Countryside & Small Stock Journal articles from November 2008

Countryside & Small Stock Journal archives from November 2008

At 59, the homesteading dream hasn't faded.(Country conversation & feedback)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I just finished reading the September/October issue and loved every word of it. This month it didn't take me a week to get through it, like it usually does. I got it from the mailbox, came home, sat in my chair and began to lose...

Daycare kids benefit from homestead life.(Country conversation & feedback)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I started reading TMEN in the early 1980s. Even then I was of a green mind-set. I recycled everything that could be recycled, which back then wasn't much. I took my jugs to a local well to fill and had a small garden. I even kept...

Do you know where your lot lines really are?(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: At the last county commissioner meeting we had a gentleman from a private surveying company suggesting we straighten up our survey monuments. He has done two surveys in the county, going back to the original documents of 1871,...

She's happy to hear she's not alone.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I am a new subscriber to your magazine and both my husband and I really enjoy it. I now know I am not a freak of nature! I have found other folks who share my views and vision. Growing up, I was the only one of my friends in...

Pressure canners and cookers are real time savers.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I really enjoyed your July/August 2008 issue. There were so many interesting and useful articles. The one I enjoyed the most was "Dry it. You'll like it." I have had a large dehydrator for years. I still use it, although not as...

Conservo canner in use for 46 years.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I love your magazine, I have learned so much from your readers! I have canned with an old Conservo canner for over 46 years. I had five children, my husband and myself to feed so it was good to be able to can so many jars at one...

Crimped cables set straight.(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I just got my latest issue of your magazine and just read the article by the fellow in Wisconsin who was having trouble getting reception on his tv after getting the digital box. My husband and I also live in Wisconsin near Lake...

Thoughts on the dark side of country living.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: IS there a dark side to country living? My experience is with the loss of a total of 50-60 chickens in three years. We lost these chickens in three different "break-ins" by the neighbor's loose running dogs. The dogs killed...

Where are you?(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: YOU ask for ideas--my idea is that you always indicate the state from which the letter writer hails. A lot of the ideas are very good for, say, New Mexico, but not for Illinois. It would help me, and I am sure others, to know...

Pallets: free heat, free lumber, free money.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I read the various letters in the July/August issue with tips for burning wood, wood and corn pellets, etc., for heat. Allow me to add some tips to get free wood, as well as a chance to make some "free" money. A few years back...

Would love more space; Grandma's curl secret.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I am also a fairly new subscriber to your magazine, and really love it. I grew up in a small farming community in Idaho, and love reading all the features you have in your magazine. Presently, I live on 1/4 acre in suburbia, but...

Needs tips on cleaning 25-foot chimney flue.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: AS usual I am behind on my reading and just finished the May/ June issue. I enjoy your magazine greatly but reading anything plays second fiddle to chores and other responsibilities. The article that caught my eye was Jim Beachy's...

"Pushing" water uphill.(water reservoir)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: This is for Sara Jane of Bakersville, North Carolina (Sept/ Oct 2008, page 27) and anyone else it might benefit. First and foremost, no matter where you're located you really should get your water source tested. I'm not a...

Cheap sources of wood for heat.(Country conversation & feedback)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: TO the newlyweds in regards to needing advice on heating (July/August 2008). If you want to heat with wood, try to locate a pallet mill that builds wood pallets for businesses. They have a lot of drops (wood cut off during...

Has anyone tried roasting soy for poultry feed?
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: At the inspiration of the articles by Harvey Ussery (both in COUNTRYSIDE and Backyard Poultry (www.backyardpoultrymag.com) -my two favorite magazines), I began milling feed rations for our flock of laying hens about two years ago...

Beekeeping grant info wanted.(Country conversation & feedback)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: My husband and I are new to COUNTRYSIDE (first time subscribers) and even newer to homesteading, so new that we still live in town. We recently purchased 20 acres in the middle of nowhere 10 miles from town. We are anxious to move,...

Anbody have dry cherry wine recipes?(Country conversation & feedback)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I've been gathering cherries off of my trees, vacuum sealing, and freezing. I am interested in making some wine, however, I prefer dry wine to sweet. I really don't want to add a bunch of chemicals and such. I notice that your...

Party like it's 1859.(electric power)(Essay)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: In the latest Scientific American is an article about a solar super storm that could take out our power grid. For those who don't subscribe, what happened in 1859 was severe enough that folks in Cuba could see the aurora borealis,...

