Living in the backwoods, I am seldom exposed to the unsavory segment of the population; no robberies, drugs, identity thefts, etc. But this week, I was hit by a scammer through an ad I’d put on the Duluth Craigslist (a very effective internet free shopper). I put an ad for this buck and another on the Craigslist and received a response from a “woman” who wanted to buy him, sight unseen. She even offered to pay $20 extra to hold him for her until she could get here to pick him up. (I’ve done that.) So I e-mailed her that that would be fine. The next night I had another e-mail from “her.” Her associate had mistakenly sent me a money order for another item she’d bought for a much larger sum. Would I please cash it and send her a Western Union wire for the balance?

RED FLAG!!!

I e-mailed her back that I would return her money order but that it was 30 miles to a Western Union. (And besides it sounded WAY FISHY to me!)

I got another e-mail, detailing closer Western Union merchants and saying that she had a family emergency and needed the money soon.

HUGE RED FLAG!!!

I e-mailed her back and repeated that I would send back her money order the same day I got it but that the Craigslist had a warning on it to beware of scammers wanting money transferred by Western Union; the money order or cashier’s check was bogus and you were left hanging for the money you wired…often hundreds of dollars.

I never heard from her again, AND after a week, I still haven’t gotten a money order. I can get mail from anywhere in the country in that time. I will never see the money order she sent, as she never sent one. She was waiting to see if the fish would bite the hook first, BEFORE she sent the bogus money order.

So this is just a warning to all you homesteaders out there. There are crooks everywhere…some as close as your computer! But this fish is still swimming. And I’ve still got a real nice Boer/Nubian buck for sale…

Readers’ Questions:

Cedar apple scab

Is there any way to control cedar apple scab?

Helen Tarter
Otisco, Indiana

Cedar apple rust is spread from galls on red cedar trees within a couple of miles from your fruit trees. These galls are pretty orange, rough balls that, when wet by spring rains, cause spores to release and follow the wind to your apple trees. The best control is to plant resistant varieties, such as Freedom, Haralson, and Liberty. But to protect your existing trees, spray them with a fungicide, myclobutanil (Nova or Rally) or fenarimol (Rubigan) periodically, starting when the flower buds show pink and at 14-day intervals to a maximum of three sprays, or until cool wet weather (spring or early summer) is past. This will protect the emerging leaves and developing fruits. Sulfur is also known to help this disease and appeals to folks who want to use less chemical controls. — Jackie

Yates Cider Mill

Not a question just a comment. I knew you grew up in Michigan, and so did I. I was delighted to read that you used to go to Yates Cider Mill – I grew up only a few miles from there in Utica and your comment brought back wonderful memories of cold fresh cider and warm donuts… YUMMM!

Thanks for the column, I love reading it, and this week’s was wonderful for the memories!

And, here in Northern New Mexico, the rain all night turned this morning to snow. Can’t wait to try the carrots after the cold!

Natalie Dimitruck
Los Alamos, New Mexico

Strange world, huh? We lived near Gladstone, New Mexico for several years (about 27 miles east of Springer). Wasn’t Yates Cider Mill a great place, though! — Jackie

Pantry video

Thank you so much for your wonderful information and sharing your family with us! Just wondering if you have a little extra time would you consider doing a video about your pantry? What it looks like and how you use your homecanned foods in your recipes? I’ve tried several of the recipes from the BHM cookbook and have gotten many thumbs up.

S. Sherman
Trevett, Maine

I’m glad you have had such success with the BHM recipes. I’ll try to do a video for you and other readers, but right now time is SO hard to come by as we are getting ready for Minnesota winter, as well as trying to help Mom get home from the rehab facility. — Jackie

Collecting rainwater

I have a small cabin in Utah, totally off the grid, solar power, propane fridge and stove, 1500 gal water tank. My question is regarding collecting water from the roof, which is asphalt shingles. I bring all of my drinking/cooking water up there. Will the roof water be safe for day to day water — dishes, showers, etc.? Is there a filtration method that would make it so?

Brent Toft
Henderson, Nevada

Yes, pretty much so. For showers, yes. But to be absolutely safe, boil your dish water first, before you cool it to wash the dishes. After all, birds do unappetizing things on your roof… In the old days, folks had cisterns, often in the basement, which caught rain runoff from the house roof and it was used for everything but drinking: cooking, coffee, washing, bathing. But, like I said, it’s best to be a little more cautious, given what we know about bacteria today. I wouldn’t be afraid to bathe or shower in catchment water, but I wouldn’t want to use it to rinse off my salad vegetables, dishes, or other uses that I might end up ingesting. Of course you can use a filter, such as the big Berkey, to filter your water, which would make it pure, even for drinking. But the filter cartridges for these filters are pricey, so I wouldn’t use one for shower water. — Jackie

Dehydrating food

First of all we have your new book and love it. Every time we get the new issue of BHM we go straight to Ask Jackie first. We live inside the boundries of the Uwharrie National Forest near Asheboro North Carolina. We have a big garden and put up quite a bit of produce each year, now that we have your book we’re starting to put up much more (using pint jars, love it)

My question is: In your opinion what is the best book on Dehydrating Food? We’re really starting to get into drying and have a big 9-tray dehydrator

Keep up the good work Jackie, God broke the mold when he made you

Leon Hale
Asheboro, North Carolina

I like Mary Bell’s Complete Dehydrator Cookbook and the Excalibur Preserve It Naturally. These both will help you get a good start on dehydrating a wide variety of foods. I really love dehydrating foods as the flavor and appearance stays nice, AND the food takes up so little space on the pantry shelves. I’m doing chopped onions right now from my huge onion crop. They are so nice this year!

Yeah. God broke the mold; he went “Oh my gosh, how did THAT happen???” Ha ha. — Jackie