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The Homesteading Process & Managing Abundance w/ Pierced Hearts Homestead
300 Plays6 months ago
Mathew interviewed Ken and Jennifer Zalewski of Pierced Hearts Homestead. They had a great conversation about starting a homestead including some good information about starting out. Be sure to check out Pierced Hearts Homestead at https://piercedheartshomestead.com/.
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Are you looking to order garlic for your homestead this year? At Little Way Farm and Homestead we sell a hardneck variety of garlic known as "Music." You can find availability and shipping information at our website - littlewayhomestead.com.
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Transcript
Introduction to Little Way Farm and Homestead
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Little Way Farm and Homestead Podcast. Little Way Farm and Homestead is a regenerative and educational farm in southeastern Indiana. Motivated by the Catholic faith, we strive to inspire, encourage, and support the development of homesteads and small-scale farms in faith and virtue. I'm Matthew. And I'm Carissa. We're excited for you to join us on the podcast.
Starting a Homestead: Tips from the Zaleskis
00:00:24
Speaker
On this episode, Matthew met with close family friends, the Zaleskis. This episode was recorded in the springtime just a few months ago. This was a great episode where we hear about starting a homestead, including good points to consider when getting started. I particularly enjoyed some of the practical tips that could be helpful, managing abundance, avoiding debt, and more.
Expansion and Community Support
00:00:44
Speaker
If you're interested in connecting with the Zaleskis, you can see the link to their website in the show notes. We are also ecstatic to share that Little Way Farm and Homestead continues to grow. We are beyond thankful for the support and encouragement we have received from so many of you as we work to not only help bring these conversations to you, but also to encourage and inspire others to begin homesteading.
00:01:07
Speaker
One of our main enterprises at the farm is the production of garlic. This year we are beginning to ship across the United States. If you are looking to purchase garlic this year for your homestead, please consider purchasing from us here at Little Way Farm and Homestead.
Interview with Pierced Hearts Homestead
00:01:21
Speaker
Check out the website to order today.
00:01:34
Speaker
Well, welcome to the little wave farm and homestead podcast. Really appreciate you both being here today and happy to learn a bit more about pierced hearts homestead. Thank you very much. Thanks for having us. You're glad to be here. Well, I want to get started. Maybe just you could provide a bit of background as to for, for listeners, what does the homestead look like right
Exploring the Zaleski's 18-acre Homestead
00:01:53
Speaker
now? What are you guys working with? What are the enterprises on the farm? Just set the scenery for maybe where you are and what you're doing. Well, we have an 18-acre farm in ah Rising Sun, Indiana, so in the southeastern part of the state near Cincinnati, Ohio. ah Currently, we have three milk cows. ah One is in milk.
00:02:15
Speaker
we've got We raised three hogs this year. we had Last year, we did 90 meat chickens. ah We've got 20 egg layers. We've had up to about 13 sheep. It herds down a little bit this year because we butchered some and sold some. And I think that's part we've got a couple goats too. So we've got a little bit of everything that people typically do on the homestead. the Okay, so initial impressions, I think this is kind of a more fun thing for people to start considering because everybody gets super interested in building it all out right away. But if you had to pick one just to get started, Ken, what's your favorite animal on the farm and Jennifer, what's your favorite?
00:02:57
Speaker
Well, I'll start. I think ah i think if you were going to start, i think I think gardening and chickens go really well together. it's it's It's a way to get started without a lot of capital investment or a lot of land required. And there's a good symbiotic relationship between the garden and the chickens. I'm going to come at it from a different angle because I'm a girl and I just like cute animals. so We really love the ducks. I mean, they're just so entertaining and they're so cute. And um also, I mean, the cows are beautiful and they're easy to love on. Well, for people who do not own ducks, are they as messy as we are told that they are?
From Suburbia to Homesteading: The Zaleski Journey
00:03:40
Speaker
Yes, 100% they are. They're disgusting. But once you get them outdoors, they're fine, obviously. Yeah, if you haven't been a brooder inside your house, you're going to regret it.
00:03:51
Speaker
It sounds like it's personal experience that you're you're coming at back from ah see yeah yeah i want do that Well, one thing that's interesting and about you all is ah I know from talking with you that you started homesteading a little bit later in life and further along in your marriage. And I want to ask maybe about the early ah years in marriage and how that contrasted with living on a homestead. What did that life look like? um you know Was it a typical you know suburban type of lifestyle that many people aspire for in a modern world? Or was it a little bit different than that? And what did the progression look like to getting to a homestead?
00:04:30
Speaker
Well, I think we started out, my wife grew up on a farm. Her father was a commercial farmer for a while, but he stopped doing that when she was younger and he was a, what did it be, a was a carpentry union carpenter and his, her mom was a pharmacist. um And I lived in, I lived, i lived in a typical I grew up in a typical suburban neighborhood, so I had no experience with farming whatsoever. And when we first married, we lived in Washington, D.C., not far from the U.S. Capitol. So it was a completely urban environment. And then shortly after that, after we had kids, we moved back to Delaware, where she grew up, near her family farm.
