Less than an acre and in the city limits

There was a time when I was almost embarrassed to say we owned just under an acre of land, I wanted to have a full blown farm, not a tiny speck of land inside the city limits. But now, how we live on such a small bit of land, and in the city is perceived as a "wow" type thing, and no longer are we hearing "oh you poor thing" because we have such a tiny speck of land to live on with our homestead life. Times and mindsets change as the world circumstances do.

We use our land carefully, and if we wanted, we could even transform the front lawn into a usable garden like these urban homesteader folk in California . There was a time when the children were all home that it seemed every inch of our land in back was used in some kind of productive way. The girls raised show rabbits, had a pony and cart for transportation. We had sheep, angora goats, quite a few milk goats, a buck and a couple goats trained to pull a cart. We had chickens, ducks and yes, we had a good sized garden along with fruit trees and berry bushes. Wood stacked neatly for our heating needs, and of course the clothesline. The children made forts behind the barns in what they called the woods and life was busy and productive. Of course there was our working dog Speckles then and more than a couple cats. We didn't have beautiful fences and wonderful barns, but we had such fun making do and creating what we needed from scraps and cast offs. The children learned how to be creative and that is something of great value in life.

We made our soap, made our clothes, made our candles and had a family life that has built ties so strong and good. There was no television or any need for one. The girls learned how to tend sheep, sheer them, spin their wool, and knit a sweater from that very wool.

We have slowed down a bit, two goats, only 15 chickens, no rabbits, no sheep. The garden spot is actually bigger and so isn't the herb garden. There are more fruit trees and more berry bushes. Lots more shade trees now.

When we lived in Southern California we had a yard the size of my dining room now. But still we planted grapes, had a garden and a rabbit or two and a dog. We made the most of what we had to work with. Same here. A little bit of land and yes we are fortunate to live on the side of town that still allows critters. We keep things clean, and have neighbors that enjoy looking at our farm animals. Our dreams may have been to have 20 acres way out in the boondocks at one point and I must admit there are times I still think about it, but what we did do, is live within our means, not going into debt and made our life work with what we had. Found a place to live that allowed animals, found a house that was not perfect but we could fix up without having to sign over our soul to some lender. In my dreams, I never imagined living on less than an acre but compromise has worked well for us. We will retire in a home we love, land we can care for, in a small town where folks know us. We have no wild traffic to deal with, and the places we need to go are not far to drive. We have no debts, not one. Our expenses are minimal,so there is no fear for us on how we will live when Emery is retired. We raised our family on one income and it wasn't as much as it is now, that is for sure.

Two of our children are close by, which allows us the joy of watching the next two generations and fills our lives with love, and we hope that soon all three of our children will live in Texas !

I can wander outside, watch birds, hear nothing but nature sounds. See the stars at night fill the sky. I can milk my goats and gather fresh eggs. I can dig in the soil and harvest organic veggies and fruits. We will be able to grow old here and stay fit and healthy by the work we do and the simple life we live. Less than an acre is not a bad thing at all, and I guess we can say we have been a new kind of pioneer for a long time now.