I'm a single parent of two children ages 8 and 9. I have no experience in homesteading. It is a dream of mine. I have done alot of reading on this for about 3 years. I think I would love homesteading on about 20 to 40 acres. I want my children to experience the country. We all love animals (although I have no experience whatsoever). I want to raise chickens, goats, a few horses and a couple of cows. Do you all think that this is even a feasable goal for a middleage (age 40) woman with two children to achieve? I also want to homeschool my children. Any suggestions on where to begin? I want to make a three-year plan of action to achieve this. At least on getting land and a place to live. I also want to work at home and I'm interested in any ideas for starting a homebased business. Thanks in advance for any input.

-- Carolyn Lowery (sweetbabydill@aol.com), June 26, 2001

Answers

I would say to take it one step at a time. First, you need to be in the country to experience it. It might be a good idea to rent a small place until you get the hang of it. 20-30 acres sound like a lot for a novice to handle. Start small-like with chickens and/or rabbits and grow a garden. Above all-research. This forum and the archives have a wonderous amount of information. I've learned a lot. And, ask questions. The people here haven't seemed to mind my "green horn" questions and they have been very helpful. God bless!

-- Ardie from WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), June 26, 2001.

Hi Carolyn, Maybe if you would tell us a little about yourself and where you are we could be of more help. What are you doing for a living now?? Do you live in the city or suburbs or what? Are you homeschooling now? One step at a time, I am a firm believer that realistic goals can be reached. I have "homesteaded" in the city, suburb, small town and country.........it's called bloom where you are planted. Start by putting in a garden where you are and baking bread, canning and freezing some veggies from the farm market. Why can't you homeschool from where you are?? There are a lot of good topics on this forum and tons of books from the libary to help you gain some knowledge. Good luck.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), June 26, 2001.

Sounds like a lot to do for one person, but I am sure it has been done before. Start slow. 20-40 acres is a lot of land to maintain. As for homeschooling. You need to check with your local school or state as to what requirements you need to meet to do home schooling. You may have better luck with putting the kids in the local school and then helping at the school to make it better.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), June 26, 2001.

Take good stock of your strengths and weaknesses. Look at your resources. You may not be able to handle the heavy work required to do what you call homesteading, all by yourself. After all, even men died from overwork back in those early days of homesteading.

I would recommend you phase into a home-based business, such as baking from your own kitchen, and selling at the local farmer's market. (Some inspections will be needed, but they arent that strict, just basic cleanliness, a two-basin sink, refrigeration up to par, and space to handle the product.) I did this myself for a while. It works fine alongside homeschooling. A business like that is moveable when you find your homestead. Furthermore, it is supremely plastic in molding to your lifestyle. As you are able to make or raise extra things to sell, just put them on your market table.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), June 26, 2001.

dear carolyn, please excuse the typing, i have had a riding accident and find it difficult to type. but, i really felt the need to respond to your post. it is a case of been there done that. for several years i was a fortysomething divorced mother running her own homebased business while raising goats, border collies, horses,etc and doing all the other homestead activities tntc (too numerous too mention). my daughter was attending a local college and able to help at home but we still had a difficulties, even though we had been homsteading for twenty years at that time.there was no joy in what we were doing. the main problem was a lack of time. there is only so much a person can do in 24 hours. a homebased business that supports the family takes much more time then 40hrs per week and you can't always multi task it with homesteading. homesteading chores, not just livestock, around here take about four hours per day and then you have the unexpected jobs that come up. put homeschooling on top off that and you will have no time left. i know this sounds pessimistic but you must remember that homesteading is a simpler life style not easier life style. do as so many people have recomended. rent a place in the country, buy a horse and some chickens (children need animals), start a small garden, keep the kids in school but be involved (you can homeschool after you get settled in) and find some good friends for support,also plan on working off the homestead.i would not give up this lifestyle and i recommend it for raising children, but many people try too much and expect too much in the begining and then quit. give it about ten years. good luck and feel free to email me privately

-- Nancy Bakke-McGonigle Mn. Sunset (dmcgonig@smig.net), June 26, 2001.

GO for it , you can do it .Most woman on the homestead do most of the work anyways .You can have a small one and enjoy all the benifits .Tha way it would not be to much work .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), June 26, 2001.

