From the January/February 2008 issue
Would the real alpaca please stand up?You've gotten to the point where you can differentiate a camelid from a cow, but how do you tell an alpaca from a llama?
With camelids, it’s all about the fiber.
A strong demand for exotic animal fiber has created a market for everything from yak to buffalo to musk ox hair.
Walnut Ridge Llama Farm
Tennessee educators find fiber, fun and full-time fascination on the farm.
Utility Vehicle Roundup
Choose the best partner for your operation.
Urban Farms Open Doors
Growing trend brings beauty, bounty and hope to city dwellers.
Understanding Soil
There's more to it than a test kit and fertilizer.
The Alpaca Whisperer
Washington man finds niche shearing alpacas.
Stray Utility Vehicles
UTVs that missed the roundup.
Sow Your Own
Start garden plants from seeds.
Southwest Concentrates On Solar
A multi-state utility consortium in the southwest United States is in the planning stages of building a large-scale solar power facility in the region.
Secret of the Rooster's Crow
This rural resident's morning ritual has little to do with time.
Schools Add Outdoor Classes
Federally mandated wellness policy leads charge to add outdoor activities and experiences to children's lives.
Sauna Scene
Steam away your aches and pain.
Sauna Kits
For the do-it-yourselfer, there are many sources of pre-built saunas.
Recycle that Tree
To find a tree recycling program near you, visit www.Earth911.org
More Hybrid Vehicles on U.S. Roadways
Hybrid vehicles are no longer the property of a few eco-minded drivers.
Llamas at Work
Llamas are the working class of South American camelids.
Keeping Camelids Close
These friendly, inquisitive animals are more than the perfect pet.
Introducing America's Cowboy Poets
Reading verse never sounded so down to earth.
Children Explore Nature
National program adds classroom to children's garden at Missouri Botanical Garden.
Celebrate Country Canines
The life of a country dog is one to be envied - at least by town breeds.
Adventures with Mail-Order Chickens
Certain beverages and ordering poultry do not mix.
A Harvest of Demolition
Destructive event breathes new life into old combines.
The Duffel Bag
My father’s war memories were locked away in that mysterious, blue sack.
Sturdy Sawhorses
Indispensable team pulls you through many projects.
Mail Call: January/February 2008
Living with Deer; Farmer Phrases; Burma Shave Memory; Coup Question; and more
Let Us Eat Cake
Birthdays brought requests for a particular cake in our house, and Mom put a lot of love into the final product.
How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Chuck
Humans love to hate them, but groundhogs aren’t all bad.
Editor's Note: January/February 2008
Time Change a Surprise
Chase Away the Blues with Delicious Soups and Stews
These liquid lunches are sure to warm you through and through.
A Time to Prune
Make a few winter cuts to keep trees and shrubs in shape.
From the November/December 2007 issue
Wind Power Blowing Up a StormUse of wind power continues to increase as generating capacity rises.
Where Swiss Gets Holes and Other Cheesy Tidbits
Part art and part science, cheese making integrates many variables into a product that reflects nuance of raw material, environment and process - not unlike the great wines of the world.
Where a Little Means a Lot
Heifer International offers the opportunity for people to make a difference in the fight against world hunger and poverty.
Web Extra: More Cheesy Info
Celebrate the delicious variety of cheese – and a couple more recipes.
Web Extra: Extra Grit-ty Gifts
More practical and light-hearted ideas for your favorite people.
Web Extra: Build a Birdhouse with Hand Tools
Look Ma, no power tools!
We're Just Crackers about Cheese
A list of common cheeses.
Tools, Toys & Other Just-Right Joys
Grit's Great Big Gift Guide has something for everyone on the list.
TIPS ON SELECTING A REAL TREE AT A CHOOSE-YOUR-OWN FARM
EVALUATE YOUR NEEDS BEFORE DEPARTING FOR THE FARM
Secret of the Rooster's Crow
This rural resident's morning ritual has little to do with time.
Raw Milk: What's the Fuss About?
Raw milk has enjoyed quite a bit of press in the past few years and the only thing that's for sure is that folks don't agree about the benefits and/or risks of consuming it.
Power Up With Recycled Cooking Oil
Biofuels might be the help small farmers are looking for to ease rapidly increasing energy costs.
Pony Preservation
Although there are about 300 horses on the island, they are divided into two herds, separated by a fence on the state line.
Pineapple-Zucchini Bread
"The best recipe ever"
Not Just Curds and Whey
According to Cato Corner cheese maker Mark Gillman, the three critical components that influence proper cheese making are moisture, temperature and the rate of acidity development.
