Every story has an origin. As we learn more about Homsteading and “Hobby farms” we have learned about how many got started. For some it is something that runs in the family. For others it was an interest and a dream they worked towards. Our story is different.
My brother was one of those that had dreamed of escaping the urban life and homesteading. We grew up very suburban. He read and planned for years. When the time came to start his adventure he talked about all the different options he was looking at. A lot of it like “on grid versus off grid” were not things I could even envision . In the end he settled in the Missouri Ozarks and a property that was on grid. He talked about raised beds, plans for what he wanted to do with the pole barn, the workshop and more.
A couple years ago my brother passed unexpectedly. My first visit to the homestead was the day after we got the call from the Sheriff (a story for later). Suddenly we found ourselves responsible for a homestead while we worked through the issues of going through the courts in a state we did not know much about. South Florida is at best 18 hours or more away. I added some modern tools to manage the property by remote where possible and went up several times in my own while my wife kept the house and life going in Florida. What was originally supposed to take months dragged out into years. In the process we came to appreciate the farm and began to see a homestead future of our own.
Most of my brother’s dreams and goals had never been fulfilled. There were things he had talked about wanting to build, plus things like equipment for canning or other things we found. We have started to combine what we know, what we found and where we want to go into a vision for our future now. This will be our story as we find our way.
Ward’s Farm 
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