Newbie from northern IL

My wife is from Mt. Carroll, IL. Her sister lives in Freeport. Actually kind of neat to actually see how many of the N Illinoisers there are on here.

Cordova?? My Daddy helped build that plant back in the 70's ....

__________________

----------------------
http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Nope-byron.

there's a nuke plant in byron?? i need to get off the farm more often!

__________________

----------------------
http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Howdy, Lisa! Best wishes with your dream of homesteading!

I agree with the idea to get to your hubby through his stomach! Fortunately, mine can't wait to get out of town! If he didn't have to work so many long hours to earn the money for our land, he'd probably be on here learning all the time like I do! This is a great place to learn all the things you want to know!
Wendy (cent. IL)

supprised you can't see the big twin towers with the big plume of smoke from rock falls. it can be seen at rtes 251 and 30 south of rochelle. the plant has been here since the 70's and in operation since the early 80's. big cadillac school always crying for more money. has become yuppieville, lots of mcmansions. can't believe you missed it. just think -cordova and byron have two things in common-a dragstrip and a power plant!

You can see them from rural Roscoe/Rockton too. Yes the town went overboard spending money that was never guaranteed. Stillman Valley felt the effect too. Not too many small schools with an indoor track.

__________________
Beware of radical christians: http://listverse.com/2015/03/22/10-p...e-for-america/

Welcome Lisa!

Another NW IL here. We are located down near Dixon.

We were city folks transplanted into the country 4yrs ago. Before we moved onto the farm we had chicks in the basement of our house. Then before we knew it we had 2 beef cows dropped off after only being on the farm 3 months. Then came the rest of the animals. We've have/had horses, pigs, beef cows, milking cow, chickens, turkeys, ducks, goats, sheep, cats and dogs. We have learned how to butcher chickens, turkeys and ducks. We've also butchered deer this past fall. This has been a whole new experience for our family.

We started with a garden in the city and now we are out in the country. It can happen It's nice to see so many IL'ers. Hopefully we can all meet at Paul & Cyndi's this summer.

Michele

Byron nuke plant - come to think of it, I have seen the towers on my commute to and from Freeport. Can't see them from south of Rock Falls though.

__________________

----------------------
http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Don't You Ever Go To Rockford "the Forest City"?

I can see the towers from my work in Freeport

Who me? No. What for?

__________________

----------------------
http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

I live in Peoria now, but am originally from Lanark. My parents and my sister and her family still live there, as do several of my relatives. I miss the small town and country life. I raise livestock on a friend's farm, just west of Peoria. Wouldn't know how to spend my time if I didn't have the critters to care for. We have all kinds. As was mentioned in another post, rabbits might be ok in town. Or see if you can find someone willing to let you raise something on their land. Lots of peopld looking for goats to keep the weeds down. Maybe you could check around. Good Luck.

Take care,
Jeff Port
Smallville Miniatures and Exotics
West Peoria, IL

I live on the east side of the state..
By the OTHER NUKE PLANT!!
Zion,IL

ldk72, we could just pretend they're the same one, and then you'd be closer If you're gardening, would you like some well-aged "compost"? With 7 horses, I got *plenty* You get all that lovely lake effect snow, don't you?

Okay, anyone who can see the (any) nuke plant from home or work, raise your hand

We used to live in Rochelle and we could see the Nuke Plant (AKA "The Cloud Factory") from where we lived. I could tell when I was coming back from NIU how the weather was by how the "clouds" looked!

I had a BIL from Dixon. He was such a Democrat that he'd rather tell folks that Dixon was known for their Correctional Facility more than for being the boyhood home of Ronal Reagan!

He isn't alone in that aspect. I've heard that from more than one person.

__________________
Beware of radical christians: http://listverse.com/2015/03/22/10-p...e-for-america/

LOL it still cracks me up they call it that. That is but one of Rockford's dumb moves over the years. But why spend $10K to save the elms when we can pay 10+ times that to remove the dead and diseased trees? We don't need NIU and we don't need the Chrysler plant. And by all means run I-90 on the east side in order to slowly kill the downtown area. Don't get me started on the school mess of the 60s that could never be rectified in the 80s or beyond. The latest supt. of schools was another moron move too.

__________________
Beware of radical christians: http://listverse.com/2015/03/22/10-p...e-for-america/

My cousins grew up in Rockford. They were E-Rabs (East siders, right?). I remember when we lived in Rochelle in 94 they were still trying to figure out the whole segregation thing.

And what happened with Byron schools? When we left there was a big deal about how they classified real estate and vehicles (?) and the school district was to pay the nuke factory a ton of money. How did that turn out?

Sounds to me like you ahead of the game already. 90% of this is all about will, determination and true grit. Country is a state of mind no matter where you lay your head.

I grew up in the military my whole life (moved to about 20 different places) and always dreamed of finding a place and never moving again.

Well when I finally found it my wife thought I was crazy for wanting to move to the sticks and drive 30-40 miles (don't tell her but I drive farther in a heartbeat) to work everyday. To make a long story short she fell in love with the house, found a local job, and loves it more than I do now. (Some people just have to be exposed to it to have a real understanding of the meaning of freedom)

We didn't know the first thing about gardening or farming, but now raise a small Dexter herd and can what we grow. My advice would be to read everything *homesteading related you can get your hands on, and not to be afraid to ask questions. Most country folks I know are more than willing to share their information. They like talking about the Kountry

Another thing I recommend is just getting your hands dirty no matter how small the project. (You'll learn from your mistakes) We killed everything the first year we had a garden But have enough to give away now.

*Storey's Basic Country Skills (A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance) & Country Wisdom & Know How (Everything You need to know to live off the Land) and to good places to start

Email me if you have any questions

GR