The Homestead Exchange: Front Porch

The Homestead Exchange: Front Porch Shenandoah Valley homesteader and creator behind The Front Porch.

Sharing raw skills, CSA roots, and grassroots revival — because self-sufficiency isn’t for sale.

Sunday Confession: I dread apple picking day.Always have. It’s a lot of work disguised as fun — you pay good money to ha...
10/19/2025

Sunday Confession: I dread apple picking day.

Always have. It’s a lot of work disguised as fun — you pay good money to haul home way too many apples, and then you spend the next week pretending to enjoy making applesauce. It’s one of those traditions that feels more like a dare than a day off.

But this morning my 3-year-old called it “apple searching,” and that made it better from the start. We went to Hartland Farm and Orchard, and it couldn’t have been more perfect — that cool, gloomy 55° morning where the fog hangs low, the trees glow, and everything feels a little slower.

We got honey, warm apple cider donuts, and enough apples to make me question every life choice I’ve ever made. I won’t tell you how much we spent, because it was a bargain and I don’t want you to go ruin my spot.

The boys were laughing, climbing, swinging sticks that instantly became claws, and for a few hours, I forgot about the mountain of work waiting at home.

Maybe that’s what it’s really about. Not the apples, not the jars, not the doing — just showing up anyway, and letting your kids rename the whole thing into something worth remembering.

🐛 The Woolly Bear ReportThis little wanderer showed up today, all rust and black — the old-timers would say that means a...
10/18/2025

🐛 The Woolly Bear Report

This little wanderer showed up today, all rust and black — the old-timers would say that means a mild winter ahead.
According to the legend, the more brown you see, the gentler the season.

Science says otherwise.
That rust band doesn’t forecast snow — it tells the story of a summer well-lived. The wider it is, the longer this caterpillar’s been eating, growing, and molting. It’s a diary, not a crystal ball.

Researchers even tracked them in North Carolina for years and found the predictions hit about half the time — same odds as flipping a coin.

Still, I love that this little piece of folklore hangs on. It’s a reminder that people once watched the world close enough to notice even the smallest patterns.

So if this one’s right, maybe winter will be kind.
And honestly… I hope he’s right. I could use it.

He’ll curl up under the leaves soon, freeze solid, and thaw come spring as a tiger moth.
That’s not a forecast — that’s faith in survival.

Sunday Confession:I’m building it backwards.I didn’t plan this.The Homestead Exchange, the CSA, the Revival Sessions, Th...
10/12/2025

Sunday Confession:
I’m building it backwards.

I didn’t plan this.
The Homestead Exchange, the CSA, the Revival Sessions, The Front Porch — none of it started with strategy. It started with a pull I couldn’t ignore.

I don’t have a roadmap.
I don’t know how it all fits together yet.
I just know it’s real.
And I keep following it because something in me says it matters.

People ask what it is, what it’s for, where it’s going —
and I wish I had clean answers.
But at this point, it’s all faith and follow-through.
It’s trusting that the next step will show itself once I take it.

A few years ago, I was dying.
Organ failure, everything fading.
And when I made it out, I knew I came back for something —
but it wasn’t waiting out there.
So I started building it.

It’s slow. It’s messy.
But it’s honest.
And maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be.

The first session is November 1st —
because it has to start messy and imperfect,
or it’ll never start at all.

Local folks, I’ll see you there.
No gimmicks. No gatekeepers.
Just dirt, heart, and faith enough to keep showing up.

🌿 Steal This Idea 🌿Next month, we’re kicking off something small — a Revival Session.Picture a park table in the Shenand...
10/07/2025

🌿 Steal This Idea 🌿

Next month, we’re kicking off something small — a Revival Session.

Picture a park table in the Shenandoah Valley, piled with herbs and melted beeswax, people making their own salves, and a barter swap where everyone brings ten things worth sharing and leaves with ten new surprises.

No admission. No sign-ups. No experts.
Just folks showing up, getting their hands dirty, and proving community still works without a paywall attached.

There’ll be a simple jar out — not required, just there for anyone who wants to help fund the next one, the next batch of herbs, the next skill to share.

These are private — for our own circle of people building this from the ground up.
But the idea? You can steal it.

Because you don’t need permission to start something real.
You just need a few good hands, a little trust, and a reason to show up.

Revival doesn’t need a business plan. It just needs you.

Bouquet of mullein torches. Pretty now, fire later.Mullein doesn’t quit. These hag torches burn long, keep bugs off, and...
09/29/2025

Bouquet of mullein torches. Pretty now, fire later.

