Motivations

[NH Homesteader]

 

[Beekissed]

I do it with spices. I hate to run out of my favorite spices, so when I shop, I always get two of the same thing....there's been times when I went to buy that particular spice mix and the shelf was empty, so now I stock up when I'm there just because.

When last I moved, I found out I had a whole top shelf of spices, sometimes 4-5 of the same kind. The kids made much fun of that. With items I use daily, I like to have a couple spares in the hole so I won't be reaching for it and coming up empty.

I do the same with toilet paper, toothpaste and other frequently used essentials....like to have a goodly number on hand as the store is 20 mi. away. When I make laundry detergent, I make 4 jugs instead of 2.

All this time I thought it was just type A run amok but you've educated me, Bay...it's my squirrel DNA!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

SQUIRREL DNA

I love it! Dang! I'm hungry - but I've got some pecans buried in the back yard!

 

[Mini Horses]

When I was young I loved to sit in the cellars at both grandparents....it was peaceful and very pretty. Now I realize how it was also comforting that there was plenty of the things I loved to eat. At the time, for the grandparents, it was just a way of life to grow when the season allowed, hunt when the season allowed and preserve it all for future use. A way of life and a way of actual survival. I loved the cellar & collecting eggs. My grandma made vinegar, saved seed, canned, may lye & soap, washed clothes by hand, ironed with an iron that heated on the stove, cooked with wood and all of these things we now "want to learn".

I love animals and what they can do and provide. I appreciate their personalities and the love they return. Gardens are a treasure, when I have time for one, lol. Canning is pleasant and fulfilling. I WANT to do these things! For me it is fulfilling my dream of operating a farm, providing for myself, and it is both comforting and empowering to know that I CAN do these things as an economic and survival issue.

It is not fear based. There is no fear and I can live in town and shop stores, if I want. So long as I can breathe I want to be able to provide for myself & my animals with as much of the healthy, chemical free food that I can provide. I'm frugal but spend as I want; I'm healthy food oriented but, sometimes stop at McDs.........that's life! It's how I want to live, it's a choice. Others ways of doing are interesting, how they manage their farm is interesting and knowing I can SSS a bear that makes the mistake of chasing me is pure confidence!

It's attitude. It's intuition. It's knowledge. It's caring. It's confidence. It's pleasure, all rolled up into life.

 

[sumi]

This is a good discussion! I think it's great to be prepared. For whatever. The economy collapsing, unexpected expenses that messes up the budget, natural disasters, whatever your reasons are. It's good to be prepared and organised. I often say "Rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." Having been in the "don't have it" boat a time or two, I like having the security of having extra things around and having access to stored things, if needed. If you have children and/or livestock depending on you, even more so.

 

[baymule]

I love it! Dang! I'm hungry - but I've got some pecans buried in the back yard!

wish I had a pecan tree!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Me too - but neighbors on both sides of me do. Gotta love good neighbors!

 

[baymule]

In Livingston, I scrounged pecans on a vacant lot down the street. There are pecans in the city park here, but they are gone as soon as they hit the ground.

 

[sumi]

I wish we had nut trees here What we do have a LOT of is small wild apples. Tons of the stuff. I wonder what can be done with them… They're not very edible straight from the tree. Talking of which, I saw two trees on a nearby farm bearing tiny red apples, no bigger than cherries? Beautiful little things!

 

[baymule]

I wish we had nut trees here What we do have a LOT of is small wild apples. Tons of the stuff. I wonder what can be done with them… They're not very edible straight from the tree. Talking of which, I saw two trees on a nearby farm bearing tiny red apples, no bigger than cherries? Beautiful little things!

Probably crab apples, they are very good for jelly.