Countryside & Small Stock Journal articles from May 2003

Countryside & Small Stock Journal archives from May 2003

Last month the question was posed: how do you live on half of your income? (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... Here are some responses: COUNTRYSIDE: Over the years I have made the transition from city to country at least four times. I did not fail in the country, but life's ups and downs have dictated the moves. I am currently headed back to the...

Don't make soap without vinegar. (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: I have been making soap since the 1940s. Rule #1, which is rarely mentioned is: Dig out the vinegar jug and keep it handy! Lye is caustic. Vinegar counteracts it, so if you accidentally spill some of the lye water on yourself,...

Cheese keepers. (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: Cheese keepers can be found at Cumberland General Store, 1 Hwy. 68, Crossville, TN 38555. The cheese keeper is on page 16 of the Winter 2002 catalog ($4 at bookstores).--Katharine Mathews, Sevierville, TN

Life overseas isn't all bad. (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: I was upset to read the letter about "caution living overseas." It sounds as if the writer had been in trouble somewhere and I note they did not add their name! As a person who has lived happily in Mexico for 15 years, the last...

More thoughts on midwives. (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: I appreciated the letter from "M" in Washington who wrote regarding midwives. I couldn't agree more--be very careful to whom you entrust yourself and your baby. We used midwives for six of our children with three of them being home...

Make yeast with potatoes. (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: I discovered your magazine about eight months ago and consider it one of my best investments, and the best magazine I have ever read. Although I have lived my whole life living the homestead lifestyle (but didn't know it had a...

Calcium: it's a good thing. (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: I am glad to see an article on calcium since I do soil test and tell everyone how deficient the soil is in calcium. I want to know where you buy calcium for $12.50 a ton? We pay $125 a ton in bulk--I would like at least 10 tons at...

How does lanolin get into a jar? (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: I am a small-scale dairy goat raiser in Minnesota. In the past (when we had children home to help with the work), we also had sheep. A friend recently asked me how lanolin gets from the wool into a jar. Perhaps you can give me the...

Dig your own grease pit. (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: A very handy addition to your homestead is a "grease pit." Having one makes simple work of greasing, changing oil and hydraulic fluid, repairing mufflers and various other chores needed to keep your car, truck or tractor in good...

Butterfly attractions. (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: Thanks for such a wonderful and useful magazine. I look forward to the arrival of each issue. I'm interested in planting flowers that will attract butterflies. I live in a secluded section of the Berkshire Mountains of NW...

Save the ginseng (and other vulnerable plants). (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: I belong to a group called United Plant Savers--Planting the Future. This group was started by Rosemary Gladstar, a well-known and respected herbalist. The group realizes some herbs are being wildcrafted to the point of...

"Simplicity" does not mean "poverty". (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: One of the many interesting things I have learned from COUNTRYSIDE is that homesteading can be done according to individual desire. I live on a small lot in a small town. My priority is self-reliant life with a maximum of...

Those sneaky moths! (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: I just wanted to respond to Ken, who wrote asking for help in getting rid of the "meal moths" in his kitchen cabinets (March/April 2003). I had a similar encounter with meal or pantry moths about two years ago. First I...

Homesteading tips: from fruit to fallout. (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: Life can be simpler and less expensive in money and time. Here are some tips from Paul: * Why make bread? Too much effort and time. Make muffins instead--10 minutes mixing and 24 minutes in the oven. Any mix will do. Use soda...

How do you build with cordwood? (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: My husband and I are looking for any information, comments, tips, problems etc. in building a cord wood house. We live in Canada and have watched several of our friends build more traditional styled homes. The articles that we have...

More uses for bee hives. (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: In the Jan/Feb 2003 issue a reader described how she utilized old beehives to make plant flats. Since I have been a beekeeper for a few years now, I thought I might provide some additional information to other readers concerning...

She had the "perfect life," and then ... (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: Last year I came across your magazine and decided to buy it. Thank God! Your magazine has been so helpful to me in the past year. I was raised in rural Indiana and my grandmother always had us kids help in the garden and on the...

Possum: missing struedel is a clue. (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: I'd like to tell my Possum Tale: It was a hot summer about five years ago, and my habit was to stop at Casey Stores and buy coffee and 3/99-cent cookies. I usually had one or two cookies laying on the van's motor cover which I...

