About Oak Hill Homestead

You have a dream!

Whether you're in the city, the suburbs, or in the middle of the woods, you can live a simple, joyful, and more self-sufficient life.

And that's where I come in. I'll show you how to grow and raise healthy food for you and your family.

No matter where you live!

I carried the dream of a simple life inside my heart for so many years while I followed the Chief, my military-then-pastor husband, from one end of the world to another and around the United States a few times. We've moved more than 30 times in our 49 years of marriage.

Moving so often made it challenging to live the simple life I craved and to find that sense of Home that I longed for. But no matter where we go, I've always found comfort and purpose in gardening, even if my "garden" was a single tomato plant on our back porch or deck.

Gardening has given me a way to "put down roots" and create a sense of stability and belonging that is so important to me.

Moving so often has given me a wealth of experience in gardening in various areas of the USA, each with its own unique soil and climate conditions. I've learned to adapt my gardening techniques and practices to fit the environment I'm in, and I've become a firm believer in the importance of organic gardening to nourish our bodies and our souls.

That nomadic life also taught me that making a simple life is up to me. "Simple living" looked different in each house and apartment we lived in, and it will look different for you too, but deep down, we all have the same yearning.

To live a less stressful, more fulfilling, satisfying life.

Maybe that dream calls even louder to you if you live in the city or suburbs.

We can do this, even if there isn't room for livestock, even if the only soil available is in containers on the balcony and your thumb is anything but "green."

My passion is to help you cultivate a garden of your own, and to live a simple, joyful life, no matter your circumstances or where you live!

Who am I?

I'm more than just a face on your computer (or phone) screen.

I'm Kathi, wife, mother and grandma who loves Jesus, organic gardening, and goats.

A few fun facts about me:

I love sweet tea, don't like coffee, and I stopped drinking soda cold-turkey in 2017.

The possibility of having a horse again was one of the reasons I was willing to move one more time, from Michigan to Oklahoma. I never outgrew being a horse-crazy kid. (That's eight-year-old me in the photo.)

Before the internet was a "thing" I edited and self-published a small subscription newsletter called Cat Chat.

Writing is one of my passions. I've written for several blogs around the web (including Self-Reliant School, Hello Homestead and Essential Homestead) and have been published in magazines including Country Almanac, Country Decorating Ideas, Country Kitchens and Baths, Iams' Your Cat, and many others.

I loved talking with Jill Winger of The Prairie Homestead on her podcast, Old-Fashioned on Purpose, about homesteading in the "golden years." You'll find that episode here, full of tips to continue your homestead journey whether you are getting older, facing health problems, caregiving for others, or working away from the homestead.

Learn about growing a mini salad garden in HobbyScool's podcast episode #36. This was such a fun topic!

I've been featured on GRIT Magazine's site here and here, featured by L'Equip here, mentioned by Stark Bro's Nurseries and Orchards, and included in 15 Acre Homestead's list of 10 Homesteading Blogs I Read Religiously.

And also on Compost Stew here, here and here.
(You're not composting yet? You should be! Here's why.)

Join me as I talk about emergency grab and go binders with Amy and JJ on It Takes Two, KFGO Radio.

Oak Hill Homestead was awarded Green Oklahoma's Readers' Choice Award for the Best Green Blog in Oklahoma in 2016.

Let's keep in touch! You can subscribe to The Acorn, Oak Hill Homestead's weekly-ish newsletter, and join me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. I'd love to see you there!