Am I getting too old for this?

[retiredbop]

Over the years I have become convinced that working prisons, especially active maximum security ones, is a young man's job. And despite what I try to tell myself I'm not getting any younger. Which leads me to my BIG concern. Am I getting too old to consider this homesteading idea seriously?

In 17 months I'll hang up my duty belt for the last time. I'll be 50 years old. The Marines destroyed my ankles, the Bureau has claimed my knees and one shoulder, and karate claimed one hip. Most days I'm fine, as long as I work at my own pace. I'm stubborn, and don't ever admit that I can't do something. I just adapt and overcome. Given sufficient time I have never found a problem I can't solve or task I can't accomplish. And since I'll be "retired" I figure I've got all the time in the world. So the Irish in me, says "Go for it".

Unfortunately that part of me that has been heavily influenced by modern society and "taking the easy way out" keeps nagging me with thoughts of "You're too old for this crap!"

Anybody out there started playing the game at my age? I haven't done any of this farming stuff since I was 17. Except for two summers in the late '80's when I would work part-time for a local horse farm during baling season. Call me deranged, but I've always enjoyed haying.

[Terri]

Well, it depends on the kind of homesteading you yearn for.

If you want to tend a 1 acre garden with a shovel and a hoe, you are too old. If you want to till it first, you are not.

[linn]

DH is sixty three and I will soon be fifty nine. We are still going strong. He runs an excavation business and runs over 40 cows with calves on a little over two hundred and thirty acres, some owned and some rented. We cut and put up hay in the summer for the livestock. I am a school librarian who does chores morning and night. We have a garden and I milk a cow. In the summer I take care of the house, garden, chickens and cow. I also make butter and cheese. I will retire from public education in two years. I can't wait. We love our life. I can't think of anything we would rather be doing then farming. If you already have some background in homesteading or farming you are already ahead of the game. I say go for it. You don't have to turn over the soil by hand any more. There are heavy-duty rear tine tillers that do a great job of that. Most people I know about go crazy after retirement if they don't have something to keep them occupied.

[tamilee]

Originally Posted by retiredbop

Over the years I have become convinced that working prisons, especially active maximum security ones, is a young man's job. And despite what I try to tell myself I'm not getting any younger. Which leads me to my BIG concern. Am I getting too old to consider this homesteading idea seriously?

In 17 months I'll hang up my duty belt for the last time. I'll be 50 years old. The Marines destroyed my ankles, the Bureau has claimed my knees and one shoulder, and karate claimed one hip. Most days I'm fine, as long as I work at my own pace. I'm stubborn, and don't ever admit that I can't do something. I just adapt and overcome. Given sufficient time I have never found a problem I can't solve or task I can't accomplish. And since I'll be "retired" I figure I've got all the time in the world. So the Irish in me, says "Go for it".

Unfortunately that part of me that has been heavily influenced by modern society and "taking the easy way out" keeps nagging me with thoughts of "You're too old for this crap!"

Anybody out there started playing the game at my age? I haven't done any of this farming stuff since I was 17. Except for two summers in the late '80's when I would work part-time for a local horse farm during baling season. Call me deranged, but I've always enjoyed haying.

Hi Mike;
Well it all depends. Exactly what are you planning to do? If you are talking about logging to build a home, that is a young man's game. I'm over 40. When Hurricane Charlie ripped through our area it took down 14 oak trees. No problem, I told myself. After all my husband and I cleared the land where we built our home. Over the years we chopped firewood, had a garden and did our own home repairs. Then, a medical condition necessitated that we place a gas heating system in. Five years went by and we decided to start heating with wood part time, so we both split wood and stacked it and hauled it to the house when we needed . No problem.
A few years passed and Hurricane Charlie took down those trees, I went out , like I use to and started moving 24" diamter logs and splitting them. I still had the strength to lift them and move them and split them but after only moving 3-4 trees I blew out my knees. I spent MONTHS recovering. In my youth it was a few weeks at most. So what am I saying; over 40 you can't just start working hard and doing manual labor. It's not like karate, a few hours a few times a week but hours EVERY day, sometimes ten+ hours a day. But there are ways around that. As I said at the start, it depends on what you want to do. I used to hand spade and hand plow up my garden. This year I had to buy a tiller, but I still used the hand plow to make the rows. I simply did not have the energy to break the ground by hand. I suppose I could work out, get in better shape and then turned the ground. The problem is you must be fit before you try something and you must know your limitations. You sound like me and many other hardworking people; get out there and do what needs to be done. I paid the price for doing just that when I hurt my knees a few years back. I felt like I did when I was in my 20's but my body let me know i'm no 20 year old, and it isn't as forgiving or quick to repair itsself.
Homesteading is a mindset. You do as much as you can by and for yourself but you do not endanger your health and well being. It is also about breaking free of affluenza and living a simple life. None of really do that, if we did we wouldn't have computers or internet access.
I still dream of making my own soap(can't do that, I'm a vegan), washing my clothes with a James Hand Washer, cooking on a woodstove, having kerosene lamps and a solar power system and growing all my own food but I can't right now. I have too many committments to spend all that time on those things.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. If you are new to homesteading, you will enjoy Lehman's. It's a non-electric supply store and sell just about everythigna homesteader needs.They have an online store at http://www.lehmans.com
I'm not sure how long you've been on this forum but there are a lot of really nice people and few that aren't, but that's human nature.
Have a good day.
Tami

