snow-covered ground rapidly turned our land into a mud bog, but at least we not longer had to pack water and crack … Read more
It was a fabulous weekend on the homestead this week folks! Not only did I get three volunteers (or “volunteered”) loved ones helping me scrap and de-fur a cow hide, but a quartet of guineas arrived on the homestead! Guinea Carol was overjoyed – and vocal about the new arrivals, to say the least. Photo … Read more
Hello, fellow homesteaders! Today was an odd day on the homestead. Morning feed time made me feel more like I was on a backstage tour of the circus instead of my very own barnyard. We will get a sad bit of news out of the way first. Flock Leader Jr. appears to have lost his … Read more