About Us

Hello!

We are the Andersens! A family of five, living on a run down 16 acre Homestead in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin. We are fixing up the Farmhouse, planting gardens, making space for animals and raising a family. So glad you could join us on our Homesteading Journey.

Where we came from…

We used to live in suburban Chicagoland, Illinois. It’s where we embarked on the homesteading journey, proving you truly can Homestead (to some degree), anywhere. We started growing food in raised beds and containers, eventually setting up a small garden area with herbs, flowers, fruits and veggies. I taught myself how to bake bread, various preserving methods and crafts. My husband focused on small engine and vehicle repair, expanding his home repair and renovation knowledge. We thought we were set. Then we moved to the country…

The Country

Ahh, the country! It’s been an adjustment with so much to figure out and learn. Social and community differences aside, there was the Great Chicken Debacle of 2015, followed by the Groundhog Disaster and something involving mice. There is almost always, something involving mice. We’ve had blights and voles, moles and beetles. Warping boards, flooding basements and even a plague of flies, actually several of those.

We’ve learnt how to start my car with a pair of pliers, treasured harvests of 10 tomatoes from 40 plants just as much as we treasured the 500 pounds from 30. We have fixed overgrown and fungus-infected pear trees, planted an orchard (twice), tamed weeds on over 4 acres, started a food forest, cleared out woods, harvested our own maple syrup and have the house kinda, sorta, liveable. Most importantly, we’ve made so many wonderful friends along the way. Life is varied, interesting and fun, even when it leaves us muddied and sore.

This is our adventure and we hope to share all we have learned, and are learning, along the way!