By Carla Lynne Klimuk

HomesteadBlogger.com has opened and is growing by leaps and bounds! We have homesteaders from all over the world, including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.K., blogging about their lives and love of homesteading.

Stories are being shared, along with tips and tricks for homesteading in urban and suburban areas, herbal and natural health advice, livestock information, and much, much more!

I have to think back over 17 years now to the sources of information my husband and I sought out as we were making our big move from the suburbs to our little homestead in the country. It was so exhilarating to read magazines, books, and catalogs on country living and dream of what lay ahead of us. We wanted to do it all! Here are four of the best resources we found:

The Backyard Homestead Mini-Farm & Garden Log Book by John Jeavons, J. Mogador & Robin Leler. While doing some research for an article for my newsletter, I pulled this book off the shelf and blew off the dust. Wow! I had forgotten how inspiring and informative it is. This book proves you don't need vast acreage to live the homestead life, which is an idea near and dear to my heart. There are detailed instructions for planning your backyard vegetable and fruit garden, keeping small livestock, and even growing produce for market. Lots of planning charts, guides, maps, and logs are included to keep you on track. This book assumes the readers will be familiar with the bio-intensive method of gardening and is really a companion book to How to Grow More Vegetables than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land than You Ever Imagined by John Jeavons. The website www.bountifulgardens.org has these books available and lots of additional information.

Lehman's Non-Electric Catalog. Oh, I could just spend hours reading this treasury! Founded in 1955 by Jay Lehman, Lehman's provides products for the Amish and others who live without electricity. You can find Aladdin Oil lamps, propane powered refrigerators, beautiful wood cookstoves, hand-cranked wheat mills, canning and preserving equipment, and so much more. I've even seen Amish-style buggies in their catalog! I have ordered from them many times over the years. The information they provide along with their products is alone worth the price. The prices are always incredibly reasonable, the service is excellent, and it's like Christmas every time I get a package in the mail from them. Visit them online at www.lehmans.com and request a catalog for just $3 (a bargain!). Even if you don't order anything, you will be so inspired after reading the catalog that you will want to do something homesteadish right away.

Prescription for Nutritional Healing by James and Phyllis Balch. My #1 source for information on illness and natural remedies, herbs and supplements. I don't think you need any other books on the subject if you've got this one on your shelf. A huge (776 pages) encyclopedia of vitamins, herbs, supplements, natural remedies, illness and its causes, and therapies for health and healing. I have turned to this book again and again over the years as I have ministered to my husband and six children through minor (and some major) illnesses. I have always found the information to be extremely helpful and effective. This book can be found in most health food stores or online.

The Local Folks. You won't find a better resource than your neighbors and local business owners. The nurseryman, feed store owner, local farmers, and Ted (or Bill or Joe) at the little general store down the road are invaluable and indispensable goldmines of knowledge as you begin your homestead journey. These people know all about the local weather, where to buy the best seed, and who to talk to about livestock. The loggers in my area can tell you where the best huckleberry bushes are in the forest, and my neighbor Sonny will come and shoot a varmint in your chicken coop for the mere price of a fresh loaf of bread! Country folks are, by and large, big-hearted people who enjoy sharing their experience and knowledge.

This list is by no means complete, but hopefully it will give you a start as you begin to research and learn about the homestead lifestyle. There is no life like the simple, home-centered life. I believe God created us to not just observe His creation, but interact with it on the deepest level. May His every blessing be yours!

If this is a new concept to you, please do not be intimidated. It is neither time-consuming nor difficult, and you may find kneading bread dough and forming your own loaves to be rewarding. I am confident that, when your family begins to praise you for the aroma that begins to arise out of your kitchen and to eagerly eat up the warm loaves you pull out of the oven, you will be encouraged to continue baking each week.

Plus, if you are concerned about the nutrition of your family, you can consider making your own fresh flour from grinding wheat berries. To read about the benefits of milling flour, please visit the following link:

Mulling Over Milling Your Own Grain
www.wayzata-homestead-harvest.com/article8.html

Grain Mill Basics

To get started in milling your own fresh grains, you will need a few basic items:

• Grain mill
• Wheat berries
• Mixer (optional)
• Baking supplies
• Recipes and cookbooks

Grain mills vary in price, with models for the budget-minded to the top-of-the-line models. We first began our milling experience by using a hand-crank grain mill. We incorporated this into our homeschool day, and the children were eager to turn the crank and watch the wheat berries be milled into fresh flour. The bread we baked from fresh flour was superb, not to mention filled with vital nutrients.

