Living off the Land
 

As I have mentioned in previous posts we have been hiking, canoing, fishing the past two months on the weekends.

I have been buying mags and books (from Amazon and Borders or Barnes and Noble)

Part of this is in reply to no where to run.

I just picked up edible wild plants.....

Nature has given us all kinds of natural foods, from trees and plants to nuts and berries.

There is an amazing amount of information out there.

An article I just read in a mag a lady from nj has lived orr the land to the point that her food bill is/was 20-30 dollars a month. She uses bark from trees and also must have a garden too.

But as an example I was in Stokes State Forest this weekend- Where we camped then where we went up to the Appalachian trail (Sunrise MT area)

There were blueberries, blackberries, currants (I believe still learning) Grapes, along with Birch trees and All the fish we could catch! (Okay, we suck at fishing, my girl caught a small Large mouth bass, out of four of us fishing, Although there were lots of bites!

(tons of Sunfish, greasy/oily... but I have fond memories of catching, filleting and eating them with my uncle)

Anyways, I suggest that for all who don't know and all we really believe this is going to happen to get the books on edible wild plants, mushrooms, trees, and etc.

An amazing book I'm almost done with is How to stay alive in the woods!!!

So yea there is a place to run!!! - As the Cub Scouts say...BE PREPARED!

Yes I am teaching my 5 year old and 12 year old how to do all this!

And the five year old has(in my opinion) amazing distance on his cast!!!

Re: Living off the Land
 

good for you...

i was raised on a homestead and we ate a lot of moose meat and salmon we hunted and caught, and potatoes we grew...

this weekend we were out taking photos of salmon spawning in the remote creeks...my wife wanted some bear shots but none felt like posing for the camera this time...

we saw many hundreds of ducks and other birds...trumpeters, eagles, grouse...

nature can provide...

at night we fired up the woodstove and heated the cabin for free...well...sweat equity in gathering the firewood...

best of all with no electricity we had no distractions like the tv or computer and my wife and i actually had to talk to each other...:D

....

Re: Living off the Land
 

We fry up a mess of crappie and catfish caught down here on our private lakes and blackberries are plentiful, so are turkey and whitetail. We put up a lot of crappie in the freezer.

Gardening is a snap with a good tiller.

Water is no issue either.

I'm blessed with what bounty I got when I purchased my few acres ... it was a good deal better than the city lot I use to own.

Re: Living off the Land
 

You must be in the South Somewhere. Nothing like fishing for a mess of crappie at night or catfish. Cornmeal! yum! I'm a veggie man now, but before! Cornmeal and pan fish, my God!

Re: Living off the Land
 

So you have "private lakes," wild blackberries, whitetails and turkeys on your your few acres?
And water is no issue?
And gardening is a "snap" because you've got a tiller?

Stop, please.... you're cracking me up. :D

Re: Living off the Land
 

I have unlimited legal access to 5 privately owned lakes, the largest is about 65 acres.

I live in a community owned rural area of about 1500 acres total, it has 17 miles of privately owned roads (have a beer, no cops) that we maintain with our own grader, bobcat and a large machine shed where we have our community membership meetings.

I have county water on my property, a drilled well for gardening and I live within 150 yards of the big lakes dam - water is no issue.

Deer and turkey are plentiful.

Membership dues are $100 per year to maintain roads and common areas, my property taxes are less than $70 per year.



Eat your heart out, GS.

Re: Living off the Land
 

wow, Where do you liveAgamemnon? well at least state?

Gasilat, I have ound we actually talk a lot including the kids! Amazing how no technology brings the family back together!

Re: Living off the Land
 

Translation: You're a sophomore in college who grew up in a gated subdivision somewhere in the South and your divorced mom drives a Miata to the mall to get her nails done.

Then she comes home and fries you up "a mess o' crappies 'n' catfish" while you're out riding the tiller and fending off wild turkeys.:rolleyes_m:

Re: Living off the Land
 

Its always personal with a twoofer ...

