I got two things ive been looking for 1st a grain mill its a old timer made by quaker city mill works in Pa. the second was a dazey churn now if i can just find a cream seperator. ill be ready to help Kassie and big girl get some goats.

-- Bobco (bobco@kans.com), January 21, 2002

Answers

My Foodsaver. It's fantastic. We froze some flounder that my Designated Other caught, then vacuum sealed it. It was WONDERFUL when we thawed it out and pan broiled it!! Much better than just freezing alone.

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), January 21, 2002.

I've gotten more than my share of free critters here lately..... First a guy called me and gave me two bottle calves. An angus heifer and a crazy bull calf..... The heifer is great but the bull will be hamburger just as soon as it is worth my while to butcher him. Next ,my GreatPyr female came into heat and I really wanted to find a male. The coyotes run this poor girl ragged and I need a second one to give her relief. I hadn't been able to find another so I thought I would have to raise one. I have been looking for a good male for two years now. Well, before I knew it, some folks brought out this HUGE male and asked me if I would just keep him. He was really more dog than they ever thought he would be. I wasn't sure this would work... how was I to know if he ate goats or not. I kept him penned with my female ( he never did figure out what to do there...)in my buck barn. After a week of not giving the buck any trouble, I decided to try in with the does. No sweat ( well- the does were sure I had lost my mind by putting this BEAR in with them) and he appeared to be strutting around. Tonight, I heard this huge ruckus and dashed out to the goats--- a big coyote was in there and this new male had him down beating the tar out of him.....I am so proud!! Earlier this Fall, I was given 5 geese, 5 Royal Palm turkeys, and a big Hampshire ewe..... my husband has requested that I find him some Seabright bantams...

I am looking for milking machine parts. I finally burned out my old pulsator last year. I really need a new lid, and tubing ,too. I dream about a cream seperator...

-- Tana Mc (mcfarm@totelcsi.net), January 21, 2002.

I purchased one goat and got another free. I was given a nice mixed flock of 14 hens and 4 beautiful roosters who are so grateful to be free range. We salvaged enough lumber to build a real chicken coop and finish several other projects.

-- Laura (Ladybugwrangler@hotmail.com), January 22, 2002.

We bought eight pullet hens (real good price) and were given a rooster from someone at CS...the first person on CS I've met in person. She and I have continued to stay in touch with chicken andn homestead stories; she and my husband seem to understand why I am so amused by the antics of the chickens.

We scrouged sheet metal from the dump to cover our large wood pile and it does work better than the tarps, but we will probably end up building a woodshed this year. Anyone got any suggestions for good sources of cheap/free construction material? we also scrounged metal to bury in the ground (when the frost goes away) to reinforce the coop pen against critters.

From the same dump, we found a new, working space heater (one of those ones that look like a small radiator)...but we don't use it much..it burns alot of watts.

-- Cat (catcrazy@somewhere.com), January 22, 2002.

My father in law wants to convert his old goat barn into a woodworking shop, he said if I would clear out the stalls I could have all the straw bedding, which by now is fantastic compost. A neighbor had to have a cherry tree cut, it was a hazard, and said we could have the wood-theres enough to plane out some boards and we will probably use the rest for firewood. We might be able to score a wood stove out of an old house that some relatives are clearing away. We got a free used refrigerater (I thought about you, Melissa!) My husband wanted it to lager beer in (don't ask me) but I would be happy to have a litle extra freezer space, and it would be handy to have during holidays and canning time. Its a very small one, I don't think it will add a significant amount to the electric bill, plus we can unplug it when we don't need it. My mother in law said I could use her Garden space-she has wonderful raised beds and great soil, but she is unable to garden so I'm going to sow my garden space in some cover crops-the soil is clay-horrible! and build up the soil, and plant my stuff at her place-it wont be convient, but......

-- Kelly(KY) (homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 22, 2002.

The refrigerator continues to be a BIG want! I would then use my old, smaller one for canning, holidays and such! But I just crave a nice, BIG, shiny new one!! Maybe sometime soon. I go to Lowe's and drool over them. I saw a nice stainless steel model that may be a possibility!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 22, 2002.

A baby goat! free from a neighbor who couldn't bottle feed this one. Looking for 55 gal drums for rain water saving from the local bottling plant.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), January 22, 2002.

I know it sounds cheesy, but a really nice kindling axe. Just lift and drop, a nice piece of kindling lands on the ground next to the stump. I also got my first ever grain mill.

-- Dawn (olsoncln@ecenet.com), January 22, 2002.

Mine were both kind of 'biggies' this winter. One was my almost new (under 100 hours) shiny green John Deere 4x4 diesel tractor with front end loader and backhoe. The other was my ugly old rusty and faded muncipal orange 1990 Ford F-Super Duty (now known as F-450's) dually truck with an 8' Peabody-Gallion contractors dump bed and hoist and an 8' Western power angle snow plow with a 460 V-8 and automatic transmission. I honestly don't know which I like best. ;o) Come spring, they're both going to get a workout cleaning up around that place so I can see what I've really go there. I'm already looking forward to it.

The next two things I'm hoping to find cheap or at least reasonable are a 5'-6' box blade and a 5' brush hog with stump jumper.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), January 23, 2002.

The most important acquisition was our homestead! It's in WV and is a 7 hour drive from our suburban Baltimore, MD home. The house on it is not liveable, so a big adventure awaits.

For Xmas we received a Marlin self-loading .22 rifle from our kids. We are told it is a necessity for "varmints". Since there is no electricity on the property, we were also given a sun dial. Ann K

-- ann k (ann1956ann@hotmail.com), January 26, 2002.