There are many models available, non-electric and electric. You can read an extensive review of various models by the knowledgeable whole foods expert Sue Gregg:

Sue Gregg's Grain Mill Recommendations
www.suegregg.com/resources/grainmillreviews.htm

You can purchase grain mills and resources at several companies:

The Bread Beckers
www.breadbeckers.com

Urban Homemaker
www.urbanhomemaker.com

The Country Baker
www.countrybaker.com

Wheat berries come in different forms and can be combined to produce flour suitable for yeast breads, pastries, quick breads, flatbreads, and more. For yeast breads, hard red and hard white wheat berries are most often used. Pastries typically use the lighter soft white wheat. Other grains can be milled, such as spelt, kamut, rye, and many more. For a more complete listing of grains and their uses, please refer to

Milling Your Own Flour: The Hows and Whys
www.breadmachinedigest.com/library/milling_flour.html

When ordering wheat berries and grains, consider using only certified organic, as they will not have been treated by pesticides and are grown on sustainable farms.

Here are a few companies to order grains for milling:

Pleasant Hill Grain
www.pleasanthillgrain.com

Sun Organic Farm
www.sunorganicfarm.com

Now you are almost ready and you just need a few recipes.

Sue Gregg Yeast Bread Recipes
www.suegregg.com/cookbooks/yeastbreads.htm

By Carla Klimuk

The winner for the best Homesteading resource article is Eleanor Joyce of western Pennsylvania for her article "Five Homesteading Tools That Money Can't Buy." Her insight into what really counts for the homesteader is what sets this article apart. Homesteading is not just in location but in the spirit and heart. Eleanor's article illustrates this principle beautifully. Thank you for sharing with us, Eleanor!

The 350th subscriber to the Homestead e-Newsletter contest winner is Jennifer Lyman from Texas. Congratulations, Jennifer!

The winners will each receive a deluxe package from the Urban Homemaker. Each prize package contains one bottle of Tri-Light Herbs Wild Cherry Coffaway herbal formula for dry coughs and one bottle of Tri-Light Herbs Lungs Plus, a stronger herbal formula for tough coughs and colds.

Our February newsletter is going to talk about getting our gardens planned; and for all of you quilters, we will be talking about quilts and quilting. Perfect for the cold month of February! And our February Homestead e-Newsletter will again feature two winners!

One prize package will go to the best article submitted that contains the best gardening story, gardening tips, instructions, or resources, or the best quilting story, quilting tips or instructions, or quilting resources.

One prize package will go to the 600th person to sign up for the Homestead e-Newsletter.

Each winner will receive a prize package perfect for Valentine's Day from Carla Lynne Klimuk of Shade Tree Cottage. What better way to pamper yourself than with a spa package from Shade Tree Cottage?

Each spa package includes a bar of Shade Tree Cottage Organic and All-Natural Handcrafted Soap, a 16 oz. jar of Mineral Bath Salt, a frosted jar of our lush Botanical Milk Bath, 6 pre-made Herbal Facial Steams, an Organic Bath Tea, and a jar of our Botanical Blend Facial Masks. All packaged beautifully and perfect for the holiday from Shade Tree Cottage.

I was first led to Mother Earth News magazine. I read and enjoyed it for over a year before I realized that it was probably a bit too down-to-earth for my family. We were not going to be able to go off-grid because we were a bit too comfort-loving for that.

I next was led to Countryside magazine. Now THIS was more like it!! Down-to-earth and simple ways to raise animals, raise garden crops, grains, or whatever your little heart desired. Someone was there who had been there and done it. You want to learn how to raise rabbits? What kind? How do you butcher? How do you butcher without blubbering in the bucket while doing it (appoint hubby to do so!)? How do you teach your children to enjoy and love their animals, yet be able to eat them when the time is right? I have had a subscription to Countryside on and off for nearly 30 years!

I learned about cheeses, about easier ways to raise pigs, gardening with mulch (we hadn't learned that yet). What was compost and how do you make it?

Of course, not every question was answered in one month, but month by month, I learned more. Someone always seemed to ask the questions I was asking, and the answers came from those who were willing to share. In our community, where living off the land was not actually acceptable, it was fantastic to find like-minded people, albeit through a magazine.

The Internet had not been even dreamed about back then. Home computers were in someone's brain, not in homes. Magazines, books, libraries - those were the research tools of the '70s. One nice resource that I've used often is The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. This is not a homesteading book, but it is a great help when you are trying to save money.

I could recommend many other books if I could find them in my book piles or remember their names. The best I can suggest is that you go to the library and look up the homestead books there, read those, and buy the ones you can't live without. I learned how to make mozzarella cheese to die for and Neufchatel and cream cheeses that my mother and my aunt desired above all others. In fact, my mother liked my cheeses so much that she forgave my living a country life and not being a city girl like my sisters!

What would I suggest you start with on your homestead? Do what you feel comfortable with first. If you like plants, start with a small, simple garden with "normal" vegetables and build from there. If you like animals, start with one or two small ones - perhaps a few chickens. Six good hens can keep you in eggs for a long time. Or a goat if you want to milk. I would start with a goat if you have never milked, then go to a cow if you want one. Or one beef calf to raise. Don't start big if you don't know what you're doing!

