Fun Homestead Announcements & News

Hello, all! June is halfway over, if you can believe it, and the first two weeks were action-packed! Fun things are happening at the Homestead and all of our food is grow-grow-growing, so this post is going to provide quite a few updates. Because there’s quite a lot of updating to do, I’ll be writing a separate garden update post, per my usual, tomorrow, and then–as always–I have some recipes to share that I’m hoping to get-up midweek. So let’s get to it!

1. We are vlogging! And it’s so fun! We’ve got one video up so far, which is a brief tour of the growing spaces and useful spaces of the Homestead on our YouTube Channel. We’re learning to use Adobe Premiere, which excites my little English MA heart (learning new mediums and modes is always thrilling), so my editing skills are rudimentary but growing. And we filmed on an iPhone SE, which is also not the best recording device, but it’s a fun little video so we hope you’ll watch it. We’ve ordered a nice digital camera, which we’ve been wanting to do for 5 years now ever since our first nice digital camera broke, so this gave us the perfect excuse.

We have filmed A LOT of content (including the Lumberjack video from last week’s post), so there’s quite a few videos in the pipeline. Once we are more adept at editing, I would expect us to be able to post 2-3 times a week. I actually say 1-2 times in the first video, but I mapped out the content I’d like to post and we actually need to post more. This should be a hopefully entertaining and at least fun way to access and learn about the Homestead and get to know us more. I will still be blogging a lot here, as well, so no worries. I love writing too much to stop, and I think the content will compliment one another, rather than compete. 🙂

2. The Hull’s are mobile during the pandemic! We have been wanting to purchase a camper for almost a decade, and this summer we decided it was the absolute best time to do it. With a camper we feel as if we can travel more safely. If you followed the old blog, then you know we’re experienced tent campers, but I really felt it was important to have access to our own restroom facilities, rather than shared facilities at a campground, and having a little more separation from other camping families also felt like a smart move.

Campers can be so expensive, and we are certainly not the only family to have thought about the practicality of camping during this time, so we struggled to find a decent used camper that was still in-budget for a little while. We had one camper lined-up, but the seller had staged buyers in 15 minute increments. We had to arrive at our designated time (as first-up) on the dot to hand over the money, and Brian somehow managed to get stuck behind a garbage truck, a fleet of Fed Ex delivery trucks, and a huge, unprecedented line at the bank. We missed out. Then, we’d find really good ones within an hour of publishing, contact the seller, and then they’d reply it had already sold.

Yesterday morning, we were up with our coffee about to take our morning walk through the gardens when Brian just happened to be on Facebook Marketplace at the exact moment a camper fitting our desired description was posted. He contacted the seller immediately and, after a drive down south during which time the kids and I went strawberry picking for the last time this season, arrived back at the Homestead with our first and very own Hull Family Camper. The kids have named him Campy.

Campy needs a little TLC and renovating, but is in overall good condition. The previous owner used him primarily for hunting, so he didn’t travel super far, even if he is old. We have plans to add an awning and an outdoor room extension where we can set-up a portable shower and toilet situation before we tackle aesthetics, which we’ll do over the course of many months. I’m so excited we’ll be able to travel more safely this summer, and I’m super excited to be able to vlog some of those experiences, as well.

3. Sing it with me: *It’s the most wonderful time of the year!* Well, perhaps not to everyone, but to me the first weeks of June are some of my favorite of the entire year because it’s strawberry season in Central Indiana–the brief but manic weeks of June-bearing strawberries that lasts about two weeks, maybe three on a good year (which this was not). A separate vlog and blog post will be up about strawberry picking and jam specifically very soon. . .

4. But I wanted to mention it because two of my favorite jams are now available to purchase in the Shop: strawberry-rose (my favorite) and strawberry-vanilla (the Homestead’s signature flavor). I’m not shipping jam at this time. I tried to ship many years ago and found that it was costly (they’re glass jars) and worrisome (heat–such as the heat of being in a box in transport for a few days–can unseal a home-canned jar, which would be very sad and bad). This might be something I research in the future, as I know not all of our followers are local, but I can say for now that in an upcoming vlog I’ll be walking through the jam-making process and sharing my recipe, so I hope you can try to make jam at home. It’s so fun and rewarding!

Alright, friends! That’s all the updates! Now that Summer is officially almost here, things in the gardens are really starting to shine, so I’m excited to share some garden notes with you all. Today we’re adding supports to tomatoes and beans, and I’m also hoping to begin work on the other side of the front landscaping bed. And, as ever, everything needs a good weeding. Look for the garden post likely tomorrow to read and see more about it! Bye for now!