Whewboy! What a year this has been. It feels like just yesterday that I got the keys. I can confidently say that I haven’t worked this hard since I had four babies, in quick succession, to care for. And even then, I don’t think I worked this hard. I did finally “crash and burn” recently and was sick as a dog for over two weeks and had to call for help just to keep animals alive. I think it’s interesting and helpful to take the time to review the year and make decisions about how things should go moving forward. Managing a small farm by yourself is not for the faint of heart. Hopefully, anyone dreaming about a homestead can pick up a few things from my story that will be helpful. The joke I make with my family is “I go, therefore, in order to set an example of what not to do.”
A Little Background
For those of you just tuning in, over a year ago I left Idaho, sold my cabin in the mountains, and moved to Tennessee. I did so because my children and grandchildren decided to move here and I didn’t want to be so far away from them. My roots are in Tennessee, my dad was born here, and I visited my grandparents and other relatives in these here parts when I was a child. I never dreamed I would come this way again as an adult. But, here I am. Previous to my Idaho respite, I worked in high tech as a professional and travelled the country consulting. I worked very long hours and was under tremendous pressure all the time. A series of serious illnesses stopped me in my tracks and I had to retire early. I was definitely in the “city girl” category and never imagined that I would become a “country girl” in my retirement years.
When I found this small farm, I felt like God said, “This is what you wanted ever since you were a little girl, right? You wanted a farm like your grandpa had, and you wanted animals to care for. Here you go.” I was pretty ecstatic at the time. And I am still grateful and still feel like I was given a big present. I had no idea what I was doing though. Which has made everything that much more interesting. I laugh a lot. I laugh at the sense of humor God has. I laugh at myself for thinking I can do anything I want. I laugh when I’m overwhelmed and every muscle is screaming at me. I do sleep well, though!
You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
I guess the first question is: would I start a small family farm, at my age (60 something), if I had it to do over again? I can still say, yes! Would I do anything differently? Yes, just about everything. Honestly, no matter how brave you are, you just don’t know what you don’t know. You can read books, and watch movies and videos, and read blogs, and talk to people who farm, and you still won’t understand the full breadth of the undertaking unless you’ve actually worked or grown up on a farm. Until you have physically hauled water in five gallon buckets, until you have picked up dead chickens that were ravaged, until you have stood or squatted at the hind end of a birthing cow, until you have dragged hundreds of feet of hoses to get water out to different areas, until you have shoveled manure and stared down an animal 6x larger than yourself, until you have just missed stepping on a giant snake and seen rats or mice take up residence in your house, until you’ve completed your chores in smothering humidity and high heat, until you’ve recognized a tick and differentiated between various bugs of all sizes, until you’ve smashed a few dozen brown recluse spiders, until you’ve hoed tens of dozens of rows of dirt, attempted to move 100 square bales of hay into the barn, etc., you haven’t lived on a farm in the South.
I still encourage everyone who can, to get out of the cities and take up a small farm or homestead in order to create a safer and more sustainable lifestyle. It will probably be the hardest thing you’ve ever done if the lifestyle is new to you. And it will probably be the most rewarding thing you’ve done if it doesn’t kill you. My grandchildren are in heaven when they visit. I’ve achieved some kind of mythical status with them. They can safely run all over the place and visit the various animals, feed them treats, hold or pet them, and understand things like where milk, eggs, vegetables, and meat come from. They love to help with the chores because it’s an adventure to them. I think the grandkids are what actually keeps me going. If you’re not a grandma or grandpa, and have a young family, I think a farm is a glorious place for kids to grow up. But, remember, the farm chores will be on top of your daily duties until your kids are old enough to help out. Even my little 2 year old granddaughter helps with chores.
If I were to advise anyone looking for rural property to homestead on, aside from the importance of location and the actual shelter/home, I would say that fencing and access to water are critical. Even though this property was already fenced and cross-fenced in perfect proportions for keeping various animals, fence repair, and additional fencing and gates were needed. Even though this property was advertised as one with “two working wells”, that was not functionally true. One well failed to produce more than a quart of water an hour, and the other well while a great producer, was full of sulphuric acid. I spent a few thousand dollars on more fencing and gates. I spent $8,000 – $10,000 repairing well pumps, and getting a purifying and filtering system in place for the wells so the water could service the house and the animals. And that was just in the first month!
