it so hard to put a face with everyone, i am going to get nosy. now we all know where one another are from what are we like? i will go first... we my husband and myself have been married for 5 yrs. 4 girls 4yr. old sadie , almost 3 addy and the twins hazel and maisie will be 1 next month. we live on 6 ac. and own our own company. we believe in leave us alone we leave you alone. not very church going but believe in a higher something. we work hard but love it. we are in our early 30's he is 31 and i am 33. i hope this is not being to nosy

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), July 19, 2000

Answers

Renee:

I'll lead the parade. I am 53, never married, no children I know of. Raised in Wisc. until age 8 (three years of which was on a dairy farm and had we stayed in Wisc. I suspect I would be a dairy farmer today.) Rest in Florida (quite a contast). In Navy a little over three years (kiddie cruise) then college through an MBA. Worked for the Air Force as a civilian financial analyst mostly. I always had this hankering to be with the land so a couple years before I suspected I would be able to take early retirement I bought this farm in Tenn. When given the opportunity, with a cash bonus also, all they saw was heels and elbows. I am really not a homesteader, since I really don't grow any of my own food outside the occasional duck egg. (Hope that doesn't disqualify me from the forum.) I am basically a cow/calf operator running about 50 cows and two bulls. Also have 21 heifers I'm raising to resell as first calving heifers. I have been writing articles for Countryside for about 20-years now.

-- Ken Scharabok (scharabo@aol.com), July 19, 2000.

Ok let me have a run at it. Married almost 7 yrs, 3 kids, 8, 5, and 16 months, one with Jesus. We live in WV and homesteading is my dream. We homeschool, go to church regular and try to live peaceably with contentious neighbors. :) We are both 27. I'm very much a homebody/domestic type. I love canning, cooking, sewing, knitting and I'm trying my hand at quilting (with not much success I might add). :) Ok so how did I do? Did I tell you enough?

-- Misha (MishaaE@aol.com), July 19, 2000.

Here goes married 15 years ,we are both 30 something .Four kids 14,12,8, and 1 Oops!We live on an 140a farm in N.New York.We grow most of are own veggies and are working on our own meat .We have beef cows , dairy goats , chickens , pigs and sheep .Also dogs and cats .Anyone want a free kitten ? Hubby is an electrician , I am a stay at home mom.

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), July 19, 2000.

Not sure I should do this but... We've been married 15 years, live on 133 acres in the Wisconsin woods. He's a machanic in town 25 miles away, I'm a school bus driver. I went to school to be a teacher, loved the teaching part, hated the administration and politics. Stayed a bus driver and love it-usually! I'm 58 and he's 39. (I'm a young girl in an old lady suit and he's an old guy in a young fella suit). We have the usual small animals and when barn and fences allow will have goats and sheep. We raise a lot of our veggies and raise or hunt 99% of our meat. In the years we don't raise a couple of pigs I buy pork once in a while. He hunts and plays golf; I like needlework of all kinds and all the outdoor stuff. Hate to cook!

-- Peg (NW WI) (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), July 19, 2000.

Well let's see what haven't I said. I've been married 16 years. I and my hubby Joe are 36. We are working hard to buy our own place. In the mean time we rent our homestead. We have four living beautiful children 2 with Jesus. We have three boys ages 15,8,6 and one girl age 3. We normally raise a big garden and just about every kind of animal although many projects are on hold while we find a place in Oklahoma. We hope to get this wound up by this year. Lord Willing. We drive used cars from the 70's era, but they are paid for. We have one major debt which is a student loan account. How we pay for the stupid things we do! Ultimately we are not wealthy in the things of the world, but we are blessed beyond measure in every other way. You can't get much better than two parents totally devoted to each other, working hard to raise their children and build a life together. This is my life.

Little Bit Farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@calinet.com), July 19, 2000.

Now here's a post I can get into...

Married 30 years to my one and only. One 16 year-old daughter. You do the math. Moved to the country 6 years ago to an Amish mini- farm, 'cause frankly my wife and I were tired of the 'burbs. No regrets. I work in the city with computers, so when I get home, all the electronic gadgets are shut off. Summer breezes and lemonade on the front porch. My wife was a school teacher and now, a stay-at-home mom. I'm very much a gardening novice and I'm sure I'm a constant source of amusment for my Amish neighbors. But when the laughter dies down, they have helped me rediscover the true meaning of community.

P.S. I'll admit that using this electronic gadget to meet so many wonderful (and colorful) people here on the forum has been great fun.

(:raig

-- Craig Miller (CMiller@ssd.com), July 19, 2000.

Hey! This is neat!

Husband and I have been married nearly 22 years, both were married before. I had two daughters, no 29 and 27 and he had one, now 26, that we kind of raised all together and we have a son together who is 19. The grandkids ALL look alike (all 6 of them) so there's no "his" or "mine!"

He is a misplaced steel worker (20 plus years before foreign steel got us) and has a new home-based handyman business that is going well. I have been an investigative newspaper reporter/photographer for more than 20 years and HAVE ALWAYS worked from a home office even tho I am the senior staff writer at one of the two papers I write for.

We were a homeschool family but son graduated homeschool high school May 1999.

We have 13 acres and have Angora rabbits, pet rabbits, cats and dogs and are working toward getting Angora goats, a Dexter cow for milking, and possibly an Alpaca and other animals....

We have a big garden and during the last four years I've really gotten into canning and freezing.

We live in north central Alabama. Well. that's us.

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), July 19, 2000.

Might as well put in my 2 cents, although not as much to tell as some folks. I'm located in SW MO on a rough and rugged 250 acres I've sort of made into a grazing based dairy farm. I'm 42, and as Ken, never married. Attend Freewill Baptist Church. I enjoy checking the forum here on countrysides as its about "what I know". Welcome emails from fellow country or want to be country folk. Great to communicate with people with common love for the peace and happiness to be gained from country living. Don

-- Don (dairyagri@yahoo.com), July 19, 2000.

What a great idea! Here goes me: Im 31 and have been married to Daniel for 11 years, 3 girls aged 9,7,and 3 (Chloe Carmen and Rachel). I am the homesteader, not my husband. He doesn't like the animals or have a thing to do with them. I raise all our meat and dairy products but never have a good garden. We have 5.5 acres in central Oregon. I homeschool the girls and Daniel works for my father. We are regular church goers and live very simply, trying to save enough to get out of this gross double wide and build something nicer (warmer!)

