An anniversary and weekend reading

Today Grant and I celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary, we have been together for 19 years. (Well, Technically it was yesterday, but today we are together.) 

Unlike many people of our generation, we married young and children followed soon after. Grant and I have grown up together in a sense, and I think that is one of the things that make us strong. We have learned over the years about give and take, and we have adapted and adjusted to each other's ways. 

We first met at my best friend's birthday party (now my SIL, so lucky!) and over time we got to know each other better and eventually we became a couple. We were 20 at the time and we have been inseparable ever since. There is nothing I like better than the two of us hanging out. It's rare these days with 4 kids but fortunately, they are pretty great sidekicks.

 
Grant is the kind of person who is endlessly patient, he is hard to ruffle and quick with a smile. He sees the humour in even the most frustrating situation and often dispels tension with his cheerful chuckle. Because of his easygoing nature, people sometimes mistake him for being a pushover, which couldn't be further from the truth. He's as steady as a rock and once his mind is made up there is no changing it. 

When we owned the general store and post office, I remember many times he would extend credit to people in a tight spot, usually regulars. No cigarettes, but food and essentials. Especially if they had children. Being the postmaster in a small country town, he knew everyone and most things that went on. 

Occasionally people would be caught out when our eftpos system would be down and they didn't have cash on them. Grant would extend credit to them too. People nearly always paid it back as soon as they could. Occasionally someone would disappear and not show their face for a year or so. But eventually, thinking enough time has passed that the loan had been forgotten, they would return. But he never forgot an amount or a face. He would cheerfully pop their order through and then ask "do you have the x amount you owe me from x months ago now?" They would look stunned for a second, before sheepishly handing over the amount. Their shock at being caught would amuse him no end, and he would always chuckle to himself as he cheerfully bid them farewell. 

Grant is also quick with his words, though always polite and calm about it. He doesn't get flustered easily if someone decides to take their bad mood out on him. More than once I have watched him neatly return a serve at an obnoxiously rude customer with such style they would be left spluttering in embarrassment before storming out, leaving Grant to chuckle as he got on with his work. It's a true delight to watch.

He's also one of the hardest workers I know. He doesn't believe hard work should be a bad thing and he's happy to spend a day swinging on a shovel if that's what's needed. Though to be fair, he prefers to drive his excavator these days. He's like a kid in a sandpit with that machine.

The years haven't always been easy. Eleven years ago we lost our home and virtually all our belongings in a flood, and then we very nearly lost Grant in a bushfire several years later. I was chronically unwell for two years with a heart condition that left me struggling to get out of bed and unable to walk 100m without needing a rest, and though we have been blessed with the arrival of 4 wonderful children, two pregnancies were sadly not meant to be. Despite the challenges, we have been so incredibly blessed. When things have been tough, we have been able to nurture a sense of gratitude and thankfulness for all we do have rather than focus on what we don't. Our strong Christian faith has given us a sense of hope and security in something bigger than us, it has helped us keep our perspective.

 
There won't be an anniversary celebration as such, as this is an uncomfortably tight fortnight due to one thing or another. But we will sit as a family and enjoy a nice home-cooked meal,  escape for a short bushwalk by ourselves and once the kids are in bed we will sneak some chocolate and no doubt reflect on how lucky we are and dream about what the future might hold for us on Barradale Farm. 

Much love,
Emma
xx

Weekend links to explore

Left BBC's Planet Earth to start a dream family homestead-YouTube
I loved this family and their enthusiasm for establishing a diverse permaculture farm and inviting people in. 

Ukrainian mountain weavers reduce to surrender their traditions - YouTube

Beautiful traditional weaving. Such skill.

My Threadbare Life: A Catchup post

Julie has revamped the most beautiful little table and chairs. I'm hoping to do something similar with Elsies wardrobe.

Talasbuan - Finishing their cellar before everything freezes

Talasbuan would have to be my favourite YouTube channel. I was thrilled to see they have finished their cellar before winter. Like us they are establishing their property on a shoestring budget. Their filming is beautiful. 

Zen Habits - When you're overwhelmed, simplify 

Simplifying is always a good thing. Many people are overwhelmed at the moment and I thought this might be encouraging. 

GDonna - Living like the past 

I have spent quite a lot of time over the last couple of days poking through Grandma Donna's blog. It is full of excellent content. Stories, recipes and reflections. It has it all. Especially if you are passionate about old-fashioned simple living like I am. 

