Tue, 2008-11-18 17:09 — clydesdale.nc
I was just wondering if there are any East Coast businessmen like me that are thinking of abandoning this lifestyle for the homesteading lifestyle? This has been on my mind a lot lately and wanted ideas and input on what all is going on with us. I just disconnected Direct TV a month ago and do not even miss it. Wondering if it is time to make a move. Thoughts?
nate
Comments
North Carolina Homesteading
Tue, 2008-12-09 05:41
I'm in western NC too, or will be very shortly, single and doing most of this on my own. I happen to have one of the more stable jobs in the state at the moment, so I'm still stuck in SC at the coast. I miss my mountains, something I never thought I'd say a few years ago. Heading back up there for a few weeks to try to find some land. I've almost secured a 35' camper to live in while I build, and the owner will carry a note for me for a few payments. Very nice little setup that I can have here and then move to my land.
My mom and dad, siblings and I started preparing for Y2K, and even though people laughed about it, we found out there were a lot of preparations about which people just have no clue. Simple things like water sanitation, sewage, not only how will you cook food but WHERE will you get it?? We grew up with a huge garden and canned everything, but still, there are more ways than one to skin that proverbial cat. I'm working with my nephews to get them started on raising chickens and getting fresh eggs, then we'll get a few goats for milking, etc. I'd suggest taking it one step at a time instead of jumping in with both feet and being miserable. My project is solar heating for now and a solar food dehydrator. So much to think about and plan and do.
Good luck with you and your gf, maybe we can share some Carolina resources?
Searching for land, gleaning all the info I can get
Suzanne
FISH
Tue, 2008-12-09 05:46
Hey reidnaur, nothing like one of those fresh caught North Carolina Rainbow Trout pan seared for breakfast with fried corn and sliced cantaloupe and tomatoes!!!
(can you tell I'm a mountain girl??)
Searching for land, gleaning all the info I can get
Suzanne
now thats fishy
yumm.
enuf' sed'
nuttin fishy bout that!
Tue, 2008-12-09 13:01
Good Golly, Kola, that looks splendiferous! Make some fish gravy with the drippings. Yes, fish gravy. It doesnt taste 'fishy'. Tastes like chicken!!!
By the way, how did you get your pic on there? I"ve reduced mine down to less than 100 x 100 and 10 kb, but it still tells me it wont load or something...
Suzanne
fishy avatar pics?
Suzanne, That avatar picture was posted back awhile ago.....before we started to have problems.
At the present time, I can not change my picture... so I think everyone who tries is experiencing the same difficulties. I want to post my new avatar picture with Obama and me together...Yup, he is fake smiling and I am giving him a serious evil-eye look.
man, I am dying for some fresh fish now... lol.
Kola
Oh well.. I can do without a
Tue, 2008-12-09 13:41
Oh well.. I can do without a pic for a while. Maybe they'll get it fixed sometime soon.
I have vacation coming up after January. Wish I could go ahead and take the class but I cant until summer. Cant wait to help someone on a log cabin for a week.....
Flax Seed & Tilapia
Funny you should mention flax seed as a dietary component in farm-raised Tilapia.
Another scientific article:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T6R-4CS4MV2-2&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=2c601a0fa1a954b153e14b6986db8dae
farm fish no thanks
Hey Craig good to see you back--how is the daily grind going? Are you still in MT. or did you move to Denver yet? Let us hear what your up to lately.
I like my trout wild out of a river! I read in the Cody Enterprise that WY. trout in certain areas had ecoli--geezs / what on earth. I suspect ferelizer run off into the river--who knows- I just can't believe it is happening
Mmmmmmmm Native brookies
Mmmmmmmm Native brookies fresh out of the stream, fried up over a fire in a cast iron pan.
You folks are making me HUNGRY!!!!!
Fish farming
Aren't Tilapia originally from South America? I thought I saw that in the grocery store fish counter.
I was actually thinking of stocking my pond with more bass. There are bass in there already and they have lots of tadpoles, skeeters and dragonflies to eat and have been left alone for so long that they don't even know what a hook and sinker look like. If it was good enough for the Indians, it's good enough for me.
