NEWSLETTERS

Modern Homesteading Movement

Newsletter 8-29-05

Members of the Modern Homesteading Movement strive to base their life choices on these five principles: 1. Frugality; 2. Health; 3. Sustainability; 4. Self-reliance; and 5. Neighboring.

"It took us 125 years to use the first trillion barrels of oil. We'll use the next trillion in 30 years."
The Economist

I. 'Bye for Now...and Your Choice of Lecture Topics

II. News and Links
a) American Psychiatric Ass'n Pres Warns Of Big Pharma Influence
b) Concerned Psychiatrist Warns against General Mental Screenings
c) Gas and Oil Prices Rising
d) Hurricanes and Cyclones More Frequent and More Powerful
e) U.S. Economic Trends

III. Letters from Readers
a) Frozen Plastic Bottle Water Bad for You?
b) More on Wildcrafting: Sassafras Root Bark and Leaves
c) About that Homestead TV Show...
d) Can Humans Eat Grass?
e) Credit Cards...Antibiotics
f) Letters from Down Under...and Recipes for Cheese
g) Augustine Family's Essay on Frugality
h) Need Affordable, Healthy Water Tank
i) Credit for Using Website Pix
j) Butchering Deer
k) Harvesting Rattlesnake
l) Easy Sauerkraut
m) Nice Catholic Homestead Guy Looking for Wife

I. 'Bye for Now...and Your Choice of Lecture Topics
We leave tomorrow morning on the fall tour. Look on the homepage of my website, www.carlaemery.com , for the latest version of my trip schedule. It won't be updated for another six weeks or so, and I won't be able to read my e-mail for six weeks. Donna, my hardworking housesitter, will be reading the e-mail and will answer any urgent question that you have, or pass the info on to me and I'll call you from wherever I am.

If you're considering inviting me to come and speak in one of those "available" time slots, here follows my current list of topics. I can do the talk as a single block, or as two 45-60 minute talks, separated by 15 minute break. The names of the topics vary more than their content, I think, but one title may appeal more to a certain audience than another. After the talk's title, I'm listing subtopics I'll be touching on in the course of that talk.

"History and Principles of the Modern Homesteading Movement"
History of the MHM in the 60's and 70's
History of Petroleum Depletion
Importance of the MHM in the context of petro depletion
Renewable Energy Choices
Five principles of the MHM
Frugality
Sustainability
Self-reliance (How to Grow the Greatest Garden of Your Life)
Healthy choices in foods and food preparation methods
Neighboring

"Petroleum Depletion: Shifting to Renewable Energy and Sustainable Agriculture"
History of Petroleum Depletion
Renewable Energy Choices:
How to Grow the Greatest Garden of Your Life
Livestock (Urban? Grow Your Own Feed?)

"Petroleum Depletion: Chronology and Coping"
History of Petroleum Depletion
Renewable Energy Choices:
How to Grow the Greatest Garden of Your Life
Livestock (Urban? Grow Your Own Feed?)

"Radical Urban Gardening"
No Rototiller!?
No Store Products!?
No Herbicides? No Pesticides? Not even "steer manure"!?
Urban Livestock!?
Worms Eat Your Garbage!?
Humanure!?
Rainwater Collection!?
Grow a Complete Diet in One Yard!?
Make It Last All Year Round!?

"Desert Gardening"
Making Dead, Alkaline Soil Alive and Fertile
Earthworms, Microbes...
Desperate for Water
One Giant Wide Row
No Rototiller Needed
No Herbicides, Pesticides, or Artificial Fertilizer
The Role of Animals in Soil Fertility
Humanure
Grow All the Food Groups
All Year Round?

"Urban Homesteading"
Fit the Most Plants into the Least Space
Grow a Complete Diet in One Yard!?
No Rototiller Needed
Stay out of the Store! (No Herbicides, Pesticides--not even "steer
manure"!)
Urban Livestock!?
Worms Eat Your Garbage!?
Humanure!?
Rainwater Collection!? Grey water recycling?
Getting off the Grid
Make that Harvest Last All Year Round!