00:05:18
Speaker
that was kind of my first experience with country living so to speak you know we had a one acre lot we did have a garden um and it was obviously a completely different environment than living living in the city or the suburbs so it kind of got my interest but we only stayed there for a little while ah because of different job pressures and we ended up um living in Maryland for a while where I grew up and then eventually we moved out to Cincinnati for a job. um But we we ended up living in northern Kentucky in and so in a suburb that's a little bit rural or a little bit semi-rural it wasn't super super developed as a lot of places
00:05:56
Speaker
And I think you know we would take Sunday drives or just drive around with the kids. and There was a lot of ah pretty areas nearby. There were lots of farms within a short distance. And I think there just was this interest in starting to think about what would it like to be to live out on a farm.
Transitioning and Balancing Family Life on the Homestead
00:06:13
Speaker
And we started doing some doing gardening. In our in our in our backyard. I think people say that's a gateway drug to homesteading and I think that's that's very active You know, we we started off with one or two beds then we had four beds then we had six beds. They were planning Everything, you know in the mulch around the house and we we couldn't get chickens where we live just because of ah the regulations and the laws and Then once the pandemic hit then we we we felt a certain urgency to get out and get away further away from the city
00:06:46
Speaker
Yeah, I started when I was I think right after college, you know, when I when we lived in or before I even knew you. um I was doing stuff like planting vegetables in my front yard of our the apartment house that I was living in and stuff like that. So I started pretty young, but I think that um growing up, I ah kind of lived on a homestead without really realizing it in a lot of ways where my mom did a lot of canning. We had an enormous garden, you know, a quarter acre garden. We had lots of fruit trees in our little orchard area, but we also, my dad was a commercial farmer, so he we had ah dairy cattle, we had beef cattle,
00:07:29
Speaker
we had you know your typical corn and soybean crops. I grew up on a 375 acre farm. so But but you know we did a lot of that um typical homestead stuff, like I said, but the canning, and the gardening, the fruit, um you know eating the food that we grew, stocking our freezer with our own meat, things like that. So I had always had an interest in that. I was in 4-H as a child and I was always very domestically oriented. So I just had an interest in those types of things.
00:08:00
Speaker
So I think that experience has been really valuable. ah you know as we've A lot of those skills she already had, plus I think one of the things that people always recommend for people who are not doing anything related to homesteading but want to is learning to cook from scratch ah because it's one of the most essential skills and there's a lot to learn. ah So she had a lot of those skills. She already knew a lot of those things from from being a kid.
Avoiding Debt and Managing Finances
00:08:28
Speaker
Yeah, it's really interesting because right now a lot of people are likely seeking out the idea of home setting or beginning to do it or looking for a way to start it, but they likely don't have any background at all or very minimal background.
00:08:43
Speaker
How does having that background affect how you come back to homesteading today? As in, we hear from people who are getting into it because they want to get into it. You know, they may have a vision for what it's going to look like, but we don't always hear from people who did live it as a child or grow up in it, and then maybe not live that way for a while. And now we're coming back to it. What's that transition look like? Or what what did that experience look like for you, Jennifer? Well, I mean, it was pretty comfortable. And like Ken said, I've always cooked a lot. I started cooking when I was really young. My mom went back to work. And so I did have to pitch in around the house and do a lot of cooking and cleaning and things like that. So um I was pretty comfortable with those types of things. It was something that I was always interested in. And I really do think that the cooking was what drove me. I was always looking for
00:09:38
Speaker
um Better ingredients better meat better produce things like that. So naturally I would look towards Farmers markets or like I said growing my own things like that contacting farmers trying to get me So when we had the opportunity to do this, you know, we were we were pretty much ready to jump all in in that respect um so it and I mean um
00:10:08
Speaker
it It was just a very familiar thing for me. So it wasn't to it wasn't a lot of having to overcome new skills. It was just brushing up on skills. Yeah. I'd almost imagine it's probably like, you know, the old saying of ah remembering how to get on a bike. Once you know it, you can always kind of jump back into it. It's probably something similar to that. Yes, for sure. So what ah in the very beginning then, you all are, you know, before you both decided to start homesteading together and build out a homestead for your family and a farm, what does that transition look like? Because a lot of people are going to start to feel that more and more, I suspect, even this year, as they begin to look for land and they're figuring it thinking, you know, what things do I need to look for on land?
