Homesteading Adventures: A Guide for Doers and Dreamers

Preface to eBook Edition, 2014

I wrote Homesteading Adventures in 1997, twenty years after we started our lives on this plot of ground. When I read through the book again almost twenty years later I had to marvel at what we had done, and how much more had happened since that time. Such is the wonder of hindsight and years. I expect to feel the same way when looking back at today twenty years hence!

But it didn’t take many pages into the book before I knew I wanted to do a great deal of editing. The book needed it (though I still have a great fondness for it!). And eBooks allow one to do that fairly easily. But it also presents a dilemma. Should I edit away part of our life that helped make the life we have today? Do I want to share what we do now, or what we did then? This book is about where we were then, what we did, what we had learned, the decisions we made. If I changed too much I would be writing a different book, and a different life.

And the information is still good. Just because we’re doing some things differently now doesn’t mean what we did then wasn’t right for then. Our lives change constantly; we’ll have different ideas tomorrow. Besides, I like this book! And I truly love JJ and CindyLou. They are good friends whom I hadn’t visited with in so many years.

So I came up with an agreeable (to me) compromise. I edited and rewrote as a more experienced writer but I left most all real life experiences alone, updating just a few things such as the wine recipe, the pickle recipe, the Seed Sources contact info.

Some folks loved JJ and CindyLou in the original Homesteading Adventures, others didn’t. They were too much a part of the book to remove but I did allow them to delete some of their presence. They were happy with that, and so am I.

Much information has been updated on our website at www.ManyTracks.com, often with more photos, more color. The internet was just beginning to become popular when the original book was published! How the world changes. We plan to do more Homesteading Adventures eBooks, updating and adding to some topics, creating new ones, sharing projects, experiences, life on the homestead. Keep in touch; we’ll let you know how it goes!

Sue R., midwinter 2014.

Foreword by Jd Belanger

[Former editor and publisher of Countryside magazine]

Most of the few people who know a little about modern homesteading have several preconceived notions about the lifestyle. They assume that homesteaders are people who have left good jobs in the city to pursue simple subsistence living by carving a Swiss Family Robinson sort of existence out of the wilderness.

In the majority of cases, those assumptions are way off the mark. Most modern homesteaders have almost boringly normal homes, jobs and lives.

On the other hand, with Steve Schmeck and Sue Robishaw, those assumptions come awfully close to the truth.

Perhaps this is one reason so many readers have expressed unabashed envy of this couple after reading Sue’s articles in Countryside magazine. It’s probably why some have likened them to Scott and Helen Nearing, those icons of modern homesteading. And it’s certainly one of several reasons why Sue Robishaw’s writing is so enthralling.

Her narratives have the same quality that makes us enjoy a good novel or movie. We come away with a fresh perspective, a renewed and revitalized spirit, and a feeling that for a brief time we have been in another place and time where everything fits together much more neatly than in our own cluttered, uneventful, and perhaps meaningless lives. We might not want to imitate these people exactly, but we can’t help but admire them!

In spite of this storybook quality, Sue’s writing is not only entertaining, but informative. She not only describes their homesteading projects, but details how anyone can accomplish them.

In reality, no two homesteads, or homesteaders, are the same. One of the most fascinating aspects of the lifestyle is its infinity of options and variations. Contrary to what many people think, homesteading isn’t defined by certain activities, nor does it follow any specific rules. (Steve and Sue exemplify this, too).

Because of this variety, there are not books on how to homestead. Books can only show how certain individuals homestead, or explain how they accomplish selected undertakings.

However, there is a more elusive, and perhaps a more important and universal dimension to homesteading that is often difficult to describe or convey to others. That is the way of thinking that motivates and sustains homesteaders. Some say it defines homesteading itself. Sue expresses this wonderfully. However, if you think homesteading is simply doing things you might miss this aspect, so be sure to watch for it and notice how it melds into the actions.

Actually, that mindset might be what this whole book is about. Yes, the book describes one couple’s homesteading adventures, and yes, it explains how to tackle many homestead enterprises. But most of all it demonstrates the mode of thinking that makes it all possible as well as necessary for living the good life.

You don’t have to live in the woods to acquire and benefit from that. If JJ and CindyLou can do it, so can you.