"Self Sufficiency for a Family of Four (or less, or more!)"
Grow the Greatest Garden of Your Life
Make It Last All Year Round!?
Keep Your Soil Fertile by Growing Livestock Manure
And Recycling Humanure
Grow the Food for the Animals Whose Manure Grows Your Food
Stay out of the Store! (No Herbicides, Pesticides--not even "steer
manure"!)
Saving Seed; Propagating
Worms Eat Your Garbage!?
Rainwater Collection!? Grey water recycling?
How to Get off the Grid

II. News and Links
a) American Psychiatric Ass'n Pres. Warnsof Big Pharma Influence Problems

Dr. Sharfstein, Warns against "Big Pharma's... kickbacks and bribes" ...
http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/40/16/3

b) Concerned Psychiatrist Warns against General Mental Screenings

Dear Dr. Sharfstein,
This is my response, as a psychiatrist since 1947, to your important, recent Psychiatric News article, "Big Pharma and American Psychiatry: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly."

I fear our specialty's problem with the drug companies is far greater than you indicate. We have unfortunately become its whore, with the doctor-patient relationship, the most positive part of any treatment, being perverted increasingly into keeping patients on brain-injuring drugs. Your statement about there being less psychotherapy now than ten years ago is important - and a major reason why, despite all the hoopla about new medications, treatment results with the mentally disabled have markedly worsened over the past several decades. As Robert Whitaker points out in his book Mad in America, patients are not getting better the way they did in times past.

Voluntarism, a central element of ethical psychiatric treatment, is the antithesis of the pressuring people into treatment standing at the heart of the new universal mental health screening program. For this reason, I respectfully suggest that the A.P.A. publicly and immediately oppose the screenings....
Nathaniel S. Lehrman, M.D. N.S.Lehrman, M.D.

c) Gas and Oil Prices Rising

"...gasoline is now averaging $2.60 a gallon nationwide, nearly a 39 percent increase from last year. At the same time, natural gas prices are up 60 percent to 90 percent around the country, presaging steep home-heating bills in the months ahead on top of high prices at the pump." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/20/opinion/20sat2.html?th&emc=th

"In the past several years, the gap between demand and supply, once considerable, has steadily narrowed, and today is almost negligible. The consequences of an actual shortfall of supply would be immense. If consumption begins to exceed production by even a small amount, the price of a barrel of oil could soar to triple-digit levels. This, in turn, could bring on a global recession..." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/magazine/21OIL.html?th&emc=th

d) Hurricanes and Cyclones More Frequent and More Powerful http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0801/p03s01-sten.html?s=hns

e) U.S. Economic Trends
"I used to live next door to a Russian ˆ©migrˆ©. One day he asked me to explain something that puzzled him about his new country. "This place seems very rich," he said, "but I never see anyone making anything. How does the country earn its money?" The answer, these days, is that we make a living selling each other houses..." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/12/opinion/12krugman.html?th&emc=th

The Federal Reserve reports that home equity has fallen to 56.3 percent of their real estate from 75 percent a generation ago. Federal Reserve also reports that 16 percent of the money taken out of equity was simply consumed, not reinvested. Freddie Mac reports that increasing numbers of people are cashing in on their homes for living money. Ever more homeowners are buying or refinancing with dangerous new sorts of loans--adjustable rate, or interest-only mortgages, not traditional fixed mortgages. These risky types of loans have lower initial payments, but the size of payment will rise automatically when interest rates rise. And interest rates will rise. About 47 percent of all residential mortgages are now the risky sort. Here are more interesting statistics from http://americaneconomicalert.org/aboutus.asp.