Making Cheese Easy
One of America's favorite foods comes back home.
Made for the Greenmarket
On a Saturday in early June, I accompanied Liz to the Union Square Greenmarket, which is comprised of several dozen vendors marketing all types of produce - fruits, vegetables and even lamb chops.
Keep Raccoons Out of the Corn
How to keep raccoons out of the corn.
How to Talk Farmer
Learn the understated language of those who work the land.
Holiday Treats Sure to Please
Holiday recipes
Help Wanted
If you've been looking for a long lost recipe, or can provide one, please write to Recipe Box, c/o Grit, 1503 S.W. 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609 or email us at RecipeBox@Grit.com.
Greenmarket and More
Administered by the Council on the Environment of New York City, Greenmarket organizes and manages open-air markets in the city.
Gad Zukes!
Those elongated green fruits don't look a thing like cantaloupe.
Foster Horse Program
The National Park Service's Foster Horse Program allows citizens to help the horses of Assateague.
Firewood Warms Body & Soul
Whether you buy or cut your own, these tips will keep you from getting burned.
Fine Farmstead Cheese
Cato Corner dairy gets whey more for curds than milk.
Density and Heat Characteristics of Several Wood Species
Density and heat characteristics of several wood species
Contest: Show Us Your Stack!
Wood stack? Wood pile? Whatever. Share a photo of yours and you might win a chain saw.
Cheese-making Resources
Resources for cheese making.
An Island's Living History
Chincoteague ponies continue to thrive in adverse conditions, and an annual auction ensures their survival.
Adventures with Isabelle
Adding a cow was a major undertaking for our family. The cow, of course, had ideas of her own.
A Few Heifer Facts
A Few Heifer Facts
'There's a Need for Us'
Educational project helps New Jersey family keep farm amid urban sprawl.
Warm and Cheesy Made Easy
With these scrumptious macaroni and cheese recipes, your legend as a chef de comfort food is assured.
The Spirit of Stacking
From Shaker rounds to ricks, here's how to build a pleasing pile of firewood.
The Happiest Homemade Christmas
Lean year teaches a young girl that joy and happiness don't come from the department store.
Taste Something New
Winter weekends provide perfect opportunities to discover new recipes, try them on for taste and add them to your menu repertoire.
Masked Marauders
Renegade raccoons wreak havoc around the homestead.
Mail Call: November/December 2007
Letters from Grit readers
Let the Chips Fly
Chain saw safety is no accident.
Homegrown Fence Posts
It's the 9th of September. I took advantage of the season's first cool temperatures and spent the morning cutting fence posts from several Osage orange (Maclura pomifera; hedge, hedge-apple, bow wood, etc.) trees for a pen-building project that has been on my mind all summer.
Fit for a Wren
Tree scraps make great birdhouses.
From the September/October 2007 issue
Wild Foods Guru Assisted in Establishing Annual EventWest Virginia group welcomed author Euell Gibbons during early years of Nature Wonder Wildfoods Weekend at North Bend State Park.
When life hands you lemons ...
Fifteen years ago, Ken Krause was well on his way to a great little vineyard.
Resources
For more information on canning, freezing and other preservation techniques, check out these Web sites.
Put Your Garden to Bed
Fall cleanup marks the end of one year's growing season – and the beginning of the next.
Perfect Chickens
A nitty GRIT-y guide to heritage breeds.
Nothing to Brood About: The Lowdown on Raising Chicks
Raising chicks from scratch – or nearly scratch – isn't all that difficult.
Maine Fair Celebrates Country
The Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine, focuses on fun, farming and country living.
Local Color: It's What's for Dinner
Fast-food franchises can't hold a candle to a good old-fashioned country café, with folks from the neighborhood and a menu like Mom's.
Inspirational Reading
As he launched Fieldstone Farm, Ken Krause chose Booker T. Whatley to guide him.
I Fought the Skunk and I Won
Intrepid outdoorsman learns to speak softly and carry a long stick.
Fresh to Frozen
Freezing produce has several advantages over canning.
Fieldstone: The Kind of Place You Can Make
Starting with a stone barn and a big dream, Ken Krause shows what ambition, energy and a few strategic decisions can create.
Fairs Feature Fun Festivities
Community, county and state fairs offer odd and unusual events.
Crow Like You Know...
Chicken vocabulary.
Canning Made Easy
The question of what to do with all that garden bounty becomes simple once you learn a few preservation techniques.
Calling All Leopards!
Unique method of attracting wandering wild cats helps Indian forest officials avoid dangerous confrontations.
Callaway Ruritan Club Brunswick Stew
Callaway Ruritan Club Brunswick Stew recipe.