[tamilee]

By the way; WELCOME to the forum, Mike!
Tami

[mamajohnson]

When we moved here I was 41, and my DH 49 - with knees so bad that he cannot even kneel. Well, 7 years have passed, and we have really noticed a difference.
The keys are, work at your own pace. Dont try to do it all in a day. Give yourself more time to do things. Work smarter. We use all the tools possible. A new, bigger, better chainsaw, I bought a Mantis tiller - light weight and easy to handle, (AWESOME MACHINE) Also, we let our teenage sons do more, as they are for sure younger and stronger.
One thing my mother told me, when we inherited this place from my dad, was this: "Be sure and get everything done as soon as you can, when you get older it is harder."
Do your hard stuff now, build your outbuildings, break that fresh ground now, move those rocks, trees, build the fences. I think when we get everything done (no, we dont have it all done yet) maintaining will be easy - compared.
And on the way to getting it done, we will be in better physical shape then when we started, that is already happening, as I have lost 90 pounds since we moved here!

[PonderosaQ]

As others have said do it slowly, at your own pace. You can still enjoy your dream just a bit slower. "Taking the easy way out" makes me think of a couch potato and at 50 and after the job you have managed to sustain you are in better shape than that... A homesteading life style will keep you fitter than the easy way out and be far more fulfilling to you. Just make look at it more realistically than you did at 30. Good luck when you get that retirement day and the dream....
PQ

[Queen Bee]

I think you can do it--Most of us will need to start out slow and build our strength (body and mind). You can be the strongest man in the world and still get sore doing something new and different that your body isn't used to! My sister was into weights, running, exercise in general--she used to make fun of me because she could run 10miles and not be winded and then She came to stay the summer with me and was for ever--complaining of sore legs, arms, back..etc. We were working in the garden one day and she said "You are the working-est women I have ever known. I can't imagine having to do this stuff all the time. I would be dead!" It's a different kind of work... And YES you can do... IF you want to, you will find a way.. Start out with chickens, add a sheep, goat, then add the cow!!! OH, by the way--welcome. Queen Bee

[mamajohnson]

Queen Bee, you made me remember something...
The first year we were here our well pump went out, well DH was still working 300 miles away, gone 5 days, home 2, so the kids and I were doing the best we could. Pump goes out, I had no vehicle, knew nobody, so had to figure it out... it was 1000+ feet straight downhill (all covered with brush, no road yet) to the spring creek, so, I built an A frame over the well (the well is an old 33" version) found an old pully in the barn, 100' of rope, a bucket, and we preceeded to start "pulling" our water out of the well, pretty much like the pioneers did.
Well, we did this for several months before we could afford a new pump & tank.... my oldest was 16 at the time. He met a friend, had the friend come over for the afternoon. Happened that I needed water, so I was pulling from the well, asked DS to come help after about 10 gal worth, New friend was 'buff' had been 'pumping iron' ohhhh he was tough... my DS was scrawny compared....
DS challenged the young man... I had pulled about 3 buckets of water up (3 gallon bucket) from the depth of 90', DS said he would do the same, then new friend could if he *thought* he could do it... oh yeah, he said it would be easy...
LOL!!! halfway up with the FIRST bucket he was huffing and puffing and had to have help with it! ROFL!!!
And of course DS had the big head after that.
REAL WORK is different. You can pump all the iron in the world, but real work will put you in a whole different realm of *good shape*

(and no, I dont think I could pull those buckets today, that is why we bought a new pump!!)

[PinkBat]

Too old at 50?????????????

I hope you meant this as a joke. I know many people in their 70s who are still running farms.

[Windy in Kansas]

Of course you will be able to homestead. Just remember that not everything has to be done in one day nor one week, nor even one year. Set a pace so that you get the rest your body asks for.

[Rickydink]

You will do fine. Use your tools, learn to be patient, and be safe. If you need help ask for it. Don't Be too proud to do this. I am only 43 but my Dad is 67 and what he cannot do I do. Sometimes I get my boys to help when lifting etc.

You will develop a system that will suit you and your homestead. The benefits will grow with time and you may find that you are more healthy and have more energy after you retire. Plus you can nap in the afternoon before doing evening chores.

Semper Fi Mike

Rick
USN ret

[The Quiet Man]

Unless you're in a wheelchair, with an oxygen tank and IV in your arm, you should go ahead and do it. Make sure you have a cell phone with you at all times and enjoy life. I'm going to move in 2 years, or less, to a little homestead in a forest 3 miles from the Canadian border. It's so remote you need no building permit. I've jumped out of planes, rode crosscountry on my Harley and enjoy life. You can do just about anything you want. Just choose the level you feel comfortable with. Know what you can do and what you need to contract out to someone else.