Where's the locally--grown food? A new appreciation for farmers.(Country conversation & feedback)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I have been writing to our senators and my representative for over a year about the sorry state of this country. Now, add the mortgage meltdown, bank crisis, and food shortage to the list. I believe NAFTA and the other alleged...

Corn stoves aren't all bad: be choosy about the brand.(Country conversation & feedback)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I believe you may have done a bit of a disservice to any reader interested in corn stoves when you printed a letter on the subject in the Sept/Oct 2008 issue. The problem I have with the piece is that the author is quite specific...

Intentional communities: looking for one they can live with.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE We just can't express enough gratitude and amazement of how educational and helpful COUNTRYSIDE is to US newcomers or "green horns" of homesteading. Honestly, we are actually on the edge of becoming homesteaders but need advice or...

Straw hat source.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I do enjoy your magazine--good information, tips. Here's some help for the "Straw hats, anyone?" question from Jonathan and Martha Sauder, Barnett, Missouri. The best booklet I've found so far is called "Handcrafted Straw Hats, An...

Western state info wanted.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I would like to correspond with country folk in Wyoming, Montana, Oregon and Colorado. I would like to move to one of these states and would love to have info on growing conditions, property values, water availability, weather...

Deodorize your dog; save your plastic jugs.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I am about four years into homesteading, living in a log home I built on five acres in the country, south of Dallas, Oregon. I have 15 chickens, eight rabbits, five ducks, four dogs, and two cats. COUNTRYSIDE is the only magazine...

Asparagus grows fine under walnuts.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I would like to comment on the article in the July/August 2008 issue on page 50, titled "Don't plant your garden near black walnuts." One of the plants listed that should be planted away from black walnut trees was asparagus....

Planting wheat & oats.(Country conversation & feedback)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: Does anyone have information about planting wheat and oats with a Gardenway planter? Which open pollinated varieties grow well in zone 4?--Curtis Heclwolf

Where are they now?(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I love to read through my back issues of COUNTRYSIDE. Someone commented one time that you must use special ink in every issue. I believe that since I always seem to find "new articles" when I go back and re-read them. The...

Can it ever be too late to homestead? One man's appeal for action.(Country conversation & feedback)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I have spent years reading your publication and other similar ones. I have read and re-read every book I can get my hands on about homesteading, self-sufficient living, building, gardening and every related subject. I've dreamed...

The greenhorn's guide to homesteading: this land is your land; this land is our land.
November 1, 2008... What's the matter, Greenhorn? We know; you want to move to the country and live a simple, sustainable life. You'd do it tomorrow. Heck, you'd pack your bags and leave today. There's just one problem. You don't have two pennies to rub together....

Legal issues: mundane but important.(purchasing a farm)
November 1, 2008... After living and working for most of our lives in rural upstate New York and northeast Florida, we always enjoyed the rural life, but didn't own a rural farm. About five years ago when we were both getting ready to fully retire, we...

It's physical work, but so satisfying.
November 1, 2008... We moved to our small farm in September of 2001, no greener horns ever set out than us. We had no tools, no experience, little knowledge, and no infrastructure. Our 15 acres contained a dilapidated house, a hand dug well with awful water, a few...

Location vs. price: it's a trade-off.(Finding your homestead: Readers share their knowledge)
November 1, 2008... I can relate to trying to find a place In the country. My first place was an old farmstead and 13 acres, here in South Dakota. For 15 years it was a labor of love. Sheep, pigs, goats, milk cow, beef, chickens, fruit trees, garden, draft horse,...

Make lists of priorities.(Finding your homestead: Readers share their knowledge)
November 1, 2008... My husband and I were new homesteaders in 1973. We had a three-year-old daughter, an acre of land for gardening, and little else. My parents had always grown vegetables and there were always farm animals of some kind always needing care. I knew...

Don't forget to check out the neighborhood.(Finding your homestead: Readers share their knowledge)
November 1, 2008... I went homesteading at the age of 45, as a divorced single woman with lupus. I had no reason to hold back from my dream of a small farm. I have only two small acres on the side of a mountain. It was truly a haven; however, I never thought to...

Also check water drainage.(Finding your homestead: Readers share their knowledge)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... My wife and I are both retired. We built our house over a five-year period while we were still working, and are still working to get our place just like we want it. We have 10 acres that we built a two-acre pond on. It has a substantial flow of...

Read until your eyes hurt: then find someone to show you.(Finding your homestead: Readers share their knowledge)
November 1, 2008... Where do I begin? The last three years have been a whirlwind. I was living in a city apartment and I was homesteading there with my girls (Katie, 8, and Julie, 1) on my 8' x 12' patio. My neighbors called me the Amazon Lady because of my...