Mistakes and Mishaps
During the buying process, I could not get the wells inspected because there weren’t any well drillers who we could get to come out in time to close on the house. Subsequently, we ran out of water the first week in the house and had NO WATER. My family, with their three little kids, had moved in with me until they could close on their house. I would advise anyone who can’t get the wells inspected to just hold off unless you’re ready to haul in water, which we did. Unfortunately, the sellers were dishonest about the wells and I, trusting soul that I was, didn’t know that they had been hauling in water and had filled the cistern prior to the home inspection. The cistern holds somewhere between 500-1000 gallons, so we just didn’t know any better. Not good. If I had it to do over again, I would’ve waited for the well inspections. Live and learn.
Also, I bought the house without inspecting it myself. I think that was a serious mistake. Realtors now will do live video walkthroughs, and of course, a home inspection can tell you a lot. But, nothing can inform you like your own nose, ears, and eyes. Every appliance in the house had mildew, most likely a combination of high humidity and bad water. The stove would turn on, but only cook on high heat no matter the setting. Every appliance had to be replaced despite my best efforts to clean things with bleach and other chemicals, the mildew remained. Every faucet had corrosion from the acidic water. The water heater had been ruined and had to be replaced as it too soon failed. The guts of the toilets had to be replaced. All of this from bad water. I try not to think about the pipes under the house, but there is no evidence of any leaks or backups. We had an unusually cold winter and several inches of snow, several times, rather unheard of in this area, and all the pipes froze because of poor insulation. Gee, I thought that only happened in Idaho! I kept telling myself that it’s better to have everything break now and deal with it while I still had a little money left in the bank. All this to say, do not buy sight unseen, no matter the pressure. Or, if you’ve got piles of money in the bank, and don’t mind being grossly inconvenienced, go ahead. I had barely enough to get things fixed.
Even with all those stumbling blocks, I was undeterred.
I was anxious to get animals on the farm, as many do who’ve been dreaming about the perfect little homestead. I got chics and goats before I was ready for them, and that led to makeshift shelters and a few disasters. That’s something I’d do differently. I would make sure appropriate shelters were in place before acquiring animals. I lost 8 of the 10 guinea chics, and a few chicken chics due to aerial predators. Hawks and turkey vultures are prolific here, so open air pens don’t work for chics. Now that my flock is older, and with 3 roosters on guard along with 2 large, loud, guineas, the flying predators are not normally a problem. I didn’t lose any of the baby dwarf goats, but I did find myself chasing and rescuing them from a particularly dangerous thunder and lightning storm. Can you imagine even being out in that storm!! There I was slipping and sliding and praying I could gather them all into a small shed for their protection while not worrying about myself. If it wasn’t so dangerous it would’ve been comical. What the heck was I thinking???
The reason I got the goats, who are actually wethers (castrated males), was because I needed some animals to graze the pastures. Here in Tennessee, everything is green and the grass grows, and grows, and grows, unlike many states. Mowing and/or bush hogging is a continual task. The grass can be waist high in a few weeks – I kid you not. My bright idea (which turned out to be not so bright) was that the goats would keep the pastures trim and I wouldn’t have to mow! What I didn’t know is goats are “browsers”, not grass grazers. Meaning, they will reach up to bushes and trees and eat all the leaves before they will ever eat the grass. If you want animals to graze the pastures, and also give you something in return for their upkeep, think about getting sheep. Sheep will keep the grass trimmed and a breeding flock will give you milk and lamb. That’s something I would’ve done differently and I may still find another home for the cute little Nigerian dwarf goats and get sheep instead. I consider the goats, who are small and adorable, and silly and funny to watch, entertainment. They don’t really contribute to the farm, but they look poetic on the landscape. Aren’t goats something you get right after chickens? LOL.
