Dreaming Out Loud

So, my big dream is to be able to have my self-sufficient homestead. While having that, I want my kids to have every advantage of modern life. I don't want it to be huge, but I want to be able to expand.

I'm thinking:

10+ acres, most likely in Washington State.

A house (duh)

A barn ('nother duh)

Garden areas (multiple)

Pasture

Smokehouse

Underground cellar

Orchard

Poultry 'out' houses (separate from barn).

I want each type of animal to have its place. I also want to focus on heritage breeds that are dying out. (Which is why I turned to albc-usa.org.

With cattle, I was leaning towards Dexters, as they are gentle, small, and multi-purpose. However, they are recovering at an insane pace and are hugely popular now, so I have been researching other cattle breeds. Right now I am leaning towards Kerry cattle, or Milking Devon cattle.

With horses I have my passion-- which is Shires, but I also have a passion for the English Pony breeds. Dartmoors or Exmoors are a thought. However, if I can only do one breed-- Shires are critical endangered. And they are my favorite horse breed. Ever.

With pigs, I have a total obsession with Gloucestershire Old Spots pigs. They are amazing, with big old ears. They remind me of the illustration from Charlotte's Web, when they are at the fair and meet the HUGE hog they are competing against.

I would like to do some sheep, and my current interest is in the Leicester Longwool.

I want to have a variety of chickens, like the American Buckeye, and the Russion Orloff...

Ducks, I haven't decided yet.

Geese, I am between Pilgrim and American Buff.

Turkeys, I want the Jersey Buff.

Curious about what any of these are? Check out albc-usa.org.

Focus

Right now I am just very focused on having an income myself, so that if anything happens and I am suddenly on my own with three boys I can support myself from home.

I won't pretend it's not challenging. It really is. I TRULY believe in the company, though, and that makes me realize that it's a good match for me.

The only way I'm going to be able to live my dreams is if I create them myself. Under what circumstances I live that dream, I don't know, but I will get there and I will work as hard as I can to get there.

Right now I am assisting non-profits with getting fundraising started. I like the program, because they get to sign up for free, they get all of the money, and I get pv (points) for introducing them to the company. I also get to pick and choose for causes I like, so that's a nice thing.

Things have been all over the place lately and it's really hard not to get discouraged. I just keep truckin' along and, hopefully, there will be some kind of destination that I can live with.