CALLAWAY CANNING CHARGES IN GLASS JARS (furnished by patrons)
The charges for canning in glass jars.
All in the Family
Farmers in Washington State opens their doors to visitors for some October fun and games, with a bit of education thrown in for good measure.
About the Illustrator
Diane Marie Jacky's love of birds and other animals stimulated her natural talents as an artist at a very young age.
'Putting Food By' at the Callaway Cannery
Blue Ridge Mountain cannery continues to serve area families and organizations.
When It's Chicken-Cookin' Time in Alabama
National contest focuses on local cooks and their fabulous chicken dishes.
The Sweet Taste of Summer
Gathering and freezing corn continues as a family tradition long after the children are grown, married and living far away.
Mail Call: September/October 2007
Letters from Grit readers
Color Your Fall Garden
Summer's end doesn't have to mean the end of color in your garden.
Coexisting with Coyotes
Coyotes are more prevalent in urban areas as their primary habitat falls to development.
Celebrate Community
It's thistle season (mid-June) in Osage County as I write this; I spent several evenings this week and a good part of last weekend cutting blossoms, digging roots and spot spraying with herbicide.
Build the Perfect Chicken Coop
With this unique design, anyone can keep a few chickens, even in small backyards.
A Tangy Taste of Fun
No matter how you slice or shred it, coleslaw is a perennial favorite as well as a national dish.
A Few Cool Tools and Other Neat Stuff
During the past year, I have accumulated a number of products that won't fit neatly into a theme-based column in the foreseeable future.
From the July/August 2007 issue
Yesterday's horses for tomorrow's ridersSpanish Mustang Registry celebrates 50 years of preservation efforts surrounding America’s first trail horse.
Why We Love Cattle...
Contributors of cattle information.
Why Are Barns Red?
18th-century farmers discovered secret to barn preservation.
War Gardens: Over the Top Victory
Planting a garden became a way of expressing patriotism while, at the same time, feeding families.
Vegetables Victorious
Gardening misadventures thwart Aunt Dorothy’s patriotism.
The Simple Sweetness of a Tree Swing
The well-anchored tree swing can be a perfect antidote to 10-hour work days, back-to-back deadlines, email on vacation and 24-hour BlackBerry messages.
The case of the disappearing honeybees
"Honeybees are absolutely critical to the health of the environment." - Kim Flottum
Talk Like a Heritage Breeder...
Definitions of cattle types.
Start Your Lawn Tractors!
U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association announces dates for national points races.
Music that's as American as the flag
If you like country music, or Western music - or would just like to learn the difference - you might want to make your way to Iowa this summer.
Keep an eye on the birds
Interested birders have kept tabs on cavity-nesting birds and nest boxes for 10 years.
How Now House Cow
If you're low on space but high on raising cattle, Dexters are the way to go.
How Burma-Shave Saved the Family Farm
An ailing company and failing farms found success in mutual aid – and created an American icon.
Find Your Niche
Specialized markets are fed with a variety of breeds.
Don't think 'yard,' think 'habitat'
Audubon Society urges Americans to fight habitat loss with their own gardens.
Conserving Genetic Diversity
The ALBC Conservation Priority List classifies rare breeds into five categories
Build Your Own Natural Swimming Hole
These beautiful pools are low-tech, easy to maintain and best of all, only need to be filled once.
Breezy, Wooden Swings Bring Tree Swings to New Generations
Maybe it was in the stars for Natalie Koppes to found Breezy Wooden Swings in 2000. And on clear nights, from the vantage of her tree swing under a beautiful old oak, she has the perfect view of them.
A Field Guide to Heritage Cattle
Read the following and you soon may have a cow – and a hand in keeping livestock history alive.
Wild Grit: Deerproof Your Garden
It's easy, if you identify - and exploit - your enemy's weaknesses.
Simply Delicious Shortcakes
Get back to biscuit basics with these berry good, old-fashioned recipes.
No Place like Home
Kansas is now my home.
Mail Call: July/August 2007
Letters from Grit readers
Great Grills & Firepits
Bring your campfire home.
Draw A Perfect Garden
Use graph paper, and your imagination, to place each plant in as many designs as you want.
Creating a Menu from Nothing
When simply tossing a few ingredients in a bowl results in something delicious on the table, you know the cook has a special touch.
A Great Life – Unplugged
No electricity was needed to power my wonderful boyhood years.
From the May/June 2007 issue
Weed WranglingSustainably manage unwanted vegetation, and hold your own among the coffee shop weed wranglers.