The next animals I got were a pair of female rabbits, with a male still to come, if I don’t change my mind, for breeding. I thought that breeding rabbits for meat would be a good “sustainable” homestead project. I found a reputable breeder and picked a breed (Silver Fox/Champagne d’Argent cross). Again, I really didn’t have appropriate accommodations for breeding rabbits. I bought a couple of cheap rabbit cages from Tractor Supply. Don’t do this. This particular breed of rabbit grows quite large and their fur is magnificent for pelts, and they yield a good bit of meat. Because they are large and quite furry, they can’t take the heat any better than I can.
They are also prolific manure makers, which is great for the garden, but you’ve got to clean the small cages every single day for their health. What really needs to happen, is they need cages built inside a shelter, or outside with a roof, that has plenty of ventilation and is up off the ground where their manure lands by about 4-6 feet below. Why? Because their urine is copious and full of ammonia and that doesn’t need to be anywhere near where they breathe. Little rabbit cages just don’t cut it. Just sharing my failures so you can avoid them. Build the cages, up high with a pan to catch the manure below, before you get the rabbits. Each large rabbit must have their own cage. And we’re not even talking about breeding or harvesting rabbits yet. I may re-home these beautiful rabbits because I am spread too thin. Like I said before, you just don’t know what you don’t know until you try it.
My next animal adventure was to purchase a dairy cow. I took this purchase seriously and spent a great deal of time researching, and talking to others before even looking for a cow. Probably the size of the animal made me feel the import of the decision. I had a 4 stall barn already in place and I cleaned it up, made sure all the barn stall gates were working, and cleaned up all around it, checked all the fence lines to the pastures, made sure the pasture gates were working, purchased chain locks, purchased 100 gallon water troughs for each pasture, and even purchased 100 square bales of hay before that cow came home here to the property. I knew the pasture grass was good and I allocated 2-3 acres for just the cow and her soon-to-be calf. I was ready for this animal and my failures with the smaller animals was weighing heavily on me. I didn’t want to screw this up.
I wrote an article about my experience, as a newbie, with my first cow, so I won’t rehash that here. There were/are lots of things I didn’t know about cows other than what I had read in books. But, quickly, a few things I learned: the only way a cow can be in milk is to have a calf (don’t laugh – I honestly didn’t know). The only way for a milk cow to continue to give milk over the years is to continue to calve on a regular basis (annually). So, generally speaking, there’s never just one cow on the farm. And if you want beef, you breed for beef. If you want more milk, you breed for another dairy cow. And there’s a lot of cross breeding that goes on for various characteristics.
Do you bring her to a bull for breeding or do Artificial Insemination (AI), or do you purchase a bull for the farm? I decided on AI. I will never have a bull on the farm. Again, it’s not just about one cow. This is something this city girl didn’t understand at all when she bought her first dairy cow. In fact, I figured that I needed something I call The Cow Calendar just to keep straight on when various maintenance activities needed to occur with the cow and her calf. At least, the cows had proper accommodations. And so far, the dairy cow(s) have been my most successful adventure other than having way too many chicken eggs.
Tomorrow, in Part 2, I will discuss farm infrastructure and my gardening adventures.
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Boy was she naive! Who trusts a seller?
First, I give her a lot of kudos for entering into this major change of life, as a woman in her 60’s. She does not say she is married with help from a husband so, the assumption is she is doing this all as a single woman. Personally speaking, I think she bit off way too much. Moving to the country is one thing, to do all that she is doing all at the same time, by herself sounds, well, a bit ill conceived. I know of what I speak because I am also in my 60’s but, I bought my ‘gentleman’s farm’ (less than 10 acres) when I was still in my 50’s. Although I don’t have livestock I do have chickens, bees, and a large garden. During the growing season I work hard to keep it all going. She is right; it is not for the faint of heart.
I believe there may have been other routes she could have gone rather than to jump in with both feet, to a place sight unseen, especially since she does not have deep pockets to pay for all the expenses to repair, replace, etc.
