Our Homestead Story
Growing and Building our little Village
Our homestead didn’t appear overnight – it’s been built one fence post, garden bed, and chicken coop at a time. What began as a dream to live a little closer to the land has become a thriving patchwork of happy animals, fresh food, and daily chaos we wouldn’t trade for anything.
From Farm Dreams to Crazy Chicken Lady
In 2022, we began as Westholme Farmstead – born from a big heart and even bigger dreams of becoming a full-fledged farm one day. I imagined rows of vegetables in my market garden, dairy goats providing us with ALL of the dairy goodness plus handmade soap, chickens to lay colorful and delicious eggs with bright yellow yolks, and maybe even a couple of pigs for good measure. As it turns out, my heart wasn’t built for the traditional farming model. I couldn’t bring myself to cull unproductive hens or send extra roosters away to be butchered. I wanted to keep them. All of them!
And that’s exactly what I did!
Over time I’ve learned that, even if the place does look like a farm with all of the coops out there, I’m less “farmer” and more “crazy chicken lady with a serious coop addiction, too many roosters, and a somewhat respectable garden”.
You know what, though? That’s totally ok too.
What grew here instead of the farm I dreamed of was something even more meaningful: a happy homestead filled with life, laughter, a little bit of chaos, and a whole lot of feathers.
Why Roots, Roost & Rafter?
Our new name, Roots, Roost & Rafter, removes the “farm” implications of our former name and it fits us like a well-worn glove:
🥕 “Roots” for the gardens and for grounding ourselves in the homesteading life.
🐓 “Roost” for our spoiled flocks and all things chicken or goose.
🔨 “Rafter” for the never-ending coop projects and builds.
Meet the “Chicken Lady”
I’m Krystal – builder, gardener, designer, and chief chicken/goose wrangler around here. Basically the heart and hands behind it all. My husband, Gary, and our son, Zack, jump in when I need an extra set of hands, but most days you’ll find me tending the garden, chatting with the birds, or sketching out another coop design with sawdust in my hair. I wear a lot of hats around here and, yes, most of them have pine shavings stuck to them.
When I’m not checking on the chickens or working on (yet another) coop build, you can find me working on some sort of graphic or web design project, reading a good book, homeschooling the kiddo, or just relaxing outdoors with a cup of coffee while the geese chew on me like I’m a snack. I’m almost always somewhere on the homestead – this is my happy place and I rarely ever leave.
Growing with Care
Nestled on the South Mountain of Kings County, Nova Scotia, in the quiet community of McGee Lake, our homestead is rooted in a love for natural, sustainable living. I’m passionate about growing produce organically and rely on natural methods of pest control. While we’re not formally certified organic, every fruit and vegetable we grow is nurtured without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides – just good soil, sunshine, and patience.
From spring planting to fall harvest, the garden keeps us grounded in the seasons – and full of fresh veggies year-round.
Wattlesford: Our Feathered Village
And then there’s Wattlesford – our bustling little chicken village where our “pets with benefits” rule the roost. The flocks spend their days scratching for bugs, pecking at greens, and soaking up the sunshine, rewarding us with the healthiest eggs possible. Our little chicken village is thriving with eleven coops, five roosters, two geese, and… well, more hens than I’ll publicly admit to!