On today’s podcast, Monica and I discuss goal setting for the homestead. Goal setting for the homestead is so crucial it can’t be overstated. There is always a gap between a dream and reality. Goals are the glue that makes those two much closer together. This podcast is about the nuts and bolts of goal setting. It starts with a dream, moves toward purpose and ends with goals. It is geared toward homesteading but can and should be applied to all areas of life.

Here is our dream homestead:

Sovereign Sonrise Permafarm has a beautiful lodge-like home surrounded in God’s beauty and bounty; the polycultural nature of the property is filled with multiple species of livestock working in conjunction with working animals and us to provide delicious and very healthy meat. You will find pigs in forested paddocks, goats and sheep in a paddock-shift model on a diverse silvopasture, rabbits in tractors eating fresh grass and fertilizing along the way, poultry working partners preparing ground, keeping bug populations in check, foraging amongst the plenty, working food forests and dropping nutrient. Livestock guardian dogs are found protecting the animals and keeping the predators at bay. The terraced food forest and linear food forests are stable and self-supporting with their own mulch makers, pollinator attractors, nitrogen fixers, and dynamic accumulators that support dozens and dozens of diverse productive fruit and nut cultivars that provide an abundance of food for humans and animals. Annual gardens are planted each year providing delicious, nutrient-dense vegetables and herbs. Bee hives are healthy and provide so many useful functions in tandem with our homestead. Forage is planted so prolifically that the system has become almost a closed loop of forage, production and waste all working together synergistically. The water flows have all been set up in systems that work passively with springs, rainwater catchment, swales and ponds all working together to provide the nourishing effects of water to the farm. Sitting on the back deck overseeing the majority of the homestead is stunning to the eyes and aromatically pleasing to the nose. Trail systems throughout the property offer an experience with nature, a variety of birds singing from three kinds of pines, Cedar, Firs, Larch, Birch, and Aspen, and dozens of understory species. Moose, deer, mountain lion, wolves, snowshoe hare occupy the outer zones of the property. A plethora of beneficial insects can be seen and heard in and amongst trees; bushes and flowers give an unmistakable natural feel to the land. The Lodge and property are perfect for the family. Many opportunities exist for farmstead enterprises and other ventures. The farm produces nearly all of the food required by the family. Additionally, we have a successful business helping others move toward self-sufficiency and homesteading; we have a successful Homestead Bed & Breakfast where people can come to relax and see our homestead; we also have a CSA where we supply other families with clean, nutrient-dense foods. In the wintertime, we get to slow down with the rhythm of the seasons, relax, and let wood heat from the fireplace warm our souls.