What brought you to this forum?? CS philosophy??

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

A discussion on another thread about old homesteaders and the “in crowd” really got me to thinking. Some of us have been here on this forum longer than others, but I would be really interested in hearing what brought people here.

I know that this forum is no longer “sponsored” by the Countryside Magazine, but it was their philosophy that brought ME to this forum as soon as I got a computer two years ago. I thought I would post it here again, because I think it has been quite a while since it was.

“It’s not a single idea, but many ideas and attitudes, including a reverence for nature and a preference for country life; a desire for maximum personal self-reliance and creative leisure; a concern for family nurture and community cohesion; a belief that the primary reward of work should be well-being rather than money; a certain nostalgia for the supposed simplicities of the past and an anxiety about the technological and bureaucratic complexities of the present and for the future; and a taste for the plain and functional.

This is the reason I came here and if the majority of the posters are not interested in sharing these type of ideas etc., it would be when I would leave.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), April 25, 2002

Answers

Seemed like good people, with good ideas, I forget how I got the URL though. I make farming a big part of my life and want to keep some perspective between profit vs lifestyle, I'd hate to see my sheep stacked 6 high for profitability sake. Roots are harder to keep when "big city" knocks on your door every day too. My rural road actually has a rush hour.........that's soooooooo depressing. I'd rather read this site's worst bickering than half the Ag subsidies farm talk or urban boards bookmarked on my computer. You guys keep it real.

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), April 25, 2002.

Well, what actualy brought me to this forum is a farming friend of mine in Washington state. She turned me onto the Countryside Journal as well (though I gather from many posts to this forum that it is a shadow of its former self).

I'd say, Diane, that the Countryside philosophy and the generous folks here who share it (and their knowledge and experiences), just about sums up my reason for returning again and again to this place. I'm glad there's a place where we can be our homesteading selves and not get the funny looks I still get from friends when I gleefully tell them about the latest additions to our farm (whether it be livestock, pets or plants).

-- Andrea, Big Flats NY (andreagee@aol.com), April 25, 2002.


I learned about COUNTRYSIDE magazine (the print edition) back in the early 1990's from the same friend who turned me on to BACKWOODS HOME magazine. I've been on both forums I think for about as long as they've had them and I have learned so much!

Folks have been so generous with sharing their knowledge and that has helped me so much on our little homestead.

I deal with so much for those "technological and bureaucratic complexities" that you mentioned in my job as a newspaper reporter that my homestead and my animals are my salvation from insanity!

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), April 25, 2002.


I had been visiting "Martha Stewarts" forum for a while when I got this great ideal that Countryside should do something similar. So I e-mailed Countryside and told them what a great ideal that I had for them.

They (countryside) e-mailed me back and said how great it is when two minds think alike. So they gave me the www.greenspun web site and said try this and see if it is what you were thinking. I typed the address in and found the countryside forum and felt like a big idiot for making the suggestion to Countryside.

Countryside forum had already existed for maybe a year or more.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), April 25, 2002.


This forum is both a source of knowledge and recreational entertainment for me.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 25, 2002.


I think I watched this forum for three months before I posted my first post. I can tell you who the first three major poster's were--Vicki, Gerbil, and Grenbeanman. I can tell you almost every major controversy and the outcome. I came because I loved the philosopy and it made me aware of who I was.

I admired J.D. and hung on his rare posts. I found mountains of inspiration from Steve his son and many of his projects are found around my farm. His ideas were functional and well constructed at a modest price !! Than came Dave--who brought Ken--@#$##$%%^ !

IMHO, Dave couldn't find north with a compass. He is definately not a Homesteader and he shares nothing in common with us. Ken was a spoiled, rich, "windshield rancher" who aspired to be an author. Together they ruined the PHILOSOPY--they were everything a homesteader ran away from !

They are mostly gone now. Victims of a Homesteaders boycott that caused them to run in the cave and count their dollars. Chuck is bringing back the spirit of the philosopy. He is doing a great job. The people can now speak again uncensored. There are many victims of the bad year--many good people are lost to us and we will suffer because they are gone !!!

However, there are many who refused to be victims. They fought,cried, and prayed. They started new forums and they stood up for what they wanted and believed in. Theirs was the philosopy of Homesteading, they lived it !!! I love those people, I admire them, and everyday I aspire to be just like them. God Bless them !

