About Me

I’ve been a homesteader since before I knew what the word really meant, and being an Australian homesteader is really special.

I’ve been an analyst, a writer, a truth seeker, a day dreamer and solution fixer for longer than I can remember. And I’ve always, or mostly, done it from the back end of town, where the birds whistle and the barn is your ‘outside house’.

I’ve been documenting my #farmlife, #bushlife adventures on social media, and I decided I needed to do it in a better way. Hence the creation of the blog!

I’m full of ideas; and have a long list of projects. Life on Milo’s Farm is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, working through my endless list of projects, and bush-hacking our lives. Whether you are here for the homegrown food, the simple living tips, the amazing photography or the recipes, then I welcome you and truly hope you enjoy your stay!

Going back to a simpler life is not a step backward

Yvonne Chouniard

I’m here to help you enjoy country living, wherever you are. Do you want to learn how to make traditional sauerkraut? I got you. Do you want ideas on how to plan your vegetable garden? I got you there, too. Do you want some beautiful photographs of the Australian bush? Yep, I can help you there. You can see some of the imagery of our country life on Instagram, where we started this journey documenting our life in the bush.

picture of blogger in cowboy hat, australian homesteader
This is me in my favourite hat!

The move to the country…

I’m Tee, or TJ, but answer to both and I am an Australian homesteader. I love European food, my camera, winter and cold nights, fireplaces, coffee, sleeping in plush fresh linen, a scotch or two, my husband, and fur kids. (Not in any particular order though!)

About 12-ish years ago, we made the move to buy our first acreage. We moved from Melbourne to Brisbane and whilst waiting to find the perfect home, were renting in a suburb near my grandparents. One day, with a month left to spare, we were suddenly told the owner was selling and we had the option to put in an offer. I believe we did, but they weren’t agreeing to our price, so I ventured on out to find a new place to call home.

Our first homestead! This is how we bought it!
And this is what we changed it to!

I found a place – 4 acres with an old Queenslander. My husband freaked. “I said only 1 acre”, he mumbled, but I assured him 4 was still fine. And it was. We bought that place, settled, moved in, cleaned it up, and lived there for 3 years before moving to our current property, a 5 acre property with all the mod-cons. And we’re kind of in the same process now. Clearing, cleaning, fixing, mending, building – because our next move will be onto however many acres we can afford! This will hopefully be in the couple of hundreds!

Why blogging about Australian homesteading is important

I’ve had many a blog, and many an attempt at a blog. Somehow, I either lose steam or lose interest. And I’ve always come back to homesteading, before I really knew it was a thing. For me, at least initially, homesteading seemed like some American, weird thing where people chewed tobacco. But it isn’t. Homesteading is more of a lifestyle. It’s people who like to grow, produce, create, build. It’s those who want to live sustainably but are not preppers (in the mad prepper sense!) In actuality, I believe homesteading is a lifestyle ideology, and I talk a lot about it in my blog.

So this blog will be an extension of what you see on Life on Milo’s Farm social media. Over there, I have snappy pictures, reels and the like. Here is where I will philosophise on life, on living in the bush…I’ll share recipes and tutorials, garden tips, bush hacks, creative projects and family stories from our farmlet and our pending move to the bigger farm. This will be the place I can talk about the ups and down of farmlife

And there your have it, a brief introduction on me and my life. I believe in good honest hard work, of respecting your traditions and paying homage to your heritage. I believe food brings us together, and that we should spend more time outside in the sunshine. I believe everyone should experience the joy of loving and having animals, and spending weekends having bonfires and going fishing. I believe in respect and kindness and most importantly, I believe that living dream in the Australian bush is where I am meant to be.

I am happy out here. Messy hair, dirty feet, and wild water on my skin. Out here with the wild things is where I belong.

Brooke hampton