Category Archives: Homesteading Lifestyle

Self Sufficiency on a Texas Homestead

Self Employment Benefits and Risks

by Texas Homesteader 

Working for yourself requires a special dynamic.  You must wear all hats – Public Relations Manager, Information Technology Director, CEO and CFO. And your paycheck doesn’t come at all unless you do your job well, even with circumstances that are beyond your control.

Last year we purchased our stocker calves the same as we do each year. We brought those calves home and gave them their health workup and immunizations. We poured them for parasites and castrated and dehorned where needed. Then we put those calves out on the most lush green winter pasture we had ever had. They were calm and happy, and they grew fat off of our careful attention to detail.

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Can You Sell Animals You’ve Raised?

by Texas Homesteader 

In November 2010, RancherMan became a certified A.I. technician. Our plan was to sell our registered black Angus bull and start producing our calves using A.I. instead. In April 2011 we began to A.I. our registered Hereford cows. That cow bred with her first A.I. The result was our very first A.I. calf. How exciting!

It's not hard for us to sell animals we've raised. It's a source of pride for us to raise quality, calm animals and we know we've given them a great life! #TexasHomesteader

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Wild Cow! Staying Safe On The Ranch

by RancherMan

We’ve all heard this at one time or another. Maybe at the vet, maybe at the auction or even while helping a friend work some new cattle. Wild cow!

No matter how hard you try or how carefully you watch them come through the ring, once in a while you end up with one. And once you get them home it doesn’t take long to figure out that this cow is going to be trouble.

Wild cow wrangled with help of hired cowboys. #TexasHomesteader

Professional Cattle handlers wrangling a wild cow for us

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Tour Of Our 1880’s Barn, Part I

by Texas Homesteader ~ 

I love our old barn. As a matter of fact it’s the main reason we decided this was the place RancherMan & I wanted to settle in and start our new Homesteading life.

We looked at many pieces of property. And there were beautiful places for sale that’s for sure.

But as RancherMan & I stood there at the cobbled-together gate and gazed over the overgrown and neglected landscape, we envisioned how wonderful our lives could be living here.

And then I saw that old barn. That old, tattered barn. And I fell in love with it. We had a contractor repair the warn & missing skin in sections of the barn. But we asked him to leave the inside – the gorgeous original barn building’s inside – completely intact.

Many people have asked about the beautiful old barn so c’mon in – join me for a tour!

D'ya ever wonder what it looks like inside an 1880's barn? Well come along with me for a tour of the inside! #TexasHomesteader

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Making New Friends

by Texas Homesteader 

We raise registered Hereford cows as our primary ranch mission. But we also have stocker cows/calves that we keep on a shorter-term basis to make proper use of our pasture grass excesses. We feel good about the fact that the stockers that come here are treated kindly and are allowed to just be cows – grazing under that blue Texas sky and interacting daily with us and all their cow friends. Our clients have said they appreciate the benefits of a calm animal that’s been treated with kindness and respect. We think it’s just the right thing to do.

We raise registered Hereford cattle but we also raise stocker cattle each year to balance out our pasture grass. #TexasHomesteader

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What’s Making Me Smile These Days

by Texas Homesteader 

Life on the ranch is always busy.  I’ve written before about how pointless it is to wonder what’s on the agenda today, the day has a way of filling up all by itself!  When I was employed in the corporate world I used to get frustrated that my days seemed to blur together. I was being pulled in so many directions that I couldn’t enjoy any of it.

At that time I started making a conscious effort to stop and smell the roses.  Funny that even if you live in the most beautiful place on earth doing something for a living that speaks to your heart and soul, you still have to make a purposeful effort to slow-er-down sometimes and enjoy life around you.  Here are some things making me smile:

I love the subtle hints of spring I’m seeing now.  After the long cold season, that first burst of life from the trees is something I look forward to every year.  And it’s really hard to beat those blazing blue Texas skies!

Old barn. Times are tough for me with a frightening cancer diagnosis. But there's still much I see around me every day that makes me smile. #TexasHomesteader

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