We have lots of folks joining in lately, and it's always fun to have an "introduction" thread. Don't be shy!! I'll start.

I'm 43, not married, but have a sweet guy named Kevin. I work full-time in a healthfood store, and deliver newspapers for extra money. I currently live in a house on a large lot in town, with 5 cats and 3 dogs. I do all sorts of homestead things here, I live very frugally. When I found the forum in mid '99, I was paying down credit card debt, and already making plans for a move to the country. Six months ago, I bought 5 acres in Missouri, and am going to move there next May. Kevin wasn't too keen about the idea at first, but you should hear him now!! He's excited!! I'm very jealous of you folks with lots of animals, and can't wait to get laying hens and a Jersey cow. (We're vegetarians.)

Who's next?

-- Cathy in NY (hrnofplnty@yahoo.com), April 09, 2001

Answers

hi cindy, my name is gail i live in comanche okla. with my husband of 35 years. we live on 20 acres have chickens, and 1 jersey cow and calf. i have a garden and fruit trees. i can,and bake a little ,milk the cow and feed the chickens. I have read countryside since 1997 but just found this forum in october of 2000 wish i had my computer earlier.

-- myra gail akins (dakins@cottoninternet.net), April 09, 2001.

I am Jean, husband, Scott, moved to S.Central Kentucky in the Cumberland Mts. three years ago to escape the snow of the Upper Peninsula of Mich. Have planted lots of fruit trees, grapes, berries, herb garden, etc. We built a log home and are currently trying to get out property fenced and build some ponds. We have a small herd of Scottish Highland Cattle, some chickens, and an array of cats and dogs. We do lots of canning, freezing and drying of veggies and fruit. Try to work with what we have. Love the lifestyle and love Kentucky, well, except for the snakes. Still beats the above 200 inches of snow fall annually, though.

-- Jean in Ky. (dandrea@duo-county.com), April 09, 2001.

I'll go next. I'm 39 (really I am), married, and have two daughters. I live in Windsor, NY in a log cabin on 113 acres of land. I raise and train horses. I have 3 of my own-2 geldings and a mare. I have 1 goat-Fiona the Naughty Nubian, Fiona would like to take the time to thank all the people on the forum that helped me with goat questions, especially Vicki and Bernice, because I was fairly clueless about the little critters. I have 21 slacker chickens, and am getting more chicks next month, 4 dogs (3 of which are mentally challenged), 3 cats (one of which is pregnant), and 15 hamsters-we thought that Margaret was a girl but she actually turned out to be a boy named Henry. I'll have a large garden if it ever gets warm here in NY.

I come from a farm family but my husband is a city boy--but he's learning. My youngest daughter is a farm girl type but the oldest thinks roughing it means 3 days away from the Mall. When we're out cutting wood, or cleaning stall/pens she wears a hat so no one will recognise her. She's the only person I know that puts makeup on to go to the barn. She is the sweetest, funniest kid on earth tho. She once walked my TB mare for 3 hours because she thought she was colicing-- the mare's stomach growled. I explained that gut sounds in a horse were a good thing. Check out the pictures of my girls and farm on the Countryside Friends picture place.

Well, that's gets you an idea of me. Next!

Stacy Rohan in Windsor, NY

-- Stacy Rohan (KincoraFarm@aol.com), April 09, 2001.

Cathy-- I am 43, married to Kevin for almost 24 years, have 5 children, 3 still at home and homeschooled, and live on 5 acres in northwest Missouri. We raise chickens, ducks, and geese. (Not too crazy about the geese. They are getting mean.) We raise a huge garden and can all summer. We have 11 dogs (7 Beagles, the boys love to hear them run.), 5 cats(all males), and a guinea pig. You will love Missouri. It is a beautiful state and a good place to live. Good luck on your move. Winona

-- Winona in MO (thompsonwin45@hotmail.com), April 09, 2001.

Thanks, Cathy and others, this looks fun, so I'll try:-) I'm mary,texas, soon to be mary,colorado. Have lived in Texas most of my life, here on this 5 acres for 5, since expecting youngest. Hubby and I have six children. All homeschooled, Eldest attending community college now. Finally got milk goats shortly after moving here, and have learned alot and enjoyed them immensely. Raised chickens many years, ducks for a few. Enjoy gardening and fruit trees, learning to can. Last dog (a really good one) got run over by a wanton driver. Haven't replaced her, but expect to someday soon. Love the shelties. We are active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and love politics, too, but don't bring it up here;-)

-- mary, texas (marylgarcia@aol.com), April 09, 2001.

OK, I'm 44, feel and look like 34 (in my opinion), been married 4 years to Steve (much younger than me, oh my), I son 24, and 2 grandkids 4 years old and 2 days old.

We have a farmhouse we totally redone 4 years ago, 12 acres of pasture, and a large organic garden. I love my garden. We have Rosco, a gelded Jack, which we ride, and a bottle fed orphan pony who is 2 and I want to breed her to a black/white small Jack when she is old enough. I want more donkeys. 3 outside cats and 3 black/white inside cats.

