Anyone living off the land?

There are so many wonderful facets to Texas that I know loads of people don't see. It's great that other people see that, as well.

Hi, Baymule! I was born and raised in Harlingen (we were neighbors, hehe) and I always find myself really enjoying the weather...on most days. Our hot summers make for some great produce and I'm kind of in love with our citrus around here. In fact, I love to watch the crops growing, it's just kind of fantastic to see an empty field quickly become acres of cabbage, corn, wheat, oranges and grapefruit!

We are just a big boiling pot of awesome cultures and flavors mixing together to create a great state. While we've got corrupt politicians and sometimes people have backwards ideals, a large majority of people are good and welcoming. The landscape takes the cake, though. The Rio Grande Valley is like a little taste of Mexico. Not to mention the food, hehe! I'm not good at convincing people about Texas (I'm not much of a bragger), but I can't deny there are some beautiful aspects to the state that really make it home. You don't know how often I've defended the valley against arrogant, ignorant people who couldn't see the beauty if it hit them over the head with a crowbar. They obviously hadn't seen the parts that I'd seen, haha!
Just want to add my two cents worth to the Texas conversation. The only things I don't like about Texas are the fire ants and the legislature (& governor). Otherwise this place is great. Your mention of the Valley triggered memories for me. I lived in Brownsville for 2 years in the 90's and loved my Lower Valley Tex Mex experience. It even motivated me to learn Spanish. I'm a perpetual advanced beginner, but at least I can communicate when I'm in the Lower Valley and even in Mexico. When I was down there I became addicted to mangos and papayas, as well as fresh corn tortillas from the tortilla stands. I lived in an apartment, and we had parrots nesting on the palm tree stumps, and a banana tree and peach tree right outside our window.
 
I just want to say that I was not Knocking Texas. I said it was a similar climate. There is beauty here that I see everyday that the average passerby is blind to. It is not the lack of beauty that makes me want to leave. I love it here. It is the lack of water! Not enough rain! Yes I also miss the green of Colorado, but that wouldn't be enough to make me move. I am paranoid of SHTF and not having water. I am sure everyone is aware of how long a person can live without it. NOT long. So I am sure I would find Texas beautiful just as I find home beautiful, but water year around or close to it is a concern
In truth, Texas has lots of different climates. There's hot and dry, hot and humid, desert, piney woods, hills, flatlands, snow in the panhandle where it's really more Midwestern, etc. Look at the USDA zone maps and there's like.. I forgot exactly how many but I know at least 6 zones, all the way from the tropical to the not so tropical.

And drought... even the historical drought of a couple years ago here didn't hit every area of the state equally.
 
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Texas has their anti littering slogan "don't mess with Texas", which is really cool. I want to spend some time there someday.

Water rights are an even bigger deal than finding the stuff, IMHO. Here in Georgia there is the tri state water wars going on, every municipality is funding outlandish reservoir projects, and we have it mild compared to other states.

I compared my water bill to someone's in Phoenix, as, a couple years ago and we pay about twice per thousand gallons as they do. And Phoenix steals water from all over the west! Yup, I am worried about mineral rights too.
What do you mean that you are worried over mineral rights?

In Texas, mineral rights can be sold, bought, with or without the land. But you can find land with mineral rights intact. Now they've started wind rights on those windy plains. Just what you need--go buy a farm and the previous owner retains wind rights and pretty soon you have windmills all over the place. Gheesh!
 
Well it would be nice if people could just buy their land, Own their land that they are living on and farming on and what not, and leave the rest alone! All I want is a few acres to myself where I can build a well, windmill-old fashioned kind-and have animals and crops. That's it
 
REPOSTING THIS FOR SOMEONE WHO WAS INQUIRING

Grains: When to plant

Barley: 2-3 plant lbs= 25-65 harvest pounds ok plant early spring,late fall soil-sweet

Buckweat: 1 plant lb=33 harvest pounds pretty good plant after last frost soil-sandy, fast drying

millet: 1 plant lb=55 harvest pound very good plant after last frost soil-will grow in poor soil

oats: 2 plant lbs=50 harvest pounds good early spring,late fall soil-will grow in poor soil

rye: 3 plant lbs=40-45 harvest pounds ok winter-early fall,spring-early spring soil-will grow in poor soil

wheat: 3-6 plant lbs=40 harvest pounds not so good winter-early fall, spring-early spring soil-well drained sandy loam
 
Oh don't get me started! We cant even drink our water here. We have to have water machines with 5 gallon drums. Our hair is awful from the shower water. The water was tested for high levels of fluoride and arsenic. When they were holding a county supervisor debate here-right before the election-I stood up and asked them what they planned to do about the water. Both candidates asked me what was wrong with the water. I said to take a drink. LOL everybody in the town hall clapped that day. The city people had no clue. They still haven't fixed it!!!

I will have to watch that documentary
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Ours in "undrinkable" too.. it has a tds (total dissolved solids) around 5000 to 6000 any given day...
to put that in perspective.. "regular" city tap water is around 35 tds.. bottled drinking water from walmart is around 12 tds and doesn't taste like chemicals like the city tap water does..
 
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Around here there's a lot of military families as well as locals and germans.. so we have pretty diverse population.. never seen anyone have problems because of the color of their skin or their accents..

and yeah.. Texans around here can drive just fine.. so long as it's not raining or snowing!.. lol...
I swear most of the state shuts down at the sign of the first snowflake.. and since we are usually having a drought they panic when they see the first drop of rain!
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Needless to say.. I stay home if it's raining or snowing (if I can help it).. I learned to drive in the snow.. so it's not the bad weather that bothers me.. it's the drivers!
 
It's an ongoing joke between my family that other "southern" states aren't truly southern. Comments like, "80 degree winters? Oh yes, what suffering you must face. Come join us throughout our winter/spring/summer/autumn. You'll appreciate your weather once you face your first 100 degree winter." It's always a bit funny.

But I totally get ya. Texas, while interesting, doesn't always equal green, haha! I live in the Valley, which is considered a bit tropical. Half an hour from the ocean, a few minutes from Mexico, and ten hours from everywhere else, haha! I'm not really aware of the landscape of the rest of Texas (it's been years since I took a geography class) but I'm fairly sure drought is statewide. But you'll never say the weather isn't surprising! One day, it'll be 100 degrees. The next, it can be in the 40s and raining. But I've lived here forever and I enjoy surprise hurricanes a little more than average folks, heehee!
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if you've ever seen pics of the Australian outback.. you have an idea of what it looks like in the area where I live..


this is a pic of australia.. it looks just like the cow pasture (when we've had rain and everything isn't brown.. lol)

 
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lol.. I'm between Lampasas and Killeen (south of Dallas, north of Austin).. we have NO forest here!.. Just Texas scrub.. and lots of limestone rocks! (and yuccas and cactus... lots of cactus)..
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we never get hurricane damage... too far inland so it's just a breeze by the time it works it's way here.. heck.. most of the time we don't even get rain from them..
 

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