Q&A: Treating fence posts, Hauling wood, and Recanning vegetables

Treating fence posts

Just wondering if you will be treating all those fence posts, and if so, how? By the way, love your new house !

Robin Balczewski
Colville, Washington

No. Here in Minnesota, untreated white cedar and Eastern tamarack have been used in even low areas for a hundred or more years. And some of those homesteader fence posts are still standing!
We love the house, too. I just turned my wood cook stove around to fit against the wall. Before, it was out between the kitchen and dining area. The ugly back of the stove faced the dining area and was NOT attractive. Now we’ll have two elbows in the stovepipe (which is why I didn’t do it sooner) but the pipe draws VERY well and we’ll be sure to clean it more often to prevent any soot or creosote buildup. It looks so much better and the kitchen/dining area seems HUGE now! — Jackie

Hauling wood

I saw all the wood that Will hauled across the creek. Did he load it by hand with his own strength or did he have a machine that helped him? The reason I ask is, we are considering a John Deere tractor with a grapple and I wondered if Will used a grapple to load the wood or used his sheer strength?

You are both very amazing homesteaders and I wonder if you ever feel that you just can’t keep doing this forever? I, like you, am well into my 60’s and wonder what I will be able to do at 70 and at 80. Any wisdom?

Deb Motylinski
Brecksville, Ohio

Will loaded most of the wood by himself. But he’s logged for years with horse teams and has learned how to handle even big logs without hurting himself (usually!). He rolls them, moves one end at a time, slides them across smaller ones, and levers them with a peavy or pole. He did use the bulldozer to shove up the really big ones onto our log dray. I’m sure he would have loved a grapple, but then we can’t get a tractor over to our ash flats (too wet), and we can only use the dozer there in the winter.
Yes, we constantly think about the future and that’s why we are doing the BIG things now, in a hurry. Of course we’ll slow down. But then we hope to have the biggest projects done so we can handle things easier in our later years. And a little good machinery sure helps, too!
When you have plenty of time and not much work, doing things by hand or horse power is very nice and relaxing. But when you have a lot to do, quickly, a decent piece of good used equipment sure takes the “back breaking” out of a job. — Jackie

Recanning vegetables

Can you can in a pressure canner canned vegetables that you can buy in the store in the large cans?

Amy Johnson
Weatherford, Texas

Yes! I’ve done it a frequently, especially when I bought a lot for $1 a can at a surplus store or was gifted some #10 cans. Some vegetables, such as potatoes and carrots, can get soft (but are still edible). Others don’t. Even the soft ones are great in soups, stews, and casseroles. When re-canning the #10 cans, be sure to heat the contents and can just like the ingredients were fresh. — Jackie