Many people associate a homesteader lifestyle as having a simpler life. A less complicated and chaotic life. A kind of life that hearkens back to those magical “good old days” but um, when, exactly, were these supposed good, old, simpler days? 🤔

Back before electricity? Indoor plumbing? Amazon Prime??

It’s easy for us to wax poetic about the past but the reality is life is not simple now nor has it ever been and it’s definitely not simple living as a modern day homesteader. Anyone who is attempting to live this lifestyle can attest to this.

I can tell you from my very limited experience doing this for six years now that I’ve never worked so hard in all my life! I am up at the crack of dawn when the roosters start to crow, whether I want to be or not…

There is no taking a day off because I have dozens of hungry animals counting on me to feed them and since I can’t drive I have to always stay one step ahead in order to make sure everyone has what they need, including me.

I also can’t eat anything that isn’t made fresh and from scratch, which while being delicious and healthy takes a lot of work in and of itself…

I spend a lot of time just managing our inventory of day-to-day ingredients, not to mention our end-of-the-world-food-and-everything-else-we-need-to-survive-whatever-disaster-may-or-may-not-be-coming supplies.

During the spring, summer and fall I am working outside in the garden and flowerbeds for hours despite the challenge of having mastocytosis. It’s the reason why I have to eat everything fresh and it also causes me to be highly allergic to simple little things like physical exertion, heat, sunlight and especially stinging flying things (aka murder hornets).

It’s totally worth risking death for out there, though…

I manage to function thanks to my healthy diet and also my mast cell medicines which I compound myself using “safe” pure ingredients. I have no choice since I’m also allergic to almost every pharmaceutical and over-the-counter concoction on the market (yay me!).

Luckily I am NOT allergic to dogs. Or mushing. Or snow or ice or cold.

Well, maybe the cold a bit but it’s easier to keep warm in winter than it is to cool off during the summers.

While I do have a lot of help in the form of a very handy hubby and helpful son, no matter the season I spend much of my days either cooking or cleaning…

Mostly cleaning. 😆

In the rare moments I do get to sit back and enjoy the spring sunrise or summer sunset or admire the fruits of my labor in the fall, I am usually exhausted from said laboring and just want to climb back into bed.

Except my bed is usually full of huskies who have the luxury of sleeping the day away while I fuss over all the details…

…and then I have to vacuum up after them before I can crawl back into my bed, of course! 😄

Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. I love my life and wouldn’t trade it for anything. I feel incredibly blessed and grateful to be able to do what I do. My lifestyle is partly a choice I’ve happily made and also one I have no choice in living (if I want to live, that is) and while it may not be for everyone, it suits me and my wonky mast cells perfectly.

It’s incredibly rewarding!

But it’s far from simple. 😉