The Forestry Forum

I like livin a simple life...less bills, make about everthing I need, or want........fix stuff.
Basically a throwback , Now I already know somw of you ARE Hippies, some are Stubborn...Many are self reliant.........Lets hear some stories about how yopu live!?

(As Bro. Noble puts it....NOW its fashinable to be a hillbilly :D :D)

I will get it started.
I like being able to take care of my self and my family...and I dont like spending loads of time away from them to get piles of cash so I have made some trades.....I may be a tad poorer on cash but not love and fun....
This is where sawmilling fits into my life..I always loved wood and building with it........So I put together a mill for ,"Fun and Profit".......Now who would of thought by doing that dream, I would meet such a clan of ,"Rugged individual as you folks....." :D :D :D
I built my house with material I sawed out collected and bought with money that I earned as an INDEPENDENT contractor........mizerly saved my pennies and invested in getting what I need to live, so I dont have to be a SLAVE to the dollar,
but can rather enjoy my life.
I hunt most all the meat we eat, and grow a large garden, and eat wild plants as well.

I try to keep the motto ,"Work to live...dont live to work"......have always taken the time to play with my kids....walk in the woods, play in the creek.......
I have homeschooled my kids....teaching them HOW to live...as well as reading and writting and the bible.
I love life! And like ta laugh too.....and visit with friends....those are the moments we seem to remember and the ones I live for.........
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10677/dadnhog.jpg)

Buzz, what's the ground hog whisperin in your ear? :D

Looks to me he is about to sieze the ear. :o :D

I think Buzz got angry with him and turned his pelt into a warm winter hat. ;D

  Looks like THIS thread is going nowhere, fast  ::) ::) ::) ::)

Its already had 5 replies in less than an hour, but I know where you're going :D :D

Well trappin and eating  and makin banjo heads outta his brethren didnt hurt his enthusiasm for the GOOD LIFE!

Harold what you got ta say bout the philosophy of the groundhog?

The first Banjer head I used on my Daughters first Banjer, was Whistle Pig.  ;D

I have always attempted to be fairly self-reliant. It is interesting, but I envy the people who get to live on our fincas as caretakers. They seem to enjoy it so much - of course, they try to make Amy and I very comfortable when we are there as well.

We already get a lot of our fruit from the fincas and meat - soon fish and vegetables. I am not exactly homesteading since others do most of the work which we pay.

Just this week we decided to start spending weekends on the fincas - we have to get out of the house we live in because that is where our offices are - and we end up working all the time.

Buzz not so diffrent than you  8) Wife canes and frezes enough to carry us all year then some. I trade or swap for all I can. If I'm broke we just don't do anything. Put my mill together out of steel no one knew what to do with and it works. My uncle and I built a forklift that will load a bundel tyes any where you want to and my log truck was once a fire truck. :D Best thing they all paid for . Don't got much don't want much and not bothered by much . Only thing i'm lacking is a T9 ;D ;D

I've been thinking on this a bunch and have just about decided that I don't know anything about myself.  :-\

That's ok, Tom. :)  We know plenty about you.  If'n you gits curious, just ask, and we'll be happy ta fill ya in. ;D

I guess I got to cogitate on this a little bit, and maybe drink about it for a while.  Before I start that tedious process, though, I might oughta share a few first impressions of myself, just ta keep me honest.  First off, I'm lazy.  Oops, that'd be LAZY with all capital letters!  Most of the time, that works against me, but I live for that rare moment when it pay's off.  Sorta like playin' the slot machines, don't ya know?   Bein' LAZY, and kinda halfway bright, I tend ta invent all sorts of ways to get outta work.  Most of the time, these little schemes get me into a whole lot of trouble, if they ever get off the ground to start with.  Likely as not, they end up on the scrap pile.  But, there's always the chance that one of my ideas will hit it big, without requiring a lot of effort on my part, of course.

Secondly, I'm stubborn.  No, maybe that is third, and CHEAP should be the second thing. ???   Well, there ya go!  I told ya I needed ta drink about it for a while. :-\

I think I believe and think alot like Buzz but it has taken me several years to get rid of my fancy toys and credit cards but I finally did it . I felt like I was trapped and swimming in deep water but I did it .  I have come full circle right back where I started and grew up . I have walked away from so many different occupations and ended up right back on the farm . But now I got me one of these water pistols for doing dishes if my mail order bride ever shows up  :o! I aint scrubbin no DanG dishes anymore !  :D                                                                                                                                      (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10514/water%20pistol.jpg)

Buzz it is so funny that you posted this today.  Just tonight my wife and I were talking about this very thing, RIGHT BEFORE you called :D

Our long term plans are to be off the grid and totally self reliant.  Dont mind having the access to power and water but dont want to have to depend on it. 

I know when we build our place in Alaska it will be 100% self reliant.  Cant wait! 

Kirk, when you headed up hear to Alaska?  And what part are ya aiming for?   Alaska is the best thing the wife and I ever did, by a good bit.

I'm with Buzz.  I worked for years, busting my back so I could "retire" some day.   One day it dawned on me that money wize I would never swing it like I wanted, and I had wasted YEARS of my life for some thing out of my grasp!   So we sold it "ALL" and moved hear to Alaska and started "working to live" like Buzz.   I now do the work I want to do, spend my time the way I want and am hapy in my hart like I have never been before.   We don't have much at all now but what we have is ours not a bank's.   We live on the grid but dont "need" it.  We have generaters, gas frig and freezers, wind power and inverters and everything to live off grid but the grid is cheep power so we use it.

  I often used to be to tyed down by work I did not like but payed good, to do things like hunting, fishing, building and wood cutting.  Now they ARE my work! ;)   A bad day at work now is something like the fish don't bite, much more like the farm life of my childhood.   I work hard but onley at things I want to do and I trade or pay for what little I don't.
Andy

Andy
Maybe Ill come up too.
I wish I had more parners and friends to trade with....Right now I got 20# of nice tomatoes to trade for cucumbers....or whatever...My beans....didnt take either........
But Mr Kirk loaded me up with some extra deer meat( thanks bud).
I am tanning a bunch of hides from last season too.
Andy you need a coon and fox fur hat up there this winter? :D :D :D
P.S you said,"Now I had a Ford 300-6 that I used to power a tractor ".was it home built?

One of my favorite quotes is "If you get up everyone morning and get to do what you want, then you are rich." This was said by Warren Buffet.  I think the key is to stop trying to imitate everyone else and do your own thing as they used to say.

I guess instead of heading to Alaska I heading a little further south... I checked out of the rat race some time ago.  My only problem is that I love business - building businesses and running businesses so I had to figure out a way to be self reliant and at the same time involved in business.

I will admit that I am tied to the internet. Not only for business, but also for information and amusement (like this forum). I doubt I would be willing to be without this adiction...