Increase in U.S. national income, June, 1999-March, 2005: 34%
Increase in U.S. national savings, June, 1999-March, 2005: 10%
Increase in U.S. consumer credit, June, 1999-March, 2005: 58%
Increase in U.S. money supply, June, 1999-June, 2005: 55%
Increase in U.S. mortgages, June, 1999-March, 2005: 79%

III. Letters from Readers

a) Frozen Plastic Bottle Water Bad for You?
Carla, can you address more thoroughly the frozen plastic water bottle warning in a future newsletter? I do it all the time & love the results, but perhaps not some unknown results?
Scott and Teatske

Answer: I've seen a warning that a carcinogen leaches from the plastic when you reuse a water bottle to freeze water in and then drink that water. But I haven't been able to find and double-check it. Maybe a newsletter reader can help us with this one?

b) More on Wildcrafting: Sassafras Root Bark and Leaves
To dig sassafras roots to sell, the season starts in mid-February and continues until about the first week in May. You can use a tractor to pull the sassafras trees from the ground if it is thawed enough. Then wash the roots. Using the back of your knife, scrape the outer dark bark off. Then remove the inner bark, and put it on clean wire shelves to dry. I put food wrapping paper under the wire to catch any bark that falls through as the roots dry. The outer bark will come off easily during this time; the inner bark will also remove easily from the roots. This inner bark is what the herb companies really want. That inner bark with the outer bark removed is called "Rossed Sassafras Bark." I no longer collect root bark, except from older trees that I want removed to make space for younger sassafras trees to grow. Instead, now I mainly sell the green leaves. I don't get as much money per pound for green leaves, but I can collect, wash, and dry more leaves per hour, giving me more profit per hour that I work with the leaves as compared to the root bark. I get two, and some years three, pickings of leaves from the same tree. If you keep picking the leaves for a few years, the amount of leaves that you can harvest from a tree will be about four times as much as from a tree that you never picked leaves from. Remember, the herbs you sell must be dirt-free, dry, and have no mold. Hillbillybob

c) About that Homestead TV Show...
Hi Carla and Don,
I am very excited for you that you will be involved in the TV program. It sounded too corny and Hollywood at first, but when I realized you would be involved I thought... YES for all those people who long for the natural life. Thank you for reminding us of the five principles. And everything. I see your book in some pretty main stream places, Nasco? I am very proud of you!! and thankful for all you do.
Nancy Coonridge

Answer: Thanks for saying thanks, Nancy. As for "Hollywood," they've been doing some backpedaling with regard to our participation. It turns out he just wanted to know if we'd be willing to take the job. We said, "Yes," so we're on a list of various "homesteading experts" being offered by the U.K. production company for Discovery Channel executives to choose from. I'll be able to tell you more in the next newsletter, coming in about six weeks.

d) Can Humans Eat Grass?
Carla....Can you eat lushly growing grass and clover? Maybe mixed in with salads ? I've heard humans cannot digest this sort of thing....Tastes pretty good...... I think others would join me in saluting you, dear Lady, for spending so much time on your newsletter......Jeannie T

Answer: Thanks for saying thanks, Jeannie T. I DO spend a lot of time on the newsletter, hoping it can help folks do what needs to be done. The traditional way for humans to get nourishment from "lushly growing grass and clover" is to feed the greens to a critter, then eat the eggs, milk, or meat that critter produces.

e) Edits to the Homestead Check List? Credit Cards...Antibiotics...Cast Iron?

Carla, we're doing much of what you suggest in your checklist, and much more is on our list for when we move to Raccoon Creek next summer. There are two entries that I disagree with, at least partially.

"1. Be Frugal. b) Cut up your credit cards and throw them away."

Sandy and I put *everything* we possibly can on a single credit card - groceries, savings bonds, meals out, gas... The monthly bill is paid automatically out of our checking account. For every dollar we put on the card we earn a mile of credit on our frequent flyer account. We have been to New Zealand, Belize, Nevada, Maine, Alaska (twice), Washington state, and other destinations, all on frequent flyer miles. Obviously we don't use it for things we don't need, and we never pay a finance charge.

