Hey, hey since this forum was my idea I guess I'll start off with my two cents. Homesteading is an attitude. A desire for a simple life, away from the rat race. You can homestead with 2 acres or 200. It's a desire for the plain and functional, a reverence for nature and a preference to be in it. Homesteading is basically natural, I don't know, it's hard to describe, it's just an attitude. It's hard work and lovin it, it's having everything you want by wanting nothing....it's being off the grid (electricity), not dependant on city things, like trash pickup, electric companies, satellite companies, it's trying to survive without buying into "the world's system", it's being outside of the box. kathyjo

Kathyjo

Call me old-fashioned, but I'm not sure that I equate 'a reverence for nature' as you say on your page, with wiping out another two acres of trees in this already de-afforested world of ours. After centuries of doing that over here we're trying to put them back before it's too late. Just a thought.

Maurice.

I love that expression kathyjo "being outside of the box" instead of "thinking outside the box". Big difference. While I am not a homesteader I am interested in all things homesteader. I love cooking from scratch, canning, gardening, raising fowl (guineas), living in the country and wishing I could be a homesteader. I work in the city, in an office where there are no windows. For now I dream!

Maurice,
Location, location, location...in Pennsylvania we grow more trees than we harvest...but I understand your plight. Move here!!! :)
Ann

LOL,, Ok Kathyjo,
I guess in your sense our normal lifestyle probably falls into what is considered homesteading,, however since we live on an Indian reservation and live a traditional lifestyle,I stay away from the name homesteading simply out of respect for the ancestors before us who's treaty was broken to allow for homesteading..
We are not in an area which offers alot of alternatives to the electric answer, and yes we do have satellite tv and the computer, 3 teen age boys in the house,out in the middle of nowhere, it is considered our entertainment budget.
LOL, well I guess in our case we were born outside the box,,,
jwj

My husband and I have been interested in homesteading for several years now, but would definitely have to have computer access! We are going to try to energize most everything with solar power and will also look into hydro-power since we have a deep fast-moving creek on the property. This will be a fun new forum!

jwj..I hear you! My grandmother was full blooded Creek and probably why I turned out the way I did. She loved mother earth and lived gently on her.

I too have 'the dish' and a computer and don't feel I have to give up everything modern in order to be a homesteader. Most of our land is kept natural and is filled with wetland trees, birds and animals..(yes, including snakes, snappers, frogs, etc. etc.) We use two acres for our purposes and the rest mother nature keeps. We do have walking trails and bridges cut throughout the eight acres and enjoy watching all the wildlife. You will see 'no hunting' signs on our property and it is a safe haven for the deer and other wildlife during hunting season. We are surrounded by hunting clubs of thousands of acres, but at least it's safe here. B.

Hey B,
Glad to hear another with the entertainments,,
we live in the wilderness zone with a mountain creek as well, we have a combo of gardens but also have the wildlife gardens that border into the surrounding forests,,
we also do not allow hunting on our 7.5 acres,,, although we do depend on wild game for our only meat source, we do not hunt where we live,,my family goes to traditional hunting grounds for not only hunting but cultural time as a family.
jwj

Well, I am NOT living without electricity or running water. Every winter when the lights go out for a week at a time is long enough! lol! No cable way out here but the kids have a n64 & we all have the computer for entertainment. In the winter we use a wood heater although we have a central H & A that runs off of butane. We have a garden & try to can or freeze everything we get (although we are novices & screw up alot!). I would one day love to have lots of fruit trees & berry bushes so we wouldn't have to spend alot of money at the grocery store. I have always wanted to live in an Amish community & on an Indian reservation. Now that I have kids, would love for us all to pack up & go there for the summers. But then I would miss these wonderful muggy, humid, & hot summers of south Arkansas - not to mention all the mowing, the garden, etc.

I think this is going to be my new favorite forum. I am a city dweller now, but I am a direct descendant of homesteaders on both my parents sides. Still have alot of the old kitchen tools, butterchurn, water cooler, washboard. Don't use them, but have them on display. Old kerosene lamps, we still use them when the lights go out in the winter.

I do have a large yard, fairly big garden, can and freeze as much as I can for winter use. Have friends who raise a pig for me, we do a butchering every fall, make our own sausage, render the lard. Still sew most of the stuff we need, quilt, crochet. Love to barter for things. I too, was prepared for Y2K.

The SO has a farm about 150 miles away from here, and when the kids are finally gone,I plan to move out there with him. Love the isolation.