But I gotta question...about feeding fish flax seed to boost a fish's omega 3 content...why not just eat the flax seed yourself? They sell it in the grocery store and you can add it to bread.
Frances
Origin of Tilapia
The ancient Egyptions actually created aqua-farms to farm-raise Tilapia at least 4000 years ago, and probably much further back.
I dont know their biological origin. You'd probably have to investigate the fossil record to determine that (or ask an expert in ancient fish fossils) .
Food stuff
The ancient Egyptions actually created aqua-farms to farm-raise Tilapia at least 4000 years ago, and probably much further back.
I dont know their biological origin. You'd probably have to investigate the fossil record to determine that (or ask an expert in ancient fish fossils) .
Okay, I guess I was seeing that the fish that was being sold in the grocery store was imported from South America. I probably didn't realize that they are farming them down there. I mistakenly thought it was wild caught.
Ecoli in wild fish is proabably caused by sewage runoff rather than fertilizer runoff. Fertilizer runoff will cause algae blooms that can cause fish other problems but Ecoli is usually associated with fecal contamination. Remember that ecoli breakout in WA that was caused by deer grazing around an apple orchard where harvesters were picking up apples from the ground to use in unpasteurized apple juice? The deer droppings were contaminated and contaminated the fruit.
I walk around with the belief that wild caught food is more nutritious than farmed. You think that's true? Think I'm wrong? It just makes sense to me because a wild fish, or bison or bird has a more varied diet than say a farmed fish, cow or chicken. In the grocery store, you see chicken eggs touted as "all vegetarian fed" but chickens are not naturally vegetarian. They eat bugs too. Maybe the egg producers are calling them vegetarian because they aren't feeding the chickens renderings like they used to feed cows. Even fish food in pellet form contains grain products. The carp I used to have in my Florida pond loved the pellets but left on their own, they would keep the pond mosquito larvae free and eat all the algae and grasses.
Frances
Wild vs. Farmed
I don't think anyone would argue against wild game / fish being tastier and healthier than farmed. But if one is talking about self-sufficiency -- i.e. living without the grocery store -- the farmer will eat more than the hunter in most locations. The hunter will have very tasty food a LOT less often.
I most definitely plan to have my chickens free-range. But they will still need to be supplemented with feed, especially in winter. So I was thinking that Flax would be good to have as part of the feed. And yeah, I can eat the stuff too, of course.
Thanks for the linkie, Yuhjn. If I read that abstract correctly (that's a pretty big IF, actually) the experiment showed a significant difference in Omega-3 in the Tilapia that were fed flax oil.
We Talkin' Fish & Game now?
We Talkin' Fish and Game Now?... Sweeeeeeet!!! I'm in!!
Other than Dairy products, and condiments, I am proud to say as a full time fishing and hunting guide with a huge garden, (Just finished off last seasons blanched Green Beans last week) our family is pretty well self sufficient!! Also a licensed personal trainer too, so diet is a biggun' here at our household.
Wild Vs Farm raised Salmon: Never buy farm raised if you can help it!! Reason behind this is the fatty Omegas! Wild Salmon and Trout (Or even hatchery Anadromous fish) once they've matured and are ready to migrate to their point of origin and spawn, develop a fatty reserve to make their journey and hold them over from eating until they have spawned (No room for food when they are full of sperm and eggs, or roe) This fatty reserve full of the good for you Omega's is that gray meat on a fillets lateral line that many people discard as too rich or fishy tasting. Farm raised salmonoids are pen raised and do not need this fatty reserve to hold them over to spawn... They have no river of origin to migrate to in order to spawn.
Everyone's heard of "Copper River Kings" right?!?!? All marketing!! Yes, they are great tasting and great for you too.... They are a Spring Run Chinook, or King Salmon, or as we call them "Springers". They arrive in their rivers of origin in late Spring and do not spawn until late Summer.... hence an extra storage of fat along their latteral line making them all that much better for you. Most Western US States get a Spring Run of Chinook and they all taste the same and most travel as far as "Copper River Kings" to spawn... like I said, "All Marketing".
