| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| batznthebelfry |
Posted - Dec 31 2011 : 09:27:10 AM
i just started reading this & wondered how many of you dear hens have also read it & what did you think?
I realized everytime I buy a can of corn, beans, cereal ect that I am helping the big companies that want us to so depend on them that being completely off grid is just a pipe dream in america. We can pretend to go back to the old pioneer days but we can not really ever get to where we truly want unless we go to a 3rd world country. Its a shame cause if not for the farmers/meat raisers the companies wouldn't have a hold over us...they want us to buy thur the stores not go to a wonderful disease free farm to get our healthy foods because each time we do that we take away from them & the farmers they have hired to work only for them or the gov't.
Its scary to think our country would rather us get our meat that has been butchered in a slaughter house where bacteria/disease run wild than let us make the choice to get away from that.
Let us eat spinach that is so dirty with stuff it can send us, our children & parents to the hosp & may end up killing us than let us buy it from a healthy grower.
Make it such a ugly crime in some states to get raw milk cause they want to cook it to the point its useless then add Vit D again, than let us have the true form of it that has proved to be so healthy for centuries.
Everywhere we turn their is permits, licencing, rules more rules then more rules to do just what you want to do to live a healthy free life.
Kill a farm animal on your property & get thrown in jail for animal cruelty but its Ok to send it to a slaughter house where they bulldoze it into the building.
Yes alot of this I already knew but seeing that its so evolved thurout america with different rules where ever you move is mind numbing...what is legal down the road isn't where you are, Wanting to take control of your life & the lives of your children is no longer your right without lawsuits, court dates, check book open & lots & lots of depression.
About the only way now to be completely & legally off the grid is to be homeless, think NY homeless where you can disappear to where the gov't has no idea where you are or who you are. so they can't come after you for what you do or don't do.
I realized my time as a Peace Corp volunteer was the only time I will ever truly have of being totally off grid...no businesses watching me to see if I am using their electricity, fuel, food ect...everything was done pioneer style where I was pretty much...I don't even think the Chief in my village had any modern thing...you cooked outside with wood you gathered....food was what you collected or bought at the village open air market...fresh fruits/vegs...cows & goats were milked if they were carrying milk,
You had to depend on yourself or your village to have the things you needed......Its a hard life but for me it was a good life, you depend on what you can do & not worry about the other stuff...you go to bed tired but content knowing you had a full day with time to stop & enjoy what was around you.
I hate that someone can come along here & tell me what I am doing is wrong to the county, State or Gov't when all I am doing is surviving the way I want to but because I am taking money away from someone its no longer my right to live out my years as I choose....If I want to live in a barn, collect water from a stream, cut firewood to cook with & grow a small garden without chimicals that should be my right...I am not hurting anyone except for not giving out money left & right for the things They think I should have.
Anyway tell me what you thought if you read this book....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Lexi Lavender |
Posted - Apr 07 2015 : 07:32:46 AM
Hey gals, just wanted to suggest a couple of books, Rick Austin's Secret Greenhouse of Survival and Secret Garden of Survival. Also Bill Bryson's Home has interesting info referring the Industrial Revolution
Lavender Lexi; formerly Silverweed
A weed is just a plant that no one has found a use for yet... |
| batznthebelfry |
Posted - Jun 08 2012 : 02:07:33 AM
for me homesteading & living off the grid can work together or be the same in the mind of some...I always think homesteading instead of 'off grid' when I do the things I want to do....both are a frame of mind to me...in the before electric, city water ect everyone used the sun to help heat the house along with wood stoves.....they used wind mills to help with the farms, wells ect for water..the sort of thing we think of when wanting to live off grid but its also a homesteaders idea to depend on yourself instead of the gov't & town...I want to live someday with less town things if I could...no electric in house but use oil lamps or solar power thur windows & ceiling....create more heat by having red clay bricks or heavy tiles in sun lite areas for the winter on top of the wood stove.....try to cut back on any thing packaged at the stores, use my butcher/farm nearby....set better ideas for myself..I enjoy making cheese but have yet to try hard cheese......do more cooking/baking from scratch..I don't use boxed goods now for that but never seem to get the time to really make all the things I want.....its not always easy to do everything you want quickly as I have learned.....but if I am thrown into a situation I am ready for most of it I think...lol....
