You may be a homesteader if...

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I always enjoy this string so much when it appears on Countryside; I thought we might try it here. I'll go first :) You may be a homesteader if: 1- You’ve ever reached into your coat pocket and pulled out an egg. (or forgotten it there and sent it through the wash) 2- You’ve ever moved into a new house and planted the garden before you unpacked boxes. 3- You can say “shoveling manure” and “a morning well-spent” in the same sentence. 4- You’ve ever assisted the birth of a goat(or other livestock) and been disappointed that people don’t want to know the details. 5- Any of your children walk around the house making clucking sounds or imitating the goat sounds. 6- You know which goat is calling by the sound of her voice. 7- You’ve ever asked your children, “Everyone in and buckled?” and buckled came out sounding like a cackle. 8- Every errand and social event is scheduled around milking time. 9- You wouldn’t think of scheduling any other activity the week a goat is due to kid. 10- You are fascinated by the many varieties of poultry. 11- The most interesting book you’ve read this year is Carla Emory’s Encyclopedia of Country Living (and you wondered what took you so long to find it ;)

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), August 23, 2001

Answers

I was just thinking about this thread, thanks Mary.

You may be a homesteader if you enjoy getting your own tool box for Mother's Day instead of jewelry.

If you think about moving in terms of: will there by wild berries, or persimmons or elderberries.

If you have a yard sale and there's no jewelry, very few clothes or knick knacks.

You telll people about your new(old) barns before you tell them about your new(rebuilt) house.

If you'd rather can than spend $.25 for a can of peas or beans

-- Cindy (S.E.IN) (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), August 23, 2001.


What never ceases to amaze my is how similar we all are here on the forum. I can understand EVERY SINGLE THING on these lists. Up here (in the near-city, frozen North) people think I'm nuts just having a garden, never mind raising chickens!

Them: "What are those things in your back yard?"

Me: "Oh. Those are my chickens."

Them: "No, I mean those tall stalky things."

Me: "Oh! That's the corn."

Them: "Corn!! Can't you just buy corn at the store?"

Me: "I don't know. Can you?"

Them: "WHY ON EARTH DO YOU RAISE CHICKENS?"

Me: "Because I like to."

Them: "Can I pet them? Do they bite? What are their names?"

Me: "Yes. No. Nuggets."

Wishing you enough.

-- Trevilians (aka Dianne in Mass) (Trevilians@mediaone.net), August 23, 2001.


Guilty of 1,3,4,5,6,8,9,10 & 11. :) Spent nearly 6 hours today cleaning goat pens, milking parlor, etc. "A day well spent." And yes, I can tell nearly any one of my goats by their voice, also whether they need something, are hurt, scared etc. My life is scheduled around milking and bottle feeding, and yes, I get a bit put out when everyone wants only to hear about how our house remodeling is coming along, and no one is very interested in my plans to remodel the goat barn.

-- Lenette (kigervixen@webtv.net), August 23, 2001.

Lenette, start a new thread and tell us about your plans for your goat barn...speaking for myself and a lot of people I don't know, we'd love to hear!!!

-- Sheryl in Me (Radams@sacoriver.net), August 23, 2001.

For my B'day, my wife bought me a new long handled turning fork.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), August 23, 2001.


Well...one year my wish list for Christmas was a chainsaw, a shotgun or a canner. I didn't get them for Christmas, but I have them now!

How about.... When you can tell which chicken it was that just laid an egg without seeing her.....When your idea of a good time is getting some fence lines cleared. I'm sure there are a million more!

-- Drreen (bisquit@here.com), August 23, 2001.


Oh yeah, Diane, don't you love it when people ask you if you are sure it's safe to eat the eggs your chickens lay? I've also gotten looks of complete bewilderment over drinking my goat's milk. Seems everyone thinks stuff is produced under labratory clean conditions at chicken ranches (nightmares!) and dairy farms. Really makes me smile...That and the "you plant those tomatos right in rabbit poop?"