Other creatures may live there, too: rats, snakes & spiders.
November 1, 2008... Being new ain't nothing but learning, but there are two things a person outta know going in: 1. You'll always be green at something (and I mean for the rest of eternity). 2. Know the environment you're going to move into. If we...

Trust your gut: you'll know it when you see it.(relocation for homesteading)
November 1, 2008... I have been thinking for days about my move to the Ozarks and how best to inform and help the greenhorns who want to move here. I came from Illinois where I lived most of my life. I don't know if this applies everywhere, but it is...

Proper infrastructure placement is vital.
November 1, 2008... I have some suggestions for greenhorns. Do not let the Realtor rush you with the old, "There is another buyer, you've got to act now." Take the time to go to the county courthouse and check the records. How is the land divided? What is upwind...

Financing with credit cards: not for the faint of heart.
November 1, 2008... I have been reading your fine magazine for several years and although I have read some short articles that mentioned renting or landlording in passing, I cannot recall reading a thorough article on the subject. You may be asking at this...

More extended families under one roof?(Finding your homestead: Readers share their knowledge)(Essay)
November 1, 2008... I have been reading your magazine for most of 20 years now and enjoy it very much. I have 50 acres in northwestern Pennsylvania. With the economy and prices of everything going up with no end in sight, I believe that people will have to go back...

Assumptions can come back to bite you.(Finding your homestead: Readers share their knowledge)
November 1, 2008... Assume. Assume. Assume. Take the word apart and you get "Ass of U and Me." That is the most important lesson they taught in business school. They also said to make assumptions explicit. The implicit assumptions can really come back to surprise....

Homesteads must be run efficiently: cost accounting is the key to tell how you're doing.(homestead finances)
November 1, 2008... We often hear it said that it doesn't pay" to keep a cow or goat for milk, when milk is so cheap in the stores; that it "doesn't pay" to do home butchering, or baking, or canning, or any of the other thousand things homesteaders do. At the...

The energetics of food storage: the integrated homestead: part IV.
November 1, 2008... The hallmark of industrial food is the fact that it is processed to the last degree, and loses much of the nutrients available in the primary ingredients. I question whether we should be trying to duplicate on a home scale the excessive...

Electricity from wood? An old technology with a new twist.
November 1, 2008... Ask Mother Nature and she'll tell you: living off the power grid is not a bad thing. As a rule, off-gridders will build smaller, greener, and more efficient houses than their grid-tied counterparts, and will be far more likely to practice...

Chainsaw basics: chainsaws are great homestead tools, but there are some things you need to know before heading off to the woods.
November 1, 2008... If you live in the country, sooner or later you'll find yourself in need of a good chainsaw. I say "good" chainsaw, because a cheap, mass-produced one won't stand up to heavy use. Pete Peterson, who's been selling and repairing chainsaws for...

No plug--no problem! Cordless tools are a must for country living.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... One of the best things to come along for those of us who are blessed with more property than extension cords are cordless tools. When cordless tools were first introduced to the public, they were more of a novelty than a real tool. The...

A handy use for old tires.(Homestead livestock)
November 1, 2008... On our ranch we often use old truck and tractor tires as feeders or feeder holders. If fed on the ground, cattle often waste hay by tromping it into the mud or bedding on it. They refuse to eat any feed that becomes soiled with urine and...

Fixed knot fencing works well for goats: rubbing won't ruin this wire.
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: I was reviewing the article for fencing goats (Sept/Oct 08) and all of the reviews were great except one type of fence was not mentioned. The fence product that I am speaking of is High Tensile Fixed Knot fence wire. It also comes...

White feathered heritage turkeys.(The poultry yard)
November 1, 2008... As long as we continue to breed and raise heritage turkeys there will always be a place on our farm for the solid white feathered breeds of turkeys. While they may not catch the eye as the more colorful breeds, seeing a white feathered tom in...

Treat mastitis with essential oils.
November 1, 2008... COUNTRYSIDE: In the July/August 2008 issue, page 69, the "Managing Mastitis" article very clearly helps one to know how critical the issues of mastitis and cleanliness are for dairy cows. Anyone who has dairy cows understands how critical it...

First aid for horses.(Livestock health)
November 1, 2008... Injuries often need prompt and proper care to ensure recovery of the horse. Try to assess the seriousness of the problem, determining whether you can treat it yourself or need help from a veterinarian. Even in serious injuries, what you do for...