Don't worry about what you call it with what you do....I have had people who correct me if I say recycle to mean upcycle...like really?...does it truly matter if you know what I mean...why feel the need to correct me over a word that I knew long before most were born...lol.....No matter what you do as long as you feel right & comfortable with it..is all that matters.....
My great grandmother...bless her heart always said she was a homesteader...she lived with a well for 105 yrs....hung her clothes year around..never owned a dishwasher, clothing dryer or air conditioner...only when the family gifted her a fan did she have one....she worn clothes til they were worn out but them tore them apart for making dish towels, rags or even aprons that she sewed by hand...no machine for her.......never had a tv or radio until very late in life cause her son felt she might like the soaps...she didn't so it sat & gathered dust.....She could tell by the smell of the air whether it was going to storm or be super hot.....she tended a acre garden by hand...no machines...her son would come out with the tractor to turn it for her each spring but other than that she did everything by hand...she canned & sun dried foods...picked fruits to can & dry.....picked weeds to cook up like greens...nothing ever came into her house in a box unless it was spagetti noodles.......everything else was made from scratch with one of her recipe cards that were written in pencil....she was an amazing woman who could have had it easier if she had wanted it but she fought tooth & nail to keep her life the way she wanted.....I remember her son brought her an air conditioner...only when the family came around during the summer was it ever put in a window but she would only let it be on for a short time just after supper...then off it went & the windows were opened again once the coolness left....In her mid 90's her mind started to go so much of what she normally did ended but people in the family still did things like she would of liked them done.......she was kept in her home with family who lived on her land taking care of her until she passed.......my littlest foster sister now lives in her house, my foster mom & her hubby have a house there as does great grandmothers son & my foster Aunt & Uncle...her cows are still there & tended to...the garden is also still there & each late summer & early fall they all get together to can up food...her house is a bit different...it now has a dishwasher, clothes dryer & central air conditioning but when I think of her home I still see it the way it was when she was alive......Michele'
Chickens RULE!
hen #2622
theoldbatzfarm.blogspot.com |
| one_dog_per_acre |
Posted - Jun 05 2012 : 06:15:14 AM
You can live off the grid in the city. Homesteading and living off the grid are two different things. Some people have to live near hospitals or have obligations that won't let them buy 5 acres in Idaho. If you are making small changes in your life for you and the environment, the next step will happen on it's own. Your own interest will get you there. Also consider that anything you read in a self sufficiency book can be put together by someone else, and then you buy it.
“It always looks darkest just before it gets totally black.”-Charlie Brown |
| Madelena |
Posted - Jun 04 2012 : 4:10:03 PM
I noticed that interest is slight and has waned on the off-grid/homesteading forum.. I am thinking that maybe the name sounds a bit intimidating to some. After all, there are lots of people in MJF groups who are trying to "live the life".. but just don't see themselves as "off the gridders" or " homesteaders -- sounds like herds of long horns roaming over the plains.
Maybe MJF might consider a name that encompasses a wider viewpoint for Self-Sufficiency.
Any suggestions girls? |
| Cherime |
Posted - Jun 03 2012 : 07:01:19 AM
Mary, I agree. It seems that all have sold out to big business, Rep and Demo no difference, they need big business's money to get elected so all they promise us is a bunch of hooey to get elected so they can keep their promises to those who paid for their campaign.
CMF |
| Jeanna |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 2:36:34 PM
Joel Salatin is a great farmer and speaker. I have read Folks, this ain't normal and loved it and have watched Fresh the movie, which he is in a lot. I would love to read Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal. I know what you are saying about us voting with our dollars. I quit buying anything from Smithfield after I found out about some of there practices involving their workforce. Thanks for reminding me about reading some more of his books.
Jeanna
Farmgirl Sister #41
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
Henry David Thoreau |
| Madelena |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 10:46:51 AM
AMEN...to all of this.
I was thinking.. Unions came into existence to protect workers from greedy companies from taking advantage of them (financially and health wise). Most of the regulations they fought for are now laws.
