Saw A Camel On The Way To The Store!

Today my friend and I went to the store from her house and saw a camel in a farmer's field. Not something you see often around here. Usually they are in a zoo or animal park. Interesting!

 

Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2016

Solar Panels On The Homestead

Peaceful Forest Homestead 1999

Having just added another solar panel to our array of panels, I am experiencing the joy of having more power. We operate our home now on 180 watts of power from the panels. I just can't imagine that people would rather pay the electric companies those big bills that keep going up. Our system we add to little by little until we get it to where we want it.

Recently on a forum that I belong to, someone commented that he lived for 12 years off the grid, but now is more than happy to pay the power a $50. a month to take care of his needs. He did not like worrying about how much power he used or how much each appliance used. So he would rather pay for the option of the electric company taking care of him. I like to take care of myself.

When the power goes out around here, I don't even know it until a few days later if someone mentions it. My computer can be on all the time if I want, as that is the main thing I power. Of course, I don't need all the "comforts" that the "yuppie" world needs. I love my life the way it is. Every morning I can wake up and get my coffee, go out to feed my horses, walk with my dog and browse in my garden. Then I go in to get on my laptop and get to work.

It all ties together. Being a "homesteader" these days, means making your living at home, but not necessarily selling produce or livestock. You can make products such as goats' milk soaps or lotions, wood crafts, do sewing, word processing, internet research, paralegal, even secretarial skills from your computer and telephone - but you do it from your own homestead! You are there to take care of your daily chores or to make your products. It's a great life. 

Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2024

Pets' And Horses' Personalities

Raised Beds made of wood

One of the things I love about working at home is that when I am working on my computer, I can see my garden. I love seeing those corn stalks gently moving in the breeze. This is the first year that I have planted corn here. As I told you before, I have raised beds now. So I planted my corn in them to see how they would do. One thing I know I did wrong was to plant them spaced too far apart. I forgot. They hold each other up if they are closer. I noticed that in the farmers' fields they were really close. Mine will be closer next year.

Tomorrow, my daughter in-law and her daughter are coming up for the day. Her daughter is at the age when girls are so horse crazy. She loves to ride my horse, Tawny. Tawny is half Thoroughbred and half Shetland Pony. She is the most loving horse you could meet. She will rest her chin on your back if you're working in the barn or in her paddock. And she loves to lick you.

Tawny

Looks can be deceiving though. She tried to kill my pet chicken once. We were standing right there. She went right after her and tried to stomp her to death! I had her go after our cats and our dog who is a big dog. I think it may have to do with the fact that she is the low horse on the herd totem pole. She can be in the barn and the cat will rub on her face from the stall gate and she's fine with that. If they are outside near her she will go after them unexpectedly. I punish her every time by telling her no and not giving her a treat. Walking away from her when wants attention so tgat eventually she will learn not to do that (I hope). My other two horses, aren't like that at all. They are the spirited ones!

Animals are sometimes as sneaky as people! Our  tortoiseshell cat, Callie, is very affectionate and not afraid of anyone or anything. I saw her chase a big dog out of our yard once and she was right on his butt. She was hitting him with her feet as he ran yelping toward the road. The thing is that if all cats would learn not to run from a dog the dog wouldn't chase them. She doesn't run from them but toward them. One time a stray dog came to our house and she would not allow him to come on the porch.

My friend and her boyfriend have three little dogs. Callie plays with them and is usually the winner. One of the dogs barks at her so she goes right up to her. Then rubs her face on her. That dog doesn't know what to do next. Totally confuses her! Of course, Callie is used to living with our dog Nikita who is a big lab mix. She picks on Nikita all the time. She has known her since the day she was born and she may think that Nikita is her mother. Nikita will protect her when needed.

My husband used to work at a barn  training horses. One of the nice things about that job is that he could take me and our dog to work with him. Nikita loved all those barn cats that she would chase them as soon as she got there every morning. One morning they were waiting for her. This one cat, Sawdust didn't run this time. Instead he went after her and she ran. All the cats chased her together! It was as if they planned it. After that first morning there would be times I would find her cornered in a stall by one of the cats. That barn is where Callie was born and Nikita loved those tiny kittens. Sometimes I would find the mother had left to go out and Nikita would be laying on a hay bale with the four kittens nuzzled up to her. 

Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2024

Hot Dry Summer This Year

Peaceful Forest Homestead

This is the driest summer we have had since we've lived here on our homestead. The ground is so dry and brown and crackles as you walk on it. Even when other people used to talk about having a drought I would feel thankful that we had not had that problem.

It's scary to me because we live in the middle of almost 4,000 acres of state forest land. We have three horses and if there was a forest fire we would have to get them out of here. At this time we do not have a horse trailer. We have discussed finding a used horse trailer in the future. That way could get them out of here - probably kicking and screaming the whole way.

Neither one of us would be willing to leave any of our animals behind to save our own skin. We have a commitment to all of them. So we are working on solving these type of problems before they are a problem. Then if something does happen we would know what to do immediately. It would have to be big enough to hold three horses at the same time. The only other thing I could think of would be for my husband to ride one horse out and lead the other two out with blindfolds on. The horse he would have to ride out would have to be our smallest one, Tawny. She is part Thoroughbred and Shetland Pony but is more Shetland. She is one tough cookie. So she would be the most dependable. The other two would be nervous wrecks if there there was a fire around them. Very nervous girls.

Ludlow Creek State Forest

Hopefully we will never have that problem. It could be a realty since we live surrounded by trees and a thick forest. Dry leaves throughout. Praying I will not see a fire in the forest. 

Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2024

Horses Eating Grass On Our Lawn Today!

Mowing the lawn!

One of the best things about living out here in the state forest is that you can basically do what you want without neighbors complaining. We have no neighbors, at least no full time ones. Most of the houses around us are hunting camps. We like it that way!

This past week we have started letting our three horses out in our yard to mow the lawn. They do a very good job. They even trim around my stone bed that I have potatoes planted in and they don't nibble on the plants. It's pretty strange to be sitting in the house working on my laptop and look up and see a horse looking in the window. I think they must have always wondered what we do in the house. My horse, Georgie Girl has always paid a lot of attention to the house. Even where she lived before moving here I would see her looking over the fence at the house. She is extremely smart and is the "boss mare" so I am not surprised if she wonders about such things.

Dark Shadow is highly spirited!

By letting them out in the yard every morning we have been able to cut back on their hay. Now they are not get the morning hay and don't seem to care. They just want that fresh grass. Their paddock doesn't have any due to it having been part of the forest. This year some has started growing for the first time. So it saves us money.

The big savings is that we don't have to buy gas or oil for the lawnmower. Or waste that time mowing when we can be working on the computer. We have never had good luck with a lawnmower. Seems like they always break down. Even when you buy a good one. They rarely last for a few years. So maybe we will never replace them!

Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2024

Selling On eBay

Peaceful Forest Homestead 1999

People seem to be so interested in the fact that I sell on eBay and in fact, have my own store there. I am surprised that not many people I know sell online. Most people I know are buyers. Everybody says that they don't know how to sell there. Yet eBay makes it so easy! I started out by having my girlfriend sell a menu I had from Windows On The World Restaurant (the restaurant at the top of The World Trade Center). I used to go there with my first husband and for some reason I had saved my menu. It was signed by the captain who was there that night. My friend sold it on eBay for ninety dollars - not bad for something I had packed away in a trunk. Now someone who really wanted it has it. I have some cash!

The store fees are not that bad. Especially when you are running a store that has a world wide market. Where else could you open a store in one day? Maybe even have a sale that same day? By using PayPal I can take credit cards or e-checks. Don't have to have a merchant account for that. I love it!

My husband says "it's like a paycheck every day." Well not always. There will be days with no sales and then all of a sudden I will get four or five right together. The stuff I have been selling so far is just things I already have in my house. When that is all gone I plan on going to garage sales, thrift shops, etc. to get more items. You kind of discover what sells as you do it. Sometimes a certain item is hot for a while then it dies down.

Do not buy a book on how to make lots of money on eBay! Just go to the discussion boards on eBay and lurk around for a while. If you have questions that is where to get the answers. I have learned most everything I know from the knowledgeable sellers on the stores boards. I would add too that they are also the nicest people. Some of the boards treat you as if you are an escaped convict!

Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2024

Copyright © 2005  Kathleen G. Lupole

Hard Times Even On A Homestead

My horses

It's hard for me to write this for you this morning. Things are not good here at Peaceful Forest. I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to keep up with writing this. Stress leads to depression and once you get to the point I feel that I am at it is down hill from there. I have given all I could and I have no more left in me.

So I wonder what happens to a person's pets and other animals when they die? Are they sent to live in the city with somebody who thinks they want them because they loved you? Or your animals were so unique that they want them for that reason? They make a dog who has never been on a leash or chained or had to watch out for crazy traffic live in the city? A dog who lived in a house in the middle of the forest most of her life? She was born in a house that used to be part of a farm and wasn't even on a road. Or does she end up in a shelter waiting for someone to adopt her? Living in a cage with a bunch of other dogs? My dog would just die.

I guess three of my cats could be just left to go wild. They know the woods and could probably survive. I don't know how they would make it through a winter out here though. During the winter, they are used to a warm, cozy house, heated by a big wood stove. My other cat being 16 and suffering from Hydrothyroidism would probably be put to sleep. She is a Siamese cat and is very beautiful and pretty active. Enough so that she goes outside daily but doesn't go too far.

Then it finally comes down to the final three animals we have. Horses. Everybody loves horses. My horses are very beautiful and at first look, everybody would want them. My stepson rides my one of my horses. At first he would probably want her and knowing him, the other two also. He has a very kind heart and especially for those three. As all horse people know horses are not easy. Or cheap. These three are very spirited girls. He would not have any place to keep them. Also he would never be able to afford them. He can barely take care of his own dog. How would he manage with three horses?

I feel very strongly about the fact that I don't want them separated - ever. Especially the two big horses. They are so close to each other. I just would not want to do that to them. They have some emotional baggage from where they came from. They are all three related to each other. I promised them that they would never be separated, and I have to keep that promise. They trust me.

So my guess would be, that if you knew you were not going to live the best thing would be to just go out and shoot all your animals. Cats and all. Then you could bury them too.

Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2024

Homesteading In The Modern World

Peaceful Forest Homestead 1999

I consider myself a "homesteader", even though I am not at the point where I could say that I am a accomplished "homesteader". It has been my dream since about 1995. We have been accomplishing things little by little. It is an on going process. Finding a house was a big thing. What we had planned was to buy land and build our own home. To live on the land in a camper or something. Instead we found a house that was used as a deer camp since 1923. It is a wood framed house with fairly new vinyl siding. It was built in 1850. So we didn't need to live in a camper after all. It does need a lot of work and we will do that as we can afford it. The first thing that we are trying so hard to do is to finish our barn.

My husband was in an accident at work three years ago and had his right elbow crushed. He worked for the local highway department and they didn't think it was necessary to fix the brakes on their road roller. My husband was new on the job and the guy he replaced had refused to drive it. He took the job because it was close to home and ended up being almost killed. When it happened he thought he would not make it out alive. It was a dramatic ride for him backwards down a big hill at a fast speed on a machine he had no way to stop.

He managed to steer it into a yard where it threw him off. His arm ran into a pipe that stopped the momentum of his body. Good thing it did as the roller went right over him but did not hit him and crushed that pipe. If the pipe hadn't stopped him he would have been under that road roller.

In New York state you cannot sue your employer. Nice law, huh? Protects employers from having to face the music for making employees operate faulty equipment. Now my husband is facing the fact that he may need an artificial elbow which he does not want. He is also suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which sometimes can get pretty bad.

Most of our projects are on hold. I am working on the internet trying to make a living to finish some of the big things. Such as the barn. I am not asking for donations or a free ride. Just for people to purchase items they would normally be purchasing from my website. I have friends that will offer me money but why won't they go to my site? I can never understand it.

Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2024

Pets Rule Our House!

I told you the other day that my stepson had brought his dog to my house, and we found he was infested with fleas. We had him come pick the dog up because we did not want our animals to get fleas. He was not happy with us. Said his dog did not have fleas and there wasn't a flea in his house. Come on! His cousin who lives with him has a little puppy and they are very susceptible to fleas and worms. He told us when he brought his dog to our house that he had just been treated for fleas.

