I really have to apologize I had planned much better posts. I have a DIY antique dresser makeover to finish, a natural beauty product review to get out and I can’t wait to show you what is growing in the greenhouse. You can call it Mother Nature, old man winter or a plain old winter storm, any way you slice it, it happened here, and it happened big. Let me tell you we were not really prepared!
Ice ice and more ice! And as much as I am not a fan of winter, or being cold. This storm reared its ugly head and helped show us a few things, our homestead weaknesses and what need to be worked on.
1. Life in the country needs more emergency preparedness.
2. Extremely rural areas like us have very weak power infrastructure.
3. Old fashioned things are more important than we realize for example lanterns, wood heat and a means to cook without power.
As we sat many days and nights into “no power” situation . With a power company that shows 10,000 people still without power (in rural America 10K could mean a huge area). So we realized our one lonely farmhouse would not be the priority.
In my mind the thought of no power, I thought could be comforting, we would unplug and just relax. Except when no power also means cold, hungry and dark. Thank goodness we do have a generator to run heat at night, and cook out on a grill, and candles everywhere. Events like this winter storm certainly gives you an appreciation for the true pioneers. But it also exposes the vulnerability when we live completely or almost completely dependent on the system.
I mean we started this life to live more homesteady, be on our own. Don’t get me wrong I will be forever grateful for the opportunities that led us to this life way out in the country. However we came out here to an old farmhouse, but the “old” farmhouse has none of the old things, I plan on changing that.
In the army we had a saying “proper planning prevents piss poor performance”, that is exactly how I am feeling right about now. Thinking I got this homestead thing down, or kinda down. Well in reality it kicked us in the teeth with this storm. Well Mother Nature fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, well that one is on me!
Next time we will win
This storm has been a rather good teacher. A teacher that has shown us a more realistic understanding how long one can expect to be in the country without power. This storm has been a good homestead motivator. Don’t get me wrong, there will be a lot of clean up, and preparation for the next event. There are trees broken everywhere, which is good for the potential fence posts, mulch and firewood. Then there is the new an immediate plan to install a wood stove into the shop pronto! And the new emergency supplies that thanks to Amazon will be stocked on a basement shelf.
Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle. -Napoleon Hill
So even though this one left us feeling defeated and drained. It has been a good teacher. If anytime we struggle that give us the opportunity to grow, well then I’ll take it. Our homestead journey still a fairly new journey and much still to do. But learning there is nothing like “old ways” to really save one in a crisis situation. Which is really what we are all about finding that path back to the old, long forgotten ways of life. They were ways our ancestors once lived, and there really is a security in that. We are well on our way back to that road-less-traveled sort of life, but there is still more work to do♡♡♡
Comment, Share and Enjoy
From our family to yours, thanks for stopping by
Beth is a mother of 6 living on a handful of acres in an old farmhouse in central Kansas. Beth has a background in the military and health and fitness however her passions come from her homestead life. Beth is an enthusiastic homeschooling mom, avid organic gardener, chicken & goat wrangler, who is obsessed with herbs and natural remedies and maintaining an all-around Do-It-Yourself lifestyle. Beth loves to share all she has learned about and sustainable living. While striving for a healthy, natural life, family-centered life.
[…] of Kansas for days and even a week for some. It was a time, let me tell you, check that post out here. However we did learn some valuable lessons and that is still good […]