Down to Earth -Creating a safe haven

A beautiful blog post by Rhonda about the comfort and refuge to be found in the home.

   

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Barradale Farm. A new chapter.

Three and a half years ago we hitched up a fully-loaded stock trailer to our old Landcruiser and moved our family of five, three dogs, two cats, and a turtle named Squirtle 2000kms interstate, to a 265acre off-grid property with zero infrastructure. 

Our dream was to build a sustainable mix farm, entirely from scratch. 

There have been ups, downs, laughter and tears along with the welcome addition of sweet Elsie who made us a family of six. Despite it all, we are glad we are here. We finally settled on a name for our property, which was harder than I anticipated. Our farm sits squarely between two districts so it has been named Barradale Farm, in recognition of that. 

If I had known how hard the last three and a half years would be, I doubt I would have been brave enough to leap so boldly into the unknown. It has certainly been an adventure. When we are older, I'm sure we will look back at these early years on the farm with great fondness. 

Today I can look back at the last three and half years and feel proud. I also look forward with hope and excitement at how much potential this property still holds. 

When I first started blogging, I did so at a blog called 'A Simple Living Journey'. This blog will always remain as a reminder of where we started, and how we got to where we are now. I hope it will be there for my children to read when they are older if they feel so inclined. It is where I cut my teeth as a writer and explored what simple living was, along with all the beauty and richness it has to offer. But for all intents and purposes, it is time sit my first blog aside and start anew. 

One day, we hope this farm of ours will begin to support us in some capacity. We would like to open up a couple of hipcamp sites, host WWOOFers, and continue to establish a hardy boer goat herd along with growing out more cattle. Grant has his wood roach business and we hope to sell heritage chickens in the future. While simple living remains at the very heart of how we live out our lives on the farm, it makes sense for all aspects of our farm to fall under the same, easily identifiable banner. So, from here on out we will be Barradale Farm on the blog, online and in our farming pursuits. 

Essentially, here at Barradale Farm, we are building a sustainable Australian homestead on a shoestring budget. Though homesteading is a movement more closely associated within an American context, I think it is a good term. In Australia, we might call a homestead a hobby or small farm, but homesteading is more complex than that. Homesteading is about providing for your family and community, building resilience and improving self-sufficiency through growing your own food, raising animals, preserving, stockpiling, baking, building and cooking from scratch. There has been a mass exodus of people moving from cities to acreage and rural centres. I think this trend is a clear sign that people are looking to slow down and live a simpler, more sustainable life.  Lockdowns reminded us of the beauty and value to be found in the home and the garden, of the importance in children having space to play and be free. Now we are navigating an increasingly wobbly economic climate, rocketing fuel prices, inflation,  supply issues and extreme weather events which has contributed to supply chain disruptions. It has become apparent how fragile our industrialized food and resource system is, which has inspired many people to seek out a more self-sufficient, homesteading lifestyle. 

   

I hope people, whether they have a suburban backyard, own a rural property or perhaps dream of homesteading, can find encouragement here along with some helpful tips. It is easy to start a farm or a small homestead if you have a lot of money or inherit a property passed down through the generations. But many of us don't. It took all our money and years of hard work to be able to buy our farm and we have spent our first three years here scraping together enough to simply get by. Everything we buy or achieve is a milestone to be celebrated and there remains a long way to go. 

Despite that, we have built a small but functional and comfortable home, machinery shed/workshop/wood roach palace and wood shed. We have improved our road access, installed a solar system and put in a header tank. Our livestock numbers are continuing to grow and we are slowly establishing productive gardens as time and money allow. We have kilometres of fencing to finish, an orchard to fence and plant, pasture to improve, and a deck to build....the list goes on, but it likely always will. That is the nature of this lifestyle. It will never be finished, there will always be ideas to explore, livestock to rotate, equipment to repair, food to harvest and gardens to tend. 

But perhaps that is what appeals to us. Life here on the farm is ever-evolving. The seasons change, animals are born, gardens mature, and nature beckons. There is a feeling of realness, of connection to the food we produce, to the animals we raise, to the things that are fundamental to the very essence of life.  Raising animals, growing food, maintaining biodiversity.....they are real. Their value doesn't shift like the latest trends or fast fashion do. The whole of humanity relies on them, no matter a person's financial or social standing in this world.

I hope you continue to follow along here at Barradale Farm, and if you are here from A Simple Living Journey, I thank you for your kindness and support over the years, and I look forward to continuing to share our lives with you. 

Much love,
Emma
xx

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