QuoteI guess instead of heading to Alaska I heading a little further south

What's this, you don't like getting 6 feet of snow in the time you go to bed and wake up :D

Hehe, this is exactly the life I want to live, minus the trucks and tractors you guys have. I don't know how to fix em and I can't be self reliant if I have to buy gasoline or diesel.  The only thing is, the government abolished the homesteading act, so you have to pay for land now, its all good though.  I just want to go out on 10 acres chop down some hemlocks and white oaks, build a hand hewn cabin, build a fireplace, make some wagons for my mules to hitch to and forget about the fast pace life.  Then I'll make a sawmill to pay for taxes and the land. 

AD,
we want to move to the Haines area. We spent 12 years in Anchorage just off of Campbell Lake and after our last trip up a couple years ago, I have no interest in living in Anchorage.  We have visited all the southeast communities and Haines sticks on us. 

Good fishing YEAR round, miled winters, pretty good hunting, but I can drive out of Haines and get to some great hunting near Tok. 

Once we get ALL our bills squared away and stash a small nest egg for taht rainy day we plan on going back up to Haines to close on a peice of land. 

Anyone that has ever spent any time in Alaska can relate.  Once you leave, you will be haunted for the rest of you life if you dont go back.  We will return!  My wife and I met up there and we both want to go back. 

I like the southest Forest Program too!   8)  10,000 bf of timber for personal use per year was the limit last time I checked.  I think I could build a few things with that every year!  Got to love Alaska!  Pay you to live there, give you Timber to build with (only certain areas) and NO INCOME TAX! 

Man o' man Buzz!.................Where you been hinding this thread?  It's gona' jerk the heart of every down to earth, life loving guy and gal on the forum. I've been told that there is only two ways to acheave this. You either have to be rich or poor. I know this is a state of mind in the  real world but financial pressures to me are like finding a frog in the soup. A fellow that works himself silly ain't no fun to be around and when he gets to  the platau I 'm worried he may not be the same free spirit...........Still trying to figure it all. Uncle Buck made a full circle. I guess I'm still looking for a short cut.

 I'm headed to Costa Rica.  8) 8)  Affordable living, inexpensive food, great climate.  8) 8)  Gonna teach some Tico's how to run the Mills and Planers and other tools.  8) 8)  Gonna re-taar, like Alfredo.  :D :D :D

"Gonna re-taar, like Alfredo".............yea right,  :D :D :D

 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Unclebuck

Strange place for a microphone, watcha doin, singing a serenade to your mail order bride to hurry her along.

My retirement:

Monday - Thursday 4:30 am to 4:00 PM - Computer stuff, software, etc. Finca Leola business
Monday - Thurday  4:00 pm to 6:00 pm - Attempt to get Spanish hammered into my head.
Friday - Saturday  All day down on the fincas.
Sunday - collapse.

It is a good thing I am retired or I would never have time to do all of this!

And you know this is true Harold!

   ;D ;D :D :D :D :D :D :D ;) ;) :)

Wow, great thread.
I'm battling these very ideas in my head all the time. Should I quit my job at big fancy company with good pay and bennys but am treated like another number and am basically a wage slave, or should I do what I love full time. I'd have more time for family hunting, fishing, in general living but the lack of health care insurance scares me.
I certainly don't want to be one of those people that lived their whole lives only to find out at the end that they never really lived at all.
Alaska sounds darned good.

Oakie .
Can you imagining the thought of living your whole life and never getting to use that health insurance............. ;) ;) :D :D :D :D just joshin ya.but get the flip side?

Oakie, I was a wage-slave for 34 years.  I can't say I regret it, but I'm DanG glad to be out of it.  I timed my retirement to coincide with the payoff on our land.  That's the point where I figured that all I have to do is put grrits on the table and pay the light bill.  Anything beyond that, I can handle on my own.  I gave up a lot of money and bennies to retire "early" but I don't regret it for a skinny minute.  I have my life back now.  To be sure, I am poor, but I know how to do that.  I've been practicing for years! :D :D

Do your planning carefully, and be prepared to cut back on some things, and you can have your life back, too. :) :)

Man, do I envy you guys.  I don't have any real debt outside a mortgage and the normal phone, electric, water bill crap.  I need to get out of this rat race, but can't convince wifey that we can do it.  I'm sick of being gone more than I'm home.  How did you guys convinve your wives that it was the right thing to do and that you'd make it?  I keep telling wifey that we can sell our house, take the profit and buy a nice house in wellsboro PA.  No mortgage to pay, no car payments.  Gotta get a job to buy some food and electric, pay for car insurance and gas.  Wouldn't take much but she will not go along with it.  I guess she's too much of a princess.  That's what I get for marrying a city girl!  Man, the things I'd do to get back to the country.  I guess that's why I feel so relaxed here.  Hey Deadheader, you need another worker down there????

Yup, need LOTS of workers. We will pay $1.00-$2.00 per hour, IF yer a good hard worker.  That's average or slightly above average.

  Course, the food is cheap. ;) ;)

I have to echo what some of ya'll have already said. I was talking to my wife about this over the weekend. We went to a seminar on a farm where a guy is supporting 4 fulltime incomes on 100 cleared acres. I hope for the day when I can quit my job and work fulltime on the farm. The mill would have to be the main source of income and then cattle (beef sells), chickens and the such like. We have even considered Agri-tourism to supplement some income.
I already consider ourselves pretty much self-reliant. Just need to cut all of the strings that are attached.
Nice thread......Thanks Buzz ;)

Hey Harold, your coming to the roast RIGHT? 

For those that have never had the chance to work for yourself let me just say, once you do, you will never go back to employment.  Having been self employed for the last 14 years has changed me forever.  It took some adjustment to get the proper discipline in place to make it happen but once that adjustment period was done, theres no looking back.


Dang, as far as being LAZY, I am the LAZIEST person on the planet.  I am whats called "Ambishously Lazy".  I plan on working smart and hard while I can so I can take the best times of my life and be LAZY!  I want to be fully retired by the time I am 50 and never look back.  Retired doesnt mean not work, just means you do what you want when you want.  I want to cut more wood but cant because of the business right now.

I think if I had to go back to a job where someone was telling me what to do I would die.  To many stupid boss's out there.  I know, there might be a few good ones, but I dont have the time or desire to find them  ;D

No Roast, Kirk.  :'( :'(  Got to keep paying bills until we have the closing. I really wanted to meet some more members , but, not gonna happen.  :(

How do you guys deal with medical insurance?  It just seems so hard worrying about how the kids are going to have anything.  If it was just me I'd have been on my own long ago, but with wifey and two kids, well one, with another one coming on thursday, I just don't know how to make it work.