Re: Living off the Land
 

Are you trying to say "Truther"? It sounds like you've got something long and warm in your mouth.

Is it a catfish, maybe? :D

Re: Living off the Land
 

There goes another decent thread ... down the old sewer pipe ...





.

Re: Living off the Land
 

No, don't hold out on us...
Tell us where we can live on The Ponderosa for $70 a year in property taxes.:rolleyes_m:

Re: Living off the Land
 

GREENspirit with envy.

Figure it out yourself.

(for some unknown reason, I'm hoping you're tied up with a three year lease, paying out the arse for your efficiency apartment in Jerkwater USA ...).

Re: Living off the Land
 

:congrats:

Re: Living off the Land
 

Guessin....LOL.....Arkansas??

Re: Living off the Land
 

A local power plant pays the majority of total property taxes in my county.

They also funded the lions share of our school district.

Since it sells into the power grid, I have to say thanks to all you nice folks for funding my retreat ...

I would appreciate if you would keep your air conditioners running 24/7.

Thanks in advance.

Re: Living off the Land
 

Once again you are my favorite...

Re: Living off the Land
 

FWIW; I didn't pick this fight.

I answered in kind and got a load of flack in return for being decent.

Typical 'personal' attack ensued with cheer leading squad in hot pursuit ...

Re: Living off the Land
 

I live in a dense urban city with lots of stray cats and squirrels to poach and I can get water from Como or Phalen Lake or if I'm really thirsty I'm just a short ways from the Mississippi in downtown St. Paul.

And if it gets too cold, I can just walk up to the neighborhood car fire-bombing like last saturday. If you wait until the tires explode before getting close, they are pretty safe. And nothing beats the smoky aroma of turpentine cooking on automotive paint to really add flavor to your marshmellow.

All this for only $2500 in property taxes with three additional annual "special" assessments.

I feel terrible for you poor country folk.

Re: Living off the Land
 

arkansas? your description sorta fits the white river basin area in southern missouri and northern arkansas includeing the crappie...catfish...whitetail...low taxes...etc....just curious

Re: Living off the Land
 

I just noticed your signiture line being anti-masonic. i am just curious did you have a bad experience with the masons. in our area of the contry they are a extremely charitable organization, here it would be similar to trying to ban the red cross.

Just curious

Re: Living off the Land
 

Arkansas ... LOL ... nope.

Re: Living off the Land
 

Not $70 a year...the taxes on an 80 acre ranch in Southeast OK are $52 a year.

This property has six stocked ponds,fully fenced and cross fenced,two barns,chicken coop storm shelter,1300 square foot house,around 20 acres of woods and the rest open.

Price is way less than $200,000.

Hope this helps educate you on what is REALLY out there.

Re: Living off the Land
 

I don't think that was his concern ....

Re: Living off the Land
 

I think a LOT of people are ignorant of what is actually out there....

We were until a few years back.

Re: Living off the Land
 

Yup, its there and I really like those tiny parcels boarding National forest .... got some of that too.

Re: Living off the Land
 

In states with ag exemptions, taxes on raw land are low...it's on the improvements where they get you.

Re: Living off the Land
 

I see. I didn't figure there were many improvements on his land. :wink:

Re: Living off the Land
 

As I stated, we know of one 80 acre ranch with house,barns,stocked ponds and woods where taxes are only $52/year.

Re: Living off the Land
 

But how's GreenSpit going to get a cheap shot out of that fact ?

Re: Living off the Land
 

Yes, tell all the hard-working gardeners around here that all they need to make vegetable gardening a "snap" is a good tiller.
Go ahead...I laugh everytime I hear it. :D

Re: Living off the Land
 

GS ... do us all a favor .... STFU

Re: Living off the Land
 

Thanks for playing, Agamemnon. :D

Re: Living off the Land
 

GreenSpirit, do you doubt you can own a property and pay very little taxes on it?