00:10:54
Speaker
um What do I need to do in the beginning? you know What advice or recommendations from your experiences that you would offer someone for when they're first starting? Here's a blueprint or here's some good information you should know. Well, I think the number one thing is avoiding debt as much as you can. you know and Because what you'll find is that if you're working a job and you are trying to homestead, there's always going to be a limitation of time. um But there's also going to be expense. there's I think
Managing Abundance and Setting Expectations
00:11:26
Speaker
anyone who starts up a farm is going to tell you about the startup expenses, whether it's purchasing livestock, fencing, tools, equipment.
00:11:36
Speaker
There's just so much. There's so many different there's so many different things. So the being being on top of your financial game is really important, knowing how to manage your money. And when you're purchasing something, um if you come out and you're successful at homesteading, you want to just like starting the the chickens or the the the guard is a gateway to wanting to be a homesteader once you get the farm then you're going to you're going to want to do it all the time or you're not you're going to want to get out of that full-time job frequently so you need to if and we haven't quite we have not gotten to that point yet but i think
00:12:12
Speaker
that you want to If you can keep your overhead in your and you're financing in order, that's that's going to be a big help because it's it's it's easy to come out and just blow through money. and then you just in then when you If you add financial pressure to all the other new things you're learning, um I think a lot of people that we've we've seen or talked to, they're they're under a lot of pressure because they haven't managed the money part well.
00:12:38
Speaker
What do you think, you know aside from, I imagine a lot of people are looking at a mortgage potentially or some other way of affording land, you know what what thoughts do you have for someone starting out today and thinking, how do I afford this? Or is that even the right mentality is is saying asking the question, how do I afford this? Is that the right place to start? Well, yeah, I think i think you know if if i was going to if I was a young person, especially in starting out, yeah I think if you if you you don't necessarily have to buy all the land, um I think it would be a good idea to have a few acres, you know three or five acres, so you could get some experience, like maybe have a milk aisle, have a few sheep, raise your chickens, start gardening. Because I think there's a ah core set of skills that you need to learn.
00:13:24
Speaker
I mean, you know, if you want to add firewood or if you want to add um some basic construction skills, you know, all these type of things. And then, of course, there's the domestic aspect, too. But you there's options to rent land um that I think is an attractive possibility for someone who doesn't have the means to afford it. um And there's and i think you know I think it's nice to purchase as much land as you can afford, um but you really have to balance that with what kind of house do you want to live. I think if you can take a frugal approach to the house, um you'll be able to sort of escape that corporate way of life sooner and faster.
00:14:04
Speaker
um but that but that But once you learn the skills on how to how to raise a particular animal, how to do the fencing, there's a lot of lot of older people out in the country who have land they're not doing anything with. And if you have the confidence in skills, then you can possibly go out and start to take advantage of that. And there's there's quite a few people on YouTube who advocate that approach. I think that's a big one right now is setting the right expectation or even beginning with what that looks like. It's extremely easy. And I think it's a temptation of some sorts to rush the homestead build out on day one as in everything, every animal, all everything out there from the very beginning.
00:14:46
Speaker
And I think that that's a part of the financial challenge that people experience is they start with this mentality in mind that we're moving out to land or we figured out a way to buy land or lease land or however they're going to get to the land, they figure that portion out. But then that next step is, okay, now we're going to go and buy every animal that we possibly can we're going to build the chickens with the nicest coop, we're gonna bring out the dairy cow, we're gonna plant some grain, we're gonna build the big garden, all these different things, which then means that they need to buy new tools or new machinery that they didn't have at their last house because it wasn't, it just wasn't necessary for them wherever they lived. And all they see is money going out everywhere. And then they realize, hey, it takes like four or five months for that chicken to even start laying an egg.
00:15:30
Speaker
And then I went out to the coop and they broke them all the next day. And all these things just start to kind of pile up and it can be really discouraging for people. Yeah, I think so. and I think I think what we've learned. ah I was listening to Justin Rhodes, who a lot of people who have listened to this would probably know. And he was saying, you know, you go out to the homestead for the dream, but you better learn to love the struggle. um And I think there's a struggle, but there's a, it's said it's really all about process. And I think that that's what you have to, you have to learn to love that process of figuring out how to do things efficiently, well and affordably. And there's all, I know you had the dorities on and there's other people who talk about, you know, how to feed your animals without using commercial feed and how to, you know, especially if you're working another job, doing things efficiently is important so you don't run into burnout.
00:16:24
Speaker
So, you know, figuring out your processes is really important. And um if you start slowly, I think you can you can I think you can figure that out better. I think we may have gone a little fast to start off. And then you've got all these new things that you don't know the end. You've started the process, but you haven't gotten to the end zone. So you're you're you're kind of waiting on a journey that you don't know what the end looks like. And so you don't know if you know I think having that full cycle where you go through the process end to end, understand it, and then reflect on it, and then try to make it more efficient.