Carolyn, may I suggest one really important thing before you head out to your dream. Talk to your children and get their feelings on this and then take it from there, one day at a time. They are going to be a very important factor in your dream becoming a reality.

-- Jenn (normaj3@countrylife.net), June 26, 2001.

Years ago I was a single mom with 5 kids. Due to child support I was able to barely make the bills without working. It was the garden, chickens and goats that gave us plenty to eat. The kids were small then and I didn't have the skills that would have paid for daycare and gave us extra money - so working was not a real good option. I didn't homeschool as it wasn't allowed or really done at that time.

I would do it again in a heartbeat and homeschool this time, but as others have pointed out, you can take the joy out of homesteading if you try and do too much. Decide what aspects of homesteading are important to you and start there.

I have since married and we have a farm and both work off the farm and there really isn't much joy in it right now. Once we get the mortgage paid off, I won't have to work as much and I can manage the farm better.

Why do you want cows? If it is for milk, you are better off with the goats for only 3 of you. If it is for meat - look at the miniature breeds for easier handling. We have cows and I would not have them if I was by myself, but I would look at the miniatures.

On horses, I would not add them right up front, wait a year or so. They do take some time and if you have never had any before, you have a steep learning curve. Also they are costly "pets". I have horses and love them to death, but they do get expensive.

Hope this helps. Good luck and go for it.

-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), June 26, 2001.

I think you should go for it too! Start small and add the things you can handle. Most people DON'T know how to raise chickens until they get some. Most people DON'T know how to raise a garden until they plant one, and so on... As for being a single mom, we all know that that shouldn't stop you!! Get what land you can afford and go from there, you might not be able to add more land later. Then start with a garden and a few animals. Let your dreams grow!! Good Luck!!

-- cowgirlone (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), June 26, 2001.

If that is whats in your heart and your heart's desire then pursue it. i can honestly say that YES.... dreams can come true if you keep plugging away. I did not start homesteading as asingle mom, however, when we made the decision to live on our 35 acre farm in VA several yrs back, we were greatly inspired by the articles written to Countryside magazine the summer of 1996. the articles were written by a single mother of 2 who was very motivated to homestead on her own. Those articles served as the influence for us to live on our 35 acres without electricity, etc for 2 and a half years.

I admit I was unsure and scared. Afterall, i had been used to a pampered by the luxaries of life. I had never lived without electricity before and i wasn't sure i could just do it. We had just moved from NYS to VA and found our farm in the beautiful boonies of south central VA a yr later. I LOVED the spot as it wa ssecluded and just beautiful. But the property didn't have anything on it except for a old tobacco barn which we camped out in for 6 weks until we got the small mobile home I worked for and paid for. We lucke dout a were able to buy a used 12x50 from a dealer going out of business for a few hundred dollars. I was so happy to have it delivered a camping in an old tobacco barn wasn't fun. Our nephew spent the summer with us that yr, he was 8 yrs old. he still reminds me of the last day before our mobile home was delivered and I happened to run into the snake. I guess i'll tell the story briefly. We added a loft to the tobacco barn to sleep in as we knew there were the "slithery" types of creatures on the ground, some poisnous. I went up to bed that night, by the way w ehad a ladder going up to it. I happened to notice what looked like a black whip rolled up on the small shelf above our bed. i thought "hmmmm.... now i now hubby didn't put that there!" I looked closer and realized it was ahuge black snake coiled up. i started screaming. i also had a loose front tooth that was a bonded cap and it was coming loose. i had to keep putting that tooth in place and watch how i talked until i got to the dentist to rebond it. Well in the course of screaming I lost my tooth. i saw that snake lift its head and look at me and I freaked out! I didn't climb down those steps, nope i leaped down.

so hubby and nephew went up. Hubby told me he was going to shove the snake off. I waited and he said to look out the back door of the barn to make sure it was gone, i did, well dang if that snake didn't fall almost on my head! I about died when I saw it go, it must have been 5". i did find my tooth too.

But we had a lot of hard work cut out for us and we really worked hard. Again, we were inspired by the articles in the summer 1995 and 1996 on the single mom, think her name was Melody maybe? she lived in Michigan or someplace up there. But if you can get ahold of a copy then go for it. We later sold our farm a few months ago and got a beautiful ranch here in Arkansas and we are now pursuing my dream of making a living off my herd of dairy goats. Good luck.

