Greetings Rural Sprout Readers,
How was your week? Can you believe it’s October already? We’re quickly headed for a new year.
Cheryl reported her first frost from Romania this week; while here in Pennsylvania, we’ve had some very sticky weather. I have to admit to being a little jealous of Cheryl’s cooler weather as I was hunkered down over a steamy stove cooking up pizza sauce to can earlier in the week.
As I stirred the tomato puree, adding in dried oregano from the garden, I was thinking ahead to the many pizzas our family will enjoy over the next year.
And it’s that pot of pizza sauce that got me thinking about why I live the way I do. Homesteading, in all its shapes and forms, seems to be on the rise.
Over the past decade, maybe even longer, I’ve watched friends and family choose to become more self-sufficient, whether it’s making their own bread or adding a small flock of chickens to their backyard.
And their reasons for doing so are just as varied as how they do it. It’s one of the things I love about homesteading - there is no right or wrong way. But one theme remains consistent – self-sufficiency.
I grew up with my feet in both worlds. My parents were divorced, so I spent my week living what most would consider a normal life, and every other weekend I stayed with my dad on our off-the-grid homestead.
I went from cable TV and instant mashed potatoes to oil lamps and vegetables that I had helped grow.
This unusual childhood often provided me with side-by-side comparisons of modern life and convenience to a simpler life that required more work. Of course, as a teenager, modern life won out, and I was happy to come back to my favorite TV shows, a refrigerator with cold soda and my stereo in my bedroom.
But those weekends at dad’s planted seeds that would take decades to sprout.
As an adult, I found myself increasingly disappointed by what modern convenience had to offer. Specifically when it came to quality.
Storebought bread was good, but homemade was so much better. I could buy a dress that fits alright, sure, but I could make a dress that fits me perfectly with some time and effort. With each passing year, I found I was doing more for myself, making more things from scratch for my family, and choosing quality over convenience.
Stores can provide a one-size-fits-all life, but my two hands can provide what my family and I needed.
For me, self-reliance has always been about the ability to make something far superior to its manufactured counterpart.
I’ve always joked that I'm almost a homesteader, hence the name of my blog. Nah, you can keep your jar of Smuckers strawberry jam, I’ve got half a dozen jars of homemade strawberry balsamic jam in the pantry, and I can pronounce all of the ingredients. But I’ll happily buy a package of English muffins to put my homemade jam on.
And while I don’t see myself ever going back to an off-the-grid lifestyle, I find that those homesteading skills I learned in my childhood and have honed in adulthood continue to serve me well. While these skills are more of a convenience most times, I am grateful that I have them to fall back on in hard times.
As we watch grocery prices rise and see empty space on the shelves in stores, I am even more thankful for my garden and my pantry full of jars and the seeds that I have saved for next year.
And I’m grateful for Rural Sprout and all the people we are helping to learn these same skills through the talented abilities of our team.
How to Grow Thyme From Seed, Cuttings Or Starter Plant
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Learn how to grow thyme using whatever you have available – seeds, cuttings, or a starter plant. This popular culinary herb should be in everyone’s garden.
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8 Easy & Delicious Sourdough Discard Recipes
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Stop discarding sourdough discard and start making delicious things to eat with it, like homemade English muffins, far superior to my storebought ones.
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How To Harvest, Store and Preserve Carrots
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Carrots always strike me as a surprise crop. What’s going on under the soil? Are they ready to harvest yet? Have they grown long, or are they short and stubby? This guide answers your carrot questions.
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32 Brilliant Ways to Reuse Plastic Grocery Bags
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I’ll help you get rid of that huge stash of plastic grocery bags. I’ve got 32 ways to reuse or recycle them.
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That's all for this week, Rural Sprout Readers.
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