Wednesday, June 19, 2013

5th Urban Homestead South Africa anniversary



2008
It was June 2008 that we decided to grow some veggies. There are some readers of the blog who watched form the beginnings as we jumped in with both feet and consistently added to our growing space by converting the whole garden to veggie growing.

We added chicken, compost heaps, womeries. We went horizontal and vertical and hanging space. We made ponds and wild life areas...we added more chickens and frogs.

We started cooking from scratch, learning to preserve, bake bread, make stocks, made jams, used home made cleaners, knitting socks, dish clothes and more.

2008, 2009 and 2010 were characterised by learning skills, huge demands on us all to keep up with the garden and animals.

Pond beginning stages



Then my back gave in...

Debilitating back pain characterised 2011....everything slowed down but the children and Superman picked up the slack for me. I directed, they did. Thank you my precious Ones.

2012 brought many added responsibilities to our home supporting other people in different ways, a desire to spend more time in fellowship with other Christian believers and in Bible study.



Our eldest started preparing for her final year of homeschooling and our sons tennis interests picked up and across the board the perspective started to change from one out there to in here.

Survival characterised 2012. Finding out what were truly our priorities. Letting things go that were not emergencies and just dealing with those things that had an eternal perspective.

Converting veggie bed back to container garden
What we didn't stop was cooking good wholesome meals (even with no kitchen for the last 4 weeks!) , caring for our chickens and making home made cleaners.

Beginning 2013 we decided to reduce our growing space as two areas are in shade for most of winter and to relieve the pressure to keep them planted up.

We also met a homeless man who we were prompted to help by the Holy Spirit. He has become a blessing to us in many ways and God has truly restored his life, his family, his home and his occupation.
Chickens on the way to their new home

But as we ministered to him he made himself available to work everyday of April and May in our garden.

Ricardo has been our saving grace in the garden and is now full time employed but his son will take over his work here soon.






The retirement village


We also decided to send 5 of our chickens off to retirement at the farm we originally got them from. They were so sweet sitting looking out the window of the Landy on the way to their new home.

So this year has been a time of downscaling and priority assessment and while it is not so exciting in terms of listing all the things we have done and achieved it is a true reflection of where we are a family and I think it is important to be truthful with you readers.

So there you have it...another year has gone by!


5 comments:

Chris said...

Congratulations, Wendy. Your blog has been such a source of inspiration and learning to me over the last few years (gosh, amazing where the time has gone, isn't it!).

Reflection is a necessary part of life. Enjoy these moments. xx

africanaussie said...

It is lovely to read about your journey, and you are such a great family. Funny how our lives (and blogs) meander and wander through life as we do. I originally thought my blog would only be about gardening, and yet I am finding a lot of pleasure including other parts of my life, such as healthy living and crafts.

Linda said...

Congratulations on your blogiversary! Your blog is such a wonderful source of inspiration, thank you:)
Linda

Zikhona Tefu said...

Thank you for this beautiful inspirational blog! You inspired me in so many ways. Because of this blog, I made me first bar of natural handmade soap back in 2011, and I now have a thriving business out of it! Thank you Wendy.

Zikhona

Tanya Murray said...

I loved the photo of the chickens looking out of the back window. They look like they are on a weekend outing. So funny.