Lessee, the title of this thread is:

Homestead philosophy - yeah kinda sorta.  Bought my 100 acres in parcels as I could for a price I could afford.  It is land that the developers ddin't want at the time and can't have now  :).  Growing up I dreamed of owning land.  I would have been a dirt farmer if I could have afforded good level ground but that wasn't to be so now I am a tree farmer improving these ravines.  Still got a crop to attend to.  Planting is automated by ma nature.  Weeding is dang hard work but I love it. :)

Self-reliant - if I can fabricate it cheaper than I can acquire it I will give it my best shot.  Sometimes it works , sometimes it ends up costing more, but everytime I learn something.

Stubborn - Yeah, I resemble that one for sure!  Opinionated too, just in case you all missed that  :D.  Case in point - married a sweet lady whom I thought shared my views on what constituted a good life.  Suprise, surprise, after 7 years of living in a basement and working the 20 acre woods (all we had at the time) she deides that she would really be happier living in the burbs in a fancy house and making the social rounds.  When she delivered the ultimatum of 'it's either this land or me' well the choice was clear.  I can't and I won't live in the burbs!  Met a truly amazing lady a couple of years later that shared my vision of the world.  Together we managed to acquire the adjoining 80 acres, build a house, build a greenhouse (her business) and one day I will finish my barn and kiln.  Everything will be paid for in 5 years. 

Simple minded - Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  Confused?  Possibly.  ::)

Kirk said,"Retired doesnt mean not work, just means you do what you want when you want. "
WELL.........I had a suspicion that this was the case , So I have been retired for many years already!!!!!

Woodward.....said"It just seems so hard worrying about how the kids are going to have anything"

I decided that the gift I would give my three kids, was gonna be ME and the life in the country .I fought a battle to make it happen early on ..but feel that  idid the right thing and best thing for them.

dont you think people go broke who HAVE some health insurance.?........

I think many times people get beat out of thier benifits anyhow..........I have always faced fear with faith that over and above all else God is my POP and will take care of all us here in the woods ;)

Y'all just missed my latest and LAST attempt to post some pics and info that was requested.  >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(  Stinkin Timed out session  >:( >:( >:(

I just got timed out too!!! what gives, I have been active and was typing a reply, when I hit "POST" it said I was timed out.

What a neat thread. I'm kinda relieved that i'm too young to have to worry about this stuff...yet.  :) :) :)

What happened?

Those pics were stacked and now they are side by each  ??? :)

Interesting pics. Who are the 'stars' in the pics, especially the young one and the 'smiley' one?   ;D

theyre givin me trouble..........
I havve tried to modify that post5 times and the post comes up different......each time!

I think we are being visited by the ghosts of forums yet to come!  :)
Buzz, I gotta agree with ya with the kids being better off.  I am real good friends with several Amish families and that's about as self sufficent and off the grid as a family can get.  Their children are so much more mature and well mannered than "English" children their age.  Amish don't encourage competitive qualities in their kids.  They encourage doing your absolute best, and as a matter of fact, INSIST on it...but the children seem calmer and happier than kids being run to soccer and dance classes.  
You might appreciate this.....I was in a local market and an Amish woman and her daughter walked past.  A local yuppie lady looked over at me and said, "I think it is just awful how they make their children work."  I smiled at her and said, "They think it's sad that "English" children attend school for seven hours and then have to go to sports and such....and they think "English" children don't get enough rest because they are out so late most nights.  They also think it's sad that "English" children do not spend time with their parents and family."   :D
It's all a matter of perspective.  

Here is the fruit of a self sufficient life style..........An Arysaw hillbilly made this in his "Spare" time 

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10330/FDHBanjer7.jpg)



(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10330/FDHBanjer10.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10330/FDHBanjer2.jpg)


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10330/FDHBanjer3.jpg)

  That's part of 'em.  ::) ::)

Amen Buzz!

Harold,

I am going to hold you up at immigration if I don't bring me the hardware to make a banjo like that!  When I was 17 I made my own banjo - those look really nice.

You look a little different in the pictures...

Everything but the tuning pegs and strings and the fancy wood inlay, around the bowl, is hand made.  All the inlays are from the Buffalo River. They were fresh water Mussel shells that we ground down and cut out.

  All the brass was solid rod and solid bar, even the tone ring, under the head. Made all the nuts and bent all the hooks. Totally hand made. Same as the Fiddles we made, all hand made.

  The resonator is Black Walnut, as is the neck laminates and the bowl laminates. The fingerboard is Figured Walnut.  The resonator has the owners name (LYLE) inlaid in it with Abalone shell. We sold the Banjo at a craft show. It went to Kansas.

  We made small ones for the little kids. Medium sized ones for the 8-12 year olds and the full sized ones. They all ahd steel truss rods, some epoxied in, some adjustable. A full sized one weighed 14 pounds and really rang.  ;)

 8) fla d
i could  drive my famly nuts with one of them  ;D

Kin ya play one, SJ ???

It is a big step breaking away from the "cash cow". But man I am ready. When I look at the fools who run the company I work at i just have to shake my head.
There is a good book by a man named Dan  Miller called " The Rudder of the day". It is full of encouragement to go and do your own thing. He stress that money is never enough compensation if you are not getting any satisfaction.

Here is a good quote:"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S Elliot

How many banjo pickers have we got on the forum? Harold, do you pick? You make a fine looking banjo I know. Uncle Buck picks a Gibson Mastertone and he's been picking for 20 years. How about fiddle players and Guitar pickers? I pick a 5 string myself. I've got a Gibson but It is not a Mastertone. Not sure if it is pre-war either. Got an "Aria" also that I've had for about 30 years.---------If this thread starts to side tracks too much, maybe somebody will post a new one. I should have I guess. , but I'm in a hurry to sharpen a few blades for tomorrow. Cutting Cedar and treated, road side break-a-way post.

I used to play the 5 string with a banjo I made myself. I won't say I was great, but I could play and people would be polite enough to listen.  :D

Well this is My Life!! I have been living off grid for 5 years and trying to take steps towards a self reliant life style. I do have a part-time business that is on-grid and is where my computer is. I do hope in time to be where I can Live-off-the-land type living with a part-time job to take care of ins. and things I have to buy, like flour, salt, sugar etc. I am lucky to have found a Girl Friend that also shares this same desire. Our plans are to get our Cabin built down by the lake in the next year or so, can and store food, get bills payed off, then Get Married and move into our new cabin and enjoy life some. I only work part-time now in my job, but stay real busy doing things like sawing logs for my cabin, getting things together to get it built. Haven't started construction yet, but soon. We are buying things we will need while we are working--like solar panels, batteries, inverters, canning jars, planting fruit/nut tree's, blue berry bushes. We are trying to get as much done ahead of time as we can. I don't want to go back to cave-man days, I just want to be as self sufficiant as possible, and have some of the more modern things like a TV and a air conditioner on the hot nights, but we will be totally off grid. I have 21 solar panels(1500 watts) running at this time. We don't have enough wind here for wind-power, I am sure when we get married, I will probably have to run a generator for clothes washing or to help charge the batteries if we have several cloudy days in a row. Living  alone--------I never have to use the generator, but I do have 30 trojan T105 golf cart batteries hooked up to store any extra power the panels produce, that I don't use. Some peoples hobbies are Golfing, Hunting, $20,000 bass boats etc------my hobby is becoming self reliant------and I Love it!! Randy

Randy,

It is interesting that you mention hobbies - my family has teased me in the past that I never have a hobby that doesn't produce something. If I am fishing, I don't usually fish for game fish, I fish for something to eat - if I am hunting, I am looking for something tender, not some old tough buck only good for hamburger meat (doesn't bother me for other people to get him).