"2. Stay Healthy.
d) Be an independent-minded health consumer. Know that the final decisions regarding your health care should belong to you, because nobody can understand your body better than the person who lives in it. It's up to you whether you visit a health-care professional or not. You don't have to fill every prescription you're handed; you don't need to take every pill; you don't need to refill every prescription. Use your own best judgement regarding all that. Research has demonstrated (to the surprise of the M.D. professionals) that "independent-minded" clients who behave in this way stay healthier and live longer than the "obedient" health clients who always go to the doctor when they're supposed to, fill every prescription they're handed, and swallow every pill or potion they're offered."

In general I agree with this. I only take one over-the-counter drug when needed, for springtime alergies, and it's not needed every year. I don't even like to take aspirin. But your statement "you don't need to take every pill" should have a note attached saying something like, "except when antibiotics are prescribed. In that case *all* the pills should be taken until they are used up." There are potential problems with not completing a perscription of antibiotics related to one's body becoming essentially immune to their benefits. I'm not in a medical profession, so my explanation is not precise, but you get the idea.
Ed Paynter

Answer: Thank you so much, Ed, for taking the trouble to share such well-founded and thoughtful input. However, I'm going to keep telling people to cut up their credit cards and throw them away--because over half of all Americans who own a credit card are in credit-card TROUBLE. And because research has shown that most people who own a credit card (or equity line of credit, even worse) will spend at least 25 percent more than they would have spent if they didn't own the things. So, obviously, that money is going for things they don't actually need. You may be handling them fine, but for most people they are too much of a risk.

You are absolutely right about the exception in the case of antibiotics! If you take one, you need to take the whole bottle, or else you are risking breeding a super-bug. On the other hand, I've been prescribed an antibiotic that my body was not handling well; I quit taking it because my reaction seemed unhealthy. The independent-minded patient, above all, listens hard to what their body is telling them. Keep in mind, of course, that the lure of addictive substances is a special category. It has to be squashed by mind over matter.

Hi. We have gone to cast iron cooking, but in 2a in the Healthy section doesn't mention it.

2. Stay Healthy. a) Get rid of your aluminum and plastic (Teflon) cooking pans and utensils. Instead, use stainless steel, unchipped enamel, glass, or ceramic.
Have we goofed? John

No, John, I goofed! Cast iron is wonderfully healthy (you'll never be anemic!). I personally prefer and use cast iron and recommend it. Forgot to put it on the list. Will change that. Thanks for pointing it out.
Carla

Hi Carla, in section 2-A of the homestead checklist, cast iron cookware isn't mentioned. It's one of the oldest and most healthy types of cookware around and can be quite inexpensive and lasts forever. In section 4-, you mention goats along with cows but infer that only cows provide butter, cheese and such. Not true. I make everything you mention from my Nubian goat milk and the products are delicious. In fact, I prefer goat milk to cow milk for taste! And you can keep 6-7 goats in the space used for one cow and for the same amount of feed.
Tom the old goat keeper

Answer: Tom, thanks for pointing out my omission of cast iron cookware. It was a total mistake to leave it out. Really, I love both dairy cows and dairy goats. They're both wonderful, and wonderfully useful. It's like with dog breeds, you have to choose what suits you.


f) Letters from Down Under, and Recipes for Cheese

Hi Carla, a quick hello from New Zealand, I acquired your book about 14 years ago a very young woman with a lot of dreams, I have carried it with me and as I am now settled with a young family your book is well used in our family.Thank you so much for putting it together; it is a true gift. I have a older book and I was interested if your newer ones had any more goat cheese recipes, preferably hard or even feta. I appreciate you are a busy woman, but would love to hear from you. I have a beautiful Saanen nanny called Lilly, a two and half year old son, Aidan, and 5-month-old daughter, Brooke Rose. Warm Regards, Melany Wright

Answer: Congratulations, Melany, on your homestead, goats, and family! Try these two recipes for your hard cheese. Let me know how it turns out.
Easy Jack Cheese. This comes out similar to Monterey Jack.