You have to be strong and determined and never give up, but you can do it!

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), June 26, 2001.

If there is one thing I have learned in life is that you should go for your dreams! If you don't, somehow "life" just takes over and before you know it...your life just changes so that circumstances will keep you from it. "Life is what happens when we are waiting for life to begin"!

Your situation is not much differant from a homestead family where the husband works off the homestead 60-75 hours a week...and believe me, there are a bunch of those out there. In your case however; you don't have that "extra" hand at night to deal with the children, etc. Your also not much differant from those who have husbands that just want to be a couch potatoe and leaves it all to the women anyway. The only differance is companionship and a day of homestead chores can make you so tired you will be glad you have no companion! LOL!!!

I think the 40 acres is way too much land! You would be amazed at what you can raise and grow on 5-10! You only need one or two goats for your family and can raise most all you own food on 1/2 - 3/4 of an acre. As for beef, a cow or steer is way more than your family can eat in a year! I saw the post about miniature cattle; however, they cost BIG bucks. Plan on $2,000 - $5,000 EACH! You won't need more than 25 chickens/roosters(use roosters for the freezer) and remember you get about an egg a day from each chicken so how many dozen eggs can you eat in a week?? Horses can be raised easy on 1/2 acre each. So all in all, if you aren't planning on using the fields for hay, you could get buy very comfortably without doing yourself in on 5 acres. We did it on 3!!

Lots of luck and you can do it!!! Just make up your mind to go for it and don't use every penny you have right away on the farm (you will need some later on...trust me on this one!) and start small. You can always move up...but it is hard to move down!

-- Karen (db0421@yahoo.com), June 26, 2001.

Dear Carolyn,

Wow!! That's quite a dream, so I hope You can make it a reality. It will probably take some compromising and almost certainly WON'T be anything You expected. *grin* But in the end (? does a dream ever really end???) You'll be glad You tried!

You've lots of great advice here from people who KNOW. Jenn made a good point regarding Your children; this will affect them in a big way, too. Diane's request for more info about Your current situation will really help us give more specific answers.

Like You Carolyn, I'm single, but with no kids. I've dreamt of a homestead for the last 25 years and been close a couple times. I've been lucky in having oppurtunities to work in agriculture and have a degree in Equine Management. At various times I've had horses (25 on 80 acres), goats, rabbits, and several gardens. Even with all of this background and experience, I plan to start SMALL. You'll be amazed at how much work a small place can require.

Some of the best info I've found is in Gene Logsdon's books. 'Two Acre Eden', 'The Contrary Farmer's Invitation to Gardening' and 'Small Scale Grain Raising' have been extremely helpful in forming my plans and considering how to maximize available resources and potential on a small place. Another book I highly recommend is 'The 20-minute Vegetable Gardener' by Tom Christopher and Marty Asher since it gives great ideas for minimizing Your gardening time.

Possibly the two most important 'skills' You'll need are humor, confidence and adaptability. Just when You think You have the answer... *grin* You need the ability to adapt to what comes and know that it WILL work out. Eventually!

I hope You'll let us know more about Your situation so we can be more helpful. This is a great group of people and I wish the forum had been around when I was starting out. Don't be afraid to share Your dream, because we've all had it and would like to see You suceed Carolyn!!!!

Hold on to Your dream, (laughing) and GO FOR IT!!!!!!!

Randle

-- Randle Gay (rangay@hotmail.com), June 26, 2001.

