Countryside & Small Stock Journal articles from September 1996

Countryside & Small Stock Journal archives from September 1996

Homesteaders, their bell curves, and their magazine. (homesteading draws all types)(Editorial)
September 1, 1996... I can hear it already: A new reader flipping through this issue says, "Oh, this magazine is about people who live in straw bale yurts and houses made of old tires; what nonsense!" He'll toss the magazine aside... and with it, the idea of...

Mad cow disease: cause for concern? (includes other notes on scrapie disease)
September 1, 1996... COUNTRYSIDE: Several years ago I read an article in Hoard's Dairyman about the progression of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), "mad cow syndrome," in Great Britain's dairy cattle industry. At that time I thought it would be prudent to...

Life in Alaska.(Looking for land: where do you start?)
September 1, 1996... Looking for land: Where do you start? Back in March of 1995 (79/2:17), Monica Belanger wrote about Alaska. She seemed to suggest that there is no way to build a homestead in Alaska. I must point out that there are quite a few homesteaders...

Homestead in Michigan.(Looking for land: where do you start?)
September 1, 1996... What is the definition of a homesteader? I don't think there is one that would fit everyone who prefers a selfreliant style of living, and I also don't think an outhouse, a hand pump, and hardship are prerequisites to qualify for the...

Homestead in Great Britain. (Shetland Islands)(Looking for land: where do you start?)
September 1, 1996... Thank you for sending your excellent magazine. I had to turn to America since nothing of its kind exists here anymore. We used to have a useful and very practical magazine called Practical Self Sufficiency in the 1970s. However it became Home...

Minnesota's northwoods.(Looking for Land: Where Do You Start?)
September 1, 1996... Many hopeful homesteaders are looking for a place with few people, affordable land, and adequate rainfall. This can be found here in northern Minnesota. When I speak of northern Minnesota, I mean the portion north of Highway 2. I live near...

Sometimes the fates just work it out. (homesteading in Washington State)(Looking for Land: Where Do You Start?)
September 1, 1996... As I look back over the last 10 years or so I am amazed at the different paths my life could have taken... Sixteen years ago my wife and I started driving the mountain roads on weekends, talking about finding a place to call our own and...

Some tips for real estate buyers.(Looking for Land: Where Do You Start?)
September 1, 1996... Many homesteaders have written to COUNTRYSIDE about the problems they experienced in purchasing their dream property. Maybe the following suggestions will save someone a bit of heartache. Rule #1--unless absolutely necessary, never purchase...

At home (in-ground) in Georgia.(alternative housing for homesteaders)
September 1, 1996... Nearly three years ago my wife and I began developing our homestead, Tupelo Farm. Initially we lived in a one room cabin while we constructed our in-ground home. Due to additional costs, terrain, climate, etc., we chose not to build...

How to build a home without getting a loan: and their tire house isn't the biggest part of their secret.(alternative housing for homesteaders)
September 1, 1996... And their tire house isn't the biggest part of their secret... If you're poor and you don't want to borrow, you can still have your own homestead! We did it and so can you. When we decided to have a homestead of our own, we had no money...

Timber frame construction: they had no experience, but careful planning paid off.(alternative housing for homesteaders)
September 1, 1996... After shirking our responsibility to you folks at COUNTRYSIDE for a very long time, we're finally writing to tell you a little bit about our homestead progress over the past six years. That was when we purchased our little piece of paradise; 68...

The timber-framed privy and the garbin. (garage-cabin)(alternative housing for homesteaders)
September 1, 1996... We didn't set out to build a garbin. We didn't even know what a garbin was until a sister-in-law used the term for our garage/cabin. The dream was a timber frame house. For me there is some indefinable quality in timber framing. With a timber...

The ideal homestead kitchen. (several homesteaders describe building or remodeling kitchens)
September 1, 1996... Maybe you don't have to build a house. Maybe there's one on your new land already. But by some quirk of fate, we always seem to find the perfect land... or the ideal house... but never the two together! And that means sooner or later we face...

A summer kitchen: a way of life. (includes an article on the revival of the summer kitchen)(Nostalgia)
September 1, 1996... I remember going to my great-grandparents' homestead in Trout Valley when I was a little girl. The house was a weathered gray, rambling old place, as creaky and worn as the old folks who lived there. The main entrance was through a ramshackle...

Maintenance and decor of the upscale outhouse.(Sanitary Failities)
September 1, 1996... Only those who live beyond sewage hook-ups need to be concerned with outhouses, but for those people it is a major concern. Daily disposal of the products of consumption (likely organic produce from our own homesteads) is a necessary part of life...

How to have inside plumbing ... even beyond the power lines.(Water)
September 1, 1996... Hello to the Countryside family from the sunshine state. There comes a time in our lives when we must admit our limitations and re-arrange our life styles to match. That time has come for this old gray fox and his loving mate. We have had to...

Things to make with wooden pallets. (Recycling)
September 1, 1996... Fortune has smiled upon us. I've found a seemingly endless supply of wooden pallets--only 11 miles away! I like using pallets. They're fairly easy to move individually, though difficult to knock over when in groups of two or more (even with my...