-- Julie Capasso (julieamc@excite.com), July 19, 2000.

I'm Sonda in Ks. & I have almost told my life story on most of my posts, since I've been hanging out here! I'm 53 years old & still haven't decided what I want to be, when I grow up! My precious hubby, Gary, age 55, is the love of my life--along with our daughter, son-in- law & grand sons! I was raised on a farm & takeing care of cattle in the flint hills of Ks. When I grew up, the school kids use to come on field trips to our farm, to see ALL OF THE ANIMALS --we were called the "Phillips zoo"! My hubby & I have owned many kinds of businesses over the last 30, plus years. He works for Boeing Aircraft Co. in Wichita, Ks. & has for many years. He commutes over 65 miles one way to work each day. We live in a very small town!!! We are very involved in supporting the church, God is building here. We have ducks & geese, chickens, & keets, & cats & a dog. And if the city would permit it, I'd have a nanny goat. We moved out of city life, to care for our parents & God seems to have placed us here--so here we are! Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), July 19, 2000.

I'm Shannon (age 32), married to Jon (37), with two boys, 12 & 9. We have 13 acres in mid-Michigan. Our whole family is (are?) absolutely unapologetic animal rights activists/rescuers, and our farm exists to provide life-long care for "misfit" animals, those who have special needs due to handicaps, neglect, abuse, age, etc. I work here at the farm (without pay!) and my husband has a 20 minute drive to Kalamazoo where he works in auto-body repair. Our boys go to public school, and we are fortunate to have good schools in this area. We are not church-goers, but have a strong sense of God in our lives. I garden & can & freeze a bit, but not with much confidence! This forum is so helpful to me in that area. Best part of my day: having my horses come to the gate at dusk to have their heads scratched, while all around me the rest of the animals are settling in for the night, everyone fed & content & safe. Worst part of my day: around dinner time, when I am faced with trying to prepare a meal in the TOTALLY torn-up kitchen of our 160 year-old farm house, which is in it's SEVENTH year of remodeling! :z

-- Shannon (Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary) (gratacres@aol.com), July 19, 2000.

This is lots of fun to read, but I'd better contribute something! I am not married... I was 16 on the fourth of July. I have an older brother and two younger sisters : Owen (18), Olivia(8 1/2) and Amelia (6) and as many others have said 1,(sister Adrienne) with Jesus. My father is an elder in an ARP, (Associate Reformed Presbyterian) church in Woodstock, New Brunswick CANADA. We live on a 130a hobby farm in Weston, (20 min. outside of Woodstock). I am going into my 12 year of homeschooling. My Dad has just finished his last year of public school teaching, (our homeschooling business has picked up). Um...I enjoy children, animals, working out doors, cooking, playing violin and piano and um...lots of other things. I guess that's it! Now if only I knew what you all looked like!

-- Abigail F. (treeoflife@sws.nb.ca), July 19, 2000.

Hi, this really is fun! I'm married to my husband of 11 years, whom I met while he was stationed in Germany. This is how I ended up in Hodgdon , Maine, a very small place considering where I come from. We have two children Sarah 10, and Michael 8. We fell into homesteading about 8 years ago,when we were really hard up, and decided to raise a pig. My parents were never very thrilled with my decision to marry an American, and move away. When they finally were able to forgive me, they bought a place over here, to come and stay with us off and on. That's how we got what people around here call the "mansion" and 96 acres to go with it. The house is very beautifull to look at, but very cold, unpractical etc. But it is all paid for so I'm not going to complain too much. We both work outside jobs. I have a hard time letting go of that security (or insecurity, hubby got laid of for the month of July) We raise ,kill,butcher 99% of our meat. We have our own milk, eggs, and some of our own vegetables. Neither one of us had ever anything to do, with animals, farming etc. Learned it all by ourselves,and with the help of countryside. Well, that's us. I hope a lot more of you guys out there tell about yourself

Karin

-- karin morey (wind_crest@hotmail.com), July 19, 2000.

Great stories, glad you're all hunky dory, but are these the same people I chatted with, not long ago, about not answering the census?!

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), July 19, 2000.

great point kathy!!! boy am i being compared to the census folks!? kinda creepy! at least i did not ask income and s.s. # {ha. ha } i guess we all are a little more open when we feel like we are talking to friends! i hope iam not being to imposing !!

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), July 19, 2000.

Well! Don't know what else I can tell y'all. I've already told it! Married to the same red headed "lil dumplin" for 33 years. She's an X- ray tech, Two grown sons-both school teachers but the oldest left to work in business. I'm the lazy, dumb one left. I tend the home fires while waiting to re-coup from heart problems. Wife and I live on our own 24 acre "paid for" farm, down a dead end road in Richland County IL. The Mighty Hand of God the Father is seen all around this farm. After all, it belongs to Him---I'm just the caretaker! Hope He doesn't call for it back just yet--I AIN'T DONE YET!

-- hoot gibson (hoot@pcinetwork.com), July 19, 2000.

I answered the census so here goes: Vicki 43, John 41 married 20 years. Daughter 21, daughter 18 and son 16. I am the official goat lady, an outed goataholic who lives to show. Husband runs Handyman Services, so that means that like the shoemaker who's children has no shoes, I have dozen's of unfinshed projects around here! We live on 13 acres in the National Forest, true live in travel trailer, no electric, hauling water to build out house out of pocket countrysiders. Love my place just wish I could air lift it and our company to anywhere but East Texas! And Texas is everything you think it is and more!! For the worse and the better! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), July 19, 2000.