"If you take the chance to live it's OK to die"

P.S. I'm a disabled vet

[anniew]

Yep, the question should be pointed back at you. Can you do it? Do you have the personal motivation? You talk about your injuries, but yet you are still working, so they can't be totally dibilitating.
But, what is your personal energy level? Do you go home and sit in front of the tv after work? Or do you go outside and do what you can to prepare yourself for the homestead, learning how to garden, new skills, etc.?

Since you'll be retired, I assume that means you'll have a pension. Compare that with probably over half the people here that are already homesteading who are your age or older AND must work while homesteading. If you can't do it without working, then it has nothing to do with your age.

It also depends partially on what you expect to get out of homesteading. Do you want the rural life, or to be more self-sufficient, or just like the idea of it without necessarily having the work ethic to carry through?

If you can't find real positive answers as to what is motivating your thinking of doing homesteading, then maybe you can't do it. You have to not only have the energy, but love doing it.
Ann (one month short of 65 and started 14 years ago after dreaming for a long time).

[pcdreams]

I don't mean to drown your dreams but this is what many folks do.. Spend their entire life working for others and waiting on someday.. When/if that day arrives they find they can't lead the life they intended to.

Whats the solution? I don't have the answer but there MUST be a better way.

[virtualco]

retiredbop, I, like you, will be giving up my 'duty belt' this June with the Dept of Corrections here in Florida. I just turned 50 not to long ago.

I am getting out at 50 because it has been my dream to homestead. And the life expectancy of a correctional officer is 59.5 years because of the high stress of the profession we chose. So if this is true I had better get on the stick and live my dream.

Because of an agreement with my DW I will be starting out my life on my homestead without her. My wife has a career and will not be joining me on the homestead until later next year when she fulfills an obligation she has with her present employer. And then after that it will be back and forth from MO to FL. DW doesn't like the cold and will only do winters in FL. I think in the end though she will be the one going back and forth and I will be staying in MO.

retiredbop, I plan on taking it very slow in my new life on the homestead. I am looking for five plus acres, wooded with/without any buildings 20-30 minutes from the city where I will be working for insurance until I reach 'real' retirement age at 55 or 59 1/2. Haven't decided yet. I will start out getting my gardening skills honed and getting a couple of chickens.

I think pcdreams has it right when he sez, (people)"Spend their entire life working for others and waiting on someday..."

Make your someday today and never look back, I know that I won't.

[treesonggal]

Retiredbop, you mention that you're Irish. Enough said. If you have half the determination, stubborness and strength my Irish boyfriend (he's 63) you'll do fine.

We will soon move to our land in Michigan's Upper Peninsula where we will homestead on 10 acres with no electric (it's 3.5 miles away), no well or septic yet, no phone lines, intermittent cell phone coverage, neither of us have a pension, very little savings and both of us have physical limitations. I'm 54 in May and have MS; he has a bum knee, vericose viens and arthritis. We have both homesteaded in the past and left the life for big cities and better jobs. Make a long story stort, we both regret it and can't wait to get back to the land. We are very frugal, willing to live without electric, cable TV and new vehicles. We have each other, have spent countless hours planning and discussin what we want and have collected most of the tools, etc. we'll need. Everything that's unneccessary, we're selling.

One advantage we do have it that we've been down this road before. We know what to expect, where we both made poor choices before, and how much work it will take. We choose not to raise any animals as we are slowly becoming vegetarians. We will garden and use a greenhouse and root cellar. We probably will not build our little 700 square foot house. Instead, as horrible as it may sound to some, we have located some older mobile homes that sell for $1,000. We will refurbish one, do a roof over (5/12 pitch roof with treated 4x6 posts supporting the trusses) with a greenhouse and woodshed on one side of it, We've both lived in a home like this before and we're happy with it. We're not interested in property appreciation - only that the home lasts as long as we do.

Everyone has to find their own answers in life and these are ours. We wish you well.

[AnnaS]

[QUOTE=retiredbop]
I just adapt and overcome. Given sufficient time I have never found a problem I can't solve or task I can't accomplish. QUOTE]

That there says it all. You have the right stuff.

BTW, thanks for your service in corrections. Probably the most thankless and important job in law enforcement. Had a family member retire from a MCF last year.

[indypartridge]

Originally Posted by tamilee

Homesteading is a mindset. You do as much as you can by and for yourself but you do not endanger your health and well being. It is also about breaking free of affluenza and living a simple life.

That's it in a nutshell. 'Homesteading' is an attitude. For some, 'homesteading' is complete, off-the-grid independence, for others it's a small vegetable garden. Do what you can, enjoy every minute of it, and don't worry about things you can't do.

[diehard47]

I also retired from dept of corrections at age 50. I now stay busy working my small pallet business,and also have a small farm(pig,chicken,rabbits). I am not able to jump up on the trailer as once could,so now crawl up,lol. I think its very important to stay as active as you can in a comfortable way. Congratultions on retirement.