The History Behind BlackJack Acres

Since this is our first Blog I thought I'd start off giving a bit more in depth info on how and why we decided to live off grid and why in our early 50's we decided to start a farm. So let's get to it shall we?

One thing has to be made clear. My husband and I are not wealthy people , we are blue collar people and have pretty much lived from pay check to pay check our entire lives. We had no savings and our little farm is still a work in progress. Knowing that we'll continue on with our story.

After years of living in Florida and the heat taking a huge toll on my husbands health we had reached a point in our marriage that almost cost us everything. All marriages go through hard and trying times and this was the first of a few to come. During this time we relocated to New Hampshire for 2 years. During this time we were watching many shows and documentaries regarding living off grid and what was happening to our food supply in this Nation. That coupled with what we have been witnessing with our Government it looked better and better to us. Even though we tried not to admit we wanted to own land and our own home since we never thought we would actually be able to , it started to look possible if we were willing to give up many creature comforts most take for granted ( including us ). Like running water , indoor plumbing , a constant electric supply , ect.

In 2016 I was surfing FB and came across 21 acres of land for sale , our credit was not very good at all due to medical bills and life in general. But this property was a land contract purchase , I knew little about that term but my husband's parents had purchased their first home using a land contract so he educated me as well as the internet. We came out to look at the land and put a deposit down the same day , headed home as the new property owners and started making plans. You should know as a farmer , homesteader and off grider nothing EVER goes as planned! Especially since this was Raw land meaning it had been used for nothing but logging and the loggers never cleaned up after themselves. It had a small & short gravel road that someone had started before abandoning the property but that was it.

As I said all marriages go through trying times and we were due for yet another. My husbands step father passed away and we had to go to Michigan to help his mother who at the time we did not know was in the early stages of dementia. We were ready to give up the property and settle in Michigan to be closer to her but things being what they were we stayed only a couple of months and decided heading out here to our land was our best plan of action. It was early Jan. when we moved out here. As crazy as it sounds we planned on living in our tent , I know , I know it really was crazy! After only a couple of weeks in the tent a Nor Easter was headed our way so with what money we had from selling my husbands tools and toolbox after over 25 yrs as an auto mechanic we set to building a shelter. We were blessed with some reduced lumber an insulation we acquired from Lowe's. Within 3 days we built a 12 ft. by 16 ft. shed to live in. Little did either of us know that would be our home for 2 yrs.

Keep in mind many things in life can try a marriage but living in such close quarters for 2 years with no amenities can REALLY take a toll & our generator was always breaking down , only a tiny single window and the winters here can be very depressing since it's cloudy an dreary majority of the winter season. We were building the house we live in now and making good progress but it took being separated for 4 months to realize our marriage was worth more than anything we were going through. I tell you this not to discourage you if your considering this life style but to prepare you. Now during all this and over the 2 years in the little shed , which is now our wood shed , we started gaining livestock. We started as most do with chickens and then goats. It has only been recently that we got into rabbits although we had discussed them many times. The property is lush with wild Maine blueberries , raspberries , mushrooms and wild life so farming was only logical plus as I stated earlier on is a way we can make money to pay bills , provide for our food supply and be a benefit to our community.

You see we have plans to Co-Op our little farm in the Spring as well as eventually have children from our little towns Elementary School come out in an effort to educate them as to where their food comes from but also to help them understand why caring for the Earth is so very important. But I digress......

In the past year things have really taken off and we are finally able to get the farm producing and making a living from it. We have half of our solar power system and have a plan for our water system as well. And no we're not putting in a well , as I said we are not wealthy people nor do we have the credit required for a huge purchase like a well. But now that things have taken off and we have given it a name we are ready , ready to share our adventure in Farmsteading with you. In future posts you can look for recipes , tips and tricks , ideas that work for us as well as info on livestock and just about anything we face or deal with here at BlackJack Acres.

The progress we have made since those days in the tiny shed. The Barn is all but complete!