We have Flemish Giant and French Lop rabbits for selling and meat(oh my again), only 2 roosters because I got tired of 100 chickens running around messing up my flowers and garden.

We have 5 big doe goats w/babies which I milk, and 6 new registered Alpines, 3 young girls and 3 boys. Plus of course Sparky, my registered Alpine Buck who is cool and he knows it. I plan to raise the reg. bucks to sell in the fall, I know, don't call me crazy. I got Sparky's half brother in the deal and I'll keep him, his name is Rodeo.

We have 6 registered Border Collies, soon to be 7,(one comming that needs a home). I couldn't do all the work I do without my dogs, they are fantastic. And puppies too.

Steve and I do woodcarving, you can everything on the picture page. We are just kids really in adult bodies, no little kids at home so we don't even have to make dinner if we don't want to! We named our farm Solid Rock Ranch after Matthew 7:24. We are 1 hour south of Louisville in the country way up on top of a hill. Site is http://solidrockranch.worldlife.net

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@hotmail.com), April 09, 2001.

Hello All! I'm Judy, married to Mike, and we have two children, a 4 year old daughter and a 3 year old son. We plan to homeschool them. Unfortunatly, we are stuck in an apartment in the city (ugh!)in Arizona, but are looking forward to the day when we can leave. We are heading to Vermont this fall to start the search for our homestead. I lived most of my life in Connecticut, so this will be a sort of homecomming for me.

I quilt, can, sew most of our clothes, knit, rug hook, bake, live frugally, and am as self-sufficient as can be. I look forward to the day when I can have a big garden, and a few animals around. I have been reading and learning as much as I can, so we will be ready when we find our place to rest our hearts. My grandparents had a homestead and lived their dream, and it sure rubbed off on me!

If there are any New England homesteaders that would like to "chat" via email, please feel free to write me. I would like to have a few like minded friends in that part of the world.

Take care and have a great day.

-- Judy L (quiltjude@iwon.com), April 09, 2001.

Ok, I'm Pat from central Wisconsin. Was married for 18 yrs. when my husband was suddenly killed in a logging accident. We have 2 teenage daughters. We had raised our own meat when my husband was living - hogs, chickens and slowly started into laying hens when one of the "meat" birds became a pet and later found out that Henry laid an egg.Ha!! Well, I had homeschooled for 11 yrs. but was forced into getting a full time job (YIKES!). Our girls now attend a very small Christian school in the country and are doing very good. Since my husbands death, I purchased an additional 6+ acres, built a small,3stall log barn and experimented with other farm animals. We had 2 nubian goats and enjoyed them for over a year but had to sell them as it got to be too much for this single,working parent.(48yrs. old)I purchased a bred hereford cow and have enjoyed her calves (one steer which my daughter took to 4H)and now she is due again in August. We bought a gelding for us and my youngest daughter purchased a colt to train. We have about 20 hens and 1 rooster and supply family and a neighbor with eggs. I have gardened, canned, fished and hunted for years. I threw together the book "Homestead Journals" about a year after my husbands death - it was good to keep my mind busy at the time. I still check this forum daily. I currently am working as a teachers aide in a local high school in the CD dept. I work with downsyndrome,mentally handicapped kids and enjoy the job.(the high school on the other hand is another subject)Well, that's about it. Am planning a garden but have to wait for the ground to thaw out. My bulbs in the flower garden are just starting to peek through. Guess I'll stop for now - I could keep rattling on.

-- Pat (mikulptrc@aol.com), April 09, 2001.

Hi all, I'm Mary. I'm 30 and live on 6+ acres in Turner, Oregon with my husband, Chad,--no children. We have 3 fainting goats, a Jacob ewe & her 2-week old twin lambs, 2 cats and 4 chickens. (Thank goodness for my husband or there'd be a whole lot of other critters I'd be dragging home)My husband owns a computer store and (for now) I get to stay home & play with the animals. I'm really enjoying country life--both of us were brought up in the city-- and have taken to baking bread, canning our produce, spinning wool, etc. I'm a vegetarian, and Chad, bless him, willingly eats whatever I prepare, though he sometimes eats meat when he is out. I've read Countryside for a couple of years, but am fairly new to the forum & have already found a wealth of useful info. I look forward to getting to know you all in the coming months.

-- Mary S. (1deal@quik.com), April 09, 2001.

This is interesting as I am relatively new here. I am single, female, raised on a small ranch out west and have been on a small farm in KY now for three years. Two grown children still "out west" who are definitely non-farm oriented ... my parents are both gone now as well as the ranch that my grandparents homesteaded where I was raised.

I will be 60 this year, raise and train horses (Stacy ... what kind of horses and training do you do?) and have dogs, cats, three rabbits ... including a buck that is apparantly useless! ... and considering a milk cow again (last one was in Montana several years ago) but am concerned about the milking as I do have some arthritis in my hands now and don't know if I want to take on a milk cow again. Worked pretty well out west ... she raised her calf plus an extra and when I didn't need the milk they all three ran together, just shut the calves up overnight when I needed milk.

-- SFM in KY (timberln@hyperaction.net), April 09, 2001.