What is homesteadeer in todays world? I think anyone who trys to hold onto some of the old ways, does as much for themselves as they can, trys to not get totally wrapped in the commercialism of the world. Willing to help out a neighbor without expecting to paid for your time or labour.

I'm looking forward to sharing ideas with everyone.

Rose

I like alot of you dont know if I qualify for homesteader status or not. No I have never made my own peanut butter Spike. But thats because I can buy the peanut butter cheaper than the peanuts. lol
I do can most of my garden or freeze it. Hubby hunts and fishes. And of course we freeze that too. I love making jerky! We have old fashioned values and morals. We try to buy things that dont require batteries, like our wind up radio. This thing sounds better than our electric ones, really. And I am still looking for that wind up flashlight. Anyone know where I can get one? Are they really worth the money?
My name is Rosemary . And I am so happy that we have this forum. No doubt about it, it will be one of my favorite forums too.
Hope to meet each one of you and chat.

We probably all have a different idea of what home steading is. Personally I think its trying to be as self-sufficient as possible in the 21th Century. Raise as much of your own food as possible. Repecting the environment. I don't think it has to mean being off the grid. I don't necessarily think of us as "homesteaders" Although some of our friends and relatives have said our place is like a small farm.

I've already told quite a bit about myself in a couple of other posts in this forum so I'll make this brief.

My husband and I live in small town, and have about 4 acres on which we garden. We are empty nesters with a cat & a very energic dog to kept us busy. We only moved here a couple of years ago, and are still busy adding to our garden, and planting, berries, fruit trees, etc. (Just grabbed a handful of strawberries (everbearing type) while taking the dog out - yummy!) We are on the grid, and I plan to stay on it. I need my computer for work, and I like my freezer and refrigerator too. I also dry herbs, and fruit, and enjoy making wreaths and other crafts some of which I sell.

I happen to think it is great to see such a variety of people who are looking at life in a similar way,, no matter which areas we all live in,,

LOL,, ok Kathy,, I have the place for you,, we have an amish community that has been here about 4 years or so now down the road about 10 miles or so

Jwj, this next summer the kiddos, hubby, & I may say the heck with the bread route & camp out over there! lol! Forgot to say we have chickens & have had hogs & a goat in the past. I was raised by my grandmother (dad was a truck driver, mother a drunk) in Louisiana, & we always had hogs. When my hubs decided he wanted one I said okay but you have to get it away from the house because of the smell. He said hogs don't smell unless they get in mud. I said you idiot, they'll 'wallow' in the dirt & make places that will hold water. He wants to do a Martha Stewart version of a hog pen. He then decides one hog isn't worth the work & can't be THAT smelly. Fast forward a couple of months: we're out in the back yard grilling hamburgers & there comes up a nice little breeze. And on that breeze comes the nice aromic fragrance of 'la pig d'stink. I look at the hubs with a smirk & say I told you so. I use to want to make homemade bread but when you bring home a truck with bread & buns on it, why bother? When I make my homemade cornbread I start out by opening the little Jiffy box.

Hey - some familiar names from the Harvest Forum! Guess it makes sense that some folks interested in homesteading would be interested in preserving food as a part of it, no?

Homesteader - probably not, if you mean starting from scratch on a piece of land and living soley off that piece of land. Not interested! If you mean living a slower paced life and raising some of my own food and doing for myself what a lot of folks pay to have done; well then, yes, I reckon so.

Yes, Spike, I've made my own peanut butter - from peanuts that I grew, even (yes, here in Illinois!) I think I'll stick with Aldi's brand, though. Some things are worth the effort, some ain't! While I'm far from a Luddite, I still like to do some things the "hard" way. I'm not going to say that I don't enjoy the ease that technology has brought to our lives. We used to heat totally with wood; but we cut that wood with a chain saw and pulled the logs out of the gullies with a tractor and hauled the wood up to the house in a trailor made of an old truck bed. I can, but I do it in a modern pressure cooker on a electronic ignition propane stove inside an air conditioned house. I enjoy sewing on my old treadle machine, but if I'm trying to get a dress made in a hurry, I'm stitching it up on my "modern" machine (a 1960's Sears model).

