[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

Howdy neighbor! If you join the State group you’ll see a tab that says “subgroups” from there you can join your state group and nearby states. I’m in north central AR myself over near Calico Rock. Glad to have you on Freesteading !

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

American freedom won’t suddenly disappear. Why? Because much of it was already gone before many of us were even a twinkle in dad’s eyes. Our republic will do what it does. For decades the pendulum has swung back and forth. Simply think about it…. roaring 20’s… women hitting the speak easy wearing short skirts and dancing to seductive things like the jitter bug 🙄. The 50’s… every TV show, news outlet and magazine promoted “the homemaker” and her roll. In the 60’s and 70’s she burned her bra then put it back on under her pantsuit in the 80’s to break the glass ceiling, in the 90’s she wanted to be touched like a virgin and known for seductive abilities…. on and on until we reach today where making money through friends only, having the hottest video on tik tok or being confused about your gender is the trend. Back and forth, back and forth. The pendulum use to swing higher and further each time. Today it swings less as each side seems to be closer and closer where the new norm is abnormal, wrong is right, right is wrong. Each swing of that pendulum has led to more excuses for laws, the creation of unnecessary agencies and everything else bringing us all closer to the day where the pendulum stops because the government stops it.

All of this goes back to greed, industry and the power hungry. Most of the swings and trends are designed to keep us preoccupied and/or controlled. Oh… and for the purpose of profit. I see what’s left our republic fizzling out slowly over time as previously mentioned. I mean sure we’ll push the pendulum some back to the conservative side but that will only lead to it swinging the other way in a generation or so until someone breaks the clock or the corporate owned feds simply stop the pendulum. The only thing that could possibly stop it is if enough us decide not to wind the clock.

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

We recently jumped into that ourselves. We didn’t want the struggle of harvesting a 1200lb pig or deal with storing all the meat and litters of up to a dozen. I too was in search of AGH’s but came across the mulefoot. We found a mulefoot mix cheap and we’re giving them a try. Planning on getting some full blooded ones in the spring. They hit harvest between 6-9 months at 300-450 pounds but that’s typically on feed. When foraging it’ll take a little longer to put on the weight. Litters can be between 1 to 6. They are naturally docile and will gladly forage in the field or woods. They offer a good mix of meat and lard plus the meat is a marbled red meat and damn tasty. Working now to get an electric net fence so we can put them to work in the woods. We don’t plan to feed them much rather have them forage and clear out all the underbrush and overgrowth. With them being smaller and willing to forage we can fill the freezer as needed and let the rest forage until we’re ready for another.

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

I’ve learned that wind chill’s of -25° with 40mph winds will help identify where your drafts are at. I’ve also decided that radiant floor heating is starting to sound much better. Our outdoor wood furnace is good but 1) It’s outside. 2) It’s forced air so a power outage will require using a generator. 3) It’s outside. 4) When the wind chill is -25° the @#$* wood furnace is still outside!

• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by  AiNt-RiTe-Acres.

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

Here in north Arkansas it dropped from 40 to 15 quick. Got down to -2 overnight with wind gusts and a windchill of -25. I’d say frigid … but honestly I woke up yesterday with a stomach bug and high fever. It could’ve been in the 80’s and I would’ve still felt like I was freezing. We all made it through though. Thanks to several days of butt busting we got everything ready in time. I seem to be over the bug this morning just weak and tired. We got an inch or so of snow that’s turned to ice quickly. Kids aren’t able to make a snowman but they’re sledding like crazy. Oh to have their energy and pure joy 😊.

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

Like Big Kid mentioned you’ll see an increase in CO2. You have to remember the plants don’t breathe oxygen they release or exhale it so to speak. The plants breathe in the CO2.

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

I had planned on setting up shop on Etsy and Ebay but I decided to back off of that because of their new policies on reporting to the IRS. I don’t want to “cheat” the government but I have no desire to be robbed by them either. Will the freesteading marketplace be forced to report sales? Will there be sales tax issues? Will there be costs associated with listings?

Not to be a pest but I figure these questions needed to be asked.

I’m earnestly, honestly eager to see freesteading have it’s own marketplace. I’m looking forward to buying, selling and trading with all our like minded members.

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

Prayers up!

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

That’s a great find my friend.

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

Looks good !