Creating Efficient Processes and Learning from the Past
00:16:59
Speaker
And then adding another enterprise is probably what a lot of people advise. So that way you've got one process that's working well, that that you've got the finances and the efficiencies figured out, and then you add something after that. But it takes patience, because everybody wants to get started. We were the same way. We wanted to get started.
00:17:16
Speaker
Oh, let's get this. Let's get this. Let's get that. And that's where you can get yourself into some that. So I'm speaking from experience with the with the little little too much too many dollars going out the door all at once. You don't realize how quickly it's going to go. And that's the that's the advice that we hope we can impart to others. Well, and then there's not just the, you know, how do you balance, you know, the financial side of it and then the actual, you know, running of the homestead, but then how do you use all of these materials and how does it make it worthwhile? and That's a lesson that we are hoping to address this year specifically is how do we be better stewards inside the home of actually using all the products that we have helped to cultivate across the farm from produce to eggs, to milk, to grains, to meat. ever How do we make sure
00:18:07
Speaker
it doesn't go to waste and it actually gets used. That transition I think is actually just as difficult if not even a bit more difficult because it requires a certain degree of discipline inside the home often ah that is almost neglected in these conversations. yeah oh Absolutely. We 100% agree with that. I think, you know, when we first did the garden, you know, when we were back in the suburbs, we had, like I said, three or four, maybe six garden beds. And now we've got 24.
00:18:40
Speaker
I mean, so that's a lot more that's a lot more stuff coming in. So I'm going outside. Oh, look, I've got you know two bushels of green beans. And my wife said, I don't have time for this the first year. So we really had to, as we went second and third year, you're thinking, OK, how do we we really have to you have to build that processing time into everything? And then with the butchering this year, um we didn't really start butchering until January. And you realize, you know, even here in Indiana, we were thought we would have had more cold weather. So you you have to be, you have to be prepared to do the butchering when the weather is ready. And you you know, we got sick, we missed a couple of opportunities. And so now you're scuffling and I wish we'd, which we'd started back in November. One of the things I think this comes up for often with people is just the sheer abundance that comes from a well-run homestead. and Well, frankly,
00:19:36
Speaker
I think in many instances, it actually doesn't really even need to be, quote, well run. And what I mean by that is, you know, ordered, planned out, thought for, e etc. You plant a tomato plant that's indeterminate, you're getting tomatoes constantly. I mean, they're gonna, they're just gonna keep coming until you either pull that plant out of the ground or the winter kills it off. And if you don't go out there and pick them, and they start falling on the ground. Next thing you know, you're running a tomato farm ah pretty quickly. But another place that this comes up, and I think it becomes more apparent for people, is actually with dairy. Because people will try to find a dairy cow that produces a lot of milk. You know, it's one of those things people will ask, you know, how many gallons of milk does this animal produce per day? Or how many can I expect? And then they realize, well, three, four, five gallons of milk a day is a little bit different than buying one gallon of milk from the store for the family for the week.
00:20:27
Speaker
What maybe lessons around, you know, actually bringing those resources in, in the house, how do you handle them? I mean, if we take milk as an example, how do you handle that much milk coming in at any given day? Yeah, it's pretty intimidating really because it starts out, you think, okay, well, four or five gallons times five days, boy, that's a lot of milk, but then it's times, you know, week after week after week. I mean, it really isn't just like, okay, I've got 15 gallons of milk to deal with this week. I've got 15 gallons of milk to deal with every week. And so it does put a lot of pressure on me to deal with that.
00:21:06
Speaker
Um, we are dipping our toes into cheese making. We are making our own yogurt. We're taking a lot of the, um, extra milk and the way and other byproducts and feeding them to the animals. So you do have to get creative with some of this and, um, and also really hone in on what your family is going to use. I mean, there's no point in me making something that we're not going to eat, you know, right now. ah We're in a bit of a lull in terms of eating yogurt, so we're going to have to figure out something else. or you know you You make cheese, you may um use four gallons of milk to make a wheel of cheese. Well, how many wheels of cheese do you think that you can possibly eat during the course of a year? Plus, you have to wait X number of months before that cheese is ready. so it's still There's a lot of planning to it.
00:21:58
Speaker
and a lot of creativity, but really thinking about what your family is going to actually enjoy and use. I mean, it's the same thing with the animals. um you know we We try to use all the parts of the animals, but you know if your family is not used to eating, um say the lamb liver, I mean, you're going to have to dip your toes into that lightly and try a couple of different things before we settle on something. So trying to look up different recipes before you start butchering. And that's just one more thing to add to the plate as you are thinking about that. Like, okay, well, if we're butchering an animal this week,
00:22:37
Speaker
um That means right away we're going to need to do something with those organs or the awful that comes out of it. And don't plan a meal for that night because you're going to need to cook that liver or those kidneys or something and cook it in a way that's palatable that the family is going to enjoy. so Right right cuz that's that's another part you have if you don't prepare to use the internal organs which you may not be familiar with those are just gonna end up this pig feed which is fine or chicken feed but you know this that's why I say it's homesteading is all about the process and I'm not really a ah process I'm a more creative type
00:23:16
Speaker
um I'm not a process
Discipline and Family Dynamics Through Homesteading
00:23:18
Speaker
person, but I'm becoming one because you have to be it's all about planning coordination and You know, that's that process that you you have to you have to get into because there's no other way To manage all the abundance without a good process What's on you all's radar then, you know, having this mindset about processing and planting or planning and what that might look like based off last year's experiences or others. What does it look like to prepare the homestead for the year?
