… and I’m not ashamed! In the introductory post, I stated that I wanted this blog to develop organically based on the many facets of my life that are important to me. I have been having a serious internal debate on whether or not I wanted to share one aspect that is important to not only myself but also many others in my immediate and extended family.

We have recently purchased our first home in hopes of designing the physical home to be something we can be proud of but also develop our property to allow for a more sustainable life. I guess you could say we’re fancy homesteaders and we’re ok with that! We like nice things but we also understand and respect the importance of self-reliance.

All this being said, I have to come clean and jump for joy that I’m willing to expose us for what we are. We are hunters. We enjoy the process of taking time to track and scout deer and predator activity on the property we have access to. We enjoy knowing that an animal we harvested we invested time into and are able to provide ourselves and our families with free-range and protein as organic as it comes. We are not trophy hunters. We are not heartless. We are carrying on a tradition our families have held for many generations.

(Spending time alone in the woods is good for the soul)

The purpose of this blog is to share our experiences and our creations on this journey. Sitting in my tree stand this past weekend, I felt like I was being disingenuous by not embracing all aspects of our adventure. It may not be a shared past time for everyone, but I hope it doesn’t turn anyone away from joining us on this journey.

(Nap time for the little one, stand relocation for my other half. Every day is an adventure, and no better way to enjoy it than by being outside!)

I promise, there will not be extensive posts on this topic. There will not be gory pictures or overly-detailed descriptions once a hunt is successful. What I can promise is that I will shine a positive light on what this lifestyle entails and how important it is to us. I can promise that the science and history of hunting will be explored and explained to maybe get you, the reader, to understand why so many individuals view hunting as an essential aspect of self-reliance.

We are ‘fancy’ homesteaders and I hope our journey will inform and inspire others to find themselves.