Well, it's past my bedtime, so I don't know how coherent this is going to be. I'm Kathleen 43, and husband is Greg, 44. We've been married 24 1/2 years and have three daughters. The oldest is married, has a sweet little 18 month old daughter herself -- and is expecting another baby, sex as yet undetermined, in two or three weeks. Middle daughter is a teacher at the little Christian school at our church, and works part time o support herself. Youngest daughter is autistic, a chatterbox who is currently supposed to be getting in bed and is sitting in her (dark) room talking up a blue streak. I was raised on a homestead in Alaska (the 160 acres and prove up on it kind) and in a rural area of the Oregon Coast, met hubby at college in Alaska. Through a lot of bends and twists we ended up here in New Hampshire on 14 acres (NOT paid for) in an old farm house which we hope to be able to put up for sale *some day*!! :- ) I stayed home with the girls and home-schooled until we moved here, then while they were at our churches school I was a teacher's aide there. I've done a little part-time or temporary work outside the home, but not much. Am now looking for work, have a possibility in the housekeeping department at the local hospital, nights. Hubby works in the labs at two hospitals, seven days a week. We only have honeybees right now, about ten hives. I like living in the country, don't need the *entertainment* of town, or constant company of other people -- but I must admit that it gets expensive and is a hassle to spend so much time on the road to get back and forth! Better quit -- this is already longer than necessary, and my eyes want to close!!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), July 19, 2000.

I'm 42 & my architectural designer/carpenter husband of 9 months (real newlyweds compared to all you long-distance runners! -- live in a strawbale house on 5 acres of forest in NW WA. His kids are grown. I own a teahouse in Seattle (which by the way I want to sell because I really like being on the land here). Before that I owned a travel agency specializing in Asia, and I have travelled all over Asia as well as elsewhere. I love languages (I speak, read & write Urdu & Hindi, and have also studied bunches of other languages.) I love cooking, tea (duh!), and homeopathy. We have ducks, 2 dogs & a cat, and i am studying up on getting a couple of goats. I'm also just getting the hang of this garden thing, and I LOVE the forest. And books.

-- snoozy (allen@oz.net), July 20, 2000.

I am 53 an Norman is 66. We have been married 5 years. Between us we have 8 children (all grown). My oldest is autistic and the light of our lives. We have a new grandson we will be glad to tell you all about. Norman has been farming all his life, i was a summer farmer all mine until we moved to my family farm. We have cows, goats, peacocks, guineas, geese, chickens, ducks dogs and cats-did I forget anyone? We raise most of our own food and put it up. I work part time as a librarian. We love our life here, music, good books. Both Christians

-- Susie Stretton (nightsong@beci.net), July 20, 2000.

Wow, this is so interesting! My name is Wendy, married 9 years to the most persistent man in the world! We have 3 blessings from God, ages 7 (girl), 5 & 3 (boys), and one with our Lord. Both my husband and myself are born again believers and are striving to raise up our children to serve and glorify Him! We homeschool and recently moved from a very nice large home outside of Kansas City, to a very old, small home in the country. Lots and lots of work going on with the house, not to mention the land, etc... Husband drives about 1.5 hrs each way to work, recently started his own business and we are hopeful it will succeed! Am learning daily. We have a huge garden, and have planted an orchard and berry patch. Also, christmas trees and pumpkins. We have chickens and guineas, cats for mice, and a great dog! Are working on the cattle, soon we hope! Canning season is crazy, and start to look forward to winter around August-he-he!! We love this place (tho most cannot understand why?), and are thankful to be here! God Bless! Wendy

-- wjl7 (wjl7@hotmail.com), July 20, 2000.

Sonda, when I grow up, I want to be young. At the moment, I'm a little over 40 - about 11 years over. At least I'm still living and learning and growing - trying to keep that last under control.

Started training in agricultural science, but a bad back put paid to that, and I've worked in data processing/information technology since the age of 20.

I was married, but my wife went mad and left me. Unfortunately, there were about a dozen years between the two events, and we didn't cope well in the interim. Marriage duration twenty years before she divorced me. Although I did take the marriage vows seriously, in retrospect all concerned would have been better off if the breakup had happened much earlier. I was hamstrung by laws which gave too many rights to her, to the extent that I couldn't get treatment for her, and she wouldn't admit she needed it. Two sons, now in their twenties - took quite a while to overcome the brainwashing she, in her delusional state, had given them between the breakup and her subsequent suicide attempt. In retrospect that's where that "bit over 40" went to.

Last year I've been back back on the family farm (1300 acres, dryland agriculture, stock) recovering from a simple varicose vein operation that went grievously wrong, infected, ulcerated, and they hadn't quite fixed the circulation .... What it has done for me is focus my mind on where and how I want to live, which is not in the city. However, I will return there first, because I have pretty-well recovered, my Public Service job is still waiting for me (just), and I'd be crazy to throw away that length-of-service until I've recovered enough to have decent options. Hard to get another job at my age, particularly in a rural area; and the marriage breakup and aftermath gutted me financially. Now I can focus on what I want to do, rather than the past. Should be able to swing a transfer into a rural area in the interim, and work towards qualifications and experience I can use here.

I guess many of you will recognise the style, but I won't put my name to this one. The Web has made the world an incredibly small place. She's having treatment now, functioning passably, and I don't need to load her by name - or her taxpayer-funded lawyers - with what I said here.

-- nope (not@availab.le), July 20, 2000.

I'm 53 my wife is 46. We've been married 27 years. We have one daughter, 25, who is married. No grandchildren yet. We live on a 5 acre farm and own another 20 acres of woods upstate; we plan on building on that site within 2 years. Have always been a farmer and will always be a farmer. I have survived the 60s, Viet Nam, hippyism, 2 auto accidents, and cancer. I appreciate every breath I take and thank the Lord for my blessed life. I fool the age-guessers at the fairs every year by at least 10 years and hope to continue to do so. ;-)

-- JimR (jroberts1@cas.org), July 20, 2000.