USPS Rural Delivery Factoids
Facts about USPS Rural Delivery.
Using Pressure-treated Wood
When to use pressure-treated wood.
United States Postal Service Factoids
Facts about the United States Postal Service.
Tips From the Pros
Doghouse building tips from the pros.
The Beautiful Bounty of Farmers' Markets
Across America, the heart of any community is its friendly farmers' market. The question is: Are you there?
Taking Proper Precautions
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advises the following to prevent injuries from lawn and garden equipment.
Stop wild kitty proliferation
With feral cat populations exploding, organizations take action to interfere humanely with nature.
Stay Safe in the Garden
Keeping your yardwork peaceful and injury-free is a simple matter of foresight and vigilance.
States assist new farmers
Tax credits offer incentives to retiring landowners to work with beginners and keep land in family hands.
Personalized Mailboxes
Disappearing Down a Lane Near You
New organic hotline open
It's now easier to find the answers to questions on organic production.
Keeping 'Em Down on the Farm
Mom struggles with bored teens and the demand for union wages.
History Is Alive At Georgia's Agrirama
Costumed interpreters provide the personal touch when it comes to demonstrating how our forefathers and mothers lived off the land.
Help for the incredible, disappearing countryside
Study shows easements might be the best approach to stop urbanization of agricultural property.
Growing people who grow
Apprentice program delivers new organic food producers just as the need expands.
Good (Guard) Dog!
Every pooch needs a purpose. Train your canine companion to bark smart and be your home’s law and order.
Fruitful Resources
Resources for farmers' markets.
Dogs for Special Jobs
In addition to serving as watchdogs, some breeds can do other jobs around the homestead. These breeds are unusually good at multitasking.
Dogs and Homeowner's Insurance
Some insurance companies charge higher premiums – or even deny coverage – to homeowners who have specific dog breeds.
Doghouse Tools and Materials
The tools and materials you will need to make a doghouse.
Be Good to Your Body with Greens
Greens not only taste great, they nourish our bodies with abundant vitamins and minerals.
An idea to take to the bank
Sometimes, nontraditional farming ideas escape translation in a bank setting. Learn how to overcome those obstacles.
The Worthy Work of Fruit Trees
When delicious fruit – from your own trees – appears on the table, your labor will be well worth the effort.
Planting Mystery with the Pride of Peru
Magic seeds transmit love of gardening from one generation to another.
Mail Call: May/June 2007
Letters from Grit readers
How to Know When to Call the Vet
This list of warning signs, when combined with good, down-home common sense, can act as a guideline as to when your dog requires medical attention.
Happy Summer to All Y'all!
In this month's Mail Call we have a wonderful note from Anne Sowell in Hendersonville, Tennessee, regarding the proper use of you all.
Goodness Gracious, Great Gobs of Greens!
Full of texture and bursting with flavor, a well-constructed salad is anything but boring.
Fill your kitchen with fresh flavors
Use your garden's produce to create delicious coleslaw, corn relish, jellies and jams
Easing Outdoor Chores
Knock out tedious and grungy tasks with gear that really works.
Building a Doghouse Step by Step
Take time to build the perfect pad for your pet.
From the March/April 2007 issue
You don't need a lot of fancy toolsCane a chair seat – your hands do most of the work. Here are some items you will need for the project.
Where Learning is Involved, Smaller is Better
Schools in rural areas provide advantages to their students.
Use Herbs Safely
As with any use of medicinal herbs, homebrewers should be conscious of the advantages and drawbacks of the plants they employ.
Tips to improve the lawn
How to improve a lawn's appearance.
Sweet Pet Gives a Mean Kick
Guard donkeys have a reputation that stretches back to Biblical days.
Storytelling at Its Best
New publication spotlights rural Maine women and their businesses.
Soft Drink Debate
Pop vs. Soda vs. Coke
Seal up, Trap up, Clean up!
Rodent proofing, trapping tips, and careful cleanup.
Rodent-proof Your House
Use these techniques to keep your home vermin-free.
Reduce Global Warming One Crop at a Time
Farmers and conservationists already know farmland and forests help reduce harmful gas emissions. Now it’s in writing.
Pawpaws for the Masses
Man dreams of a pawpaw on every plate.
Multi-Tool Makers
This is by no means an exhaustive list of multi-tool manufacturers, but it represents some of the best.
Mule and Donkey Definitions
Definitions of mule and donkey types.
Look Before You Leap, or Pick Mushrooms
Even experts can be fooled when hunting wild mushrooms.
Local Color at the Feed & Seed
Carrying everything in the way of seeds, and then some.
How Much Mulch?