1. Warm 2 gallons whole, or part skim, milk to 90°F (88°F for goat milk).

2. Add 2 oz. mesophilic culture or 1/3 c. cultured buttermilk. Mix well.

3. Allow the milk to ripen for 45 minutes undisturbed at 90°F (88°F).

4. Add cheese color, if wanted. Mix until color is even.

5. Add 1/5 tablet cheesemaking rennet dissolved in cool water. Mix well for two minutes only.

6. Allow the milk to sit undisturbed at 90°F (88°F) for 30 minutes, or until the solid curd breaks clean over the thermometer.

7. Cut the solid curd into cubes.

8. Slowly raise the temperature of the curds and whey to 100°F. The temperature should rise no faster than 2°F in 5 minutes. Stir gently and constantly. Raise it to 98°F for goat milk curd.

9. Allow the curds to settle to the bottom of the pot for 5 minutes.

10. Dip off the free whey. Pour the remaining curds and whey into a colander lined with boiled muslin. Drain for one hour at room temperature.

11. Dump the mass of curd into a bowl and break it gently into walnut-sized pieces with your fingers.

12. Add 2 T. salt to the curds in three parts, mixing gently and well after each addition.

13. Line a 1 lb mold ("hoop") with boiled muslin. Fill with salted curds. Fold the cloth evenly over the top and add the follower.

14. Place the cheese under 20 lb pressure for 15 minutes.

15. Remove the follower, turn the hoop over, replace the follower on top, and press under 30 lb pressure for 15 minutes.

16. Remove the cheese carefully from the hoop. Carefully peel off the muslin. Bandage the cheese neatly in fresh boiled muslin and return to the hoop.

17. Press overnight, or for 12 hours, under 50 lb pressure. The cheese should be upside down in the hoop for the overnight press.

18. Remove the cheese from the hoop. Carefully remove the bandage and place the cheese on a clean board. Air dry at room temperature for at least 3 days, turning daily.

19. When the cheese is dry to the touch, coat it with plastic or wax to preserve the moisture.

20. Age cheese at 45°F at least 6 weeks. Trim off rind and any mold and enjoy.

Carl's Monterey Jack Trumpkinland wrote, "This is the recipe that Carl, my husband, uses. It Here's the second recipe: Warm 3 gal. milk to 86°F, or close. Stir 1 c. of starter made with Mesophilic culture or buttermilk culture completely into the warm milk. Let set for 1 hour. Longer setting doesn't seem to hurt. Add 1 t. liquid rennet as directed on bottle. Once curd becomes a solid matt (sets), cut it into 1 in. cubes. Heat slowly to 100F. It must not go over 100°F. Let set 5 minutes. Pour off half of the whey. Add cold water and stir to reduce temp to 86°F. (Exact temp is not critical here.) Strain. If desired, add 3 T. of salt and herbs such as dried peppers or garlic. Put in cheese press and apply 8 lb. pressure overnight (12 hours). Remove. Air dry at room temp, turning a couple times daily; this starts the rind. Put in a cool room, watching for mold formation. If you see mold, wipe it off with a vinegar-soaked cloth or with salt water (this may make the cheese saltier if used much). Keep it in a cool, ventilated area. Wax it when it is dry and a firm rind has formed. Or wax, age, and then eat. Mold spores are usually around and can be acquired by the cheese while it is drying, so don't wax until there is a good rind. Or wax soon after the vinegar wipe."

Feta Cheese

1. Use steps 1 through 10 from the Easy Jack Cheese recipe. Drain curds overnight at room temp.

2. Pack into sterilized pint jars.

3. Cover with boiling brine solution (1 c. salt to 2 qts. water). Refrigerate at least 1 month.

4. Rinse off extra salt, crumble and use in salads, etc.

Dearest Carla, I have to be honest and tell you that I write this email with tears in my eyes! I'm am overwhelmed that I have finally made contact with you, my mentor, and my dear friend of 25 years. (Even though you know nothing of me!) About 25 years ago, your book (Old Fashioned Recipe Book) somehow found ME in an obscure little second hand bookshop in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I was a city-gal, working as a police officer, about to marry a farm-boy, and your book embraced me from the moment it saw me from the shelf.

