Making Homesteading Dreams Come True - Claim It

I claimed it with this rock in my pocket.

I am not yet living on my "homestead". But each day I am getting closer to making that dream come true. Frequently, I witness others saying they have a homestead dream but they think they can never make that dream come true. I want to say to them that if I can do it, anybody who wants it can do it too. I am no expert on buying land. And I am not yet living on my land. I may never live on my land. But I am one step closer to making my dream come true. And meanwhile, camping on my land brings me much joy. 

I want to share the steps I'm taking so that maybe someone can feel more hopeful about making their dreams come true. If I've found a way to get this far, you can too.

It's Your Dream - Claim it. 

My first piece of advice is to claim your dream. Physically do something that symbolizes claiming your dream. I didn't realize it then but that was exactly what I was doing the day I put a rock in my pocket.

Looking back, I claimed my homesteading dreams in many ways. But the most significant (and physical) "claiming" was that silly little rock.

The rock in my pocket happened in 2015. The portion of time that has to do with physically claiming my land happened from approximately August to October.  I wrote a post about that year, the extreme ups and downs of the second half of that year. It's still all pretty surreal and you can read about that here. With the circumstances during that time period, it seemed that there was no time like the present to invest in some land for a retirement plan.

In August, I began working with a realtor in West Virginia to find land. I drove to look at many small parcels. Off-grid was fine. A low price tag, a roomy feel (i.e. no immediate neighbors), and the ability to own chickens was my "must" list. Everything else was negotiable.

I fell in love with 5 acres. But it went under contract almost by the time I drove back to Baltimore and thought it over for a day or two.

I looked at more land. Then I mentioned to the realtor that I thought I'd really like that little "red" house on the hill... but the HOA doesn't allow chickens. Or so I thought. My realtor let me know that the "restrictions" on that land did not exclude chickens and small livestock. We agreed to go look at that little hunting cabin on the hill, and some other pieces of land.

As soon as I parked on the edge of the road in front of that little hunting cabin, I knew this was the place. Thank goodness I hadn't be able to buy that five acres! I couldn't believe I had actually cried over losing the other place. I finished the day and went to look at the other parcels of land we had lined up to see. Just to be sure. 

Then I asked my realtor if I could just go sit on the top of the hill at the little "red" house (it looked red in photos but it is really a dingy brown).

I went alone and sat there. I felt it was already mine. It felt familiar and like it was where I belonged. I picked up a rock and put it in my pocket. And intended to carry "my" rock in my pocket until the land was mine.

taken during a subsequent visit - the rock was already in my pocket

As I drove back down the switchback road to get to the highway, a bear slowly galloped across the road in front of me. I took that as a good sign (although, I'm not completely sure why it felt like a really good omen)

The realtor said she told the owners about my bear sighting. And they reported to her that they'd never seen a bear. I was afraid they thought I was lying. But it didn't much matter and I felt like that bear intentionally crossed in front of me.

I made the offer and waited. Then I worked at finalizing with the bank and getting through the closing process. It took nearly 2 months of waiting. And I carried that rock in my pocket every day.

I had to work to not be anxious while waiting. Because of my "blemished" credit and a history of being turned down by some banks through my lifetime there was a chance I'd have problems. I half expected to be sabotaged in some way but I carried my rock in my pocket. 

On October 29, 2015, I signed for my land. And I put the rock back where it belonged. Well sort of. The rock is on the window sill at The Shack.

I am convinced that doing something physical to claim my dream helped my dream begin to come true. I am convinced that if you physically claim your dream in some small symbolic way (not outlandish ways.. I'm not advising you to lock yourself in the bank vault in order to have your dream of riches come true!) you will move closer to making your dreams come true.

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P.S. Is it coincidence that I'm a farm girl from Indiana and I found these rocks during subsequent visits to The Shack?  I think it's no coincidence at all. 

I think they are more signs that I am on the right track.

P.S.S. My game cam has since caught photos of a bear on my land. You can see those photos and more from my game cam here. 


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