-- Joel Rosen (JoelnBecky@webtv.net), April 25, 2002.


I love it for the deversity of knowledge one can glean just from reading the posts. I love anything to do with animals and gardening (even though I have no livestock these days except my ducks I do care for the neighbors' critters when they are away). Our family had about every type of livestock there was while I was growing up and I still enjoy following the new ideas and new technology and medical advances these days. So keep 'em coming! LOL LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), April 25, 2002.

I came here because I can feel in my heart of hearts that what I am doing now isn't as good as it gets. I know the direction I want to go in and how I want to raise my family. There are so many great ideas that come from this board...also the combined knowledge of all the posters here is truly amazing. I check the board daily....it (the board and my dreams) keep me going when things get tough at work. :)

-- Najia (najia274@yahoo.com), April 25, 2002.

Joel, your post rings so true. But I know people are going to be upset about it! For them, I say: What Joel says is so. He wasn't very diplomatic about the way he said it, but it's pretty much the truth.

What brought me here? I ran a search for Countryside and stumbled onto this forum and fell in love with it. Being rather shy, I have very little social life, and how many of the people I know really want to hear about what you can make from old olive oil cans, or what is going on with the goats today? More than that, the Countryside philosophy, which colors a person's outlook on so many other things. My friends often don't understand why I do the things I do- the people here do. Even though none of us agree all of the time, we are able to discuss subjects that conventional people just would not relate to. I could practice the Countryside philosophy all by myself, without a computer. But I wanted to be able to communicate with others of a similar mindset and with common interests.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), April 25, 2002.


Within minutes of hooking up to the internet for the first time, I was punching in this address. I have loved reading all of the information, and meeting all of the people. It has been a life changing experience to say the least, both the magazine and the forum!

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 25, 2002.


I was invited way back when. Just decided to hang around. :o)

-- Kenneth in N.C. (wizardsplace13@hotmail.com), April 25, 2002.

I was looking for information on goat pregnancies. That was 2 months ago. I check in several times a day now and have posted questions that have produced such warm and caring responses. I think it makes people feel good to help others and this forum does that and more. Makes you learn, laugh and cry. All without leaving the homestead! :)

-- Cindy (ilovecajun@aol.com), April 25, 2002.

I started around the same time as Diane. Had gotten Countryside Magazine 10 or so years when I found the forum 2 years ago. I came because I've always loved the magazine. There has always been a vast amount of info here for us to use and learn and help each other.

And what Joel says is not so. I was here, and you Joel, posted many times causing trouble and using foul language that should not have been posted on a forum such as this. And you still are. Without Dave and Ken, this forum would have been gone. It's awful to speak of them in such a way. They didn't do anything wrong.

I think it's high time you let it go, Joel, on here, and also in your heart. You speak of loving the Lord, we are to hold no unforgiveness in our hearts. The Lord will forgive you the same way you forgive others. You didn't have to bash others in answering Diane's question.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), April 25, 2002.


I really don't know how long I've been coming here, but I looked back at one post I made and it was dated August 1999.

How I found the forum was probably through the web site url in the Countryside magazine.

Though I live in town I long to get into the country onto my 16 acres.

I have a country background, and have been there and done that on a lot of topics.

Our farm had a 32 volt electrical system before REA finally hooked us up. Power was generated with a "Delco" light plant, and storage was in large glass cased batteries.

We used a privy before installing a septic system long about when I was in first grade. Prior to that we just had gray water facilities.

Running water was gravity flow from an overhead tank, with the water pumped by a windmill.

We had beef cattle, laying chickens, broiler chickens, hogs on occasion, and for a 4H project one year, sheep. Enough layers that we sold 80+ dozen eggs some weeks.

My own life is currently on a trek back in time to a simpler lifestyle, i.e. away from utilities that cost an arm and a leg each month. A life I can afford with retirement income.

I guess I'm opinionated as I always seem to have one, and am quite willing to give it with respect to others different views.

Though it would be in the archives, I left for awhile after finding that what I wrote here was published along with my email addres in a couple of issues, without having been asked.

I'm partly saddened by what I see or rather don't see in this world. Those around me that haven't a clue on how to do anything. Many city folk can hardly raise the hood of their car, let alone garden or anything else. Hate to see all skills lost forever.

