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Adjusting to Rural Living – What’s Toughest?

Victoria Gazeley — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:27:39 +0000

The minute you decide to move to the country, you know your life is going to change. With big dreams of organic gardens and fresh, GMO-free eggs, your children exploring ponds and fields while you relax on the porch with a cup of tea after a long day of gardening, you’re excited about what’s to [...]

What Not to Do – Vegetable Gardening Tips from Real Gardeners

Victoria Gazeley — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:43:40 +0000

First, there was the year the slugs ate everything. And I mean everything. Then there was the one where it was rainy and cold right through til the end of July (not terribly inspiring for anything but greens). And who could forget 2012, when I didn’t even plant a garden because something else always got [...]

Rural Living Tips: The Power of Mentors

Victoria Gazeley — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:00:10 +0000

As an urbanite, I had this long-held dream of homesteading, of living off our own rural property, collecting eggs from our free ranging chickens, picking and storing our own organic vegetables and fruit, and working from home. I think I even romanticized it a bit (ahem). The reality of rural living, of course, was a [...]

How to Choose the Best Seeds for Homesteading

Victoria Gazeley — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 01:38:06 +0000

Cold, damp, dark. It’s a typical February on the rainy west coast. Not complaining – at least we’re not buried in snow, and the temperatures are relatively balmy compared to a big chunk of the continent. It may not be a good time for soaking in the sun, but it is a great time to [...]

Chicken Economics: The Cost of Keeping Chickens

Victoria Gazeley — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 13:11:03 +0000

Let’s face it – raising chickens for your own fresh eggs is like a gateway drug to a full-fledged addiction to all things ‘rural’. At least it seems that way, with practically every second magazine having anything to do with ‘home’ talking about backyard chickens in some way, shape or form. There’s a reason why [...]

How to Create a Chicken Dust Bath for Winter Bathing

Victoria Gazeley — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:11:19 +0000

When you live in a rainforest, it rains. (Right about now you’re probably thinking, “No kidding [or insert expletive here], Sherlock.”) Stay with me here. Are you ready for another ridiculously obvious statement? (I’m on a roll!) Lots of rain means lots of mud. So What’s the Problem, Lady? Are You Scared of Getting Mud [...]

What is ‘Modern Homesteading’, Anyway?

Victoria Gazeley — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:11:26 +0000

A few weeks ago a particularly ornery guy called me a ‘poser’ on my Facebook page. And then he went on and on an on in post after post about how I wasn’t really ‘homesteading’ and I should call my page something else. Sure Mr. Grumpy Pants. OK. Thankfully, a bunch of awesome people came [...]

Planning for Modern Homesteading in 2013 – 7 Tools to Use

Victoria Gazeley — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:00:21 +0000

As you begin to delve into the world of self-sufficient living and transitioning from a more conventional (dependent) lifestyle, you learn one thing – you can’t do it all at once (or alone). For most people, it takes years – literally. I’m sure there are some lucky folks with the resources to do it all [...]

The Day the Internet Died – 5 Lessons from a Rural Web Business Owner from a Month without Internet

Victoria Gazeley — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 13:11:13 +0000

My satellite internet died one morning at the beginning of December. An hour on the phone with tech support and it turned out the issue was probably one of having to recalibrate the dish (i.e., seems it had shifted and was off the signal beam). Which meant waiting for their local installer to come out [...]

Tough (and Valuable) Lessons from the Homestead

Victoria Gazeley — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 18:37:49 +0000

The world didn’t end on December 21, 2012. At least for most of us. One of our little roosters wasn’t so lucky. He was a beautiful boy – half Buff Orpington and half ISA Brown (which I guess means half Buff and ¼ Rhode Island Red/¼ Rhode Island White). Lovely red feathers and a shiny [...]

11 Things to Think About When Picking a Plan for Housing your New Chickens

Victoria Gazeley — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:31:05 +0000

Picture this: you’ve decided to add chickens to your backyard or homestead. You’ve spent hours researching basic healthcare and anatomy, you’ve visited all the forums (and become totally overwhelmed), and you think you know what chickens need to be happy. Now comes the big job – deciding on how you’re going to house them. Once [...]

How to Care for a Refinished Cast Iron Sink

Victoria Gazeley — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:11:30 +0000

Nothing says ‘country decor’ more than a vintage cast iron sink. Except maybe a log cabin. Or a big pick-up truck. But nothing says ‘botulism’ or some other sort of nasty bacterial infection more than a vintage cast iron sink that’s been scratched and chipped and generally uncared for to the point where you couldn’t [...]