Jd Belanger, 1997, editor/publisher Countryside Magazine, Withee, Wisconsin

Preface to Original (1997)

I discovered JJ and CindyLou one autumn afternoon meandering through my mind. At the start they were two rather nondescript creatures with whom I began having regular rambling many-tracked conversations. They helped me pick and thresh the dry bean pods with much oohing and aahhing over the varied colors while wondering why I spent so much time keeping all the varieties separate, and wouldn’t it be easier to just throw them all in together, it’s getting late after all you know, and when are we going to make the bean soup? They supervised the pulling of weeds while speculating on what would happen to the garden if I didn’t, and why didn’t I just get that big old red tiller going and dig it all in, and wouldn’t it have been easier if I had put more mulch on in the first place?

They popped up amongst the apple peels and cores of applesauce making wondering if I really needed to peel the apples, and why didn’t I dry the crop instead of canning it, but would it taste as good and would it take less time and what kind of apples were those anyway? And did I really mean to drop that core into the cooking kettle instead of the compost bucket?

Over time JJ and CindyLou came into focus as the neophyte homesteaders you will meet through these pages. Fictional neighbors and friends, they have come through my life bringing fun, amazement, organization and chaos. By sharing our own homesteading experiences with them they’ve shared with me a new outlook and a different perspective. Though certainly of a fictional nature and not based on any real person or persons they have a tendency to reflect back at oneself ones own self. The good, the bad and the funny.

Even if you can’t imagine getting excited about digging around in the wet cold mud for potatoes maybe you can come along anyway and laugh with us. Share in our adventures as we find treasures in the mundane and highlights in the everyday. Maybe catch a bit of what we’ve learned, as I share a bit of the homesteading experience with the ever lounging simple speaking long-lanked JJ and his enthusiastic song filled petite partner CindyLou.

We’ve had fun with it all. And I hope you will too.

Acknowledgments

A number of people have helped to make this book happen, including the many people with whom we have had discussions over the years. Too many to name, and many whose names I don’t know, they have inspired me to write and share, whether by their questions or their answers. It is a give and take for which we are grateful.

A question often asked of us is How do your families feel about your lifestyle? I am thankful to be able to say that they have from the beginning been encouraging and helpful, sometimes with physical presence, often with words, usually with understanding. That psychological boost has been, and continues to be, greatly appreciated.

In the early years we looked heavily to other homesteaders, experienced or not, for practical help and inspiration, mainly through books and magazines. We thank the many people who lived, wrote about, and shared their experiences.

There is one who stands out for having a particular influence, and he is Countryside magazine editor and publisher Jd Belanger. This book probably would not have materialized were it not for his support and encouragement through many years.

Many people have freely shared their knowledge and experiences with us, much of which is reflected in our homestead, and in this book. Two of those, Larisa Walk and Bob Dahse, allowed me to use their words and experiences in the chapter on solar ovens, and I thank them for that.

Most of the photographs were taken by Steve or I. The following pictures were taken by photographer Dan White of Manistique, Michigan: Steve at the lathe, the inside shot of the greenhouse, and the early spring photograph of the house. Several of these pictures appeared originally in Home Power magazine, June/July 1993. Steve did all of the illustrations and graphic work in the book.

Though I am the main speaker through the following pages the life behind this book is definitely a joint project between Steve and I. We are two separate individuals but our lives are strongly intertwined, and mine would not be what it is today were it not for him; neither would this book.

Introduction

Steve and I started our homesteading adventures some twenty years ago (~1976), before our move north to the backwoods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The satisfactions and challenges have followed us unabated since. We find ourselves living both in and out of the mainstream and it is a good way to live.

A homesteading lifestyle is as varied and individualistic as the people who embrace it, and we are no different. I offer our experiences not as rules or dogma to live by but as a picture from which to borrow pieces, to add to a corner of your own creation, to select as a focus for inspiration and ideas.

In the following pages I have shared practical details and wider overviews, actual experiences and philosophical thoughts; often through the humorous conversations with and between the fictional JJ and CindyLou. It is, unfortunately, not practical or possible to talk and visit with everyone personally but it is my hope that through this book we can continue the tradition that is so much a part of the homesteading world; the tradition of passing along experiences, skills, and knowledge gleaned from our years of living the so-called ‘simple’ life.

The information presented here, and prices where mentioned, are current to when the book was written (1997). But we are participating in an ever changing world. While many of the ideas and suggestions are timeless, others change with the passing moments and years. Consider this a beginning not a final statement and get more information when necessary or needed. There is much source information in the bibliography.