Hi! I'm Elizabeth, 18 years old, senior in high school, going to West Virginia University next year. I live in norhtern Virginia. I live on a few acres with my parents, a number of odd chickens, dogs, cats, fish. I have a garden at the moment. I'm saving up for my homestead in West Virginia. Been wanting to get a nubian goat for years but my parents said I'd have to take it to college with me (and I don't think they allow goats in the dorm rooms!)For now, I just read every book about animals, organic gardening, homesteading, and building that I can get my hands on! You guys are always so helpful! (hope later, yall can give me some tips on worm raising, this summers project)

-- Elizabeth (Lividia66@aol.com), April 09, 2001.

Hi everyone. I'm Connie, 49 and married 25 years. We have two daughters 18 & 14, a female dog and a female cat. My poor husband!! I have taught English and was in the retail shoe business for 20 years with my Mom. 9 years ago I felt God urging me to quit work and stay home full-time and it has been such a blessing. There have been financial hardships, but I'm still here. We live on a shady town lot with not much room for a garden, but I do all I can.

My younger daughter and I would like to live in the country, but the house is paid for, so I'm not sure that will happen soon. The oldest daughter will head for college next year and then the city lights that beckon her!!

I live simply and frugally (not always easy and possible with two teen age daughters!), cook from scratch, store food, sew, etc. I recently joined a quilting group and am about to finish my first quilt. I also enjoy reading and crafts. My husband is involved with Habitat and can do anything, but rarely has the time!!

I enjoy this forum and have learned a lot.

-- connie in nm (karrellewis@juno.com), April 09, 2001.

Greetings, You should have guessed I live in Montana. I'm married (17yrs.) to my husband Mike. We have two children that we homeschool, Jon 12yrs and Cortney 9 yrs. old. We don't have the Homestead yet, but are in a serious search mode. We live in a suburb and have 13 chickens( 12 hens and a rooster) and one dog( a Keeshond) Both my husband and myself were raised in the country and want to get back to this lifechoice. I love to cook, most all (95%) is from scratch. That is how I can afford to be a stay at home mom. I make a game out of seeing how much I can save our family. This winter in the wake of increasing natural gas and power prices, our heating bill was only $29.10 on the highest month. People told us we were nuts for putting in a woodstove three yrs. ago. They said it's so much work getting the wood, it's messy( ash dusy and wood mess) Well, we felt the need to be more self sufficent, and we're not AFRAID of work. We heat our home entirely with wood heat. I'm searching out ways now to cut down on our power consumption ( this computer, refrigerator, freezer) are all that really use power. We don't watch T.V. much and have even been using oil lamps for our lighting. I like coming to this forum, I feel a kindred spirit here and I can tell my husband and myself, " See we aren't the only weird people, longing and a achieving a more self sufficent lifestyle" Please, Please DO NOT take offense at the weird people part, that just the way our family and friends refer to us " weird" for wanting to live a tougher lifestyle without all the technical conviences. I said it often I was born 100 yrs to late. On another forum for homeschoolers and SAHM someone printed a wish list for those who feel like they were born 100 yrs to late, everything( well not all) was what I dream of having someday. I've really rambled on, more than I should have but please know I really enjoy all of your company and HELP.

Blessings, Kelle

-- Kelle in MT. (kvent1729@aol.com), April 09, 2001.

Hi, we're Bob & Laura. We live in west central Wisconsin on 44 acres. Forty of those are woods. We have 3 kids that we homeschool. We have a garden. Bob loves to hunt and fish with our kids. Laura's busy with the garden and homeschooling. We also enjoy worshiping God in our small country church. Camping, hiking, and biking are favorites of ours. We call our place Buck Snort Resort.

-- Bob & Laura (buksnort@mwt.net), April 09, 2001.

This is such a fun thread.

I'm soon to be 40, married 13 years to Dave and have one daughter, Brianne, 8. We live on a farm that's been in the family for 100 years. Hoping to keep it another 100 years after the death tax bill goes through. We commercially grow lemons for Sunkist and avocados for Calavo. Along with that we have cattle, sheep, chickens, a rabbit, cats and a dog. We also have a vegetable garden, can some and freeze some. I'm a co-club leader for our 4-H club and lead the Horticulture project. Dave is on several Farm Bureau Boards and County Water Boards.

Brianne and I enjoy our local garden club events and entering the county fair, while Dave is the antique hound who sells on e-bay.

While Dave runs the orchards I work part-time for a Marketing Consultant. My organizational skills have served me well because her office can be hectic, but I learn a lot of interesting things, keep up my computer skills and still spend lots of time with Brianne.

All in all a good arrangement.

Who's next?

-- jennifer (schwabauer@aol.com), April 09, 2001.

