Our Featured Reader: Sarah Weitzel • a traditional life

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October is our featured reader month! And I’m so glad a few of you were willing to share. We still have LOTS of openings! If you want to have your story featured on the blog, please go to this page and fill out the available form. Remember to send your photos to homesteadforhealth@gmail.com

I’m very excited to feature a faithful reader today! Sarah has been one of my cheerleaders from the beginning (thank you Sarah!) and so, I just had to share her story with you all! It only seemed fitting and after a quick email, she agreed. For which I am grateful! Here she is!

Your Name: Sarah Weitzel

Tell Us a Little Bit About Who You Are

I was born and raised in a little rain forest on the South Island of the Philippines.
I grew up with monkeys, snakes and tarantulas (to name a few).
I moved to Canada when I was 18, met my wonderful husband when I was 19 and married when I was 20.

Fast forward 6 years, we own a ranch in B.C. Canada. We run 460 cows. We calve the cows out starting February and take the calves to auction in October.

Never did I dream I would become a ranching wife from bush bunny! I’m currently 27 and a mom to 4 little angels (sometimes in disguise;). Moriah 5, Nevaeh 3, Aaron 1 and Autumn born this September.

I love gardening, canning and everything that comes with it (except the mess). Any excuse to be outside with my family! And I love the challenge of living off the land as much as possible!

Share Some Details About Your Home/Land Situation

We live 2 hours north west of Fort St. John B.C. in a wood heated log home on 4,500 acres of land. It’s a two hour drive to the nearest grocery store. I have to plan my shopping day and hope I didn’t forget anything on my list.

Out back is my garden that’s just shy of half an acre. We get a lot of wild game/elk around here so we had to build a 6 foot fence around it to keep me in and them out!

I’m hoping to have an orchard in the back of the garden one day with some apple and cherry trees, maybe some blueberries and grapes too, but living in a zone 2 climate has been a challenge to find what does and doesn’t grow up here. I currently have a couple rows of raspberries and strawberries in the orchard that are doing excellent.

Which Parts of a Traditional Lifestyle Have You Embraced?

I love looking out at the growing garden, the packages of fresh hunted elk and fish, the pantry full of home canned food, the wheels of cheese aging, washing my hands with homemade soap, the feed yard full of freshly baled hay and the basement full of stacked firewood for the cold winter.

Having my husband within a few minutes away and my kids home with me would have to be the most special part of working for ourselves.

Which Aspects Do You Most Enjoy And Why?

My hubby and kids are everything to me! Watching them grow up on a ranch, pull and eat dirty carrots and learn how to grow and work for their food.

I love teaching them about the garden and God’s Awesome creation! Watching them learn is so sweet!

Name One Skill You’d Like to Learn in the Future

Beekeeping. We love honey and its one more way that can help with being self sufficient!

Tell us about one of the difficulties you’ve faced on the journey and how you deal/dealt with it:

I would have to say one of the difficulties that I’ve found with working for ourselves is trying to find a balance between work and family time. We’ve tried as much as we can to stick with a schedule.

If you could give advice to someone following in your footsteps, what would it be?

Make time for your family and friends.
Try to sit down to meals together, both be home to tuck your kids in bed together.
Do town days as a family.
Take time to set aside your work and go fishing or swimming.
Do something fun with your family and build special memories.
Leave work and stress behind when your spending time with your kids.

Thank you Sarah! I know getting this to me took effort with the arrival of your newest wee babe! I so enjoyed hearing more about your story!

Folks, if you have questions or comments for Sarah, you can leave them in the comment section below!

All photos are the property Sarah Weitzel. Used with her permission.