Since I am the author of the following story it may appear at times as if I am homesteading by myself. But that is not the case. Steve and I are partners in this adventure. Though there are projects and work we do by ourselves, generally we share the load and the fun, both in work and in play.

Chapter 1 - Homestead Dreams

JJ, I have an important announcement to make. Are you ready?

How can I be ready when I don’t know what you’re going to say, CindyLou? I’m not a mind reader you know. And if I was it would be pretty darn uncomfortable around here. It’s bad enough...

This is IMPORTANT, JJ! This is going to cause a great affect upon our lives.

Well, I suppose I ought to know what it is then. Speech away, CindyLou.

We are going to adventure out into the wilderness, establish a homestead for ourselves and live self-sufficiently!

Now CindyLou, first of all you can’t do that anymore. There’s no more wilderness and they don’t allow you to homestead nowadays, and nobody can be sufficient unto themselves in this day and age anyway. Don’t you read the newspapers? Besides, you don’t have money to travel to any wilderness, assuming there was any, which there isn’t, and if there was it’d be off limits to you, and probably something wrong and dangerous in there anyway, and...

JJ!

OK, OK, unruffle. You’ve been talking to Sue again haven’t you?

Look at this magazine that came in Sue and Steve’s mail. It’s about people who are doing the very thing I’m talking about. They are all having their own adventures right now, all over the country. All over the world! So there is no reason why you and I can’t do it too. Here, read it. But don’t take too long. I want to get started today.

Do Steve and Sue know you been swiping their mail?

I did not ‘swipe’ it. I simply picked up their mail for them. You’re the one who is forever harping at me to expand my mind by reading.

OK, OK. So what do you have there? Whoa, did you take a look at that critter on the cover? Those sharp pointed weapons on his head look mighty dangerous to me. Think of the holes that guy could make in your mohair sweater, not to mention your body, and you thought that mouse was a problem. And it’s not like we need more problems. Why...

Read the words, JJ. And haven’t you ever seen a cow before? This is an important crossroads in our lives, be serious!

Well, I myself can’t quite see cozying up to a critter than could make pancakes out of parts of you with one sidestep and perforate holes in whatever’s left. And isn’t that a bull anyway? Besides, I’m getting to feeling pretty comfortable here and I’m not of a mind to go gallivanting around looking for a place for you to have an adventure.

We, JJ, we. And we don't have to go anywhere. This is the New Homesteading. It’s a lot like the homesteading in the past but now we are thinking closer to home. We will homestead Right Here. This is our new homestead. This is our wilderness! This is where our dream begins. Behold!

I behold a farmed out old weedy field with a fallen down old shed splatted down in the middle of it. And if you behold that shed any closer you’re going to be looking like a pincushion. And that’s not a pleasant prospect. A rusty old nail could cause all sorts of...

Look at those trees over there, JJ. They may not be big yet but they will grow tall and strong given time and care, which we will provide. You have to look wider, JJ. That old shed is a gold mine of valuable and usable lumber.

I widely see lots of kindling. Not to mention work, and time and sweat and mosquito bites and black fly chomps and…

So? What do you have better to do?

Me? Now see here, CindyLou, don’t be dragging me into all this. Besides, what’s the use? You can’t live like that for long and why do all that work just for a lark? There’s not none of us getting any younger you know.

Age is a state of mind, JJ. It doesn’t hurt to get some good physical exercise. And this is how we'll get it. Look at Sue and Steve. They live ‘that way’ right now and they are very happy at it.

Sure, but they’re different.

Well, so are we. I want to find out more about this homesteading and living close to the earth.

Can’t argue with that I guess. Though I’m thinking that we’re living a mite closer to the land right now than I’d planned. No matter anyway, you can’t just go off and build yourself a wilderness dreams adventurous homestead life, or whatever it was you said you were doing, without doing a lot of research first. You have to know where to start. And I can’t see starting anything in this old tent except claustrophobia. Now if you hadn’t had that little accident with your Mom’s reeeealllly nice and reeeealllly comfortable and reeeeallllly spacious RV…

We, JJ, we. We are going to adventure into a bigger and better life. And you don’t need to bring up the RV. And I don’t want to spend great big chunks of time ‘researching’. If I let you get going in the library we’ll never have a homestead. I want to our homestead now. Now where should be start?