We have 6 acres in the SC Lowcountry and started off doing small veggie growing only 3 yrs. ago. Have increased 10X since then, year round, big learning curve just for that. Lied to by well driller, had to sue, water too saline. Well should have been 300′ deep, not 110′
No on site plans for poultry or livestock, we trade veggies for neighbors’ eggs. Will buy a calf that another neighbor will raise, we’ll pay the winter feed cost, vet and the abbatoir. Split meat 50/50.
We’re bot 69 and must limit physically what we could do 10-15 yes. ago.
Arthuritis
Well God Bless you SaraSue! And a pleasure to ‘meet’ You. Gonna bookmark
and check out what else is there.
Looking forward to your continued exploits. Got your own goats? Might wanna hang on to ’em…nuthin’ worse than someone else getting Your’s..and ya got spares!
Purty sure i wouldn’t give You no sass, Ma’am.
Thank You!
I used to check in at survivalblog. At the beginning of the debacle I actually wrote a comment to beware as it’s all fake. Boy did I get it! They may still believe for all I know. Their op sec is down if they get their new from the mainstream (doctors included).
This looks like a good resource….
Sustainable Farming: Making a Living on the Homestead with Joel Salatin
Joel operates his “beyond organic” operation by employing radical principles: Rather than fighting nature, he works in conjunction with nature…
Homesteading is – or should be – something like a closed circle. Everything supports and contributes to the success of everything else, looped in an endless cycle of healthy natural feedback…
The resulting compost is the backbone of the farm’s fertility program. “We’re really in the earthworm enhancement business,” says Salatin. “Stimulating soil biota is our first priority. Soil health creates healthy food.”
We moved here in January and the 30ish acres have run hay and cattle in the past, but it has been awhile. No buildings, no wells, no functional fencing. Everything is way behind schedule, but coming right along. We would have driven ourselves crazy trying to get anything operational this first year. It has been a lot of investment and a lot of learning and doing work to pave the way for the next project.
I plan to post some pictures when there is something to show. The goal is cattle, chickens, bees, goats, pigs, garden, orchard. We might be able to expand it to 40 acres soon, and that would be perfect.
You’ll need a Mule.
My ancestors in the South farmed with mules. My grandfather claimed that horses could not stand up to the heat & humidity, but that mules can. I wish the knowledge of my forbears had been passed down to me, but, alas, I don’t know even 1% of what those guys knew.
I read somewhere that a mule is the product of a male donkey and female horse, but a “hinny” is the product of the mating of a stallion and a female donkey. Supposedly the mule is superior to the hinny in temperament and performance. I Dunno.
He is Mule enough!
Suggest you investigate Milking Shorthorns-dual beef/dairy breed. You can milk the cows and the steers make decent hamburger.
A good book to read is “Ten Acres Enough”. Dunno where I learned about it, maybe here. Another good book is “Five Acres and Independence”. Both published over 100 years ago but still good.
This is awesome,and,no matter how much one knows wether farming or any business,there will always be a learning curve!
So,thanks for sharing the triumphs and misadventures!
Anyone else notice survival blog cut its comment section right ss convid 1984 came into play?
Nope…Hmmm…not a regular there but had popped in now and then.
Thanks for posting.
The ultimate curse is old age.
Transitioning to wood for heat here after the annual fuel bill passed $1,000.
I hate goats with a passion, sheep are too stupid for me. Guinea fowl if you have ticks but they kill other small birds. Chickens in a chicken tractor moves me. Dog(s) for rodents, company and security, rat bastards do not live long enough.
Veggies, fruit trees and now firewood are what I mostly spend time on.
Thanks for the guinea fowl tip. Sometimes I think we have a tick farm.
Try small dogs. With proper feeding and vet attention when needed (rabies shots) small dogs will be healthy out to 17-18 years old. Terriors were originally bred to go down holes and kill rats and burrowing rodents. I like rat terriors.
In addition to guinea foul, chickens are also good for eating ticks.
“Sometimes I think we have a tick farm.”
“Try small dogs.”
Seems kinda mean, but does make sense. Easier to hold while You pick ticks?