Boy do I feel old! Seems everybody who responded here is just starting out. I'm 53, married 33 yrs to 60 yr old husband. We have two daughters, one on east coast (not married) and one living about 15 miles away (married, no grandchildren, yet). Live on my family farm in the house I was born in, that has been in the family since 1886 and owned by myself and my two sisters. The majority of the 200 acres is in Conservation Reserve Program but we work about 40 acres. I am the farmer, husband is a printer in the local town and looking forward to retirement. I've done lots of secretarial work over the years, much of which was in the public schools. I decided three years ago to retire, my mom lived here on the farm in a mobile home and was having some health problems. She pasted away on May 27th of this year and I am so thankful I did what I did. I really miss her this time of year since she was my source if I needed to know how to do something. Special lady, was certainly the source of my love for the farm and being self sufficient. I (notice it is "I") have angora goats (35)18 kids this spring and sheep (15) I hope to breed this fall, also we have two border collies and a cat and I keep chickens for the eggs to sell and use. We raise our own chicken for meat and buy beef, pork from neighbors so I know how they have been raised. Have a big garden (kinda lost interest this year) and can/preserve whatever I can lay my hands on. We pretty much eat off the pantry, most of what I buy are disposable items ie paper towel, etc and dog food. Love my animals, and people ask me why I continue to work so hard to keep them, don't I want to just relax? I guess it's impossible to explain to folks who don't love animals the perks of having them. Nuturing is such a rewarding feeling, be it animals or kids. I love to do everything, spin, weave, oil paint, woodworking, like all the rest of you. To much, I always have tons of projects going and seem to have a hard time finishing anything. Seems to me everyone who contacts this forum is creative and loves to work with their hands. I have no religious affiliation, my dad felt he had a close relationship with God since he worked the land and treated his fellow man the way he should and I also feel that way. Being involved with a group does not necessarily make a person a christian (in my eyes)seen to many people go to church and then screw their neighbor. I know that's very simplistic, and probably could creat another discussion, but that's the way I feel. I plan to live here on this farm until they carry me away feet first(like my mom and dad) and plan to have garden, animals, etc as long as I can. I think working at something you love is what keeps people young. As far as this being like the census, not hardly, the government doesn't care about the personal stuff about people, just numbers so they can create statistics. Boy did this get long, sorry.

-- Betsy (betsyk@pathwaynet.com), July 20, 2000.

Don't really want to do this, but if Ken thought it was safe, here goes I am 42 married to Larry who is 45. Been married nine years, have a son from husband#1, he is 25 and in the army in Korea. Son is married, they plan on waiting a little while for children, which is fine by me, the word Grandmother still reminds me of my silver haired grandma, can't be me! My husband works hard at construction, I know thats not a very popular occupation on this forum, but we do need people who can build stuff. He built me a beautiful shed, looks more like a room of a house when inside. I have recently quit "work", needed time to check out life. I was giving everything to my work, (lab tech), and my life did not exist. I consider myself so blessed to have a husband who supports, in all ways, my desion sp? We have a huge yard that we fenced in, live in a 30 ft travel trailor and rent this place. There are seven chickens, two turkeys and a dog who share our wonderful life. I am so glad to have this forum, I have been reading Countryside for years. I look forward to the next 42 years and all they will bring.

-- Tina (clia88@newmexico.com), July 20, 2000.

I've been mostly a lurker and a learner on this list for a couple of months now and I'm sooo glad I found it! You guys are such a wonderful source of information and experience and support....so here goes....I'm soon to be 38 (next week) married to the love of my life for the last 14 years (he's 42). We have 3 boys, Eric, 8 Dylan 6, and Connor,14 mnths. We built our house on ten acres two years ago and have never regretted our "move". When I look out my kitchen window and see my six year old son running and playing with my goats I get a deep sense of satisfaction. Honestly, I've always wanted to live in the country, so I can't say that we did it for them, but each and every day I am shown the benefit that they do and will get from it.....My husband drives about an hour to work each way, he's a computer artist. I'm a stay at home mom who does volunteer search and rescue work with my two german shepherds. We go into the woods and return lost or missing people, ie. children, hikers, senile folk etc...it's very demanding but really rewarding work! I love to sit on my porch in the evening as the sun sets with my hubby and go over the day, talk about the plans for the next day. Laugh about the kids and give thanks for these truley are the "Golden Years" Thanks for asking!! .

-- Judy Bates (trailhppr@msn.com), July 20, 2000.

My husband and I have been married for 10 years, we have two girls, Sarah 10, and Megan 7. Ernie is 44 years young and I am 34. We re- located to 27 acres in central Kentucky from southern New Hampshire, three years ago. We have a hobbie farm where we raise 10 llamas, one angora goat, 2 Mastiff dogs, 7 cats, 2 guinea pigs, a coop full of chickens, 2 ducks, and 1 parakeet. All of them have names which they are called except the chickens! We raise chickens for eggs and meat. Some of the eggs are used to barter with a local homesteader for fresh Jersey milk. Ernie is a carpenter and has built our current home to our plans. I am a certified nurses asst. and work part-time at the local hospital. I only work while the kids are in school, no babysitters here! We raise a good-sized garden and I freeze much of its contents. We are looking into buying a Jersey cow for our own fresh milk and putting in our own orchard and berry patch. I do many crafts including, processing my own wool (llama, of course!)for knitting and crocheting projects, can sew, draw, and most everything I put my mind to. We are very happy here in our own little world, trying to be self-sufficient. We attend church regularly but don't need people to be happy.

-- Emily (bellyacresfarm@kyk.net), July 20, 2000.

When we were newlyweds, 23 years ago, someone gave us a set of the original four Foxfire Books. We have never been the same. Have been on a lifelong quest to acquire the old skills.

Husband is inspired and dynamic. A "can do!" personality who is 100% behind every project and new idea. We have invested a lot of our energies in our community and our homestead is a beehive of activity with company at every meal - sometimes, lots of company.

We have a lot of overnighters from our breeding stock business that brings our buyers from distant states (42 states so far) and some fascinating ones from foreign countries. Our neighbors joke about the out of state plates and ask if we are running a Bed and Breakfast.

We are both home full time and it has been a wonderful world to raise our three sons in - ages 20, 17, 15. Yes, we make our living 100% from these steep Ohio hillsides.

We do the whole homestead thing. Raise our beef, pork, chicken, fish, eggs, milk, vegetables, fruit - even can the milk for when the cow is dry. Yeh, we were ready for y2k and were actually looking forward to the opportunity to share what we know how to do and help our community get through. Didn't happen, but we'll be there when what we know is important again.

It is hard to explain how hard we work. It is not for everyone. You have to feel passionately about this and love it.

-- homestead2 (homestead@monroecty.net), July 20, 2000.

