Welcoming New Life to Sage Hearth

Spring beginnings on the homestead

Lamb in wool jumper

Spring arrived with a rush at Sage Hearth, and with it came one of the most rewarding—and humbling—parts of homestead life: welcoming our sheep to their new home. They arrived at the beginning of September, with just enough time to settle into the land before lambing began.

Homesteading is deeply fulfilling, but it certainly doesn’t shy away from testing your grit. When two little lambs chose a bitterly cold, stormy day to make their entrance, we knew we had to move quickly. They were too cold and weak to stand and drink, and their mum needed a bit of support too.

My drystock farming upbringing kicked in immediately, and family offered steady, familiar guidance. But the moment that truly anchored the day was our neighbours stepping in without hesitation. Together, we caught Mumma sheep and moved her into the stables with her babies, giving them the sheltered space they needed to recover.

Sheep and lambs

It was a long, wild-weather day, but one filled with the kind of teamwork and community spirit that makes this life possible. And the best part? Those little lambs are now thriving—strong, lively, and back out with the mob alongside their mum.

Moments like this remind us that homesteading isn’t a solitary journey. It’s stitched together with shared wisdom, willing hands, and the sort of neighbourly care that makes all the difference.

Author

About the Author

Casey at Sage Hearth shares the rhythms of homestead life in rural New Zealand—slow living, seasonal projects, and the beauty found in building a life from the land.

Location: Taupō, New Zealand

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to Sage Hearth:

Image
Welcome to Sage Hearth A journey of revitalisation, craft, and slow, intentional living. Sage Hearth is more than four hectares of land—it’s our slow work toward self-sufficiency, peace, and the kind of life shaped by hands and seasons. Here we are learning to blend nature-focused wellness, practical craft, and the steady, honest labour of making things ourselves. The Hearth Story Our mission began with a 100-year-old cottage that has already lived many lives. Once part of the local Bushman’s Camp and later the Mess Hall for the Totara Timber Co., this house has long been a place of community, work, and shelter. Today we are pouring patient energy into a DIY revitalisation—slow, cost-conscious, and deeply rewarding. Every thoughtful repair and gentle upgrade is done with respect for the cottage’s character and with an eye toward the life we want to build here. The cottage,...
Read more

A Quiet Season, A Painted Promise

Image
We hope a very merry Christmas and a joy-filled New Year was had by you all — full of good food, slow mornings, and the kind of moments that linger a little longer than the calendar allows. You may have noticed we’ve been a little quiet lately, both here on the blog and across social media. Not gone — just deeply tucked into a season of work that required our full attention, our patience, and a willingness to be guided by the weather rather than the calendar. Although we’ve only called Sage Hearth home since July, it didn’t take long to understand that some things ask to be done sooner rather than later. When you arrive somewhere new, you listen first — to the land, to the buildings, to the small signs of what needs care. And when the right window finally opens, you step into the work with both hands. So our days have been shaped by long hours, steady rhythms, and the quiet companionship of the cottage itself. This season wasn’t about rushing or perfection, but ...
Read more

Sage Hearth Cottage: The Hard Work Behind a Fresh Exterior

Image
In the last month or two, we’ve been working on one of the biggest — and most noticeable — tasks at Sage Hearth Cottage: preparing the exterior for a fresh lease on life. Ben and I spent long hours after work and on weekends carefully waterblasting, scraping, sanding, and patching. The summer heat pressed down on us, exhaustion was constant, and the work was tough. We knew from the start that everything could not — and would not — be perfect. Still, we did our best with what we had, setting the stage for the transformation the cottage so clearly deserved. There’s an old saying about things having to look worse before they can get better — and it’s true. Seeing Sage Hearth Cottage stripped, patchy, and raw after the waterblasting was genuinely shocking. The familiar walls suddenly looked tired, uneven, and far from the cozy image we carry in our minds. But beneath that stripped-back exterior was potential. Every scrape, every sanded edge, every careful repair laid the groundwo...
Read more
Image
The Peace After the Paint: Finding Our Hearth at Sage Hearth Warmth. Quiet. Home. After all the moving, the paint chaos, and the scramble to make each room livable, there is one thing that makes every bit of effort worthwhile: the peace that settles in afterward. Before we ever curled up beside the fire, the first spaces we refreshed were the bedrooms. Clearing out the clutter, giving everything a deep clean, and setting up simple, calm spaces made such a difference to how “home” began to feel. Once winter settled in, Sage Hearth really began to live up to its name. We sourced furniture as cost-effectively as possible—family hand-me-downs, marketplace finds, and a little creative arranging—to create rooms that felt warm and welcoming while we saved for larger renovations. Now the fire glows, the animals are stretched out in their favourite sp...
Read more

