Yesterday morning, on my drive into work, I found myself reflecting on the past six months. Somewhere between the morning coffee and the familiar roads of my commute, it finally hit me just how much we’ve accomplished here at J & J Homestead.
And, it’s only the beginning of July.
Somehow, in what feels like the blink of an eye, we’ve experienced enough successes, setbacks, milestones, and lessons to fill an entire year. Homesteading has a way of doing that. Every season brings something new, and every challenge teaches you something valuable.
Looking back, I honestly couldn’t be happier with where this journey has taken us.
It All Started with Winter
The year began with one of Virginia’s memorable winter ice storms. Like many homesteaders, we spent those days constantly checking on the animals, making sure everyone had fresh water, plenty of food, and shelter from the freezing temperatures.
There were moments when the ice seemed relentless, but our bees made it through the winter, and our chickens weathered the storm as well. Seeing the colonies alive when spring finally arrived felt like nothing short of a miracle. Every beekeeper knows that winter survival is never guaranteed, and opening those hives to find healthy, active bees was an incredible feeling.
Sometimes the biggest victories happen quietly.
A New Chapter with Turkeys
As spring arrived, we made one of the biggest changes we’ve ever made on the homestead.
We made the difficult decision to rehome our ducks to a wonderful small farm where they could thrive. While it was bittersweet to say goodbye, we knew it was the right decision for both them and for the direction we wanted our homestead to grow.
That change opened the door for something completely new.
Turkeys.
None of us realized just how quickly these birds would become part of the family.
Like every homesteading adventure, though, it wasn’t without heartbreak.
We welcomed Tommy, our turkey tom, and quickly grew attached to him. Sadly, we lost Tommy much sooner than we ever expected. Around the same time, a predator attack claimed one of our favorite turkey hens. Losing animals is one of the hardest parts of homesteading. No matter how much experience you have, those moments never get easier.
But one of the things I’ve learned this year is that resilience is woven into the fabric of homesteading.
Instead of giving up, we improved our turkey housing, making it safer and more secure. Soon afterward, we welcomed ten turkey poults into the flock. Watching the hens accept those little poults far more smoothly than we expected reminded us that sometimes nature surprises you in the best possible ways.
Growing Our Flock
This spring seemed to revolve around baby birds.
We successfully hatched fifteen chicks from our own eggs, something that never loses its excitement no matter how many times you experience it.
Along the way, we also welcomed hatchery birds, adding both egg-laying breeds and Cornish Cross meat birds to the homestead.
One breed I’ve been especially excited to add this year is the Leghorn. Their incredible laying ability makes them a fantastic addition to any flock, and we’ve also introduced several other breeds that will bring unique feather colors, personalities, and beautiful egg baskets in the months ahead.
Every new chick represents another investment in the future of the homestead.
Raising Our Cornish Cross Meat Birds
One of the biggest milestones this year was raising our second batch of Cornish Cross meat birds.
Although this wasn’t our first year raising them, every season brings new lessons, refinements, and opportunities to improve. Nine weeks sounded like a long time when the chicks first arrived.
Then suddenly…it wasn’t.
Before we knew it, mid-June had arrived, and we completed another successful harvest.
Harvest day is difficult to describe to someone who hasn’t experienced it. It requires preparation, respect, gratitude, and a willingness to do hard work. While it certainly isn’t an easy milestone, it is one that brings us another step closer to becoming more self-sufficient and providing locally raised food to our community.
With each season, we become more confident in our process—from raising healthy birds to making the harvest day more efficient and humane. Looking back at where we started just a year ago, it’s rewarding to see how much we’ve learned and how far we’ve come.
Building Our Farmstand Dream
While all of this was happening with the animals, another dream was taking shape.
Back in February, we began preparing the site for our farmstand.
At the time, it felt like such a huge project.
There were countless decisions to make, the site had to be prepared, and eventually we watched the building arrive and settle into its permanent home.
Since opening, the farmstand has become so much more than a place to sell eggs and vegetables.
It’s become a place where we’ve met wonderful people, received encouraging notes in our guestbook, learned what our customers love, and continued improving every single week.
It’s challenged me to grow as a baker, experiment with new recipes, improve my organization, and think like a small business owner in ways I never imagined.
Watching customers return week after week has been incredibly rewarding.
The Garden is Finally Producing
After months of planning, planting, watering, weeding, and waiting, the garden is finally producing.
Fresh tomatoes, squash, zucchini, peppers, herbs, and other vegetables are making their way into the farmstand.
There is something incredibly satisfying about harvesting vegetables in the morning and watching customers take them home just a few hours later.
It reminds us exactly why we started this journey.
Harvesting Honey
This past weekend brought another major milestone.
Honey harvest.
Every year I tell myself I’ll remember how much work is involved.
Every year I somehow forget.
Harvesting honey is an incredibly rewarding process, but it requires patience, careful handling of the bees, lifting heavy honey-filled frames, uncapping wax, spinning frames in the extractor, filtering, bottling, and cleaning up what feels like endless sticky equipment.
It’s hard work.
But holding those jars of honey—produced entirely by our own bees—makes every bit of effort worthwhile.
Looking Ahead
As I finished my drive into work this morning, I realized something.
This list doesn’t even include everything we’ve done.
There have been countless early mornings, late nights, lessons learned, projects completed, blog posts written, recipes tested, gardens expanded, and dreams slowly becoming reality.
And somehow…
It’s only the beginning of July.
There’s still so much growing season ahead of us.
More vegetables to harvest.
More baking to do.
More improvements to make.
More lessons to learn.
More memories to create.
Most importantly, I’ve realized that none of this would be nearly as meaningful without the person standing beside me through every success, every setback, every early morning, and every long day.
Building a homestead isn’t just about raising animals, growing food, or harvesting honey.
It’s about building a life together.
As I look back over the first half of this year, I’m incredibly thankful—not only for everything we’ve accomplished, but for having someone to share every single step of the journey with.
And if the first six months are any indication…
I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store.
We’d Love for You to Follow Along
Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or you’re just discovering J & J Homestead, thank you for being part of our journey.
Be sure to follow along as we continue sharing our successes, our lessons learned, and the realities of building a small Virginia homestead one day at a time.
The adventure is just getting started.
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