I remember the day that I opened the first page, and couldn't stop reading it until the final page. It was as though it was MY thoughts that I was reading from the page, even though I knew nothing of country living. I remember having tears running down my face as I read the chapter on babies and breast feeding. I even remember where I was sitting, the people in the house around me oblivious to what was being consolidated within me. Everything that I had ever felt about being in love with a wonderful young man, yearning to find a way to make a future together, combining his knowledge of the land, his business expertise at being able to work that land, with me, working alongside him to earn our livelihood, and the moulding of a family into something that would inspire, delight and endure for generations to come. Your book was the one thing that confirmed to me that my feelings were ... right on track.

Over the years, 2 children later (a girl and boy, 21 and 17) your book is still my all time favourite - now a bit dog-eared, with love. Recently a dear friend, to whom I had never mentioned your book (don't know why) saw it, when I asked her 14 year-old-daughter to re-cover it with "contact" (a plastic protection film) for me. My dear friend , Nancy, a home-schooler, asked if she could take it home to have a sticky-beak. Well, she phoned me the next day to ask me why she had never seen it before, and she was just as "in-love" with you as I have been for the past quarter of a century. It was Nancy's daughter, Analisse, who found you on this web-site and I can't believe that I'm finally doing what I planned to do 25 years ago ....... write to you! (Takes me a while to get around to some things!) Nancy and I want to know...............
WHEN ARE YOU COMING TO AUSTRALIA !!!!!?????????????!!!!!!!!
My love and very best of wishes,
Jenny Thomson

PS: I was saddened to read that your marriage to Mike did not endure, but I am delighted to read that you have found happiness with Don. My very best wishes to you both.

Answer: Dear Jenny and Nancy! I went to Australia once, but didn't know a soul and had very little money, so I stayed three days and then went on. I'd love to publish a 10th edition of my book customized for the Down Under market. If I could get the 10th out in that Down Under edition, then it would be logical for me to come and "promote" it, right? If my friends there could arrange a route for me with places to stay and to speak Don and I could come and, in a leisurely fashion, visit and get to know you folks!

g) Augustine Family's Essay on Frugality

Hi Carla,
My daughter, age 16 at the time, and I wrote this last year. This is the way we live for the most part. diane in nw mt

10 Ways to SaveMoney (or 10 Ways to Survive on Very Little)
1: Live in a place you like. Then stay home. You'll spend less money if you stay home. Your vehicle doesn't use much fuel when parked. Insurance is less expensive that way. too. Walk a lot, or ride a bicycle. If you want to travel, check out books and videos from your local library of the places you are interested in.

2: Let little things entertain you, like a smile from your spouse, or a walk with him/her, holding hands. Make a consious decision to be happy with your husband/wife and your surroundings. Play with your children. They will be much happier with your time than with more stuff'. Don't watch TV. All that advertising is intended to make you disatisfied with what you have. Read more. Read to your children, even if they are teenagers. Read quality books. Use audio drama and audiobooks from the library instead of TV. For boredom, use your time more wisely by helping others in need.

3: Don't use credit cards. Stay out of debt. Debt is slavery. If you are in debt, get out as soon as possible and stay out. Use cash. That way when your wallet is empty, you can't spend what you don't have. You can see cash physically passing through your fingers. It doesn't just disappear. And you don't have to pay interest on it.

4: If at all possible, buy used or make it yourself. If that is not possible, are you sure you need it? Don't buy something just because it is cheap or on sale. If you don't need it, don't buy it. Buy good quality when you can. It pays for itself in the long run. But it doesn't have to be designer, either. Shop at yard sales and thrift shops for quality goods. Save for it. Make your motto: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

5: Just about everything boils down to fuel: fuel for yourself (food), fuel for your car, electricity (or generator). So before you buy, ask yourself: Can I eat it? Will I die without it? Do I really NEED it? Necessities can't wait, wants can. Think before you spend.

