If there's one thing I hear over and over from readers who have a dream of rural living, is that it's their spouse, family or friends who are keeping them from their modern homesteading dream.

Let's face it – while the number of people desiring a rural lifestyle is growing, most of North American society thinks we're either dreamers and 'not being very practical', or we're flat out bonkers.  So if you have a burning desire to get out of the city or suburbs and into the wide open country and you've got loved ones raining on your parade, what do you do?  How do you convince them that you're onto something important?

I was fairly lucky when I announced my plan to return to the country and live in a little cabin in the woods.  Most of my friends either wished they could do the same, or were at least supportive.  My spouse, on the other hand (a born and bred city boy) had no interest in packing up and moving.  Truth be told, it was just one more difference that we weren't able to overcome, and the relationship was really long 'over' by that point (we've got a much better relationship now - go figure).  So no, I'm not a success story in that department, but if I had been in solid relationship, you bet your booty I'd have pulled out all the stops to convince him that moving to the country was a good idea.  I'd have done everything I could to prove to him that living a rural life would be better for our family and our relationship.

So at this point, all I can tell you is what we have gained and learned by pursuing our dream, and touching on what's going on in the world right now that makes rural living a very valid, and dare I say wise choice. 

Benefit #1 - Stress Levels Go WAY Down

There's something about all the background noise in the city that seems to keep us all jacked up, even if we don't know it.  At least it was that way with me.  Between the sirens and the noisy neighbours, sleep was something that eluded me more often than was healthy.  But here, I've stopped grinding my teeth at night and overall feel way less stressed, even though my workload has probably tripled.  There's  just something about waking up to birds and not screeching tires that soothes the soul. 

And with all the work required on a homestead, even a teensy tiny one, we're in better shape, even without going to the gym.  With all the wood chopping and piling, mowing, gardening, building and other chores necessary to keep a modern homestead functioning, our muscles never lack for things to do.  While I'm hardly an example of fitness any more because I spend so much time in front of the computer for my business (and researching homesteading skills and topics!), I know that I'm much healthier now than I was then - even when I was running 3 miles a day and biking to work.

Less stress means we're happier overall... and healthier.  Now there's a selling feature!

Benefit #2 - We're Less Reliant on the Industrial Food System 

With all that's going on today - droughts, floods, climate shifts, crop failures, topsoil loss, civil unrest, GMOs, food recalls, pesticides, complete economic restructuring, loss of nutrients in conventionally grown crops, and everything else we see in the news - it only makes sense to try to wean ourselves away from the industrial food system as much as possible.  Many 'in the know' are saying that we may see basic food prices double - or more - over the coming year. 

So, the more food we can grow, raise or glean ourselves, or buy from local growers and producers, the better off our families will be:  our food sources will be more secure and less reliant on transportation and big agriculture, and unless we're using raw sewage or something on our veggies, it will be safer because you'll know what's gone into and onto it. 

While it's possible to grow vast amounts of fruits, vegetables and poultry on a suburban property, it's pretty clear that it's a tad easier to be self sufficient when we've got more space.

Benefit #3 - We'll Avoid Much of the Craziness
the Next Few Years May Bring

As the economy continues it's dramatic shift and families and individuals are affected in so many ways, we're seeing a lot of fear rising up.  And what happens when people get fearful?  They do crazy things.

I remember a few years ago in Vancouver when we had heavy, heavy rains and a landslide washed into the mountain water supply.  It was muddy from the tap, and there was a region-wide boil water advisory affecting about 2 million people - most particularly, the advisory was directed at those with compromised immune systems.  Well, you'd have thought someone had dropped 12 tonnes of raw sewage into the lake - the line-ups for bottled water began almost immediately, and there were actual fist-fights among store customers as the supplies dwindled.  This when all we had to do was boil our drinking water (we just filtered ours with a bio-filter and suffered no ill effects)

If a simple boiled water advisory creates that kind of panic, I honestly have no interest in seeing what will happen should we be faced with an actual disaster in an urban area.  For some reason, rural towns seem to fare much better with these sorts of situations, as their residents are pretty much used to things like power outages, muddy water and the inconveniences that come with living away from big city centers.  You learn to make do and not whine and complain.  Well, most of the time, anyway...

