Charles Pinder purchased 7.44 acres of land surrounded by a beaver pond and has been working to transform it into a homestead over the past two years. He has cleared the overgrown land with a tractor, brought home guard dogs and chickens for eggs, heats his home with a masonry stove fueled by firewood, and has added goats that will eventually provide milk. His plans for the future include installing solar panels, digging shallow wells, clearing more land, adding bees, growing a garden, building a greenhouse, acquiring draft horses, and potentially raising sheep. The document outlines what he has accomplished so far in establishing his homestead and what further improvements he still hopes to make.

1. My *Someday* Homestead
Charles Pinder
*Transforming a Home into a Homestead

2. Home, Sweet, Lots of
work, Home!

3. Intro to Home!
 On the last slide, that is my property lines, took
awhile to get that! 7.44 acres, surrounded on 2 sides
by a beaver pond. We moved in 2 years ago, and
ever since tried to make this into a homestead.
 This project will be broken into what we have done
already, what we will do, and what I want to do
someday. Those were the categories everything fit
into nicely.

4. So, what have we done?
 First thing, bought a tractor. The land was very
overgrown and needed to be pushed back:

5. Cleared Land

6. Brought a FEROCIOUS
Guard Dog home!

7. Chickens came before the
eggs!
 We started with one flock, they were mostly killed
by predation, so we used those eggs, to raise the
next flock, and then raised a few more. I *think*
there are 28 birds here; but we free range them; so
who really knows?

8. Raising Chickens
 These are one of the 3 batches of Barred Rocks I’ve
raised already. Egg birds, but could be dual
purpose if need be.

9. Mostly everything here has
a job…
 Sarge, our ferocious Chocolate Lab, watching over
the first flock. Those red hens are the only survivors
from that flock.

10. Hard to self motivate around here
when everything is napping!
 Remember those red hens? Still alive and well after
almost 2 years!

11. How do we survive
winter?
 We heat through a Masonry Stove in the center of
the house. Unless we go away, this provides ALL of
our heat…And sometimes tasty treats!

12. With great fire….

13. …Comes great
responsibility.
 Firewood. Firewood. Firewood. That is the
number 1 name of the game around here. This is
the difference between freezing all winter, and
living nice and toasty.

14. It starts like this:

15. Then this:

16. And finally to this:
 Yes, that is another dog, we have 3…

17. Then came Goats!

18. Goats
 We originally had a mother and kid; the Black goat
(female, Nubian/Alpine cross); but her kid ate
Mountain Laurel and died. We found a Nubian kid,
to take the other kid’s place. She is now a Nanny
Goat, so we won’t start getting milk again for
another couple weeks.
 The white goat, is an Alpine, who is pregnant with
Nigerian Dwarf goat(s).

19. Milking Station
 Although she doesn’t need the station right now, we
have her trained not to fuss, so why ruin a good
thing?

20. Fruits, and not just the ones who
live here!
 We have a Cherry tree, several Apple, and more
Blueberry than we know what to do with!
 Eventually, I will learn how to really take care of
them, and move them so they are all consolidated.
 Note:
there are
chickens
in both
photos

21. You say Potato…I
say…Potato.

22. What comes next?
 Here is the age old, where do we go from here?
 Yard upkeep, processing more firewood, keeping
up with normal chores
 Bees!!
 Solar Panels
 Shallow Wells
 Clearing more woods

23. Solar panels should be here:

24. Planned shallow well site
 Oh yeah, and more brush clearing goats!

25. Future Garden Bed
 Before you ask, I have NO IDEA what I want to
grow, I just know I need to grow something!

26. Future plans
 Things for the future:
 Greenhouse; goes along with garden bed; don’t know
what to plant
 Draft Horses;
 I want to raise a team of Shire Drafts, maybe become a
small breeder and try and bring back the breed.
 Sheep
 Have you seen the price of wool socks?! They can
help clear the grass lands, while the Goats clear brush!