The Big Leap: Moving Our Homestead From 2 to 7 acres.
We are officially packing up the coops, loading the trailers, and making the big move! After almost 2 years of learning, growing, and squeezing every ounce of productivity out of our beautiful 2-acre homestead, we are officially upgrading to a bigger property.
While we are incredibly excited for the blank canvas of semi-cleared land, getting an entire working homestead and everyone who runs it from Point A to Point B is going to be no small feat. This isn’t your typical move involving just cardboard boxes and bubble wrap. It is a massive, highly coordinated logistical dance involving wings, hooves, paws, and kids.
Here’s a look at what it takes to move a growing homestead.
The Poultry Parade
Moving feathered friends is going to require careful timing and a lot of ventilated crates. Ducks are notoriously messy travelers, and chickens get stressed easily by sudden changes. Our plan is to move them under the cover of darkness when they are naturally calm and roosting, transferring them directly into temporary travel crates so they wake up at the new property, ready to explore.
Goat Wrangling
If you’ve ever tried to convince a goat to do something it doesn’t want to do, you know the workout involved! Loading our goats means leaning into their favorite treats and maintaining a calm, patient energy. The biggest hurdle isn’t just the trailer ride; it’s ensuring that the very first thing we build on the new acreage is secure, predator-proof fencing so they don’t immediately go testing the boundaries of their new kingdom.
Dogs, Kids and Family Chaos
Managing the human and canine side of the move is a whole different beast. Our reliable doggie, Pork Chop, will be keeping close watch over the chaos. Meanwhile, keeping a 7 year-old engaged and helpful amidst the packing means turning the move into an outdoor adventure. From scouting out future spots for garden beds and imagining play areas, I am doing my best to anchor this transition in a sense of wonder, freedom and imagination.
Lessons Learned: Embracing the Revamp
If our time on this smaller homestead has taught us anything, its the beautiful, sometimes chaotic truth that nothing is permanent. Out here, you quickly learn that you always need to make space in your mind for reorganization and revamping original plans.
We started out with so many “perfect” original ideas that nature quickly humbled. Take our flock for instance. You map out the dream setup for hens and egg laying ducks, only to be hit with the sudden, overwhelming unexpectedness of the genetic lottery- specifically, just how many roosters and drakes that can be born at the same time. Dealing with the influx of surprise males completely rewrote our plans, forcing us to pivot, build separate spaces, and rethink our management style on the fly.
But that’s the magic of this lifestyle. The drafts we make in our heads are meant to be rewritten, and this move is the ultimate blank page to reapply those lessons.
The Unsung Heroes: Invaluable Everyday Gear
When you dream of expanding a homestead, your mind automatically jumps to big investments like tractors, heavy-duty trailers and massive outbuildings. But if there’s one major realization I’ve had during this growth and coming transition, it’s the absolute importance of the small, humble equipment you might never think of until you’re deep in the thick of it.
I have quickly learned that things like heavy-duty zip ties and a never -ending supply of garden stakes are completely invaluable. Whether you need to instantly patch a breach in a temporary fence line, reinforce a travel crate on the fly, prop up a makeshift barrier, or secure loose tarp lines against an unexpected wind, these small tools are the actual glue keeping the homestead together during a move. They aren’t glamorous but you quickly realize you can never have too many of them.
Inheriting a Fearless Spirit
As I look at this vast, blank canvas, I can’t help but think about the roots that brought me here. Specifically, I’ve been reflecting on my maternal grandmother whom I never actually got to have a relationship with. I have memories but they are few and far between. She was Granny. And for a long time she was mostly a name in a family tree. Recently, as I’ve uncovered more of her history, I’ve learned that she was a true outdoorswoman. She loved nature deeply and, by all accounts, wasn’t scared of anything. Even though our time together was limited, I feel her presence so strongly in this transition. Moving into the unknown, taming wild spaces, and facing the unpredictable elements with a fearless heart that pumps life through my own veins. This new chapter is as much about honoring her untamable spirit as it is about building our own future.
Wide Open Spaces Ahead
Leaving this established homestead feels bittersweet. It’s where I learned to cultivate the land, care for animals, and step away from a structured, consumerist lifestyle to embrace the rhythm of the countryside. But, as I look out at the 7 acres of potential waiting for us, I know this is the exact place my family- and our roots- are meant to expand.
Stay tuned as we rebuild fences, set up new coops, and transform this semi-cleared land into our ultimate family homestead.
A New Voice from the Homestead: Introducing my blog co-author, Constance
As our acreage grows, so does the story and I am thrilled to announce that I won’t be telling it alone anymore. This blog marks the official debut of my newest blog author and my daughter, Constance “don’t call me Connie” Jenkins.
Passing down this outdoor lifestyle means passing down the torch of storytelling, too. Constance will be right there in the dirt with me, celebrating every milestone, and she will be sharing her own unique, wild, and wonderful perspective on what its like to grow this homestead.
