IL Newb

Land of Lincoln

Lovin' The Homestead
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Hello from Illinois everyone.

I'm a new SS member here and a newbie to this entire self sufficiency lifestyle. I've always been interested in gardening, diy projects and what not, but just recently have really begun to embrace this entire homesteading type of living. I'm incorporating as much as I can think of into leaving as small of an imprint as I can.

Just moved into an older house on a little over 2 acres and just love it here. I have a few raised beds that I've prepped as well as I could for spring planting. Just planted a couple of dwarf peach trees that I'm very much looking forward to seeing grow and bear fruit in a few years. There are 6 mature grape vines that were here when I bought the property and I enjoyed some of those earlier this summer. I've built a compost bin that's way too small considering the acreage I have out of old pallets I got from work.

Currently in the process of building a chicken coop for some laying hens I hope to get in the spring. There's an old well on the grounds here that I haven't even looked in yet but am hopeful is useable for water. I've got so many things racing through my mind that it's hard to focus on a single thing at one time sometimes. I'm excited, nervous, anxious, intrigued and always yearning to learn something new.

Everything I've read and researched says to start slow as to not get burned out or overwhelmed if something doesn't go quite as planned. I agree with that but knowing my personality, I'll go nuts if I'm not doing SOMETHING. My wife thinks both of my oars aren't in the water sometimes, which is probably true, but this is something that really has taken hold of me and has me excited for what the future may bear.

Sorry for such a long introduction, I can be a long winded old fart sometimes I guess.

I look forward to learning from you all because I'm about as green as a newbie can be.
 

lcertuche

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So lovely to meet you. It sounds like you have a great place to begin. Do you plan on keeping any critters. I have chickens and hope to get some rabbits, and maybe pigs soon. I would love some goats but I don't think it is possible here. Anyway time will tell. Raised garden beds are great and the fruit trees are a great jump into self sufficiency. This is my favorite web site now. Everyone is friendly and helpful. Welcome!
 

NH Homesteader

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Welcome, it's great to have you here. I've done both, jumped in head first and taken longer to think about things. Chickens are a relatively easy way to start with livestock.

Sounds like you've got a lot of great, positive energy. It's a great journey to be on! Looking forward to hearing how it all goes for you!
 

SustainableAg

Lovin' The Homestead
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Welcome to the forum! I am a newbie myself. I look forward to reading about your adventures! It sounds like you are off to a great start. Congratulations :)
 

MoonShadows

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Land of Lincoln

Lovin' The Homestead
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Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

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My little stick fetcher helper decided he just wanted to carry his tire around today so I had to fire him.
 

baymule

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Welcome from northeast Texas. Here's how I built my chicken coop.
http://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/hoop-coop.18291/

You will love having chickens, they are so much fun. We let ours out to free range and they get into everything! The fresh eggs are so good, that you will NEVER eat store bought again!

Your place sounds like a home worth living in. If you like gardening, mosey on over to www.theeasygarden.com sister site to SS, link to the right.
 

NH Homesteader

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I need to do some serious gardening thinking over the winter to get prepared for spring. But I can't handle having another forum to keep up with so happy to have people here to bug with all my questions!
 

sumi

Rest in Peace 1980-2020
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Welcome to SS :frow Great to have you here! You have a good size piece of land there for a few projects and chickens and that garden and fruit trees is an excellent start. What else have you in mind critter-wise?
 
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