Carolyn, what are you doing now and where are you living? Do you have any prior experience with any homesteading activity, such as canning, having a garden, any livestock experience at all? What options do you have for land in your area? I am a 42 year old single mother and have been homesteading (or trying to) for 3 years now. I am in the second year of constructing a house - by myself (long story, it wasn't SUPPOSED to be by myself but that's how it has turned out). We are in the 3rd year of drought here in my part of the Missouri Ozarks, and the first year I was here it wasn't actually drought but was abnormally dry. So my garden, what with all the construction work, has never been much. My son was 13 when we first got here and is now 16, and he's a marvel. How many teenagers do you know who would be willing to put up with living in a 14' camper with no bathroom facilities without complaining? At least we have running water - you run out to the hydrant and get it. LOL! My yuppie $350,000-5-bedroom-3-story-house-3-car-garage-3-big-screen-TV-having ex-husband has no clue why his son doesn't want to go live with him in his yuppie urban manse. Sometimes, neither do I. If I knew then what I know now, I would have bought less land with a house on it (I have 26 acres) no matter what my brother tried to talk me into, since he was gone in 6 months time. So don't try to buy bare land, learn from my mistake. LOL! Other than that a single mother CAN homestead but I would try to develop the skills before making the move. First off, put in a garden. If you live in an apartment, try to locate community gardens and rent a plot next year, or go to the library and check out some books on container gardening. If at first you don't succeed, don't worry about it - I have gardened for years and what with the drought and all the distractions up here haven't had a decent garden yet. LOL! Just try again. Secondly, get a couple of good books on canning - Putting Food By and Stocking Up both spring to mind - hit the farmers markets and U-picks and sales at the grocery stores and start doing some canning. You'll need a pressure canner, a boiling water bath canner, and jars and lids. You can get all of that from Lehman's, they even have a couple of kits for beginners. Oh yeah, and the food. VBG If you are going to buy a pressure canner get the "best" canner from Lehman's. This is one tool its really really worthwhile to spend some money on. But you might try to borrow one first. If you do borrow one, or if you buy one used, make sure you take the gauge in to be tested. Manufacturers used to test these for free (you pay shipping) I'm sure they still do, and local extension agencies also usually can test the guages but not the safety valves. If its a gasketed canner (comes with a rubber ring) its probably a good idea to replace the gasket. I'd just go ahead and replace the valve at the same time to be safe. A gasketless canner is best and if you're buying new that's what I'd suggest, but I canned for years with a big old gasketed canner. BE SURE YOU READ THE link for buying a pressure canner before you go out and spend the money. Sources for more canning information include your extension agency - and by the way many states offer what they call a "Master Canner" course, if yours does I strongly urge you to take advantage of it, my state doesn't unfortunately. Also church groups, especially the Mormons. And there are online sites as well, here are some:
HomeCanning.com
Ohio State Canning Basics
Oh ioline Food Preservation

North Dakota State University Extension sites:
    Buying a Pressure Canner
     Making Jams and Jellies
     Canning
     Pickles and Relishes
 
