Good morning and welcome to Sain Homesteading! Let me introduce myself … my name is Melissa and I’ve been married to my hubby (I will call him T) for 22 years and we have a 16-year-old son (I will call him E). We live on 1.44 acres in the foothills of the coast range in Oregon. We moved here 15 years ago on Halloween with dreams of fruit trees, a huge garden and animals … well that was all well and good until LIFE happened.

Over the years we have planted some fruit trees and berry bushes, but I think our resident deer have managed to eat them. We have had some years with chickens and some without, I think we have finally managed to critter proof our coop and we currently have 10 chickens (one old hen and 9 that hatched in June), of which I believe 3 are roosters. We have had years with a garden and years without, the last couple have been just some boxed herbs for cooking.

With E getting his driver’s license later this month and graduating in 2026 I am hoping that my time at home will increase, and I can make our homestead more comfortable and productive … or I’m just having a mid-life crisis … either way you should stick around and see what happens