But now.. who is protecting the people from the Government-Business Megalopoly??? The Dems and Reps can rail all they want about wanting less government or tighter controls on businesses.. The bottom line seems to be that the goverment just wants more control and the companies are willing accomplices that benefit from the rules and regulations the Congress pass and enforce.
I'm starting to think that "WE THE PEOPLE" need a union to protect us from the "Protectors".. darn, sounds like a good plot for a science-fiction / horror movie. Maybe not so funny after all.
I imagine all our names are now being gathered on someone's computer.. What a shame.. we Farmgirls just want to get back to the land (even if it is only a potted tomato on our patios) and live simply, live healthier lives (reduce health care costs !), and repect and protect Mother Earth.
So, what's a farm girl to do??? |
| oregonatural |
Posted - May 12 2012 : 05:52:08 AM
The Industrial Revolution (1700-1900) that poured people into cities has been a disaster for our diets historically. Maybe it's just a 200 year experiment that is now collapsing cause all that so-called convenience has given us cancer, heart-disease, obesity and diabetes. Clearly, the idea of factory farming is not at all sustainable and more and more people are seeing the value of Local, Organic, and home-grown as the ONLY sustainable alternative. The tide is turning. It is. Have faith. WE are the government. WE can change this. Fight the good fight sisters. What we purchase, grow, and cook, every day, every meal, is a political statement. It starts at your table. Changing how we see our food production can change the world.
Farmgirl #4053
My off-grid homestead blog: http://oregonnatural.blogspot.com/
ETSY Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/OregonNatural
Blessings to you from my mountain girl heart! |
| JojoNH |
Posted - May 12 2012 : 04:45:35 AM
 So happy I am not alone feeling this way! Although I have made changes to stop being dependent on the big stores. . I discovered that if I started doing things the "old way" which includes dehydrating food along with canning, preserving in oil etc. We can each make a dent in the dependency for many items. 
On PBS a few years back, they featured a gentleman that lived in the wilds of Alaska. He didn't need a thing from the big stores, he bartered for some luxuries like seasonings, flour, salt. . however, he didn't "need" them. It was fascinating to watch how he built his home, created hinges from wood for his door, how he built a natural refrigerator, gathered his food and so on. Learned soooo much from watching it. ( it's available for purchase as a dvd at pbs)
I firmly believe if all of us start with just one item that we stop purchasing and replace it with a locally grown version ( whether we grow it or a local farmer does) we can effectively make a big change for the better. 
Joanna #566
JojoNH
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CountryCents
http://CountryCents.Blogspot.com
www.JoannasHomeStudio.com "Keeping traditions alive a stitch at a time"
http://twitter.com/NHJoanna |
| countrymommy85 |
Posted - May 09 2012 : 06:18:07 AM
This makes the whole fight for kids wanting to work on farms a lot more relevant. I didn't know stuff like that was going on at all! I worked on a farm during my high school years and by far that was my most favorite job in the world!
Mothers are those wonderful people who can get up in the morning before the smell of coffee. ~Author Unknown
http://countryrenaissance.blogspot.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SunflowersAndHoney |
| naturemaiden |
Posted - May 09 2012 : 03:29:32 AM
i just bought this book from amazon,and cant believe this has been going on! i think that it is ridiculous that what use to be a way of life can now be illegal. i can understand the fda wanting food safety, but this has gone way too far. i'd buy from a farm instead of a supermarket anyday. i get so angry when i am in the supermarket and i see the prices, and not knowing what kind of chemicals/additives are in my food. i grow as much produce as i can in my yard, and i will tell you, the carrots in the supermarket for example are nothing compared to one you grow yourself.
connie
http://www.naturemaiden.com/ - Soap & Candle
http://modern-day-laura.blogspot.com/ -My Personal Blog
http://www.prairiefarmherbs.com/ -Herb Plants for the Home Garden
http://www.thriftyfarmgirl.com/ -My Online Thrift Shop
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| Cherime |
Posted - May 02 2012 : 09:06:36 AM
When I was a kid there was a dairy in Lompoc CA where we lived for a while and I loved going there and getting fresh milk right out of that big vat. The cream was so thick just taking it home in the big gallon jars began bringing the butter up. Dad was a farm kid and when we got home he would make butter for us by just shaking that cream in a jar.
