You know it is summer in Texas when.....

* The birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.
* The trees are whistling for the dogs.
* The best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
* Hot water now comes out of both taps.
* You can make sun tea instantly.
* You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a pretty good branding iron.
* The temperature drops below 95, and you feel a little chilly.
* You discover that it only takes 2 fingers to steer your car.
* You discover that you can get sunburned through your car window.
* You actually burn your hand opening the car door.
* You break into a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m.
* Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, "What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?"
* You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
* The potatoes cook underground, so all you have to do is pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper.
* Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying boiled eggs.
* The cows are giving evaporated milk.

Green Shoots Everywhere

Don't be naive! Educate yourself and start growing your own food and pay off your debts or have enough savings to support yourself well into the future.

Learning About Farming - Internships

If you would like to learn about sustainable farming through an internship program check out the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service Internship website. This is one of those times when I wishes that we could afford for me not to work so I could do this for a summer. Unfortunately that is one of the sacrifices being the sole income earning for the family.

Go sustainable agriculture!

An Old Farmers Advice

* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
*Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.
*Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.
* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.
* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
* You cannot unsay a cruel word.
* Every path has a few puddles.
* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
* The best sermons are lived, not preached.
* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.
* Don't judge folks by their relatives.
* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.
* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.
* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
* Always drink upstream from the herd.
* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
* Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.

The Cows & The Dogs

Here's a short email my wife sent about some of our neighbor's cows getting on our property.

cows on the property, dogs chases cows, cows chase dogs, cows kick at dogs, cows finally leave, dogs are fine

Country Boy Can Survive

The preacher man says it’s the end of time
And the Mississippi River she’s a goin’ dry
The interest is up and the Stock Markets down
And you only get mugged
If you go down town

I live back in the woods, you see
A woman and the kids, and the dogs and me
I got a shotgun rifle and a 4-wheel drive
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

I can plow a field all day long
I can catch catfish from dusk till dawn
We make our own whiskey and our own smoke too
Ain’t too many things these ole boys can’t do
We grow good ole tomatoes and homemade wine
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

Because you can’t starve us out
And you cant makes us run
Cause one-of- ‘em old boys raisin ole shotgun
And we say grace and we say Ma’am
And if you ain’t into that we don’t give a damn

We came from the West Virginia coalmines
And the Rocky Mountains and the and the western skies
And we can skin a buck; we can run a trot-line
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

I had a good friend in New York City
He never called me by my name, just hillbilly
My grandpa taught me how to live off the land
And his taught him to be a businessman
He used to send me pictures of the Broadway nights
And I’d send him some homemade wine

But he was killed by a man with a switchblade knife
For 43 dollars my friend lost his life
Id love to spit some beechnut in that dudes eyes
And shoot him with my old 45
Cause a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

Cause you can’t starve us out and you can’t make us run
Cause one-of- ‘em old boys raisin ole shotgun
And we say grace and we say Ma’am
And if you ain’t into that we don’t give a damn

We’re from North California and south Alabam
And little towns all around this land
And we can skin a buck; we can run a trot-line
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

Hank Williams Jr

Small Town Entertainment Expenses

Here's one that blew my mind today. Keep in mind we haven't been to a movie theater in about 2 years. There is a small town (< 10K) approximately 15 minutes from our new property with a small 6 screen theater. Since the kids are out of town we decided to go early in the heat of the day, why burn your flesh off your bones in the middle of the day. Here is a cost breakdown:

$3/person
$3 Large Coke
$3 Large Popcorn

We're not talking large in name only but a real large 44oz. drink and the large sack of popcorn. We were amazed, my wife and I got to see a new release and feed our face for $12. We checked our cell phones and yes, it was indeed 2008 and not 1998.

Bragging - Great Wife

This post is only intended to serve one purpose, to brag on my wonderful bride. We've been married almost 17 years and this latest move has by far been the roughest one. We moved 10 days ago and our property currently does not have water or septic so during the day my family is relegated to using water bottles and a simple composting toilet and my wife has been doing it without complaint. Since my work requires high speed internet we do have a hotel room that I use as my office during the day so they can take showers at night but I know very few women who would do that with 4 kids and not make much noise about it.

This post is dedicated to you babe!

Stop Thief! - Part II

We've been busy with a few things so I didn't have an opportunity to post that two days after the initial theft the thieves decided they needed to get them all and came back and cleaned us out. We are now chickenless but we are planning on building our hen/rooster population back up. No matter where you live people exist which feel they're entitled to something that is not theirs. We have put the word out with neighbors to protect their livestock and pray that the thieves are caught quickly since people that do this rarely stop behaving badly.

We will hold off however since it appears we will be buying some land about 4 hours from our present location and would prefer to not have to worry about moving the birds as well as getting caretakers during time away from home.

