If you read the "About Us" section, you know who we are and have at least a little idea of why we're trying to embark on this whole homesteading thing. So, here's the first post on trying to catalog what we're after. So, where to start? How about with our blog name...
So, why Kali-Fu? Well, in addition to being amateur homesteaders, we're also practitioners of kali (a Filipino martial art) and Wing Tsun Kung Fu (a Chinese martial art). We started both a couple of years ago because learning a martial art was something we both had always wanted to try. It's become a big enough part of our lives that we wanted to make sure the homestead (when we finally bought it) had room enough for a modest dojo / home gym as well.
The Dojo (a work in progress)
Which seems like a good-enough segue into talking about the other things we were looking for in a property. In addition to the dojo, we knew we wanted a barn... the property had a fairly nice four stall barn. It needs a little work (and I'm not a fan of the ivy... it's out of control) but with a little work, it will serve our needs admirably.
A view of the barn (the ivy is coming down!)
We went back and forth on how much land we'd need... it was a balance of enough space to do what we want against how much land we could realistically take care of, given that we both have jobs. And, of course, money was a big factor. Ultimately, we decided on five acres, and were luck enough to find something that is (technically anyway), lakefront property. The lake is a goodly distance away, and we only have a narrow slice on our property, but it's full of fish and, we hope, will provide a great source of relaxation and entertainment.
A look down towards the lake
The property also had an orchard on it, but after some research, we quickly found that it was sited in a terrible spot. Unfortunately, we're going to have to pull it out and start over.
Original homeowner's attempt at an orchard
We also have a creek (of sorts). Most of the time it's more of an inlet in the lake, but during storm times, it flows freely enough. So freely, in fact, that it often overflows the banks and swamps the orchard (thus the need for re-siting).
The creek...
That's probably enough for now. Next post will probably be about the projects we want to do (inside and out). We have a lot of work ahead of us, but hopefully this blog will help keep us on track and provide a way to track our progress.
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