00:23:49
Speaker
Well, I think, I mean, there's two aspects. Obviously, this is the gardening. So we're we're trying to, you know, we're looking at getting our seeds started right now. That's a big part of saving money because if you go out and buy all your plants, gardening can get very expensive. so And that's a whole process in itself of with the lights and when to start. And you have you have to get started quite early. We've been preparing the garden ah with leaves and manure for the past couple of months. ah Manure from the cow and leaves from the city. I was called the city building They've got a big collection of leaves we can get so that's great compost for your garden So you you really never done with the garden the gardens happening all year. You're either preparing the gardens um or you were
00:24:33
Speaker
or you're or you're working and we're going to add a second big garden this year. So we have to make sure the tiller is working and we're thinking about how we can, supplement you know, it's a lot bigger space, how we can supplement the soil in addition to the cover crop that we did. And then for rotating the animals, we've always struggled with keeping up with the grass in the spring. So, you know, while we're not going to mow, the animals will get to it and then it gets too long that they don't like it, especially the sheep. The sheep tend to like the grass and the six to nine inches. So if it starts to get a foot high, they really they just don't care for it. And so that's a whole process, too, is just ah trying to you know plan on where the animals are going to be and and and to try to get a good start and try to keep up with it and mowing when appropriate before it gets too long.
00:25:23
Speaker
It's just you have to just try it before you know that Do you have to think about what you're planning to use early like early enough in the year that then you are Well, let me rephrase Yeah, I'm starting to think all the way out to August September October November almost in the same year You know right now we're finishing up burning wood for the year we heat almost exclusively off heat actually exclusively off heat right now in the house and We're already thinking, while we're putting more wood in the fireplace or in the stove, it's time to start collecting wood for this next year and start cutting it up. And it almost, it definitely builds a rhythm into life and in the homestead that I think is very attractive and very beneficial, not just for living in the world, but even for the soul.
00:26:10
Speaker
And I'm just curious, you know as a fully functioning homestead and farm you all sells, what do you look forward to in the year? what's What's on the radar this year and what are you preparing now that could be harvested late in the year? Not just the gardens or meat, but whatever it might be. Well, I'm kind of thinking as we are planning some of the gardens and the seeds, what would be a better choice for a spring planting versus a fall planting? So if I wanted to say storage carrots, I'm not going to plant a heavy load of carrots in the spring and more weight to do a fall.
00:26:49
Speaker
I'm not planting with that so that they will last me longer. Whatever I plant in the spring will just, you know, carry us through the summer, but we have such an abundance of other produce that okay we're not just not going to eat a lot of carrots in the spring. So, it it does come down to thinking about what you're going to cook to I mean it. um that rhythm does need to encompass all things, not just um what animals you're going to move or what you're going to raise or things like that, but ah how you're going to use those things. um The one thing this year was normally we get a little bit of a breather over the winter where, hey, the garden's been put to rest,
00:27:27
Speaker
um The animals are pretty static and maybe we keep them in one area or it's a ah simpler process. You're not having to worry about the grass and moving them around quite so much. But this year we added in that butchering of our pigs and our sheep. And so just when you think you're going to get a rest right after the holidays and things like that, now you're having to deal with butchering, which then impacts your being able to give attention to your garden and thinking about what seed you're going to plant and things like that. So, but that's sort of what I'm thinking about.
00:28:02
Speaker
but those yeah Those are good things, you know, and we're thinking more about butchering. Like, you know, we had our sheep were born a little earlier this year. So that is going to they're going to be bigger come wintertime next year. There'll be a few more. We had our sheep last year in the late spring. So this year we had this. We had them in February or early ah late January. So they're going to be bigger. So that'll be helpful. We'll have bigger lambs. when we get to the slaughtering. um And like, I'm not doing firewood this year, because we had a problem with our with our wood stove. But um yeah, that's something that like the last couple years, as soon as we were done, I was out looking for looking for wood and cutting and that's something that's another process that goes around throughout the whole years, because you're either burning it or looking for it, or cutting it down.
