I'm addicted.... darn chickens. Just a quarter-life ramble, contemplating a lifestyle change. =)

[wyoDreamer]

As the saying goes: "Your can remove the farmer from the land, but never remove the farmer from the man."

I have a college friend that works in the big city. He grew up on a farm with hogs and dairy cattle. He graduated with a Chemistry Degree and is doing Quality Control for a large manufacturing firm. He finally purchased a 5 acre piece of land out in the country about 2 hours from his house and spends almost every other weekend there. He is tilling the land, planting a few rows of corn, some sunflowers, strawberries, raspberries, apple trees, food plots for deer, etc. Truly happy with his little plot in the middle of nowhere and an old Bolens tractor to wrench on. .

 

[MooseMtnFthills]

Much obliged, MisfitMarie. We all have a unique set of circumstances that brings us to where we are. Some of us that left the rural life only to come back years later, or never left in the first place, or got a fire in their belly at some point to move out, whatever the case...we might have had advantages that helped us accomplish this. I had some years in construction and had a boatload of favors to call in when the time came to clear land, build the house, the garage, the sheds, etc. Point being, it was NOT done by myself. It involved many people and using advantages I had. Don't beat yourself up if things take time, or if there are setbacks and disappointments. You may or may not have advantages that lend well to getting there, but that's okay.

I am excited about what sets a person, you, for instance, on a course like this. Is it a conversation you had, did you see something on TV, something you read, a place you visited, genetics? I have no idea. But I can tell you that some of us reading your thread are thinking to ourselves, "Yes. Another soul saved. Another young person seeing the light!"

Sorry I get wordy.

We aren't some big farming operation at our house. Nothing says you need to be big. Do what works for you. The 5 chickens we've started out with might end up being 10 next spring. These chickens are fascinating, and breakfast has gotten a whole lot tastier in the last few weeks. We're hooked. But we're small.

Last thing...my recommended reading is not a "How To" collection. It is more about the feeling, the mindset of people living a simpler life. Maybe something clicks there for you. If you want to be entertained as well as enlightened, a video that absolutely captivated me is 'Alone in the Wilderness'. It is the story of Richard Proenekke (butchered the spelling I'm sure). In his 50's he makes for the Alaskan wilderness with nothing but a few hand tools. This is hard core, not the survival reality TV of today. He lives there until his 80's. Amazing. Not as hard core is Naomi Montacre. She has a great video on backyard chickens I watched on YouTube. She walks the walk too. Runs her own organic feed and a little bit of everything store in Portland, OR. Interesting to follow what she's doing.

All right. Enough of me.