Improve your landscape's appearance while reducing watering and weeding. And that's not the half of it. If you love the land, learn to mulch.
Homemade Mulch
Free mulch sources.
Growing Organic Goes Global
More food outlets are selecting organic produce, and that means a greater market for producers.
Give the Children a Breath of Fresh Air
Foundation continues tradition of introducing inner city children to the great outdoors.
Fry Up a Batch of Morels
One of the safest mushrooms for the novice fungi hunter to seek is the morel.
Donkey Lowdown
Domestic donkeys come in four sizes.
Cutting-edge Technology
New wind blade helps produce energy even in areas with low wind speeds.
Cheers for the Long-Ears
For hard work and comfortable companionship, mules rule and donkeys are a dream. Talk to almost anyone who has one, and they'll give you a lengthy list of these animals' virtues.
Cane Styles
Cane seating styles.
Cane History
Cane work is a form of basketry that has been used in furniture design for hundreds of years. In fact, archeologists have discovered cane seating in ancient Egyptian tombs dating back to 1352 B.C.
Weaving History into Heirloom Chairs
Repairing those old ladder-back chairs costs a few dollars, takes a couple of hours and connects the craftsperson with a fascinating history.
Tiny Toolkits in the Palm of Your Hand
Handy, sturdy and nifty as can be, the multi-tool represents pocketknife-and-pliers evolution on steroids.
Prevent Pet Problems in Paradise
Being aware is the key to protecting our animal companions from unexpected hazards around the home place.
Mules, Mud, Morels and Mental Health
Television and movie writers would have us believe that it was six-guns and rifles that won the West, but I have a different idea.
Make Pop from Plants
Combine herbs with sugar and yeast for soda pop that will beat the socks off anything you can buy in the store.
Mail Call: March/April 2007
Look at the Lizard Lick winner!
Light Up Your Landscape
Durable, low maintenance and bursting with color, these hardy selections will beautify your garden without a lot of work.
Hands in Pockets; Eyes on the Sky
The clouds provide many lessons – and they're not always about the weather.
A Conversation in Favor of Flavor
Please your palate with these scrumptious recipes for vegetarian burgers, yellow cake with fudge frosting and recipes using soda pop.
From the January/February 2007 issue
Trannies, Tires, and Drawbars, Oh My!Choosing the just-right tractor takes a little time but today's options are awesome.
There's Still Free Land Out West
Kansas towns offer building lots to grow population.
The Joy of Feeding People
A struggling Depression-era family farm in the Midwest that lost most of its land in the 1980s slowly returns to life and becomes a thriving community-supported farm. In this interview, "Farmer John" Peterson talks about community supported agriculture and why it's important to "know your food; know your farmer."
Ten Tips for Tiptop Safety
Tractors are inherently dangerous, and accidents involving tractors have claimed thousands of lives and caused many more injuries over the years.
Scoring Points on a Slippery Slope
Slip-sliding his way to hilarity, a daredevil farmer creates a new competitive event: the Ozark Mountain Hill Slide.
Preventive Health Program for Llamas
Vaccinations used in llamas, deworming of llamas, and llama health programs.
Plan Your Next Moooove
New book helps those looking to start a livestock operation.
Pint-size Goats = Gallons of Milk
Goats frolicking around your farm are a hoot to watch as well as a great source of fresh milk.
Missouri Garden Hits Recycling Record
Recycling pots and other waste helps environment and programs at Missouri Botanical Garden.
Maintenance Basics to Keep Your Tractor Truckin’
Since hundreds of different tractor models from a score of different manufacturers might find their way to any small farm or acreage, it is imperative to obtain an operator’s manual for your particular machine.
Let Me Call You Sweetheart (After I'm Done with the Cows)
Online dating service offers opportunities for lonely hearts who love the country.
In Touch With the Land
Program awards farmers and ranchers who put words into conservation actions.
Help Wanted
If you’ve been looking for a long lost recipe, or can provide one, please e-mail us at RecipeBox@GRIT.com or write to Recipe Box, c/o GRIT , 1503 S.W. 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609. Please include your name, address and daytime phone. Recipes cannot be returned as they are eventually sent to the person requesting the recipe. Recipe requests and responses will be printed at our discretion or as space allows.
Guide for Shopping Organic
An easy-to-carry guide helps shoppers stay away from pesticide-contaminated produce.
Ginger Melon Sorbet
This is the perfect celebration of the cantaloupe – sweet and gingery, wholly refreshing and a great palate cleanser after a heavy meal. Sorbet from the store will never taste the same again!