Hi, I'm Phyllis, age 54, live on 8 + acres in E. Central Indiana. I recently took on the rearing of my three grandchildren, age 2, 7 and 8. I have sheep, a miniature cow and bull, chickens, rabbits and a dog. I bought my place back in '90 and have been working on it ever since. My dwarf fruit trees are bearing fruit now. Made peach butter for the first time last summer. Am planning a big garden, more mouths to feed! I may be purchasing a breeding pair of hair sheep. . . so I don't have to shear. I like my woolies, don't get me wrong, but it takes me for ever and it is not easy to find someone who wants to come shear 5 sheep. My idea, was and is, to be a self- sufficient old lady (65) when I retire. I am looking forward to attending a Countryside get-together in Indiana this year. Nice to meet you all.

-- phyllis a. warman (phyllis.warman@twcable.com), April 09, 2001.

Hello everyone. My name is Lynn, I live about 75 miles south of St.Louis, married 29 years, 2 boys and 1 daughter-in-law that is equally wonderful, an LPN for 20 years. We have 65 acres, pond with tame catfish (all named), a 25 foot diameter herb and salad garden and a biointensive vegatable garden nearly 1100 sq. ft. including paths. The 20 tree orchard is in its third year and I have a small start on two permaculture sites. Had ducks but they would leave "packages" on our door step as they looked in, messy and dangerously slick. Now we have a chicken house and hope to try again soon, hoping the new group won't try to follow us in the house. I enjoy and trust herbology and am certified in Aromatherapy. Also have five cats and two dogs, all "fixed". Hope you like it in Missouri,

-- Lynn (lynnannmb@hotmail.com), April 09, 2001.

Hi Good Folks,

We are Gail and Bernd in northern NC, just about 20 miles from Virginia.

We live on 6.5 acres (interesting how many folks here on the forum live on 6+ acres) and have 5 turkeys, 43 chickens, 11 ducks (just hatched 5 last weekend!!), 2 gelded horses (Tennessee Walkers), and two wonderful dogs (mixture of Husky, German Shepard, and Lab). The dogs are our babies - we love them to death.

I am only 36 and a heart patient with pacemaker (and soon to be internal defibrillator). Being outside with my wonderful wife and all these animals is the best medicine for me.

My wife is a financial director, I am a project manager in Engineering but don't be fooled by the titles - we are country people by heart.

Always looking for another acre to buy and another animal to call part of our extended family.....

-- Bernd in NC (Bernd001@aol.com), April 09, 2001.

Hi everyone, my name is Terry. I have been lurking in the background for sometime now. I am 43, divorced and have 3 grown children. My ex-husband got our home and my farm so I am currently starting over. Right now the only animals I have are my dog (bluehealer) BJ and my two cats Felix and Callie. I am still paying off my share of bills from the divorce so I expect it will be approximately 1 more year before I can afford land. It is kindof expensive here in Western Washington. I am an Insurance Agent by trade, but in my free time I can, quilt and garden. I am just really looking forward to getting out of the city and all of you have helped me more there than you will ever know to stay sane while I wait and save!

God Bless

Terry

-- Terry Theckston (tterrym@hotmail.com), April 09, 2001.

Howdy! I'm Deborah, my youngest son, Patrick(17), and I live in Casper, WY. When we moved here almost 9 years ago I was married and we were a family of four. Been divorced for 6 years now, oldest son, Daniel(19) is out on his own and a city kid at heart. Pat is somewhere in the middle. I grew up in rural Tacoma, WA, moved there in 1957, and grew up watching the area become overrun with people. The worst was after I joined the AF in 1977 and left, the first visit back was an eye opener. Used to scuba dive, hike, camp, fish and the enduring passion in my life was/is horses. Been married 3 times, the last for 13 yrs. Was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia about 5 years ago and it really started to slam dunk me in 97. I can no longer work full-time and the only part-time work I can handle, data entry and word processing, are nearly non-existent in this town. So, until next year we live on child support. I've applied for and am fighting for disability... We live in a 79 double-wide on 5 acres. Been here 2 years, and are finally getting a garden in this year. We have 3 goats, 4 dogs, 3 turkeys, 13 geese(with more on the way, they're setting), and 8 rabbits. Just got the rabbits so no babies yet, plan to eat some and maybe sell some as pets. I've dreamed of living off the grid since I was 19, am finally getting close to that dream...though I don't know if I can physically manage it. Had a childhood friend give me a TB mare on my birthday (April 1st, turned 48), and now I just need to find a way to get her here from Bellingham, WA. I'm split on waiting and trying to buy this 5 acres I'm leasing..or go buy 40 acres I've had my eye on for the last 8 years. It would be totally off the grid, no water, no nothing...but a beautiful view and much cheaper than this place to buy. I hesitate because of Pat, he's got a gift in sculpturing and needs to be able to get his things fired and shown....We'd have no computer hook-up either. So, I'm still thinking about it. Lot's of time and experiences in-between...we were in FL when "Discovery" was launched..1st launch after the Challenger exploded. Worked on F-15 radar systems, 2nd woman on the flightline at Langley AFB, VA. My mom died in 98, my dad had died in 61, have two older brothers in WA yet. Rambled on a bit there...but have lived a lot. Enjoy your lives.

-- Deborah (bearwaoman@Yahoo.com), April 09, 2001.