Sow and grow: starting a child's garden.
September 1, 1996... A successful child's garden requires adult supervision and occasional direct assistance. Don't make the too-common mistake of just providing tools, seeds and a spot in the yard. Youthful gardening fever can fade quickly if the actual job becomes...

Planting by the moon: does it work?
September 1, 1996... I had been a regular gardener, just planting seeds or transplanting whenever I had the time after work and on weekends. Then I decided to experiment with moon sign planting as listed in the old Farmer's Almanac. I tried it the first year and what...

Should hatching eggs be turned?
September 1, 1996... I wish to comment on the article in the July/August, 1996 issue on egg turning in incubators in which D.L. Salsbury, DVM, states that egg turning is not necessary and cites Dr. H. T. Grier as his authority on the subject. There are several points...

Icelandic sheep: an old breed with new possibilities.
September 1, 1996... We were a year on the road after selling our Nevada farm, looking for a new farm. We traveled through most of the western states, avoiding high population areas, areas of high elevation and high priced land. While we traveled, we talked about...

Build an inexpensive goat house of logs.
September 1, 1996... Recently my daughter was given two baby wether goats by her grandmother. Now, my daughter has two great little pets and I have a challenge... fencing and building a shelter. I came up with an idea that could be easily adapted for chickens, a...

How to butcher in warm weather. (includes sausage recipe)
September 1, 1996... I have been butchering my family's meat for 10 years or so. Keeping meat cool enough to age properly but not freeze, or dry out, or get too hot, has always been a problem. When we moved back to Montana our folks showed me a new trick to this...

Build this make-do workbench from scrap.
September 1, 1996... The workbench in my small basement shop is attached to the wall, and nail bins, tool trays, a vise and coffee cans filled with odds and ends crowd the top. For a larger working space, I usually put a piece of plywood over a pair of sawhorses....

From twine to rope: a machine and a method.
September 1, 1996... A machine and a method Most every homestead needs an occasional piece of rope to make a horse lead, to tie a goat, whatever. You can make this rope and save the expense of a trip to town. The rope you make can be large or small, three strand...

Suggestions for using green tomatoes: don't let them go to waste just because frost is coming! (includes recipes)
September 1, 1996... Don't let them go to waste just because frost is coming! As we freeze, can and dry our way through the summer's harvest we keep our eye on the calendar--mindful of the first frost which may be followed by a few weeks of Indian summer and the...

Country Property, Dirt Cheap.
September 1, 1996... Country Property, Dirt Cheap, by Ralph C. Turner; Index Legalis Pub., POB 1822, Fairfield IA 52556; 231 pages; $16.95 ppd. This book will grip your attention as tightly as a novel, but it's a true story... and a highly educational one for...

Keeping the Harvest: Preserving Your Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs.
September 1, 1996... Keeping the Harvest, Preserving Your Fruits, Vegetables & Herbs, revised and updated, by Nancy Chioffi and Gretchen Mead; Storey/Garden Way Publishing, Schoolhouse Rd., Pownal VT 05261; 1-800-441-5700; 216 pages, 8 1/2" by 11" softcover; $12.95 +...

Tomatoes! 365 Healthy Recipes for Year-Round Enjoyment.
September 1, 1996... Tomatoes! 365 Healthy Recipes for Year-Round Enjoyment; Storey/Garden Way Publishing, Schoolhouse Rd., Pownal VT 05261; 1-800-441-5700; 284 pages spiral bound; $13.95 + $4.75 S&H. Even the experienced cook and gardener will find new ideas in...

Soap Recipes: Seventy Tried-And-True Ways to Make Modern Soap.
September 1, 1996... Soap Recipes: Seventy Tried-and-True Ways to Make Modern Soap, by Elaine C. White; Valley Hills Press, 1864 Ridgeland Rd., Starkville MS 39759; 223 pages, soft cover, $23.95. "There are many bad soap recipes in print. Bad recipes account for...

Making ends meet: some advice and ideas.(Frugal Living)
September 1, 1996... Making ends meet...that's been one of my life's biggest challenges. Just about the time I think the ends are going to stretch enough to meet they become frayed again, and so the challenge continues. Most of us always seem to need fewer days...

How to earn a penny ... by saving one.(Frugal Living)
September 1, 1996... 1. Old farmhouses tend to predate modern plumbing, so they are rarely efficient. In my house the water heater sits near the southeast corner of the basement, not far from where the water pipes come in from the well. The bathroom sits in the...

Leaf stamping (excerpted from 'Nature Printing with Herbs, Fruits & Flowers')
September 1, 1996... The simplest introduction to the pleasures of nature printing is using a stamp pad and a leaf. Once inked on the stamp pad, the leaf can be used just like a rubber stamp to ornament letters, cards, envelopes, labels, invitations, giftwrap, or...

The shadow of Shasha. (pet farm dog)(reprinted from an editorial, September 1976)(Editorial)
September 1, 1996... There's something about a family dog. And, like so many other aspects of human existence, we often don't fully appreciate what we have until we lose it. We've had. many dogs. Some stayed just a short while, and others became an integral part...