Countryside & Small Stock Journal articles from November 2006

Countryside & Small Stock Journal archives from November 2006

Kerosene needs proper storage.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: In the Sept/Oct 2006 issue, J. Sweeney characterizes kerosene as a flammable liquid, comparing it to gasoline. As defined by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), a flammable liquid has a flash point of less than...

Good records can eliminate NAIS.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: Everyone is carrying on about the proposed NAIS, but nobody is really suggesting an alternative or compromise to the government. We need not carry on so much but put our ideas out for consideration. I've been in agriculture...

And quit "preachin' to the choir".(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: I just finished reading the articles/letters regarding NAIS in your September/October 2006 issue, and all I can say is, "Quit preaching to the choir." COUNTRYSIDE readers, for the most part, are already against the NAIS. We...

Tips on keeping cool, among other things.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: This is for Seamus and just about anyone on a fixed income or who has a small budget. (Sept/ Oct, 2006, pg. 16) How about trying your local library? Your library has unlimited resources. You are lucky to be in the city and near a...

Connect your fence to a fence charger.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: Please inform your readers not to attempt to connect an electric fence to a 120 volt source in the manner recommended in this letter (May/June 2006, pg. 18). There have been several fatalities caused by fences being connected to...

He's bummed over missing apples.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: I was surprised and a little upset at the failure to mention Cox Orange Pippin and King, the two greatest eating apples ever discovered in the Sept./Oct. 2006 issue. While these wonderful apples are not common, and for some reason...

Check safely of alternative uses of herbs.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: Regarding the article on catnip by Eric Vought (July/Aug, 2006, pg. 61). Were the medicinal uses of catnip [catmint] (Nepeta cataria) checked out by a physician? Are there any other sources/references that can be checked regarding...

Where is everyone?(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: I wondered if you could print the demographics (location mostly) of your subscribers and/or readers by state. As an alternative it could be the monthly question--where are you homesteading? I'm in the northeast now and might have...

Heard any "boogers" lately?(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: A dumb bull is supposed to sound like the "voice of a booger," a ghost in Appalachian culture. Foxfire 2 has a section on "Boogers, Witches and Haints." I did find mention of making a dumb bull on the rootsweb website...

Stevia is available in her neck of the woods.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: Regarding the article "Stevia: A natural sweetener" in your July/August 2006 issue. The author (from Indiana) states that stevia cannot be purchased at the local food 1 store. I just wanted readers to know t that this information...

Easy liquor recipe (though not as tasty as Tabor's).(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: I am writing in response to Thomas Tabor's article on how to "Make your own liqueurs at home." (July/August, 2006, pg. 62) I've been making various liqueurs at home for years with a much simpler method. Though I'm sure Thomas's...

Vinegar enhances recipes.(Country conversation & feedback)(Recipe)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: Some years ago my neighbor and friend Mary asked if I had tried adding vinegar when cooking beef roast on top of the range. I tried it and the beef roast was more tender than usual, and the gravy was tastier. More vinegar...

Life lessons learned in the country.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: One thing that I really enjoy about this magazine is that a lot of different people in different circumstances can share their experiences and advice, and readers can take it, leave it or tweak it just right for our own personal...

What?! Teens with no tv?!(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: I am writing in response to the article about kids on farms. I live 13 miles from town with my family (Morn and Daddy, two brothers ages 19 and 12, and two sisters ages 17 and 14). We're home educated and have never gone to public...

Chickens rid her place of scorpions.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: I just read the part about a scorpion problem in COUNTRYSIDE (Sept/Oct 2006). I'm no scorpion expert, but when I moved into my first house 13 years ago, I found out the hard way that the area was infested with the not-so-little...

Satan vs. Internet points clarified.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: I just received the Sept/Oct, 2006 issue, with many of the replies to my "Internet-friend or foe?" letter. Because of the visciousness of one assault, I feel compelled to respond. Please re-read my very brief letter--Satan...

Dried seaweed only, please.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: I enjoyed Harvey Ussery's article on achieving food independence on the modern homestead; however I do have a word of caution for those who wish to use seaweed to fertilize their gardens. Use only dried seaweed, tossed up on...

Do you have his number?(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: I need either a parts list or model number for the front loader for a Craftsman (Sears) garden tractor. That was used in 1993. It was a true front loader not a partial like the one they sell today. I have contacted Sears however...

Fine dining--for your pet.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: To the person who asked about making your own pet food., you can mix: 1 lb. each cooked ground chicken and beef 1 16 oz can drained pureed green beans 1 cup cottage cheese 2 finely minced boiled eggs Add chicken...

A ducky idea.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: This is a suggestion for your subscriber who requested ideas for the use of her 3,000 duck eggs. She could either try this herself or donate/sell them to an interested crafter. "Eggeury" is the craft of cutting and decorating eggs....

