I live in a really expensive urban area. I have always dreamed of being able to have a homestead. As you described above--it is the sense of self-sufficiency that feels rewarding to me.

Ever since I was a little kid I have always been fascinated by getting food out of the ground. To me it is the ultimate in creativity. I feel the same way about raising animals--specifically chickens.

To be able to create food is a great privilege, although I wish it were a right. There is something natural about living off of the land and being denied that seems to go against the natural order of all things on earth.