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Future Plans for Resiliency

We are making a list of resiliency ideas for our homestead.  Many of these require significant expense, so this is a rather long term list.

    1. Fences – we currently have no perimeter fence and would be able to run some cattle if we did. And the dog would have a little more freedom.
    2. Tractor – with loader, forks, PTO mowers, bush hog, etc. This would allow us to mow our own pastures instead of paying someone else to do it.
    3. Garage/Barn – we are a two mower family, we’ll soon be a multiple car family and we’re considering a tractor with PTO add-ons. We’re going to need somewhere to store all that!
    4. A well – we are currently on municipal water supply and would like to be able to have water with less dependence. (We just had an incident where the water was turned off for a day of repairs. That was an interesting experience.) We already use creek water for our animals, but we can’t really drink that. 😉
    5. Root Cellar – we would love to be able to have a cool, dark root cellar for potatoes and preserved eggs. It will also free up some space in our refrigerator, because right now, we have like 15 dozen eggs waiting to be used up. We have a great method for preserving them without refrigeration, but we’d like to have a cooler space before we risk all our eggs on it. (We’re doing two five gallon buckets this year.) This would also allow us to grow more sweet potatoes and squash because they would keep longer in a root cellar.
    6. Solar panels and batteries – for reducing dependence on the electric grid. If the power ever went out for a long period of time, we could still run the fridge and freezers off of a few solar panels.
    7. Solar hot water heater – there are some DIY options available here that are interesting. And they work really well!

Fear or Wisdom?

The biggest question I have with all these resiliency ideas:

Am I looking for security and safety in this world or is this wise planning and discernment of the times from the Holy Spirit?

We want to rely on God to provide for us, and not be self-sustaining. We don’t want to be so resilient that we forget who sustains us. But we also want to be able to show that God’s way is better, and share hope with the world when things get tough. Hopefully, the Lord will give us some clarity on if, when, and what order in the days to come.

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Our Cats Have Wandered

Well…sad story at the Redeemed Homestead. Both of our sweet boy cats have wandered away.  We didn’t neuter them and they came of age…so now someone with nearby female cats may have a problem.

Oscar Leaves

Strong, sweet Oscar was first to leave. He’d started following us up the driveway to the mailbox, and the big new world out there was starting to grab his attention. Also, he was lonely because Coconut was an invalid in the house at that time. We were nursing Coco back to health, and Oscar was feeling left out, so it seemed the perfect time to seek his fortune in the wide world.

Sweet little Oscar, looking lonely

Coco Follows

Coco lasted longer. Because he had been mauled (that’s a story for another day), and  we nursed him back to health, we were sure he would stay close to home and not go wandering the treacherous forests at night again. We had gotten assurance from a friend that cats who get nursed back to health after a mauling incident generally stay home afterward, but apparently not forever… Coco did…but only for an while. He grew lonely because of Oscar’s absence, and meowed pitifully at nobody.  We thought he was recovering from his loneliness, but he wasn’t. He was just getting ready to go find another cat friend. One day, he too followed us up to the mailbox, occasionally stopping to survey the adjoining field. We swayed his interest then, but a few days later, he too was gone.

Coco lounging on the sidewalk, looking for someone to play with

Why?

So, what happened? Why did these little guys run away?

Well, we have a few ideas:

    1. Our little boys were growing up. We didn’t neuter our cats, and they were starting to look for a mate.  So if you want your pets to be free, and still stay with you, you’ll want to get them fixed so they don’t go looking for other cat company.
    2. They were lonely. When Oscar ran away, Coco was stuck in the house, so he had no one to play with. Coco ran away after Oscar had already left. In both cases, they were missing their brothers. Even though cats are generally independent and not super social, if they grew up together, they will miss each other if they’re separated.  So if you get two cats, just keep that in mind and give them lots of love.
    3. They were starting to realize there was a wider world beyond our farm.  These guys had both started exploring beyond our property before they ran away. Hunting in the woods at night is what got Coco mauled. Following us up to the mailbox preceded both the runaways. And not locking them in at night facilitated both of these run-ins (and outs.) So teach your cats early on that you are their family, and maybe lock them in at night, even though it curtails their hunting opportunities.

So, it looks like we’re fresh out of cats. But there is still a glimmer of hope. A friend told us that their cats have run away and stayed away for a few years, and then suddenly reappeared, ready to start over. So maybe they’ll return. But then again, maybe not. You never know. Maybe we’ll just have to get some new ones.