Well since we are getting to know each other, I am turning 40 in sept, husband is 45,been together 13 years married 8, three kids two oldest stepchildren but helped to raise them since they were 3 and 4, oldest girl 17 1/2 youngest, girl 16, son 5, have had custody of two oldest since there mother fliped out and dumped them on a country road when they were 6 and 7 1/2.Live in town, garden[10 dwarf fruit trees, and 4 raised beds]2 chickens for eggs,4 angora rabbits[ used to raise and show them]2 dogs 6cats and 2 horses which we board on the horse ranch were I work part time, one guinia pig which son won in a raffle, and one very old gold fish. Animal lover whos husband freaks out when I come in the house with a card board box [although the guinia pig was his fault]. Husband is in computer manegment and I work part time for board for my horse on a horse ranch[ son comes with me, he is a great little ranch hand if you can keep him out of the mud puddles]4h leaders, belive in god, dont attend church.forgot girls have 2 mini rex to.Thats about it.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), July 20, 2000.

This is a long one.

I have a B.A. in Russian Language and Linguistics and have held many different positions, from Army Interrogation Team Chief/Russian Language to Medical Laboratory Technician to Aerospace Electronics Rework Technician. I now work as a legal assistant in an intellectual property firm, commuting to work. It takes me away from home 10= hours a day. There isnt a lot of rural opportunity in this field, but the money is good and will help pay for my farm-to-be.

My partner is a mechanic, and a darn good one. Hes been at it for 27 years, and is getting ready for a career change, which will happen when his youngest, now 17, is independent. Although he is not a homesteader by nature, he is very supportive of my eccentricities, and is generally wonderful!

We have been together going on nine years, now. He is a suburban guy, but we will move to the country as soon as his youngest is independent. To that end, I have just purchased ten and a half acres, about 4 acres of it in pasture, the rest in timber, with a small house. I will be developing it until we can move out there. I anticipate that will be in three or four years. During the intervening time, I would like to get it mostly paid off.

For now, Im learning as much as I can on approximately 1/4 acre downtown in a small city. Our place has a large and very visible front yard, and I am trying to develop some edible landscaping there so its not a total waste of land and resources. I have little use for lawn. For the back yard, I have worked with Animal Control and the neighbors to be able to keep chickens and goats. I also have 4 dogs, a cat, and assorted finches. Id like to get rabbits and bees, but Im running out of room and time. Inside activities I enjoy are spinning, making soap, making bread, cooking and canning.

My biggest challenge lately is getting things in the ground, and once theyre there, getting them to produce before the fall rainy season mildews them to death. (Lot of trouble with tomatoes here in NW Washington State.) Heat units for ripening are also scarce, but in the summer, we frequently go for LONG stretches without any serious rain, so irrigation is still an issue. Im having fun learning though, and try not to take my (many) failures too hard. In the past two weeks, Ive failed four times at making cheese, once at making fudge, and my bee balm, sweet woodruff, and pennyroyal starts dried up and blew away.. But, the five new fruit trees, two grapes, two currants, and one Loganberry that I planted this year all survived and are doing well. Yeah!

-- Laura Jensen (lauraj@seedlaw.com), July 20, 2000.

Oooo.. me next! I'm 33 (going on 29 again in December). My husband is 35 and we'll be married 10 years come August. I first saw him when I was in the 4th grade and said to myself that I was going to marry him. Thank you, Lord! Two kiddies almost 9 and 7 (Marissa, Anthony). Have just about the best weed garden growing anywhere. Husband works at Pepperidge Farms (can you say goodies?) and this is my first week at an office job. Been home with my munchkins for three years. Still no chickens on our acre but the spirit of homesteading still beats within me as my fondest hope, wish, desire. As soon as the bills are paid off.....Hey! Do you guys know bill? For those of you who have so far kept him at arms length...great job. And don't give in, bill, can be very persistent. But, he'll keep many homesteading plans at bay. I'm a good God fearin' woman but I'm hoping this job will allow me to kill bill-DEAD!!! P.S. We're on the edge of Lancaster County here in Pennsylvania and I still love watching the horse an' buggys go by. And tourists breaking their necks to take pictures of Amish families home- steading:)

-- Pam Pitts (msjanedoe@hotmail.com), July 20, 2000.

Darn it, Renee' You won me over- to a point! Honey and I (mostly I) manage 3, mostly wooded, rented acres in So. NY. 3 kids. All good (mostly) and employed. 5 if you count his 2 (adults) who eat here on Sunday?! 1 pampered canine(mutt), 1 pampered parakeet(abandoned). 1 'herd' of deer, and countless chipmunks. The rabbits don't make it much past the dog, they retreat to the woods! Besides raising kids, and mutts, I raise awareness in my community. No medals. No one listens! I will never cease to be amazed at the number of people I know, who don't read a newspaper! ANY paper.

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), July 20, 2000.

Well, here goes: I am 45, married to the most wonderful man in the world for 27 yrs. He's 45 also and as my friends and family say " he spoils me rotten"! We have three children oldest is 26-she is a field/project scientist for an environmental company, our middle daughter is 22 and is the head of activities at a nursing home and the youngest is a son 21 who is still in college! My husband is a railroad engineer and I am a stay at home mom/wife! I take care of my mom who has many health problems and try to keep the farm going while he is away at work!. I love animals and have 7 dogs--2 dachshunds, 1 brittany, 4 mutts(which were neglected and/or abused before coming here). We have a 80 acre farm that we purchased last year. The farm is 12 miles from our house and the 14 acres that we live on...It makes it hard to get there everyday but we try. I love gardening and trying to "homestead". Soon,(my dream) I hope to have Nubians and several breeds of chickens! I have started a small orchard that is doing well! Well that me!!!

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), July 21, 2000.

What a neat idea!However,I'd better type fast as I'm not so sure my hubby will like this as much as I! My name is Tracy,my husband Tim.We have been married 10 years.He's 35;I'm 28.We have a beautiful,brilliant,and sweet 4 yr.old daughter; and the happiest and ornriest 20 month old son imaginable.Annie and Matthew resp.We live on appx.5 acres in SE OH.along with our 3 kitties and 5 chickens.I'd love some more hens and a couple goats- not to mention horses-I've loved horses for as long as I can remember. Used to spend all day drawing them!I occasionally write for my children.Weather fascinates me!I love the woods(but I hate TICKS); God's creation is a constant source of wonder and amazement for me. I collect Breyers,rocks and minerals-used to collect fossils.Most important thing is that I know Jesus is MY saviour!!!I write this as a former atheist by the way.My favorite web sites are:forum(of course),Weather.com,rzim.org,and icr.org among others.Hope and plan to homeschool also...well,this is tooooo long!Thanks for this neat opportunity!!God Bless! ~~Tracy Jo~~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), July 21, 2000.