Four Wheels Are Better Than Two, Dear
They cost substantially more than their rear-wheel drive siblings, but four-wheel drive (front-wheel assist) compact tractors are so much the rage that in some regions of North America it is virtually impossible to buy a two-wheel drive model without specially ordering it and doing some serious convincing first.
Dairy Goat Breeds
Breeds of dairy goats.
Convert Your Handmade Recipes for Use with Bread Machines
While handmade bread is great, for those who prefer to use a bread machine, converting recipes is fairly simple.
Caveat Tractor
How the Nebraska Tractor Tests Saved the American Farmer
Carrying the Torch
Not your father’s plumber’s torch, today’s handy torches help you melt ice, free rusted bolts and even make a classic crème brûlée.
Baked Eggplant ‘Lasagna’ with Olives, Bell Pepper and Three Cheeses
With its creamy layers of sliced eggplant and ricotta, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, this marvelous dish is a little like lasagna – without the pasta. Also featuring bell pepper, basil and black olives, the result has a lusty, Mediterranean flavor.
Alternative Vehicles Now!
Survey finds Americans ready for the next step in vehicle evolution.
A Torch in Every Kitchen
A torch can be a wonderful addition to any kitchen. You could caramelize your crème brûlée with the flamethrower you used on the dandelions, but why try? For one thing, you might catch the kitchen on fire; for another, if you use a propane-fueled torch in the kitchen, everything might taste like propane. This is not a desirable trait in most food products.
Web Wide Wanderings
A Virtual Trip from Weights to Wiring Diagrams
Saving the Killdeer
Father's care taught his daughters more about him than words ever could.
Now Playing on Goat TV
It was a blustery winter morning here in eastern Kansas when I decided to check on my neighbors' pygmy goats. After a hectic harvest season, and just before an equally challenging planting season, my friends Ken and Nancy had headed south to the Cayman Islands for some R and R, leaving me to watch their place.
Make Your Own Milking Stanchion
If you get dairy goats, you’ll probably want to build this nifty stanchion to make milking easy for both the milker and the milkee. The stanchion features an adjustable seat for the milker, a platform to raise the goat to a comfortable height and a feed box to keep her content while you milk.
Mail Call: January/February 2007
Letters from Grit readers
Living on Llama Llane
Caring for your llamas and alpacas
Digging Around the Internet
Searching the Web may be the best tool in any gardener's shed.
Desserts to Pie For
These homemade, sweet treats are perfect for any occasion or just to brighten a stressful workday.
Bake up Herbal Breads for the Smell of Home
Of course, man cannot live by bread alone. Add some herbs.
From the November/December 2006 issue
When Getting Hitched, The Mirrors Are KeyTo hitchup, jack the trailer's tongue to the appropriate height (if you have a gooseneck hitch be sure to lower the tailgate on the truck) and slowly back the truck to the trailer (check those mirrors). Once properly oriented, lower the jack, centering the coupler on the ball. With the trailer's tongue fully seated, latch and lock the coupler, connect the safety chains, make the electrical connections, fully raise the jack, close the tailgate if you opened it, and test the lights and brakes to be sure that they all work properly.
Storage Resources
Resources for storing your stuff.
Soup-making Tips
The more delicate spearmint, dill and lemon thyme give a lift to spinach or carrot soups that taste good all year long, but at least one or two pungently flavored herbs can balance strong root vegetables or greens such as kale and hold up to meats, especially smoked ham or sausage.
Some Gross Acronyms
Making sense of the alphabet soup you'll see on trailers, vehicles and hitches can make life much easier. Here are the major players
Seasoning your favorite broth
Select one or more of the following seasonings for 10 to 12 cups of broth.
Saving Our Children From ‘Nature-Deficit Disorder’
The disconnect between children and the natural world may be one of the most radical and least healthy developments in recent history. Richard Louv’s best-selling book, Last Child in the Woods, explores the benefits of a free-range childhood – and might inspire a national movement.
Pets or Meat
While many of us prefer to think that our meat grows on trees, anyone who raises animals on a farm eventually has to face the facts: Species eat other species. And that pretty much includes us.
Money's Not the Issue, But USDA Wants to Help Anyway
It's an established trend - Americans are moving beyond the 'burbs' to rural areas. But it's not fatter paychecks they're chasing. While rural population overall has grown since 2000, incomes have lagged - rural dwellers make around three-fourths the income of their metropolitan counterparts.
Know your Neighbors
Many of us enjoy the country life for the peace, quiet and solitude. But sometimes, good neighbors can make all the difference in the quality of rural life. It pays to have developed and nurtured these alliances before the chips are down.
Inactivity of Children
Research on the inactivity of children.
