[dlskidmore]

I also found a minimalist plan at http://sheldondesigns.com/ that has an apartment over a large garage. When we could finally build the big house, we’d have a garage with an attached house, and the studio would become a master suite.

[dlskidmore]

The more I look at the price of building a home, the more appealing the idea of commuting to the farm from the city house looks appealing. Could have a basic shade shelter there as the kids’s area…

[dlskidmore]

@Ixy 20351 wrote:

I think most ‘city folk’ here would have no idea about the rules, and would just be delighted to see a ‘cow’ in such an incongruous situation, and get to touc and meet him – I’ve had people who were ‘cowphobic’ tell me that Angus cured them! lol

Well yes and no. They’re not going to vote against animal power, but for misguided health laws. The misguided health laws have unintended consequences of putting small farmers out of business and making some uses of animals illegal. If some politician says we need these rules to secure the food supply, the city folks are gonna keep voting for them.

[dlskidmore]

@Ixy 20345 wrote:

someone said to me recently that farmers wouldnt stick together if they were dropped in a vat of glue!

I think farmers are more cohesive here, but they are still way outnumbered by the city folk without a clue when it comes to enacting laws.

[dlskidmore]

@Ixy 20322 wrote:

believe me, I’ve had the idea – beach rides, milk round etc…but the government says no 🙁 too much of a disease risk; we have really strict movement regs – standstill periods, passports and reporting your every move.

Ick. I didn’t notice where you were. I heard all the awful things that happened to sheep farmers over there a bit back when the government was overdoing an attempt to curb the spread of disease.

Things are moving in that direction here. In some states ear tags are required, and tracking of animals as they change hands. I think though that you’re still free to take your cattle off your property, they still appear at county and state fairs at least.

[dlskidmore]

@Ixy 20316 wrote:

Not really relevant and not really realistic until oil runs out and we got no choice, but it’d be my dream job to be transporting ‘stuff’ with animals…always had a little ‘thing’ about that 😀 😉 Roll on the day, I’ll be ready to hit to road with my pack oxen!

No reason why you can’t do that today. Many people are looking for “green” alternatives. Start with a trendy natural foods store, (preferably one that lists it’s products online so folks can shop from home) and put up ads that you’ll deliver groceries from that store within a certain radius.

Selling Points:

• Lower Greenhouse Gasses
• Convenience of cutting out an errand a week.
• Benefits of the foods available at that store
• Novelty

As you develop a delivery route, note other businesses along it, and add them to your advertised services. If you build up enough clientele to do daily deliveries, you can add in fresh produce and dairy products from a local farmer. Most folks have yet to discover how much better really fresh produce is, but you can educate the consumer and get a premium over the Mexican out of season veggies.

You’ll unfortunately likely have to ship your animals and cart into a more densely populated area, but even that gas spent for one round trip a day is less than the multiple errand trips all your customers would be running without your service.

Or for a really crazy idea, how about the oxen ice cream truck! You’ll already be going the right speed for those crazy kids to be able to run and catch you after begging money off of Mom…

[dlskidmore]

@Scott G 20299 wrote:

at least in my region, it really doesn’t accomplish much… Seedlings are often toast within a couple of years.

It might be worth attempting in my region. I hear in some places the trees frequently get to be in their teens before blight hits them.

[dlskidmore]

@Carl Russell 20285 wrote:

by cutting those trees we can interrupt the life cycle of the fungus.

I’ve wondered how English hedging techniques would work to preserve the genetic pools of species currently being attacked by fungi. I wasn’t clear from my reading about chestnuts if the fungi didn’t really affect young shoots, or if clear cutting and allowing shoots to regrew interrupted the life cycle of the fungi and delayed spread of the disease to the new shoot. If the former you could lay the hedge in a traditional style and grow the old stems on long enough to grow nuts, while continually generating new shoots to replace the old ones as they are infected beyond hope. If the latter, you’d have to clear cut each cycle and use it just as a windbreak or wildlife hedge in the tall side of the cycle. The hedge would still produce a good pole/firewood crop on a short cycle.

[dlskidmore]

Very interesting. Don’t worry, I’ll still call a pro, I’m not nearly skilled enough for this!

[dlskidmore]

Could you educate me on how you use the wedge there? I assume it’s because the tree was wider than your saw is long, and so you needed an aid to make the tree fall the right way when making an extra cut?

[dlskidmore]

I grew up in a house bigger than what I’m thinking I can afford to build now, but not gigantic. My sister and I each had our own rooms, and the fourth bedroom was the sewing room/office. The living room was not spacious, but it was just big enough to invite folks over for a bible study or a tupperware party. The dining room maybe was a bit extravagant, it was an addition my parents made when I was small, expanding the breezeway to the width of the whole house and making it an insulated heated space, but entertaining was a big priority for us.

[dlskidmore]

Self-stick linolium tile is really cheap and easy to lay. I’ve done 3 houses with it. (Other people’s at a church event.) It does have gaps, so it’s not great for your subfloor to pour liquid on it regularly, but it damp mops well, and if you get the tiles nice and square they come close to sealing together.

The lead floor paint is an issue for refinishing. Can you use a paint stripper before sanding so you don’t kick that up in the air?

We actually put a piece of canvas down in one room as an interim solution while we were refinishing the floors.

[dlskidmore]

So much is based on what opportunities are available when we are ready to purchase. Hurry up calendar & savings account! I want to get there already!

[dlskidmore]

@LStone 19851 wrote:

my pants have been drug through the mud on more than one occasion. I find it to be a very effective teaching aid

Effective for teaching the horse or yourself? 🙂

[dlskidmore]

@8BitFarm 20238 wrote:

what’s a slip scraper? (yes, it’s true, I’m really *that* green when it comes to the actually machinery part of draft animal work…)

Me too, but Google Image Search is wonderful for that sort of thing.

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