It's so wonderful to meet so many other kindred spirits. I live in a very rural area but am considered a bit of an oddity with all my projects and general self reliant stuff. My name is Terri (32) husband Tom (45) and two daughters (4&2). I am the homesteader, my husband supports and enjoys and helps me build the pens/shelters etc. His main interests are alternative energy projects and works from home via internet. I raise all our vegetables and herbs, most fruit, chickens for eggs and meat, turkeys and pig. Am finishing up the fencing for a goat spot so now will begin the process of finding a couple of does. I make our own soap, candles do lots of canning and bake our bread in the winter months when the cookstove is going. I love the lifestyle and can't think of a better place or way to raise my children.

-- TerriYeomans (terri@tallships.ca), July 22, 2000.

Now for an answer from two treasures of antiquity. We have just turned 65 and have plans for another 100 years. in three more years we will have been married 50 years. We moved to Alaska after raising a large family and realized our dream of retiring up here. The three youngest came with us and shared in many wonderful adventures: seeing a stream literally filled bank to band with spawning salmon, watching eagles and swans, etc, calling a wolf pack to our door, having black bear literally live around us, seeing old gold camps, having their own dog teams to name a few. But as teenagers they did complain about their rustic existence, now they are grown and back on the sidewalks guess what they dream about.Mu husband has retired twice, has built three homes since he retired the first time. Currently we are building a minihomestead on just under five acres that had to be cleared before we began. Now we live comfortably with all the luxuries of lights and running water. We have 25 Brahma chickens, 4 Toulouse geese, and my husband is building an insulted barn for some milk goats. We also have all the favorites from our dog teams as they are now our friends. We are born again, spirit-filled Christians without any apologies. Something you are free to do when you go thru the rite of passage at age 65!!! You are all wonderful people. God Bless each and everyone.

-- Norma Lucas (trooper806@webtv.net.), July 22, 2000.

This is such fun. I've been wanting to say thanks to everyone who's freely shared knowledge to help us beginners. Though I'm the dreamer, my husband of 24 years has enthusiastically supported my last three years' efforts to become more self-sufficient on our twelve acres - Y2K being the pivotal point. My two oldest have moved out, leaving 4 teenagers still at home, the youngest two still homeschooled. We've got chickens, cats, the largest garden I can handle, and two horses. One daughter barrel races, and the other is wanting to start raising rabbits (thanks for all the tips). Thanks to the encouragement I get from the magazine and this forum, I can now butcher chickens handily, and put a meal entirely from the garden on my table. I'm looking forward to the time I can get more animals (pig, goats). We're very involved in our church, so I think we meet all of Janet Reno's qualifications for a cult, though I sure don't feel like I'm part of a cult. By the way, does anyone out there enjoy Dorothy Sayers?

-- glynnis in KY (gabbycab@msn.com), July 22, 2000.

Wow, this has been so much fun!! Here goes....I'm 42 and single, currently live in a house in town with three dogs and seven cats. I tried marriage a few times and find that I'm really much happier living alone. No children. I work full-time in a great family-owned healthfood store. I run the kitchen, along with various other duties. I'm a vegetarian. I was born and raised out in the sticks, and after many years of suburban/city living I now know that I belong in the country. I deliver newspapers for extra income. My goal is to save as much as possible for a downpayment on a piece of property in a couple of years. I have a pretty big garden, I do a lot of baking, canning, make soap, sew and knit, etc. My dream is to own at least 20 acres, have a few hens, a huge garden, heat with wood. I really like the idea of an outhouse and no power-lines. I joke about the fact that if I ever won the lottery, I'd finally be able to buy a house with no water or electric! No, I don't waste my money on the lottery. I remember reading in Countryside once, "You have to want the land more than anything." Thanks, everyone!

-- Cathy Horn (hrnofplnty@webtv.net), July 23, 2000.

I wasn't going to reply until I saw Norma's post. I didnt' want to be the oldest one on here (just kidding Norma). I'm 62, just started getting social security. Spent 21 years in US Army and another 20 with the City of Houston. Now, my wife (of 42 years) and I live far away from the loud city but still go to Lakewood Church to hear Pastor Osteen on Sundays. I am, first of all, a Christian, bond slave to my Lord Jesus Christ. Second, I am consider myself a US soldier and 3rd a retired city employee. I get a nice check from both the US Goverment for my military service and a kind of nice check from the city but my greatest sourse is my Lord Jesus Christ. A while back, there was a post on which everyone stated where they where from. I made a copy of it so that when I read a post, I could look and see where the person was from. Sometimes, when I've read a post, I often wished I knew the age of the person but this is even better. Great Idea Renee!!!!! Eagle

-- eagle (eagle@alpha1.net), July 23, 2000.

i am 49 single male liveing in sw missouri about 50 miles east of springfield. i have 3.7 acres with about 3 in woods. i have a pond that doesn't hold water yet and 6 potbellied pigs who i hope to move to the pond if i can ever get a fence up who just might seal it so it will hold water. i live in a house i built it is 15x24 with an enclosed porch (now a bedroom) 8x15 and a new porch 8x8. I have temp electric lines in, heat with wood, haul water for drinking and other things if it is not raining. i have a barrel system that holds about 1200 gallons collected from my roof. lack of a well is by biggest problem as i worry about a garden in august without someway to water it. but love my lillte spot on earth so much. i share it with 5dogs, 6cats, 1 white dove, 6potbellied pigs, and one saanen doe which i milk. I have a herniated disc in my back so am now limited in what i can do. i am so thankful that i do have my animals so i have to get up to take care of them as some days it would be so much easier to just stay in bed. i read two things every day 1. my bible and 2. this forum both are helping me to be a better person. i also am in touch with a very nice lady who has just had back surgery herself, for a different reason than my back problem, but is so good to be able to talk with someone who understands what it is like to have constant pain in the back and down my r leg. i hope to have a small garden next year in tires using square foot gardening won't be able to grow everything but will be a step in the right direction. i think the most important thing about living on a homestead is one rememeber it is yours so it will be different from anyoneelses so look at all the information you can and pick what will work for you and that you can do. always have goals but make them realistic and they will change but always have something to work towards. have gone on to long with this post but really like to visit with my neighbors on this elcetronic back fence beyond the sidewalks. gail

-- gail missouri ozarks (gef123@hotmail.com), July 23, 2000.