Many cannot handle the amt of mounts we hang on our walls / "trophies" .... but know this, I neither hunt nor guide for game we do not eat and will not take out hunters "just" in search of a "trophy" (By the way in case you're wondering... everyone asks... Bear is one of our family's favorite game animals to eat!!!)
Bear meat
I used to run into a lot of Alaskans when I went to Oklahoma City for various training classes and they always talked about having frozen bear meat stored at remote FAA facilities in case they had to spend a few days there. I know bear is a red muscle meat but does it have a distinctive taste?
Frances
Bear Meat
Frances
...................................
Hey there Frances, howz' it going? Bear are true carnivores (opportunistic feeders) and pretty much taste like what they eat.... If bear are eating salmon = they can taste very fishy, If bear are feeding on high mountain berries = their meat is very sweet.
One thing that goes for any game animal as well too; if the shot is well placed and their end is quick without adrenaline surging throughout there really is no gamie flavor to them.
Make some time to come on out for a visit and we'll save Ya some bear meat to try. Right now we're eating bear pretty much twice a week... no elk or deer in the freezer for us this year.. finishing our log home took presidence. Still have some Oryx in the freezer though and some deer from last season and lots and lots of Salmon. (Got some on the smoker right now!)
bear meat and the fat
I am glad to hear your tours are more "animal respectful" Johnny. Thats nice. :)
I have had bear meat twice...from 2 different animals from 2 different regions. It was very good but both times the fat was repulsive. Is this common? In most meats, I really enjoy the fat.
I knew a guy who did guides( mostly for trophys). He came into my office after he fell off a cliff, 100 ft drop into the snow during one of his guides. Most of his clients only wanted the mounts so he was always left with tons of meat. He donated much of it to homeless shelters and the poorer folks. He brought me samples of just about everything, bear, moose, cougar, etc
My favorite wild game is elk.
...and yes, I could eat fresh fish everyday, especially salmon and trout.
..see pic below: once the fish is done, rub this filet down with real butter, salt and pepper it and drizzle lemon juice on it.
dammit..I am drooling again on the keyboard..
Kola
Bear Fat
Can't say I've really eatin' much of the fat from any of the game I've shot... including cattle. I can say I have tried some really funky Alaskan Native dishes loaded with fat from seals or whales. (Guided in AK for 10 years)
I do make certain all my clients take all their game meat with them and have once sent a client home because all he wanted was a trophy.
We do eat fresh caught fish at least twice a week as well.
You guys are making me hungry for Tilapia
Look, listen and learn
A man who works with his hands is a laborer,
A man who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman,
A man who works with his hands, his head and his heart is an artist.
St Francis of Assisi.
Your are what you eat like mom said. So if the fish are fed junk i guss they are bad to eat then.
i see allot them are bought from asia the ones at wallmart.
i almost bought today becuse you guys are making me hungry for them.
Tilapia
Actually it depends on how the Tilapia is raised. If they are farmed then generally their diet is poor in the kinds of good fats you want out of fish (certain kinds of omega 3's). If they are wild then it is much more likely they contain mostly the good types of fats you want.
In particular you are looking for eicosapentanoic acid and docosahexanoic acid, which are the two most important omega 3's you'll find in fish. But the Tilapia dont produce these fats, they have to eat them, just like we do.
The problem is that almost all Tilapia is farmed and they feed them the cheapest diet to get their weight up for market. As a result most Tilapia you buy is going to be full of garbage instead of what you're looking for in fish.
Wild salmon is very good for you, as is almost all wild fish, including Tilapia.
