Hey there! I’m Kaylei.
If you’re looking for a place to tell you all about caring for chickens, growing your own garden, raising your own meat, or cooking from scratch…you came to the right place!
The goal of this blog is to inspire and help individuals leave the hustle and bustle of today, and return to a more simple way of life no matter where you call home. Just because you live in or near the concrete jungle does not mean you have to stay there forever.
About Me
You know when you were in school and teachers would ask where you thought you’d be in 10-15 years…..Yeah, this is not where I planned on being, but I couldn’t be happier with it!
Originally, I am from Southern Maryland, and born to a long line of commercial fishermen and entrepreneurs. Most of my memories as a child have some form of seafood involved. Whether it was harvesting and packaging soft shell blue crabs, watching my father clean fish, or getting elbow deep in sand looking for clams. Life was great!
At the age of 9 years old, my family and I moved to South Texas. I was starting in a new school, around new people, trying to make new friends, and boy was it different. I struggled to make friends while in elementary and middle school. Once I reached highschool, I discovered agriculture.
I had never lived in a farming community before. It was a sight to see when we would pass a tractor on the road. Little did I know that this was a normal occurrence here.
Once I started high school, I discovered what agriculture really was about. By the time I was a sophomore in high school, I had joined our local agriculture program…..I was hooked from the start. Our program was very hands-on, teaching the students how to work in the wood or metal shop, care for animals involved in livestock shows, and plant gardens that we later harvested to cook with in home economics.
During the three years that I was in the agriculture program, I attended every livestock show that was in and around my community. At a moment’s notice, waking up at 4:00 AM for livestock shows or going to sleep at midnight didn’t seem to matter anymore. It was easy for me. I grew an attachment to these animals and a love for all things agriculture. It was something I couldn’t bear to miss out on.
After Highschool
After graduating high school, the hustle and bustle of the working environment made me forget about what I truly had a love and a passion for. I forgot about all of the good times and enjoyment that came out of working with my hands. I decided to attend a stock show a few years after graduating and immediately felt the spark that I had forgotten about.
Five years after graduating high school, I met a woman that had just started her herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats. Her priority was to show the animals and start a herd for her three daughters.
I had made soap in the past, but never with goat milk. I never knew that you could. After much research, she gave me a sample of her goat’s milk to make soap with. I was hooked from there. Within a month I had my own two Nigerian Dwarfs. Slowly but surely, I began to add animals to my little farm, starting with a flock of 40 laying hens. Who doesn’t love TONS of fresh eggs?
Over the years I have learned many valuable lessons, some harder than others to cope with. Even when there are hard moments, I wouldn’t trade this life for the world.
Why I’ll never go back to being “Normal”…
After being able to collect the freshly-laid eggs from the hens, or drink the raw milk from our goats, I knew I never wanted to live “normal” again. Nowadays I’m a total “hand-made”, “natural”, and “from-scratch” freak. If I think that I can build or make something cheaper, stronger, or better than buying at the store, I’m in (even though sometimes it’s better to just go to the store). What can I say? Sometimes you just want to experience it all, success or failure (and trust me when I say, I’ve had my share of homestead failures).
Have I been “homesteading” for decades upon decades? The answer is a big, fat, NO. However, I’m here to share some of the tips, tricks, and things I have learned over the years, from trial…and some errors, so maybe you won’t have to.