It’s A Homestead Life At Hackett Hill Farm

Ours is just one of so many stories of a family on their homesteading journey. A journey to a more self-sufficient lifestyle with challenges that push you out of your comfort zone and into rewarding experiences beyond measure.

” It’s A Homestead Life ” -Each month I hope to bring you a different family’s story, a new journey with new experiences to share.

Grab a cup of tea or coffee and come along with me, as we chat with Kimberly of Hackett Hill Farm. I have been virtual friends with Kim for about a year now. Though far away I consider us a part of the same tribe. Little chats when busy life permits always end with me feeling so uplifted and not alone on this wild ride.

I also follow her Blog , Instagram , Facebook , YouTube, Pinterest

 Kim has a heart to encourage and inspire other women and mamas in this homesteading lifestyle, and for me she does just that! 

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Meet Kimberly of Hackett Hill Farm

Hi Kim! Tell us a bit about your homestead/farm. How long have you been homesteading? What led you to this lifestyle? Etc….

Hey Emily! Thanks so much for having me!

We have lived beside the farm for the past seven years on a little 7 acre wooded plat. We did minimal gardening and only really talked about owning animals.

My husband always said that if the farm ever came up for sale then we were going to buy it. In early 2020 we put an offer in on the 31 acre farm and closed in September of that same year. Since, we have been digging our heels into this new way of life.

We have been rebuilding the farmhouse over the last year and a half doing majority of the work ourselves with the help of my parents. My husband has always been handy, but it has been so fun watching him grow in his knowledge and confidence of construction

I have always been interested in being self sustaining and 2020 solidified for me that in order to protect my family I needed to ensure they understood what being self sustaining meant. The farm gave me a broader Avenue to be able to teach my kids the lessons my parents and grandparents taught me.

While I grew up in WV and had exposure to farming and all that comes along with it, my husband didn’t. He will be the first to tell you that he never dreamed to be where he is today. But he is a natural at it, and homesteading looks so good on him!

I am a dreamer and I like to move fast on things. I become obsessed with something and won’t stop working until I get it. My husband is so gracious to usually just go along with it. So within the last year we have not only been inundated with construction, but we purchased a donkey, 2 bottle fed calves, 7 heifers, and 10 chickens. I have planted a massive garden, canned, froze, and dehydrated everything I could from it, and it is still producing. I started the blog and a new job also.

My goal is to build a sustainable future for my family first and foremost, but my calling is to bring this lifestyle to others especially mothers. I have a special place in my heart for moms and know that we need the support of one another to make it through some days. I want to provide a space where women can come and learn how to be sustainable in their own way and then bring these learnings back to their family.

Everyone’s journey looks different, I am just hoping that some choose to bring me along in their journey to self sufficient living.

 You’ve had some pretty major construction happening at the farm…what’s going on?!     

We have had some BIG construction happening. The original structure is a beautiful handhewn log cabin built pre 1850. We are restoring the original structure and turning it into a new addition.

When we bought the house it was covered in black mold and had super low ceilings. They had, over the years, just closed in porches and added random rooms onto this little cabin. Nothing was square, but I saw the potential in it.

My husband wanted to bulldoze everything , but like I said before, just usually goes along with me.

We ran into some issues with the contractor we had originally hired being swamped with other jobs and not really having a vision of how to bring everything together.

After almost a year of being pushed off and demolition, my dad stepped in and we have been working furiously to get the house completed by the beginning of 2022.

Construction is stressful for sure, but it has also been a really rewarding experience.

 What have you found to be the hardest thing about this homestead life?

The cold! I hate winter, and I hate even more having to go out in below freezing temps to feed. But it is part of it right? So I learn to layer up and grin and bare it. And sometime I sweet talk my husband into pulling my chores along with his haha!

What would you say is the most rewarding thing about homesteading?

Knowing that we did this (whatever it is) as a family unit. Everyone is invested and that to me means the world. My kids and husband are always there beside me. We work together and play together.

I love seeing my family grow in their knowledge of homesteading and self sustainability. It is so rewarding to hear my kids talk about gardening and the farm animals and really be excited about it!

I’m obsessed with your donkey, Archie. He is so adorably cuddly looking! Why get a donkey? Is there a benefit of one on the homestead? (Taking notes so I could convince my husband!)

