bee_pipes
11-07-2006, 10:14 AM
Have been lurking here for a while, enjoyed reading the old posts. Refreshing to find a place where homesteading can be discussed along with politics and current events. Most forums I've seen were sort of sanitized...
We managed to get out of the rat race and have our little slice of heaven near the Tennessee River. Had ambitions of sailing the rivers and lakes, but the more stuff we get done around the homestead, the less my desire to leave it. I got a real wanderlust from 10 years in the corps, love seeing what's on the other side of the next hill, but am fast becoming a homebody.
About 2/3's of our land is wooded, enough cleared for garden and pasture. I can't afford lumber for building projects, so we found a used norwood mill to make our own lumber. The land, outside of the cleared hollow, is too hilly for a tractor, so we are getting by with an atv for skidding logs.
Just finished a chicken house last spring and stocked it with 9 guineas and 16 orpingtons. Currently working on a big shed to hold the tools and keep the firewood out of the rain. Have two little puddles the seller referred to as ponds, will be doing some digging to find the spring they shut when they dozed the "ponds" and hopefully get them high enough to keep fish. Would like to get a dexter someday and experiment with cheese, butter, etc. Maybe a donkey or two so we can get around when the gas runs out...
Timber is big here in the county. Horrible rape - two good mills in town providing jobs, but 90% of the timber is headed out of state. The loggers are coming up to the back end of our land. The clear cutting will drive all kinds of critters into us, but hopefully we won't see them again for at least another decade. Should be able to scrounge good firewood and tops too small for them to bother with.
Regards,
Pat
We managed to get out of the rat race and have our little slice of heaven near the Tennessee River. Had ambitions of sailing the rivers and lakes, but the more stuff we get done around the homestead, the less my desire to leave it. I got a real wanderlust from 10 years in the corps, love seeing what's on the other side of the next hill, but am fast becoming a homebody.
About 2/3's of our land is wooded, enough cleared for garden and pasture. I can't afford lumber for building projects, so we found a used norwood mill to make our own lumber. The land, outside of the cleared hollow, is too hilly for a tractor, so we are getting by with an atv for skidding logs.
Just finished a chicken house last spring and stocked it with 9 guineas and 16 orpingtons. Currently working on a big shed to hold the tools and keep the firewood out of the rain. Have two little puddles the seller referred to as ponds, will be doing some digging to find the spring they shut when they dozed the "ponds" and hopefully get them high enough to keep fish. Would like to get a dexter someday and experiment with cheese, butter, etc. Maybe a donkey or two so we can get around when the gas runs out...
Timber is big here in the county. Horrible rape - two good mills in town providing jobs, but 90% of the timber is headed out of state. The loggers are coming up to the back end of our land. The clear cutting will drive all kinds of critters into us, but hopefully we won't see them again for at least another decade. Should be able to scrounge good firewood and tops too small for them to bother with.
Regards,
Pat