I'm going to include this link, although I thought twice about it. It's a scientific publication based on scientific research and the last time I mentioned the value of professional scientific journals I got into a big debate about their utility and the phillosophical underpinnings of rational thought and scientific method. However if you are really talking about raising fish this is the kind of knowledge that in my opinion you need to be looking at.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf0581877?cookieSet=1&journalCode=jafcau
Please note that this is a scientific publication and not free. All you get for free is the abstract. Generally you can purchase just one article or subscribe to the journal in it's entirity. You can of course read the abstract, search on the subject, and learn most of what you might need to know to produce healthy fish that are suitable to feed you family on. The real trick is to spend enough time researching the subject to be able to tell the difference between real research and some "study" done by a company being funded by beef producers or something like that. (The kind of study that you find on the internet claiming that fish has more bad fat than a cheeseburger, which incidently, is complely untrue even in farmed Tilapia)
And yes, this is the kind of thing I spend my spare time reading about :)
Flax Seed
I bet feeding them flax seed would pump up the Omega 3s. (Same for the eggs from my future chickens!)
Not as much as you'd think...
While flax will help to a degree, probably the best (and most economical) thing to do is pasture them, or at least have them eating as much fresh greens as they can.
This will boost the Omega's without alot of expensive inputs.
Farmer J.
Free range Tilapia...? :-)
Here's a link to a article about S&S Aqua Farms. They use tilapia for their aquaphonics.
http://www.townsqr.com/snsaqua/0905ssaf.pdf
Homesteading
Wed, 2008-11-19 23:45
Nate,Hello,I believe the thinking you are having is a result of the oppressive government which we now live under,and the pressures that are a result.But your need to homestead is as basic as can be,and a very good one.I like you am fed up and tired of raising my family in an no-win environment.I am doing all I can to relocate to Alaska.and while not entirely live off the land I have a need to be free from as much as possiable of this tyranny.For years I have had these same ideas,and finally am moving towards that goal.Nate the work involved that Lisa spoke of earlier,is nothing compared to the mental pressures that have through no choice of yours been placed on you!The satisfaction and peace of mind you will have by looking over the days hard work and effort will please you beyond discription.I built a little cabin in the woods 7 miles from anyone,built it by hand,hauled in the wood,and worked many weeks till finally finished.I stayed there off and on,to get an idea of what it would be like.The only mistake I made was I was all alone.Just dont do it alone Nate and you will be extremety satisfied.Nate May God fill your mind with thoughts of Him,while you strive for your dream.God Bless Shayne
Where in NC?
Shayne,
where in NC are you located? I like North Carolina but some of this crap of being over leveraged and always having to stay ahead of the next guy is getting old. I enjoy my job but would like to enjoy it on my terms like we all would. What will you do for money when you move to Alaska?
Me Too!
I'm a telecommuting computer programmer, and my plan is to get the heck out of my current suburbia as soon as I retire from the Army Reserve next year. I grew up in western WA, and love the climate there, but the land prices are high and the county governments are too controlling. I don't want to beg for permission to build something on MY property. So we are now leaning toward somewhere in western MT.
I've wanted for a very long time to feel more connected to the land and more self-sufficient by raising my own food. I'm also one of those paranoid types who thinks that the practice of creating false "economic growth" by inflating the money supply with layer upon layer upon layer of debt is not sustainable, and if this current crash doesn't end up being "the big one" that ends our modern lifestyle, "the big one" is still inevitable. (NOTE: I do fully realize that this is a radical, and somewhat nutty political/economic view. Do not try this at home.) I also just want to get away from the whole idea of my role in the current serfdom of "consumer." I'll still have some modern gadgets. But the whole busy-busy-busy-rush-to-the-mall-buy-buy-borrow-borrow thing just makes me ill anymore.
Fruit trees and a garden will be the first step. Then I'd like chickens for fresh eggs and meat. I'm not sure if I want to have to deal with milking cows or goats though. I'm kind of hoping to find someone willing to trade fresh eggs for milk. (We don't use all that much milk anyway. We do use a fair amount of butter though, and I LOVE cheese.)
One's own food
Goat butter?
If you want to have milk producing animals you have to keep breeding them and disposing of the calves. A messy little fact from the world of Animal Husbandry. I also wanted to put in some new friut trees. There are alot of old apple trees on Winterwood but most of them are dead. Fruit trees take years to mature so I thought I would stick some in the ground over the summer and give them a head start. But not being there to nurture or protect them from deer, I'd just be gambling that they'd make it. I feel fortunate that I have a pond. I get excited when I find articles about aqua culture and farm raising fish.