Great bread, even though ...(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: I received the Sept/Oct, 2006 issue of your fine magazine. As usual, I couldn't put it down! I tried the Oatmeal Bread recipe found on page 48. Is there something missing in this recipe? There doesn't seem to be enough liquid, so I...

Pie crust recipe.(Country conversation & feedback)(Recipe)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: I wanted to respond to the reader who was asking for a reliable piecrust recipe using butter instead of lard. We have used this delicious piecrust recipe for years using organic butter and flour. The results are terrific for...

Stick to the subject of manure.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: I was surprised and disappointed to see the article called "Mining for trouble: Sago Explosion..." (Sept/Oct 2006). This is listed as an anonymous writing and as such should be observed closely as to what this author is saying. I...

Pumpkin seeds wanted.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: I am looking for seeds for a pumpkin talked about by my great grandmother. She made a sweet treat from it. I have the recipe but cannot find the pumpkin. I am willing to grow them from seed if need be! Not sure of the spelling but...

Have you built a passive solar home?(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: Have any readers built a passive solar home themselves? Both designed and built it with recycled materials? I am trying to find a house design that will look like it goes with the land--not against it. If you could help me, I would...

Female apprentice needed.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: Apprentice for mini farm with large garden-best suited to single female age 25-45. Free room and board for I year. Experience not necessary but would help. No stipend or wages at this time as we're just starting up. Pet...

Blister beetle help.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2006... COUNTRYSIDE: Does anyone know how to get rid of blister beetles? We had a really great crop of tomatoes this year, and then towards the end of July an army of blister beetles started chowing down on the leaves, and are destroyingtheplants.--S....

Coming events.(Calendar)
November 1, 2006... Saturday, November 18, 2006: Mississippi: Pineywoods Cattle and Gulf Coast Sheep Annual Sale will be held at 1:00 p.m. at the Magnolia Center in Laurel, Mississippi. For more information contact Justin Pitts at 601-543-5173 or David James...

Getting ready--or simply living?(Notes from the Northwoods)
November 1, 2006... This is the time of year that our lists get longer as the days get shorter. We have thoughts of snow and cold in our heads, though the day may be mild and the countryside full of color. We worry and fret over things that aren't happening, and...

Achieving food independence: Part II: the garden year.
November 1, 2006... I've spent so much time on soil care in the last issue because it is far more important than anything that follows about specific strategies for producing more of our own food. But let's now consider some of those strategies. Think of...

Food independence takes on new meaning for this urban Florida couple.
November 1, 2006... Introduction Papaya trees tower over John (aka Johnny Papaya) Burns and his wife Natividad's all-organic garden, where they grow over 80% of their food, in place of the typical suburban yard in Sarasota, Florida. Johnny grew up in the...

Unfolding the complexity of wind towers.(Life on the sunny side)
November 1, 2006... If you are among the growing number of homeowners who are considering adding wind power to their energy equation, you've probably spent more time thinking about the tower than the turbine you intend to mount on top of it. That's because towers...

Countryside's off-grid system installation.(Alternative energy)
November 1, 2006... The re-installation of COUNTRYSIDE's stand-alone off-grid solar/wind system at our new Medford location is complete, thanks to the hard work and cooperation of a lot of great people. We began the process by filling the footings for the...

Build your own solar shower for pennies.(Homestead construction)
November 1, 2006... I'm not sure when I decided to construct a solar shower for my family, but I do know that I was inspired by an article in either COUNTRYSIDE or one of the other homesteading magazines. I remember thinking, "What a neat idea," and with five...

How to build your own small animal cages.(Livestock housing)
November 1, 2006... This article is for the folks who've already decided to get rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, or other critters needing small wire cages. As you've found out by now, cages can be either expensive to buy, hard to find, or needing repairs. When...

The loss of livestock diversity.(Homestead livestock)
November 1, 2006... I came of age at a time when America was actively concerned about the rapid demise of the world s wildlife populations. Groups were formed, money was raised and laws were created. Thanks to their efforts, several species that were nearing...

Love my Dutch Belted!(The cow barn)
November 1, 2006... Most everyone is aware of the Belted Galloway breed of cattle, often referred to as the "oreo cookie" breed, which has a white band around its midsection. There is another breed of cattle not so well known, however, with a white belt, the Dutch...

What to look for in a usin' horse.(The homestead horse)
November 1, 2006... As I write this essay, the Israeli Defense Force is engaged in a two-front war with Hamas in the south and Hezbollah along the Israel/Lebanon border. Oil has just passed $77 a barrel. The U.S. Congress currently borrows roughly $2.8 billion per...

How a 4-H project became a full-time family business.(The goat barn)
November 1, 2006... "Goat milk is easy to digest. We have people coming from Virginia and all over the place for our milk. We have families with infants drinking the milk, autistic children drinking it, and some customers spending four or more hours on the road to...

