Kai: Homesteading, permaculture, whatever you call it in which you are doing, requires more than just reading about it. All skill sets eventually force you to go gain the experience. Which is where we must face failure, trial-and-error, and the unexpected.

A while back we had bought new rabbits, which we had welcomed into our mini homestead. Unfortunately, the little white one named “Caramel” perished not long after we got her, but instead of letting this be discouraging, we course corrected and continued on. (We have a new rabbit now named “Cinnamon.”) Even with all the information in the world, you can’t replace the value of actual experience.

This applies to getting Chickens to lay, to getting seeds to sprout, animals to breed, cuttings to take, drying herbs to not mold, cooking to taste good, getting trees to produce, a project to bear fruit, getting bees to return to your yard, and of course, getting young animals to survive. And on and on.

You do not know until you try… and then try again, and then again and again.
There is always more to learn, but the more you stick with it, the more chances you’ll have of one day mastering it!

What is something you feel has become second nature in your permaculture life that was really difficult in the beginning?