I say we head to town right now and sit down in that nice little cafe that has that swell bread pudding and...

We are not going to town again today!

Sigh. Well then we might as well go talk with Steve and Sue. I know you’re going to anyway and I better be there to defend my life and liberty. They’re nice and all but I’m thinking they’re a bad influence on you. They might be happy today, but how about tomorrow? Of course, who can even imagine what tomorrow will bring, if there’s even going to be such a thing as tomorrow. Except mosquitoes. I bet there’ll always be mosquitoes. Did you hear on the news last night...

A place to live. That is where we will start. We will build us a home, JJ. A beautiful homestead home. It doesn’t matter if tomorrow comes or not. So that is settled. Come along, JJ. Ohhhh, we’ll find us a homestead, we’ll laugh in the winnnnndd, find treasures in sunbeeeeeams, and life will begiiiiiiiiinnn!

For heaven’s sake, CindyLou, volume down, volume down. You’re waking the worms and agitating the mosquitoes!

Maybe the worms were enjoying the song. And there haven’t been hardly any mosquitoes yet. Stop flailing around! Watch where you’re flapping! What are you doing?

Practicing. I’ve heard they’re voracious in this part of the country.

Leave the insects be and come on. ‘See you later, future JJ and CindyLou Homestead. We'll be back to meet all of you future little neighbors soon.’ Now that we’re going to live here we have to consider the others living here, too, you know.

Speaking of neighbors, isn’t this spot here sort of real close to Steve and Sue’s place? Like maybe on it? I thought they said they were happy not having neighbors real close? Have you told them you’re thinking of moving in here permanently?

Oh we can talk about that later when the time is right.

Now that’s what’s so wrong with the world today. You try to slip something in when you think no one is looking. Only nobody likes that and then things get messy and...

Then we’ll choose another spot. Now let’s go. Arise your body to a gentle jog anyway. We are going to have to be in very good shape for our homestead adventure you know. And we have a lot to do.

I don’t think I like the sounds of that. This was supposed to be a vacation remember? Oh OK, you jog on ahead, I’ll be along. My teeth can’t handle the rattle involved in jogging. Neither can my toes. Toes don’t last forever you know. And healthy teeth are important for any number of functions, not the least of which...

Chapter 2 - Homestead Beginnings

Hello, Sue, are you busy?

Hi there, CindyLou. I’m not so busy I can’t take a break to talk with you. Isn’t it a great spring day? Just listen to all those birds. So, what’s up, you look like you’re excited about something.

I am, I am. JJ and I are about to embark on an adventure. We're going to create for ourselves an earth friendly homestead. We'll take ideas from the past and the present, the future and our dreams. And we’re going to start right now! Or as soon as JJ gets here anyway.

Mmm, sounds vaguely familiar. That’s quite an undertaking, CindyLou. Hi there, JJ! That’s OK, sit down and catch your breath. Would you like a drink of water?

That would be very nice. JJ and I are getting in shape for our new adventure. Drinking good, fresh water is an important part of that program.

Can’t a body just have some because they’re thirsty? This jogging takes a lot out of a person you know, and I haven’t a whole lot to spare.

It’s good for you, JJ. By the way, your rhubarb isn’t by any chance up yet is it, Sue?

CindyLou! That’s begging!

I am not! I am just…

"It’s OK, we have plenty of rhubarb and I wouldn’t mind having a bite myself. Let’s go pick some then sit down under an apple tree and you can tell me all about your new adventure.

Here, you might want some of this fresher hay to sit on CindyLou. We wouldn’t want to mess up those nice bright pink slacks with streaks of rotting hay. Ah, that feels good. Just enough shade. These early sunny days sure feel good but they’re warm.

Yeah, and it’s nice not to have to bring along the bow and arrows to fight off the mosquitoes and black flies. I heard they’re coming though, real soon. They’re just waiting for us to get nice and warmed up. Easier to bite into then, spreading disease, destruction and mayhem, not to mention...

Oh JJ, we haven’t seen more than a couple mosquitoes yet. You’re exagerating, isn’t he, Sue?

Well, they can be pretty irritating some years and worse in others. But you’ll get used to them. You pretty much have to if you’re thinking of staying in this area. If we didn’t have mosquitoes and black flies we wouldn’t have swallows and bluebirds, so it’s a good trade-off. So, where are you on your homestead plans?