Hot Hints For Storing Your Stuff
Plan your barns and outbuildings with the future in mind, says this long-time farmer, whose ‘small’ operation has outgrown several barns and sheds – and isn’t done yet.
Hooking Up with the Right Trailer
A good trailer can be one of your best assets. But it helps to know a few things first.
Hitch Types
Trailer hitches come in all sizes and shapes for a variety of applications. However, hitches are classified as either weight-carrying or weight-distributing.
Great Gifts for Country Kids
We like some of these suggestions so well, they might even end up on our wish list. (OK, probably not the owl stuff, though we can't think of an 8-year-old who wouldn't be thrilled.)
Cultivating Fertile Imaginations
Fruits, vegetables and nuts aren't the only things growing on farms. Many cooperatives are seeing their businesses grow as well, as they develop their basic crops into innovative products like sliced, seasoned and packaged almonds for sale with salad dressings and seasonings. Other imaginative products emerging from co-op ventures include fresh-cut packaged fruit sold through school lunch programs and premium cotton bath towels.
Cooped Up in the Lap of Luxury
While traveling in England in 1998, Stephen and Nancy Keel were served free-range eggs at several bed and breakfasts and restaurants. Steve was so impressed by the taste of the deep yellow yolk and firm opaque whites that he came back to the states hoping to raise his own hens. He planned to raise free-range chickens, but none of the available coop designs met his needs.
Contented Cows Produce More Milk
Cows really do laugh, and there might be something to the idea of them jumping over the moon. Researchers at Cambridge University in England claim cows to be intelligent beings capable of developing sophisticated relationships and solving problems. Led by Dr. Donald Broom, professor of Animal Welfare in Cambridge's Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, the team challenged cows with situations requiring intellectual processes to overcome a set of obstacles. When cows succeeded, their brainwaves showed excitement, their heartbeat went up and some, according to the scientists, even jumped into the air.
Community Created, One Conversation at a Time
"Not in my backyard" can be a rallying cry for isolation. In this case, it created friends and neighbors out of people who had simply lived next door to each other.
A No-More-Tears Approach to Backing Up
Trailer backing can be one of the more vexing of human activities: More so if someone is watching you and especially so if someone is fussing at you while you try to learn.
'Five-a-Day' Diet Pays Local Dividends
Good health and good business can be home grown. Several states are looking into the possibilities, but Iowa has determined its citizens could eat their way to prosperity - if they consumed five servings a day of locally grown fruits and vegetables for three months. Savoring such a menu, recommended by the USDA, Iowans would see the state's economy improve quicker than their blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Zigzagging Our Way to Family Harmony
My father was so mild-mannered, I heard him swear only twice in my life. However, when he and Mom took the boat to the lake, he proved that a man can express substantial levels of irritation without uttering a coarse word.
Their Santa ... Our Daddy
Daddy always reminded me of Santa Claus. He was friendly, kind and jolly to everyone all his life. To him, cheerful smiles and laughter truly were medicine for anyone's soul. People in Independence, Mississippi, where he grew up, still laugh about the night Daddy and his teenage buddies put a hay wagon on the roof of the general store as a Halloween prank. Although having fun with people was important to him, equally important was putting into practice his belief that all people have the same feelings and emotions, and that we're all equal in the eyes of God. To nearly everyone he met, he showed he cared, especially for those in need.
Seasonal Soups and Stews
Chase away the winter blues with robust seasonings.
Mail Call: November/December 2006
Letters from Grit readers
Holiday treats fun to make, and eat
Everyone clamors for more of these special mashed potatoes!
Holiday gifts for your favorite farmer
They might not come right out and tell you their wish list, but just observing can provide plenty of hints.
Gifts to Make a Gardener Go 'Ahhhh...'
It isn't that we mean to be tool snobs. We just want tools that really work.
From the September/October 2006 issue
We Sing the Fencing ElectricJaphy, a pup from the city, didn't know what a chicken was when he first moved to the farm, but he thought our Silver Laced Wyandottes looked interesting, so he ran right over to play with them. He never got close to the birds.
The DR Power Grader: A Nifty Way to Wrangle Your Roadbed
Recommended Product: DR Power Grader
The $64 Tomato
I am sitting here, in late September, at my kitchen table, cradling a ripe, heart-size Brandywine tomato in the palm of my hand. A scarce few minutes ago, it was on the vine, a living, growing organism. Now it has brought the warmth of the September noon sun into my chilly kitchen, warming my hand, almost pulsing with life. In a few moments it will be lunch, but I am in no rush to slice into this lovely fruit, the last tomato of the season.