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), August 23, 2001.

When your 4 yr. old talks about and happily eats what he calls the 'real' green beans (from the garden), but refuses the 'fake' ones (from the store.)

-- StevenB (thicketyrowfarm@aol.com), August 23, 2001.

You might be a homesteader if:

When buying property you said to the realtor "never mind the house...what does the barn look like and what kind of topsoil is there?"

You have ever drove through downtown with a calf in the backseat of your car.

If you know how many haybales will fit in your minivan.

If you ever have to 'dress up' to go to the store.

If the only people that ever pull up into your yard are lost(and usually desperately so).

You are better armed than the local police department.

You haven't been to a store other than the hardware store or the feed store for at least 6 months and it really doesn't bother you.

You are still trying to figure out how to grow your own toilet paper.

If you have baling wire used for structural integrity anywhere on your place.

Getting to your front door requires knowing just how to go up your driveway so you don't 'bottom out' and it requires opening more than one gate.

You seriously consider planting a thicker hedge because if you squint really hard you can barely see the glow of your nearest neighbors security light and you see this as an invasion of your privacy.

-- Amanda in MO (mrsgunsmyth@hotmail.com), August 23, 2001.


You might be a homesteader if:

Your favorite use of duct tape is on your goats teats.

Your family begs you to please not go to another livestock auction.

When you go to the next livestock auction(your family lost}, you come home with three scrawny pigs, and a goat with mastitis(you didn't see it from the bench you were sitting on).

You leave the livestock auction with your van loaded down and your son shaking his head in disbelief, saying "Dad's gonna kill you!".

You haul home a baby ram and he bawls all the way home and so does your two year old who thinks you have a monster in your back seat that is going to come eat her toes.

Your husband has figured out more ways to kill your garden than you can count while you are out of town.

You get used to dead baby rabbits.

You have figured out how to make a hay baler out of pallets.

You hang out in antique shops looking for things that might be useful.

Your typical fashion magazine is Cabela's.

You really like this link: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/subjects.html Check out the Agriculture section!!!

Little Bit Farm

-- Little Bit Farm (littleBit@compworldnet.com), August 24, 2001.



i like that one about growing your own toilet paper. That would redefine "self sufficiency":>)

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), August 24, 2001.

We liked that one, too! Hubby thought maybe corn??! haha

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), August 24, 2001.

I guess I am a true homesteader. Mullein is an excellent toilet paper plant. Big broad tough fuzzy leaves softer than Charmin. It grows well in "wasteplaces" gravel bars and poor soil with good drainage, kinda like where you would put the outhouse.

I've always collected the wild seed but the past few years I've been seeing quite a few cultivate varieties.

Oh, yeah! Indian and Russian herbology claim mullein as a treatment for hemroids.

-- Laura (LadybugWrangler@hotmail.com), August 26, 2001.


Lil Bit , I want my kids back ! You can keep Hubby if you want .Mine told me " Mom you really don't have to buy us anything at auction this week " Hehe.How about when your 2 year old who loves corn decides to eat it out of the grain bag .Yes I did make her spit it out .Or you might be a homesteader when your dinner has a name , instead of steak it's Monty or that bacon isn't bacon it's cloudy .Everything gets named here and gets respect when we eat it .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), August 27, 2001.

I am from an island in the caribbean called Barbados. Life is very different here, we have lots of sun, beautiful blue skys and the beaches are to die for, oh and no SNOW, thats what i'm used too.

What I know of you life is what i see on television and i didnt care for it much, but today, i came across this page and low and behold, i read every story, its just truly amazing, living off the land and simply being down to earth, I always liked the silence of the country side... heck if i could i'd move there right now!!! What i'm trying to say is that through your words, i have gained a lot of incite and respect for you all.

Thanks for opening my eyes. Gina

-- Gina (Shaginet@hotmail.com), May 15, 2003.



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