Patches

So I guess my question is if a cat could get fleas from a dog? They say they are different kinds of fleas.  One of my four cats, Patches has fleas now. She has long hair and is a very sensitive cat. She will only eat one brand of dry cat food (Purina) and that is all. No canned food and definitely no people food! Patches is my biggest cat but she is the most shy. Most people that come regularly to our home, have never seen her. Most of the time she hides upstairs. If a car pulls in she growls and runs upstairs. If she is outside when they arrive she stays hidden in the woods until they leave. My best friend has never seen her and she has been here many times.

Nikita

If our dog, Nikita barks at anything Patches growls and goes upstairs. Luckily Nikita is not a barker. She likes the element of surprise. She is a big black dog and will walk up to anyone during the night and they would not see her until it was too late. If she does bark all our other animals go on alert. The horses come running up to the front fence. One of our horses intimidates also. We are well protected.

My problem with the fleas is that I will not use the chemical repellents. I am very much against chemical use in animals and the home. I am trying to rid my home of chemicals, aluminum and plastic. That is easier said than done. I found a couple of various natural products to use except that cats don't accept anything easily. The best way I found to protect us from fleas and ticks is to keep our lawn mowed and paths as well. I tuck my pant legs into my socks when I go out in the forest. Peppermint essential oil on my hair and clothing helps with the deer flies and other flying insects. I don't think it is good for cats though. 

Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2024

Living In The Present Depression

Loggers working next to our property

I think we are presently living in a depression. It seems like we are living in bad times. Are we? Then again didn't people all through time think they were living in bad times? Many thought it was the end of the world. If it seems that way maybe it is because  the news is always gruesome. Just look around and tell me what you see. Look at how much destruction people have caused just in this country alone. Not only have they destroyed the trees, plants, animals, the birds, the fish, the land, the water, but people too - yes, look at what was done to the ancestors of our own Native Americans. Is that the nature of people? It happens world wide every day.

It seems to me that all people care about is having things fast and easy. They all want everything done now and done in the easiest way possible. That is why our earth is being destroyed. People have to get everywhere the fastest way possible. There are the people who work in factories building the items we purchase. They are made to work as fast as possible. Maybe that is why nothing lasts or is not even working when you purchase it.

Cookbooks

I can't get over how proud so many women are of the fact that they do not know how to cook. How could you even say that? My son could cook when he was a child. All you have to be able to do is to read a recipe! I receive a newsletter from a woman who is supposed to be a "affiliate marketing expert" and makes an extraordinary amount of money. She wrote about not knowing how to cook and how she ruined everything she tried. The fact is that if she wasn't so rich she would have had to eat the food that was burnt or not good. She would have and so would have learned as she went along how to improve her cooking skills. Until one day she would be considered a good cook.

My first husband always considered it a status symbol to say that the best thing I could make was reservations. I always resented that remark as I made many good dishes and was improving. Now the man I am married to would rather eat at home any day than to eat in a restaurant. We have found that whatever we order I could always do it better. Which I do. I can't remember the last meal I had in a restaurant. 

Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2024

Blueberries!!

Strawberries

Today I discovered the blueberries are ripe! They can use a couple more days to ripen more. But they tasted so good today. This is the first year we've had so many. Our house was surrounded by the forest. And I really mean surrounded! So there were lots of berries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, elderberries, hawthorn berries and of course, the blueberries. Blueberries are by far, my favorite. My grandmother had about 100 acres of land and half of it was blueberries. We spent a lot of time out there picking those berries.

Blackberries

Our berries when we first moved here were hidden by the woods and just didn't get any sunshine. As my husband has cleared our land for our horses and our yard and garden the blueberries and strawberries have been showing up more and more. Of course, they are wild so they are the small ones. They are still good and there is just something, about knowing that food is growing that I didn't have to plant.

Blackberry blossoms

Now the blackberries were never shy about showing their face! I love to eat them as I pick them. I have a love hate relationship with the blackberries. I just have this feeling that the blackberry plants are alive - more than just a plant growing in the ground. Have you ever tried to grab a handful, and reach over some plants to get it? Those other blackberry plants will stick you with their thorns so fast and hard! You will start believing like I do that they are more than just a plant. I have to fix fences and trim around them. So the bushes get me a lot. I admit it I get mad at them and cut them down right then. On the way to take them out they always get you one more time!

Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2005  Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2024