Big Little House on the Prairie
Big Little Pond on the Prairie
Peaceful pond view from our backyard - the moon made an early appearance that evening
When I was growing up, the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder were all the rage. Laura’s well-crafted tales of her family’s life on the prairies of Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas were a thrilling look at pioneer life. Growing up in Minnesota, I wasn’t too far removed from the beloved prairies of Laura’s youth. Even though I was a “city girl” living in the state capitol of St. Paul, our family visited our lake property in western Wisconsin on the weekends, where I could experience some of the joys of the simple life, like fishing off the dock, cooking over an open fire and enjoying a dip in the crystal-clear lake on a hot summer day.
Fast-forward 50-some years, and my life has come full-circle. What began as a quest for land to build a shop building to house my husband’s retirement hobby (car restoration) turned into a full-fledged move to the “country”. We now live on a pristine 10 acre lot, complete with a beautiful new house and shop building. Although the move wasn’t without its share of stress and hard work, it was worth the effort. We are amazed by the abundance of wildlife we see every day. Deer, sandhill cranes, pheasants, turkeys, geese, ducks, turtles, coyotes, and even a beaver (yes, they are VERY busy!) are just some of the animals that run wild on our property. Even though we aren’t “roughing it” like the pioneer days, we are thrilled to be able to live in our Big Little House on the Prairie.
Below is a visual diary of our homebuilding journey, along with a few photos and a short video of our new wildlife friends. We still have a ways to go to finish the landscaping, yard, and driveway, but we plan to start on those projects soon. Watch for future blog posts detailing new adventures from our homesteading journey, as well as our life on the prairie!
Feel free to share your thoughts and stories below in the comments - would love to hear about your journey to where you are at now and/or where you are going!
Beaver swimming near man-made dam near the back of our property.