6: Eat at home. Prepared food in any form is more expensive. Grow and prepare it yourself if possible. Eat to live, not live to eat. You'll save money and keep your weight down. Have a treat day' once or twice a month (no more). Budget it in and be reasonable, even if that means everyone sharing a single can of soda pop. Remember that it is quality of time, not quantity of sugar (or the like). Just about anything can be a treat; it's all in your attitude.

7: Turn it off when you are done with it--lights, heat, etc. Conserve everything (even food, see #6).

8: Save, but don't be a miser.

9: Give more. Be generous with your money, time, possessions. You own them; they shouldn't own you.

10: Serve God. Don't try to make Him your servant. God is the real Provider. Remember that. Give thanks more. Pray a lot. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.

h) Need Affordable, Healthy Water Tank

Carla, I attended your workshop a couple months ago in Norman and got inspired to make some changes. I am buying 9 acres of land which is rurally zone and we're going to be downsizing our living space considerably. I am looking to install a windmill for pumping water, but I'm having a tough time deciding whether to go with a steel or poly water tank to use with it. Obviously with steel you have peace of mind that your not going to be getting any weird chemicals from plastics in your water, but it is sooo expensive. It looks like the poly water tanks that are made for use with potable water are mostly all made of polyethylene (#2 or #4), which appears to be one of the safest of the 7 recyclable classes according to what I've read online. But every website I find seems to have conflicting info on what is safe or not and I'm not sure which are up to date. It seemed like this was a topic you have been keeping up to date on and I was wondering what you're advice would be. I'm thinking it would definitely be a good idea to avoid using PVC pipe for drinking water lines based on what I've read though.
Thanks, David Nordahl

Answer: Congratulations on the 9 acres of land, zoned rural! Don says to use a steel tank if you're planning on using this water for drinking, not plastic. He suggests that you shop around for a used tank to save money. He says to run copper pipe or seamless black gas metal pipe, not PVC. He says "it's expensive, but it will not deteriorate." We're in exactly the same process of searching for a steel tank that we can afford. Any suggestions from you readers?

i) Credit for Using Pix on Website

Carla and Kelly, feel free to use the images as you wish. There is no charge, but I would appreciate a photo credit and link to my site if possible. Peter Crown www.tucson-sunset.com

j) Deer Butchering Question

On slaughter/butchering deer -- what should be done to prevent the "gamey" taste? Some folks can
butcher venisonand it tastes just like beef. Others prepare the animal differently and you end up having to cook the meat in a sauce to hide the "gamey" taste. My instinct tells me that the initial field cleaning has a lot to do with this, and what is removed immediately.
Ethel Evans, Moon Deer Ranch

Answer: Partly, it depends on the age of the deer; younger is better. Don't get deer hair on the meat. Cut out any shot-up or bloody areas. When hunting, it's wise to aim for the shoulder, or just back of the shoulder, not head. Head is too hard to hit. A shoulder shot will puncture a lung, and the deer will quickly drop. When gutting a deer in these strange times, use plastic gloves. Some deer can transmit disease if you have a cut on your hand. As for musk glands, here are links to more info. You could not worry about removing them and use the sauce, or follow these links to more info:
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a383d7291471d.htm

http://www.logicsouth.com/~lcoble/dir9/butcher.txt

k) Harvesting Rattlesnake

Hi Carla. We now eat kosher (no snake is kosher), but my husband grew up where rattlesnake was considered edible and medicinal. Some 28-30 years ago, after marrying him, I heard about or saw the locals doing ALL the following:

Guns were available, but they didn't shoot a rattlesnake. The snake was "pinched" behind the neck with a long-handled tool, such as a hoe. It was teased into ejecting most of its venom, then wrangled into a gunny sack. Round and round, it was twirled in the air until believed to be dazed. The most boastful snake handler was then HANDED the job of "proving himself" and cutting off the snake's head, which was burned.

