Homestead Blog Hop #52

 

Welcome to the Homestead Blog Hop!

Wow how time flies. We are just truly seeing the leaves start to change. High School football is wide open and our local team is doing really well. The high school band is doing great and I am not saying that just because our youngest is in the band, but it probably helps. I have already made my Apple Goodie once and it is in high demand. As always I keep playing with the recipe. 

We are truly coming into my favorite time of year. Take some time and keep out some great bloggers. 

Now on to the hop... Homestead Blog Hop will take place every Wednesday and is for all things homesteading: real food recipes, farm animals, crafts, DIY, how-to's, gardening, anything from-scratch, natural home/health, self-sufficiency, self-reliance, natural remedies, essential oils, & more! Basically anything related to homesteading.

Meet and Follow Your Hosts!

Kelly - Simple Life Mom (Facebook/Pinterest/Twitter/G+) Lindsey - Chickadee Homestead (Facebook/Pinterest/Instagram) Jennifer - Homesteading on Grace (Facebook/Pinterest/G+) Amanda - Idlewild Alaska (Facebook/Pinterest) Gregg - The Rural Economist (Facebook/Pinterest/Twitter/G+/Instagram) Bonnie - The Not So Modern Housewife (Facebook/Pinterest/Twitter/G+)

Featured Posts from the Last Homestead Blog Hop

Each week we will choose three posts to feature.Each post will be shared on all social media platforms by all of the hosts! Here are the features from Last Week's Hop:

1. Rain, Rain Come Again. Rain Barrel is Ready and Waiting From Bloom Where You're Planted

2. Pumpkin Seeds with Spice from Day's Ferry Organics

3. How to Can Apples from Oak Hill Homestead

Congrats! Feel free to grab the featured on button for your post.

Just right click and 'save image as...'

Guidelines for this Get-Together:

1. Click on the “Add your Link” Button below and add a great image of your project or recipe. Make sure you link to the page of your family friendly post – not the main page of your blog!
2. Try to visit at least a few other blogs at the party. Be sure to leave a comment to let them know you stopped by!
3. Please link back to this post somehow (a text link is ok). This is one thing we look for when choosing who to feature. We will share on multiple social media if you are featured!

Let the Party Begin!

Stages of Sustainability Podcast Episode 6

In this episode we talk about the stages of sustainability. In the podcast I call it steps, but after listening to it I believe stages are a better term. The road to sustainability is very similar to the development of a person.



The stages of sustainability are as follows: consumer, self reliance, and sustainability.

Consumer

Dictionary definition of consumer

noun

1. a person or thing that consumes.

2. Economics. a person or organization that uses a commodity or service.

3. Ecology. an organism, usually an animal, that feeds on plants or other animals.

I like to compare a consumer to an infant. To be a consumer a person really doesn't have to produce anything. An infant must have everything supplied for it. As long a person has currency they really don't need anything else. Once a person has a job that will cover their expenses they really don't have to have anything else. In fact society really doesn't want you to have anything else. The system wants you to stay simply a consumer.

Self Reliance

Dictionary definition:  reliance on one's own efforts and abilities
This is something that only a few people move into and I wish a lot more people would move into. Self reliance is a step along the personal development scale. Self reliance should be measured in time. You have to achieve a level of self reliance before you can move into self sustainability. Self reliance is primarily based on supplies.

Self Sustainability

Self sustainability isn't even in the dictionary so I am including the definition for self sustaining.

:  maintaining or able to maintain oneself or itself by independent effort self–sustaining

community>

It is a little sad that self sustainability is so low on the societal importance scale that it isn't even included in the dictionary. The second part of the self sustaining definition had to do with a nuclear reaction. Being self sustaining takes self reliance to the next level. This is where we take our supplies and them to our developed skills and the end result is exponential.

Corn is a good example. A single grain of corn is not enough to sustain you at all, but when you plant that grain of corn and you work the land, tend and care for the plant, you will get a harvest that is way more than a single grain. This principle applies to every natural system. The increase is different sure, but the underlying ideal is the same. This goes way beyond supplies. But here is the catch. You cannot wait till you need these things to develop the skills. You have to go beyond being a consumer, become self reliant, then develop skills to become self sustainable.

In our next episode we will talk about the education systems impact on the societal view of sustainability.

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Front Porch Friday #2

 Welcome to Front Porch Friday!

 

 This week has been fairly interesting. I have been fighting sinus problems for a couple of weeks and am finally feeling a little better. I went with the wife and youngest daughter shopping and realized that I just do not fit in with modern culture in any way. I am going to need a new pair of pants and thought I would get some cargo pants instead of jeans. Well guess what? They don't make my size. When I get the waist right the length is too short. If I go to a size where the length is right, the waist swallows me whole. I guess this is some of what many ladies go through, but I refuse to shop for very long. I will find some online, hopefully.

I am looking forward to reading some great content this week from bloggers all around.

My pick.  

Banana chocolate chip mini muffins. I will be the first to admit that I have a sweet tooth and these sound really good.

Mama K picked
Life with Goats by Medium Size Family. If you have or have had goats you will relate.

Shelle PreparednessMama likes this useful season end idea from Taylor Made Homestead.

Make your own homemade cider and can it for the cold winter months.

Thank you to all who linked up last week!! I really enjoy reading your posts!

• Please share your posts that are homesteading, prepping, homemaking, or frugal living in nature.
• Please be family friendly, although Zombies are ok.
• Please visit the blog that linked before you. Share the love.
• Older posts are okay, but please only share on the Hop once.
• If you would like to be featured I ask that you have linked back to this post
• By linking up here you are giving permission to share your post, if featured.

 

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<a href="http://www.mamakautz.com" title="Mama Kautz"><img src="http://mamakautz.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/150x150.jpg" alt="Mama Kautz" style="border:none;" /></a></div>