About Cedar Hollow Homestead History
In early 2019 hubby found out about an old homestead that had just been listed for sale. He came to look at it and immediately signed a contract for us to buy the place. It took over 11 months before we closed on it! It was a long journey. We found out that the house had been sitting empty and abandoned for over 8 years since the previous owner passed away. There were many heirs to the estate that needed to be contacted and sign off on selling the property… We actually ended up going to probate court because a couple of heirs wanted to contest the sale of the property by the estate executor. We finally closed on the house, it was approximately a month prior to the pandemic hitting the US. Now, if the house was move in ready, that wouldn’t have been a problem…
However, the house is an old farmhouse that is close to 100 years old! And it sat abandoned for over 8 years. And it was vandalized numerous times… Needless to say, it needed a lot of heavy-duty structural, wiring, plumbing, and other behind-the-scenes work done before we could even move in! The expenses ran way over what we were guesstimating. We spent all of our budget before we even did anything to make the house presentable / pretty.
Suddenly, things all over the US are shutting down from Covid. Riots are breaking out everywhere. Food supply chains were breaking down. Supplies of everything – including help – were suddenly very limited. There were numerous armed robberies at the house we were renting in town. So, even though our home was not really finished, in we moved! March 25, 2020 was our first night in our new-to-us old farmhouse. It’s now almost a year later and we are still paying the rent on the house in town since we’ve had no help to move our belongings here – we’re no spring chickens anymore. However, we’ve recently lined up some help and I’m hoping to have the rest of our belongings here by the end of March.
The Name – Cedar Hollow Homestead
There’s not just 1, but 2 reasons why the Cedar Hollow name fits this place.
Behind the garage is a HUGE old cedar tree that at some point in time the top broke off it )long before we moved here). It is ginormous! Yea, yea I know. That really doesn’t explain it too well. Anyhow, this tree is -OLD-, like, really old. I cannot even imagine how tall it would be if the top hadn’t broken off. Walking up to the tree, it looks like this huge ginormous impenetrable solid bush. It’s lowest branches sweep down and out to the sides scrubbing on the ground and then curving back up so it looks likes it’s surrounded by masses of 2-3′ tall little cedar trees – but they’re just the tips of the branches that have curved back up skyward. Anyhow, once you get past those, the middle is almost hollow! It’s just a maze of branches. There’s not much greenery inside at all! I’m guessing because of how dark it is inside there. So, kinda hollow in it’s own way.
The second reason why starts with a OLD pecan tree. These pecans on the property are very old. A large adult can easily hide behind them. I’ve not yet measured them, but it would take at least 2 people to reach around several of the pecan trees. Anyhow, big, old pecans like these have many very large forks. The lowest one on this particular tree I’m talking about is about 6′ off the ground. It’s large enough that a person could comfortably sit there if they climbed up. But, maybe they wouldn’t want to sit in this particular fork. It’s so large with a dip in it that there is not only a small privet bush growing in the nook, but a small cedar sapling! It’s a cedar growing in a hollow!
Cedar Hollow Homestead’s future
For more years than I care to count, I’ve been learning about homesteading, planning for the day when I purchased a piece of property. Now it’s here and I’ve been jumping in with both feet putting all I’ve learned and tried into action. Last year we got chickens, was adopted by a stray dog who seemed to like it here and stayed (and is now the best homestead dog), and somehow ended up with not 1 but 5 cats to help with the mouse / rat situation most people in the country deal with. We had a late summer garden and a partial winter garden in 2020.
My goal for the property to make it as self-sustaining as possible. We have a total of just under 5 acres here with a little less than half of it cleared – the remainder is old growth planted pines that’s all grown up around it. 2 acres would normally be a lot to get stuff done with, but aside from working around the current structures (farmhouse, extra-large 3 car garage and shop, well pump house, the location of the well pump itself, and the large septic system that we can only guestimate where it’s at) there’s also SIXTEEN HUGE old pecan trees on the property! They have thankfully been positioned as they cool the house in summer with their shade, but their drip-line and amount of ground they shade out is astounding.
I told you that to tell you this – we have 2 large vegetable garden areas and I’m incorporating 2 different permaculture food forest style areas which will have a large variety of fruit trees and shrubs along with various ground plantings. The majority of the saplings (read: twigs sticking out of the dirt) have been installed by yours truly. Now to work on what will be the understory.
About Us – the Family living at Cedar Hollow Homestead
Hubby is self-employed and works many long hours a week so you won’t see or hear much about him.
Nikki is our youngest who will be 8 mid-March 2021. She’s the sweetest girl with a huge heart. Due to her ADHD and medical issues we decided when she was very young that there is no way she would thrive in the public school system. So, I’ve homeschooled her since, well, always. We’ve found an eclectic mix of CM style and various curriculum I’ve pulled from various sources that not only let her learn, but do so in a style that is best suited for her learning style and my teaching style. She’s a momma’s girl 110% and is always with me doing whatever it is I’m doing. Considering that, she’s already learning how to crochet, quilt, and do hand embroidery. Not to mention everything that’s involved with homesteading that I do.
Melody – that’s me! I’m a Jill of all trades. LOL I learned it from my Grandpa who raised me to not only think for myself, but also to figure out how to solve problems on my own. Also, if there is something that is broken or needing to be done, there’s no reason to spend money to pay someone to do it if I am physically capable of doing it myself. With that said, if I were to sit here and list the things I enjoy doing, I’d be here all night! As a creative person who is capable of figuring out how to make most things simply from looking at a picture, many crafts top my list of loves especially sewing, quilting, embroidery, along with wood working, drawing and painting, and crocheting. Some of my other loves include canning (I’m a certified Master Canner), baking, herbalism, jewelry making, and so much more. I think the take-a-way here is that I love learning! My favorite books are non-fiction that I can learn things from particularly if they involve creative things or things that bring me closer to self-sufficiency.
Thanks!
I just want to say thank you if you’ve taken the time to read this far. If you feel so inclined, drop me a message. I’ll answer when I have some free moments.