Frances
Disposing of the calves
Goat butter?
If you want to have milk producing animals you have to keep breeding them and disposing of the calves. A messy little fact from the world of Animal Husbandry. I also wanted to put in some new friut trees. There are alot of old apple trees on Winterwood but most of them are dead. Fruit trees take years to mature so I thought I would stick some in the ground over the summer and give them a head start. But not being there to nurture or protect them from deer, I'd just be gambling that they'd make it. I feel fortunate that I have a pond. I get excited when I find articles about aqua culture and farm raising fish.
Frances
Actually, "disposing" of the calves is the least of my worries. I'm very comfortable with my position in the food chain, and the "messy" part of the task doesn't spoil my appetite in the least. I just don't want to HAVE to get up at the same time every morning to milk. I want to be able to go away for a day or two if we want. That's my only problem with milk producers.
I found this very informative website: http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library.html
In particular, is this nifty stuff about aquaculture: http://journeytoforever.org/farm_pond.html
Tilapia seems to be particularly cheap and easy to raise. I think that the climate might be a bit cold in northern US states. But I've thought about building some ponds inside greenhouses. A bit pricier initial setup, but should be sustainable after.
Tilapia are cheep becuse they are very bad for you.
Look, listen and learn
A man who works with his hands is a laborer,
A man who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman,
A man who works with his hands, his head and his heart is an artist.
St Francis of Assisi.
i was wathing the news and pulled it from the internet.
The Tilapia has more bad fat then most cheese burgers.
I was like man this first fish i realy like the tast of.
I try switch it to wild salmon and not eat to many Tilapia.
Goat butter?
Vern and I use goat milk exclusively and have for several years. It is much healthier for you and delicious! Some day I'm going to get around to making my own butter, too, but for now I buy it. We have a goat farm just a few miles from us. And fresh eggs are out of this world compared to the store bought junk!
Happy planning!
Sara and Vern
www.vernstreet.com
Butter
You'll need a cream separator to make goat milk butter. Goats' milk is naturally homogenized -- the cream does not separate to the top like cows' milk. It is difficult to get much butter from goats' milk.
Clydesdale
Clydesdale.
Depending on your situation (finances, debt, family etc) think of what you would do if one day you woke up and had nothing.
How would you start to become self sufficient? Scribble some notes on paper and put them in order of what is most important and go at it.
Some folks who decide to "disconnect" from the norm either jump in head first or do it gradually.
I like taking things to the extremes....although my "disconnect" was quite difficult and challenging. I sold my business and office building, got out of debt and got rid of my materialistic useless toys. I wanted "out" bad.
I am still alive and well....and much happier.
It surely helps if you have available cash to get you over the hump but its not a necessity. I am doing it with very little cash at all, no loans and no credit cards. I am setting myself up to work (at a "job") as little as possible and focus on becoming self sufficient and develop a "circle of friends" where we can all trade and barter. I believe anyone can be successful at disconnecting from the norm if they really want it bad enough. It doesn't matter if you have 6 kids and a wife, no money, etc, ......it IS possible.
If things continue to erode here in the "USSA" you may not have any other option.
A big part of LHBA, this forum and its members is that almost all of us have a common goal of building our own home but also becoming free from modern-day slavery.
Freedom ain't free. It's up to you to decide what you truely want out of life.
Kola
I agree with Kola, I'ts up
I agree with Kola,
I'ts up to you to decide what you truely want in life. All to often we let others decide for us and wind up in debt, working a crapy job, and generally unhappy. It's amazing what you are capable of. It only matters how much you want it and are willing to go for it. Get out of debt! Stay out of debt! and prioritize your life. Save every month and pay yourself first. Use a budget and stay below your means. You can save money on almost everything you NEED. You just need to be willing to think outside the box. Like Kola said, it is Possible. Although we may not all choose live in a tipi (LOL) Just messin with ya Kola, there are alternatives to meet our needs. I feel very blessed to have a great comunity that shares these goals and visions to becoming self reliant and indipendant. I dream of the day I can rid myself of the chains of my enlisment, but I chose this, and will finish my contract. It has taught me some valuable and important lessond though. Take life by the horns and do what you want. Do what is your nature, be true to yourself, and you will thrive.