So as the economy continues its shift and food prices rise as a result of drought, floods and everything else affecting big agriculture this year, I think we'll sadly see more and more people doing more and more desperate things.  For those who live in a community that's working on becoming more food secure (city or country, doesn't matter - there's good people doing great work everywhere), they'll be far more comfortable, and less stressed, than those who ignore all the warning signs and just take their chances that 'the government will look after them'.  

The bottom line is this - without prepping in some way, whether it be just getting a few weeks to a few months of food put away either by purchasing freeze dried meals or learning how to can and dehydrate food, we'll all be paying more for food a year from now (likely a lot more). Now what's that going to do for our stress levels?

Benefit #4 - Our Children Are More In Touch With the Natural World

My little guy has been a nature nut since before he could walk.  I remember watching him in the courtyard of our townhouse, where the only wildlife to be found were pillbugs and the odd ant.  I also remember thinking how sad it would be for a child this in love with nature to grow up surrounded by concrete and steel.  It was one of the big reasons I wanted to move to the country, and I'm so glad we did.  Seeing him now, surrounded by all sorts of critters (and now our chickens) and revelling in everything the natural world has to offer, I know I made the right decision.

Even his school is surrounded by trees and water, and is right across the street from the beach.  There's a creek running through the property, and they regularly see eagles and hawks, vultures and bears, right on the school grounds (you might not think bears at school is a good idea, but everyone is safe... ;o)  What a way to grow up!  I had a bit of that when I was little, but we lived in a subdivision (albeit a small town subdivision) and our school was the typical flat building surrounded by gravel and playing fields.  Not a creek in sight... 

Now, not all children are nature nuts, obviously, but spending time outdoors is good for everyone.  Getting in touch with the cycles of life, getting dirty and wet, understanding what it's like to be cold and feeling the sun on your face, exploring the edges of your capabilities - that's what childhood should be about, and it's so much more accessible in a rural community.  And for their self-esteem, sense of adventure and imagination?  There's nothing like it.

Of course, small towns have their drawbacks as well - but in our community, at least, we've got access to brilliant music teachers, fabulous teachers and a tonne of activities... even some we wouldn't find in the city.  And not to mention that with all the hard work involved in keeping a homestead running, they'll keep their bodies limber and their minds active.  It's pretty hard to be bored and get in trouble when there's just so much stuff to do!    

Benefit #5 -  We're Part of a Community

It's pretty much impossible to 'do' this homesteading thing without connecting with others in a big way.  And while it's easy to be anonymous in the city, it's not quite so in the country.  Sure, you could go hide away in the bush and never see anyone (personally, I'm quite happy hanging out at home), but I've had enough experience now to know that I can't do this thing alone.  Nor would I want to, not that I've met all the wonderful people that seem to surround us.  

Asking for help, by its very nature, builds community.  And that's a very good thing should we face the kind of food price increases and job losses that are looking likely - we're going to need each other like we haven't in decades.  Thing is, most small communities have never forgotten what it's like to be dependent on neighbours - especially those that have lived through a natural disaster or other calamity.  It's only those of us from the city who find it easy to disconnect from everyone around us and just do our own thing - until we realize that that's just dumb (speaking for myself, of course!).

I'll tell you, there's just something really comforting about knowing that other people have got your back. 

The Wrap-up

If you're facing doubters in your own life, hopefully this has been helpful.  Whether they think you've gone completely off the rail or just can't imagine why you'd want to leave the comfort of the city for an uncertain future on a homestead, maybe this will provide a bit of food for thought to pass along.  It goes without saying that this life is not for the faint of heart, and there are many times I wonder what the heck I'm doing here. But at the end of the day, I rest well knowing I've made the best choice for my family.  Of course, there are other serious questions that need to be considered, and lots more to discuss on this topic, but if it's your dream, I say go for it!  Life is supposed to be an adventure, right?  

I'd love to hear your thoughts on today's article. If you've got experience with moving your family to the country, or have any stats or great reasons to make the move that you'd be willing to share, we'd love to hear from you in the comments below!  We're all learning from each other, and the more we put out there, the more we get back... ;)  

There’s this affliction that’s been going around for a few years now – it plants this really vivid dream in your head of escaping the rat race and moving to the country.  Of growing your own food, collecting your own eggs and of your children being raised under the influence of nature instead of video games.

