Well, I have most of the ingredients

but not enough time and money, and almost not enough energy.

We have the acreage (11.6 acres), but much of it is covered with water-hogging cedar. That has to be cleared and shredded (we’re under a burn ban, and we’re not seeing an end to the 3-year drought) before we can add any more large animals, or the orchard for that matter.

We also need to build more animal shelter (ideally a barn, but may have to settle for temporary lean-tos for the sheep and donkey), and we need a better-designed chicken coop.

Our ideal farmstead will have the following components:

• garden (herbs, vegetables, gourds, berries)
• orchard (fruit, almonds)
• poultry (meat, eggs)
• sheep (meat, wool)
• rabbits (meat, pelts)
• milk cow (various dairy products, bred for meat source)

Everything will be on a small scale until I get some time back from the child-raising. We currently have one raised bed for gardening, but I want at least two more so that we can grow enough to put up for the winter months, and possibly start a subscription service for our city friends.

See more progress on: farm