Correction.
May 1, 2003... The address for the National Food Institute (and Sam Thayer) is PO Box 129, Bruce, WI 54819. The old address was printed in the March/April issue.

Leaky cream separator is irritating. (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: In 1978 we moved back near the small town in Eastern Washington where my mother was raised as well as my siblings and I. With two teenagers and two grade school age children, we started out from "scratch" on 10 acres of wooded...

Does anyone have chaparral seeds or plants? (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: Please help! I am frantically looking for" some chaparral seeds or plants to try to grow in our greenhouse. We are in zone 7. I use this plant's leaves in my antifungal salve, and would like to try to grow my own. My web searches...

What is it? (Country conversation & feedback).
May 1, 2003... We had a picture of an unknown tool in the March/April, 2003 issue. Many of you knew it was a wire fence stretcher (which could also be used as a come-a-long, among other things). Thanks to all of you! Here are just a few of the responses:...

Countryside contacts.
May 1, 2003... Your listing is free; however, please keep the following in mind: * We reserve the right to accept or reject any and all submissions for any reason or no reason at all. * Submissions may be edited for clarity or brevity. *...

Coming events.
May 1, 2003... May 10-11, 2003 9th Annual Llama Magic, Lake Elmo, MN. Free classes on llama care, packing, cart driving and how to use that wonderful fiber. Fleece contest, llama and alpaca show and many vendors. Contact Sheila Fugina at 715-246-5837 or...

Little earthship out on the prairie.
May 1, 2003... My husband, daughter, and I were living in a trailer court when we found an ad about land for sale east of Colorado Springs with owner financing. We had been living in a mobile home for 10 years and I was more than ready for our own house with...

Defensive gardening: you can have your deer and eat your veggies too! (The garden).
May 1, 2003... Our move to White Oak Cottage, our home in northwest Georgia was, in large part, because of the abundant wildlife of the area. Turkey, deer, quail and a host of other species are seen frequently as one wanders the byways of this, as yet...

Tom's terrific tumbler. (The garden).
May 1, 2003... At White Oak Cottage we compost everything that can be composted. We raise our vegetables in containers in a greenhouse so that they are protected from the large number of deer we host on our little patch of Paradise. The containers are filled...

The charm of chives. (The garden).
May 1, 2003... Whenever I think of spring and the beginning of our outdoor herb growing season here at Timberlakes (mid-April to early May) my favorite perennial comes to mind: chives. Chives are about the sturdiest and most dependable herb variety we...

Growing sweet Stevia Rebaudiana. (The garden).
May 1, 2003... Stevia seeds are hard to find be cause of problems with seed production and low germination. I did an undergraduate research project to investigate this problem. The results are published in an article entitled "Seed Germination in Stevia...

Dill: it's not just for pickles! (The garden).
May 1, 2003... Dill is not only a pretty foliage plant, it's fragrance is a "comfort smell" for many people. I barely touch it's feathery leaves and the smell of homemade dill pickles, crisp and savory, rubs off on my hands. At the same time, dill is an herb...

Make your own gourmet mustard mixes. (The country kitchen).
May 1, 2003... Making your own gourmet mustards mixes can be fun and interesting! The combinations are endless,delicious, aromatic and rewarding. These make great gifts which are very inexpensive to make. The basic recipe is: 3 ozs. of brown or...

You can grow corn. (The garden).
May 1, 2003... Nothing tastes better than sweet corn that has gone from cornstalk to cookpot in minutes. To get that fresh taste, you must grow it in your own backyard. Traditionally, corn is planted in 4-row blocks to insure maximum pollination. Corn is...

Animal gardening. (Feeds & feeding).
May 1, 2003... You're a homesteader, and you want to be more self-sufficient. So you garden... and raise animals. But you soon discover that the feed bill for the animals is as much as your own grocery bill used to be! And growing livestock feed conjures...

Southern wilt could be devastating to some crops. (Crops & soils).
May 1, 2003... An outbreak of Ralstonia solanacearum, Race 3 Biovar 2, the pathogen that causes southern bacterial wilt, occurred in one of Goldsmith Plants' geranium production facilities in Kenya recently. Cuttings from Kenya were only imported to two U.S....

Pastures may need renovating after last summer's drought. (Crops & soils).
May 1, 2003... Excessive moisture in the spring followed by drought and high temperatures during the summer left many pastures in need of renovation. As a result, many pastures weren't renovated or farmers weren't able to seed as much as they had planned....