Mullein doesn’t quit. These hag torches burn long, keep bugs off, and look mean sitting in a jar.

The Homestead Exchange CSA Is Taking Root — Built With You, Launching Spring 2026Something worth celebrating is happenin...
09/28/2025

The Homestead Exchange CSA Is Taking Root — Built With You, Launching Spring 2026

Something worth celebrating is happening here.

While the county is busy cataloging “agricultural assets” for tourism, what we’re building with The Homestead Exchange CSA is different. We’re not waiting to be listed in a directory or treated like a box to check. This CSA is already alive because of the people shaping it. And that’s the story worth telling.

Over the past couple months, the interest forms poured in—contributors, customers, neighbors, all raising their hands. Every single one has already left a mark on the framework. Before the first box is even packed, it carries your fingerprints. That’s not just exciting—it’s rare. Most projects are built first and ask for buy-in later. We’ve been building this one with you from the very start.

Now we can say it out loud: Spring 2026 is the launch of The Homestead Exchange CSA. Four seasonal drops to begin with, each one themed, each one a cooperative effort. Food, herbs, crafts, handmade goods—all curated snapshots of our Valley, built by many hands working together.

Yes, there are licensing boxes to tick and county conversations about “assets,” but here’s what matters: The Homestead Exchange CSA doesn’t need special permits or approvals, and it’s firmly rooted in cottage food protections. We get to grow this our way.

So today, let’s celebrate the simple fact that this CSA is already real. It’s not just a plan on paper. It’s a living collaboration, and every person who filled out an interest form helped set it in motion.

Be on the lookout for more updates in your inbox—we’ll be asking for your input the whole way. The Homestead Exchange CSA isn’t just being built for you, it’s being built with you.

I kidnapped this turtle in the name of homestead education. Scooped him up, called the kids over, and we had ourselves a...
09/22/2025

I kidnapped this turtle in the name of homestead education. Scooped him up, called the kids over, and we had ourselves a lesson before setting him free again.

This is an Eastern box turtle — built like a walking treasure chest, shell that locks up tight, painted in patterns no two alike. They’ll wander these woods for half a century if they’re left alone, just doing their slow-motion thing.

And what do they do for us? More than most realize. They’re slug-eaters, bug-eaters, berry thieves. They even go after mayapples — those umbrella-leaf plants that pop out one small fruit. Truth is, the seeds of mayapples and a whole lot of other plants depend on turtles to spread. The turtle eats, carries, and drops them somewhere new. Nature had this figured out long before we ever thought about “land management.”

That’s why I wanted the kids to see it. Homesteading isn’t just the stuff we build, buy, or fence in. It’s learning how to work with the crew that was already here before us. Sometimes the best lessons don’t come from a book or a plan — they come crawling across your yard when you least expect it.

👉 For the homeschoolers and homesteaders out there — what’s the best lesson your kids have picked up from the land itself?

Sunday Confession: I’m ImpulsiveThe plan was simple: no rabbits until the cages were built, feed squared away, and the s...
09/21/2025

Sunday Confession: I’m Impulsive

The plan was simple: no rabbits until the cages were built, feed squared away, and the system in place. Meat rabbits only. Homesteading is supposed to be about structure and self-reliance, not impulse buys.

Then this morning happened. I left the house for dog food, and before 9am, I had a rabbit in the truck.

The kids met her, and within seconds she had a name: Dirt. And in homesteading, you know what that means. The second livestock gets a name, you’ve got yourself a whole different situation. My meat rabbit project suddenly had a mascot.

That’s when I muttered out loud, half to myself, “Oh… is this a pet?” The answer was already written on my kids’ faces.

Now here’s the truth: maybe Dirt will be a solid doe, raising up litters and teaching us what rabbits can really add to a homestead. Maybe she won’t. Doesn’t matter. Homesteading isn’t a straight line — sometimes it’s spreadsheets and breeding charts, and sometimes it’s a rabbit named by your kids before you even get home from the feed store.

So yeah, I’m impulsive. But this life isn’t just about the perfect plan, it’s about rolling with what shows up and letting it change you. Dirt might feed us one day, or she might just remind us that not every addition has to earn its keep in meat or milk. Sometimes their job is simply to be here.

And that’s the thing about homesteading: you leave for dog food, you come home with Dirt, and your whole plan shifts before breakfast.

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Linden, VA
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