  Unfortunately the government has apparently stopped funding the National Food Safety Database program so all that information is now just gone. That is so weird. Our tax dollars at work ... NOT! What a waste. Well, anyway. For gardening information I highly recommend Mel Bartholomews "The Square Foot Garden". There are loads of other gardening books and they all have some good ideas but this is the best of the lot in my opinion, and its a system that's easy for a novice to follow. Makes a lot of sense, too. And it works. Also, check with your local extension agent about the "Master Gardener" program. I haven't heard of an extension service yet that doesn't offer the Master Gardener program. Try to find a copy of Gene Logsdon's "Homesteading" and "Two Acre Eden" and Pat Crawford's book "Homesteading" to get an idea of homesteading in general. All 3 books are long out of print, you may have to go interlibrary loan to find copies. For information on raising livestock I recommend Joel Salatin's "Poultry Profits", Gail Damerow's "Guide to Raising Chickens", and "Raising Poultry the Modern Way" (don't know the author). Also "Raising Rabbits the Modern Way". John Vivian's "Keeping Bees". "Starting Right with Bees", I can't remember who wrote that one. "The Homesteader's Handbook to Raising Small Livestock" by JD Belanger is an excellent resource, you ought to buy a copy of that if you can find it. I won't try to recommend goat books because I AM NOT A GOAT PERSON. If you want a cow - and there is no reason why a family of 3 can't make good use of a cow, my son and I could easily go through 2 gallons a day just drinking the stuff if I could afford to buy that much - get "The Family Cow". I can't remember who wrote that one either, but its a must read in my opinion if you're thinking of keeping a cow. One more book title, "Farming for Self Sufficiency" and "The Fat Of the Land: Family Farming on Five Acres or Less" (ok that was two titles) by John Seymour. Both excellent. I also strongly recommend Gene Logsdon's "Organic Orcharding" and "Successful Berry Growing". oh yeah, and "Contrary Farmer's Invitation to Gardening" (that one's fairly recent and may still be in print). Heck, ANYTHING by Gene Logsdon. A lot of these books are decades out of print. Try to get them via interlibrary loan, or a local ag school may have them in their library. Failing that you can try to locate them on ABE (the Advanced Book Exchange, a consortium of literally tens of thousands of used booksellers across the country). OK, now you're loaded down with references for reading materials and things to learn. Now back to your question "can it be done?" Yes it can, if its a lifestyle to which you are truly committed and which you find you will enjoy. I second the idea of renting a place for awhile to see how you like it - but only AFTER you spend some time where ever you are at to get prepared. Do some gardening, or help someone with their garden. Learn to can. Start cooking only from scratch. You can learn to bake fresh bread without going anywhere. I grew up living this way and even I spent 3 years just reading and planning before I even started looking for land. You say your kids are 8 and 9; that's really too young to ask their opinion, but you should certainly talk to them about what you would like to do. In the meantime cooking fresh food for them (especially cookies and things!) will start to give them some idea of the kinds of things they can expect if you actually do make the move. Kids are naturally not going to want to leave all that's familiar to them, so make sure you prepare them too by including them in your preparations. Let them help you bake and cook, let them help in the garden. Take them to see the animals on a local farm. Take them strawberry picking in the spring, and apple picking in the fall. Hit the U-picks for your canning and preserving. They can help, but let them play too. Don't make "helping mommy" an onerous chore. Oh, and about the horse - unless you are independently wealthy, forget the horse. Don't even THINK about getting a horse or a pony unless you've got quite a monthly income coming in. Horses have particular fencing needs, and you'll need to get a farrier out every 6 to 8 weeks (or more, with some horses). That's a hundred dollar expense easily every time the farrier comes out. It's been 10 years since I had horses and it may be even worse than that by now. And the feed expenses can mount up. Feed itself was about $9 a bag last I knew, it may be more now, and a bag doesn't last real long with some horses. My horses weren't big eaters but I had friends whose horses went through a bag of feed in 2 or 3 days. There's a reason they say "eats like a horse". And hay - you have to be particular about hay for horses, getting them the big round bales is asking for trouble. You have to make sure you have clean, quality hay for horses. And they require shelter, and water, and daily care. You have to groom them, clean their hooves, pick the ticks out of their ears and spray tick repellent in there - and some horses absolutely WILL NOT let you spray anything in their ears. Horses are big dangerous animals, I was once trampled by horses when, in a momentary lapse of reason, I let myself get between my horse and another that was annoying her when I was trying to get out the gate of the pasture. Fortunately my horse liked me and when he turned around to finish me off she drove him off long enough to let me scramble under the gate. Three broken toes and bruises all over and a black eye, but it easily could have been much worse. Don't get me wrong, I LIKE horses, in fact I LOVED my horse in Puerto Rico and I still miss her. But they are a HUGE expense, and not the first animal anyone should get - they don't pay you back. They are big expensive pets. It amazes me that people will gripe about having to spend a half an hour twice a day to milk a cow but don't blink an eyelash at spending a couple hundred or more in feed and farrier and vet bills every month and a couple of hours every day caring for their horse. But that's the nature of pets, I guess - my yuppie friends wouldn't think a thing if I told them I was fencing my land to keep my dogs in, but tell them I'm fencing it for livestock and they roll their eyes at the waste of money. LOL! When I say this is a lifestyle choice to which you must be committed, that's what I mean. The simple life ain't the easiest life, but if its what you want to be doing then you will get more pleasure out of the time you spend with your head leaned into the cow milking than you can imagine. A big part of living this lifestyle is living frugally and doing without. That means driving older cars, learning to work on them yourself at least for minor things like oil changes and the like. It means sometimes realizing you may be without power due to bad weather and being prepared for that. It means not being able to stop at Pizza Hut on the way home and bring food home. It means not being able to run 5 minutes to the grocery store - or the hardware store - to get that one little thing you forgot. Because the nearest store is a half an hour or more away. It means ALWAYS KEEPING YOUR GAS TANK FULL because the nearest GAS station is a half an hour away. I have a friend who keeps saying she wants to homestead, but I don't believe she will ever do it. I love her dearly, but she just isn't committed to it enough to give up the frivolous conveniences of modern day living. Things like junk food, expensive prepackaged ready to heat microwave dinners (says her kid won't eat home cooking), and running in to town because the kid wants a big mac (that's a 35 mile round trip from where I live). Heck, she doesn't even know what mileage she gets out of the big honking truck she drives everywhere. If you are going to live like that you can't do it without money, and homesteading is a very low paying career. Not many of us do it without outside employment, and the outside employment typically doesn't pay too well either. I hope to do without an outside job, one day, but that is still, even after 3 years, far down the road for me. Give yourself 3 years to make a decision, then give yourself 3 to 5 years to make it come true. This isn't an overnight thing you are embarking on. Well this has been really really long so I'd better cut it off (far too late to cut it short, LOL!) If there's anything else I can tell you or help you with just holler.