Another reason to "grow organic". (Crops & soils).
May 1, 2003... Growing crops and making illegal drugs would seem to have few things in common. But both may involve the use of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer, says John Shutske, agricultural safety and health specialist with the University of Minnesota...

Vaccine for hoof and mouth disease may be at hand.
May 1, 2003... Scientists think the antiviral drug interferon could avert future foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) epidemics according to an article in Journal of Virology (2003). More than six million animals were slaughtered in 2001 as Britain struggled for...

Naturally colored Angora goats: perfect for the spinner's homestead flock. (The goat barn).
May 1, 2003... I would like to introduce you to the naturally colored Angora goat, a goat that I think is perfect for the spinner's small homestead flock. Colored Angoras, you say? Yes! Beginning with a dedicated group of breeders about 20 years ago,...

Navajo-Churro sheep: a rare breed prized for its fleece. (The sheep shed).
May 1, 2003... The Navajo-Churro sheep, developed by and sacred to the Dine and at the core of their culture and economy, is the only domesticated breed of sheep indigenous to the Americas. Though driven to near extinction since the 19th century by government...

Organic cattle wormers. (The cow barn).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: I am trying to raise freezer beef as organically as possible. Are there any organic cattle wormers?--B.H., Crossville, AL According to Joel Salatin in Salad Bar Beef, he has had success with two products: Shaklee Basic H and...

Do you have cool cows? (The cow barn).
May 1, 2003... Pay special attention to your animals' needs during hot, humid weather. The livestock heat index is different from the heat index reported on local weather reports. A heat index is not the actual temperature, but rather how hot the...

Don't count out crossbreds for tasty beef. (The cow barn).
May 1, 2003... COUNTRYSIDE: I picked up the Nov/Dec 2002 issue of your publication and have been fairly impressed thus far. I've been a dairy farmer my whole life so I have a couple ideas on the article of fattening a steer. I've raised a lot of steers...

High school students can learn about cooperatives.
May 1, 2003... The University of Wisconsin's Center for Cooperatives (UWCC) has launched a website for high school students and young adults--http:// www.wisc.edu/coops. This one-of-a-kind site offers learning modules on a number of relevant cooperative...

Our chickens live in a corncrib! (The henhouse).
May 1, 2003... We made our long-awaited move beyond the sidewalks in 1997. We had purchased 45 acres in a wooded valley five years prior, and had a garden shed, garage and pole barn built before our actual move. An older mobile home served us well as weekend...

Providing grit will help prevent impacted crop. (Poultry health).
May 1, 2003... We have some nice Leghorn hens which have a big lump where the neck and breast join. It seemed to come on overnight and is about the size of an orange and quite hard. is this a tumor? How did it come about so soon? This is probably an...

Infectious coryza is highly contagious. (Poultry health).
May 1, 2003... We have a small flock of chickens that was on our farm when we bought it. In the last week, we have seen quite a few of these chickens catching some kind of cold. Their nostrils run and their heads even swell up. They were laying eggs, but have...

Don't use medicated chick starter for ducklings. (Poultry health).
May 1, 2003... We want to raise some ducks for table use, however there is no starter food for ducklings available in the area. Is it alright to feed them medicated chick starter that we use for our chicks? Although some people can get away with using...

My first pig. (The pig pen).
May 1, 2003... It is a cold, dreary day in January when we decide to raise a pig. Actually the "we" part is mostly my husband. I had seen a pig up close only once before. That was 43 years ago when my dad took me to a livestock show. Now, I find myself--a...

Helping pigs cheat death--in 1936. (The pig pen).
May 1, 2003... This is the story of the two hogs that should have died but did not--at least not right then. It was the spring following a terrible harvest after the drought. We had butchered or sold all of our hogs except two sows since we knew we would...

Raising rabbits requires some planning. (The rabbit barn).
May 1, 2003... There is a lot more to raising rabbits than just putting them in a cage and feeding them, especially if you want any success on breeding year round. I breed rabbits year round with a 98 percent success rate, but that means a lot of care is...

Building and re-building. (Notes from the Northwoods).
May 1, 2003... Building seems a natural outgrowth of homesteading. Sometimes it is simply to get an affordable roof over one's head, or over the chickens'. Or to house the motley collection of motorized mongers, natural mongrels, and other accumulated stuff....

