What’s in a name?

In August of 2019 we moved into our new home to finally pursue our dream of homesteading on a small farm. We had many goals, aspirations, and dreams that we had collected over the years in anticipation of this new lifestyle. We kept journals and did our best to do research while we patiently waited for our opportunity. From livestock to market gardens, food preservation, and woodworking our journey took off like a rocket!

The next logical step? Social media of course! This is definitely not a favourite part of the journey, but it does have it’s place and benefits in todays world. We used these platforms to share the experience and begin to build a following as we began to navigate our new journey. Thus our blog and social media avenues were born.

The biggest challenge we faced when opening all these new accounts and creating this website….a NAME! It was one of those things we never really thought about or had anything specific in mind. We thought of ways to incorporate our family name…nope. We thought of family history like my cousin Shane and his wife Amanda with @splitrockheritagehomestead which has roots to our late Opa. Well, that was in good use and we couldn’t think of anything else that really seemed to fit well. We tried to relate to our property, and although this can be a good go to, our property isn’t really that “unique”. Also, I am not a fan of the cliches like “rolling hills” or “grassy plains” or “misty meadows” etc.

Finally we decided to let it go and not pressure it. Instead we would use a temporary generic name until we found a more permanent identity or it found us. So we settled on, what you have all come to know as, This and That Homesteading. This has worked well and may continue to be used as our blog page. However, our NEW NAME will replace it everywhere else including our social media pages.

Welcome to “COPPER LANE HOMESTEAD”

Copper. One thing we have in abundance is red heads! From Melissa to our daughter Charlotte, our family dog Zorro, barn cat Vixey, and a couple of our hens (peaches and peaches). We could have gone with “Ginger Lane” or “Ginger Acres” but then people would be confused to discover we don’t grow or sell ginger, we just house and feed them. The second reason we came to “Copper” is from our family favourite movie, Fox and the Hound! You may have already known this from most of our animals/livestock names, including; Chief (rooster), Big Mama (our friendliest, best laying, and biggest hen), and Tod and Vixey (barn cats). Copper worked perfectly as a dual meaning.

Lane. A characteristic of our property, being long and narrow like a lane.

Homestead. A place where we raise, harvest and grow our food. A place to create our own and share our hard work with others. A place to raise our children and expose them to the many beneficial life experiences.

The same great homestead with a new look 🙂