The Beginning of Sage Hearth Homestead

Image
The Beginning of Sage Hearth Homestead The story of Sage Hearth begins quietly—inside a 100-year-old cottage captured in a set of listing photos that tugged at our hearts before we ever stepped foot inside. It wasn’t just a building; it felt like a doorway to a life we’d been inching toward for years. And when we finally walked through the door, that feeling deepened instantly. For Ben, the age and charm of the home echoed the house he grew up in—built in the same era, carrying the same character, the same gentle wear of time. For Casey, it was the wooden floors warm underfoot, the sunlight drifting softly through the windows, and the unmistakable freshness of country air that felt exactly like the old farmhouse of her childhood. Different memories, same knowing: this place felt like home. A Cottage With a Story Long before it became our home, this cottage lived other lives. Once the local Bushman’s Camp and later the Mes...
Read more
Image
Meet the Homesteaders: The Heart Behind Sage Hearth Two people, a piece of land, and a shared belief that a life built with your own hands is a life worth living. Casey and Ben. Casey: Rooted in the Land For Casey, the land isn’t a new adventure—it’s a familiar rhythm. Growing up drystock farming taught her early lessons in responsibility, resilience, and the quiet language of animals. Those lessons stayed with her, shaping how she cares for the land and the life it supports. Alongside the homestead, Casey runs Care by KC , a nature-focused approach to wellness that blends simple practices and the steady calm of the outdoors. Being back on the farm is, for her, stepping into a long-paused chapter—one filled with mud, muscle, mistakes, and meaning. Ben: Crafting a Life by Hand Ben’s route to homesteading looks a little different. He didn’t grow up on a farm, but he’s always bee...
Read more

Silage, Storms, and a New Old Cottage

Image
Silage, Storms, and a New Old Cottage The past few weeks at Sage Hearth have felt full — not loud or dramatic, just quietly demanding. The kind of weeks where everything seems to hinge on one job being finished before the next can begin, where the weather dictates the pace, and where small moments of humour and comfort carry you through. The First Silage Cut This season marked our first ever silage cut here, and we only had one paddock to do — but it was a critical one. That paddock sits at the bend of the L-shape of our land, and until it was cut, a surprising amount of work was on hold. Anything that needed to happen out the back required us to pass straight through it. Shearing sheep. Moving stock. Dealing with fallen branches and trees. Beginning proper weed management in the back paddocks — poison hemlock, buttercup, stinging nettle — all of it had been waiting patiently for this one job to be done. Conventional hay bales might have been more practical for use,...
Read more
Image
The Real Reality of Renovation: Living in the Paint Chaos! We had to jump straight into the DIY revitalization—but we were already living here! This is the truth of DIY and hard work: painting the walls and ceilings (with multiple coats needed for the chalky old surfaces!) while still navigating boxes and furniture. It was absolute chaos, but totally necessary. We owe a huge debt to Ben’s parents, who came to help Ben tackle the main living rooms while I was working. We still have more rooms to paint, but they helped us get the essential spaces done—enough to create a fresh start. They helped cover everything in that peaceful sage colour—a shade we chose long before naming Sage Hearth! As soon as that paint was dry, it was time to put every last box and piece of borrowed furniture into place. We can handle a lot of outdoor mess, but living in indoor chaos is a real challenge to finding peace.
Read more

The Hidden Stay: A Quiet Fix for Smarter Goat Fencing on the Homestead

Image
Homestead Lesson: The Hidden Stay—Staying One Step Ahead of the Goats Some lessons on the homestead aren’t learned from books—they reveal themselves the moment you watch an animal assess your hard work and immediately begin plotting a way around it. Our Nigerian Dwarf goats may be small, but they are endlessly curious, and we’re learning quickly that fencing at Sage Hearth requires as much strategy as it does strength. While many animals test a fence by pushing or leaning, goats have an entirely different approach. Give them an above-ground stay or brace, and they’ll turn it into a perfect climbing platform, transforming secure fencing into an opportunity for adventure. So when we began building a new corner post, we were incredibly grateful for my dad’s help. He showed us how to create a “hidden stay”—a buried timber that reinforces the corner without providing any tempting footholds. It’s a simple, effective technique, the kind that prevents escapes, reduces costs, and saves...
Read more