Here is a good quote from Abraham Lincoln that I think you will like. "The greatest fine art of the future will be the makng of a comfortable living from a small piece of land."

Will post another good quote at the top of the list.

-- Notforprint aka greenbeanman (Not@thekeyboard.com), April 25, 2002.


I have been reading the CS magazine since the 80's,,It was love and appreciation at first sight. I looked forward eagerly to every issue, and once I got my hands on it and started reading I couldn't put it down. I was so happy to find folks that thought and felt the same way as me about country living,,,at that time I also found out I wasn't insane and "weird"...just different. (many of my friends and relatives thought I was that strange woman with the all those dogs and kids down in the Hollow that runs around barefooted all the time,,..:-),,I think I saw the URL in the magazine for this forum and that's how I finally found it... once I got my own updated computer.. (had a old dinosaur for a few years,,(just a glorified word processor)

Anyway,,sure do enjoy the CountrySide forum and all the folks that made it possible over the years...Patsy

-- Patsy, MT (cozyhollow-gal@care2.com), April 25, 2002.



I actually found the forum first and then subscribed to the magazine. I wanted a life more like my Grandmother's, less hectic, more self sufficent, and I wanted to be around people that understand that life style. Well, I didn't find many people "in real life" so the forum has filled that niche that I needed. Most people that I know think I'm nuts for gardening, canning, having chickens, etc.. it's nice to know that there are others out there like me.

Stacy in NY

-- Stacy (KincoraFarm@aol.com), April 25, 2002.


Diane,

I first found the magazine and then the forum. I was looking for information and other people who had similar ideas about living. And that's why I came back. I'm a single now, my youngest son just turned 18 and went to live at his dad's. He was always harrassing me about my chosen lifestyle, and his older brother did too. They just don't have the perspective yet to realize that you choose how you want to live your life. It isn't just a float down the river. I've done a lot of different things in my life and lived different ways. This is what appeals to me the most, simplicity. NOT EASY, just simpler. My brothers don't understand, but my mom did. She always encouraged me to follow my dreams, whatever they were. So, I am.

-- Deborah (bearwaoman@Yahoo.com), April 25, 2002.


I can't recall when or how I found the forum, I lurk a lot. I do wish I had more good advice to give, but there are folks here who are much more experienced than me.I've been reading Countryside since 1985(??), it's a great mag., along with Backwoods Home. I don't agree with all JD said but the basic philosophy is sound. I think Ken Scharabok is very knowledgeable, good for him if he's able to make a living while leading the homesteading life. It is very comforting to read comments from people who share my most of my values, when you work in the city you learn to not talk about canning or butchering,etc. with your co-workers. I don't like to see censoring, I am at an age where the increasing PC influence frightens me. I'd rather be offended by some nut and be comforted by the thought that he was free to say what he did. I'm for freedom.....

-- J.S. (stoom2@hotmail.com), April 25, 2002.

What brought me to this forum? Honesty. I was researching survival books to prepare for Y2K when I came across Countryside. I have read many books written by people who wrote the book for money with no knowledge of what they were writing about. Countryside is written by real folks that believe in the simple, self-sufficient life that I believe in. I finally received a computer and put all my spare money into it so that I could visit this forum. The investment has greatly paid for itself and much over. Just to know these folks has been a great blessing in my life. Like everyone else said, "I don't think I am wierd anymore." I try to contribute where I can, but I know my knowledge is very limited compared to most of you. Thanks to Countryside, I will be on my own piece of land within the month. The forum has shown me how to make it affordable.

-- Robin Downing (Southpawrobin1@aol.com), April 25, 2002.

I moved over here when the TB2000 forum got too weird...guess that would be early 2000 (?). I enjoyed the folks and the discussions here in the olden days. These days there are SO many postings and so little time to read most of them. And truth be told, although it seems to have calmed down recently, there's been more rudeness than need be at times. I've quit this forum at least twice, but I always end up wandering back over.

I am glad there are still so many people looking for or are living the good life...

-- sheepish (the_original_sheepish@hotmail.com), April 25, 2002.