That said, we've raised cattle (beef - tho I milked for a neighbor sometimes when he had to be gone), hogs, chickens, geese, ducks, guineas, sheep, and rabbits. I've churned butter and made soft cheese, I've butchered chickens. I've almost always had a large garden, and fruit trees and bushes; and preserved the harvest. I've cooked numerous meals of rabbit and deer from the wild. I sew, I crochet. I've helped build 2 homes, a barn and 2 garages and done plenty of remodeling work besides. I can finish concrete and tuckpoint brick work. I have a full library of how-to books, and I know that I'm capable of doing a lot more than I do. I know that I do a heck of a lot more than most of my friends. I also know that I don't want to do much more than I already do! I work outside the home and plan to continue to do so - if anybody's gonna stay home, it's going to be Hubs. Got no interest whatsoever in selling my produce/products to the public. Been there, done that, don't wanna do it no more!

I think what I like best is knowing that if push came to shove, we could make it out here. I wouldn't be particularly pleasant to be around - without my morning coffee and afternoon bon-bons - but we could survive if we had to.

I like farmyardacres definition, homesteading is an attitude! Living by lack of money. To do with out becauce you do not need it. To do for yourself for it feels good. You live and you will die, returning to the earth what you have taken. Life is simple, enjoy!

Maurice, the pioneers that went to the midwest completely took down all the trees to build their cabins and put in their crops. I understand your concern about denuding the forest, but a person has to have space to live, you have to clear the land to put up your house and get your crops in to survive. There are so many trees in Tennessee you can't even see the sky. Most of the trees were good for nothing cedar trees. Homesteading is surviving "off" the land. I always give back. kathyjo

An interesting book on the subject is: New pioneers: The back to the land movement and the search for a sustainable future by Jeffrey Jacob. The book was published by The Pennsylvania State University, 1997.

Have any of you seen that special they have on PBS? It's called something like Pioneer House. They took 3-4 families and gave them so much money to spend and then left them out in the wilderness. There was a trading post where they could buy provisions and livestock. Some of them had to build their own houses, they had to grow their own crops, etc. They were given a time limit and at the end everyone was inspected and then given a report after they went back home to the "modern world" on how they had done and if they would have been able to survive the winter on what they harvested, canned, dried and wood cut and piled for use during the winter. It was really interesting and you really got to see just how hard the work was to survive for those original homesteaders.

Cathy

Cathy,,
are those the ones they brought out to MT?? I know there was a program like that filmed in south eastern MT I believe,,

hey

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATHY
aka chicken lady,, LOl,,haha, see I read my Mg for the day,,

The original "homesteaders" were settlers who took advantage of Homesteading Laws that were designed to attract settlers to certain areas. They could earn title to land over a number of years if they built a home and farmed on the plot. The term has come to be associated with folks who work toward sustainable self-sufficiency on a small farm. None of us, or few of us, are true homesteaders in the first sense; it's the second meaning we are talking about here, right? -- Marie

We live on 2 acres in Iowa --out in the country in a farmhouse that was built in 1890. No -- we are not homesteaders in the strict sense of the word. But the interest and spirit is there.

We own a U-pick flower farm that had a very successful first year -- we have a fairly large garden that I preserve by canning, freezing and drying. I knit and sew.

DH (cleo50) builds and sells garden wagons, carts and wheelbarrows and more and more of our furniture every year. We restore and re-use antique furniture, accessories and lighting for our home.

We don't have heat upstairs in the house and we don't have air conditioning. For supplemental heat in the winter -- we have a wood burning stove. And I am totally confused when they mention shows called "Sex in the City" and the "Sopranos". No cable.

I think that modern homesteaders have an attitude of self-suffiency. They CAN do it -- whether they do or not. They feel the obligation to preserve and use as much of our history as possible.

Hi, Polly! Hi, Prairie Rose! When you go to a party -- its nice to see people that you know.

Cathy

Marie,
that first definition is the reason you will not hear me say homesteading in regards to our family life,homesteading was a lifestyle forced upon the people of my area,,,
we do happen to live on original allotment ground from the government, it is not my hubs families original land but belonged to a relative,,it was land which was dubbed indian allotment because of its location,basically worthless mountain land,,,
all the choice lands for farming and ranching were taken by others when the government illegally allowed homesteaders to move into the closed reservation lands,,
the self -suffciant lifestyle is more in lines with my opinion of the definition,,
jwj

Hey JWJ, I think it might have been in MT? And thanks for the b-day wishes! :-)

Cathy

It was in MT. I particularly liked the family who brought the still as their one old piece. LOL

The Canadians did one the year before, two couples, no kids, and they had to stay for the whole year in the boonies of Manitoba. Thought it was a much better series, because they did have to stay for 12 months. They built their own cabins, broke the ground and tried to plant a crop, stave off cabin fever in the winter, hunt for their own meat, etc.