All my life I have been cultivating the skills needed to get by without so much dross in my life. It is great to be able to can veggies. I can stuff to get myself through the winter from our local U Pick farm. But I also dry stuff as well then freeze it. keeps a lot longer that way.
CMF |
| rphelps4 |
Posted - May 02 2012 : 06:35:14 AM
That is all so crazy, mt kids were raised home grown everything, we used to have to take turns on who got the creme on top of the raw milk we drank. I never had to worry about what was going into my kids bodies because I knew where it came from. Roxanna |
| batznthebelfry |
Posted - May 02 2012 : 03:09:17 AM
oh will have to check that book out Alexis...I love reading what other people are doing to make life more their own......I have been reading alot about what people are doing to prepare for the end of America as they see it...I find a lot of problems with some of their thoughts...especially about guns & bullets...they think they can hoard enough to save them from home invasions/evil wanderers ect....sort of 'us against them' ideas....I understand it but also know eventually no matter how much you store you will eventually run out & then what?...No matter what you store or collect it will never be enough for your family, children, grand children & so on...I see a lot of fear type writings that just add to everyones fear instead of trying to tell you that you can make it with some thought to what is next to come...If we lose electricity, telephone, gas & become a 3rd world country again then we will adjust after the first shock of it.....some will have a harder time while others will go on as they do & hopefully help those who are in their area figure out ways to make it on what they have or have access to......this whole 'us against them' concept is surely to be a down fall in the mist of a disaster I think.....
This total gov't control concept if happens we will learn how to care for ourselves or leave the country.....I guess what I am saying is I am glad that those that write here are not like some of the other sites I have seen....instead of putting fear in to everyone...here we try to show that we are strong women who will do what we need & to show how to help others if & when we can....Fear is such a dangerous feeling & can create so much more damage than the actual event that is happening...thank goodness I am surrounded by farmgirls/hens who have a strong head on their shoulders....Michele'
Chickens RULE!
hen #2622
theoldbatzfarm.blogspot.com |
| Lexi Lavender |
Posted - May 01 2012 : 5:16:23 PM
Hi ladies:
along those lines is the book by Barbara Kingsolver. Animal, Vegetable, Mineral. She documents her families decision to leave New Mexico and return to the Southeast US to a farm for 1 year. She provides lots of information about big pharma, federal government and legal decisions that have shaped our lives. We have the Joel S books as well.
Silverweed-Alexis...Farmgirl#4034
A weed is just a plant that no one has found a use for yet... |
| batznthebelfry |
Posted - Mar 06 2012 : 2:22:16 PM
So happy you were able to get the book Krystle, its a head bender thats for sure but it sure makes you think about all the things you just thought were normal or right & to see that they weren't/aren't & that so few have so much control over our lives....I love how he wrote the book so its not so technique that you get lost in the pages with a headache & he uses humor throoughout...I set mine down for a bit & need to get back to it again.......Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622
http://theoldbatzfarm.blogger.com |
| countrymommy85 |
Posted - Mar 05 2012 : 9:29:12 PM
I FINALLY got the book from inter-library loan because there were quite a few holds on it before mine. Well I just finished reading it and what a great read!!! I loved it!!! I probably wouldn't have heard about it for a while so I'm glad you posted it so I could get it when I did :)
Mothers are those wonderful people who can get up in the morning before the smell of coffee. ~Author Unknown
http://countryrenaissance.blogspot.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SunflowersAndHoney |
| msdoolittle |
Posted - Jan 22 2012 : 8:48:46 PM
I haven't read it yet, but I would like to.
the entire problem with this country is that everyone has sold out on convenience. I was a child of the 80s, and my diet was almost all processed (though my mother did cook). We were not taught that we could make bread, or cheese, or any of those things!
The further we get from the source of our food, the worse we all are. We have to keep on standing up and fighting for what we KNOW is right.
