[coyotech]

Sometimes I’m a little slow thinking of the best solution – I run through all the variations of standard things and buying parts first. Then suddenly a simple solution hits me and I wish I’d thought of that first! I love it when someone tells me something I didn’t know, where I can use the principle to solve a problem. For instance I asked the hardware guy why some battery connections corroded like crazy, and others not at all. He said there’s a coating on the connections that wears off. Just spray the connector with clear acrylic. I don’t have any of that, or see it very often, but it occurred to me it probably doesn’t have to be clear, and fingernail polish is acrylic. I have a couple of ancient bottles of that sitting around, so I’m going to try it. Bet it works. That same sort of thing has happened hundreds of times, and sometimes I’m the one with the bright solution that people are glad to hear about. For instance, for a blow sand driveway, if you rake some lime into it, a couple of inches deep, it’ll harden up the surface so you don’t make deep ruts or get stuck in it any more.

[coyotech]

I’m not an expert gardener by any means, but it sounds like you have a natural hugelkulture set up there.

[coyotech]

For sure children should help on the homestead, and work hard, real work not busy work as they get big enough to handle jobs. It’s a great opportunity that town kids don’t have. But even if you don’t have a homestead, a farm, a ranch or anything like that, I think kids need to be helping seriously at home. Real work that matters. Not for money, but because they are valuable members of the family. They should also share in the profit and respect too, of course. Everybody I know who was raised on a farm, or even spent a couple of years of their childhood on one, looks back at that time fondly and learned all kinds of things they use even into their old age. They all learned to be independent and self reliant because they can do things and figure things out on their own. I wasn’t raised that way – my dad was in the service and we moved a lot. But I still had plenty of work to do at home. I moaned and groaned about it sometimes, but it was extremely valuable to me to learn to work whether I felt like it or not, and to do the things I learned to do. Make those kids work. Not like slaves of course, but as contributing members of the family and community. 👍

[coyotech]

It does take a mental change to decide to live free. There are lots of things you gain, and also lots of things you give up. Those considerations are different at different stages of your life, too. A young couple with no children are very free, and so is an old person on their own. A young couple with children have different things to consider. If you are middle aged with older children, or middle aged without children … taking care of family members or having no dependents … with health problems, or with good health … liking to work with your hands, or being without mechanical aptitude … having experience or having no experience … being raised urban or raised rural … these all play into it. Anybody can finally make the decision to live free, but there is quite a bit more change and adjustment for some people than others, and probably the majority of people will never get there, or even want to.

I worked in that direction for years, but didn’t make the full jump. I earned the living, my husband was much older than me and didn’t have the bug, and we had a semi-rural place that I liked. But when I was widowed and on my own, the jump to leave it and start out new and free was very easy. It didn’t take any internal debate or external arguments, and I have no regrets.

[coyotech]

I do. I live by myself with my 4 dogs, and am building my place on what was raw land. It’s a good life, if you like being by yourself and working with your hands. I love it, but it wouldn’t be for everyone. I have plenty of friends, and these are 10 acre lots, so neighbors aren’t very far away. I would have liked to have gotten more land, but this is what I could afford, and really it’s plenty. There’s room for goats, chickens, a garden, etc. I’m still building, so I haven’t gotten set up well enough to have the chickens or goats yet. I did make a very small garden last summer — lots of squash, parsley, sunflowers and onions, and medicinal plants. Since I don’t have family close by or anyone living with me here, it’s pretty stress free! I’m 67.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 11 months ago by  coyotech.

[coyotech]

Feverfew is great for migraines. You can just chew a couple of leaves or take it as a tincture or tea.

[coyotech]

If eating garlic salt and molasses keeps flies away from cattle, maybe that would work for me and the dogs this summer, too!

[coyotech]

Many days I don’t do what I could have done or what I meant to do, and I’ll wish I’d gotten moving and done more. But each day I at least try to get something done, even if it’s small. Today I painted the old broken fridge behind my house, that I use to store herbs, because it always bothered me that you could see that big white appliance outside, all the down the road! And who cares, except I like that it doesn’t stand out any more, and it was a low ambition but satisfying project that I could do in a short time. Other days I’ll clean up some mess and sort stuff, or do some serious house cleaning … something! And sometimes it’s surprising what an improvement some little thing turns out to be.

[coyotech]

A friend of mine does that – she lets her place look neglected and a little crazy, and lets the tumble weeds pile up along a couple of fences so that nobody would want to climb over. I read a guy in a war zone who protected his place with natural thorny bushes along the fence (not landscaped looking) and keeping it plain and uninteresting. He never had problems. Seems to be a good strategy.

[coyotech]

Health care does seem to be a sticking point for many people. We grew up thinking only doctors, hospitals and modern medicine could save us. I don’t have health insurance or a doctor, either. I’ve used herbs, supplements, various home cures, etc for me and all my animals for many years. We’re all much healthier that way. I have a couple of fairly serious problems carried over from my misspent youth and middle age, and even those I can fix up quickly myself. I know almost everyone here who does their own medicine could say the same.

[coyotech]

Mom is in pretty good physical health, although she has trouble walking in rough terrain and more than a couple of stairs would be hard. What’s bothering her is her memory and focus – alzheimers. She’s better some days than others, and can still drive when she’s feeling sharp and the traffic isn’t heavy. I suspect it would be beneficial to move to a more peaceful area and a less stressful situation, where she could get out and meet people and do some things. She lives in southern California with her husband and his son now, and
with her husband’s failing health, she’s feeling like a 3rd wheel there. It’s hard on her. Unlike me, she is outgoing!

I would need to take care of her business, paying the bills, keeping things fixed and all that. It should be in easy reach for me, but where she could still get out and about pretty easily, or at least have some good neighbors close by for socializing. My place is still a little rugged. If it were here, I’d need to find something like a small mobile home and move it in, and get propane, power, water etc to her, and build a fence where she could have a dog of her own, and passing creatures (and my dogs) wouldn’t bother her. We were hoping for something already set up and comfortable, but not elaborate. We would both own it, although it would be her place. I would inherit it.

I don’t yet know the details of what she could afford or not afford, what price range she needs and all that. So while $120,000 for a little old place in a poor county seems way too much to me, she might be expecting that.

[coyotech]

My mom is asking me to look for property here, near me. I started looking at the listings today … wow. I sure bought my land at a good time, 3 years ago. I bought 10 acres of raw land in an area where property prices were fairly low. I was able to pay it off in a year, on social security, and move and start building my place on the land. Now I see small lots selling for twice as much as mine, and raw land like mine selling for 3 times as much. However, my place isn’t far enough along to move mom in. My mom is in her 80s and wants a small house that’s already set up and livable, although not fancy. There’s nothing below $120,000 so far. So if these predictions are true about the property prices tanking by the end of the year, maybe it’s worthwhile holding off on buying something.

[coyotech]

👍

[coyotech]

Yes, it’s beautiful here. The photos don’t do it justice, and they all came out kind of blurry. Lots of good neighbors. It does take a little time to get to know them, and if you’re new they want to make sure you’ll stick around, are honest, and aren’t too weird. Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone who’s endowed with a backhoe right now, who’d do it as a favor, and I’m too cheap to pay for it if I can manage without machinery. I’ll get that pit dug out in a reasonable amount of time. It’s good for me. At least that’s what I always tell myself.

[coyotech]

Yes, I have looked at those and gotten some ideas. I’ll have to go look again as I’m really digging in to it. More snow on the Chiricahuas and rain that got away!