What I mean is that if you become emotionally attached to a dog, a small dog is better. Big dogs only live, on average, about 8 years, medium sized dogs about 12 years, but small dogs can live to 18 years in healthy condition. Small dogs were bred for rodent control, so are better at that. They also eat much less, which will become very important in coming years. A small yapper will warn you of intruders just a well as a big yapper. An armed intruder will kill your dogs, so their purpose will be to slow the intruders long enough for you to grab your shotgun.
Not sure if still in business. If ya got money to burn,
‘Sheltered’ installation required, ancillary storage tanks, etc. Been some time since researching.
‘Local’ Real Hardware Store, (Think mini-Menards) has an adjoining tire facility, Family Owned. A dealer for same.
Been 10+ yrs. since i visited, did have some 3′ culvert delivered 4 yrs. ago. (i can only imagine the price now).
Invited to observe the daily firing. Once the fire was ‘established’ in the primary combustion chamber, NO visible smoke or odor coming from chimney.
‘Key’ was secondary combustion chamber. When the gentleman opened the door there, Blue Flame doesn’t quite do it justice. central cone from the chamber above, looked and sounded like a jet engine. Hardly any noise, comparatively speaking, when shut. Site may have videos, more details. Bookmarked link.
Base price for unit alone? 20k+ at that time.
Wow…what an interesting story!
I ate it up with a spoon…and laughed out loud because it was real (honest) hard knock LIFE.
Can’t wait for the follow up.
I love it when real people tell real stories…warts and all.
I related to many parts of her ongoing adventure and was enthralled reading another person’s gritty (or another gritty person) tell their trials, tribulations, miss steps, ‘PERSEVERANCE’, and ‘learning’ through doing (not just talking/blogging) ‘learning’ through mistakes, and sometimes…last but not least… ‘learning’ through hard earned successes on the rocky road to Self-Sufficiency.
When you come to a fork in the road to Self-Sufficiency…no matter what happens…use a self-sufficient fork to eat any food you raised or grew…no matter how many times you fail. Not only is it delicious (even when it’s not)…you are on the road to not needing anyone to feed you…now there is a worthy goal.
Tell TLPTB (L=Luciferian)…FORK YOU!
I related many times to her engaging, honest story.
1. I too worked as a professional (independent business fraud investigator – a private gumshoe Closer… a career that paid well…and was as close as I could get to being Paladin in the 21st century…boyhood fantasy writ large).
2. I too travelled the country while living in airports and hotels for 10 years. (Have Investigation …Will Travel).
3. I too worked super long hours… and was under tremendous ‘results’ pressure.
4. I too loved the work (but grew to hate…despise…the travel) but it gave me the money to buy our land and our shot at Self –Sufficiency…my second attempt after completely failing 28 years earlier.
NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS.
5. I too started trying to eat with my own fork in the 2nd fork in my life/road attempt in my early 60’s. Having completely failed at ‘*5 Acres and Independence’ from 34 to 39 (1984 to 1989)…I am well aware of the learning curve in building a self-sufficient homestead/lifestyle.
Trust me on that one. I know failure…my greatest mentor.
My failed dream that re-started in 2012 was a 14 acre, never give dream I live every day I wake up!
It had a dilapidated Doublewide falling down on it (one friend advised me to have it bulldozed over…wow…was he ever wrong…we remodeled it and lived rent/mortgage free for 8 years while planning our dream house we have been in for 18 months…and now it a cash flow stream) the frame of a dilapidated barn with a caved in roof…two overgrown roads, wildly overgrown pastures, and an overgrown putrid pond covered with slimy duckweed while being filled with snapping turtles and black moccasins…it was PERFECT!
What a blast the last decade has been…and there are more mistakes, adventures, challenges every day.
I.E. This year I have 8 Peking Ducks in the now beautiful, aeriated, picture postcard pond mating like crazy…super clean endless water shooting 20 feet in the air all day long, an old stack of Snapper shells on the (restored) barn wall…and pictures of five dead huge Black Moccasins (Bond Arms two shot 4/10 Derringer – Takes care of Car Jackers (snakes with two legs) and all of the slithering pond kind of legless snakes as an added bonus.