I love being out in nature, so I guess I started a reforestation business which is definitely taking over my life. I once started playing around with programming, and ended up doing it for a living.

I suspect they have a point. ;)

I once was in a interview and the owners of the company were going on and on how secure the company was and that people didn't want to leave and they didn't have a lot of turn over. (all true) I told the president who I knew that I appreciate that for others, but my security is in my skills and reputation, not in any company I work for. I think self-reliance also means that you aren't expecting that anyone you do business with is going to take care of you. (they hired me on the spot by the way)

My business partner here, Hector, could probably teach us a lot about self-reliance. Even though he is a part owner of our business (a third) he still takes money he is receiving and reinvests it in his own land, etc. He wants to have more than one source of income. He also likes to tell me - if you have land, you have everything. After we buy a new piece of land, we fix up the house, add some animals, take care of the fruit trees, plant some more, etc. Each one ends up being nearly self-sufficient.

There was a study done quite a few years back by a socialogist lady (Iwish I could remember her name). She found that the people on one island were generally happy while a neighboring island were angry and frustrated. She decided to figure out why. She concluded that the difference was in the way they were raised. On the "happy" island, the kids were made to work side by side with their parents while the other "unhappy" island the kids were left at home to play. That group grew up frustrated. She felt like work at their parents side was much more fullfilling for the kids then playing all day. It really made for an interesting read especially in light of how most of our kids are raised today.

My daughter wrote a paper for AP English once stating that school was nothing more than state sponsered baby sitting.  :o

Given that she graduated with 8 Advance Placement courses when she was 17, it was hard for them to argue with her. Heck, it is hard for ME to argue with her.

She is now half way through her Phd in Bio-Physics - be afraid, be very afraid.

She had the benefit of being homeschooled for most of her education. After we were sure the public school system couldn't do any damage - we let her go to the public school.

Quote from: Buzz-sawyer on July 24, 2005, 01:37:47 AM
Andy you need a coon and fox fur hat up there this winter? :D :D :D
P.S you said,"Now I had a Ford 300-6 that I used to power a tractor ".was it home built?

Sorry I take so long to get back hear. ::)  I have a coon skin hat from the first coon hunt I ever went on.   I weir my FF hats most of the time but when it's very cold I have my wolf skin hat.   The wolf hat is VERY worm but every time i put it on I think of Robin Williams in The Survivors. :D :D  Thanks for the offer. ;)

The tractor was a IH 340 I think.   The 4 cilinder disele had a rod sticking out the side and we had a rebuilt 300 ford sitting around.  It was a ton of work but when it was done I liked it better.   I took a 1/3" plate and covered the frount of the clutch housing. bolted 2 flange bearings back to back, 1 in and 1 outside the plate with a driveshaft yoke that the IH flywheel bolted up to.  Then I built a frame as the IH motor block was the frame on that tractor.   So what I had was a slip yoke I could hook any motor to by a drive shaft and start it with the IH starter and use the IH clutch. ;D
Andy

Quote from: Kirk Allen on July 24, 2005, 10:39:26 AM
AD,
we want to move to the Haines area. We spent 12 years in Anchorage just off of Campbell Lake and after our last trip up a couple years ago, I have no interest in living in Anchorage.  We have visited all the southeast communities and Haines sticks on us. 

Good fishing YEAR round, miled winters, pretty good hunting, but I can drive out of Haines and get to some great hunting near Tok. 

Once we get ALL our bills squared away and stash a small nest egg for taht rainy day we plan on going back up to Haines to close on a peice of land. 

Anyone that has ever spent any time in Alaska can relate.  Once you leave, you will be haunted for the rest of you life if you dont go back.  We will return!  My wife and I met up there and we both want to go back. 

I like the southest Forest Program too!   8)  10,000 bf of timber for personal use per year was the limit last time I checked.  I think I could build a few things with that every year!  Got to love Alaska!  Pay you to live there, give you Timber to build with (only certain areas) and NO INCOME TAX! 

All south east is still good as long as you like it wet Wet WET in the winter.   I have frends that summer in Craig but winter hear in Palmer to dry out.   Anchorage is way to "big city" now and even the Valley (Wasilla mostley) is getting real crowded and unfrendley now. :-[   Better buy your land as soon as you can, it's unreal what land near watter is going for now and I see it getting worse.
Andy

fla D no i dont play banjo . my wife has a geetar that i play with, just making my own little didys just to unwind now and again :)

We are simple minded and somewhat self reliant.

Started out in 1986.  With our wedding money we bought a truck and camper for  $730 we lived in that at the mrs. folks about 6 months then we rented for awhile that sucked.  Put the truck and camper up for sale and traded it even up for a 1968 10' x 50' mobile home in pretty good shape and all of the appliances were pink the stove, bath tub, sinks etc..   The Mrs. father gave us 1 acre so we could set up the mobile home.   I had to do some replumbing a little fixing up and we lived in that for 14 years we out grew it.  During that time we put a 12 x 24 addition on. When the Mrs. father became ill with cancer they signed us over 10 acres.  Three years ago the church had a 1978 14 x 70 trailer that they needed to get rid of we put a bid on it and they turned around and gave it to us. What a Blessing from God! 8)  The Mrs. father told us you two can step in a pile of it and come out smelling like a rose.

Built the addition with rough sawn lumber from a nearby sawmill.  It was shortly after that I dreamed of having my own sawmill.  I was working for the City of Grand Rapids so I was able to purchase a my first mill in 1994.  In  1994 my son was born in February and 4 weeks later I buy my  1st handgun and in the fall I got my 1st mill.  That was a good year.

Built my own pole barn with some help from friends with the roof and concrete.

I guess after 10 years with the City as a wastewater treatment mechanic the Good Lord didn't want me there anymore I had a severe nervous breakdown, anxiety and depression.  But things are much better now.  Working on our own with the family is much better than working for the city and a lot less money but we have learned to deal with this.

I know Norm F is serious about processing meat and I think Kirk the Alaskan is too :D :D

....How many of ya raise your own meat or shoot it in the wild?
I grind my own sausage, burger, brats..cut steaks..............eat mostly pork and dear...raise chickens too.