"USSA" ?
A big part of LHBA, this forum and its members is that almost all of us have a common goal of building our own home but also becoming free from modern-day slavery.
Freedom ain't free. It's up to you to decide what you truely want out of life.
Kola
ok USSA? United Socialist States OF America? I win! What do I get?
Go for it
Hey -- I am not trying to burst anyone's bubble here, but it is hard work to live a self-sufficient lifestyle. So many things can go wrong that are out of your control. But YES it is THE most rewarding work you can do. It is also VERY scary -- one little thing can wipe you out and you go hungry. Just make sure you have a back up plan. A GREAT book to read is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. If you have a chance, live with some people who homestead for a while in exchange for your labor. We did that and learned so much more than could ever be gained from books. There is a reason the Amish and Hutterites and Mennonites do so well at this -- they have a community to rely upon for help -- if one gets sick or hurt, others pitch in to pick up the slack.
Nate
I am with you man. After the last 8 years on active duty I have an unbearable need to be left alone. Luckily, I live as remotely as I can where I live and I get a lot of peace at home. I think that most people on here probably are pushing in the same general direction of freedom. Chad and Kola seem to be doing a pretty good job of it.
Patrick
homsteading
I feel ya patrick,
I am still on active duty here at Fort Bragg and I dream of the day the warden lets me go. I for one do not like the south. Well NC is south relative to my home up in Maine. Too hot here for me. Anyway, I too want to get back to a more simple life style away from people. Well, a small town will do. Small towns are great because people have totaly difrent values it seems. If your stuck on the side of the road in a snow bank, someone will stop and help you out, and you would do the same for others. Its just how people are. I know if I broke down in Fayetteville, I better have tripple A, because no one would give you a second look. As for homesteading, I think a comprimise is in order. Just think, once you have your house and land it will get way easier and the cost of living will go way down. There are a lot of things you can do, but you need to be honest and think if it is worth your time, and when you get older do you want to be milking cows? My in laws live in Russia and have a very small "dacha" or summer cabin with less than 1/4 acre. They grow about everything the eat. Well almost. Its amazing how much you can grow in a small amount of space. I think a greenhouse would also eliminate a lot of the weather hazards and such as well. As for milk, eggs, whatever, just buy or barter for them. Why not work just part time. You will always need money for vehicle repairs, taxes, craigslist finds, and so on. A part time job would free up time to garden, hunt, or whatever homsteading requires. I guess it would not be true homesteading, but a nice balance. Another big problem people have is living outside their means. I see this a lot with young privates who never had a job before or money of their own, so as soon as they get paid, they blow it on crap they don't need. People seem to complicate their lives with so much useless junk. Save your money and put it into a retirment account. Also have a rainy day fund. Dave Ramsy has some good books about investing. Above all, don't let someone tell you you can't do something. If you have a dream, follow your heart and do it. The trees and grass are not trying to become a cow. They just grow to be what is in their nature, and I think it is the same with people too. Unfortunatly for me I am going to Iraq this Monday and have to put my dreams on hold. Still, I can save money, and continue planning. Ok thats all I got right now. Anyway, good luck to all the LHBS members and finding their dreams.
Prayers and thanks...
Our thanks to you for serving our country and defending our freedom! Our prayers will be with you as you head to Iraq next week!
Let us know if you need anything!
God bless,
Sara and Vern Street
www.vernstreet.com
Homesteading
Nate, you have to decide for you if this is something you want to do. Dreaming about it and wanting to do it are a good start. Congratulations, you've started down a long road that will lead you to where you want to be. Having said that, you have a LOT of work to do. First and foremost, if you have a wife and children, they MUST be on the same page as you. Second, are you physically capable of doing the work necessary to homestead. Obviously we have a lot of modern conveniences available to us that our forebears didn't have. Having said that, you have to have the strength and fortitude to be able to grow a lot of your own food and raise your own animals and cut wood and clean and muck out stalls and sties and feed the chickens and see to your own meat in a clean fashion and you have little time to be away from your place because who will look after you animals and tend to your gardens if you want to go on vacation and who do you trust to take care of your place when you leave for a week or two?