Stop Thief!

As we all know there are people everywhere who feel they are entitled to what is not theirs. In our case it happened late last night when someone stole half of our small 'flock' of chickens. They got over our fence, into the coop and got 9 of them without alerting our dog in the house. Since our coop is about 50 yards from the house and the door faces the far side of the coop it isn't surprising we didn't hear anything. The design is less than idea but it is a rental so we've got what we've got.

After dropping by to speak with the police it is obvious that the laws are written to help the criminals, not support the property owner. Apparently I'm supposed to be able to assess the amount of property their taking and if sufficient then I can escalate the use of force however if I shoot and they only took $40 worth then I'm liable, what a mess.

Anyway here is a list of our departed birds:
2 - 3 month olds that we raised from day olds. One was an Americana and the other was a New Hampshire.
1 - RIR Bantam Rooster
2 - RIR Bantam Hens
3 - Black Bantams Hens (can't recall the breed)
1 - White & Black Hen (can't recall the breed)

So for now our little side deal of generating some extra money from selling eggs is done and the other birds were pretty spooked, some even let us pet them and they rarely allow that.

Farmers at Risk

If you haven't been paying attention to what is happening to the farmers across American, you should.

There are so many issues coming up that addressing it in one post would border on lunacy. The thing to keep in mind is that farmers are being pushed to the brink by the companies that many people think we should support. To give just one example of a company that is doing it's best to blackmail farmers through lawsuits to increase it's bottom line let's look at Monsanto and they're patenting seed (some of which they never produced). Here is a video that you should watch, if not you have no right to complain about your food quality and the scariness called genetically modified foods or GMO for short.

Here's a quote by the Director of Corporate Communication of Monsanto

Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food, our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA's job.
Phil Angell

and another

Agricultural biotechnology will find a supporter occupying the White House next year, regardless of which candidate wins the election in November.
Monsanto Inhouse Newsletter
October 6th, 2000

or how about this quote related to GMO

If we started really asking the right questions we would stop this technology for the next 50 or a 100 years.
Dr. Ignacio Chapela
Microbial Ecologist
University of California Berkeley

The joy from this company goes on.

UPDATE: Embedded movie removed, apparently it was posted on Google Video w/out the consent of the company which created it so it was removed however you can order it here or look for screenings in your area. There are also people posting it on youtube since I'm not sure if it is with permission or now I'm only posting the search, it appears in most cases it is broken up into parts.

Take Me Out of the City, Get Me Out of the Crowds

The title of this post was intended to be hummed with the Take Me Out to the Ball Game song. My wife and I were recently discussing the joys of being outside of town on property. We don't even have much in the way of acreage (renting on 5 acres) but man how we loath when we have to go to a major city to do our bulk shopping, doctor's appointments, etc.

It is a weird transition but the more I'm away from the constant activity of a city the more I enjoy my space and freedom. Due to the nature of my work I still have conference calls with customers, other consultants and then family but that interaction is occasional. We don't mind the phone calls but there is something about getting in the midst of everything that just grinds on you. We come home for a visit now tired and thankful to be home. Some of it probably has to do with the 1 hour drive each way but also the traffic, general attitude and anger of people in the city and just being there that drives you crazy.

Another thing that has become more obvious now that I've been unplugged from 'The City Matrix' is how many people are just plugging along in their lives waiting for death to come their way. They experience a few joys but I talk to more and more people that say something like, "I'd love to do what you're doing!" Usually it comes back to me asking them why they don't...then the mumbling and "well yea but" comes into play. Yes there are adjustments that will be necessary and some will be harder than others but life is too short to not be out there doing what you want to do so go after it.

Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya! If you're even halfway considering getting out of town do it, you can always move back if you don't like it.

Profit From Your Land

The more research I do the more I discover how many hard working people there are out there trying to make it in farming and/or ranching. It is truly staggering when you look at the amount of work these people do for the return on their 'investment.' They are obviously doing it because they love it however it sure would be nice to see them doing better instead of having a lot of struggles. One of the things that personally seems like a great idea to help a farmer hedge their crops is creating a member based operation.

An example of this is the Maple Creek Farm in Michigan. There are probably many more examples however I learned about them from some of the google videos when doing research on some rural issues (honestly I can't recall). For those of you 'in the know this may not be news however they are doing Community Supported Agriculture (CSA for short) where they have memberships (shares) available which cost $700.00 for a 20 week membership which lasts June thru October. That may seem like a lot but remember this is certified organic where they raise the right stuff which requires mostly hand processing. Be forewarned there is some language in some of their videos which may not be appropriate for younger viewers.

