And then, just like that, spring arrives. • Something I love about this land is how abundant it is. When we arrived we found so many wild edibles and medicinals already thriving in the forest, including several varieties of grape. In the fall, I gathered a bunch and fermented it with wild captured yeast, which was ready just in time to brew into spicy sweet mulled wine for Yul. • As winter fades, I’m pairing the last of the wine with local honey to brew a special mead for the upcoming Ostara equinox, which happens to coincide with our eight month anniversary here at this magical and special place. As I bottled it up this morning, I remembered this reel sitting forgotten and sad in my drafts and decided it was time to share this small project that brought me so much joy. • Cheers 🥂 . . . . . #homebrewer #homebrewing #winemakingprocess #redwine #mead #brewing #meadmaking #grapevine #buslife #homesteadlife #homesteadinglife

After that winter reel we got some DMs asking how we’ve managed to stay warm through four Montana winters and now a fifth Missouri one. The answer is a multi-layered system that has allowed us to live in this bus in up to -50F weather, sometimes more comfortably than others 😂 • Every winter we lived and learned. The first winter we had only a wood stove, which was cozy but so tiring to tend non-stop through a long Montana winter. The second one we added insulated curtains and window panels to the front windows to help hold in the heat we worked so hard for, and utilized heat accessories like heated blankets. • The third we installed diesel heaters to supplement the stove, and when we hated those, an amazing unit from @pioneerminisplit that was a game changer and finally allowed us to relax into winter without having to run a wood stove full time. • Thanks to the mini split, we’ve only had to run the wood stove on nights it drops well before zero, so this winter, we’ve been able to mostly relax in our little cabin on wheels in the woods of Missouri, enjoying the snow covered world outside our windows while we’re cozy inside. . . . . . #wintervibes #buslife #wintertime #wintercamping #skoolieconversion #skoolielife #minisplit #pioneerwoman #offgridliving #cozycottage #cozyhomes

Yul is two months old! For the last eight weeks, my days have basically revolved around this little goat in the best way. • In the morning we hop out of bed (literally, in his case) and have our coffee/bottle before heading down to do chores. After our friends in the barn get their breakfast, we come back to the bus and have ours together. • Then we walk back down to the pasture, and Yul spends the first half of his day hanging out with his chicken and goat friends, including the three other kids born when he was. Sometime in the afternoon, when he’s had his fill, I’ll hear him calling me across the way and walk up to collect him. The way he sprints to me out of the pasture, wagging his tail and calling, hits me right in the heart, every time. • After another bottle, we spend the rest of the afternoon together. Some days we do chores, some we spend playing with our LGD, Freyja, some we go walk and explore, and others we relax or have coffee down at the pasture with the herd, although as you can see, Yul prefers my pants to coffee. • After dinner and evening chores, we like to cuddle up and watch a show together. Yul loves a good documentary, and I love those big ears. Then it’s bed time for little goats, and this one’s favorite spot to sleep is curled up beside me with his little nose in my neck, snoring in my ear. • These days won’t last forever, as Yul starts weaning this week and spends more of his time with the herd, so I’m soaking it all in now, knowing I will treasure these memories and this experience for the rest of my life 🐐 . . . . . #babygoats #babygoat #babygoatsofinstagram #nigeriandwarfgoats #homesteadlife #homesteadinglife #skoolie #skoolieconversion #buslife #homesteader #farmlife

A look back on winter as it fades into spring, because there’s something truly magical about winter in our bus. • Don’t get me wrong - keeping the temperature above sixty is a full-time job and we have to chop and haul wood constantly and it’s almost a certainty the pipes will freeze at some point once it drops below zero. • But I think that’s why it seems magic to me. Living so close to nature in this bus, even in sometimes uncomfortable ways, reminds me how very precious and fragile it all is, and how very lucky I am to have seen so many wild places through these little bus windows, including this one we now call home. • Welcome to winter in the Missouri woods 🚌 . . . . . #wintervibes #buslife #wintertime #wintercamping #skoolieconversion #skoolielife #pioneerwoman #offgridliving #cozycottage #cozyhomes #snowfall #wintermood #snowdays

Meet Yul. • This little buck was born premature in the cold, wee hours of the morning on the holiday he’s named for, unable to stand or regulate his body temperature, with underdeveloped lungs and no sucking reflex. His mom, likely sensing he was too weak to survive, rejected him and focused her attention on his full-term and healthy sister. • Knowing he wouldn’t make it unless we intervened, we brought him into the bus and I spent the next week of my life fighting for his - syringe feeding him every hour, keeping his tiny one pound body next to mine at all times for warmth, and working with him every day until his gangly limbs grew strong enough to hold him. • It was worth it. He celebrated his two week birthday this week weighing in at five pounds, and while he hasn’t yet caught up with his sister by any means, his breathing has stabilized, he now has the teeth he should have been born with, sucks down his bottles in a minute flat, and as you can see, doesn’t lack in the bounce department. • Of course, this also means I’m now a full-time goat mom to my little solstice miracle man, we now have a bus goat, and I have a permanent shadow that makes little clip-clops behind me at all times and curls up under my chin at night. You’ll likely be seeing a lot more of him here, as I have a feeling he’s destined to become mine and Freyja’s adventure buddy instead of rejoining the herd. • Goat mom wasn’t on my list of homestead plans, but I can think of worse ways to start a new year 🐐 . . . . . #babygoats #babygoat #babygoatsofinstagram #nigeriandwarfgoats #homesteadlife #homesteadinglife #skoolie #skoolieconversion #buslife #homesteader #farmlife