Become a master gardener.(vegetable gardening)
November 1, 2008... As a child of 10 in Indiana, my Dad taught me how to dig up a small backyard garden and plant some tomatoes and corn. There was nothing he liked better than to sink his false teeth into the first red, ripe, juicy tomato of the season and munch...

Winter protection for evergreens.
November 1, 2008... Evergreens cannot protect themselves during winter months by dropping their leaves, and they continue to lose water by respiration through them. Too much wind and winter sun may cause an extra loss of moisture, and this drying injury is winter...

Christmas trees: an alternative income.
November 1, 2008... Growing your own Christmas trees as an alternative crop can be an environmentally and financially rewarding activity. Planting trees frees up land and resources and they can be grown on sites too steep or rocky for other crops. Many trees will...

Winter carrots under mulch.(The garden)
November 1, 2008... When planting carrots for in-ground winter storage, you should use varieties that are good keepers. Some carrots do not store well, particularly the baby finger varieties. All varieties of parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes (sun roots) that we...

A chicken in every pot ...(chicken recipe)(Recipe)
November 1, 2008... This past year we've been hit with quite the double whammy of consequences locally and globally. Continually rising fuel prices and climatic changes around the globe have turned normal growing seasons and patterns upside down and sideways....

The technical side of sausage.(The butcher block)
November 1, 2008... Sausage making is a way to both preserve meat and create an edible product out of the less appealing--but still nutritious--parts of an animal such as meat scraps, organs and fat. From the earliest of times these meat products were combined...

Learn to play the mandolin! Gather friends and family for a sing-a-long on a cold winter's night!(Homestead harmony)
November 1, 2008... You're up to here with high gas prices. Instead of wasting gas driving into town to rent a movie or go see a live band on a Saturday night, why not stay home and learn to play a musical instrument, something you've always wanted to do? For...

Make some mittens!(Homestead crafts)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You can make a simple pair of mittens using about 5 ounces of worsted weight yarn. Make them all one color or create stripes by using up small leftover portions of yarn. I use Red Heart "Super Saver" acrylic for...

Staying warmer in the winter: there is help for old mobile homes.(Homestead hints)
November 1, 2008... We originally bought our old 1964 fixer-upper as a rental property. I had the grand idea that if we bought a fixer-upper and rented it out it would pay for a nice house in the country. However, it didn't get fixed prior to my husband's...

One more try: this time, without the childhood illusions.
November 1, 2008... I lay sideways on my hammock, taking in the serenity of this pastoral scene--five clucking chickens; two quacking, waddling ducks; and one ever-proud rooster, all wandering around the yard, pecking and grabbing at the little morsels of food...

Homesick: the feeling remains the same, it's the location that's different.(Brief article)(Essay)
November 1, 2008... When I came out to the Ozarks in the late 1970s I wasn't going "to"; I was coming from. I had an ex in close proximity who I still loved madly but the situation was hopeless, so I thought putting some distance between us would help. I also had...

An apartment homestead.(Country neighbors)
November 1, 2008... Our homestead is not what you normally think of when you think of a homestead. In fact we don't have even one square inch of tillable land. Yet, we are doing all that we can to make our temporary little apartment into as much of a homestead as...

City slickers in the country.
November 1, 2008... After spending 30 years in Seattle, I got fed up with what used to be a beautiful family-friendly city. My north Seattle neighborhood had turned into a jungle of rentals, late-night noisy parties, and singles with live bands practicing in...

Confessions of a closet countrysider.
November 1, 2008... I have been a COUNTRYSIDE fan and reader for about 25 years. It was a magazine I happened across in the grocery store. I was probably drawn to an adorable picture of an animal on the cover to begin with, but then all of the interesting articles...

Missouri feels like coming home.(relocation)
November 1, 2008... Thursday morning, and it's already getting hot. For the ninth time, I shut off the chainsaw, and haul it back up the hill to the clearing, preparing to put the thrown chain back onto the bar. Okay, so Paul Bunyan I ain't. Time to rest a...

Poor Will's Countryside Almanack for late autumn & early winter 2008.
November 1, 2008... Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go. --Alfred Lord Tennyson Astronomical data for November The phases of The Second Spring Moon and The Crow Gathering Moon Deep...

The town that gave thanks.(Sierra town )
November 1, 2008... The road trip was spontaneous. We neglected to think about a lunch and our stomachs were running on empty. On Thanksgiving Day few, if any, stores would be open, but we kept our eyes open. As we passed through a tiny gold rush town I spotted a...