Homestead dream

Last year we took our lovely landscaped yard and tore it up to put in a garden.

it was alot of work. Our yard is terraced/tiered and the ground was/is terrible to dig up. 2-4 inches down is gravel and rock. I'm assuming that is due to living in the hills, I don't know. We decided to throw tarps over it through the winter. We ordered 3 yards of dirt and brought in 800+ lbs of horse manure.

We removed the tarps and lay down a layer of newspaper, dirt and manure. Kind of like making lasagna. I also turned my narrow tier into a smaller garden

 We tore out the landscaping fabric and put in dirt and manure here as well. All this happened in February. 
Then we took a rest.

We planted seeds and a few small tomato plants and they flourished! This is what my first real garden looked like last September.
Oh, but a homestead isn't a homestead without chickens and check out that yolk!

My garden this year wasn't as big, we are once again in the process of moving. We didn't want to travel so far with the chickens, putting undo stress on them or us. They are locals so here they will stay.We found a wonderful home for my sweet girls (the chickens) who are now completely free range and loving it.

We are looking for land! This little adventure/hobby has turned into a way of life that I love and makes me happy. I love serving my family meals knowing that 2/3 of it was grown in my own backyard. It is comforting to know what we are and aren't eating and of course knowing that our little chickens are happy and healthy and giving us yummy, healthy eggs. 

I want that comfort all the time. It is my homesteading dream and what is a dream if you can't make it come true