-- Sojourner (notime4@summer.spam), June 26, 2001.

Carolyn, I'm a single homesteader, but have no children. Its a lot of work, but I really enjoy it. I work off the farm 3-12 hour shifts a week and I work nights so I am home during the day. I have 14 acres, which is enough. I garden 2 acres since I am a vegetarian and I can and freeze. The one piece of equipment I can't live without is a good tiller!I have chickens and sell extra produce and eggs to the folks at work in the city. I breed horses, but have done so for many years and was a professional horseperson for about 20 years. They are very expensive pets, I would consider ponies for the children and a large pony for yourself if you are not to big. Ponies are easier and less expensive to maintain. I have one dairy cow and 10 dairy goats for myself. You get butter from the cows milk (I have a Jersey) that you cannot get from goats milk. I make butter and cheese and give homemade ice cream as gifts. I raise dogs, but I also show them which is a big investment in time and money. I do not recommend breeding dogs just for money, there are many unwanted pets out there, and altered dogs are muych better pets and livestock guardians. I breed small pocket pets. Gerbils, fancy mice, guinea pigs, duprasi, hamsters, all all kept in an upstairs bedroom and breed easily and inexpensively. I have rabbits and ferrets in the barn. I sell to pets stores and hope to eventually open a shop on the farm. There are a lot of conventional things around the farm that I don't do. I have never mowed my lawn, though I do tie out horse and pen out sheep and goats to keep the lawn down. The 'neighbors' (about 1/2 mile away and those that drive by) aren't pleased with the fact that my place isn't a show place, but i make sure I am within the limits of the local laws. Good Luck, it can be done, just start small. Dianne

-- Dianne (yankeeterrier@hotmail.com), June 26, 2001.

OK, one of my canning links was broken when I sent in that last message, but I've got a good link for it now.  Lots and lots of good information at this site, not only on canning but on food usage and storage in general.

Missouri Extension Food and Nutrition publications

Something to think about, get as much land as you can afford.  I know some folks have been telling you to "start small" but once you are established in a place, and have time and effort (and blood sweat and tears) invested in developing it, in planting fruit trees and berries and grape vines and working up a garden plot and on and on and on, it isn't easy to pick up and start over again elsewhere.  You don't NEED 20 or 40 acres to live well - you can live well on a couple of acres (there's a caveat there we'll get to in a moment).  But its nice to have it IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT.

The caveat:  Often smaller parcels of land are in areas overloaded with all sorts of restrictions.  Many 2 to 5 acre plots are in areas of semi-suburban mini-"farms" and there are restrictions that would keep you from having a hog, or chickens, or any livestock other than a horse.  You must be VERY careful to check for these kinds of restrictions, and don't put an offer on land without putting a proviso in the offer that it is null and void if such restrictions exist.  This goes even if you are buying a larger parcel:  ALWAYS be sure to find out what restrictions and covenants you might have to deal with.

There are three must-have books before buying country property:

Finding and Buying Your Place in the Country, by Les and Carol Scher
How to Find Your Ideal Country Home, by Gene GeRue
Your New Life in the Country, by Gregory Wood

That last title is very good, but its been out of print for years so that's another you'll have to get interlibrary loan or from a used bookstore.

Another general homesteading title you might find useful is The Owner Built Homestead by Ken Kearn
 

-- Sojourner (notime4@summer.spam), June 26, 2001.

Sojourner! I'm surprised at you! All those excellent sources listed, but conspicuously absent is Carla Emery's Encyclopedia of Country Living - THE homesteader's reference. How could you!?! ;-D Seriously, though, I'm in awe of the generous, lengthy answer you posted. You didn't leave much for the rest of us to cover.

And, Bernice, the snake story! ROFL!! I lost decorum here at work. Fortunately, everyone's at lunch.

