Newbie from northern IL

ldk72 · #1 02/25/07, 12:28 PM

Hello;
I am a marreid lady looking to fulfill her country dream even when my husband doesn't agree with it.I have always had a country soul but it wasn't until I hit 30 that the urge grew to be a country lady.
I know nothing about raising animals but am willing to learn.Am going to try this year to grow a few vegtables in the backyard.
Hope to make new friends here.
Lisa

#2 02/25/07, 12:30 PM

HI LISA!!!

I'm from Princeton, IL and now live in St. Louis. I know what you mean about wanting to be a country lady! I would give almost anything to have a nice black dirt farm like the one I grew up on!

WELCOME!

ldk72 · #3 02/25/07, 01:12 PM

Hi Tonya;
Do you have yahoo messanger?
if so u can get me on now as ldk7290
Lisa

Up North · #4 02/25/07, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ldk72

Hello;
I am a marreid lady looking to fulfill her country dream even when my husband doesn't agree with it.I have always had a country soul but it wasn't until I hit 30 that the urge grew to be a country lady.
I know nothing about raising animals but am willing to learn.Am going to try this year to grow a few vegtables in the backyard.
Hope to make new friends here.
Lisa

Best wishes to you Lisa! ...You know how they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach?...A funny story my wife wanted to try raising pigs for family pork. I wasn't real receptive at first...Then she brought out the big guns

- A Large platter of Grilled Cajun Porkchops with coleslaw , cornbread slathered with honey and butter, and a side of my favorite baked beans!
A few days later I was hookin' up the trailer and off to get hogs!...
So maybe there's hope for hubby....don't give up your dreams

Cloverbud · #5 02/25/07, 02:09 PM

Hi, Neighbor! Welcome aboard!

mayfair · #6 02/25/07, 02:35 PM

Welcome, Lisa. Hang onto your dream. You might try a few chickens if you can have them where you are. Check out the poultry board here. Many towns allow backyard poultry (no roosters).

ldk72 · #7 02/25/07, 02:45 PM

I have looked into having any kind of animals here but my city says no

fantasymaker · #8 02/25/07, 05:22 PM

Rabbits? lots of time they can be called pets.
what city you from?

TerryJ · #9 02/25/07, 05:22 PM

Cloverbud & Lisa where do you live I live near Brodhead. We milk goats & Reg. Brown Swiss. If either of you or anyone else need buck kids, we just started kidding contact me. It's time to do chores.

**Terri** · #10 02/25/07, 06:28 PM

My husband doesn't understand homesteading either, though he DOES understand that I think it's lovely!

He really does not mind as long as I do the work. And, he LIKES it when I serve up homemade bread, home made (and home grown) blackberry topping for the ice cream, and so forth. A man really IS impressed with good food!

He does not join me, he simply accepts that he will follow his interests and I will follow mine!

Rockin'B · #11 02/25/07, 09:23 PM

Welcome aboard!

We are No. IL as well. We are in the Leaf River-Byron area.

Go for your dream. Start in little bites and ask a ton of questions!

Cloverbud · #12 02/26/07, 12:33 AM

OK, TerryJ & Rockin'B, this is kinda Twilight-zone-ish

TerryJ, do you know Dick & Barb DeVoe or Steve & Lea Watson? They're family. I would love a buckling, but dh says no for now.

Rockin'B, I can see your house from here

I'm smack between Byron & Winnebago. DD has friends in Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H club.

Lisa, what town are you in? Maybe we can help you out with things. I'd be happy to let my horses donate some home-grown compost for your garden!

Terrabus · #13 02/26/07, 06:44 AM

I'm in Freeport, IL. This board is the best! Once I get my land, I'll be using all the threads I bookmarked.

Rockin'B · #14 02/26/07, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cloverbud

OK, TerryJ & Rockin'B, this is kinda Twilight-zone-ish

TerryJ, do you know Dick & Barb DeVoe or Steve & Lea Watson? They're family. I would love a buckling, but dh says no for now.

Rockin'B, I can see your house from here

I'm smack between Byron & Winnebago. DD has friends in Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H club.

Lisa, what town are you in? Maybe we can help you out with things. I'd be happy to let my horses donate some home-grown compost for your garden!

I live just off Leaf River Rd. a few miles north of Leaf River. We aren't far apart at all.
What do you have in the way of livestock?

BB

Phantomfyre · #15 02/26/07, 09:19 AM

Welcome!