Both were excellent features, and I would watch them both again.

And Happy Birthday Cathy.

Rose

Maurice,have you been to Maine lately?1000's of acres just the way you like to see them.If you object to logger,try using plastic toliet paper.I own 100 acres of trees that are around 100 years old.If I don't cut it down,mother nature will do it for me.Cutting down trees is not all bad.It can and is done correctly most of the time.

Thanks Rose! Gee, I'd love to see that other series too. The one that I was talking about they showed all the episodes in one day and I sat there for at least four hours (if not more) watching the whole thing! lol

Cathy

I would one day love to have lots of fruit trees & berry bushes so we wouldn't have to spend alot of money at the grocery store.

I grow Bush Cherries, strawberries, blueberries, and red and black raspberries. I don't have acreage just under a half acre. I grow plenty of veggies, herbs, and of course fruits. The way to go is to learn to grow using bio-intensive practices and forget the commercial growing requirements that the BIG seed companies push..
There are a lot of books out there telling you how to do it.. John Jevons wrote quite a few.. One of his best..How to grow more food than you ever thought possible on less land ...etc... Smitty

Dear all,
So nice to hear familier sounds. I just found this forum and am so RELEIVED! To hear so many people talking openly about what I value so much!
I am stuck somewhere in the middle and trying desperately to figure a way to move towards the simple. Of course finances get in the way and others in the family who aren't as rugged as myself. The British climate isn't so welcoming to outdoors. I would welcome any support or advice.
We are moving to a more rural location (SOMERSET) soon and will have a small allotment behind the house. It turns out that half the neighbourhood are growing things behind there homes so that is encouraging.
Anyone reading this from my zone?

Hi...
We live on 50 acres in a state forest in Northern Minnesota. Built our earth sheltered home 20 years ago..off grid, but with many conveniences. Many gardens, orchards, vineyards...a stream bisects our property diagonally and we have a couple of nice ponds on our land. Everything that we've done has taken time...didn't happen overnight...but that's what life is...it happens day by day.

Wouldn't have traded our time on the land for anything else.

I garden and my wife freezes and cans because we enjoy doing it and the food tastes so much better not because it saves money, It don't.
Maurice, if we let it all go back to forrest we would starve. Much of the midwest plains didn't have trees, except along the stream beds, when the white man first went there, just grassy plains.
Farmyardacres, I don't believe most of your trees are useless cedar. Most of Tn. I've seen has many hardwoods and some pines.Besides cedar makes beautiful furniture.
My complaint with the forrest industries is they're cutting down all our hardwoods and replanting loblolly pines, which don't provide much food for wildlife, because they grow back another crop faster.

I am a wanna be here, trying to convience my family to selfsustain, not likely unless we go into duo-lives.

I enjoyed reading all of your responses and once again I am convinced that there is really no such thing (anymore) as a homesteader and fully agree with those that say Homesteading is an attitude or frame of mind. We are just retiring and moving to our homestead and it is the homestead that we have been saving for and dreaming of forever. We won't be even attempting to raise everything or grow all our needs and living off the grid is something that we do not under any circumstances want to do....I mean we have worked our butts off for many years to afford to "Homestead"....We don't have any monetary needs anymore and my husband is still going to do some consultation but we will raise our own chickens and garden and put in our fruit trees and berries. I already can and freeze garden stuff and can't imagine not doing that...not because we can't afford to go and buy it but because we know it is healthy and above all else...it tastes so much better. ...Would I give up homemade bread for anything from the market...I think not...The homesteader in me forces these ideals...I don't want someone living 6 feet or 50 feet off of my front porch...the good neighbor is one that I know is there for me anytime I might need them (and vice versa) but one that I don't have to look at or listen to every day.

We are at the moment living in an RV and one room in a large garage that is already built on our property....They are this very morning pouring the foundation for our Homestead Home...We could have rented an apartment and lived in comfort during this building process but the Homesteader in us compelled us to stay on our own property do matter what it took to do so...If you all could see the kitchen I am calling home you would laugh but it works and is so much better than trying to cook in an RV...I'll see if I can find a picture to post...Anyway to end this long and boring post...A magizine editor by the name of JD Belanger once wrote an article entitled "YOu have got to have a dream"...and I think in my heart that that is what we all have ...A dream for a better way of life...no matter what your circumstances...Our job was such that it was impossible to do anything about living that dream and still work so I applaud all of you who are getting it done while you are young and strong...and especially for those of you who are showing your children that there is a better way to living..Congratulations on your acheivements...I know for you all are working hard to get there but it will happen...you just gotta have that dream.