It’s a niggly bug that buries itself in your psyche and won’t let go. With every city siren, rude neighbour and complaining customer at work, it gets louder and more in your face. And it’s infecting millions.

I know. I used to be a victim. But I found the cure: I just did it.

Well, OK. Truth be told it wasn’t quite that easy, but ultimately, that really was the answer.

So what is this mysterious affliction?  I call it the ‘modern homesteading’ bug, but it also goes by ‘the back to the land’ movement, rural living, and a number of other monikers.

I caught it more than a decade ago, when I spent a week at a cool little hostel in the backwoods of Powell River, British Columbia.

Fiddlehead Farm was an original West Coast homestead, carved out of the thick forest by pioneers more than a hundred years ago.  What would possess anyone to put themselves through that kind of torture to make a life for themselves, I’ll never know (if you’ve ever hacked through rainforest underbrush, you’ll know what I’m talking about – it’s virtually impenetrable, and they carved out entire productive farms from it).  But they did, and by the time I visited it was a quiet, cool little oasis of sustainability that welcomed visitors from around the world.  And it infected me with the bug.

Sadly, Fiddlehead Farm no longer exists, razed to the ground by new landowners because it was a safety liability.  But I do know that its spirit of self-sufficiency (and sheer funkiness – in a good way) lives on in many of us who were lucky enough to spend time there.

So this affliction, this modern homesteading bug – how do you know you have it?  Here are 5 ways to tell for sure:

Sign #1:  You find yourself reading every gardening and rural living magazine you can get your hands on.

Grit, Mother Earth News, and so many others... they’re superb resources for anyone thinking of moving to the country – and even for those of us who already have.  Some hardcore and experienced homesteaders find these magazines too rudimentary for their tastes (crazy, isn't it?  I know!!!), but as someone who is a relative newbie at this rural living gig, I’ve found (and still find) them all invaluable and very enjoyable reading.  There's definitely a place for the more technical (and dare I say, harder for the average person to read) journals, but these magazines fill a necessary niche, and I for one am really glad they're available so readily.

Well worth checking out if you’re just starting our your research into modern homesteading and rural living.

Sign #2: You find store-bought factory farm eggs totally inedible.

This starts to happen as you get introduced to ‘real food’.  And once you’ve had a farm fresh, free range egg, there’s absolutely no going back.  The difference is so distinct, so HUGE, there’s actually no comparison between them and their factory counterparts. I don’t even think they’re in the same food group (though many nutritionists would beg to disagree… and that’s OK – we know the truth).  The thought of eggs produced by happy hens who you’ve cared for yourself is something that just oozes self-sufficiency.

Of course there are issues with some commercial feed (think GMO corn and soy), but even at that, hens that have a chance to scratch grass and dirt, eat bugs and greens, and actually run around and spread their wings (as compared to living their lives in a couple square feet of cage and never once feeling the ground on their feet), are going to produce superior nutrition in their eggs.  To believe otherwise just seems bizarre to me.

Sign #3: Your teeth are wearing out from clenching your jaw.

This is actually kind of serious – I was actually wearing down my teeth from gritting them together while I slept – and probably during the day, too – to the point where my dentist ordered me a ‘nightguard’.  Since moving to our rural home, it’s no longer an issue and I threw the nightguard away.  Enough said?

Sign #4: You find yourself vacationing on working farms, at vineyards and in quaint, rural towns – and checking out real estate while you’re there. 

Oh, and you don’t want to go home.

Ever.

I always knew I’d end up back in a small town (I grew up in one – the one I live close to now, actually!), and always found myself visiting other small towns when I went on holiday. The bottom line is that once you’ve got the rural living bug, it’s pretty hard to get rid of – especially when you spend your holidays basking in the quiet of a small community.  The only cure is to actually move to one and see how you fare.

Sign #5: You’re reading this blog.

Now, I don’t want to make any assumptions, but if you’re still reading this, it’s quite likely you’ve thought about moving to the country at least once.  I’m honoured that you’re here, and taking time out of your busy day to read my post.  My goal is to provide both inspiration and a reality check to those seeking a rural lifestyle – it’s not always easy, but it IS always rewarding.  At least so far!