Hi, I'm Amy, have been on this forum for a bit, have been reading Countryside for over a year. I'm 39, married for almost 16 years, have three children, a toy poodle, and am waiting for our chickens to arrive on May 7! We bought this place a year ago after living overseas for almost four years. Before that we lived in the suburbs of NY City (hated it!). Our current home has 50 acres, about 12 of well-drained field with nice loamy soil, 20 of wetland/swamp (great for wildlife) and 20 of woods. I work part time as an occupational therapist and my avocations are being outdoors, herbal medicine, herb gardening, birdwatching, aromatherapy, and reading. My husband lost his job after 15 years and it has been a blessing in disguise. We now live on less, have really focused on paying off debt, and have the country life I've always wanted to return to (was raised on a farm). Our plan is to acquire livestock at some point, perhaps some sheep for meat, or a cow. I'm planning this year's garden and will be tilling the soil this week. I've also been spending time preparing beds for my herb gardens. We have a bad deer problem here, so I'm putting up fences to serve as fortresses from the does that visit our place every night. I love the deer but they also love my plants. I really enjoy this forum, even with all the heated political and religious discussions. There are some really nice people here.

-- amy (acook@in4web.com), April 09, 2001.

Hey everyone, We're the Emily's Dwight and Tracy we have been married for 17 years we have 3 children at home here in TN ages 12, 14, 16 they all love the farm. We live on 40 ac, we raise nubian goats,(Crocket, Nanny, Dee, Dolly), we have 13 R.I. Reds, 13 Jersey Black giants, 4 Batam Chickens, 4 angora rabbits, 8 English Spot rabbits, 1 reg. Mini Donkey (Mouse) he thinks his part goat, 1 med Donkey that we use to raise Zedonks, a friend of mine has a zebra that we use to breed with. 1 Cat, 5 dogs. At the end of this month we have 2 buffalo and one Jersey Milk cow arriving. We have 1 1/2 ac veggie garden and we have apple trees, pear trees, plum trees, pecan trees. I can all of he veggies, fruit and meat that I can get mine hands on. And I thank God everyday when I get up and look out to see all the beauty that he has created. God Bless. OK who's next?

-- tracy emily in TN (emilyfarms@tsixroads.com), April 09, 2001.

I guess I'm next. I'm Dianne, married to Russ for 22 years. We live about 26 miles N.W. of Boston. We have two grown children, each with one child. I have about a dozen chickens. We grown 90% of what we eat, and I barter eggs for what we don't. We heat with two wood stoves and walk as softly as possible on the Mother. My husband is a mechanical engineer who can do just about anything. I'm a domestic engineer and do the rest. I do all my cooking from scratch, hang my clothes outside and (like Kelle said) do everything possible to use as little electricity as possible. We're very conservative and frugal. Thankgoodness we found each other because we're a perfect match. Someone else referred to people who live like this as weird (a compliment) and I'm priviledged to consider myself in that company. We own 10 acres & a camp in Vermont but Russ isn't interested just yet in early retirement. Besides, I'm originally from the south and am not sure I could do a Vermont winter. Mass winters are bad enough.

Thanks for reading.

-- Dianne in Mass (dianne.bone@usa.net), April 09, 2001.

I am 58, my husband 82 and we will be married 40 yrs. this year. We have four grown children and four grandchildren. I feel like the grandma of this younger group. I have been a stay-at-home mom and have done just about everything you can think of in the homestead lifestyle at one time or another. I am on partial disability because of a badly damaged heart and my husband was forced into early retirement. We still garden, preserve, sew, hunt, fish, have poultry and rabbits and lead a generally frugal lifestyle. My health means that some days our food isn't all from scratch and a few other things have had to go, but we are still happy with our lifestyle and would be glad to answer any questions that we can. We live in northwest Kansas.

-- Barbara Fischer (bfischer42@hotmail.com), April 09, 2001.

Hi, I'm Sherry. My husband Brian and I live in North Central Arkansas.We have a four acre farmette that's the home to three turkeys,8 cats, 10 chickens and more goats than what we can afford to feed. Our goats are the center of our farm, we love them. We also have two great dogs Blossom , great pyrenese, and Dixie who is a Anatolian/great Pyrenese cross. Oh yea my mother lives in our yard (in a mobile home). I stay at home and my husband works for himself as an electrician/handyman. We've been married a little over 4 years and we have no children. I'm 46 and he's 41. We are madly in love with each other and enjoy our life very much. Since I was a kid I always wanted to live a sweet simple life and after years of being single (him15 and me 23) we've got it all. Of course it don't take alot to make a ole country girl happy. Sweet thread , hope everyone is having a glory filled day . Sherry

-- sherry (chickadee259@yahoo.com), April 09, 2001.

Hey Cathy!

I'm Sue. I married a wonderful man named Rich last August, and moved from Arlington Heights, IL to Idaho in December. I have a daughter back in IL who is 15. She wanted to stay in the school there, rather than be subjected to my homeschooling, and my Mother also wanted her to stay. She'll be spending summers here, but wants to go to college at U of I... Good or bad, its IL, not ID.