Before cooking a snake, about eight inches of the body was removed and discarded from both the head and tail ends. Then it was stripped of skin and guts, and the fat was removed. The most common way to cook snake was roasting whole, usually outdoors. It was also cut into 3-4 inch lengths and then fried, boiled, or baked.

If the meat was hung outdoors as one intact piece and thoroughly dried in shade, under cover, it was done when there was a series of very dry days. Or it was dried in a LOW-temp oven. This was done so that the dried meat and bone could be ground in a mill and pulverized with a wooden mallet. (Any remaining oil from dried snake was pressed into a piece of cotton cloth and used to shine furniture or shoes, or whatever.) They stored this dried snake "powder" in glass babyfood jars with holes punched in the lid with a nail. They shook it over food to flavor it. It was said to also be medicinal for bones, stamina, and lung health.

The snake's fat deposits were most highly valued. The fat is found clinging to the skin, along the back bone, and amongst the liver and 'inards.' It was rendered it in a sardine "tin" over very low heat on the back/side of a wood-burning stove to produce snake oil. This oil was applied over scars and used for massaging sprained muscles, hands, or feet.

The skin was prized most if removed as a "tube." Locals waited until the body had stopped trying to coil itself and then removed the head section. Beginning at the head "end," they gently detached a couple of inches of the skin, using a knife delicately, then peeled the skin back over itself. This process was continued until all of the skin was off the snake. The skin was now inside-out. They gently scaped away the fat, then salted and dried the skin. (Dry it in the shade--NOT in an oven.) While still pliable, remove all salt and turn it back to scale-side out. A finished snakeskin was used to cover a section of a belt, to dress up a western sombrero, make a frightful bookmark, or put on display. Rattlesnakes were also sold alive and sometimes en masse, back then at 50 cents each, to snake "dealers."
Cindy

l) Easy Sauerkraut

Here's my recipe for making sauerkraut the easy way. Mary Ellen memc118@yahoo.com

Sterilize jars. Shred cabbage. Sprinkle 4 t. salt for each head used and mix w/hands. Pack tightly into jars until juice forms and reaches top. Set lids on but don't tighten. Set in pan or on towels to catch juice as cabbage ferments. Alter 4 days, remove air bubbles and add more brine if necessary (4 t. salt to 1 qt. water) to fill jars. Process in hot water bath 25 min. This is a nice, mild kraut.

m) Nice Catholic Homestead Guy Looking for Wife!

Hi. I hope you and Don are doing well. I've moved. My new address is 620C Moyers Ave. Fayettevile, TN 37334. My phone number is 931-438-9802. I decided to move to an apartment here while looking for land. I think it'll help with my search. Thank you for your time and effort in finding me a potential mate. Gob Bless. Jim

Note to all you single ladies reading this: Don and I spent four days at a 4th of July campout that Jim attended. He was recommended to me by our hosts early in the campout as a good candidate for matchmaking. I waited until the last day, decided they were right, then interviewed Jim at length. I was impressed. He's good husband material.

Jim is 47 years old. He is seriously, earnestly looking for a wife. He describes himself as having "a good heart, decent looks," and being "hard-working, decent guy." He has no children. He is a practicing Catholic who regularly attends mass. He once had a 10-year-relationship, but has never been married in the Church. He is open to having children. He does not use drugs and is a non-smoker. He occasionally takes a drink. He likes to do volunteer work and made himself very useful to Don and me during setup and breakdown of our booth as well as to our camp hosts throughout the weekend. He is presently renting near Columbia, Tennessee, but is looking for rural property near Fayetteville, TN, 30 miles north of Huntsville, AL.

Jim is looking for a woman who is h.w.p. ("not a big woman"), honest, fair, no drugs, "not a broken woman." "Well-behaved kids" would be okay. Please pass this information on anyplace where you think it might reach the woman who is longing for a guy just like Jim.