A year-round solar greenhouse: Part III. (The Solar Cowboy).
May 1, 2003... CHRIS LA FORGE GREAT NORTHERN SOLAR When we returned from our research trip (see the March/April 2003 issue) we went out to the greenhouse and sure enough, even without the active solar heating system installed, the building was warmer than...

Build a low-cost solar water heater. (Alternative energy).
May 1, 2003... It's been over 10 years since I installed a PV pumped solar hot water system on my house (COUNTRYSIDE Vol 85/1), and that success made me want to design a system for my shop/studio outbuilding. Because people saw the panel on the roof of my...

Experiences of digging our own well. (Homestead water).
May 1, 2003... When I was younger I helped drive and pull several wells over the years. Seemed someone was always needing a new well. In the early '80s it was our turn, we needed a new water supply. We had moved to our present location in the mid '70s and...

Was I plumb crazy to do my own plumbing? (Homestead water).
May 1, 2003... I am writing this from Baja, Mexico, where I have just "completed" plumbing my strawbale house--a job that has turned out to be tortuous, frustrating... and a real learning experience. Would I do it over again? Probably not. Yet, with the...

Build your own tree library. (Homestead crafts).
May 1, 2003... Ever try building your own library? You can if it's a tree library. You needn't be concerned about steam shovels, mortar and brick. All you need are some clippers, a bag, paper, and some sort of adhesive. Building a tree library is a...

She does laundry with her truck. (Homestead crafts).
May 1, 2003... I can do laundry with my truck. Get a 50-gallon barrel, paint it black. Make sure it has a lid, the clamp-on kind with a bung to let air in. Set it in the back of the pickup, by the tailgate. Either fill it directly from the downspout on...

Make a smoker from a cardboard box. (Homestead crafts).
May 1, 2003... I remember as a child growing up on a Michigan dirt farm how my grandfather used to make the most mouth watering, just plain incredible-tasting smoked delicacies. Hams, farm-reared chickens and turkeys, and whatever else happened to be handy....

Whip up some ghee. (The country kitchen).
May 1, 2003... Ghee is a form of clarified butter used in Ayruvedic cooking and healing. Through a slow cooking process, the milk solids containing the milk proteins, sugars and impurities are extracted and removed, leaving a pure form of healthy saturated...

Make your own jams and jellies. (The country kitchen).
May 1, 2003... Fruit jellies are semi-solid, preserved mixtures of fruit juice and sugar. Jelly making is a good way to preserve fruit flavors for. enjoyment throughout the year. Fruit jelly is a fairly easy-to-prepare product for the beginning canner and may...

Pumpkin bread in a jar (but it's safer to freeze it). (Country kitchen).
May 1, 2003... Pumpkin Bread in a Jar 2-2/3 cups sugar 2/3 cup shortening 4 eggs 2 cups pumpkin--canned or freshly cooked 2/3 cup water 3-1/3 cups flour 1-1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon...

Canning chickens, etc. (Country kitchen).
May 1, 2003... I am a believer in canning everything and anything. I start with four small whole chickens. I skin and remove the breasts. I save the breasts for dinner such as: stuffed breasts, teriyaki breasts, etc. I then put the remainder of the...

Raisin milk? You're kidding! (Country kitchen).
May 1, 2003... Every so often I get the idea I'm going to economize, so I buy powdered milk again! Within the time of using up a quart of that stuff I'm through with it for another couple of years. But not this time. Out of the blue, and I mean blue, I...

What in the world is that? (Country kitchen).
May 1, 2003... * Bulgur wheat: This cracked wheat is popular in Middle Eastern cookery and the principal ingredient in tabbouleh, the popular parsley-enhanced salad. It is simple to prepare: Soak one part bulgur wheat in one and a half parts boiling water...

Is there a profit in "functional foods?" (Country kitchen).
May 1, 2003... Some 85 percent of American consumers want to learn more about "functional". foods, according to a survey by the American Dietetic Association (ADA). The ADA survey concluded consumers are concerned about nutrition, know they could and...

Keep your fish fresh.
May 1, 2003... Fish are fun to catch and nutritious to eat. They are high in protein, rich in vitamins and minerals, and low in saturated fat. Fish oils are high in polyunsaturated fats that may function in lowering blood cholesterol. A 3-1/2-ounce...