I think to most people "homesteading" would mean "living off-the-land" with minimal impact on the environment, and relying -or making an effort to rely on-- home-made goods as the main means of survible. I'd like to think that "homesteading" means also living humbly and in harmony with nature as one of the many creatures that form a natural and balanced ecosystem.

I think that for some of us, "homesteading" is a philosophy of life, and often an attitude of rejection of the progressively unnatural and unhealthy life-styles associated with crowded cities and suburbs. Being a homesteader in todays world may also be in some cases an act of defiance against opressive government laws or changing societal values.

For me personally, it is a cry for freedom and independence; a daring effort to leave behind everything that is abstract, unreal and hollow for the simple things that move me, inspire me and put me in touch with everything I like about myself.

"Homesteading" is in my view an expression of strength and self-reliance but most importantly a synonim for reverence, love, kindness, and protectionism --not just for our small patches of land and animals --the things we regards as "ours", but towards everything that exists on this beautiful planet and the divine forces that created it. I hope that many agree.

Kathy547,

Why would you want to live on a reservation? I've heard many white folks talking about *feeling like a Indian* or whatever it is they think. Most reservation life is extremely hard, with 80% jobless, many without electricity or running water, and many without enough food. Try living in a house with cement walls and floors, plastic windows in the dead of winter. Most would not last a week; runing as fast at they could back to their creature comforts of home. They have a false romantic sense of what "being Indian" is. So again I ask you why?

Kendal Little Wolf
Lakota Nation

I, on the other hand, am a "reversed" homesteader. Through circumstance, I moved away from 160 acres of bush to small town Alberta. After years of being 75% self sufficient, it was the toughest thing I've ever done. The toughest part is having neighbors so close by, no more running around (the house) buck naked cause everyone and there dog is looking in your window. It's been 5 year and I would go back to homesteading in a heartbeat. I hope you people realize how lucky you are.

Little Wolf,

I think your assumption is sadly correct. I don't know about Kathy in particular, but most people in this country have very little information about what an Indian reservation looks like or how most native Americans live inside.

We think it's all about "connecting with the earth" playing the drums and living in harmony with all the wild creatures ... Dancing with wolves and all that Hollywood nonsense.

Have you seen those ridiculous TV shows they have now in which they send an American upper-middle-class family to spend two weeks with a family in... Yemen or Mongolia? They show us extremely poor people in the most desolate and forgotten places, working in horrible conditions, cooking their meals in smokey fires, eating unpalatable things, and sleeping in tents without any of the modern amenities and gadgets we think every US citizen is tired of using in his home. We watch this and say to ourselves: "Isn't this a great country?" Aren't we lucky to be Americans?...

I've often wondered what would happen if they took a poor family from Harlem, the Appalachian Mountains, or an Indian reservation and sent it to spend a few weeks with an upper-middle-class family in the French Riviera, or even an average working family of some rural village in Spain.

Perhaps if they did that, we'd realize we're not better off than everyone else in the planet. We're not smarter or better educated, we don't lead a richer existence, we don't hug and kiss more often, we don't live more comfortably, we clearly don't eat more nutricional foods, and as recent medical studies reveal, we don't even get to live longer.

But this is not what they show us. This is not what we read, and so we continue thinking everything it's just fine in this great country of ours. When we don't know what's really happening in the world it's easy to believe in what we want to be true. I think this is how we arrive to many romantic notions.

I've wondered about the appropriateness of the term too...the three places it's applied historically are in the American Midwest, South Africa, and the West Bank. OTOH, maybe it's a good thing to take a word with bad connotations and turn it into something positive (there are several other examples I can think of).

We got our farm with the help of another kind of incentive...the guy selling it didn't want to see it in the hands of the developers, and ended up selling to us for just over 1/2 what he was originally asking, because we intended to farm.

Again, historically, part of the justification for homesteading programs was to "put the land to good use", i.e. agricultural use, rather than the "passive" use it had been put to in the past. I'm probably a homesteader in that sense...one of the first things I did was knock down the jumps and ramps that the local kids had made for their mountain bikes, dirt bikes and atvs (they had made tham with shovels...I did feel bad about destroying all that hard work with the front loader).

We've got quite a bit of "forest" as well, much of which I've been knocking down to make way for fields. But we're keeping all the young trunks for fenceposts, and the bigger trees for lumber to repair the barn and maybe do a few other projects. (Also saving the black walnut, black cherry, and sycamore for milling out...anyone have a lead on a used mill?)