They have a Top Ten (10) Reasons To Buy Local Food list that I'd encourage you to visit.
1. Locally grown food tastes better.
2. Local produce is better for you.
3. Local food preserves genetic diversity.
4. Local certified organic food is GMO-free.
5. Local food supports local farm families.
6. Local food builds community.
7. Local food preserves open space.
8. Local food keeps your taxes in check.
9. Local food supports a clean environment and benefits wildlife.
10. Local food is about the future.
The list on their site provides a detailed explanation of each so don't delay and visit it.

Although this addresses this from the perspective of crops the same principle would seem to apply to animals as well. If you are raising animals and trying to profit from it make sure to spend more time on research than just going out and doing it. Go spend some time with people that are making money doing it!

Survival...Nope, Just Old School

An interesting thing has been developing the longer we search for rural land and prepare our family for the 'migration', it seems that having a little backup of daily items becomes more necessary the further out you are. When doing some research on something I can't recall I stumbled across the Alone in the Wilderness 2-DVD Package. After doing some more reading about it I realized that this was the same show I saw about 20 minutes of on PBS late one night. The general story is a guy who because of an injury at work that nearly leaves him blind decides that he would like to enjoy what life has to offer, but not the way you think. He leaves the developed world and goes it on his own out in the Alaskan wilderness.

The first DVD, Alone in the Wilderness, covers the initial building of his log cabin and all of the tools involved in making that happen. Mr. Dick Proenneke is a resourceful man and we get to see him as he goes to his new home site with minimal tools, building what he needs as he goes. He also has some great nature shots of Caribou (a.k.a. reindeer), Grizzly bear, Dall sheep and moose just to name a few. By today's terms it might be considered uneventful however our children (even the 5 and 4 year old) were locked on to the movie and it was amazing to see how many great things he built with his own two hands. Although Mr. Proenneke passed away in 2003 he left something that should be on the DVD shelf of any family.

The second DVD, Alaska Silence & Solitude, was not quite as good as the first but it filled in a few missing pieces. This video covers a visit that two men have with Dick and they journey around his area taking video and doing some sight seeing. The area is just beautiful and another example why conservation of our resources is so important.

We bought the 2-DVD pack and enjoyed it immensely, if you are looking for a family safe viewing experience this is it! The only objectionable material is where he briefly stumbled across the hide of a animal that was attacked by wolves. The scene lasts maybe 20 seconds and shows the carcass and he picks it up by the horns and talks about how the wolves have obviously been munching on it. Since my kids are familiar with hunting and how our food arrives at the table they weren't bothered by it but some sensitive children might be.

Moving from the City to the Country [A PreTeen Perspective]

This was written by our 12 year old daughter since we asked for an entry from a younger person's perspective.

Moving from the city to the country has its ups and downs, but the ups outweigh the downs in my opinion. When we were living in the city it wasn't bad. We had a 3 bedroom/2 bath house with a medium yard. I liked it but I longed for more yard space. I'm an explorer at heart so I alwways explored the ditch behind our yard. Then suddenly it seemed like my parents wanted to move!

I was happy but frightened, what if I didn't fit in, what if nobody liked me! Those thoughts kept spinning round and round in my head. Also moving from the house which we had lived in for 6 years didn't help. We moved soon after to a little house on 2 acres. At first it was nice having 2 acres and it seemed like a lot to me! But after a month or so I grew bored to help pass the time after I was done with school [I'm homeschooled] I would go out and catch scorpions, skinks and black widow spiders. We looked at piece after piece after piece of property until we found it, a new rental. We needed to move because of some plumbing problems with the other place.

The new place was a 3 bedroom/2 bath house on 5 acres with a pond on it. When we drove up the first time to look at it I thought, "This is home!" So about 3 weeks after my parents signed the papers we got the property. We moved shortly before Christmas so with the boxes of presents for me and my 3 siblings we also had to unpack moving boxes. My favorite part of living in the country is having my pet bird, Skype and our chickens, we couldn't have those animals at our other rental.

My favorite chicken is named Starla, she is as tame as you please. She eats right out of my hand! So all in all I would have to say I like the country more than the city. Till next entry, See ya!

Budgie Girl - 12

Where There Is No Doctor

One of the things to keep in mind in a rural setting and personally I don't think is anything to be in fear of is access to health care. Our family has been re-evaluating health care and our health/wellness approach in general but I thought I'd offer up a great book called Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook.