00:28:50
Speaker
So yeah, it gives you a rhythm to the whole year. And I think I think this is where, you know, having gone through that, like when I was saying earlier about you want to kind of add one thing at a time, you want to kind of get this one thing integrated into your life cycle, and then you're going to add something else. But knowing that whole process end to end, you know, allows you to start planning how you're going to incorporate other things into Um, but yeah, but you know never, I don't think we ever have to say the word board. <unk>s not a go There's no board. There's no boredom. Certainly not. What about, um, you know, an interesting question, I think, uh, one that I'm interested in. When you think back to starting out, what are some things that if you could, you know, speak to your former self and say, Hey, uh, don't do that thing that you're about to do on the homestead to start it out. What is that thing? Or what was that process?
00:29:44
Speaker
well i think what if i would say Well, I think the financial part was one of it. you know just We weren't weren't as prepared ah for that aspect of it. But I think the biggest thing we've had to learn, I think, is discipline. discipline Like I said, I'm a more creative type that is not I'm not mr. Schedule um You know, so I I think I've really had to learn discipline myself and finds find some joy and I think as a Catholic, you know We I think there's a certain benefit to that Regularized discipline type of life. I think it's been one of the big benefits of being on the homestead for me is is learning that discipline and
00:30:33
Speaker
and doing things when you have to do them and not, you know, because you can, if you if you decide to milk the cow an hour late because you were playing around with your phone or having some conversation that didn't need to be had, it can throw your whole, the whole family's evening is off. You have to do it when you need to do it. It's like a like a team that works together. So to me, that's that's the thing I would tell myself coming into, you get get yourself disciplined and organized before you before you get started. Yeah, but you it's one of those. um It's one of the the the idea of discipline in the homestead or a farm is unique, I think, because it it you know, I grew up playing sports and the idea of discipline is there, you know, doing what you're supposed to do, ingraining in your mind you know muscle memory, making sure that you react the appropriate way, you make good decisions, et cetera, ah that you work together as a team discipline on the homestead.
00:31:28
Speaker
is more akin in my mind. Yes, there's elements of that, but it's almost more like when you first become a parent. And now ah it doesn't matter how you feel. ah There are real consequences no matter what. Every decision you make has a consequence. And some of those consequences are actually just maintenance. Like if you're going out to milk the cow and she that cow is at a regular schedule and she understands the schedule and you go out there at that time, you're just, that's maintenance, but it's discipline to keep that maintenance going. And as you mentioned, if you change that, well, it can have pretty severe consequences. And that type of discipline is one that I think is quite a bit more difficult to capture in a conversation, explain what it is, but it's something almost more like responding to the needs of a child.
00:32:15
Speaker
Yeah, I think there's something to that, right? Well, I think, you know, I think when you when you have your first kids, you know, as we talk about, you've got younger kids and and we've got, we don't have any young young children like that. But there's there's a certain, the children impose something upon you. And at first it it can be kind of traumatic because you're not used to giving yourself like that. And I think that's where I think faith, a lot of people start to turn to the faith when they first have kids because you realize you need some type of strength ah and purpose to go through that process, you know, all the difficulties of raising kids. And I think there's a similar, the Homestead schools you.
00:32:55
Speaker
um you know it it it It disciplines you um because again, there's consequences if you don't do things when you need to do it. and But that's part of the beauty of it. that's part of It's like anybody who's had kids will tell you they're a much better person after having raised the kids. um it it It transforms and your love for your kids and your love for your family. yeah That's why you do it and i think there's a certain similar type of discipline that comes with going on a homestead.
Family Collaboration on the Homestead
00:33:24
Speaker
and I think it's good for the whole family with the kids everybody has to do it um you know we had we had covered a few weeks ago and.
00:33:33
Speaker
I still had to milk the cow. um The girls were sick and they still had to go out and do their part while I was doing that. There was no stop to it. And sometimes that can be frustrating and difficult. But, you know, that's what builds character. And I think that when people are saying, well, we why we want to get out of the suburbs while everyone's sitting there on their device in their own room and your your family you know is isolated doing their own things, that's your typical suburban family, and even with our Catholic families. A lot of times you see the same thing. It's just you have this temptation because the electronic devices are on. So when you kind of eliminate those things and you have this task to manage as a family, um that's that's where the family has to come together, work together, communicate together.
00:34:15
Speaker
and And and and get through these challenges together and that's what I think bonds you together when you have a Sheep blowout, you know some animal escapes in the middle of the evening and everyone has to run out and take care of it together You know, that's a bonding moment. You remember that you laugh about it afterwards Once the animals back safely inside the vent hopefully right, right Well, raising a family on the homestead is becoming more and more interesting to me from a definitive ah position that it's a very good place to be for a family to be raised. How has being on the homestead helped to shape your family, either, you know, in the raising of children, younger or older, or even in how the homestead has helped potentially to give an opportunity to strengthen yeah your vocation in marriage?
