What Living on Six Acres Has Taught Us

When we first started building out our little farmstead, I think we had a pretty simple picture in our heads.

More space. More privacy. A garden. Some animals. A few projects here and there.

And while all of that is true, living on six acres has also taught us that country living is a lot less effortless than it looks from the road.

There is always something that needs to be fixed, cleaned, fed, moved, cut, watered, harvested, repaired, or planned for next.

And somehow, we still love it.

Where We’re At Right Now

Late August feels like one of the busiest times of the year around here.

The sweet corn has been coming in hard, and over the last week we’ve passed out hundreds of ears to friends, family, people at the office, and others in the community.

That has probably been one of the most rewarding parts of growing it.

There is something really satisfying about planting something months ago, watching it grow, and then being able to hand it to someone else and say, “Here, take some home.”

It is simple, but it feels good to be able to give something away that came right from our own property. (and thanks to Abby’s dad for providing all of the seeds, and planting it for us :))

The Garden Is on a Deadline

Abby is 36 weeks pregnant now, which has made garden season a little more interesting this year.

At this point, we’re trying to make sure everything gets picked, harvested, canned, frozen, or otherwise dealt with before the baby decides it is time to show up.

The garden does not really care that we have a due date coming.

Tomatoes keep ripening. Produce keeps growing. Weeds definitely do not slow down.

So there has been a little extra urgency this year to get everything wrapped up while we still can.

It has made for a busy few weeks, but it is also one of those seasons we will probably look back on and laugh about.

Animals Change Your Schedule

One thing I have learned quickly is that animals do not care what else you have going on.

They need food, water, fencing, clean areas, and attention every single day.

That means weekends are not really weekends in the traditional sense anymore.

Before you leave for the day, animals have to be taken care of. When you get home, there is usually something else to check.

It definitely ties you to the property more than we realized going into it.

But it also gives the kids something pretty special to grow up around.

Every Project Creates Another Project

Country properties have a funny way of doing this.

You build a chicken coop, then you need a run.

You get animals, then you need fencing.

You put up fencing, then you realize you need better gates.

You plant a garden, then you need irrigation.

You buy equipment to make the work easier, and then the equipment needs maintenance.

There is almost always a “next thing.”

We have slowly learned that you cannot do everything at once.

Some projects have to wait, some get changed halfway through, and some turn into much bigger projects than we originally planned.

Equipment Becomes Part of Everyday Life

When you have acreage, equipment stops feeling like a luxury pretty quickly.

Whether it is mowing, moving feed, hauling dirt, cleaning up brush, moving trailers, or working around the property, having the right tool can save an incredible amount of time.

The downside is that every piece of equipment eventually needs fuel, maintenance, repairs, or a part that somehow costs twice what you expected.

Owning land has definitely made me appreciate the difference between wanting a piece of equipment and actually needing one.

Unfortunately, that line keeps getting blurrier.

Mud Is Just Part of It

There are times of the year when everything looks great.

The grass is green, the garden is growing, the animals are out, and the property feels peaceful.

Then it rains.

And suddenly there is mud everywhere.

On boots.

On the tractor.

On the kids.

On the dog.

Probably somewhere inside the house where it absolutely should not be.

Living in the country means accepting that things are not always going to look perfect.

Sometimes that is part of the charm.

Privacy Is Probably Still My Favorite Part

For all the work, the biggest reward is still the space.

There is something about coming home, pulling into the driveway, and feeling like you can shut the rest of the world off for a little while.

The kids have room to run around.

There is space for animals.

There is room for projects.

And there is something peaceful about looking outside and seeing your own little piece of land.

That feeling is hard to put a price on.

Country Living Is Rewarding, But It Is Not Effortless

I think social media can sometimes make country living look like nothing but gardens, sunsets, baby animals, and tractors.

And there is plenty of that.

But there is also broken fencing, weeds, mud, unfinished projects, equipment repairs, and a list of things that always seems to grow faster than you can cross them off.

Living on six acres has taught us that the reward comes from the work.

It is not always easy, and it is definitely not always pretty.

But when you can watch your kids grow up outside, eat food you grew yourself, raise animals, build things with your own hands, and give a few hundred ears of sweet corn away to people in your community, it is pretty hard not to feel grateful for it.

We are still figuring it out as we go.

And I think that is probably half the fun.