The argument about cows versus goats will go on as long as there are cows and goats and people. Goats are easier to handle, have friendlier personalities, and are less messy (droppings are cleaner than cow pies). But they also are demons at getting out of fences! Cow's milk allows the cream to rise; goat's milk is naturally homogenized and requires a separator to get cream for butter. Goat's milk is better for babies and humans; cow's milk is more acceptable in the "real" world. It's your preference, or you could have both!

And don't forget, you can homestead without a garden or animals. Homesteading is all in your mind. Many of you live in the suburbs or the city and can't do a big garden or animals. It's planting one tomato plant in a large pot inside. Or an herb bed in a window box. Or just saving electricity by turning the lights out and knowing it's not only saving money, but it's saving the environment. Homesteading is home canning even if you have to buy your veggies at a market or a store. It's baking your own bread. It's making things from scratch instead of TV dinners. It's being grateful for the earth and its bounty and giving back to the world in your own little way.

Good luck with your ventures and keep the light of homesteading burning!

By Eleanor Joyce

These tools are priceless. They cannot be bought with money, yet they can make the difference between success and failure on the family homestead. While they cannot be purchased at any price, they are widely available and within the reach of any active or aspiring homesteader.

The first is a spirit of contentment. "The man who covets is always poor" (Claudian, c. 370-c. 404). Moving out to a homestead in the misty mountains or verdant plains does not make life perfect. There's just a whole new range of things to wish you had. If you've coveted your neighbor's SUV in suburbia, you'll soon be drooling for your farm neighbor's tractor and imagining how much more productive you could be if only you had such a machine. Ladies, the perfect house does not exist on a homestead, or anywhere short of heaven. Avoid a mindset that says, "this house would be perfect if only we had one more bedroom, or new tile for the kitchen," or whatever particular or perceived shortcomings you see. We are fabulously wealthy compared to the vast majority of people in the world. Contentment is elusive, but it can be learned. The apostle Paul said, "I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." The successful homesteader learns contentment.

Secondly, cultivate a resourceful attitude. We've become such well conditioned consumers! It didn't happen overnight, and creating new patterns of thought can take time. But again, it can be done. If you haven't heard this maxim from Great-grandma, you're hearing it now. "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." It is amazing what can be accomplished with the materials at hand if we mentally rule out a run to the hardware, department, or grocery store. Cultivate the habit of creative thinking and problem solving. Learn to think outside the box of a shopping cart. It is fundamental to the homesteading mindset. Necessity IS the mother of invention, and you'll be inspired by the innovative solutions you can come up with when this habit becomes second nature!

Thirdly, develop an aversion to debt. Sometimes acquiring debt is necessary, but always think long and hard about other options first before signing that credit card slip or purchase agreement. Resorting to debt may get what you need now, but it will rob you of freedom and options in the future. The debt will need to be paid, and you will need to generate the income to pay it. The finance companies do not accept potatoes or eggs for payment - only cold, hard cash. Think about where that cash will come from, and if you want to commit to the demands it will make on your future lifestyle. Besides, gentlemen, when you bring home that shiny new financed quad-cab truck with the custom paint job, you really won't want to start hurling firewood or gravel in the bed. There are good reasons that seasoned homesteaders drive beater pickups.

Fourthly, be a good neighbor. So you've made the leap into homesteading. You've saved and planned, read all the right books, and bought all the best equipment. You've moved out to your little patch of heaven and can't wait to show your new neighbors how much you know. You want to fit in and not look like city folks. Bad idea. For one thing, you DO look like city folks ... and it will take a few years for that look to wear off! Book knowledge is no match for hands-on experience. It's far better to eat humble pie, pretend you know little, and listen and learn. Human nature being what it is, we love to share what we know, so give your neighbors that opportunity. Remember, these are the same neighbors you may need when you're stuck in the ditch, your horse runs away, or your well runs dry. Be nice. Develop a respectful friendship with your neighbors and others in the community.

Lastly, learn to laugh. It's been said, "If you think 'someday I'll look back on this and laugh,' you might as well laugh at the time." So true! Many tense situations have been diffused by taking a step back and having a good laugh. A merry heart is good medicine, as the Good Book says. So you've spent all day pounding fence posts and stringing wire for the sheep pen, yet they've escaped and come bleating behind you as you head to the barn to put away your tools. It's better to laugh than to chase them angrily down the lane, flailing your toolbox. Really! Look for humor on the homestead, and you will find it in more situations that you've ever imagined.

In closing, a disclaimer! Just because I know these tools exist doesn't mean I've acquired them all. But I'm working on stocking my tool shed ... and you can too!