00:35:07
Speaker
Well, i think I think, you know, one of my big things is, especially as Catholics, you know, a lot of times, you know, we're kind of, we're trying to lead traditional lives where the husband goes out and work and the wife takes care of the wife and kids, but in a suburban environment, this is a very isolating proposition for the wife. And I think what ends up happening is you she's taking people around in the car all day long. um Oftentimes there's no other wives or children in the neighborhoods or the kids are inside the house all day. You know, 40, 50 years ago when new people lived in the suburbs, the kids would be running around.
00:35:45
Speaker
theyd they'd be outside all day and come home for dinner. um you know you didn't have So you have this sort of isolated, pressurized situation in the home, and I think it can be very challenging for women to live up to that. I don't know how well we acknowledge that, the pressures that are on the women in the Catholic community. So I think kind of what attracted us to this was that you had a situation where men and women are are collaborating together in in in work, so it's not just, you know dishes and laundry, you actually have some constructive work, a small business in a sense to work on together. um And then on top of that, you know your your whole family is involved in this process. So again, you're away from your devices, you're you're you're you're out outside doing things together. there's you You're strategizing together. And all that I think really adds to the marriage because I think that's really what men and women should be doing is collaborating.
00:36:43
Speaker
as opposed to have elating isolated spirits. The man does the work and maybe he takes care of the finances and the and the woman is taking care of the kids and making the food. And I think that separation of things um sort of goes away when you're on the homestead. And I mean, there's still separation of duties. You know, men are going to do things that require more strength or dirty gross or whatever men are going to naturally do those things. But it's it's more symbiotic. And and I think the kids have real responsibilities. They have things that they need to do, not just because you're trying to come up and dream up some chore. You actually have something that they need to get done. And if they don't do it well and they don't water the animals, you know, they could die.
00:37:24
Speaker
um Depending on them to do that they have to pay attention and so so i think I think it gives the children I mean depending on the child um if they've got a more entrepreneurial spirit they can certainly take a project or ah a certain animal or whatever that they would like to do and Learn about it from top to bottom and develop something with that like, you know, we've got a daughter who's interested in baking Well, how can we? take her interest and give her the opportunity to develop a sort of little baking empire out here. We're working on that right now. You know, I could see if you had a child who was really interested in dairy goats or something like that, and they wanted to learn all about, you know, picking the right dairy goats and then raising those goats properly, learning how to milk, and then you can learn how to
00:38:17
Speaker
Market that milk or do make different products with that milk. I mean there's so much for the children to learn that they can ah Get a head start in life with certain things if if they are so inclined there's There's many opportunities and I think too thinking generationally as we've started to be out on the homestead You started to realize that you know, there's a sort of capitalist framework that we live in You know, it creates it's sort of one for it's all for ourselves and we we kind of raise our families this way I'm gonna I'm going to
00:38:49
Speaker
you know save up for retirement and take care of myself and my kids are going to get a job and move off and they're going to raise their family somewhere else and then they're going to take cares and plan for their retirement. As you start to get out on the land you realize that there's inherent value to the land And there's a lot of work that takes to build up these processes over years. And once you've done that, that's something you can hand off to your kids and then you know you can collaborate together as a family. And I think to me, that's the real ideal is to try to have this be a situation where you can you can work generation after generation. I think with the commercial farming that you've seen, a lot of people have left because there's no money in it.
00:39:29
Speaker
Or it's a very hard way to make a living I think as people are getting into homesteading and selling direct to customers and building boutique type businesses That there is opportunity out here to do something, but you just have to approach. I think approach it differently than um The way farming has been done over the last you know 40 50 years in this country Yeah, agreed.
Philosophy and Religious Inspiration
00:39:51
Speaker
It definitely gives a lot of opportunity for conversation and and thought, not just about homesteading itself, but about the ideas behind it and what does the future look like and what can society look like and how can this be integrated into good societies that support the raising of children that encourage the development of families, commitment to the faith and more.
00:40:12
Speaker
I do want to pivot just a little bit here and talk about you all the name of yours homestead pure starts homestead. Can you talk about the the ah story behind the name and maybe you just give a ah brief overview of what people might reach out to you to provide them with. Well, I think, I mean, we chose the pierced heart homestead because obviously, we as Catholics, we have a devotion to our Lord and blessed mother. And I think their suffering that they endured for our sake, you know, it's inspiring to us. And I think, of course, my wife's mother was named Dolores, ah which is suffering in Latin. So I think there's a certain connection there within the family. And, you know, there's obviously a lot of beautiful art and things around the pierced heart. Our Lord obviously had his heart pierced when he was on the cross by the soldier. And our our Lady
00:41:07
Speaker
We have the seven sorrows devotion of our lady, the different things she watched her son suffer. So I think all that just sort of fits in with the faith. And I think um we have this devotion to in our family, you know, suffering with Christ and uniting that suffering to his passion and death on the cross. That's that's carrying that cross. that's That's the way to salvation. And so we want to keep that keep those things in mind and meditate them on as we do our work here on the farm. A lot of times, it's it's hard work. There's no question about it. But having that intention to unite that you know through marriage to Christ's passion to death on the cross, that kind of keeps us motivated moving forward.
