Welcome to the relaunch of Voyaging Homesteader. Why now you ask? I returned to Guam two years ago this month. With all that is happening in the world, I’m witnessing friends and family facing financial insecurity, depression, boredom, and the feeling of not much to look forward to. I hope through my blog you can see why even in these hard times I am thriving. I wake up each day full of energy, I greet the day with a to-do list I’m happy to conquer.  I feel a sense of purpose and meaning even living alone under lock down.  I attribute this to a “homesteader” mentality.

I grew up on a small 2 acre farm in California. We raised many types of animals and lots of our own fruits and vegetables. You can read about my early farm life here.  We canned, froze, dried our harvest. We butchered our animals, milked our goats and gathered our eggs. We cooked from scratch. We learned how to eat healthy and organic (before we knew what organic meant) we felt a rhythm to the seasons.  We were in touch with nature.  I moved off the farm and onto a career,  I moved into a suburban home but even then I had to touch the earth, grow some vegetables and preserve some fruit lots of orange marmalade.  I moved cross country into an apartment and I had one small balcony for 3 years.  I grew tomatoes, green onions, lettuce. Since that time I’ve married a service member and I have lived in 13 places around the world.

Each place that I lived brought different gardening challenges. They were always in vastly different climates, around the country, then around the world.  Sometimes I had a yard I owned, sometimes we rented and I had to plant lots of pots, sometimes all I had was a balcony.  I never stopped growing my food.  I never stopped looking to connect with local farmers, u-picks, and farmers markets.

It is a day dream to move to a big farm in the country with perfect soil, no bugs, and room for all the chickens and goats you want.  The reality though, is it’s difficult for the average person to achieve.  I’m hoping through my blog you will learn about micro-homesteading.  Ways to grow your own food in small spaces, how to glean food from local farmers or even a neighbor with too much fruit,  How to preserve your harvest even if it comes to you from the local CSA, farmers market, or grocery store.  How you can have a small flock of chickens in a tiny yard.  Frugal recipes, and household tips.

I’ve lived everywhere from Italy to Guam from Florida to Connecticut, Washington, and San Diego almost all four corners of the United States. Some duty stations I have enjoyed more than others.  Especially the others, I used my knowledge of growing a garden, preserving the harvest, and frugal living to connect and find purpose in places that weren’t necessarily my cup of tea.  I’m looking at you Norfolk (twice)!

Come with me on my journey as I continue a 2000 sq foot Eco-friendly addition to our house, complete with solar panels and water tanks.  Watch my adventures in gardening, preserving, and chicken rearing on a lot that’s less than 7000 square feet (including the house).  Realize that where ever you live you to can become a self-sufficient micro-homesteader.