The Humble Beginnings of a Homestead

I am SUPER proud of and happy for Donovan and Vanessa…but especially Donovan. I feel like we have come full circle and that is such a good feeling for me…for us both.

While raising Donovan, he grew up on a homestead. I was homesteading before it became a thing. We raised chickens, guineas, quail, and rabbits. Had a number of pets including reptiles, fish, snakes, cats, and dogs. I fermented fruits and veggies, canned and froze all of my garden produce, and always had a freezer full of beef, deer, chickens, and a variety of fish we caught locally.

I loved being outside…loved plants of all kinds…so gardening and landscaping came naturally to me. It was super satisfying to me to see the fruits of my own labor.

All along the woods were black raspberry plants and blackberries. We spent the summer making jams and jellies to eat through the winter. It paired so well with homemade bread.

Donovan was my helper in everything I did outside. He loved to work alongside me. The kid came out of the womb wanting to work. He loves work as much as I do. It feels so good to start a project and then see it through to the end. See it come to completion. Wow…preaching to myself there. Yikes!

Moving on…anyway…we had this amazing setup for a home. We loved it. Then all Hell broke loose, and we ended up moving from the country to the city. It was difficult. Very difficult for Donovan and myself. We are nature lovers. The turkeys would wake me up outside my window gobbling as the sun came up…along with the roosters. They were my alarm clock. Glorious way to wake up.

I would get up and start with either a run or a long walk out through the trails on the acres our property connected to…then begin gardening and/or working in the enormous amounts of landscape I had. Not long after I was up and outside, I would hear Donovan on the dirt bike or the 4-wheeler searching the trails for me. He would always check on me. He and I stayed outside all day long until it got dark.

Moving to the city felt like death to both of us. So many people. People all around. I love the solitude and silence you find in the country. So peaceful.

For an introvert, the country is like perfection in your heart and mind. The stillness seems like bliss. Concrete and buildings made by the hands of man are the exact opposite of trees, water, and dirt which are made by the hands of the Creator. To me…it is like death versus life. It feels like death versus life in my soul and spirit.

The transition from city to country was a hard one. It was the right decision for us, Father led us there but I wasn’t a fan of the plan.

When Donovan and Vanessa moved to northern Michigan after purchasing their land, he began to send me videos of the work he was doing outside. I was so proud. So happy for him. I know this is a dream come true for him. The depression he went through when we moved to the city was horrible for a mom to watch. He didn’t know what to do with himself every day living in the city. The transition for him was much more difficult for him as a young man who was used to hopping on the dirt bike and riding all day long or expending large amounts of energy doing physical labor outside.

Now that I am here with him, I see we have come full circle. I used to own the land and he was my helper. Now my adult son owns the land and I get to help him while getting to watch him train his children to be his helper as well. What a joy this is for me.

It would be beautiful for me I think even without our painful history together from losing our cherished homestead all those years ago. But having lost something we both saw as a treasure…to gain this new addition for him…so sweet…so beautiful.

I told him the other day…I am so happy for you. You are doing what we did when you were a young man. He smiled this huge smile and he said yes Mom…I have waited a long time for this.

It is true, he has. I am so thankful that for my son…dreams do come true. What a blessing that is for me as his mom. Redemption is sweet.

Here is a short video clip of Donovan and Vanessa’s garden. I love how Donovan made it using the resources he has here on the property. He cut some saplings to build it. I am not sure how well it will keep the deer out of the garden, but I am not sure that was the primary goal. I think he just wanted to build. It is a man thing I believe. Kill, cut, build, ya know. 😂