05/30/2026
I had an excellent time meeting everyone at the Mitten Homesteaders Conference this year! Lots of new faces, lots of familiar faces, and an overall great time was had! I loved learning more about trapping and goat hoof trimming.
My favorite part, was when Jami (one of the organizers) told me that a 12 year old girl had attended my artificial insemination talk, and thought I was so cool and she wanted to be just like me one day! Its so fulfilling to get that kind of feedback - I love inspiring people to be more self-sufficient, build their confidence to try something new, and teach the next generation invaluable skills like those needed on the homestead. I hope that young lady is able to pursue her dreams and have a homestead of her own one day, because 20 years ago, I was that little girl, and I know 12 year old me would be so psyched to know that one day she'd have a homestead with as many cows, goats, and chickens as her heart desired. 12 year old me probably would have fainted at the idea of being a beekeeper one day, though. π€£
This year's conference also brought about some unexpected last minute schedule changes due to another speaker having a family emergency, but I was able to step up and give a talk on beekeeping! There were a lot of people that were just getting their feet wet with information about beekeeping, and I hope many of them will choose to learn more throughout the year and get bees next spring!
See you all next year!!