Rich and I moved here with three dogs and a cat. Now, we have four dogs, the cat and 14 rabbits.... Of course, many of the rabbits will be in pet stores or the freezer, soon... Rich built our hutches, and even a planter that rounds two sides of our rented trailer so I can grow a garden this year (and hopefully still be here to harvest it!!)

We've been looking at land, and have found a couple interesting parcels, but want to keep looking and find 'just the perfect' place for our new home.

I grew up on Gramps' farm, and spent summers in high school at my Uncle's farm... I really miss all the goats and chickens, and hope to have my own very soon - along with a couple pigs, horses, and whatever else my city-born hubby will let me get away with!!

Love to do all sorts of crafts, read, visit here at the forum and work in the garden. Couldn't live without all my critters! I make most of our cleaning and 'personal' supplies (soaps, toothpaste, etc), some clothing (but I don't sew well!) and can or freeze most of our food.

I love learning all the new stuff here at this forum and on others - and have made some really great friends here so far!!

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), April 09, 2001.

Hi, Gina and Jim in Southeastern NM, we have four children son 21 college in Tx, twin 19 yo college here, and a three year old. We have been married for 4 years, i am 43, he is 38. We bought five acres of nothing but caliche, sage, weeds, prairie dogs, and one tree last year, and put a repo double wide here, did all the remodeling ourselves, put in all utilities and did all the work ourselves that was legally allowed. We are just now to the point financially that we are starting our other projects, i.e. chickens, feeder pigs, raised bed gardens, fencing, etc. We both work outside the home, me as an operating room nurse, my husband is a mechanic. Next year we plan to be at a point for me to stay home and homeschool, if we could find reasonable insurance coverage, as I have several preexisting conditions, and my husbands work does not offer insurance. We don't plan to stay here permanantly. My husband has balked at the animals, saying he is not a farmer, but he is slowly coming around. This is a great learning experience for him, as I grew up mostly in the country. We do live frugally, however. I've enjoyed meeting all of you. Gina NM

-- Gina NM (inhock@pvtnetworks.net), April 09, 2001.

Check out the "Where are you living?" and "where is everyone from?" threads in the "Anyone From...?" section of the archives.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), April 09, 2001.

Hi Cathy in N.Y.... I'm Marcia in Maine. My husband, Harry, and I are both a "half century" old and it sure is great to know that there are so many other "mature" folks like me out there!!! We escaped from Cape Cod, Mass. in 1977 (been reading Countryside that long, also). We have raised every type of livestock, except for exotics. Finally realized our limits and settled on 15 or so laying hens, some ducks here and there, 6 turkeys a year, 2 pigs a year,6 to 12 American Alpine dairy goats, a zillion cats (seems like) and one mixed breed Lab. Oh ya, somewhere along the way we had a son who is now 28. We have a huge garden where I love to do my "worm aerobics" with my rototiller. We live on 95 acres in a log home. We also love to go out on "Lake Atlantic" throughout the summer and fish to supplement our meat supply. Judy...Arizona to Vermont is a major move, but since you're originally from Conn. you know what to expect from New England. We know the winters aren't all that bad, don't we???!!! Good luck with the animals you want to get and feel free to email me with any questions. And Elizabeth...it's really inspiring to know that there are people your age out there that are interested in homesteading. Gives me hope for the future! I think I've rambled on a little too long. Next......!?

-- Marcia (HrMr@webtv.net), April 09, 2001.

Hello all! My name is Brenda and I have been married for 14 years, we have 5 kids and we moved to our old farm house about two years ago. I have chickens, rabbits, a cat and a dog. (We have lived in the country before) We only have about three acres, but it is in the middle of fields, so it feels like more. I planted some new fruit trees to replace the ancient ones damaged in storms. My house is starting to look better :) but I really appreciate the solid old frame during wind and rain. I have lived in KS, MN, IA and finally here. I hope to increase the size of my garden this year and we have BEES in the GARAGE if anyone wants to start a posting on what to do about that. :) hee hee. I am learning a LOT from errors, and reading the postings here. Next??

-- Brenda (brenclark@alltel.net), April 10, 2001.

It seems we do this thing about once a year, that's because new member come on line and old ones leave. I have been here since the beginning of the forum, nothing has changed here at Red Gate Ranch. 80 acres, creek, first water rights, angus cows, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 4 pigs, 20 chickens, 2- tractors, 2, trucks, barn, shop, equipment shed. 1 acre garden, 800 square feet of raised beds, 22 tree orchard, 20 acres of fenced pasture. My wife canns, dries, freezes, we butcher and keep a 1/2 side of beef a year, and a whole hog, we have garpe & berries, apples, pears, plums,peaches,cherries. I plant a half ace of sweet corn each year and donate it to senior groups, the food bank and who ever else needs or wants it.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), April 10, 2001.