The book discussed previously will lay out some of the general thinking related to health care around a property however this book discusses application. We've only needed to use the book a couple of times so far for a few non-critical needs but the information in the book is concise and something you will refer back to again and again for issues related to your health and wellness

Chapters:
Chapter 1 - Home Cures and Popular Beliefs
Chapter 2 - Sicknesses That Are Often Confused
Chapter 3 - How To Examine A Sick Person
Chapter 4 - How To Take Care Of A Sick Person
Chapter 5 - Healing Without Medicines
Chapter 6 - Right And Wrong Use Of Modern Medicines
Chapter 7 - Antibiotics: What They Are And How To Use Them
Chapter 8 - How To Measure And Give Medicine
Chapter 9 - Instructions And Precautions For Injections
Chapter 10 - First Aid
Chapter 11 - Nutrition: What To Eat To Be Healthy
Chapter 12 - Prevention: How To Avoid Many Sicknesses
Chapter 13 - Some Very Common Sicknesses
Chapter 14 - Serious Illnesses That Need Special Medical Attention
Chapter 15 - Skin Problems
Chapter 16 - The Eyes
Chapter 17 - The Teeth, Gums, And Mouth
Chapter 18 - The Urinary System And The Genitals
Chapter 19 - Information For Mothers And Midwives
Chapter 20 - Family Planning - Having The Number Of Children You Want
Chapter 21 - Health And Sickness Of Children
Chapter 22 - Health And Sickness Of Older People
Chapter 23 - The Medicine Kit

Employee or Entrepreneur Mindset

When writing the Try Before You Buy post I realized that one item I didn't discuss in detail was what your business/income mindset is. Are you a person who enjoys the day-to-day consistency of going to an office or are you more of a dynamic entrepreneur type who prefers varied hours, seasons of longer work and a little more varied income possibilities?

If you're more of the type of person who would prefer the consistent paycheck provided by someone else then you need to make sure you've moving to an area that offers those types of opportunities and offers them in more than one company. The news of the major employer in a town shutting down or significantly reducing its workforce and causing the unemployment to skyrocket is, sadly, not surprising anymore and appears it will continue. Also, make absolutely sure your spouse is in sync with the decision and is of the same mindset or things could go bad, in some cases very bad.

If you're more entrepreneurial minded and can figure out ways of generating more income then you'll do just fine and I'm guessing you didn't need me to tell you that. With the availability of the internet the opportunity to generate a primary or secondary income without leaving your house just keeps getting better. Currently I can do far better financially by doing I.T. contracting work to support our farm life than using farm income to support our household. This could change in the future but that is the joy of living in a great country like the U.S., I can change my approach at any time I want...my only limitation is me.

One final note to those of you struggling with making the change, too often men and women either continue on a path that they think their spouse wants or is "necessary for the family" without having a serious conversation with their significant other. Either I'm the luckiest man on earth (OK, I am) but my wife has usually supported things I'd like to try sometimes to serious detriment to our family (most of those were bad financial decisions). However due to her wonderful support and not rubbing it in my face I have become a much better man. That is just one of many reasons I give for renting instead of buying initially, if you decide it isn't for you and your family you can wait until your rental period is up and return to your city life with a few more life lessons under your belt.

Relaxation and the Circle of Life

An interesting activity transpired today that I don't usually do, I spent almost an hour out of my day relaxing. My beautiful wife also joined me part of the time to just hang out and talk. This is one of those things that you can do in the city as well but for some reason it just seems easier with less distractions out here.

We sat and watched the chickens go about their daily business of being let out of the coop in the morning and attacking the grass, clover and insects running around in the grass. It is a pretty basic thing but for some reason I just enjoy watching them. The older kids wander in and out during this time as well and we talk a little about how things are going in their day. That was about 30 minutes of the time, the other 30 minutes was spent watching the new baby pullets we picked up last week. They currently occupy the spot at the dining room table that I usually sit at so we've had to cram a little closer together when eating but no one seems to mind as we get to watch the baby chicks as we eat, it is like a free movie (well maybe not totally free with what we spend on feed).

My wife and I discussed how we both feel more relaxed then we used to feel and she has noticed a difference in me. Now that we've stepped away from the hustle and bussel of the city it is interesting to see my wonderful bride laughing so much and our kids get a new perspective on where things come from. At lunch today our 10 year old thanked the Lord for the animals that provided our food, a first. When kids are able to be exposed to the entire chain of life/death that brings food to their table I think they appreciate it more than just having chicken and red meat 'appear' in their freezer.

Small Town Drivers

One of the unexpected things that didn't hit me right away was how much nicer most people drive in small towns. Granted in the large city just a few bad drivers can seem like there are many more out there. In the 7 months we've been outside of a major city and just outside of smaller cities (5K+ people) we've noticed there are a lot of courteous drivers.

Usually people will stop to let you in and it seems they're paying attention to more than just where they want to go. Although I can't say for sure what the cause is I'm guessing it has to do with the high probability you'll see these people quite a bit when you're out and about so it has a way of naturally controlling rude behavior. Also I'm ashamed to say my safety inspection is 8 months past due and I've been pulled over three times, each time with just a warning. Going to figure out where the wiring problem is so I can get new stickers but I don't usually get warnings for any infraction in the high revenue requirements of the larger city governments.