Pipe dreams

I'm quite certain that I am not the only one who day dreams about the future and what might happen.
These days it seems my woolgathering has been focused more around the farm/ranch that I will eventually open with my dad. I'm not sure if that is because I have already been to college once before or some other reason. What I should really be thinking about is now what could happen but, what is happening currently. That being my GI Bill funding has finally come to an end. What this means is that I'm now back in the position of having to support myself the old fashioned way. Either that or I have to win the lottery. Sadly counting on the second option is right out. The thing that I have found most difficult to accept or even understand is how hard it has been to find employment since I graduated. When forced to reflect on that I would have to say that most likely it has been the result of looking in the wrong area or of not adequately presenting myself. Another element to that is probably that I am looking to support myself not find a job that will be my "career". Out of all the jobs I have had the only two that could possibly even fit into the career category are working in kitchens, and the military. Right now I would say military would by far be the best option. Speaking of that I just found out that I am back within height/weight standards for the Army. My plan for the moment is to go back into the reserves, but I reserve the right to go back on active duty too. I think what is really happening is that I know what to expect from the military life. That and I don't know in the absolute sense how valuable the degree I am pursuing will be in my life. It almost seems like it will be worth it more to go back into the military, get 20 years, retire and then start the family business.

What would that business look like?
It certainly will not be a "commercial farming" operation. It would definitely have elements of that. There will certainly be livestock, cows (mainly for meat), maybe some pigs or goats, sheep, certainly there will be chickens, and I would like to have a few horses (dual purpose, riding and work). We would grow at the minimum a majority percentage of our own feed (51%+). We would have an mixed orchard of peaches, pecans, pears, blackberries, blue berries and maybe even some grapes. There would be at least an acre of garden just for us, everything else would be market stuff. Specialty stuff like honey that we could produce in house, or specialty heirloom produce. We would have solar inputs to keep down electricity costs, we would try to minimize reliance on fuel consuming items, by heating with wood and using large animals for a portion of the work. I would like to have at least 100 acres of land but closer to 200 would not be bad in my book. That way we could have a little land in woods to use and to hunt in too. Not that I've spent any time thinking about it though right?

Does anyone else have something long-term that they have been planning or hoping for?