I'd say 80% at least of the meat we eat we put in the freezer our selves.  We eat a lot of deer, if we could figure out how to eat the horns and hooves we would.  That's the only part we throw away. ;D  Usually kill a hog or two a year out of the river bottom.  I've already posted a recipe for hog head souse. ;D  We don't eat their hooves either. ;D  Now we have ducks and I do love dressing in November.

Do the wild hogs taste samy same as wibur the barnyard pig?
Ive heard some pig hunters complain bout the bores.............. ???

Ya woud not like the taste of wilber when he gets to be a tuff old bore any more then a wild one, some of them get very pungent. :-X 

We hunt, fish and farm about 60% of our meat and about 40% of our other foods.   It's taking years to relearn how to get good yelds, What grows and how you grow it in Alaska is just a tad diferent than Arizona.

Hey Andy,

Good to see you on here. What ya need to do is give us a report as to what all ya been up to.

I saw a big ol purdy tandum wrecker a while back and thought to myself, "wonder what Andy is up to".

We raise about 85% of our meat. We would raise all of it but we sell so much that some times we don't have enough for ourselves. Beef, pork, rabbit, deer and some fish. I am not as good a fishermen as I am a hunter, I guess.

Buzz, you deffinately don't won't a boar, you want a barr.  Went to a b-b-q last year and before I asked I already knew THEY were having boar.  Used to be you wouldn't think of turning a boar aloose without cutting him, now they just don't know better or don't care.  I think it's a mix.

On one of the fincas, Hector wants to have free-range porkers. There are wild pigs on the property too. I suspect though they are not wild pigs, but something like peccarries, etc.

What I really want is a few Tapir - otherwise known as jungle pigs.

Here, free range hogs can really have an effect on native wildlife like deer.  They'll eat anything. ;D

Quote from: Buzz-sawyer on August 03, 2005, 12:42:06 AM
Do the wild hogs taste samy same as wibur the barnyard pig?
Ive heard some pig hunters complain bout the bores.............. ???

Shooting, live trapping, clubs, and even heard of knife hunting em down in Texas.  60 to 80 pounds and the best eating you ever got into.  Lots better than Wilbur the barnyard oinker.  As Rockn H mentioned you don't want any part of the boars.

Larry,
Parts of Ill now have ferral hogs...which will work out real well for me , cause I usually only BUY pork for making burger/sausage....Soon I may be on the cheap for meat :D :D :D

Well guess what - last weekend on the fina I saw the footprint of a tapir! Really cool. Imagine a foot print that looks like a small elephant.

They are protected so there is no eating one even though they are called a jungle pig. They get pretty big too - about 700 lbs.

Most the time, and encounter between a tapir and a jaguar means that the jaguar is dead.  :o

Hows your jaguar population?

On the finca in Monte Cristo, actually pretty good. I have seen a footprint. Not sure I want to see the real thing without someone slower than me with me.  :D

So Harold, how soon you going to be down here....  ;D

WHAT ??  :o :o :o :o

I thought that would get you. Don't worry, we will use tourist instead...  ;D I suspect most of them are much slower than you and me.

By the way, there is a new bodega de madera in San Carlos - they have no good wood, I stopped by. Only stuff for framing.

Can't wait for you to get here.

 I'm feeling TRAPPED in my own country ??? ::) ::)

  Have to surrender my Passport for UP TO 6 WEEKS, so I can MAIL it to Pittsburg. Can't DRIVE to MIAMI anymore, because of HOMELAND SECURITY  :o :o :o :o

  Sat in SS office for 1½ hours, to get an APPOINTMENT for a PHONE APPLICATION to get signed up for my SS.

Don't you just love how we pay the salaries of clowns that we would fire if they showed up at our workplace, heck, they wouldn't even get in the door.

Who comes up with these stupid rules? Their assumptions is that our time isn't important - they sure know theirs isn't.  >:(

none of my business but how come you can't drive to Miami ???

Everything is done by mail now, so I've been told ???

go figure.  seems that you can't talk to anyone face to face anymore.  and now when I call people for work I get voice mail.  You can't even get the satisfaction of realy talking to them now """just leave a message and we'll call back if we feel like it sorry about your luck""""

I'll give you my phine number if you want to talk to someone! :D :D :D

Sure I like to visit with new friends but I tend to ramble sometimes ;D  Maybe that's why I get voice mail so much :)

What I did yesterday.........Any guesses as to what it is....... :D :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10677/meat.jpg)

Deer Meat! 

Ya, a meat grinder 8)

Politicians ???

Well there is some pork in there.................

Well, I was getting hungry down here until you said it was politicians - just too fatty for me.  ;D

Well how were those butterfly steaks?

And by the way, you still didnt send me what ever on earth you were going to send me. Piggy roast came and went and I still have no clue what it was you were going to send.  ???

They got smacked with a meat tenderizer, soaked in Italian salad dressing, then seared, and put to side ans smoked with hickory for 20 minutes 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Homestead philosophy?  A hand crank grinder driven by an electric motor?  Surly must be solar powered.  Guess it's alright so long as the grinder is a Keen Kutter.  And to top it off Italian salad dressing?

Your making me hungry...better go find me some of that natural meat. :)

Larry ,
i am thrifty(cheap)..............and conserve energy resources (lazy)...........
So that 50 cent 110v gear motr from an auction, and that 70 cent Italian dressing, and the rock bottom price meat grinder fit the Philosophy fit in real good!! :D :D

Back when I was a teenager we used to put up tomato paste. We had one of those tomato strainers that looked a little like that thing. It also was manual until us teenage engineers got to it after having our arms nearly fall off trying to put up quart after quart of tomato paste.

We salvaged an electric motor from a dryer and rigged her up. We once put up 150 quarts in one evening!  :o

Homesteading with mad scientist.... Ya got to love it. Can't wait till Harold gets here and we start scaring the Ticos together.  8)

There will be another Costa Rican legend talk about for centuries.  :D :)

I figure the Costa Ricans have given me a beautiful country to live in - I am giving them stories and amusement. It seems like a good trade.  ;D

Quote from: Buzz-sawyer on August 15, 2005, 04:05:28 PM
What I did yesterday.........Any guesses as to what it is....... :D :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10677/meat.jpg)

How'd they taste, I assume they are gone already ???

Well, we made about 15 lbs. so we have about 14.5 lbs. left. :D

Fresh from a successful hunt already? Or did ya have to grind it three times to get the tire tracks out of it   ;D ;D

I did grind it three times.......BUT it was to get the mix of pork, herbs and deer right.
The meat was old trimmings from last year ;)

    Buzz,I agree with your philosophy 100%.I raised an acre of corn and The whole church came up for a corn roast last sat.My wife wanted to rent a portajon  and I said,HECK NO I'll build a permajon.10 hours later we had us a dandy poplar board an batten out house with deer antler handles.I butcher two hogs every year fed on bloody butcher corn (save my own seed) and 3 deer.Sawed out several buildings on my home made mill,and I gots shoes older than most of the guys I work with.I keep my own junk runnin and don't use credit for nuthin.I don't have to go to the health club   to keep off my wieght.                                                                                                                                    A rich guy could'nt enjoy things like diggin a three prong seng or treein a coon or pettin a whistle pig. ;  ld'nt                                                                         

Well I have simplified my life further...by removing the land line from my home.
i have 2 cell phones.and that is more than enough to communicate with the outside world......except......that i used dial up for the forum........I have been trying to figure out how to acess my dial up ISP from my cell......no luck yet.
ANY good techy suggestions out there?