00:41:51
Speaker
I always like to hear the stories behind the names of, you know, business or the homestead, the farm. I think it's really important because it provides some insight into the people behind it. So I appreciate you, Sharon. It's it's it's absolutely, yeah it's inspiring and I'm sure, you know, ah Someone's probably not showing up at Pierce Hart's homestead and not saying, hey, why what what's the story behind the name there? And it gives such an awesome opportunity to have a conversation with people. and I'm sure many people who might listen to this by this point understand or or know that Little Way Farm and Homestead is obviously inspired by the faith. and
00:42:29
Speaker
the little ways attributed to Saint Teresa bless you. And that helps us not only in understanding some purpose behind what we're doing, especially when things get difficult, or when we want to slack off a little bit and not fulfill all the obligations across the farm, the homestead or way more importantly, even within our vocation, ah but it helps to give us some encouragement. So maybe to close us out here, what are some words that you all might be able to offer someone who is in a difficult spot, they've gotten on the homestead, they're on the land, they're starting farming, and they are in that burnout period. Maybe they took on too much, maybe they didn't plan enough, maybe they've got in a
00:43:12
Speaker
abundance of milk and tomatoes right now in their kitchen and they're thinking how on earth am I going to get through all this today?
Overcoming Overwhelm: Advice for Homesteaders
00:43:18
Speaker
What what encouragement could you give someone in that position today? but I would say, first of all, this is this is a common phase. I would imagine most people who start at homesteading, especially newbies, are going to run into this problem. So don't feel like unique. um The question is, you know what do you do about it? Because I think we were definitely in a spot where we were feeling some of that.
00:43:44
Speaker
Um, and I think it's like anything when you're overwhelmed. Um You kind of have to do some of those things I mean first thing is to sit down with your family and talk about it And to have that open communication don't don't feel bad about saying you're feeling burnt out don't say you know that or or feel like, oh, you're a failure or anything like that. It's a natural process. You don't know how much you can do until you start to get out there and see what your time outside of work or what your family time allows. um Also, I think it's a good opportunity for looking at prioritization. are there Are you driving around too much? Are you still holding on to your old suburban activities and friends and other are there things in your life that maybe you need to say, we just don't have time for that anymore? and
00:44:29
Speaker
and look how you're going to prioritize. And then sometimes you have to be humble enough to say, you know, maybe right now we've bitten off too much. We need to sell off a few animals or maybe shut this particular enterprise down and come back to it. You don't have to just because you stop something for now doesn't mean that the dream is over. It just means you have to maybe work through some other things first. And also, I think it's important to examine what's what's doing well and what's not. there You'll notice certain things that go, you know, this is this is is is kind of paying for itself. It's not too difficult. Everybody seems to enjoy it. Well, maybe you want to keep down the to-do list. You might have something else you're going, nobody's really enjoying that. it's it's It's more trouble than it's worth. All we see is is is debits in the dollar column and there's no pluses.
00:45:18
Speaker
Um, and I think the final thing might be to remember that this is it takes a while for this to start to pay off um, like Uh, you know when you if you buy sheep Okay. Well you you say you bought two young sheep Well, you're going to have to wait for them to be old enough to breed and then you're going to breed them. And then it's going to take, you know, five or six, seven months before you have sheep. And then those sheep are going to have to grow for eight or nine months minimum before you're going to be able to harvest them. That's three years.
00:45:50
Speaker
So you have to, and I, you know, and I think if you're, if you're buying, you know, there's a lot of things like that on the homestead that take a while to pay off chickens and gardens a little faster. So that's kind of why I recommend to those as a first step, but keep that in mind that, that you have, you're going to, it's going to take several years and some investment before you get that
Conclusion and Contact Information
00:46:10
Speaker
payoff. So don't be, don't be faint hearted and pray. Obviously that helps too. Absolutely. Well, hey, this is an absolute joy to have you both on today. Really appreciate you sharing some of your insights and being willing to talk about your home setting, including even some of the challenging times and offering such great words of encouragement to others who are beginning home setting or maybe right there in the middle of it today. So again, thank you so much. And where can people find you all online if they're looking to get in touch with you?
00:46:42
Speaker
Well, we're at piercedheartshomestead.com. And we also, by email, they can reach us at piercedheartshomestead at gmail.com. Awesome. Well, thank you all. Have a wonderful day. All right. Thanks, Matthew. Thanks, Matthew. Thank you for joining us on another episode of the Little Way Farm and Homestead podcast. Check out the show notes for more information about this episode and be sure to tune in next week.