Country surprises?

You could ask your neighbors for advice about what to plant or how to put in a garden in your area. Folks generally like giving advice, especially if you listen to it. They usually don't like to hear how things are done differently in other areas - unless it's in comparison about how their ways are better than however it was where you came from.

A smile and a wave when you see them might be nice, too.

The biggest surprise I have found, is that everything that the previous owners used on the farm was just left where they were done with it. Finnish that row of barbed wire fencing? Where would you leave the last few feet of the spool? At the end of the fence you are working on of course. Done with that hay bale twine? Just leave it buried all over the farm. The same goes for old tools.

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The one piece of advice I can give from where I grew up....absolutely no privacy! ROFL You have to be flexible. Neighbors show up--walk on in--and the next thing you know it is dark out! Grew up in a farming community. Saturdays I would always make a big beef roast, potatoes, carrots, etc. because I knew Pops and the neighbors would come for the big lunch invasion! Best memories ever!!! Once you know everyone and everyone knows you, there is a "network". Everyone helps everyone and it is AWESOME!

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That's what we are finding on our property too.

We were told that everyone waves at everyone here. So, when we see a car coming up the hill we will know to wave at them when the go by our house. It's a little disappointing when they don't wave back. My children like to play in the front yard so that they can wave at people. In the city we told them to not talk to strangers so this is really fun for them. When we went to Bolivar they didn't understand why no one was waving back at them lol.
We have a neighbor that told us of a guy that would always just look at him as he drove by, but never wave back. Finally he got tired of it and stopped the guy and got on to him about it. He told him that around here we wave at each other whether you like it or not. lol He said now that guy makes a point to wave and will even honk to get his attention.

While the area I live isn't quite country, I do have a well, septic and no street lights. (We do get trash pickup though). For going outside at night, the best thing I have found is those headlight flashlights. It keeps your hands free and still provides plenty of light.

If your power goes out, you probably don't need to run your generator 24/7. If the power is out for a long time, that's a ton of gas. And, depending on how wide spread the outage is, you may not be able to get more. (Think of Hurricane Sandy) Instead, get a cooler. B4 hand, freeze water in a few containers. Then, when the power goes out, stick half of those in the cooler, along w/anything you need for 24 hours. Don't open either the fridge or the freezer again. Run the generator only for an hour or so in the morning and in the evening. (If you're home during the afternoon, you can run it again then) This should be enough to keep you from losing anything in there.

Also, make sure cell phones are charged as well as things like tablets, Ipads, etc. You can recharge them during the times that you're running the generator.

If you normally leave night lights on, get some of those light sticks that you have to bend to activate. They work great as night lights. Or, get some solar lights that you can charge during the day, then bring inside. (Of course, if it's cloudy, they may not charge up enough)

If you have a wood stove w/a flat top, learn how to cook on it. You can also learn how to cook outside over a fire.

Depending on where you live, be prepared to be snowed in in a bad storm. If that happens, you won't be able to get out, so make sure you're prepared not only for supplies you need, but also your animals.

Not all snakes are poisonous, and can be quite beneficial since they eat rodents. And spiders eat bad bugs, so don't kill them just because you see them. Learn what insects are beneficial because they eat bad bugs-including what the larvae look like!

Learn what plants in your area are poisonous to livestock and make sure you don't have them growing in your pasture.

Check for ticks thoroughly. Learn what a copperhead looks like. If you have yellow jackets nest in a wall of your house call a professional exterminator. Also be aware when cutting grass if any yellow jackets have nest underground. There can be hundreds or more in the nest. After getting stung several times under the pear tree I put a large piece of plastic over the holes and then later at night I lifted it up and sprayed hornet spray and dropped the plastic cover back down. If I had been allergic I would have called a professional. Make sure you know how to protect your water pipes in freezing weather.

Don't know if this actually works or not because I've never tried it-I'm allergic to bees. But, if you know where there's ground bees, wait until night. Then, take a clear plastic bowl and place it upside down over the hole. The bees will fly up into the bowl and stay on the sides. You can then slide a piece of cardboard under the bowl and trap the bees. Wait until it gets darkish, then you can get the lid on it, and flip the bowl. Then you can either dispose of the bowl, or stick it in the freezer or whatever to get rid of the bees.