Ann
I have also been checking in here to see whats going on. So far not much. The journal is not very active. Everybody must be homesteading.
I hope to be doing the same by summer. I will be retired in 3 to 5 weeks. My DW and I will be moving to the area where we want to buy land.
Even though we live in town, we have been doing some homesteading things. I am heavy into gardening and canning. Have had bees and hope to have them again. We also have three chickens.
I do spend some time over at the homesteading today site but I will be checking in here also. john

I'm still here, just checking in everyday to see what's new. Since we aren't retired yet and are currently building our homestead at the farm I don't really have anything to add. Just don't let this forum go away!!

I'm checking every day. Y'all teach me something everytime you post, so I'm watching. -- Marie

I didn't even know (or didn't remember if it's been her a while ;) until a few days ago that there even WAS a homesteading forum here. Neat-o! I'll be checking in every so often for new posts. Might make some of my own if anybody would be interested in seeing my milk cow, Longhorns, chickens, etc. LOL!

Hi Wingnut, please do post! Would like to read about your critters. I keep thinking our forum is too quiet ... perhaps we could try just talking about all kinds of subjects that are related to the philosophy of homesteading? There seem to be many of us who are homesteaders in spirit but not in deed (yet).
Marie has been doing a wonderful job of keeping our forum "oxygenized" ... I will try a bit harder, myself. Delina

Wingnut, I'll be looking for your posts. I hope to meet you at one of the plant swaps up there some day, Lord willing. I be checking in on this bunch to see whats going on. john

While gardening is done for the year, soil improvement and building new beds is taking a lot of time. Also building shelves and storage inside, planning and designing an outside deck, the chicken yard, and so forth. It's just a busy time in a different way. I work, too, and being on a school calendar, this part of the year is busy in there.

Have noticed that the time before Christmas is often a fallow period for us all; by January the seed catalogues come in a wave, and planning starts for the gardens and new stock. Everyone here will poke up through the snow like a bunch of spring flowers!

This is a very busy time of the year for me also. I am busy making beeswax candles, soaps, smoking meats and packaging honey for Christmas gifts. Planning for Thanksgiving is a handful also. There is still plenty of work to do outside and the interior needs attention too.

I, too, have been watching, but not posting. Just a quick check to see how things are going. Been busy at work, then with the kids and the holidays, crafting, soap making, baking, the list goes on. So I'll check in now to let you know I am still around, just busy.

Rose

Well, a couple weeks ago I hurt my hand trying to bust some dirt out of a posthole (didn't see that rock in there. ;), so I haven't been back much except to lurk. I'll have to pick some more pics and post them! :)

Hey, TexasJohn! We just might meet up one of these days! :)! Have you seen the Texas Swap Page? I hope I can make it to one of those next year.

Wingnut, we hope to be in Fredericksburg by end of Feb. I won't have any plants to trade, but would like to make the Llano swap in May. john

Hey Wingnut, I've got a slightly used empty well that I'll sell you. You can cut it up for post holes, ready made!!
What part of Texas are you in?
I just discovered this site and am having a hard time remembering which forums I've read and posted to!!

I think all the homesteaders are over at the farming forum. It's all pretty similar since real true homesteading can't be a reality today... Oh how I wish I coudl get 40 acres just for planting myself on them! Plus, the people who really homestead (in my view) probably don't have computers. My Mother in law, for instance, wow, it's really pretty wild-- she lives in this boxcar with no electricity and no running water, gardens, chickens, cans everything, etc... She does have a telephone. But certainly no computer!

Hey Okie! (and Wingnut):
Are you Oklahoma fellas Still Tryin' to sell Texans that Oklahoma Land that you pulled outa that wellsite?

Them Texans still buyin?

Here in New Mexico, we bag it up and sell it as "ground-stabilizer". Sells as good as concrete-mix. Darned near as good too!

Say, Wingnut: When are you cousins-a-mine in Texas gonna learn that Chili is spelt "Chile"?

I caint spel neether,
Junkmanme

I have not been online much, we started having isp problems so my online time is fairly limited,,, which is a drag,,
jwj

I count myself among the "traitors" who have been over at the farmlife forum- I responded to a post about "private trails" and how to keep off unwanted visitors. We have a pretty huge spread here, so I thought the question might fit better over in farmlife. The oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit have started to flower and I'm out every night listening to the coyotes and breathing deep. As for homesteading tasks, well, I'm in a "job" time of the year- teaching, but after this month I plan to get busy starting seeds! I love California!
The only thing growing here now are the lettuces, some baby dill and one beet. The critters have eaten most everything else I planted for the winter. I tried leeks, but I think they've stopped growing- they've been about the size of a knitting needle for about two months now...lol.
Hope everyone else is doing well.

Although I'm not new to the Gardenweb forums I only recently realized there was a Homesteading forum here. Hard to believe I didn't see it on the list.

Anyways, I'm down here in the Gainesville, Florida area with a bit over nine acres of what can be charitably described as sandy loam that we bought about fifteen months ago. The house sits on a small rise so we named the place DunHagan which roughly translates from the Gaelic as "Hagan's Hill."

Since then we've been steadily working on getting the place into shape with the usual limitations of not enough time and not enough money. Nevertheless, we're gradually getting the posts in for the pasture fence, I've planted fruit and nut trees and greatly expanded our chicken flock.

Looking forward to interacting with others here.

.....Alan.

Im new here I enjoy the farm forum . were you there yet?

Hi bulldinkie,

Yep, I've posted to the Farm forum as well though not with any great frequency until recently.

.....Alan.

I have never posted here before. I have been working on a web site. Hoping to get it up and running soon. It will be about a little of everything gardening, fugality etc. Lately I have been getting my garden seed ready to start some indoor plants for things to grow inside and things to grow out side. Yesterday we came to the mountains. Its snowing here today and we have had alot of snow here this year. Thank the Lord for the snow, Natures fertilizer, it will be good for the gardening. Do some research on the things that snow puts in the ground. Today I have some homemade turkey pot pies in the oven. They should be o so good. In the next few days we'll probably start to build some boxes to start plants in outside and ready some boxes for early planting with covers. Hope to see what others are doing.

We are always searching for our forever homestead. Currently, we are suburban gardening. Our garden is one in-ground bed of 4 feet by 75 feet and then 2 raised beds 4x8 plus more raised beds going in soon. Plus I built our chicken coop and hope to get a backyard flock of 4-6 soon. The blueberries are hurting, but eventually we will figure that out. And we built some habitat landscaping areas to attract the "good" bugs. A couple of years ago we planted some Asparagus and some grape vines on a handmade young tree arbor, hopefully we will see some of the "fruits" of our labors this year.

What has everyone else been up to?

Gosh lets see, this is a really old question,,LOL,,Since I was an original member way back when who was known as JWJ all I can say is Life changed..
Garden web also does not let me use my old identity as most people who used to know me back when it had may a dozen or less forums may remember..
I do come in and read now and then but with the life changes came a move and completely different gardens ..Any how we have been sited running around Northwester Montana teaching preparedness classes, straw bale and alternative gardening those kind of things..It Sure is odd to come back to the old stomping grounds ,I recognize very few posters other then a few in the Rocky mountain forums