I miss talking with ya"ll :( :(

Hey Buzz, long time no hear. Don't know about comp/cells but glad your back.

I think your cell phone provider would have to have that option in your area. Not all areas have it of course. Around here it's limited to the city slickers. You could look into satelite for internet, but it would be cheaper to keep the land line I think. ;D

I am really not interested in buying a dedicated cellular data transmition service......I am more interested in modum, audible transmition over the cell line......the task seems simple , hard wire reciever to speaker, as if using an old audible modum link....i have experimented and got em talkin a little by dissassembling a handset and putting the speakers to recivers.......i am thinkin that using a head set wire would help out. ???

Why not all of the above.  Who says any of them are bad things.  I would say the opposite is the bad thing.  I couldn't be "dependent, a gutless rollover, and always over-analyzing everything", it goes against my nature.

I wish my wife thought more like that.

Buzz,

There are modems out there that work with a cellphone connection. It isn't highspeed - but it will work.

Here is a starting place.

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/wirelessinternet/f/cellmodemspeed.htm

You might seriously consider a Dish though if they will do bi-directional.

Fred

I use Sat for my www

It works much better than dial up and doesn't require a phone line. 

It's costly to put in and the monthly service fee is more than dial up though.  Worth it in my book, but maybe not for everyone.

We don't have a land line phone in our home...but we did spring for a DSL hookup. The cost is more than a dial up I suppose, but it is really fast and dependable.

I was of the understanding that dial-up and DSL both were 'land lines', or is it just that they both come into the home on cables burried underground? 
I need an education here.  ???

My DSL to the computer is about $5 per month more than a second dial-up line that I used to have dedicated to the computer. Right at $30 per month, last I knew.

I just saw an ad on TV for Verizon DSL ??? Guess I'm not too bright either ??
I would LOVE to dump Ma Bell. I DO hate cell phones, when you pay a monthly charge and can't connect or receive calls.  >:(

  Someone, tell us more

DanG
Please look at Reply #108 and help a brotha out?

Buzz, I ain't seen one of those old audible modems in years!  If I remember right, they worked at 300 baud on a GOOD day!  That's .3 kbps.  POINT THREE. :D :D :D  We'll be looking forward to your first post on it in about a year.  I remember when we got our first 1200 baud connection.  We thought we was burnin' up the world with that 1.2k! ::) :D :D

The only reason we're keeping our landline is for web access.

Patty, if you have DSL, you do have a landline, unless they've come up with some rinkydink, cutdown version.  You should be able to plug a regular phone into it and talk while you're online.  DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is just a regular phone line carrying a digital multiplexed signal.

Maybe you could go to ebay and get an antic C=64 and a 1200 baud modem, then figure out all the ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE codes on a 6502 CPU, you can get those manuals their too. Ebay has tons of this stuff, I have collected some of it myself. ;D  I'm just pullin your leg Buzz, but I think I'de stick with the land line for dialup or DSL. I don't need someone with a scanner gadget listening in on my phone calls. ;) Cell phone packages here cost a minimum of $65/month unless your on prepaid with limited minutes and a minimum of $10 activation per month.

We don't have a land line PHONE although we do have a line to our house. Since we have cell phone service we felt the extra $40 a month was unnecessary. If I was you Buzz I'd consider a VOIP through vonage our someone like them with a DSL connection if possible.

We belong to a very small local coop phone company that is very progressive. We had T-1 to our business out in the bonnies back in the mid 90's. This summer they've been running optical fiber to all of their customers.

I get a check for our share of the profits from them every fall.  8)

FDH,

You are dumping Ma Bell, you are coming here - trust me, we don't have Ma Bell here!

Theresa needs a good connection.  ::) ::)

FDH, if you got Ma Bell as the primary local provider in your area, then you got Ma Bell.  The only way to give her the slip is to move somewhere else.  You can strike your deal with any of a number of smaller companies, but you're still gonna go through Ma Bell's network, even on your cellphone.

Norm, ya oughta check and see if you can't just plug a phone into your DSL.  I know the one's we had before I retired were a package deal that included your internet access, local and long distance, all on the one line.  If you can do it, it shouldn't cost extra.  As I said, though, they were coming up with all sorts of watered down versions that were not true DSL lines, but were sold as DSL. ::)

As per my post about Verizon DSL. How would that work ???

I heard, and I can't back this up or know how it works, but there are some USB cords that connect to "some" cell phones and allow internet access that way.
Would that require a special service other then the net access option that is already on the cells?

Some phones used to have a cable that would plug into them like a headset would and then plug into a usb port on youre laptop.  I know Cingular used to offer a Nokia that you could use, but since they have been switching over to the GSM service on their towers they no longer offer that model.  A friend of mine still has a flip phone from verizon that he can plug his laptop up to and call up his home internet service.

FDH, you could buy the service from Verizon, but it would still come to you via Ma Bell.  Whatcha got against them, anyway.  They're no better or worse than anybody else.

Furby, if you could get one of them cellphones that would plug into a USB, it oughta work just like a landline.  I guess you'd have to have a regular ISP. ???

 Mostly paying about $60.00 a month, NOT including long distance.
When we moved and changed numbers, they snuck in a $5.00 PER MONTH charge for NOT putting the number in the directory. Then, they snuck in $4.00 PER MONTH for inside line maintenance. I don't need all those charges. If we had paid the bill, we would be stuck paying for the whole 12 month billing period.  >:( >:(

  Being charged for NOT doing something burns my butt  >:( >:( >:(

You CAN deny the $5 directory charge, I do!
The inside line maintenace I don't know.

You can deny the inside line maintenance charge too.

What you have to be careful about is that they will continue to put it on the bill whether you sign up for the service or not.  It 's a good idea to check over your bill regularly to make sure that you aren't paying them for something that you didn't order.  It pays to look at your long distance carrier too.