Weeders? Not these geese.(The poultry yard)
November 1, 2006... Geese are beautiful. Graceful. Personable. Good watchdogs. I have read many articles about them. Even in the catalogs describing the various breeds available for sale, they are portrayed as "weeders" for an established garden. I want to clear...

An abundance of squash.(The garden)
November 1, 2006... When my grandson, Ethan, was small, one of his favorite read-to-me books was about a squash that grew so rampant that the vine engulfed a village, with a boy hero riding a giant squash. I don't want a squash vine to swallow my property, but...

Consider a hydroponic garden as a supplemental growing method.(The garden)
November 1, 2006... "Why hydroponics?" you ask. Why should I grow hydroponics? Let's start with the state of modern farming... Over the past century or so, the small farm has been gobbled up by large commercial corporations. Farming is now approached with a...

Unique & unusual plants for your home garden.(The garden)
November 1, 2006... I think gardeners are daring people. The plant industry is constantly coming out with new varieties of old favorites and flora that we have never laid eyes on but once we do the unabated lust to grow it in our gardens is overwhelming. We are...

How to choose a grain mill.(The homestead kitchen)(Recipe)(Reprint)
November 1, 2006... Readers often ask us which grain mills we recommend. As with most questions about homesteading, the answers depend on many factors. How much will you use it? What will you use it for? How much time do you want to spend grinding, and how...

Fall favorites: cranberries and pumpkins.(Recipe)
November 1, 2006... Cranberries Every time I see cranberries, I just know the holiday season has started! It reminds me of cold weather, family time and carefree moments as a child. You can find them in baked goods, in sauces, as drinks, cooked with meat, or...

No-magic marketing: sensible ideas for selling your home craft product.(Your homestead business)
November 1, 2006... No matter how wonderful your home craft product is, it won't make you a dime unless you can sell it. Well, duh. This is nothing new. However, where do you sell it? Ah, there's the rub. How to sell your product--and where--depends on a...

Build a kindling bundler.(The woodshed)
November 1, 2006... One of the issues with owning a wood stove is how to collect and store enough dry kindling for the heating season. One solution is to collect kindling and bundle it using the following device. Quickly made from scrap wood, this kindling frame...

Rob Roy responds to the ongoing "cordwood discussion".(Homestead building)
November 1, 2006... Many people have asked me about the "cordwood debate" going on in your pages. It reminds me of Victorians waiting for each month's installment of the latest chapter of a Hardy or Dickens novel. A busy summer schedule has prevented me from...

Welcome to our homestead! Views from homesteads around the country.(Question of the month)
November 1, 2006... Lance & Jennifer Barker Canyon City, Oregon It's been said that the high-altitude gardener must be like a long-distance runner: ready to go at the gun, and prepared to stay the course. Lance starts getting our raised beds ready for...

There are plastics and there are bioplastics--how much do you know?(Recycling on the homestead)
November 1, 2006... Look at your surroundings right now. Chances are excellent that you see plastic in some form. Plastics are such a common part of our daily existence that we often use them without giving a thought as to where they came from or where they go...

Small farm owners meet NAIS officials in Kansas City.(NAIS Update)
November 1, 2006... Over 600 federal and state government, industry and small farm representatives attended the National. Institute for Animal Agriculture's ID Expo in Kansas City in August. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns was the keynote speaker on the...

Problems with the neighbors.(Country neighbors)
November 1, 2006... Whether our closest neighbors live 100 feet, or five miles away, we all share our rural acreage with neighbors, resident and transient, furry and feathered. When we bought 15 acres in a wilderness area of Colorado, I wondered how I could...

The sunny side of rural life.(Country neighbors)
November 1, 2006... The question sometimes presented to me is why do I waste my time writing short rural humor pieces instead of doing serious writing? This question was somewhat shocking because I thought my writing was serious. But not wanting to let people...

Tuffy the calf.(Country neighbors)
November 1, 2006... ANONYMOUS Last evening between the raging rain storms, Larry went out to check on the cows and take them a magnesium block (so the cows wouldn't get grass tetany, a magnesium deficiency from the rain saturated grass) and discovered a cow,...

Native Alaskan art.(The wood carver)
November 1, 2006... My wife and three daughters have planned a trip to visit Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and the surrounding area in early October. Our oldest daughter, Karen, lives near Anchorage, Alaska and I agreed to house sit and care for her Yellow Lab,...

Poor Will's Countryside almanack for early winter 2006.
November 1, 2006... If you are afflicted with melancholy at this season, go to the swamp and see the brave spears of skunkcabbage buds already advanced toward a new year.... See those green cabbage buds lifting the dry leaves in that watery and muddy place.......

The great barnyard showdown.(After chores)
November 1, 2006... "Oh, before I forget, the chickens will be coming this weekend," my wife said from the kitchen. "What was that?" I asked, wondering if I had heard her correctly. "The chickens that my coworker is bringing over because the city won't...