We subscribed to the magazine since '95 and when we got a computer ('99) we found the forum and started participating. We really like the diversity on the forum and the ability to exercise freedom of speech (mostly). To us it's a lot like NPR, only we get to participate without having to call in. I personally also like the feeling I get from being able to answer other people's questions. Makes me not miss the workplace so much where I was pretty much an authority on certain things. We're kind of out in the middle of almost nowhere and moved here without knowing a soul. At the time we were making our move, we felt like we were the only ones with these self-sufficient goals and since finding the magazine and forum, we don't feel quite that alone anymore. The people in our small town and some of our family considered us (and still do) a little different or odd for doing things the way we do (and that's only the things we let them know about!) but we've found what we think are many a "kindered spirit" here on the forum. Not to mention the fact that when you people really get going at one another, it is quite entertaining, especially when cabin fever hits just after the holidays. Oh yeah, and we really like the practical "been there/done that" advice that is offered. It's like having a bunch of neighbors and family that have really good advice to offer.

-- rose marie wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), April 25, 2002.

There you are Sheepish--I missed you and I've ask about you a hundred times. Glad to see You !!!

There my friends is a woman of knowledge and substance--a true Homesteader !

-- Joel Rosen (JoelnBecky@webtv.net), April 25, 2002.


Spill-over from the TB2000 forum. When that went over the top, largely having useful detail lost in posts by trolls and flame-wars, they started a TB2000 Preparation forum. I never believed the Millenium Bug would bring civilisation crashing down - I was in the middle of the efforts to forestall that. I wouldn't have been surprised by more trouble than there was, but I couldn't see how the efforts and the results I was seeing could leave completely fatal gaps (although they were there and would have been disastrous if the problem hadn't been addressed).

I enjoyed the practical information and helpful attitude there, and hoped that the forun could remake itself after Jan 2000, but it was not to be - they lost heart. Someone, though, posted a reference to this forum, and I refound what I needed - practical information, helpful attitude, and a relative absence of trolls and flames (until recently).

From the forum I then found Countryside magazine (I'd been buying similar Australian ones for some time).

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), April 26, 2002.


I found out about Countryside accidentally while messing around the internet. I like looking for any type of DIY information, especially outdoor oriented, so I was typing in terms on a search engine that might lead to find this info. After I found this forum, I found out about Countryside magazine.

I enjoy it a lot and look forward to all the information that all of us have to contribute. Though we sometimes have our disagreements, it still is nice to be able to have access to all of the information; it truly is a great resource. JD's philosophy is something that all of us should aspire to live up to, at least in spirit.

-- j.r. guerra in s. tx. (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), April 26, 2002.


I hate foodlion...need to keep my money.lol

-- julie (jbritt@ceva.net), April 26, 2002.

I was(am) looking to buy a wood cookstove and typed it in a google search and it brought up countryside! I've been hooked ever since!*L*

-- Tracy (tconklin@ncci.net), April 26, 2002.

I stumbled onto this forum while doing a search on homesteading. This was about 4 mons. ago. It took awhile before I ever posted and I still don't post that much. But I do read the other posts every day. I enjoy this forum because its nice to see that others oppinions mirror mine. Lots of people think that its 'gross' to eat chicken eggs or to drink goat milk. I think otherwise. I have a father who says that I can't do this or I can't do that but reading the posts here encourage me that I can. I enjoy this post and plan to be around for awhile even if I don't post very often. Its full of great information and good humor. It will be very helpful considering we plan to move from SC to our land in TN soon.

-- Michelle Thomas (mpthomas83@hotmail.com), April 26, 2002.

We have subscribed to CS for over 22 years, as soon as we got the computer we came to the forum, which was about the time it started. Now days, I don't get much chance to be here because we have a new homestead that has no electricity, (nor do I want any) but at our main house we do, (so here I am on the net).

-- hendo (redgate@echoweb.neth), April 26, 2002.

I don't remember when I first came across this site, but, for the past couple of years, this is always the first place I come when I get access to a computer. I'm sure I found it when looking for property information and ways to fulfill my dream of getting back to "homesteading."