Nowhere. We haven’t even been to the library yet, and I could tell you stories about what happens when CindyLou goes off on a project without thinking it through first!

But I am researching, JJ, we're here aren’t we? We're rather at the beginning of our homestead adventure. Would you tell us how you and Steve started? Then we'll know what to do next. I want to get settled into my new homestead before it gets too hot this summer.

"Well, CindyLou, it might take you a bit longer than that depending on what you have in mind. And it won’t be the same for you two as it was for us, of course. But I’ll be happy to share our experiences. Maybe it will give you some ideas. Have another rhubarb and stretch out.

This is an ever changing story. But this is how it all started...

Steve and I were seated on his mother’s couch talking. I think it was afternoon. It was 1975 or so.

‘I plan to move to the Upper Peninsula,’ Steve told me, sort of out of the blue.

‘Sounds good to me,’ I replied. I hadn’t thought about it before, but why not? It sounded like fun. So we did."

You mean that’s it? You just decided to change your whole life and take off into some unknown wilderness without thinking about it or doing any research or... You just said ‘Sounds like fun and took off?!"

Not exactly JJ. I’m coming to that. And this isn’t exactly wilderness. But at the time it was one of those ideas that simply felt right; it was comfortable as if it had been there a long time. If it makes you feel any better, just because I hadn’t thought of it before doesn’t mean Steve hadn’t. It had been on his mind in some form or another most of his life. Besides, adventures have to start somewhere.

That is what I have been trying to tell you, JJ. We can’t wait for you to research this all thoroughly to your satisfaction before we continue with our plans. We just have to go do it.

"Wait just a minute, CindyLou, that isn’t exactly what I’m saying here. That was just the very beginning. There is a bit more to it than that.

Our homesteading adventure was born and it grew. We subscribed to Organic Gardening and Farming. Friends introduced us to John Shuttleworth’s Mother Earth News. We bought homesteading books, how-to books. We made lists of what we wanted to take with us. We became avid auction goers. We went, and bid, and collected our ‘homestead’. Our city home became merely a storage shed.

Somewhere in there we headed north to look for land. We assumed it would be on a lake or river, or at least have a creek running through. We didn’t waste time mourning that ideal when confronted with the prices of such property. We visited real estate offices, walked across 40’s and 80’s and 160’s. Found vultures and Lady Slippers and interesting looking small insects that we picked off ourselves by the dozens after one excursion. Later we learned what they were, and understood belatedly why a real estate fellow was so aggressive in smashing the one Steve casually picked off his shirt, squashed between his fingers and put in the man’s ashtray. At the time we wondered about the man’s aggressiveness towards such a small insect. Without knowing it, we had just met the later to be common acquaintance, the wood tick.

But within two weeks we found our dream. Eighty acres, seasonally accessible, cut over woods and farmed out fields, no buildings, no near neighbors. Such potential.

Our 5 year plan was to work in the city, pay off the land contract, work on the homestead on weekends (it was 300 miles away) and move when done. We bought fruit trees, were introduced to Countryside/Small Stock Journal by the nursery owners, tasted goats milk for the first time thanks to the same folks. A home site was picked out, then another. Fence posts and fencing went up, fruit trees were planted, plans made. It was going to be quite a homestead. While still in the city we learned to bake our own bread and grind our own flour. We created plans and drew ideas. We talked and thought and read and had a very good time.

Two years later we couldn’t stand it. We quit good paying jobs, left the city and, with the patient help of Steve’s sister and brother-in-law, moved to the Upper Peninsula, in May. We suddenly all found out about black flies and U.P. mosquitoes. We discovered headnets. And we learned not to invite friends up in the spring if we wanted them to ever return. But we were young and we were having a good time.

Our new home was a 6 ft x 8 ft camper cap installed on a plywood base. Real cozy. It was great. It was paid for. We soon found a restaurant in the nearby town 15 miles away that would let us sit in a corner booth talking and planning and drawing on the place mats for hours on rainy days. I learned to drink coffee since the friendly, congenial owner was never without the pot in his hand, topping up cups with friendly cheer.

We planned that first summer to get the windmill installed (build the tower first), work up a garden, get a good start on building our house, build a shed, get two years worth of firewood cut and stacked, maybe build a woodshed, clear some land,