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
| batznthebelfry |
Posted - Jan 21 2012 : 9:34:16 PM
thank you for the info Paula :)...the more I get into this the madder I get over what we all assume is a natural right...I mean how natural is it to shove food into our mouth but now I see its not the idea situation I grew up thinking it was.....& too think that the situation never stays the same...each time a new person comes in to head the FDA ect the rules change as to what they see the info says....its so confusing & the wording can be taken anyway a person wants to it to be on what we can't eat or can eat......I love how Joel states that our fore fathers didn't add any of this because they assumed we would always have fresh meats/vegs/fruits on the farms so why worry about decades/centuries later someone getting a big head & deciding we were too stupid to think for ourselves.
I mean really, when processed cheese came in we were in trouble not to mention 'the' so called foods...but i still can't seem to get my head around how someone who has access to caviar & thinks its a wonderful food thinks farm grown beef is a killer & we have to be stopped.....just sayin.....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
| StrawHouseRanch |
Posted - Jan 21 2012 : 09:00:22 AM
There is a nice article about him on the Mother Earth News site too. They've featured him a couple of times in their mag:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/Joel-Salatin-Interview.aspx
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/StrawHouseDesigns |
| countrymommy85 |
Posted - Jan 21 2012 : 08:00:02 AM
I have it on hold at my library, can't wait to read it! Thanks for sharing about it, I like to read stuff about this kind of thing!
Mothers are those wonderful people who can get up in the morning before the smell of coffee. ~Author Unknown
http://countryrenaissance.blogspot.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SunflowersAndHoney |
| batznthebelfry |
Posted - Jan 07 2012 : 11:34:03 AM
Thank you Connie...xoxo...& as for preaching to the Choir you all keep it a comin'...I was reading about Pennsylvania & the ruling that we do not have the right to own a cow, board a cow or even drink raw milk...it is not a constitution right but now a gov't right issue....what a shame that our beginning in america to live free, make our own choices without British rules now has come to the point what they stood for is wiped out with big business making so many of the rules because they have big pockets full of money.....each time a product food wise is recalled it is a stain on what we originally stood for......When fast food, candy, soda ect became an accepted food we lost the game for a healthier life style that we want & deserve....I am not saying each person that sells meat ect off their farms to the public is always the right move especially if they are in it for the money & not concerned with food safety but when we know a farm ect that produces high quality, safe products I feel it is our right to choice them if we so wish without the gov't or big business saying we can't because they don't control it which in turn means they aren't get money from it.......To me its a sad affair when we punish the small farmer/grower because they don't want to be part of the gov't hoopla....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
| naturemaiden |
Posted - Jan 07 2012 : 01:25:17 AM
Michele you said it perfectly!
Connie
http://www.naturemaiden.com/ - Soap & Candle
http://modern-day-laura.blogspot.com/ -My Personal Blog
http://www.prairiefarmherbs.com/ -Herb Plants for the Home Garden
http://www.thriftyfarmgirl.com/ -My Online Thrift Shop
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| rksmith |
Posted - Jan 06 2012 : 4:33:19 PM
I've not read any of his books, but will definitely have to check them out. It is beyond horrible at the "rules and regulations" for "safety" that are imposed on everyone and yet are we as a nation any healthier or safer? Heck no --we are far worse off these days than we've probably ever been I think. I am so sick of being told what I can and can't do or eat or drink or think.
Rachel
Farmgirl Sister #2753
True enlightenment is nothing but the nature of one's own self being fully realised-- His Holiness the Dali Lama
http://madame1313.wordpress.com/ |
| countrymommy85 |
Posted - Jan 06 2012 : 08:38:16 AM
Yep, it's crazy how many "freedoms" we really don't have. It should be personal choice to consume raw milk or not, consume organic or not, grow organic or not. Live next to a field and not have round-up sprayed next to your house or not. More importantly be able to choose to live off the grid or not. Buying land out west that won't cost you an arm or leg just because it's out west and the people are subdividing property in 20+ acres for rich people wanting a summer cottage when there are still people who just want to make a living and live off their land. . . Well I could go on but I would be preaching to the choir! :)
Mothers are those wonderful people who can get up in the morning before the smell of coffee. ~Author Unknown
http://countryrenaissance.blogspot.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SunflowersAndHoney |
