Category Archives: Homesteading Lifestyle

Self Sufficiency on a Texas Homestead

A Day At the Homestead

by Texas Homesteader~
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I’m often asked what a typical day looks like when you’re both living and working on a Homestead. Well I can say in all honesty that it’s NEVER boring!  It’s funny how it’s near impossible to plan with certainty what a day in our lives will look like. There are so many variables like weather, cattle illness, fence issues, etc.

But c’mon and tag along today & I’ll show ya what a typical day looks like for us here in our Texas paradise.

Wonder what it's like to live & work on a Texas homestead? Well c'mon down & spend the day with us! #TexasHomesteader

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Teaching Free-Range Chickens To Come HOME

Last year we tried our hand at raising chickens for the very first time.  We bought day-old chicks and raised all that fuzzy cuteness into adult chickens/roosters.  We ended up with four hens and two beautiful roosters but someone STOLE both of our roosters!  Can you even believe that??!

Aaaanyway not wanting to overwinter the hens due to predator issues we sold them last fall. But only after I had preserved many of the excess eggs by freezing  them. 

I used those frozen eggs all winter and about the time my freezer started running low on my supply we decided it was time to raise chickens again this year!

See how we get our new chickens to free range during the day yet come back to the coop each night to be locked securely from predators. #TexasHomesteader

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Evidence Of (Another) Old Homestead

by Texas Homesteader ~ 

We purchased our piece of NE Texas paradise back in 2000. It was in pretty rough shape but I could see its potential and the property itself really spoke to my heart. Once I learned that the crumbling 1880’s barn was part of this property the deal was all but sealed! 

RancherMan & I had the barn’s exterior refurbished, leaving the interior intact. We’ve had ponds, fences & cross fences built, revitalized pastures and spend numerous days clearing these dang Honey Locust trees. (we call them Satan trees, I’m pretty sure that’s where they came from!)  It’s fun to envision the family that must have lived here, and several months ago I wrote about the Evidence Of A Past Homestead.

But in the fall of 2012 we purchased a remote pasture about 10 minutes away from our own homestead to hold our stocker cows. Again, that property was in somewhat of a shambles. But again it held an 1880’s barn, albeit in dire need of repair. RancherMan & I are determined to refurbish this old barn and property the same as we did with our first one. (I’m seeing a pattern here…)

Evidence of an old abandoned homestead. It has an 1880's barn, orchard of jujube trees & is in need of TLC! #TexasHomesteader

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Tips For Using What You’ve Already Got To Save Money & The Environment

by Texas Homesteader ~  

Repurposing things to new life is one of my superpowers. I’m often able to fill a need (quite nicely) using what I already have at home. And you can too!

I’m sharing a whole list of ideas below. Check it out! 

Repurposing what you have to new uses saves money and the environment. #TexasHomesteader

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2013: Top 10 Posts Of The Year From Our Homestead

by Tammy Taylor

I’ve only been blogging regularly since the first of the year but I’ve enjoyed making new friends here – y’all have been awesome!  Now that we’re approaching the end of the year I thought it would be fun to list the top ten most popular posts of our little ole Blog.  These are the posts that are the highest searched and the highest read by you, my much-valued followers.  So without further adieu, I offer you:

2013 Top 10 - Come see the top 10 homesteading posts of the year! #TexasHomesteader

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The Story of Our Texas Homestead Journey – From City Life To Homesteader!

by Texas Homesteader ~ 

Many have asked how we got started in this Homesteading life. Were we born into it? Did we work our way to it later in life? Just how did we get to this Texas Homestead? And why? 

Read on, dear friends.

Many people wonder how we came to be Texas Homesteaders. Here's our story. #TexasHomesteader

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Hope For the Best, Prepare For The Worst

by Texas Homesteader 

The weathermen predicted there would be a winter storm hit our part of Northeast Texas, and they even predicted it would include hazardous ice accumulations in our area.  But you know how weathermen are, they ALWAYS predict it’s going to be disastrous.

My motto is: hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

RancherMan & I spent the days preceding this winter storm making sure the animals were properly cared for. 

We set out fresh rolls of hay in all of the paddocks, even the vacant ones in the event they would be needed. 

And we made sure the goats also had plenty of fresh hay & even packed soft hay into their shelter as well to give them a warm place to sleep. 

We filled a secondary large feed bucket with fresh hay & stored it in the feed shed so we could easily top off the goats’ hay if the wintry weather lasted longer than expected.

Weather caused damage that will have to be cleaned up for YEARS. But we're here & we're safe,warm, fed & sheltered from that wind, and we're TOGETHER. Yep, I'm blessed. #TexasHomesteader
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