I guess for me the (new and improved) meaning of "homesteading" means getting land with the intention of using it, rather than just looking at it (which I also enjoy).

Very interesting thread...thanks!

Hi folks:

My husband and I moved our children to a very small town in Oklahoma from the rat race in SF Bay Area - our nearest big city with a grocery store is 30 minutes away. We are on 40 acres (which previously belonged to my husbands uncle for 70+ years) and use approximately 10 acres to live on including raising pigs, a huge garden, chickens, green house, etc. We left the remaining acreage for exploring nature. Our children's grades have improved significantly and we are constantly looking for ways to live the simple life. I could not ask for any more that what I have. I will never go back to the city ever! Yes, we do have the modern day commodities such as dish tv and dsl only because I work from home - which my education and contacts have allowed me to do. Homesteading or not - this is the life for me.

Kendal, what I meant was that the people I've met from those areas were peaceful, nature-loving, & at peace with nature, if that makes sense. The few people I admit to knowing had such strong senses of family & peace. That's what I wished for. I only meant that I would love for my children to have grown up in those environments or at least have a taste for. My son is part Cherokee & I would have liked him to grow up with a sense of history on that side of the family. And, I know all about growing up poor. I was raised in a 4-room house - kitchen, living room which was also where my grandmother's bed was, 2 other bedrooms, one for my sister & I, & one for my uncle. The walls was that shingle & brown paper bag-looking stuff. No bathroom - just an outhouse. People looking down on us because we were so poor. Clothes donated or handmade. All my great-uncles & a few of my uncles were alcoholics (which I'm told is common on reservations) & most never met a joint they didn't pass up. The females all had at least one kid without a husband. I had one aunt who finished high school & then I was the second one. We "moved up" from the shack to a trailer house. So then we weren't white trash, we were trailer trash. The only reason we had food was because my grandmother raised hogs, chickens, anything edible. One of those trucks carrying chickens to market wrecked so my grandmother had an uncle haul them in a pickup to the house where she plucked them & we had chicken for many meals (they were free to get them off the wrecked truck before it got hot). I'm sorry to be alittle b@#$%y but what I meant was not the Hollywood version. I admit, not the cement floors either with the plastic windows (plastic trash bags with duct tape is no picnic either). I hope you weren't offended - that wasn't my intention.

>>>>it's being off the grid (electricity), not dependant on city things, like trash pickup, electric companies, satellite companies, it's trying to survive without buying into "the world's system", it's being outside of the boxunplug your computer immediately and toss it and all other appliances out strip all of the wiring and insulation out of your home, rip the windows out of your house too and strip the paint/varnish whatever off of what remnains. Toss out the chainsaws and firearms too.... and get rid of anything containing a refined metal or petrochemical subtance. throw away any books or magazines you may have too.

forget solar electicity as it requires very complex energy intensive industrial processes to manufacture and manage.
forget using glass canning jars and sealable or regular lids and forget about sealing jars with wax unless you raise bees in bark hives
forget about filtering and sterilizing water and dont forget to keep all your personal wastes closeby so they don't pollute anyone elses property
dont get any medical treatment and never ever have your kids vaccinated or treated by any physician trained any later than say... 1650 AD
No disposable diapers either, no nothing....
People just have no idea what the world involves.... grow up. walk lightly and be aware is the best approach

Lone wolf maybe we are not understanding correctly what these people are saying,I was born dirt poor no not on a reversation more like share croppers,yes I am part Indian and race has nothing to do with being poor,a wise man can be any race and can do better than an ignorant man again race has no revelance,sometimes poor keeps a soul despondant and without knowledge.The people on this site some are wealthy so to speak some otherwise,we all need to awaken and try to better ourselves spiritually first and then we have a guide to our inner concience which will lead us to all truth wheather or not the masses agree,example when Noah was building the Ark he was met with much adversity,let us not also fall into the same trap as his neighbors.
I am familiar with Pine Ridge South Dakota and also My heart blead for the condictions the people which the people of this country allow most of those folks to live in,got spare money send it to a good cause.
Lone Wolf I mean you no disrespect in any way,I read the story of mouse people years ago as I was on a Spiritual journey and when I read how the little mouse came back to tell his family and friends what he saw they didn't believe,I can identify with him so well but he did not stop until he finished his journey,we are all on a journey,let peace and love be our guide where ever and when ever possible.