Well Archie was my first “purchase” for the homestead. Before we even put an offer in, I told my husband that I wanted a donkey. My original selling point is that they are great protectors for cattle, but my real reason for wanting one is because they are just so dang cute!

We found Archie through a person at my husband’s work and she was giving him away. He had been alone for years and was not broken and hated trailers. She said “if you can load him, you can have him”.

I was bound and determined that he was coming home with me. I prayed that he would load easily and come home.

When we got there to pick him up, he was so sweet with the kids. He loved them and we loved him.

He saw the trailer and freaked out. I was heart broken…

But my husband, being the wonderful man he is came up with a plan. We left the trailer in his field and put feed and water in it and we left with the promise that we would be back in a few hours. We left, and when we came back, Archie was sitting pretty inside the trailer just munching away on the hay we had left him.

We closed him up and brought him home. 

 It has been a bumpy road with him. We have finally gotten him halter and lead broken. He is now great with the cows, and we love the heck out of him.

There’s nothing better than hearing him bray across the field.

Donkeys are great social animals and our neighbors all love him.

What other animals do you have and was there a particular order or strategy in getting them?

We have cows, chickens, and a donkey currently.

The deciding factor on how we got our animals was based on housing for them. We started with Archie. He had been living in an open field previously with no cover, but we put him up with a stall and field for him to free roam in.

Then we divided off part of that field and introduced Cookies and Cream, our two bottle fed steers.

They were a great learning experience for us. They taught us the discipline needed for having animals like this and they were so much fun to have around.

Then we added the chickens after converting one of the out buildings to a coop and finally added the 7 heifers.

We are looking to add sheep, ducks, pigs, and maybe rabbits in the coming years.

Did you or your husband have a background in animal husbandry? If not, how did you get comfortable with these animals, esp ones bigger/stronger than you?

I have limited exposure to larger livestock, my husband has none. He grew up in the city ya’ll, bless his heart.

We spend a lot of time networking with other farmers and homesteaders to find out their best practices.

I read and research a lot as well. I am confident around our animals but never comfortable.

I always make sure that I am out of their kick zone and never put myself in a position where they could pin me.

Owning large livestock and working with them like we do, it’s important to understand their power and always take precautions. We make sure we work together when possible so there’s always a second person there.

In one of your videos, your young sons were cleaning out the stalls…How much did you have to bribe them to help? Do they help a lot in farm chores? How do you incorporate them into the chores?

Oh my gosh the boys love to help at the farm. Aside from the fact that I believe my children to be partly feral, they are great helpers with farm chores. They are more likely to muck a stall than clean up their toys.

My daughter loves to help in the garden and she is great with the bigger livestock. My sons love everything construction and chicken related.

They all understand that everyone has to help out, but we try to give them tasks that they enjoy so there’s less complaining.

It’s always great when we can make a competition out of chores though. We love a good race! 

 I believe I watched every single one of your YouTube videos, love reading your Blog, and following you on Instagram. I feel like I know you as if we were old friends…what I DON’T know is your secret of how you pull it all off!?!?! Being a mother, wife, having a farm with not only plants but animals (and big ones too!), a job, a Blog….How do you manage it all?

I have always liked to have a full plate with things I love. When you love the work you do, it no longer feels like work, but a part of the joy of your life. I delete the things that don’t bring me joy.

I don’t watch television often, I limit my close circle of friends, and I focus on those few things I love. I also don’t put myself down if something doesn’t get done. I understand I can’t do it all every day, so I celebrate the days I will big and plan differently on the days that the wins are small.

I am also very routines driven. My days look essentially the same day after day which allows me to really focus on the tasks that need to get done. I always keep a running to do list in my bullet journal and prioritize based on family and homestead needs.

What advice would you give to someone exploring the idea of homesteading or just starting out?

Before starting, know why you want to do it. For me it was for my family and the joy the homestead brings me. If you know your why, you are more likely to stick with it.

Have a great support group. Whether it’s family, friends, network, a good support group to learn from, share frustrations with, and lean on; having a support group is essential to successful homesteading.

Thank you so much for taking the time for this interview and giving readers another perspective and journey to follow!

Thank YOU Kim, for giving us glimpses into your life! I’m excited to watch your life unfold….until next time my friend!

It’s A Homestead Life ……And What A Wonderful Life It Is!

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