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

What I see is many possible futures and I suppose the bleakness or the brightness depends on one’s on perspective. As a prime example I can see the likelihood of Harris becoming president in 2023 to offset the republican victory of the midterms. This puts into play the pressure of being seen as a bigot or racist if you don’t follow along with her agenda. Now having a female president is something the country should be able to take pride in. However many of us would argue that having a qualified president is far more important than gender or ethnicity. As for myself … blue wave or red wave it’s the everyday American that gets swamped.

Another issue of importance is food shortages caused by climate change, corporate manipulation and government manipulation (if there’s a difference in the latter two) are forcing many to garden, forage, hunt, can food, learn trades and in general become more self sufficient. From my perspective that’s a wonderful thing. Not the cause but the result. The fact that many continue to deny the situation and will likely starve is very disheartening but the determination of many to become self sufficient is encouraging.

Be it the weather, government, God or all of the above.. change is coming. Be forewarned though… the government already sees the patern. If they hadn’t noticed or expected it then they wouldn’t be asking people to register gardens or be arming 87k irs agents.

Some see the upcoming election as a referendum of change. I believe the Republicans will win thus carrying the majority in the house and senate which will lead to many democrats suddenly becoming election deniers 🙄 lol. I see that as only slowing the countries decline at best. If any politicians do actual accomplish fixing anything it will only give Americans the chance to go back to complacency, compliance and glutinous behavior. As pointed out previously no government stands forever, especially when the people follow that pattern.

My own hopes at this time are to keep my family going on and help others as I can. I have an older daughter and a drandaughter back in GA. Two older sons living with us in the Ozarks who plan to leave the nest soon. My two youngest, a 10yr old son and 9yr old daughter are still homeschooling. The older three learned to care for themselves as part of their curriculum but that was based on the “old normal”. They can cook, clean and handle basic repairs on home and auto which is more than many of their peers but I wish I’d taught them more. I did at least instill values as well as common sense and that can take them far. The two youngest kids are now learning along with me about food forests, foraging, offgrid technology and other more self sufficient, self reliant skills. The way I see it even if the world corrects itself my youngest two will be able to leave home, build their own energy efficient home at little cost, generate the power they need, harvest the water they need and provide the food they need as well as generate an income. If I succeed in that then they’ll be far better off then I and many, many others no matter what the world does.

It’s a peculiar thing to consider. In a more primitive time and in more primitive cultures those are the things kids were taught and mankind thrived. In a modern world everyone is taught to simply pay others for their needs and look where it’s left us. We’re facing hardships and collapse while many in third world countries will only experience a change on the calendar. Reminds of me of the Alabama song “Down Home” with the line… “somebody told us wall street fell, but we were so poor we couldn’t tell”.

I hope my rambling offers a little food for thought.

“I’d share my slave ID# but I’ve been advised not to give out my social”.

Brian Seago

@ AiNt-RiTe-Acres

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

Welcome to Freesteading my northern neighbor! There’s a few Canadian members on here. You might want to check out the International group.

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

I’m over in north central Arkansas and we found our pigs in Clarkridge, AR. It’s a shame we’re not closer. I searched everywhere and all kinds of breeds. I stumbled onto our pigs on Craigslist. As for the American Guinea hogs they do have an official association website with a list of breeders and if you have Facebook you can just search American Guinea hogs and you’ll find several breeders and clubs for the breed. I just couldn’t find any that were within driving range and my budget. I hadn’t planned on getting our pigs yet but couldn’t resist the price. It has me playing catchup now in order to get a net fence so I can get them foraging. I’ve come to realize that when building up a homestead adaptivity is a necessity.

[AiNt-RiTe-Acres]

Oh I have no issue with y’all making money off of it. Especially when it’s your time and neck. Personally I’d prefer a sales group that keeps things strictly between buyer and seller. I appreciate all y’all do and I’d hate to see you put out a marketplace that could open you to liabilities of any kind. I’d also prefer to have any tax responsibility under my own control. I don’t intend to lie about my income and get my butt in trouble over taxes I just don’t like the idea of companies like Etsy and Ebay pushing me into a corner with it.

So I’d say a sales group would be the way to go. I’m not sure how you monetize that though. Maybe a small membership fee or something. You obviously deserve to be paid for your time and efforts.

Would it be possible to do a dual marketplace? One where you could operate like Etsy or Ebay on oneside and a Craigslist or swap shop on the other?