Do you doubt that there are a LOT of parts of the country where growing enough to feed your family is not only possible but done relatively easily?

Or do you just like arguing?

Nothing wrong with that mind you as long as your position is based in facts....:D

Re: Living off the Land
 

I know about green belt and agricultural exemptions; one of my best friends has an honest green belt exemption. He owns a nursery.
I also know there are a lot of phony exemptions where somebody rents ten cows.

btw... I don't argue; I explain.

You callow youths that blithely claim that growing enough food to feed ones family is "easy" or "all you need is a tiller" are definitely in need of some explaining.
Try feeding your family only from what you can personally grow.

I hope your kids like eating Chia Pets. :D

Re: Living off the Land
 

Funny how Jackie Clay has managed to do it....

And hundreds of others.

Do you belong to any of the various homesteading forums?

Re: Living off the Land
 

Let me be the first to offer my condolences to ajrocks on the tragically gruesome trauma sustained by this thread.

Re: Living off the Land
 

Hilarious ! :applause_

Re: Living off the Land
 

That's okay I just wanted those out there to know that we can lieve off the land still. There are places to run....actually anything with living off the land including gardening is helpful.

Hey moderators, shouldn't we have a subsection for this type of thing under survival prep?

Re: Living off the Land
 

Sorry for getting off topic.

I agree this is an interesting topic,it has been for a while with us.

We hope to one day be living a self sufficient life as much as possible.

Re: Living off the Land
 

If you have good game, good water and good soil, anything is possible. Anyone who says otherwise don't really know jack-shit (no edit on spelling of shit). Skill, will and a long rifle can go along with the above to give you a king's life.

Re: Living off the Land
 

Sounds like Aggy has himself a nice place, I have it all (no association) plus wild hogs....but the lake is about 5 miles away.

Re: Living off the Land
 

Hmmmmmm.......bacon! Never had wild hog. I'll bet they are deee-licious.

Re: Living off the Land
 

That is their classic cover stroy to buy good PR. Trust me, that group is pure evil.

Re: Living off the Land
 

That is the absolute truth.

But these newbies and dancing master/gun collectors who claim, "gardening is a snap...all you need is a good tiller...etc" are talking out their ass.

If it really happens.... they'd better be ready to sweat 7 days a week. Their convenient wild turkeys, blackberries and smugness will very, very quickly vanish .
I hate to burst their bubble.:bull-buddy-icon:

Re: Living off the Land
 

Why?
I think it is a fair question.

Re: Living off the Land
 

Not bursting my bubble,we have grown our own food before...

Re: Living off the Land
 

Have you subsisted solely off the products of your own handiwork for any significant length of time?

I have and it required my entire family and working from sunup to sundown 6 days a week.

Re: Living off the Land
 

No....but you have proven it is quite possible and many people do it.

By the way there are quite a few methods available(lasagna gardening,square foot gardening,etc,etc) to make food production easier.

Re: Living off the Land
 

since you feel strongly enough to post the negative icon for your signiture against a specific group, i was hoping for a more difinitive personal experience you could share

Re: Living off the Land
 

I prefer container gardening mixed with row gardening in sandy loam.

Its a real snap if you don't have to waste time listening to jerks who know everything but their own business ....

Re: Living off the Land
 

Got a raw deal on some concrete work ... ?

Re: Living off the Land
 

It depends on what you call "personal experience". If the current state of America (since they control our government) is a "personal experience" (since you and I live under their control) then, yes, I have a great deal of bad things to speak of. Freemasons will not attack you in the street (yet) or break into your house (yet), they are about government/religious control.

Re: Living off the Land
 

Napoleon Says Trust me! No facts, just trust me!:adore::adore:

Re: Living off the Land
 

He's more than welcome to do his own research and/or search through my many posts about Freemasonry on this site. I don't expect a government apologist like you to understand any of this though because you fully support their agenda.

Re: Living off the Land
 

Not really but I know someone who did ...