I guess it is my turn now. I have been reading the forum for quite a while but this is only the second time I have said anything. It is so nice to meet others who not only think the same but are doing something about it. I am Cordy, married to Charles for almost 40 years (in June). We have 3 children, 17-39. The oldest is studing for her doctorate. In 1976 we moved from a suburb of Chicago to central WI. We had a certified organic farm. I have always baked (from scratch), gardened, sewed, knitted, canned,dried foods (gave demonstrations on drying and organic gardening), milked goats and made cheese, had chickens and sold eggs and produce, had steers, dogs, cats, etc. I thought when we moved to the country I would not be out of place with my baking and such, we were! Anyway, when the youngest was born (at home) we thought (how dumb can you get!) we should move back to the city. We have been back since 1988. I had always stayed home and raised my family, but after Katherine was born I thought I was missing something and should get a job outside of the home. I have learned I had everything already, but then again, if I had not done that I might still be searching. Now that we are ready to retire, we are moving back to the country. We have purchased 14 acres with a pond, a creek and a 3 BR home and will move there as soon as the youngest graduates next year from high school. In the meantime, I continue to do all the stuff I have always done beside selling my bakery goods at a farmer's market. Charles and I hope to do more of these when we move. We will put in fruit trees and do our cider again. We are purchasing things that we know we will need while we are both still working and have the money...we sold everything when we moved back...and are storing it in the apt. I have a 6HP Troy built tiller sitting in my living room along with my zucchini, tomato and herb plants waiting to go out on the balcony. We used to heat with wood and I had a wonderful wood cookstove. That is a priority for me so if anyone around IL knows of a stove with warming ovens and a resevoir let me know. I am counting the days!

Anyway, I have rattled enough but again it is so nice to meet other's who are of a like mind. Thanks for all your support and suggestions.

Cordy

-- Cordy (ckaylegian@aol.com), April 10, 2001.

Hi, Cathy! New to the Forum myself. Just got my first computer. I'm Heather and have been married to my husband, Mike for almost ten years. We live in southwest Michigan with two of our daughters (12 & 8). Purchased our place five years ago. Have 2.9 acres (just enough to be dangerous). We raise a couple of pigs each year for the freezer, have a small flock of chickens and added two goats last year. We put in a good sized garden each year, and I can, freeze, dehydrate everything I can get my hands on. I drive a school bus, so you can imagine some of the responses I got when I started homeschooling my two daughters this past year. Wouldn't trade it for anything!!!!!

We went to Gainesville, Missouri this past week to look for property. Found a place we really liked in that area and are in the "what do we do next" cycle. Anyone with suggestions ---- please feel free to email. Has anyone every noticed how much harder it seems to simplify your life than it is to complicate it?

Catch you all again on the Forum.

Heather

-- Heather (hmendoza@i2k.com), April 10, 2001.

Hi! I am Cindy in Oklahoma, and I post fairly often. I have been married now 20 years to Lynn. I am 39 yrs old, he is 42 yrs old. We moved out here on 5 acres April 29, 2000. Lynn never lived in the country before,but he is adjusting very nicely. We have 6 children, 2 girls, ages 14 and 13, boys ages 11, 10, 10 and 8 yrs old. The children and I have health conditions, but we hang in there. I do not work outside of what I do around here due to the health issues. I have homeschooled my children now for 5 years. We have one 4 week old Alpine doe, 11 aracauna chickens, 5 rouen ducks, 1 polish rooster, one astrolorpe rooster, 2 puppies, one is sheepdog/terrier mix, the other is anatolian/pyrenees mix, 9 cats, Only one of which is allowed to have kittens, she is our persian queen. Five of the cats are cute persian kittens. I just planted fruit trees and rose bushes today. I still need to get in the ground my grapes and get my garden planted.My daughters and I are building a small barn and have moved our goat pen to a more light accessable place. We plan to sell veges and fruit at the farmer's market in the future as well as maybe some eggs,depends on how fast we use them. We will be getting a miniature palamino soon. We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints. Well, I tend to rattle on, so I will stop for now! :-)

have a great day! I just LOVE this forum and all the wonderful people!!!

Cindy

-- Cindy in Ok (cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), April 10, 2001.

Well,I made the big 60 this year.Ann and I have been married for 33 years and have raised 6 kids (human,or so they claim).We now have 15 grandchildren.We live on three Florida acres about 15 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico.We are allowed to share this place by the cat,who owns it.We also have a mutt and an Italian Maremma that lives with our 6 Nubians and 4 boer goats.Ann also raises fancy bantams and I keep a couple of large gardens going year round.Looking forward to retirement in a couple of years.

-- JT Sessions (gone2seed@hotmail.com), April 10, 2001.

Hi everyone! I'm 44, married, and have a 15 year old son. We live on a little bit of a place about 1.5 acres. Really LOVE to garden. Grow almost all of the vegetables we eat, along with many flowers, some fruit trees, and berries. Hubby is starting on the hen house. A few dairy goats and meat rabbits are also in the plans. We have been subscribing to CS for about 6 years and I have been reading the forum off and on for about 6 months or so. We moved here about 4 years ago, it's only 3 miles from the farm I grew up on. So nice to be in the country once again and see the stars at night.

-- vicki in NW ohio (thga76@aol.com), April 10, 2001.