I still use my old worn out copy I bought in the early 80’s.
Did you eat the snappers?
I earlier this year on a back road saw what I believe was a mama going to lay eggs(they try for same spot every year),as I grew up with them watched over her till clear of road but wondered on these big ones how much meat there would be and whether worth it.
I didn’t James…I have a cool story I will tell you about two tomorrow…gonna zzzzzz out after I talk with ken.
“Did you eat the snappers?”
Local wholesaler had regular cookouts, one of the countermen was a phenomonal cook. Snapper soup in the quintessential Cast Iron cauldron. “Soups on!” was a highly anticipated House Specialty. IMHO, best when ‘reduced’ to stew consistency.
“7 kinds of meat” is a popular reference. Based on the price, (as well as some general info) in the link, Could have a Cash Cow on hand?
https://www.cajungrocer.com/turtle-meat-boneless
James, No Name,
Here is one of my pond/snapper stories.
Early into my pond revitalization (which has been extremely successful – came with perch, put in bass, bluegills, and catfish all doing super – made 3 cinder block sanctuaries) I was driving down my road, glanced at the pond about 30 yards away and couldn’t believe what I saw. At the far end (with their backs to me) were these two (this size) going at it!
I kept driving until out of site, jumped out of my truck and cursed out loud for not having a shotgun or rifle in the truck (unusual for me) but I did have my .380 Smith and Wesson Bodyguard pocket rocket.
I crept up to the path peering through the trees and the two monsters were about 25 yards along the curving path, 15 feet from the edge humping like two teenagers in the backseat during a drive in movie!
(Ahhh…the 60’s)
I charged down the path aiming as I ran when the male turned his massive dinosaur looking head and saw me…instantly scrambling off his honey pot who had not seen me yet…
POW!
First shot was too high!
POW!
Second shot was too low! (I over corrected).
His shell was an inch under the water…
DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!
I stopped running and squeezed off two more rounds…POW! POW!
Both rounds hit his shell as he disappeared into the seven foot deep water.
I had one round left and this is what happened next…so help me…
The female turned and stared right at me…I took carful aim as we made direct eye contact…I carefully squeezed knowing this was my last shot…missing her by less than an inch…the water spouting up right in front of her face…as she submerged we continued to stare at one another for a split second…it was past eerie…I swear she glared hatred at me before disappearing. (It was not the expression on the face of the female in the pic above).
The male didn’t float to the surface for 3 days. I have his shell in the barn after hauling him out and letting the buzzard feast in a back pasture.
I know they are good eating No Name…don’t have that skill…maybe one day?
Turtle soup and make it SNAPPY!
Then I got some chicken livers, a huge hook, 50 lbs. test line, and an empty milk bottle…and went snapper fishing for the one that got away.
Nothing day after day…bait gone…rebaited…bait gone…rebaited.
Pulled the line up one day…hook and chicken livers gone!
Got a thin coated cable, more chicken livers…and two days later pulled her up…shooting her as soon as her shell broke water.
Shot another huge snapper with my Ruger 10/22 and he floated up dead many days later…then two more mid-sized ones.
I have a floating turtle trap that I have caught close to 30 other type of turtles attempting to sun themselves on (I relocate them to a local swamp) but no snappers ever in the trap…I don’t think they sun themselves like the other breeds?
Entertaining read. Thanks.
Seems like a waste to just kill ‘em.
Not sure about the trap in Your pic, seems like a decent sized (any Turtle) would flip it over goin’ up the ramp? Maybe ramps should be on the float(s) side? No idea.
Didn’t check out the other video platforms…but utube?
Who knew? Seems to be dozens on both trapping and processing.
Trapping…Didn’t watch. Much. Yet.
And a completely random. Processing.
Good Luck in all Your endeavors.
I enjoyed your post, Mark. It is encouraging.