My family are farm-folk from Iowa who moved to southern California when I was little. The gardening we did in Cal., and the trips to visit relatives who still lived on farms, planted a "seed" in me: I have had gardens, chickens, ducks, rabbits and/or goats whenever I could get away with it in the 'burbs (yes, I had a goat in Canoga Park, CA)

When my husband proposed, he said he wanted 20 kids...I said, "Fine, I want 20 acres - per kid! Well, "ex" owes me 80 acres, but I don't think he's ever gonna' give, so I keep trying to figure a way to do it on my own, or find a partnership of some kind. Checking-in here with you who are doing or are dreamers like I, keeps my dream alive. And also affords me a great reality-check service to mold my dream into a real possibility. Thanks for letting me sit in on your chats!

-- Ruth (garnetlane@aol.com), April 26, 2002.


Someone on Phillip Greenspun's photo.net mentioned the LUSENET forums, I got flipping around in the "most active discussions" and came across this one, was hooked right off the bat and promptly bookmarked it.

I could be accused of being a "homesteader wannabe", but prefer to think of myself as a country girl stuck in a "semi-rural" setting. We have our woodstove and greenhouse and wee patch of vegies around the back deck, have a trailer out at the lake at my parents' property in summer where I help them with their garden, have my flower gardens, and have a good outdoors summer. I only post to threads where I can be of help, but love to read a lot of the other threads, one can learn a lot about everything from raising chickens to fixin' tractors. A whole lot of practical generally useful tips get posted here, even the citified folk could learn a thing or two. Guess it's that ol' sayin' about "cain't take the country outta the girl...."

-- Chelsea (rmbehr@istar.ca), April 26, 2002.


Joel, oh garsh. (blush). Hendo..it's nice to hear from you, too! When you get a chance to breathe, tell us about your new digs! And to everyone else, how-dee!

-- sheepish (WA) (the_original_sheepish@Hotmail.com), April 26, 2002.

i'm part of the new crowd (alright!!)!! what brought me here was that i was looking for advice and how-to's for the chickens that i'm gonna get. hen house currently under construction. chicks soon to be ordered. i've learned more from this forum with everyone's wealth of knowledge than i did at any other site online that i visited.

-- C (punk_chicadee@yahoo.com), April 27, 2002.

Hello, Diane. I fell in love with the forum this past Feb. We have neighbors from *#@! and they had a real bad rat problem that wasn't being looked after. My sis has been a subscriber, and forum fan for quite some years now, and she suggested that I post the question on how to protect our yard and trailer from these pesky varmints. (the rats, not the neighbors, although I need help there, too! :0) ) Anyway, I have been hooked ever since. My time online before finding the forum was about 10 hrs max per month. I recently had to upgrade to a better net package, because I am now online every day, often for several hours each day! It has been worth every minute.

I am a city girl who found herself on a farm because hubby needed to buy it or it would have to be sold to someone outside the family. I was NOT impressed, let me tell you, but since lurking around on the forum, I have found myself interested in all this homesteading stuff, and am willing to give it a chance. My DH is even going to teach me how to drive the tractor this spring so that I can help seed the crop...flax, so we can use the bales for the strawbale house we now want to build!

Who'd have ever imagined me, first on a farm, and then to be thinking about self-sufficiency, strawbale building, and whether or not I would be able to kill any animal in order to have meat on the table. Us city folk don't even think that the meat we buy off the shelves ever had to be butchered first...I mean really! YUCK! He, he. The naivete(sp?) of city folk, heh? So, I have sure grown as a new farm girl since discovering the forum, and I am ever so grateful for the experience! Blessings to you and yours...Judy

-- Judy Hill (hillsacres@sk.sympatico.ca), April 28, 2002.


Gilly and I discovered Countryside magazine soon after moving to our farm. We were very excited to find out that there were other people like us and that there was a name for us - Homesteaders. When we finally hooked up to the internet a year ago, we came here right away and have been here ever since!

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), April 28, 2002.

I came to Countryside forum several years ago at the advice of a friend I had met through the magazine. I have not always participated in the conversations, but I do enjoy reading what others are doing and what they are thinking about.

While we are working at being more self-sufficient, we have yet to achieve that. Reading Countryside Magazine and this forum helps me to keep my mind focused on what is actually important in this life, and it helps me to remember my priorities.

<3

-- Terri Miller (imtchr4hm@aol.com), April 28, 2002.


I was searching for bib overalls and found this place and alot of funny stuff about bibs. Great page even if I don't live in the country or have tick or donkey problems.......thanks

-- Mike (tubbytwo@netzero.net), April 28, 2002.

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