Hi! My name is Linda, my dad and I live in Casper, WY. We've been here two years, both born and raised in the big city. Dad always wanted to live the homestead life. I was married for 15 years, dad the last time for 32 years. We traveled on a shoestring budget for two years,came to Casper and bought 2.5 acres 12 miles out and are going to start building a house in May. We have a garden 35' by 75'. Will have a calf this year, hope to get chickens, currantly we have 1 cat, will be getting adog or two soon to keep the antalope out of the garden! I am 40, Dad is 64. I just got this computer last nov. I really enjoy this forum, I've been lurking since nov. Get CM and we really think we were born 100 years to late also! I have learned to quilt last year, I have sewn, crochet, do needlwork, love growing herbs, love all animals, will be learning to can this year. Thanks for this thread! Linda

-- linda (blinda17@qwest.net), April 10, 2001.

Iam a 51yr old man from a small town named MANITOWOC WI. ( pronounced MAN-it to walk). Iam the father of 2 daughters and have 3 Grandchildren. I have been married for 31yrs . I live just outside of the city on 6 acers . I raise Rhode Island Red Chickens and my wife Candy raises Rabbits( Dwarf Hotots and Dutch)I enjoy gardening and my wife enjoys ceramics. I have just gotten back to work after 9 weeks . I was off because of a broken hip. On Jan 30 I fell on the ice and broke it . I very much enjoy reading the forum. Joe E.C. WI.

-- Joe from Wi. (jmail@lsol.net), April 10, 2001.

Hello Cathy and all, ( Cathy, this is a great idea.) I'm Kristin. My husband Randy & I just moved to a house outside Lafayette LA with our five children-3 girls, Tia, Jensen and Matisse, ages 10, 4 and 11 mo. and 2 boys, Dalton and Riley ages 8 and 6.The older four are homeschooled, and Matisse is wreaking havoc testing her limits. : ) We live on an acre and a half with a small barn and a studio for our mosaic work.We're planting our first big garden, with tons of veggies and herbs this year, and the chicks arrive next week. We're looking for ducks and a La Mancha for milking once we get the garden and chickens settled. Randy, Tia and I all cook from scratch, and we're doing our best to become self-sufficient. We live frugally and are enjoying ourselves learning to save money in new ways to set aside money for the farm we plan to have in a few years. I bake bread, and cook a lot for the freezer but this will be our first year for canning. We have peaches (we think!), plums, figs, wild strawberries and blackberries growing here, so there will be lots to can in addition to the veggies. I've enjoyed reading everyone's posts, and look forward to more.

-- Kristin in LA (PositiveKharma@aol.com), April 11, 2001.

Hi Cindy,

I'm Wynema,43,and I've been married to my wonderful husband Glenn for 23 years. We have 5 children, 8 grandchildren,2 spoiled dogs, 3 doe rabbits(gotta replace that buck), and honeybees. Right now we live on 1 acre but have purchased 25 acres of wooded land that will eventually be our home(can't wait). My husband has started his own buisness and I work part time, and full time getting the garden ready. We're also getting chickens and I hope a couple of pigs for the freezer. Thank you Cindy for this thred, I've enjoyed. Bye from the Passmore's from Central Arkansas.

-- Wynema Passmore (nemad_72039@yahoo.com), April 15, 2001.

Hi, We are Mary and Ron and just got off of the grid this month. We are in the Moorestown area of michigan 10 acres, no animals, gentleman farmer, we are interested in finding out which plants deer do not like, can anyone help?

-- ron bulinda (rvbulinda@yahoo.com), April 15, 2001.

Hi! My name is Tresa. I'm 47 & single. I have one daughter & two grandchildren. I live in Oklahoma. Within the next year, I'm moving to NW Montana. I've had it with the humidity! I come from farm stock & am used to making do or doing without. Right now, I'm living without elec & find that I don't miss it(at least, until the summer & it's a must here). Having had chickens as a child, cattle on family farm, I know what I want. Look forward to reading more & learning more as I continue to read all I can.

-- Tresa Lee Lamb (blamb@webzone.net), April 15, 2001.

Proud to be the first Canadian to answer this post. I'm a newbie here -just got my first copy of Countrysides - what a find!!

I'm Sombra 33- very happily married to Stuart 31 for the last 8 years. We have three homeschooled boys Trent 8 1/2, Myles 7 and Rourke 5 and an 11 month old Fawn Great Dane who has been lots of fast growing fun. We move to Saskatchewan to our 20 acre ranch this past August, from the city in Ontario - so all this space and work is new to us - and you have all been so inspiring as to the potential here. Our two female cats had kittens last month - our first experience with new life -and it came at such a wonderful time, as we had just had our first expereince with death - our rat died. We have a rabbit and replaced the rat with two mice.

I've got a greenhouse bursting with little sprouts - some vegetables some flowers and I'm sooooo looking forward to the snow being gone and the warm air to come so that I can enlarge the existing vegetable patch and move the flower beds - and raise my food for the next year (don't laugh - I have dreams). We have 50 chickens on order, and we are looking for a yearling horse for the kids, maybe some sheep or a goat, as we don't have a lawn mower and have about 3 acres to mow.

-- Sombra (Sombra.wilson@Sk.Sympatico.ca), April 15, 2001.