Hi Kathy

Its been awhile, but I hought I'd answer anyway. You didn't offend me, I just have heard so mny say they would like to live like Indians in the old ways, but we rarely still do even though we try and keep traditions alive. Most life on the res is hard, and after spending years living and doing what many of you homesteaders do I would not go back. We bulit our house on 65 acres on a res, but dad ran out of money so we never had an bathroom, but we had running water and eventually electricity. We sponged bathed, and went out back, even in the dead of winter (anyone knows what a Montana winter is like?) to dig our own little whole to use each time we needed to do our business. I hated it, cemet walls, and one barrel stove for heating made live hard. We grew our own veggies, dad hunted, and we also chopped our own wood. Ge stayed in bed while we wuld get up and heat the place every morning. Summers were spent harvesting the hay twice a season bucking bales.

While I now appreciate the skills it gave us I'll never go back to that lifestyle. Give me my lap top, big screen tv's, surround sound, and yesterday we just went an bought a new 57 inch DLP widescreen tv! Yea!! I love out tech toys. Don't give me wrong, nothing I love more then to go to Mt Rainier and go camping, and the smell of a fire, there is nothing like it. I love home grown veggies, the stuff from stores sucks most of the time, so farmers market are something I try and do as much as possible. I guess I have my Indian half and my white half . I do know how to survive in eiter world, and if some day I can afford it I'd love a piece of land again with nice house on it with water nearby and in the woods; just not to far from Seattle where we have seaon tickets to the Storm, and our satellite digital tv and high speed internet!

K

I think we are all on the same sheet of music here but the real problem seems to be the use of the word homesteaders. I as the others do not in any way shape or form consider myself a homesteader. I was raised where before I left for school I had to do the chores of feeding the animals, gathering the eggs, etc, etc. There were always weeds to pull or hoe in the garden sun up to sundown. Today I live in the east outside of a town where there is not a single business. Not so much as a gas station or a grocery store. I grow what I can. I love the outdoors, but homesteader no.

So If we were to look at every entry in this post without the use of the single word homesteader all would be happy. To just say well its the new modern use of the word. The "new" meaning of the word doesn't cut it for me. To homestead has always been a means of obtaining title to land and is still a legal option in parts of this country. Because it is still possible to legally homestead property I think we can all do better to find a better word/title to use for ourselves and leave the term homestead to those who really are homesteaders. I would offer a few suggestions but the only thing that comes to mind is naturalist but that doesn't seem to fit either and brings to mind poets running around waldens pond feeding ducks.

I think of contemporary homesteading as working on or being self sufficient.
In this world today, in particular in Europe and the States where there are just so many people and encroachment of the cities/sprawling "towns".
I like it here.
The snow at the tops of the peaks all the way around doesn't melt till July- much never melts. Here in the valley you can farm fertile soil for half the year and it really never gets too cold- compared to the prairies and the East.
I'm not yet even my own idea of homesteader, I have heaps of preparations. Land isn't free, I need a f/t job for the mortgage, then secondly you need fencing and supplies. I do sell eggs and raise waterfowl, bees. I spend time researching other animals that will pay for themselves. I don't like to jump into things blindly. Homesteadingtoday.com has been an interesting source of info although I am unable to post for some reason.
I partially got into the mindset through the SHTF idea. I think it's important to be able to take care and feed yourself, not relying in the governments which as we frequently see- fail. Sure wouldn't feel comfortable living in the city and trying to feed myself. I have many fruit/nut trees/bushes and a huge veggie garden. Still trying to learn to store food. Potatoes are already damaged from cold- not even a frost to them yet.
So much to learn still!

I agree with those who say that homesteading is living outside the cultural maelstrom we call civilization, but I also agree that you don't have to go caveman and give up modern conveniences. I wouldn't give up my computer access for anything, and having a tractor that will be used to aide in our garden cultivation, hauling, building, and whatnot just seems like common sense when one is allergic to horses. Solar power has come so far now, so if you do want to go off the grid (and you don't have a good stream or windy area to utilize) you can personalize a system that will give you all the electricity you need. We plan on using a photovoltaic tile system on our homestead to get the majority of our power.

We also plan on gardening, raising goats and chickens, and heating with wood or corn that is harvested from our land.

Here's another cool website for all of you homesteaders or wannabe's: http://www.backwoodshome.com
I especially like Jackie Clay's articles, but all of the other writers have great stories too. Someday we'll be able to afford the anthologies, but until then we are stuck reading the articles available online.

