That 1870's Homestead

That 1870's Homestead Putting the "Farm" back into our old 1870's Farmhouse ♥
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We love all things vintage, secondhand, and repurposed. And we especially love a great estate sale at the end of the wee...
06/14/2026

We love all things vintage, secondhand, and repurposed. And we especially love a great estate sale at the end of the weekend when they're just trying to empty the house. We hit up an estate sale and found some purposeful items and some just for the fun-of-its. Total spent = 20$
(not pictured 6 curtain rods)
See captions 💲🛒

Every year, we do something a little different with the back pasture. Over time, it's getting heathier, with more clove...
06/14/2026

Every year, we do something a little different with the back pasture. Over time, it's getting heathier, with more clover and less invasive plants. After harvesting our first deer back there last year, we're trying to focus more and what will bring them in. This year, Rachel is strategically mowing certain areas and leaving others to create shelter areas and foster better clover growth. The first picture is after the first mow of the season where we knocked down everything - and the second is where things are starting to take shape. If this goes well, maybe next year we'll break out the disc harrow and put in some deliberate food plots for them ♥ 🦌

06/13/2026

We figured it was finally time to bring you guys along for a proper homestead update because it’s been a while since we really showed what’s been going on out here. The garden has changed a lot since the last time you saw it. We basically tore up a bunch of our old work and tried a different approach this season, and honestly it’s going pretty decent so far. The tomatoes are thriving, the potatoes are doing amazing, the peppers got pruned, and Todd may have planted way too many cucumbers.

We spend the day hoeing w**ds, fertilizing beds, putting up tomato trellises, and trying to figure out what mystery w**d is pretending to be corn in the garden. We also talk a little about what’s working, what’s not, and how we’re dealing with the dry weather already creeping in this early in the season.

And of course we had to give you guys a pig update because things got interesting. Turns out one of the pigs we brought home was not fixed like we originally thought, so the breeder brought us a replacement pig named Socks. He’s tiny compared to the others right now but catching on quick. We also talk about free choice feeding, setting up a mud wallow for summer, and just trying to give these pigs the happiest life we can while they’re here with us.

Thanks for hanging out with us for another day around the homestead.

One of the grandkids spent the night with us last night. As we were checking out the progress on the van together, he a...
06/13/2026

One of the grandkids spent the night with us last night. As we were checking out the progress on the van together, he asked "Can we camp in this tonight?" We packed up a few things and drove out back into the pasture, built a campfire, and gazed at the stars ♥ We sure are building great memories with these kids 🥹

Reached another pretty big milestone on Adventure Van build. The main ceiling area is lined with cedar, and the lights ...
06/10/2026

Reached another pretty big milestone on Adventure Van build. The main ceiling area is lined with cedar, and the lights are installed and wired up ❤ Most of the component wiring at this point is temporary until we start building out cabinets - which hopefully we'll start on in the next couple of weeks. We also finally settled on a fridge, after buying and returning one that was way too small 😊
(sorry for the weird glare on the photos, looks like the camera on my phone is nearing end of life)

Started one of our new retirement hobbies together tonight. Tumbling a batch of rocks we collected from the cabin last ...
06/09/2026

Started one of our new retirement hobbies together tonight. Tumbling a batch of rocks we collected from the cabin last week, and another batch we collected along the shore of Lake Erie. Complete noobs, but excited to learn 😁

06/09/2026

Well, the garden is finally planted and wow has this season already been humbling. We started out trying cardboard and hay to smother w**ds, and honestly the sow thistle just laughed at us and grew right through it. I had one of those moments where I seriously thought about giving up gardening altogether because if I’m not having fun, what’s the point? But we still want to grow our food, so we decided to simplify things and just keep moving forward.

In this video Todd shows the hoeing experiment he’s been trying in the inground beds, and surprisingly it actually seems to be helping. We spent the day hauling out nasty soggy cardboard, planting tomatoes, onions, peppers, cucumbers, bush beans, sweet corn, and getting the whole garden laid out. We also planted up the GreenStalk towers with herbs, flowers, Malabar spinach, and all kinds of fun things for the patio garden.

This year’s garden looks a whole lot different than what we usually grow, but honestly maybe simple is okay sometimes. We’re just trying to find the joy in gardening again one bed at a time.

Today's Mystery 🤔 I noticed one of our tree tubes out back laying down on the ground. We use these to protect our baby ...
06/08/2026

Today's Mystery 🤔 I noticed one of our tree tubes out back laying down on the ground. We use these to protect our baby trees from the deer. It hasn't been windy, so I walked out back to see what's up. Tube lifted up, tipped over, chew marks, and a pile of Blue Jay feathers nearby.
My guess, a bird accidentally fell down into the tube and got trapped down there. Some critter stumbled on an easy meal - only problem is, how to get the bird out. 🎱 That's my guess, what's yours?

We're out in the garden fertilizing and w**ding today. It's already getting hot, so we keep taking breaks and having sn...
06/08/2026

We're out in the garden fertilizing and w**ding today. It's already getting hot, so we keep taking breaks and having snacks 🍓❤️🍓❤️🍓

Um Houston, we have a problem...You know you're working with a good farmer when they recognize their mistake and come ou...
06/07/2026

Um Houston, we have a problem...
You know you're working with a good farmer when they recognize their mistake and come out to your homestead for a good pig wrangling session.
This morning we were back in business with a new feeder pig added to the family. No more worries of sly oopsies happening here 🫣

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PO Box 179
Newport, MI
48166

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