Spring has sprung on the Suburban Steader Homestead!  The weather has turned to the warmer weather and the gardens are starting to grow!  There was so much that happened this week that I need to get into it right now!

This Week’s Milestones

Back On Track!

After what seems like weeks and weeks of complaining, I feel like my health is back on track!  I feel a hell of a lot better than I did in the last few weeks.  I felt so good that I even started back to the gym.

It felt so good to push some weight and feel like I was exerting myself again!  I guess that doctor’s appointment my wife set up for me last week really paid off!  I’m back baby!

Project Completion

I am very happy to report that the gas storage project is 100% complete.  The shelving unit is built and all twelve cans are bought, filled and stored appropriately.  This project was a huge accomplishment for me.  I do a lot of project management at work and this project is the first one I planned out completely at home and then executed to plan.  Very proud of the product and the execution.

Next up is planning for water storage.

Spring Has Sprung

Finally…Spring has come back to…The Suburban Steader Homestead (extra points if you know what that’s a paraphrase from)!  I cannot begin to tell you how awesome it feels to have warmer weather back here.

I transplanted all my lettuce, onions and broccoli.  Some are taking better than others but we’re moving in the right direction.  Being that it was a very busy week away from the Suburban Steader Homestead, I was not able to get all my direct sow stuff started.  I did, however, get the beds all prepped.  I utilize the Square Foot Gardening methodology in my beds and make sure that every year, my beds are mapped out prior to planting.

All this means that we’re full bore ahead on planting this season and should have a hell of a garden waiting for us in a few months!

Good Friday Wasn’t So Good

Good Friday was an interesting day for me.  I went to work and my company did a great thing for us.  Rather than work in the afternoon, we all went to one of those Escape Rooms and had a little competition.  We split into three teams and I’m happy to announce that my team was the only one to escape successfully within the time limit.  Apparently, there will be some kind of prize (of the cash variety from what I’m told) waiting for us on Monday morning!  They also bought us lunch, which was great.

I obviously came home in a great mood…until I walked into the basement.  When I sat down at my computer to write this article, I got about ten words in and heard a weird sound.  I turned around and noticed that the ceiling was leaking directly onto my wife’s desk!  Our basement is brand new – just finished it off in late summer 2016!

Needless to say, everything got dropped and we immediately began moving all the critical electronics and then the furniture.  I contemplated fixing it myself but didn’t trust my torch skills in such an enclosed area so I called a professional.  He was great and now the leak is fixed, but I have a lot of drywall work and painting to do.  Such is the life of a homeowner!

Great Weekend Of Food

In terms of food, Easter is second only to Thanksgiving in my top food holidays.  I do love me a nice ham with some mashed potatoes, gravy, and vegetables.  The only thing that beats a nice ham is a turkey.  As I write this article, the ham is in the oven and we’re waiting on guests to arrive.  I’m truly drooling at my keyboard.

The best part is that I started the day off with a great breakfast – tasty omelet, crisp up croissant and some bacon.  Tack on a hot, strong cup of coffee and my morning was terrific.

I have to mention, however, that I’m still a little upset at my buddy Mike over at The Backyard Pioneer.  He’s been posting amazing pictures of meat he’s smoking for the holiday weekend and I haven’t gotten a single call or text to come try it out.  With friends like that 😉

Blog Work

I got back to my roots and published a self-written, non-review article this week on why preppers should be backpackers.  It’s a great read if I do say so myself.  The article speaks to how backpacking is not only a great exercise but also a terrific skill builder!

Have you had a chance to check out the site since I did a little spring cleaning?  If not, please do and let me know what you think!

Next week, I expect to have another review (authors love sending me books) but I’m looking to get back into direct articles that really provide some guidance.  What topics would you like me to address?

Next Week’s Goals

Gardening!  Getting the veggies growing is goal number one for the next week and beyond.  I have a lot of direct sowing to do as well as starting some stuff in the house.  I’m thinking that the next few weeks should really determine where the garden is going for this year.

The blog is also getting some attention as articles should become more consistent (I apologize for how late this article is going up) and the content should get a little deeper.  I’ve had a lot of stuff outside of work/home that has taken a lot of time lately.  That all should be dying down and I’ll be able to concentrate more on the site.

Week 15 of 2017 is in the books and what a busy one it was!  Things are heading in the right direction and the Suburban Steader Homestead is starting to really crank.  How’s your property doing? Are you getting everything done that you want to do?

Thanks for reading!

Dan

Founder/Owner at Suburban Steader

I am a middle-age guy with a wife, two young kids and a crazy dog. We live on Long Island, NY and had an interesting experience with Hurricane Sandy. That experience led me towards the self-sufficiency movement and eventually led to the founding of SuburbanSteader.com. I aim to provide suburbanites with the confidence and know-how to become more self-reliant by providing content on topics such as gardening, personal health, financial responsibility, cooking, self-preparedness and self-protection.