I knew some of these skills, but forgot more. This year I have learned wood working, tractors, tools, brush hogs, box blades, harrows, bee keeping, all kinds of plant species, and much much more. I have just scratched the surface. Work is going slower than I expected, because I am pushing 50 and weather has been crazy and I have been faced with numerous health challenges.
I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I wanted to be a cowboy, infantryman, neuroscientist, but I am happier than I would have been if any of those had been a ‘permanent’ career. I don’t really need to make money doing this, and so far it has cost a mint, but I think I can make it productive enough that I don’t have to worry about VA pensions going bust. It is important to me to be a producer.
Ken,
To be candid I am one of the most unmechanical, unskilled, untechnical (carpentry, plumbing, computers, working on electricity will make my wife a widow) men in my family.
My Father could do it all…but those genes never made it to me. (I did get his sense of humor and ability to drink most people well under the table…if not under the floor).
Now, I was given the energy level of a Jack Russel taking amphetamines…the metabolism of a squirrel, the work ethic of a donkey, and I never needed a gym membership…so all that has come in handy around the farm.
For the skills I have found a number of rural craftsmen (the carpenter and the electrician have become friends) that have done well by me and have been reasonable.
I have two close friends who handle all the mechanical/computer work…I pay one in eggs, veggies and especially sweet potatoes (he may see this as he lurks on TBP) and the other one with gin and tonics, he says I crack him up…so I trade him quips and stories for computer work. A WIN/WIN!
Gee, you make it sound like so much fun!!!! /s
Are you a masochist?
Ergophobia?
It seems to be going around.
Hardscrambled, Country Mouse,
Ergo, taking care of a dementia parent is the hardest work ever, been there done that.
Not defending Stuck, he is indefensible but I bet he would be trainable, he might even be able to stack split wood.
Ergophobia?
Whew! Broke a sweat just looking up the infernal Idea. Of Working. Gonna need therapy. If SOMEONE can fix my mind, i’ll try to conquer this phobia. Too.
Ergophobia – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergophobia
Ergophobia (also referred to as ergasiophobia or ponophobia) is an abnormal and persistent fear of work (manual labor, non-manual labor, etc.) or fear of finding or losing employment. It is considered a form of social phobia or performance anxiety. The condition is …See more
Stuck,
Sort of Country Mouse vs City Mouse kind of thing.
Was a city, sewer (Boston) rat, now a more reserved, placid, Fisher cat.
Looking forward to the heartwarming tales from the big city when the food gets short and the lights go out.
We went a bit different route in our early 60’s (now). Bought an orchard with NO experience at all. We could’ve gone the small farm route but for various reasons did this. Whew. This is our second harvest and it’s down 50% (everywhere because of weather) and 2 weeks late, putting in a cold room to become more market diverse. We are just going to keep chipping away at it. We have some apocalypse fail safes built in but went full bore. Luckily my husband is very handy and can fix and. Build things.
However it’s very hard to have animals here because we have every predator you can imagine, even grizzly bears (who love fruit and tear down a whole tree to munch a few). If things last long enough we plan to try again after building a small fortress for them.
May want to consider electric Fencing. Can’t remember which outdoors show, but apparently there is even a version for camping, solar with battery back-up.
Didn’t check out, but seems like it may give You a start..https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/wildlife-nature-environment/deterring-bears-with-electrified-fences-a-beginners-guide/
Daily Joke: The park rangers warn hikers about bear attacks
Rachael Rosel
Apr 12, 2020
They were explaining the difference between a black bear and a brown bear. Source: Getty.
Park rangers are advising hikers and campers in national parks to be alert for bears and take extra precautions to avoid an encounter.
They advise park visitors to wear little bells on their clothes so they make noise when hiking. The bell noise allows bears to hear them coming from a distance, so they won’t be startled by a hiker accidentally sneaking up on them, which might cause a bear to charge.
Visitors are told they should also carry a pepper spray can just in case they encounter a bear. Spraying the pepper into the air will irritate the bear’s sensitive nose and it will run away.
It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for fresh bear droppings so you have an idea if bears are in the area. People should be able to recognise the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat.
Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur. Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper.