My family is buying a 5.5 acre farm in Candler, NC........property is perfect for homesteading, but lacks stand of trees for wood burning. Wood can be bought, but is pricey.......looking for someone in the area that I can work with to cut down a few trees and trade labor for wood.......also intend to grow small livestock and wondering if anyone in the area butchers their own small animals and could i help and thus learn how hands on.......

-- Adam Puzerewski (puzerewski@msn.com), November 25, 2001

Answers

To be honest keep a saw in your truck, and be ready you're going to come aross fallen timber all the time, not to mention town folk with trees piled along side the road waiting for the town to pick them up. just stop and ask the cart it off.

-- Ed (smikula@bellsouth.net), November 25, 2001.

Welcome to the mountains, Adam! I'm quite a bit north of you but you're still in my neck of the woods. What I've done since I moved up here three years ago is scavenge off the drops from logging. One neighbor has logged two different tracts near me over the last few summers and is very glad to have me come and take all the wood I want off the remainders of the dropped trees. (Which turns out to be most of the tree as they only take a couple of lengths of straight trunk and leave the rest.) I am actually doing him a service by reducing the danger of wildfire on his land. Good luck on your new place!

-- gilly (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), November 25, 2001.

Dear Adam,

Welcome to Western North Carolina!! We just moved here 1 year ago from Oregon and love it.We live north of Waynesville in a wonderful community. Regarding wood- there is lots of it and you can easily get it for free.The local Iwana (paper with free ads) has lots of ads listing free firewood for the taking.We cut lots of wood this year by responding to the ads and going out and cutting downed trees- some were even cut in 4 ft lenghts for us. We raise chickens and ducks,cows and pigs but do not butcher our own. The laws regarding butchering are strict(although the locals ignore them) and our expirence having our hogs buchered was interesting and very humourous. Well welcome and e-mail me if you have any questions!!

-- Brigid Luckey-Smith (lckysmth@bellsouth.net), November 26, 2001.