"New age" nutrients.
May 1, 2003... With so many people using over-the-counter herbal supplements as a means to promote health, one University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher is wondering why we don't hunt for health-promoting properties among the ordinary plants we grow for...

Homesteaders share thoughts on their favorite kitchen gadgets (and they're all different!). (Question of the month).
May 1, 2003... I saw the question of the month and started thinking of my own kitchen. There are three items I cannot do without: my canner pot, cast iron chicken fryer and my Squeezo. I don't own and refuse to have a microwave. I could have a...

Homestead by candlelight.
May 1, 2003... Candles are a lot like Rodney Dangerfield--they just don't get much respect. But at our off-the-grid homestead, we have found the lowly candle to be an important part of our home lighting. In a pinch candles can even be used for cooking. ...

Discovered in the Archives: "America's First Cookbook". (Advertisement).
May 1, 2003... As a newspaper writer, I often leave items of my work on the coffee table in my den. My friends and neighbors come and go... but seldom if ever do they notice anything I've left out. A cookbook I recently took home to review, however,...

The truth about mortgage loans. (Homestead finances).
May 1, 2003... When you close on a new mortgage, your loan Papers state the interest rate you will be paying for your loan. But is that interest rate really as good as it looks? Out of your monthly payment that you faithfully make each month, do you know how...

Which appliances are raising your bill? (Homestead finances).
May 1, 2003... If the average American family turned their thermostat up one degree in the summer and down one degree in the winter, they could save over $100 a year. There is a fantastic free tool called Home Energy Advisor (HEA) which is provided by TXU...

Don't move the babies! Mother Nature (and her creatures) are pretty good at taking care of their own. So even if you're tempted ...
May 1, 2003... Millions of wild animals and birds will be born this spring. This is the new generation of wildlife, and their survival depends a great deal on their mothers, their environment, and your not interfering. As the weather improves, we're more...

How to find a home care provider for your loved one. (Homestead families).
May 1, 2003... I was a home care provider for five years, then a staffing director for a home care agency. Being a caregiver gave me great insight into placing a provider in someone's home. If you are considering hiring a caregiver for your loved one, please...

Insurance and death: neither one is a pleasant topic, but not talking about them may be far worse for your family. (Homestead finances).
May 1, 2003... Just recently my mother-in-law died at the age of 64 of a CNS Lymphoma (brain tumor/cancer). She didn't know that she was really going to die. Her doctors gave her a 90% survival rate and she had already had her second MRI and was told the...

It's the country life for her. (Country neighbors).
May 1, 2003... Where on earth do I begin to tell the story of what has happened our last three months here at Family Acres? We bought our first orphan calf, went to our first informal horse games/competitions (playday events), bought a used two-horse trailer,...

Cocooning on the Elk River. (Country neighbors).
May 1, 2003... Eight years ago, we made a break for it. We packed our belongings, loaded up the dogs and two kids, and moved to the banks of the Elk River, two miles from Bergoo, West Virginia, to pursue our dream of country living and self-reliance. Bergoo...

Lessons in goat-raising: and laughter along the way. (After chores).
May 1, 2003... I would like to begin by saying that we enjoy your magazine immensely. We find your articles informative, useful and enjoyable. We look forward to receiving each issue. I am new to country and farm life, while my better half was born and...

Finding heaven in Canada. (Country neighbors).
May 1, 2003... As a boy, I kept encountering my father's copy of, Five Acres and Independence. It was heavy going at public school age but it did exert a strange return attraction on me. My father also subscribed to a magazine called Farm Quarterly. My dad...

Countryside's breeders' directory.
May 1, 2003... ALPACAS California ALPACAS OF MARQUEZ FARMS, Sara Marquez, 1085 Almond Ave., Biggs, CA 95917. 530-868-5420. Suri & Huacaya Alpacas. Ohio LOFTY PINE FARM, Deb Yeagle, 2882 CR 82, Lindsey, OH 43442-9753. 419-665-2697. Llamas, Siri and...

Wood, water and dirt: that's all you really need. (After chores).
May 1, 2003... I was born and raised in the mountains of West Virginia. My husband and I lead a simple, quiet life. We bought the land we now own back in the 80s. We could not affford to make the land payments and pay rent. My husband only made minimum...