Seems to be the new way to sucker your customers. Charge them in an obscure place on the bill, then, you can't cancel for 1 year. Ever get those offers in the mail ? If you do not send the card back to stop the service, you automatically get billed ??  >:( >:(

Our phone company was running a scam for awhile. Or I call it a scam anyway. The old rate for dialup was the same as now, but they were charging for extra minutes past 100 minutes. Well new customers were coming online (I was a new customer) and getting the same shooting match with unlimited time.  Meanwhile the greasy buggers where still charging the old customers the overtime.  >:( My bother found out through me what they were doing and he confronted them with it to make it right. They gave him back credit. They did the same thing with party line. Everyone in the neighborhood went private except the neighborhood snoop. She essentially had what amounted to a private line, which was $10 cheeper than the rest. My brother said he wanted party line too, since this person had it. They said they didn't have party line any longer, which was a total lie and he gave them a hard time. I don't think there is party line any longer. ;D :D

I never heard of this stuff about not being able to make changes for a year. ???   I ain't sure they can make that stick.  I can see their point on the inside wire maintenance, though.  They're charging $4 per month, right?  How many months of that do you suppose it takes to roll a truck just to replace a jack in your bedroom?  They gotta have some way to protect themselves against people who would sign up and pay $4 for one month, get the problem fixed, then cancel the service.

The biggest savings you can get for yourself is to get rid of your long distance carrier.  You don't need it, and you're paying several bucks a month in fees, even if you don't use it.  You can make your LD calls on your cellphone, or use a prepaid card that you can buy most anywhere.

Don't HAVE a cell phone.  ::)  My long distance is reasonable. $3.00 per month, with a free 800#. 3.9 cents per minute, billed at 6 second increments.  ;D

I use YAK for long distance. Don't need to sign up for nothing and it's 5 cents per minute in USA/Canada with huge discounts on rates world wide. They even have a cell dial-around service (requires account) for calling over seas (YAK World Cell). They also have Voice over IP (VoIP).


It shows up on your land line phone bill.

http://1010yak.yak.com/en/

RockinH
you are the closest to the the goal I  have.
I have read accounts of getting 16k over the cell lines......back in the 90's
I am tired of havin the caniving cheating lying phone company in my life.......so as many divirced folkes do, I am hooking my waggon to a new star.......CELL PHONES :D :D :D

Went ROUND AND ROUND with Cingular today about my old cell phone.  I got a new one a couple months ago and kept the old one so that it would give me time to let everyone know the new number. 

Tried to cancel the old one last week and they said I cant cancel the service unless there is a zero balance on the account.  They REFUSED to cancell my service.  Made a BOAT load of calls today to fight this and finally had to have my attorney contact them.  He had no problem getting it cancelled.

He said I should have a final bill in a week or so and is looking into there practice.  Seems they are bullying customers into terms that are neither legal or ethical.  He wanted to pursue further action but I told him I just want it cancelled. 

My new cell phone has a USB connector cable that permitts me to use my cell phone to access the internet.  Havent tried it yet but could be handy when Im on the road. 

Kirk, you should let your lawyer have at em!  Can you say, "Class Action Law Suit?"   :D :D  You might be saving someone's poor Granny from being intimidated by their illegal practice. 
Deadheader....ya really ought to have a cell phone.  You don't have to give the number out to anyone you don't want to, but it's nice for your family to know they can get in touch with ya.  If ya have a cell phone, some senorita could whisper sweet nothings any time of the day!   :)

Quote from: Roxie on September 27, 2005, 09:25:18 AM
............  If ya have a cell phone, some senorita could whisper sweet nothings any time of the day!   :)

It's those "sweet nothing-doing's" that FDH (CRDH) doesn't WANT to hear!   :o

Soooo....
How is life out on the farm for all you hicks hillbillies and back woods fols.....yes that even includes hilltops in costa rica with a view of the valano :D :D

Well, all I can tell ya right now Buzz, is she's time for a new truck. And that new truck's gonna have the Toyota emblem. The old '98 Dodge is gonna cost $850 for new air conditioning unit, $900 for front left universal, $700 for front end alignmnet and parts, then add 15% tax to all that.  ::) Looks like about 6 months payments on a new (used) truck. ;D Anyone know where I can get a used Toyota Tacoma 4 Cyl with under 60,000 km for under $20,000 CDN ? ::)

Well swamper, I thinkI feel your pain....just about 7 or 8 out of my old trucks need love all the time in one fashion or another....maybe you could make a project outta fixing the old beast yourself??? :)

How about buying a home for 10,000 USD? We wanted to buy a little house notched into one of our properties - from the outside, it looked pretty run down but we figured we could fix it up to live in while building our house.

I dropped Amy off while I ran down permits - when I returned 6 hours later, Amy told me the good news.

There was no bad news! Inside the house is actually pretty nice. Just fine for us. So, we decided not to build, but just start with this house - and expand a little (hah! a little)

So, add another 10,000 USD and we are done. I am in shock!

Lots of fruit trees --- and a few coffee bushes even. Like a million mangos - star fruit, 5 types of bananas, manzanas de aguas, etc, etc.

I know, I know, got to have pictures!

What a blessing Fred!...

Those fruit trees seem to add a specialness to even a modest property,no?
Is this a new development.............
or from when you first arrived?

I've heard mangos are hard to grow because of disease, true?

Buzz, the transmission is bad on the truck to. Would cost me $5000 easily to fix, plus I have nothing to work with, and tools ain't cheap. The dang truck ain't worth $5000.  ::) Never had any luck with domestic trucks, the front ends just don't hold a candle to a Toyota.

I have never seen a Mango tree here with disease. We even have old-fashion varieties - the fruit is sort of heart shaped. We have so many mangos at times that we feed them to pigs.

This house was just bought last week. The fruit trees are no more than 10 years old, I think a little younger - this does mean they are big.

We are going to be buried in fruit!

Not sure it would be considered a modest property - it is within our second plantation which is 70 acres. Howler monkeys, etc. etc.

And we will be expanding our land ownership there - I am looking at a couple of places - 200+ acres for next year. Running out of room (again)

Going over to the finca today to say where to run the bulldozer - building a spring fed pond too!

Here is something to check out for heating water.

http://www.foreverhotwater.com

Paul Harvey made mention of it on the radio Monday.

If any one has one of those I'd like to know their impressions.  We looked at them a year ago and decided to repair our coventional forced vent heater instead.  I saw similer water heaters years ago but they were NOISEY,  sounded kinda like a jet plane. :(

I never spent alot of time trying to read about it. The site was slow loading on dialup, so I loose patience. ;D There is always a catch to some of these gimmick. Besides, my power bill is pretty cheap including hotwater tank rental. If it breaks, I ain't gotta fix nut'n. They come and put another in it's place. ;)

SwampDonkey are you saying that you rent an electric water heater? I never heard of renting a water heater.

I looked at those tankless on demand water heaters and decided against getting one. The main drawback I see with them is that you need one at each location which can add up to quite a chunk of change for the units and the installation.

I know it desnt matter for many of you, but here in hurricane country the hot water tank doubles as a 50 gallon drinkable water storage tank in the event we have an extended power outage due to a hurricane. With the tankless heaters, you're up a creek.