Hi, I live in Tennesse, just outside of Nashville. My husband is 49 and I am 45. My husband is a songwriter and I am a farmer. We have 4 children, 16, 12, 10, and 5. We homeschool and live on 5 acres. I have 30 laying hens, a dog, 3 cats, l milk cow, 2 beef animals and sometimes pigs. We have a large garden and I can and freeze alot of food. We make our own soap, bread, baked goods etc. Most of all we just have alot of fun, always learning, and enjoying our family. I enjoy reading about everyone here and especially anything to do with cattle.

-- Stephanie Masters (ajsd@gateway.net), July 23, 2000.

My husband and I are both 40 and have been married 15 years. Six years ago, I realized my dream of having my horse in my backyard. I thought it would be great to be self sufficient, just in case.

Now I have so much work that I never take time to ride the horse. We have a 12 year old son who is allergic to most of the animals I have. My son and I became chemically sensitive because of this house we built. The contractor ripped us off. My husband is a city boy who gets poison ivy by just looking at it. And last, my 6 acres are all downhill which makes feeding a chore, especially in the winter.

On the good side, my husband makes a good living. I work part-time in a pet store "just to get out". We just put in a pool. My new chore is retaining walls for levels so I no longer slide down the hill in the winter. And I do love my animals. Now, I just have to make time to ride that horse!

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), July 23, 2000.

I guess I am in the senior group at the ripe old age of 58! I am retired. We live on a 90 acre farm and I have 14 hens, a German Shepherd dog who is spoiled and we raise cattle. I have 4 married children and 6 of the most beautiful grandchildren God ever made! I am a born again Christian and am so grateful for all God has given me. I raise a garden, sew, can lots, sometimes make soap and always try "to do it myself" as much as I can. My husband is the same and between us we have enough talent that we can do most everything ourselves. We built our own house with our own 4 hands. We moved in before it was finished and lived in the basement for several months with temp. electric and no running water. Now we have those luxuries but I know I could do without them if I had to! We have several acres of woods and heat our house with a wood stove. When the guy came out from the rural electric co. to see where to put the poles for our house, he tried to talk us in to putting in a geothermal heating system. Said it would save us much money, but the system costs mega bucks. My husband told him he would be a fool to do that with free access to all the wood we could ever use and in the 7 years since we have never had to cut down one tree, always get more than we can use just from downed limbs and trees. My husband is going to retire early in a couple of years and hopefully we will have many years left to enjoy our place before the Lord calls us home. If not, he has a better place waiting for us.

-- b.williams (bjcdownonthefarm@yahoo.com), July 24, 2000.

Josie and I have been married 40 years and didn't give a thought to simple living or homesteading until the last 6 years or so. Because of some limitations are living in town but have the right attitude and practice the lifestyle as much as humanly possible without livestock. We have a good size garden plot and so can and dry lots of our own food. Self-sufficiency is our ideal and independent living is our dream. Have programmed ourselves to live on extremely limited income and until the last breath will still follow our dream of moving out to the boonies here in Wyoming.

-- Harry Meekins (wrp@trib.com), July 24, 2000.

I have decided to join in with this interesting and special group of people. I am 57, married for 38 years and I currently a librarian for a large city-county library system in Oklahoma. My plans are to retire in the next several years and buy acreage in the northeast corner of Oklahoma. Although I still live in the city, there is much I can learn right in my own backyard before I move beyond the sidewalks. I have been gleaning good ideas from the forum for awhile and plan to continue to do so.

A. Dawson

-- A. Dawson (ROYCHEROKEE1@gateway.net), July 24, 2000.

Hi to all! I'm a single male, 36(never married, no kids), work in a factory as a lift truck mechanic and a newbie to all of this. I was born and raised in a city( born in Bradley, IL, moved to Sidney,OH when I was 17). Built a house(with mortgage!) on four acres a mile from town and love it!Have started wanting to move "farther out" so one day I typed "homesteading" into a search engine looking for land and found something completely different. I was amazed! The more I read the more I wanted that type of lifestyle. Being raised in the city without so much as a dog or cat for a pet I have an awfull lot to learn-so much that I'm not sure where to start. This forum is a great source of inspiration and information. Have only posted once but read every day. I hope to make the "big move" someday but for know I need to learn. I'll be especially interested in posts from other single homesteaders on how they started and maintain their homesteads. I want to thank Mr Balanger for starting this forum and to all of you for sharing your knowledge.

-- Don Brueggert (bruman@bright.net), July 25, 2000.

Well, greetings to all!

I guess we are the only LDS(Mormons) on the forum! That's all right. Used to being different. We (my wife and I) just started a "homestead" in MT. We basically just wanted to live a more simpler life and try out a few things such as building our own house (hope to get started soon!), living off-grid (been doing it for 2 1/2 months now - loving it), and growing more of our own foods and such. We have 4 children and 1 on the way. I am 31, she (my wife) is 29. Our children are all under 8). We have 2 BIG dogs - Great Pyrenese. We hope to start breeding them at some point, but want to wait for the youngest to get past 2 years old. We own 22 acres in the mountains. Still trying to decide on the final design of our house. We have tossed around the myriad of building techniques from "normal" to wierd. I would really like to build using as many of the natural resources available from our property as possible. We'll see. We are still trying to figure out the best way to make it from a home based, or at least locally based, business. My background is engineering and operations in nuclear (GASP!) and gas turbines (got out of the politics of nuclear!!!). None of either around these parts! We believe in living debt-free and do our best to encourage others to attain this goal. I buy the Countryside magazine and have been lurking on the forum here for awhile. Anyone else from MT?

-- Shane Van Wey (savanwey@peoplepc.com), July 25, 2000.

