Hey there everyone,
Welcome to my page, The Homesteading Naturalist. Growing up as an only child in the 90’s, I often found myself staying occupied outside. Searching under rocks, watching what the ants come marching in with, climbing the best magnolia tree, and being amazed by the natural world.
I observed heroes such as Jeff Corwin, Steve Irwin, and the Kratt Brothers (Zoboomafoo) on TV and thought I want to do what they do! They made learning about the environment so FUN! I learned about the word “Naturalist” by searching their careers and learning about this beautiful study of Nature. Since then, the age of 9, I knew being a Naturalist was my future, and is.
My younger summers were filled with quickly grabbing snakes and putting them in boxes in my house (sorry mom). I found them so interesting, I was bit by hundreds of snakes before I even hit adulthood and wasn’t even phased. The fear left the more I learned about them. Herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians is one I was quickly entranced by because their sheer numbers in the animal kingdom. There is always something new to learn!
One of my past times inside the house was reading this giant animal encyclopedia that I got from my school book fair, and I STILL have it. The spine of the book worn off shows it’s usage and love over the years.
Animals. It’s always been animals. Nature, a gift from God. I do see that I am fortunate enough to be so sure of something in my life, not everybody gets that certainty at a young age. My goal now in life, is to be my hero, for other kids. So they can be confident and as sure as I am in nature!
You may be able to guess that my summers don’t look much different then they did back then. Now it is even sweeter, because I have a little pal flipping rocks with me and we’re always up for an adventure. I have a career as a Naturalist and am working to complete my undergrad in Natural Resources whilst focusing on Nature Interpretation and Education. Here’s the thing though, being a naturalist doesn’t stop at my career. It is in every fiber of my being. This lead to the desire of homesteading and homeschooling my kiddo. I couldn’t stand the thought of her being in a school room for so many hours in a day, when there is so much value and wisdom to be found outside.
So here we are, finding ourselves surrounded by natural land, in the country. Homeschooling, homesteading, immersing ourselves in nature and educating others too. The Naturalist part of me is nothing new, no matter how much more there is to learn, literally, every DAY I am learning something new.
What I really need to learn more about is building a sustainable homestead. We are starting from the ground up here. I am hoping to be a light and a resource for conversations for budding homesteaders, because starting imperfectly is better than waiting to start perfectly, because we know perfect will never come.
Join us on these priceless adventures.
The Homesteading Naturalist
The Homesteading Naturalist 