I married a city boy too, but like several others have said, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and DH is a confessed foodie.

When I first dug up a section of our backyard when we still lived in town, he just saw me working my tail off and said, "Honey, we can buy whatever vegetable you want." He was trying to help, thinking I couldn't POSSIBLY enjoy working that hard. Well, after tasting those fresh veggies, and seeing the variety that is available if you grow your own, he's seen the light. He still isn't a gardener, but he understands why I am. And he'll actually sit with me and go through a seed catalog or two to put in specific requests. He actually asked for "weird" (purple) carrots this year!

He said, "You can't buy those in a store!" This, from a man who had serious concerns about purple beans and yellow tomatoes when I first grew them! Also, in the beginning, he was worried about the loss of lawn.

Now, he says I can till up as much as I want, as long as I leave him a tiny patch of grass - and by tiny, he means just a couple of square feet - enough to smell when it's mowed.

He was also against moving out of town. It took a few years to convince him to try it. I literally took him on "field trips" to the country to show him what he was missing out on in town. It blew his mind when I drove him down a particular back road and hiked him to a corner of a specific field promising we'd see deer there, and we did! I'll never forget him saying, "You can't just go see wild deer!" and then the look on his face when we did. I showed him a beaver pond, wild turkeys, and let him experience the peace of watching the sun set over a pasture with horses quietly grazing there. He finally agreed to *try* it. That was back in 2004 when we moved to Ohio. Last year, we had to relocate again, or he'd lose his job, and he actually threatened to leave the job if we couldn't find a place with acreage in IL! Atta boy!

Now, you should know that just because he's happy out here in the country doesn't mean he's become a farmer! This is still my thing, and I do the work that goes with it. Animal care is my job, as is gardening, building maintenance, dealing with the farmer that cuts our hay, etc. He'll help if I need it, but he doesn't enjoy it like I do. And I don't think that will ever change. I can't get upset about it, because country life is what I wanted. And lots of other folks here go it "alone." You have to decide if you can be okay with that.

Now, critters in town: double check on that. If you truly can't keep a chicken or two in your backyard, I'd guess the reason is more likely a subdivision or HOA convenant than a city law. I shouldn't advocate breaking the rules, but technically, if I get chickens here, I would be breaking a covenant of our "subdivision." (REALLY stupid - I have 10 acres! Grrr. But it was this or a more expensive place with a lot less land, and lesser quality land to boot, so we took this place.) However, the way our convenants are written, they are only enforceable by our neighbors - they can't call the cops on me, they have to take me to civil court and prove they sustained a loss from my activities. I've gotten to know my neighbors and felt them out on the subject, and I'm going to get chickens and not worry about it because I've gotten the strong feeling they won't mind the slightest bit as long as I don't keep a bunch of crowing roosters and let the birds roam the neighborhood. It'll only be a few hens, and fresh eggs go a long way in the goodwill department, ya know?

Just a thought, but again, your situation is different, and I don't want anyone getting in trouble because they followed my *bad* example.

Again, welcome!
Diana

MullersLaneFarm · #16 02/26/07, 10:03 AM

We're just south of Rock Falls (and I work in Freeport).

We'd love to have all of you to our 3rd annual Homesteading Weekend this summer. Mark your calenders for June 22-24!

Cloverbud · #17 02/26/07, 10:32 AM

Rockin'B, I have horses (too many), goats (not enough), chickens (need more), and dogs (1 useful, 1 decorative) on my "cat ranch." Anybody need a kitty?

Oh, yeah, and one little Cloverbud.

Cyndi (and sometimes Paul), I love your website. I've learned so much from it. I'll have to start working on dh now to come to your Homesteading weekend. Either that, or just spring it on him and tell him he just doesn't remember agreeing to come!

Selena · #18 02/26/07, 12:05 PM

Check your village laws by getting a copy of the zoning regulations. The village from which I moved prohibited "livestock", which would include chickens even if you were zoned AG within the village limits (not much left AG land left as they are putting up cheap houses wherever they'll fit). Technically I cannot have animals on my 'rural residential' but I doubt the county come after me, probably not the neighbors either unless the animals were causing problems (destructive).

BUDSMOM · #19 02/27/07, 10:38 AM

Me And Christina Are Over By The Nuke Plant. Howdy Neighbor!

Terrabus · #20 02/27/07, 01:15 PM

I'm close enough to Wisconsin to make margarine smuggling profitable...heading there today for some cheese.