Stock Picks: Choose Lifestock Wisely
When daydreaming about adding livestock to your little piece of heaven in the country, it pays to be careful what you wish for. Someone just might show up at your doorstep with a real-life version of your fantasy when you least expect it. You might go to a poultry swap, on a whim, and end up with a truck full of fowl, or think, like I did, that three little pigs would be easy.
Rural America holds key to success of 25x'25 renewable energy resolution
Once in a great while, farmers, politicians and enviros stand on common ground and rally behind a shared cause. Didn't think it was possible? Stretch your imagination even further and envision a congressional resolution that brings together political parties. This resolution, recently introduced by a bipartisan group of senators and representatives, calls for an ambitious goal: that 25 percent of the nation's energy supply comes from renewable sources by 2025.
Road Maintenance
Dos and Don'ts: Tips from Experts
Real Rural Rules
Life Lessons Learned at the Feed Store
Purina
Feed Store Franchise
Money for Nothing, Chickens for Free
If arguments over farm subsidies make your eyes glaze over, try thinking this way: The government might be willing to subsidize you doing absolutely nothing on your rural land.
Here's the Dirt on Rural Roads
Low-tech solutions often are best for assuring a long, healthy life for your country road or driveway.
Government Program Seeks to Tag Every Livestock Animal in the United States
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is embarking upon a new program that seeks to have every single livestock animal in the United States identified, tagged and possibly implanted with a radio chip. The highly controversial National Animal Identification System (NAIS) would require anyone who owns even one livestock animal - such as a pigeon, rabbit, chicken or horse - to register that animal and its location in a federal database.
Find it at the Feed Store
Espanola, New Mexico – You have to be careful when you walk in to the Country Farm Supply feed store on the main street here. Maybe you only stopped by for a bag of hen scratch – but you could end up going home with a donkey.
Couple asks for Goat and Sheep as Wedding Gifts
When St. Louis couple Jenny Elliot and Justin Alexander registered for their honeymoon on TheBigDay.com, they had more in mind than just a luxurious Caribbean getaway. Some of the items they asked for were a bit out of the ordinary
Cat Health Care
What You Can Catch From Your Cat
Barn Cats: Your Best Friend in the Barn
Take Care of Your Barn Cats and They'll More than Earn Their Keep
Animal Attraction
One farmer's misadventures might be a word to the wise: Be careful what you yearn for.
"Shop the Frontier" Showcases the Rural Entrepreneur
Ever wondered where you could sell those duck decoys you carved or that unique jewelry you made? Now, instead of a neighbor-only clientele, you can take your rural creations online with the help of Stone Soup, a nonprofit organization based in Republic, Washington, that's dedicated to helping those in rural communities achieve entrepreneurial success.
The Grit Goes On
We all have different definitions of the Good Life. Mine involves living someplace where I can lift the telephone directory with one hand and my dog doesn't have to be on the leash every time he steps outside.
Summer flavor – Grandma put it all in a jar.
Growing your own vegetables and preserving the harvest go hand in hand. A fruitful harvest brings with it the dilemma of what to do with all that fresh produce. Friends and family can only handle so many handouts, after all.
Plant a Second Season Salad Garden
Beauty, flavor and money in your pocket. A fall salad garden delivers it all.
Making a Bentwood Trellis
Nothing combines nature's beauty and functionality more gracefully than a rustic bentwood trellis in your garden. The natural beauty of bent wood, the texture of the bark and twigs, blend perfectly with growing things.
Let the Robot do the Lawn
No longer just a futuristic dream, or an engineering class's group project, robotic lawn mowers have evolved into sophisticated vegetarian pets that are dependable, largely self sufficient, and don't leave any messes to clean up later.
It Took a Community to Thresh a Field
In the 'good old days' of my childhood, the threshing crew was called a ring, because it made a circuit of a number of farms. Each farmer furnished labor, and to get the necessary number of men, those having more acres of grain to be threshed had to furnish two men, or in a few cases, three men with racks and teams of horses.
Family Ties in an Old Boot Box
When someone asks where I'm from, I don't think of my city, state or even country. I think of an old boot box my grandmother kept under her bed. It's my grandmother's connection to this old box that makes me realize that it's who, not where, I come from that really matters.
Fall Garden Guide
Autumn is the perfect season to get to know great greens that are at their best when enjoyed fresh from the garden. These four off-the-beaten-track greens really strut their stuff when grown in the cool, short days of autumn. All are extremely easy to grow.
Buckles, Cobblers, Grunts & Slumps
Put end-of-season fruits and herbs to work in these scrumptious desserts.
Intentional One
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