I have to agree with the above posts about horses. When you are doing all you want to do on the homestead and still have extra income, THEN maybe think about a horse. I love horses, but they are not producers on average homesteads unless they are used for draft, and that takes well trained animals, pricey equipment (compared to, say, a shovel), and lots of tilled acreage to keep them busy enough to make it worthwhile.

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@seedlaw.com), June 26, 2001.

Dang it! Hit the Submit button by mistake.

I have run across people who will sell miniature cattle, like Dexters, for actually reasonable prices - in the hundreds of dollars rather than the thousands. Also, some Jerseys are pretty small, and of course, they have the richest milk, so I wouldn't rule out cattle right off the bat.

Be careful to wait until you can get the land you want because you will likely be there a long, long time. The amount of land you need will depend on the area. In Wyoming, it takes 40 acres to support one cow. In Western Washington, one acre will do the same job - less if you have great pasture and do a good job of rotational grazing. You could probably do what you have planned without buying in feed on 10 good acres in Western Washington, but a lot of time and effort will go into producing winter feed for your livestock.

Do a lot of research, acquire what skills you can while working toward getting onto some land. Save money. If you're in an apartment, you can work on indoor skills, and maybe get involved in a community garden in your area. If you're in a house, maybe you can keep chickens, rabbits, bees, or even goats where you are now, just to get some experience with husbandry.

When you do get land, if you haven't had animals before, start slowly, and start with small ones first - chickens and rabbits, then maybe sheep and goats, then a cow (if you can wait that long). Mistakes will be far less costly financially and emotionally, and you'll learn a great deal.

Bottom line, IMHO, go ahead and do it! Start now!

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@seedlaw.com), June 26, 2001.

Carolyn, I also say do it. If is your real love, is isn't like work it is relaxing. I can spend 15 hours out working the animals and in the garden and feel much better than I do after 8 hours of my job. We opted for draft horses, bought them trained from Amish, and have been scouting auctions and junk piles ever since. We do all of our garden and faarming with them. All of our land that we don't have crops in we planted hay for now. Keeps weeds down and feeds the horses. Keep your dream and work towards it . Joanie

-- Joanie (ber-gust@prodigy.net), June 26, 2001.

Start with what you can handle. Even if you have a large parcel, you don't have to work it all. Many BISF techniques have small land requirements and can be worked in less than 8 hours per week after initial setup. Why couldn't someone have 18 acres in timber and pasture and 2 acres in fruit trees and BISF garden and feed themselves and sell produce?

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), June 26, 2001.

I just wanted to tell you a little more about myself. I live in Michigan now, but in about 3 years I want to move to Northeast Alabama and purchase my land, I have family there. We've had a pretty rough time of it and that's why I think it would be good for the children. Both my children have special needs. That's why I want to homeschool. I think for my nine year old son it would be better. I think he will have a hard time fitting in a regular classroom at a higher grade level. The reason I want about 30 or 40 acres is because I want part of it open for gardening, and animals and the other part woods. I want to have an neverending supply of firewood for a wood cookstove and fireplaces, etc. One goal eventually is to live off the grid. That one is a long term goal. I appreciate everyone's great imput. It really is helpful. You've all convinced me that my dreams are worth going after. Once again - Thanks :-)

-- Carolyn Lowery (sweetbabydill@aol.com), June 26, 2001.

Hi, Carolyn~ Everyone else has given great advice, but here's my thoughts: Yes, you can do it, but you should start very slowly. I would make my first priority establishing a home business. You have to have money coming in first of all, to maintain your kids. If you start a business that you can move with you to the homestead, so much the better. I'd try and make all major decisions with "escape routes" so that if things don't go the way you anticipate, you can get back out without losing a whole lot of money. I'd try living in the country on a rented place for a year before I even thought of buying. What you think you want in the first place may not be what you realize you need after living in the country for a year, and this way you won't be sitting on a place that isn't just what you wanted in the end. And the same with the animals. I wouldn't have animals, beyond, say, hens, for the first year. Animals are a lot of work, and when you are new to things, dealing with them may seem like too much. Work into their ownership slowly. Also, if you did have to leave the place within a year or so without making a go of it, it would be hard for your two kids to give the animals up. Kids make pets of everything! Hope I haven't sounded too negative, I don't mean to be. I operate a 50 cow dairy on my own, without help except for a kid who runs the baler for me during haying. I don't see why you can't have a wonderful homestead of your own, as well. Just plan well, which it sounds like you're doing. Good Luck!!