Well Renee, it seems you touched a nerve or a heart in a lot of us. We love to share, its our nature. We share knowledge or a little of ourselves with those we have so much in common.Thats why we're homesteaders, that s means we're not alone,thats why it works. I'll bet our Lord is happy when his children find each other.My bride and I moved to Northern Nevada 3 yrs ago.Been married 32 yrs, subdivided 40 acres into 2 1/2 plots. Built a daughters house on each side of us adn our little one will be across the street when she marries next year.Built a metal building 50 x 100, for my wifes home business,work out room, racquetball court,and my shop and lab. Another 50 x 80 building is on the way to house the pool for winter swimming and the animal pens and hothouse for citrus and year round produce.Right now, just raising kittens,next year the ark will arrive. see ya

-- Ravmond L Gray (RorLGray@amntv.com), July 25, 2000.

Born in The Windy City,raised in my fathers home in N. Al since I was 7 (been back to Chicago only twice, don't miss it) . Married 5 years, 10 year old son. We met at work. She's a little to the left, I'm a little to the right ( she took me hiking on the mountain, I got her to register to vote). We always try to be side by side, meeting in the middle, every day is like being newlyweds. Found we like the old fashioned "Mayberry" life, trying to get away from the "rat race'. We plan a lifetime living on love.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), July 25, 2000.

Well, I feel I am a bit late jumpin' on this bandwagon - I shoot off my mouse (or is that "mouth"?) quite frequently on this forum, so here I go again!

Hubby Dom(44) and I(39) have been married 10 years,with two strapping sons to show for it! Andy, 9, and Lukas, 5 (going on 16!). We have a little less than an acre - but we're trying like heck to fill it up to the limit! Chickens, turkey, rabbits, bees, gardens (veggie and flower and herb), fruit trees, berries...and someday, maybe even a feeder pig or (my dream) a couple goats. Oh, and occasionally a wild bird being rehabbed(my hobby). Dom works in maintenance in a chemical company (aaack), and I drive a schoolbus. We homeschool the boys, and live life to the fullest we can. Hubby hunts and fills the freezer each fall with lotsa venison, while I fill the shelves in the basement with lotsa canned goodies. And I can honestly say that most of what we do in our lives (other than work within the sidewalks) and the choices we've made are due (either directly or indirectly) to Countryside & S.S.J. Thank you Jd., et al, for helping us find that path again.

Judi in CT

-- Judi (ddecaro@snet.net), July 25, 2000.

What a great thread. Hubby and I have been married for twenty years. I'm 47 and he's 49. No kids. Hubby was exposed to agent orange while in Vietnam and was afraid of producing children with birth defects so we chose not to have any. So instead we have eight great danes that have become our surrogate children and live in the house with us. Actually hubby raises and shows them traveling all up and down the east coast going to dog shows and we sell puppies but only have one litter a year. We're not trying to make a living from it, just trying to improve the breed.

We have six and a half pastured acres in Virginia. Big project this year was to build the greenhouse and start a large dried flower growing business. We have about 8,000 plants in the ground at this point and doing nicely. Water for the greenhouse comes off the roof of our stable and it is kept in a holding tank.

We have a large garden which is my main project and I have been making jams from strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries and making pickles and canning and freezing other veggies.

We have an inground swimming pool I am trying to convert to a farm pond and raise fish and other water critters for eating. Currently working on the right number of catfish to keep the algae down. Other current projects for this year are putting in a small fruit and nut orchard and converting the tack room in the stable to a chicken coop so we can get them in the spring.

I work full time for the federal government in Human Resources and plan to retire in 8 years with 34 years of service. That will allow for a nice pension which will let us continue to live comfortably on a homestead. Hubby stays at home and takes care of everything there including having supper ready when I get home which makes it really nice.

Hubby was a Philadelphia city boy and I was raised in a suburb environment in New Hampshire. Both of us love country living and the peace and quiet it brings. My dream when we retire is to move farther out in the country and have more acreage but we are making our little homestead here so nice that I may not want to leave it in 8 years.

Also plan to raise minature sheep and a guard llama when I retire. I think that will do it in the livestock arena but a goat or two may end up here also. We use goat's milk when raising the puppies and get it now from a local goatherder but would enjoy raising our own.

That's us in a nutshell.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), July 26, 2000.

Where to start? I am 48 years old and my husband is 11 days older than I am. We live in Snohomish County, state of Washington. I am a Washington State native and my spouse is originally from Chicagoland and later Colorado (college). I have a bachelors degree which I have hardly used. I spent 30 years of my life working...from telephone operator (paid for college) to interior designer (don't even ask!) to lumber sales to clothing sales clerk to buyer to merchandise manager to retired to student! I'm really just an old hippy, if you can imagine reconciling the aforementioned with a lifestyle so different. I had goals, though, and was willing to be schizophrenic to pay for them. Actually there are some funny stories about being in two "places" at once!

We live on 5 acres of good land; raise sheep for fun and lost income (not for long, though!); have goats, chickens, geese, ducks, cats, and who knows, maybe someday we will get a dog. No kids, can't have 'em.

We garden organically and put up a lot, but not all, of our food. We are discussing the sheep-to-locker dillema presently. I spin and knit; have done weaving in the past but not lately. We catch rainwater in a 1000 gallon tank; have a wood cookstove that we have used but not lately (again!...it's school!!)and heat with wood; hang clothes out to dry. We have built our own home, have remodelled, and plan to build again. My husband works in the dying lumber industry. My currenet job: I sell eggs to friends and church folk for a discount, and we pay some of our feed bills this way! Not exactly gettin' rich!

I love to hike and climb in the mountains; river raft; ride bikes sometimes. I work within my church and community to make the world a better place as I am able. So does my husband.

I think people are generally kind and thoughtful, but often distracted and tend to give up. Sometimes I get cynical, but that's a lapse back to my early life, growing up disillusioned and obnoxious in Seattle.

That's it, except I enjoy writing, the internet, and this forum! And all too much! Oh, yeah, I am in my 2nd qtr out of 3 to get my Medical Transcriptionist Certificate. Should be interesting...

Hope I didn't bore anyone too much! I sure enjoy reading the other posts!

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), July 26, 2000.