So, have you been bitten?

If you answered yes to 3 or more of the above questions, I’m happy to tell you that you’re probably totally done for!  If you’re still dreaming and haven’t started doing the research, what are you waiting for?  There has been no better time in our history to make the move:  countless superb online resources to make the transition easier, lots of products and materials to take out the guesswork, and a tonne of support via this blog and other rural living forums!  If you want it, you can absolutely do it – there is always a way.  I spent years planning our move, and finally, when the time was right, we took the plunge.  Risky?  Sure, maybe from the outside.  But the proof is in the pudding, as they say: it’s worked out better than I could have ever imagined – just as I knew it would.  And it can be the same for you…

So What Now?

If you’re thinking of making the move, we’ve got a some resources we think you’ll find super useful:

• 5 Mistakes Newbie Homesteaders Make – Don’t Let This be You! is a 45 minute audio interview with modern homesteading guru Robin Wheeler – and it’s information I think everyone who moves from the city to the country needs to have in their research arsenal.  Trust me, you don’t want to show up as one of those ‘city people’ who drive the locals crazy – at least not one who thinks they know it all.  Because we don’t… at least not compared to those who’ve been doing it for years and years and years.  It’s well worth a listen – it’s downloadable, and it’s free.  Get the audio here:  5 Mistakes Newbie Homesteaders Make 
• Our Facebook page is a great place to connect with others who are living the modern homesteading lifestyle, or just pondering the possibility.  ’Like’ the page today and I promise I’ll do my best to make it worth your while!  You can find us on Facebook here:  facebook.com/modernhomesteading 

Do you pine for a rural lifestyle, or have you recently made the move from city to country?  We’d love to hear about it!  Please share in the comments below – your stories might just help others make that decision to take the plunge and live out their dream…

Colliding with a deer in your car is not an experience I recommend. But in most cases, it's entirely avoidable if you keep in mind 5 simple tips. Except in my case. Here's that story.

In November of 2009 I was driving my son to his carpool on a cold, rainy, rather dark morning in my teensy, tiny little car (picture 6 inches off the ground and no front end ... modern little gas sipper).

There's this weird corner just down the road from us on the highway that's a 90 degree turn going uphill and banked oddly. As I entered the turn, and accelerated slightly to get us up and over the hill, something caught my eye at the right bumper - a deer coming up and out of the deep ditch.

With no shoulder on the road (and I mean none), neither the deer, nor we, had a chance. It all happened so fast.

You know those moments that are etched in your memory forever? The ones that no matter what you do, they never go away? This was one of those moments.

All I remember is the deer literally flying through the air, across the road, and into the ditch. And I'm sitting in a tiny, black, disabled car on a dark morning in a blind corner frequented by large, more often than not fast moving industrial vehicles (think fully loaded logging trucks). And my son was in the back seat.

We needed to get to a safe spot, and fast.

The car was barely running, but I managed to get it up and over the hill to a spot where there was a tiny bit of shoulder. Then it died completely.

After I stopped freaking out that I'd just hit and likely killed another living creature in a very horrible way, I got out to inspect the damage. And I was shocked.

The entire front driver's side of the car was destroyed. The deer must have jumped a the last millisecond and missed the passenger side. A couple of inches higher on that tiny hood and the deer would have come right through the sloped windshield.  Chances are I wouldn't be writing here today. To say I was lucky is an understatement.

I called my parents to see if they could come pick up my son to get him to school, then tried to figure out who to call next. Police? Conservation officer? I hadn't a clue. A few guys stopped going the opposite direction to ask if I needed assistance (thank you, kind people!), and finally one stopped who was a police officer in the city and told me to just call 911 and they'd take it from there. So that's what I did.

My dad arrived about 20 minutes later and went to check on the deer - it wasn't in the ditch, which was very bad, as he was obviously somewhere in the bush, injured. The police arrived next, followed by the tow-truck driver. While I was making arrangements for my car to be towed to a local body shop, my dad and the officer went back to attempt to find the deer. They did locate it - a very small, young buck, lethally injured, a few metres in the bush back on the same side of the road it was coming from when it jumped into us. Its front right leg and shoulder were shattered.

