Homesteaders

[rancher hicks]

Stonykill,
That was a great article! We have looked into solar panneling and such, but the price is high! We are figuring that a little manpower is the better option with hand pump wells, and cold storage etc.

Keep in mind that we have a "What are you canning now" thread. Lots of nice folks on that one. Much more adventurous than me though.

I've been responding to NY CL ads to tell them about BYC. Pretty much got everything covered.

Stonyhill, I also responded to someone looking for Sumatra chickens and mentioned your name. You're the only one I know who has them and knows alot about them.

 

[RTFchickens]

We have gotten into canning too. Jams, soups, meats, and a fruit type preserve that we use for yogurt. It resembles pie filling/jam. It's thicker then pie filling, but chunkier then jam. It is a perfect addition to my homemade yogurt. Homemade granola is the icing on the cake. It's making me hungry just thinking about it!

 

[rancher hicks]

We have gotten into canning too. Jams, soups, meats, and a fruit type preserve that we use for yogurt. It resembles pie filling/jam. It's thicker then pie filling, but chunkier then jam. It is a perfect addition to my homemade yogurt. Homemade granola is the icing on the cake. It's making me hungry just thinking about it!

There are lots of uses for Jams which have chunks of fruit, but be aware there are jams made with vegetables too. Most folks just think PB&J for jams or jellies.

The one with Pears and cinnamon will be good over spice cake.

You may not have seen it but one of my friends on the NY chicken lover threads has a recipe for pound cake that is really good.

 

[ChickCrazed]

lots of good info out there if you sift through the obvious bad ones. We picked up a small solar setup. Need a battery or 2 then we will hook it up for lighting, tv and charging the laptops, powering the modem etc. Little stuff. For a few hundred including battery's (2) you can set yourself up with a starter solar setup and learn, and have basic power in an outage.

I'm interested in hearing more about the solar setup you purchased and can't wait to hear how it works for you! It is in my two year plan to get some kind of alternative energy system going. I'd love to get a small system set up to run the coop first, as practice for a larger home system.

I've been lurking, catching up on the thread for a few days. I own 4 acres in Indiana and am a homesteader in progress. I gardened the last two years, but the first year we had that awful drought and I was not super successful although I did get enough tomatoes to try my hand at canning some salsa. Last year was better and I was able to bring tomatos, cucs, peppers, brussel sprouts, spinach and cabbage to harvest. I'm learning and expanding. This year I'm adding another raised bed. I also planted several fruit trees in addition to the two apple trees already on my property. I planted apple, peach and pear. I'm looking all over the place for cherry this year! I also have an existing Mulberry tree on my land. Last year I added chickens and this year I am going to add bees (building my hives in the next month). I also have four horses and four dogs.

I am single, so it can be a lot to care for by myself along with a full time job. It would be nice to get a day off occasionally. It is nice to hear that others are also accomplishing it solo.

An alternative energy setup is on the docket for 2015 I hope! I also have a fireplace that is currently hooked up to a propane tank. After reading all your recommendations for wood inserts I might look into replacing it with a wood insert at some point since my insert needs to be replaced anyway.

Anyways, I'm glad to meet you all and am enjoying the discussions!

 

[RTFchickens]

Chickcrazed,
My brother lives in Richester, about an hour from you. IN seems like its farm and homestead friendly. I'm considering selling my homestead, and moving there myself. My township is trying to give us a bunch of grief because we are zoned residential and own chickens against ordinance...

 

[rancher hicks]

Chickcrazed,
My brother lives in Richester, about an hour from you. IN seems like its farm and homestead friendly. I'm considering selling my homestead, and moving there myself. My township is trying to give us a bunch of grief because we are zoned residential and own chickens against ordinance...

There was an article in our local paper about a chicken fight going on in Earlville, NY. Seems the town relented. I suspect it was just a battle of wills.

Some have chosen to fight for change. Lord have mercy when you consider the damage and trouble of four legged beasts, chickens seem a whole lot more beneficial.

Check out Patricia Formans book City Chicks. Make some notes and go show it to the town.

 

[ChickCrazed]

Chickcrazed,
My brother lives in Richester, about an hour from you. IN seems like its farm and homestead friendly. I'm considering selling my homestead, and moving there myself. My township is trying to give us a bunch of grief because we are zoned residential and own chickens against ordinance...

Yikes! That would be frustrating! I would think you could fight the good fight, but personally I would always harbor some mistrust against an area that didn't really want me or my animals there. Indiana is very animal friendly/homestead friendly. Since the chickens are new to me, I found an Indiana thread here on BYC and the outreach of support was amazing. It really is important to have community support!

 

[RTFchickens]

It is quite unreal what we are dealing with. It's curruption at its finest. The commissioner is facing a maximum of 90 days in jail for violating our rights. We go to his plea/sentencing next month. The township has been harassing us pretty much since we purchased it last May. We have an attorney who basically said "do nothing until they take you to court" so that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm doing nothing to comply with the township. I have my chickens, and I hope to get more. If/when they take me to court, we will deal with it day by day. But for now, I'm loving my chickens AND my eggs. I had a wonderful breakfast this morning courtesy of my wonderful chickens
My back up plan however is if they DO take me to court, and I'm forced to get rid of my chickens (20 of them on nearly 60 acres) then I'm putting a big "for sale" sign up, and moving closer to my brother in chicken friendly Indiana.

 

[RTFchickens]

I'm up at my homestead this weekend. We have no running water, so we are truly roughing it. My chickens laid 7 eggs this morning! I'm getting ready to cook them now. I'm ready to be up here more often! I'm so ready for spring!
I recently had surgery (1/13/14) to repair 3 hernias. Tuesday I went back to work on "light duty" and was in so much pain I left in tears. My doctor said "go back to work, there's nothing wrong with you" the surgeon even REFUSED to see me! I finally went to ER and was told something may be wrong, go back to the surgeon... So yesterday they had to see me based on ER doc. One of the metal pieces came out of the mesh repair, and needs to be surgically removed/repaired. Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. Words cannot describe how mad I am about being brushed off all stinking week because "there was NOTHING wrong with me" as they said...
This is why we are up at homestead, I'm supposed to be taking it easy, I just had to get out of my house for a while. Now I can lay on our couch at another house at least...

 

[sepaditty1]

That is so awful. I understand that they think they're doing right. Trying to keep you from getting too many pills, too many bills, etc. But that just infuriates me when you know your own body. You know something's wrong. And they brush you off. I hate it! And I can only imagine things getting worse as health care "reforms."