This is the first of (hopefully) many details on homesteading.

It's also my first blog - anywhere!

If you're reading this, I probably don't need to go over the 'why' of homesteading; I assume you also desire a plot of land to manage, till, and enjoy. So, here are some details here to get started with.

We already have a small parcel of land; a little over an acre not far from the bluff on Green Mountain looking to the east. Unfortunately, the road over the mountain goes just in front of that bluff so it isn't as private a view as I wish it were sometimes.

The land is part of my family's original tract. Some of it has never been cleared; more has not been cleared in about 10 years. Only about 20 percent was already a cleared lawn. It has a slight northen slope to it.

So, starting this summer, I began clearing the land. It was full of briars, poison ivy (I got slight cases of it - around 6 or 7 times, even with Tecnu!) and three big piles of brush (with their possible attendant rattlesnakes) to be picked up. Actually, so far I've found not a single snake.

Speaking of Tecnu; that stuff really works GREAT! I found by trial and error that if you gently scratch it in instead of just rubbing it in to cleanse your skin, it is much more effective. After that discovery, I didn't have any more episodes with poison ivy.

Now that winter has arrived, I've completed clearing around 75 percent of the total land, including one of the three piles of brush and killing most of the poison ivy. I'll leave the back 50 feet so my brother will have a bit more privacy from the road. I used one of my other brother's DR mower to clear the thickest brush. Not the DR Trimer Mower - this is the big DR mower and will cut right through a 2 inch diameter tree and keep on going. But be careful - it kicks up poison ivy "particles" if you cut over it, so you need to scrub up to your elbows and knees.

Ofttimes, as I'm working I have to keep reminding myself of something. I start thinking "Why don't I just hire a skilled bulldozer operator; he could clear the rest of this in a day". When it comes time to actually build a house, I'm sure some bulldozing will be in order, but in the meantime, I try to see it as:
1) Exercise, and a good alternate to paying 60 or 80 dollars per month to go to the gym. Pilates? Try digging a ditch instead.
2) Understanding the land itself much better. Even now, I can go over virtually every square foot of that acre. I am beginning to see exactly what is going to fit where one day, such as sheds, paths, pens, ponds and gardens.
3) It's a great source of mulch. Another blog soon will detail our Square Foot Garden.
4) As a former biologist and avid birdwatcher, I am endlessly fascinated by all the flora and fauna thats is revealed simply by being there.

I'm in no hurry to finish, so it may take a few years before we're through with it all. "The goal is not as important as the person I become in the process of reaching the goal." - James B. Richards. But I am looking forward to that day.