Now that's preparedness thinking, GOI!  I never would have thought of that.  Especially since here in tornado country the water heater would likely end up in a field down the road.  My personal view is that a power outage during a midwest snowstorm requires a conventional gas fired tank-type water heater (i.e. nice hot shower).

Quote from: bitternut on August 09, 2006, 10:15:11 PM
SwampDonkey are you saying that you rent an electric water heater? I never heard of renting a water heater.

Yup, $5.21 a month. The oil company used to do the same with their oil fired hot water heaters as well.

Buzz not so diffrent than you   Wife canes and frezes enough to carry us all year then some. I trade or swap for all I can. If I'm broke we just don't do anything. Put my mill together out of steel no one knew what to do with and it works. My uncle and I built a forklift that will load a bundel tyes any where you want to and my log truck was once a fire truck.  Best thing they all paid for . Don't got much don't want much and not bothered by much . Only thing i'm lacking is a T9 
___________________________________________________________________
are you talkin about the old Allis-Chalmers T9 bulldozer?
quite the rig cleared tons of logs years ago with one,
now I play music professionally
http://www.music-seed.com

Quote from: bitternut on August 09, 2006, 10:15:11 PM
I looked at those tankless on demand water heaters and decided against getting one. The main drawback I see with them is that you need one at each location which can add up to quite a chunk of change for the units and the installation.

You need to take another look at them. They have whole house units that are tankless.
Unless of course you have an unusually high water usage. I would have installed one, but it came down to a tankless water heater or the addition. Thinking I should have gone with the tankless. :D

Too late for me now Furby since the job has been done for a few years now. I know they are big in Europe and probably the day will come when they will be the norm here also. Maybe they will come down in price once they become more common.

I don't know about renting an electric water heater SwampDonkey. Most electric water heaters seem to last at least 25 years or so with our water ( comes out of the upper Niagara River which is actually Lake Erie water ). My neighbor just replaced his a month ago in fact and it was almost 40 years old.

The current model whole-house tankless water heaters are great (use propane or gas - not electric).  They will typically pay for themselves in power savings over their lifetime.

GOI - I'm on a well (with a backup generator) so water storage is not a problem.  If you're on city water and want some additional self-sufficiency, one way around the water storage issue is to have a very large pressure tank and a anti-backflow valve installed in your house.  The anti-backflow valve should be installed in your main line, and the pressure tank will keep you in good shape for a while.  A tankless heater will provide hot water from the pressure tank, as long as you have enough generator power to run the igniter.

Quote from: bitternut on August 11, 2006, 12:01:17 AM
I don't know about renting an electric water heater SwampDonkey. Most electric water heaters seem to last at least 25 years or so

Yes they last a long time, our old one was oil fired and lasted 20 + years on hard water (lime). But, the rent is cheap and so is the power. Some months even cheaper than the phone bill. Also, it's piece of mind when it needs service/replacement with no up front lump sum payment. I think these days the things are only $300-400 though (plus install). Probably just buy the next one. ;) A note on the hard water....bought a water softner and used it for about 2 weeks and it's never been on again...cycled (wasted) too much water. Father was talked into all kinds of gimmicks to save money on energy. From what I've witnessed over the years, more $$ has left his wallet, than was ever saved from energy savings.  :D When I lived in Prince Rupert my power was only $75 for every 2 months in the dead of winter on electric heat.  ;)

Still a livin the good life up on the white oak ridge.....planning on an outdoor forced air wood burner this year...HOME MADE of course.
We have a bunch of newer members...any of ya like livin inthe sticks and building the things ya need, or killing them which ever aplies?!?!

Right down encouraging to hear you are 'back at it' Buzz.

Hope we get some pics of the new wood burner. Bet it will be a good one.  :)

The Buis house project coming along?

And how is son Daniel ?

And offbearer?

And sawing?

Hi beenthere,
Offbear_er and I often laugh about our conversations around the fire with you .
I have some pics already takenand will grab some more too.....
The house(that I have been remodeling) is looking good, ready for another century of enjoyement by someone :)
Daniel(my son) has gotten rid of the heavy HALO devise and is getting good upper body strenght....dressed himself the first time yesterday...he was proud of it.
Offbear_er(my daughter) is working as an apprentice carpenter with Buzz_sawyer and doin a fine job of the building trades, as she does her sophmore year of college.
Sawing is set to go I have about 25 hickory, white oak and honey locust staged and ready to minimize....havent sawn much of late....just longing looks at the mill ;) :)

Don't temp me Buzz, ya know I wanna see that mill run one of these days!

Tell us about the forced air outdoor wood burner.
Is it like the one in this thread?
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=21747.0

Yea Furby,
It is a similiar typ set up , except a larger door, and longer burn box....read between the lines...Don hates cutting wood into bit sized bits :D :D :D

I also have a boiler project working right now....but it runs off of a 100% efficient propane infra-red burner. Thats a seperate story ehh?

It can all be in the same book! ;)

Hey Buzz, good to hear about Daniel. Sounds like he will do just fine  8)

 ;) [at the forum]

Ok Buzz, since this is a Self Reliant-Homsteader thread....I wanted to ask you if you knew what 'water glass' was.  My grandmother used it. Apparently, there are many uses for it. :)

Well, SD,  mjy name ain't Buzz,  but since he's sometimes gone for a while,  I'll go ahead and answer your questiom ;D  Water glass is , the best I remember,  sodium silicate.  It comes in a liquid form and looks like water,  but when it dries it hardens and looks like glass.  You can get it at your local pharmacy.  I don't know why they call it 'waterglass' ::)

I use it when loading brass shot shells with black powder.  After putting in the shot,  a cardboard disc is placed over the shot and then a little 'water glass is poured over the disc.  That's probably what your Grandma used it for too :D

We called it liquid glass, and used for several different things, but most notably, we used it for fixing leaking radiators.

It is also used as the glue to close cardboard boxes.

Stew

Cracked engine blocks.  8)

Grandma used it to preserve uncooked eggs for the winter months. Put 1 part water glass into 10 parts water (boiled and cooled), put your eggs in a crock and cover the eggs with the solution so that there is at least 2 inches of solution over the eggs. If you boil the eggs used in this preservative you take a pin and prick a hole into it for the air to enter/escape because the 'water glass' makes the shell non pourous.  ;D

My uncle couldn't remember how it was used, but I found the recipe off the net.

It can also be used as a wood preservative from insect damage and adds flame retardent properties.[source] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_glass

There's other info on there to.

The name makes sense to me because glass in Silicon Oxide, right?  ;)

My uncle asked in town some time ago for it and they had no clue.

 

QuoteIt can also be used as a wood preservative from insect damage and adds flame retardent properties.[

Quote

Isn't that the active ingredient in timbersil?  http://www.timbersil.com/

that link seems to be defunct.


Another thing about water glass is that it is water soluable and takes on mositer like salt. Unless it gets treated in a way to repell water it's been denied uses as fire retardent. I found that info off Wikipedia also.