Leaving the Homestead for a Week

Yes, can you believe it, we slipped away for a whole week!  I think people are leery of this lifestyle because they think they will be tied down.  When they say it takes a village, it truly does.

How We Prepared for the Trip

We have some awesome family, neighbors and friends that stepped up and agreed to help keep things going around here.  We wanted to make this as smooth as possible while we are gone, because lets face it, it's a lot to do around here most days.  The work began a week before we left.

We started moving the animals to more convenient places, so nobody had to walk a half mile to gather eggs.  We pulled the eggmobile to the top of the pasture, which is not to far from the back door.  We slowly herded the turkey's into the goat pasture, so that way whoever was feeding could knock out two birds with one stone, literally, ha! We put the cows and horses together in our sacrifice pasture. Side note, a sacrifice pasture is a small lot that we have fenced off to keep the animals up in the winter, this is part of our pasture management. 

We did this a few days in advance to make sure the horses and cows could get a long.  My horse thinks he is king of the hill so we had to make sure he wouldn't take a notion to run the cows through the fence.  It went off without a hitch, they just chose to avoid each other. 

​We blocked the pigs back off into their smaller, more secure lot. Chasing loose pigs is no fun and to anyone that has ever went on vacation, things like this usually happen while you're gone.  We were trying to prevent that. 

​We also moved our newest egg layers into the large eggmobile with our older layers, so that way it would be just one group of chickens to feed.

We put extra waterers out for everyone.  None of our animals have creek access, so we water with troughs and waterers.  
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It was an ordeal preparing to leave, but we wanted everything and everyone that was helping to have it as easy as possible.​

An Unexpected Addition

​About a week and a half before we left, one of our family members ended up with an orphan newborn calf.  Of course we couldn't say no!  I thought that possibly I could graft the calf onto my jersey that is currently in milk.  This process is way easier said then done.  That's a story for another day. ​

​The calf was requiring twice daily bottles and would need that while we were gone.  I toyed with the idea of staying home to care for the calf.  Thanks to several willing friends and family members that volunteered to feed the calf so I was still able to go.  

The Best Village Around

With the help of 6 friends and family, our trip was a success.  Everyone chipped in to help and we couldn't be more grateful.  

It truly takes a village.  

The Return

There is a meme that floats around Facebook occasionally that says something to the extent of, live a life you don't need a vacation from.  We don't leave much, but the family fishing trip is a yearly occurrence that we all look forward to.  

We had an awesome trip, so much fun and memories made for sure.  Let me just say, when we got home I felt the spark.  Hearing the cows mooing, horses neighing, pigs grunting, roosters crowing, I can't explain the feeling that came over me.  I immediately thought about that meme.  This is a life I don't need a vacation from.  

So it can be done.  You can leave the homestead occasionally.  You just need to locate your village.  Find people you trust, show them the ropes, maybe do some trading, and you to can slip away for a few days.
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If you haven't started your homestead yet, I encourage you to do it.  Take the plunge, you CAN do this!

​Thanks for reading and God Bless
​-Meagan

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