How One Shot Changed My Life: The Start of My Sustainable Homestead Journey

Like so many other things, you have to be passionate about this lifestyle to make it work. For me,


raising my own food started as a hobby—something I did in the margins of less fulfilling, better-paying full-time jobs.

My first foray into self-sufficiency began with a backyard garden: a few tomatoes, some basil, peppers, and zucchini. Some years went great, and I had a bumper crop of one thing or another to learn how to preserve. I grew up canning with my mom, so we made plenty of salsa and ketchup one year. I had a chest freezer, so another year I froze enough zucchini to keep Starbucks in bread and muffins for a decade.

I learned as I went. Growing up in Appalachia, frugality was already ingrained. Waste not, want not. We wasted nothing in those days with so many mouths to feed. My mother could stretch food like nobody’s business.

It never really dawned on me that I could harvest my own quality meat until 2014. That year, I was growing peas and carrots in my garden, and I had a persistent problem with deer who showed up every afternoon to nip off all my choicest plants—as though I’d planted just for them.

Well, I decided it was time to protect my investment. One evening, I waited with my .223.

(Disclaimer: A .223 is not the best choice for a deer rifle—especially not in inexperienced hands. Please do your research and be smarter than yours truly.)

I was a good shot and familiar with my rifle, but I had never aimed at a living target before—especially not at 250 yards. But I was determined. I took the shot. It was neither the best nor the worst. I got lucky.

I also scared my neighbors witless. They came out of their house locked and loaded, quickly assessed what had happened, and—being closer to the doe than I was—I gave them the go-ahead to end her suffering quickly. They did.

Then they dropped everything, grabbed halogen lights, dragged the deer back to the old swing set in my yard, and gave me an on-the-spot lesson in how to safely and quickly break down a deer for the freezer.

That was my first experience harvesting my own meat.

Since then, I’ve put a lot of deer and wild turkey in the freezer. I now have the right tools and the confidence to do the job well. But that moment sparked my journey into true sustainability.


From Hobby to Homestead

In 2018, a medical emergency nearly bankrupted us. Self-sufficiency went from hobby to necessity.

Then came the pandemic. I was deeply grateful for my garden, my canning pantry, my small flock of chickens—and my ability to hunt. When supply chains failed, we carried on as usual. That was such a gift.

Since then, we’ve added a covey of quail, some charming Muscovies, and a rabbitry to our homestead. These days, we purchase only about 20% of our meat—mostly pork products and the occasional beef. Our land isn’t suitable for grazing, so large livestock isn’t an option, but the bulk of our diet comes from our rabbits and chickens.


If I Can Do It, So Can You

I hope you’ll join me as I share what I’ve learned on this journey. I started in a rental house on a couple of acres, living paycheck to paycheck. So can you. You don’t have to start big—or pretty. (It’s never pretty if you’re serious!)

We have our own land now, but we still live paycheck to paycheck, like so many others. Knowing I have a stock of healthy food—both preserved and still growing—and knowing how much healing the Earth provides if you know where to look, makes life a lot more comfortable.


What to Expect from This Blog

In these pages, I’ll teach you how to:

  • Forage for wild food and medicine

  • Raise and care for animals like rabbits, quail, ducks, and chickens

  • Preserve your harvest through canning, freezing, and drying

  • Use every scrap to build a life that’s not just about surviving—but thriving

So buckle up, buttercup.
You’re in for a ride.

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