There are tons of instructions all over the web, on Pinterest in particular, about how to make your own hummingbird feeder. Personally, for something like that, I didn’t think it was worth the effort, and I refuse to use plastic if at all possible in our homestead. At our homestead, named the Sanctuary, I believe…
Internet Providers and the Homesteader: What You Should Know Before You Sign
Most of us who are homesteaders know the value of having a reliable internet connection. Many of us get the luxury of being able to work from home for employers in urban areas nearby or even in the woods or in the country. Many of us m write blogs or books or upload instructional videos…
Homesteading Things to Do While Waiting For Spring
It’s been a few weeks since I last posted. There’s been so much to do for clients and here at the homestead in recent days that inevitably, I’ve lost track of time. Still….that’s no excuse. Today we are waiting for another late in the season snowstorm. Unlike the one of the last storms where we…
Finding & Using the Perfect Wood Burning Cook Stove
Sooner or later, nearly every homesteader thinks about the possibility of heating and/or cooking with wood. It is certainly more labor intensive than what most modern houses have for heat and cooking. There is nothing in the world quite like the ambient heat coming off a wood stove in wintertime, or the smell of freshly…
Snowbound Contemplations
The last week has presented a bit of a challenge with a late-season snow and ice storm. Thankfully, we haven’t lost power yesterday or today, so I have the ability to keep working without any noticible downtime. Other friends to the East are not so lucky. My friend Jaye, has been without power and internet…
It’s Getting to Be That Time Again: Scores of Seed Catalogs to Get You Thinking About Spring!
I don’t know about you, but seeing the sunshine peek out of the clouds and steadily rising temperatures makes me itchy to start seeds for the garden. I have been pouring over the latest seed catalogs that have arrived in my poor, winter locked mailbox and been drawing up the plans for it. Few things…
Homesteading Resources to Help You Get Started Wherever You Are – RIGHT NOW!
So…..Do you like my SEO-friendly, click-tastic title there? Nah. Me neither. Personally, I don’t have much use for hyping up a blog or webpage, and that may very well end up being my undoing. The truth of the matter is, my goal is to give readers the kind of information that they can use to…
A Log Cabin in the Enchanted Forest
For more than 20 years our family has lived in a log cabin in the Wapsipinicon River Valley. Our small acreage overlooks Buffalo Creek and our neighbors are mostly wildlife and the beautiful woodlands that provide shelter for them. Back when we started, there were few neighbors with most of the large parcels being being…
Starting Out: Herbalism
Several years ago, I put this information on Ezine articles and also on my blog at fannyfae.com. Since starting this blog, I felt it important to update a bit of the information – and tailor to fit this blog’s specific focus. Herbalism was probably the biggest influencer for me to get into the whole mindset…
New Domain Name, New Beginning
Welcome to Real World Homesteading! For those of you who follow my other blogs, I realize that it’s been a long time since I updated. The New Year has given me a whole new level of enthusiasm and ideas and I am hoping to share what I know and gather some of the best links…
Winter & Holiday Inspirations
The cold has set in much earlier than expected this year. But the sound of hammering and sawing and the prospect of all new and energy efficient replacement windows and ceiling fans being installed earlier this month has given this old cabin a new lease on life. My own projects have been following a similar…
Digging Out
These past few weeks have been rather insane for me. In the final bits of getting the house refinanced, had loggers come in and harvest the trees that we had arranged for early this past spring. I have cleaned like a fiend for the appraiser, had 2.5 times the amount of new client articles dumped…
