Maine Homestead Life

Stories are the seeds of change…

After 20 years of commercial farming, I’m doing something radical: I’m learning how to truly feed my own family. Not markets. Not customers. But my own blended family living in the mountains of Western Maine.

This is homesteading at the deepest level—and I’m sharing the journey in real time.

Join me for weekly farm updates, regenerative agriculture insights, and the lived story of a conservation farm finding its way in a changing world.

MY STORY

Since I was 16, I’ve been growing, raising, making, or baking food—first in backyard gardens, then as a “landless farmer” hustling between borrowed fields, farmers’ markets, and apprenticeships. It was a grueling ten-year journey building enough agricultural income to justify investing in farmland. Through the USDA’s Beginning Farmer program, I finally found farm-ownership and planted my farm—and myself—in Western Maine, where mountains loom and wilderness abounds.

For a long time, I’ve been a single mom and solo farmer, working with my son alongside me. Now, in a sudden twist of fate, I’ve discovered connection and love in Daniel Gilmore—who comes with two sons and a pair of elderly grandparents.

We’re a blended, multi-generational family living between a mountainside cabin and my New Portland farm—slowly stitching our two households together as my son prepares to take the farm’s reins and I ready myself to join Dan at the cabin.

What began as a conservation-focused farm has grown into something new: a shared, evolving homestead shaped by fresh rhythms—my partner Dan, our blended households, and the grandparents. Feeding people you love is a different kind of calling. It humbles you. It sharpens you. It teaches you to start again.

Through all of this, my core philosophy hasn’t changed:

Care for the land first.

My work is rooted in Aldo Leopold’s land ethic and built around the teeny tinies—beneficial insects, soil microbes, the keystone organisms that make thriving ecosystems possible. Regenerative practices, observation, patience, and a deep respect for the habitat we share with wildlife inform every choice we make on these 53 acres.

Today, I farm alongside my 18-year-old son, BraeTek—raising sheep, chickens, vegetables, and a whole lot of stories. Together we’re transitioning from a production mindset to a home-and-family-centered one. We’re learning. We’re adapting. We’re feeding ourselves—and sharing what works along the way.

WALK WITH ME!

WHAT YOU’LL FIND HERE

For All Subscribers:

• Weekly Farm Updates: Every week, you’ll get a candid briefing on what’s happening at our Maine homestead—seasonal tasks, challenges we’re tackling, what’s growing (or not), and lessons from the field. Think of it as your virtual farm visit.

• Notes & Reflections: Honest insights on stewardship, ecological thinking, and the daily practice of living close to the land.

• Lessons in Self-Reliance: Practical knowledge for the self-sufficient life—kitchen skills, food gardening, preservation techniques, and eco-friendly living that reconnects you to what you eat and how you live.

For Paid Subscribers:

• In-Depth Guides, Ebooks & Printables: Everything from sheep care and soil-building strategies to food preservation and farm systems.

• Behind-the-Scenes Stories: Personal posts, long-form essays, and deeper explorations of the work we’re doing here.

• Occasional Farm Videos: Project walk-throughs, critter updates, conservation efforts, and the unglamorous moments too.

• A Community of Like-Minded Readers: Folks who get why growing tomatoes feels better than buying them—and why nature matters.

• A Small Holiday Gift: A handmade or homegrown token of appreciation sent from our farm to your home each year.

• Direct Support for Conservation: Your subscription helps us care for wildlife habitat, practice restorative grazing, and keep farming alive in rural Maine.

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

“Raw truth. I am also a female farmer… I can relate to the difficulties and applaud your determination.” — Traci C.

“I became a paid subscriber because I love your writing and believe in small, sustainable farming.” — Judi G.

“Thank you for the company while I shoveled the deck! Can’t wait for migration night again this year.” — Kristin W.

“I homestead in Virginia. This is my elder-journey dream. So glad I found you.” — CuriousElder

“Your writing, storytelling, photos… Conservation matters.” — Karin F. K.

“You had me at sheep.” — Mary B.

MORE ABOUT ME

• Master Gardener trained through UMaine Extension

• Former president & educator for Somerset Beekeepers

• 5 years working for Johnny’s Selected Seeds

• 6 years managing Madison Farmers’ Market

• Author of The Resourceful Farmer’s Guide to Raising Sheep and How to Buy a Farm With NO Money

• Full-time farmer, writer, school garden coach, and keeper of stories

➡️Read “The Audacity of Authenticity” to dive deeper into my backstory and learn how life shaped my farmish-journey.

WHAT MAKES THIS PUBLICATION DIFFERENT???

• A seasoned farmer pivoting toward homesteading

• A multi-generational household living the experiment together

• A farm built on Aldo Leopold’s land ethic

• 53 acres managed with ecological intention

• A mother–son farming partnership

• A Maine perspective grounded in long winters, gritty resilience, and deep-rooted community

READY TO JOIN THE MAINE HOMESTEAD LIFE COMMUNITY?

Let’s grow, learn, and tend this land together.

Still have questions? Reach out to me at [email protected].