I cried some more...

The police officer wouldn't enter the bush to dispatch the animal (said it was a 'footwear safety issue' - he was wearing his street issue shoes... which made me wonder what he'd have done if there was a perpetrator involved he had to give foot chase to, but that's a post for someone else's blog). So we were left with a badly injured animal in the bush, and no way to put it out of its misery. We couldn't do it, because it's illegal to shoot a deer out of season without a tag in an area not designated for hunting, even in an emergency situation like this. Which I think is crazy, but the law is not up to me.

So we called the conservation officer, who is legally able to deal with these sorts of situations, but he was unable to come for at least 2 hours, as he was on in another community on another call. So while I took over dealing with the aftermath in terms of insurance, notifying my employer I'd be off most of the day, and getting my car assessed, my father very kindly took over dealing with this poor animal. Eventually the conservation officer showed up and put the poor creature out of its misery. Just so, so sad.

5 Simple Tips

We just drove 400 km on highways well frequented by big wildlife - most specifically deer - so you can imagine this was on my mind again. I've driven a lot around rural British Columbia, and have luckily never had another incident like this. I intend it to be the first and the last.  I've seen far too many beautiful animals killed, and people's lives impacted (and in many cases destroyed by injuries) to not proclaim this to the rooftops:  most collisions with animals are entirely avoidable.  Here are five things to keep in mind while driving rural roads and highways to dramatically reduce your chances of becoming a statistic:

1. Drive the speed limit. It's pretty clear that the faster you drive, the less time you have to react to something stepping out on the road in front of you.  Never mind that speeding isn't all that smart to begin with, and your chances of injury and death increase every time you add a bit to your speed, but it's especially important when planning for avoiding wildlife collisions.  On our most recent trip, I was traveling slightly over the speed limit of 110 km/h, and was regularly blown past by vehicles large and small.  This is an easy one - slow down.
2. Know in advance what sorts of wildlife frequent the area you'll be driving through and their patterns of activity. Different animals have different ways of moving through the landscape, and various reactions to approaching vehicles.  For more information on animal behaviour, take a look at this wildlife collision prevention website.
3. Drive during daylight hours. Don't drive at dawn, dusk or at night unless you absolutely have to.  Your chances of animal impacts increase at these hours, as light levels are low, and animal activity is higher than at other times of the day.  It's difficult to see wildlife at these hours - avoid driving at these times if at all possible.
4. Keep scanning, always scanning.  Rarely do animals come barreling full speed across the road with no warning.  It does happen (especially during the rut in the fall) but it's not common.  More likely are animals milling about the side of the road, hesitating before crossing, or coming from a few feet off the road.  You can avoid most accidents simply by scanning the roadsides as you drive and not getting distracted by conversation, music, electronic devices or exhaustion.
5. Pay attention to the signs. In many jurisdictions, sections of road with high wildlife interaction potential have signs telling you so.  The signs are there for a reason, and it pays to heed them by upping your attention to the first four tips above.  Deer don't read signs, though, and can just as easily show up in areas without signs - it pays to know what makes good habitat so you can adjust your driving accordingly.  Here are some of common characteristics of these areas:

• Where creeks, rivers and swamps intersect roads;
• Where lots of green grass is growing near the roadside;
• Where there is a fresh water source nearby; and
• Long, wide, straight stretches of road.

The Wrap-up

In our case, I'm not sure any of the above would have helped, except possibly 'scanning', but from the vantage point of our low-to-the-ground car, a small deer coming out of a deep ditch on a blind corner with no road shoulder was virtually invisible until the last second.  I think it was unavoidable.  In a taller vehicle, I likely would have seen him in the ditch before we came upon him, and could have stopped in time, but in our tiny car, there was just no way I can see we could have missed each other.

But I learned a lot, and I hope this article will help you avoid this sort of experience.  It's not one you want in your memory.

For more information on vehicle wildlife collisions and how to avoid them, visit wildlifeaccidents.ca. 

Have you ever had a collision with an animal?  I'd love to hear your stories and advice in the comments below.  

*Photo source: iStockphoto.com/4FR