Hi, I've been lurking, mostly, chiming in here and there. Thought since I check daily to read the new posts I ought to let you know about me! I live in Minnesota with my husband and two daughters, and have high hopes for some day living solely off our land. We homeschool the girls, and my husband has some serious addictions to internal combustion engines. I love this site because you all seem so familiar with one another, like a community. Definitely a nice place to visit.

-- Dawn (olsoncln@ecenet.com), December 10, 2001

Answers

Hi Dawn! I have family in MN. It is beautiful up there!! Homeschooling is fantastic. I homeschooled last year, and miss it this year. I keep busy with my two littlest ones though.

How much land do you have? We have three acres and are actually getting great yeilds from fruit trees, black walnuts, a huge garden and keep our own poultry. I even saved my own seeds and grew from them this year! (I used to buy new seed every spring and overdo it a bit in enthusiasm$$$) We are in NE.(Go Huskers) :o)

I miss the snow of MN. We lived up in Northern MN, more trees...less wind!! My daughter is still waiting to make a snowman here this year. Have a great day!

-- notnow (notnow@blabla.com), December 10, 2001.

Hi Dawn!! Welcome to Country Families. Sometimes I get a little discouraged, becasue I wonder if everyone is still interested. Then I get an e-mail or someone new starts posting and I realize there are a lot of people reading, but not posting. So thanks a lot for chiming in, and feel free to post any time. This forum encourages kind and helpful responses!!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), December 10, 2001.

Hi Dawn! I love Minnesota-when I was younger I took an Outward Bound course in the Boundry waters area-it was fantastic! We listen to Prarie Home Companion for our "Northern Fix"-My husband lived in Wisconsin as a child and he's pretty discusted with winters in Kentucky-mostly mud with the occasional deadly ice storm to liven things up. (I'm not sure how something "deadly" can "liven" things up- but there it is) It's one of our biggest disagreements-I absolutly refuse to drive in the snow-I don't know how!

My husband also loves engines, and I'm afraid my son is following in his footsteps. How old are your girls?

Welcome to the forum!

-- Kelly (Ksaderholm@yahoo.com), December 10, 2001.

Welcome Dawn! This is a good forum, especially for young homesteaders (which I am not, ha ha!!!) My husband has the same addiction. Especially if they are big engines in old cars! He currently has a '61 Impala, '58 BelAir, and two '67 Chevelles that he is working on!!!! Can you tell he is a Chevy man! Kelly, Ky. winters are enough for me!!!!! I couldn't take those sub zero temps long!!! I also get too eager about Feb. and March to start gardening!!

-- Barb in Ky. (bjconthefarm@yahoo.com), December 10, 2001.

Join right in, and congratulations on delurking. Dawn, like Barb, I'm a interloper in this homesteader's green and fertile field and graciously tolerated by the Real McCoys. By necessity, I live in a city of half a million, but in a closed community, and our house is next to a green area and small wooded area. Grew up on the farm in Arkansas, before homesteading was heard of. How about trading a bit of that Minnesota cold everyone has mentioned for some tropical Brazilian rain?

-- Randal (randal@rhyme.cjb.net), December 10, 2001.

Hi Dawn, I recently delurked too, and I live in northern MN. The Boundary Waters IS awesome, I had some of my best teenage experiences there. I only got in for a day trip this year, but took trips the last two years.

It is a good site here.

-- Cat (catcrazy@somewhere.com), December 10, 2001.

I meant I'm not young!!! I do consider myself a 1/2 way homesteader anyway. I live on a farm and love the homesteading way of doing things but also enjoy my modern conveniences! Especially since I've gotten older!!!

-- Barb in Ky. (bjconthefarm@yahoo.com), December 10, 2001.

Hi, Dawn, we're in Oklahoma with 2 boys! I had to go to Wisconsin once in college for a conference, and we drove...through Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota a little. I was never so glad to see anyplace on earth! After 8 hours of Iowa on the Interstate, corn, corn, corn, a little clump of trees with a house in the middle, corn, corn...Minnesota! Trees! Hills! NO CORN!

Welcome, we'll look forward to hearing from you. I was raised here in OK on a farm, we live in a town of about 75,000 now, too many rich people, but wonderful schools. God Bless!

-- Christine in OK (cljford@aol.com), December 10, 2001.

To answer, my girls are 3 and 4. We live in a town of less than 3000, and we have 40 acres. We also plan to plant lots of fruit and nut trees (hopefully this spring) but I am a little anxious-- I haven't done too well with gardening in the past, and am scared I may not do too well with the trees! Any easy ones to start with? My husband, too, is a Chevy-duty man. I fear my older daughter is heading down his path... she's already asked him if he'll help her fix up his old Monte Carlo so she can drive it... We got her a set of real tools for her Christmas gift. I love MN, wouldn't trade the snow and cold for the world (hopefully we'll get some this winter), which is odd as I grew up in Central Texas. Thanks for the warm welcome!

-- Dawn (olsoncln@ecenet.com), December 10, 2001.

It is a nice place, Dawn. I've described it as everything I'd always hoped and known the internet could be.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), December 10, 2001.