The Rewards of Homesteading

Here's a list of some of the things we find rewarding as a result of our homesteading efforts:

1. Walking past the milk section at the grocery store without buying anything.
2. Walking past the egg section at the grocery store without buying anything.
3. Being able to go months without buying chicken or pork because you've got a freezer full of it.
4. Seeing our garden in full production, green, and fruitful.
5. Having so many fresh, organically grown peaches on our kitchen counter that I have to eat 3 per day just to keep them from going bad. Mmmm!
6. Never having to buy butter or yogurt because you've got a freezer/refrigerator full.
7. Seeing your 1 year-old finally gain some weight because he's drinking that rich, creamy raw milk.
8. Eating all that homegrown food and knowing that you are eating organic and pastured (in the case of meat) and healthy stuff, yet paying a fraction of the price that same food brings on the market.
9. Being able to go out in the garden and pick fresh corn, green beans, tomatoes, etc for dinner.
10. Eating a "home grown meal" (HGM, as Reg and I refer to it). A "home grown meal" is a meal in which most of what we're eating was grown on the homestead.
11. Being able to pull a mason jar full of canned vegetables out of the cabinet when you thought had run out.