Oh my!!! I never realized there were politiclly correct homesteaders. It is interesting looking at you site from my point of view. You see we homesteaded (in the real sense) 20 years ago. It wasn't an attitude, it was a race against nature for survival. We did many things that I won't repeat because you wouldn't believe it but let us just say that we only "wished" for concrete and windows were a dream for awhile. Thank God that before it turned -45 F. we had a shell to keep us warm. I don't mean to critize but being a homesteader is just doing whatever it takes to survive, no matter what that is. It could be animals, gardening,hunting,or just shopping at a second hand shop because thats the best use of your resourses. No matter what you call a homesteader(I've been called plenty)it's not an attitude it's DOING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bamboochik, I love the way you described your Grandmother's "loving Mother Nature, and living gently on her". It brings out the Cherokee in me. . . We do have electricity and running water (I've lived without it, but I sure prefer having it). :-) I agree - I think homesteading is an attitude. We live on 5 acres and have a very small footprint. We cleared ony enough for a drive, a small house and a small yard. Love watching the deer, turkey and squirrels.

Hello All,

I am fascinated by living simply. I plan to learn much about gardening etc...

Any recommendations for any place in the US 4-10 acres preferably, with lots of sunshine, and cold weather- 4 seasons ok with mild summers?
Interested in planting pine nut trees, chestnut trees (if possible) marronier type (the large ones- to make marron glac�- in another reincarnation if slow growing) some shade from trees to grow mint. Some goats to make goat cheese and desserts. And building a small cedar cabin (700 sq feet) and a separate vegetarian bed and breakfast possibly- all done slowly with tincture of time G-d willing... Location ideas optimal for such? Generation 0 ! USA is my motherland and I have no family, and looooove finding solace w nature and writing plus painting and cooking vegetarian food. Any other ideas welcome. Namaste _/:\_

I have no acreage...it's a tad bit more than 1/3rd acre. but..loving the solitude, semi rural, trees, back road, garden, well water, firebox within a fireplace and plenty of trees, downed and ready to be cut..
I can live a sorta modern, cuz there are no options for being "dyed in the wool" homesteader, this day around here...

I have fences around all 4 sides of my property..partly to stay in..mostly to keep others out.
I don't like manicured, precise, clipped and delicate landscapes.
I love the unruly, natural, lush growth of plants, shrubs, trees, grasses and even weeds in my yard.
I get donated clothes from the clothing bank...free
groceries from food bank..and give some of what I grow...
water from well or artesian down town, in saved containers.
heat the house with chopped wood..
do canning in summer, jams after gathering them in prickly vines..
clothes repurposed down to blankets..
no modern cars...as long as the battery works, tires are good..doesnt' even require a heater or radio..but I do need windshield wipers..
I buy second hand supplies for all cooking, household and linens.
make my own soaps, from the old fashioned recipes..
hang clothes in summer.
I own an iron but haven't used it in over a dozen years..
I save broken dishes and glassware for mosaics and yard art.
cast leaves from the garden, in cement for bird bathes, bird feeders and water features for the yard.
recycle tires, tubs, rusty pots, wagons, fences, windows, doors and tree branches for growing pots, trellises, garden stakes, benches for more pots..
recycle barbeque grills for holding potting soil and compost, for easy access to pot up seeds.
an old mailbox, to hold garden gloves, wire, tapes, labels, trowels, scissors, ....
old wood frame windows for cold frames, above old dresser drawers for the base...
old patio table, minus the glass, for slats, to hold pallets, for additional 'second story' planting..
many rows of 'tree rounds' as support for fencing posts, to support extra pallets, for shaded areas of yard for shade loving plants..two rowboats, to plant strawberries and cilantro..
frame of a carport, with greenhouse plastic for functional greenhouse, to have the head start on seeds..
tractor tires, to grow rhubarb..
dog house, to keep more hoses, garden cloth and worm bin in..
I don't live on the road facing part of a street, so I can stay out of sight, from passerby cars..

I've learned that if I can completely fill all of my 'less than an acre' parcel, to capacity, then one day, maybe, I might think about a larger place but until then, I have been able to stuff as much as I can handle for one person..with room to spare.
cherry tree for both me and birds..
mock orange for birds and pretty..
same for service berries..for birds
at my age, I'm not looking for a huge homestead..
instead, I want that piece of security, pride and comfort of growing what I want, at a price that makes total sense, with all the availablilty of providing for extended family, whoever wants to come and join in the fun and work of it....
there's always coffee perking, gloves to share, aprons to wear and lawn chairs to repair...
it's my own personal Shangri La and I love it here.