Jennifer L.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@imcnet.net), June 26, 2001.

Carolyn, when I was about 12 yrs old my father left the family without telling us where he was at or without any financial support. In a way we was kind of fortunate that we lived out in the country and mom knew how to raise a garden, a few chickens, wild plant foods, plus various tacticts she learned while growing up during the depression. There was me ( the one son) and my youngest sister who was about 17 at the time and still in school. She finished raising us on a 2 acre farmette, plus access to a bordering 38 acre that belonged to her deceased parents. I can tell you one thing that is if it hadn't been for that big garden we planted every summer and her ability to make ends meet, we wouldn't have been able to survive and remain a family. So I would tell you that I think you can do it, and the sooner you got started, the better off you will be. Especially if you already have an interest in it.

-- Russell Hays (rhays@sstelco.com), June 27, 2001.

hello again, just to explain part of an earlier response. when i recommended a horse as one of the first purchases for livestock, that was based on two ideas. one, everthing else connected to the homestead has a food or monetary purpose in the beginning; the garden, the wood lot, the chickens, etc. when children, or adults, are part of this lifestyle they need something that is not associated with work, they need something for fun.(if you don't like horses,find another nonfood animal for the kids) horses can provide lots of fun and if you learn to do all the upkeep yourself, they need not be that expensive. two, most of us do not raise horses for food so if something traumatic does happen to a horse you loose a pet and not a very neccessary beef or hog that was going to feed you for the winter. this is just the opinion of a horse lover, as if you couldn't tell, who's horse helped keep her sanity during times when people weren't too helpful. imho nothing beats a cool evening ride to erase the stress of a hard day.p.s. you are getting lots of good info. hope these responses help you decide to try your dream.

-- Nancy Bakke-McGonigle Mn. Sunset (dmcgonig@smig.net), June 27, 2001.

Carolyn, I just want to say that once I was in the same position that you are. I had all those homesteader dreams and didn't know how to plant them.! But low and behold, here I am, with years of producing, canning, chicken raising , homesteading and home school,under my belt. How did this happen? One step, one dream at a time. One general wish, one frame of mind, one direction headed!

Carolyn, I have learned that knowing what you want is the most important thing! Focus on the life that you desire, and it will materialize!

Tren

-- Trendle Ellwood (trendlespin@msn.com), June 27, 2001.

YES DO IT!!! We have five acres, and that is plenty. We have lower property taxes than any of our neighbors, but tons of privacy, and woods everywhere to wander. It is all we can do with two adults and 2 kids to keep up what we have at the moment. I have friends who are single moms who homeschool, and one is working toward moving out to the country. As far as work goes, you need to start thinking OUT OF THE LOOP. You can make money from your land, but you need to really figure out things you are passionate about/interested in and pursue that. How about hospital birth assisting, depending upon the area you live in. As weird as the schedule is, it fits in well with homeschooling. Same with midwifery. I am an herbalist as well as midwife and studying to be a homeopathist. Out here there are little homesteads making money off of everything and anything I can do, so I need to do something different. My friend Mariosa has a whole notebook she keeps track of what she can do for money as a single homeschooling mom. She wildcrafts seeds...wildcrafts flowers for a major flower grower out here, works odd days for him, gardens for a woman in town with a few businesses, changes beds at the bed a breakfast (she is doing everything these last two weeks for free rent for 3 months while the owner is on vacation....and I'm off soon to get her son for the weekend....) About homeschooling....hmmmm....I have never really thought about any reason to check in with the state about what they want me to do. Ignorance is bliss, so to speak, and they have no way to know to even check up on me in the first place. I have recently returned to homeschool after not doing so for 2 years (kids begged to try school) and am so glad to do so! We unschool, which makes it easy. Read more about this at "unschooling.com" or search for "home education magazine".

-- marcee king (thathope@mwt.net), June 29, 2001.

i too am interested in homesteading,i own 1 acre at present.being divorced and by myself will be interesting, but im going for it, good luck, maybe can swap stories

-- John Laprocina (glide61@aol.com), July 15, 2001.