You need to do a huge amount of research and study your heart and that of your family. If this still sounds like the life you want to live, do more research. Mother Earth News is a tremendous resource as well as Backwoods Living. There are a vast amount of books to read and then if you want to build your own log home like most of us here, ya gotta take the class offered by LHBA, they are a tremendous resource for building your own home and also living the type of lifestyle you are contemplating. If you have the mindset, the backing of your family and the resources to buy land, build a home and have water and the natural resources available to you such as firewood and good soil to grow with, then I say to you to GO FOR IT! It is an amazing adventure!
Homesteading
Mark,
First of all, i have taken the class and i am in very good physical shape. I am not married and have a girlfriend who is on board. I want to be in the country, off the grid, and not too far from town. Other than that, i am pretty open to what all life throws at me. Have you started your place?
Hey Nate, I'm with Mark.
Hey Nate,
I'm with Mark. Disconnecting Direct TV is kind of minor compared with what you are going to be faced with trying to live a homesteading lifestyle off grid. While we don't live off-grid (yet) we do grow, raise, barter 90% of our own food. We homeschool our kids and try and live as close to a homesteading lifestyle as possible. It is HARD work. It is literally sun up to sun down. You can't take even one day off. If you have dairy animals they must be milked on schedule every day. If you have chickens they must be locked in at night, every night. If you have a garden it must be tended daily. You are going to be bombarded with:
1: Weather -- it is no fun to watch your precious garden be hailed on in a matter of minutes and reduced to mud. Milk your goats at 5 am before sunup when it is -70 windchill. Have a late/early frost get most of your tender vegetables. Have the pump or hydrant freeze at the stock tank. Have a mare foal and a goat kid triplets in the ONLY blizzard you have ever seen in April. Watch your friends jet off to Florida while you have to stay home to do chores.
2. Pests -- Watch all 20 of your chickens get eaten by a fox because you got lazy and didn't get the coop closed up in time. Have all your berry bushes eaten by birds. Have all your cottonwood saplings you planted for shade get mowed down by a buck deer and his antlers. Have all your cucumbers, zucchini and squash shrivel up and die from squash bugs. Have all your potatoes attacked by blight -- and have you ever seen smut on corn? Let me tell you how gross that looks -- although the old timers will tell you to wipe it off and eat it anyway. Ick.
3. Long Hours -- try putting up 30 half pints of jam in one day because the berries are ripe and you have to can them NOW before they go bad and it's 102 degrees out and you have to keep big ole pots of water boiling in your kitchen. Walking a colicky horse and walking and walking and walking all night long so he doesn't go down and roll and twist a gut -- and you can't go to bed at sunrise because that's milking time! Getting blisters on your blisters from tilling, raking, mulching, mucking, etc. etc.
Get my drift? It's not fun, it's not relaxing, it's by no means an EASY life. But it can be tremendously fulfilling and rewarding -- when you dry off that new baby foal -- when you bring the triplet goat kids into the bathtub to get warm and watch your own kids' eyes light up -- when you find 15 chicks under the coop the fox didn't get -- and one hen that finds it's way home with a chewed up neck but you save her by putting an old baby sock on her like a necklace and she is so grateful she follows you around the yard like a dog. When you open that berry jam to put on pancakes in the middle of January and can almost smell summer in the jar.
Jump in! Try it! But be darned sure you don't quit your day job and you have a back-up plan. Oh -- and I highly recommend the book Back to Basics -- it was out of print for a while but you can find copies on Amazon. Start small. Get a dog, raise a few veggies in the back yard. Graduate to some fruit trees and maybe a goat. Little by little you'll get the hang of it. Read read read and research. Ask lots of questions and don't turn up your nose at good advice. Especially from old guys that hang out by the woodstove in the feedstore shelling peanuts.
--Lisa
homesteading
some good info
http://www.relocalize.net/community_0
http://www.sugarmountainhome.com/homesteading/homesteading.html
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