Gay, the old frontier. We never left the country

Hi everyone. Here in the Midwest spring was late for many of us and early for others. Is any new stuff going on? We are planting late. I am also getting some heirloom apples in. Whats new, dont be shy! Hey, I have been having trouble with this thread. Anyone else?

Well, I've been debating whether or not it's appropriate to post here, since I'm not gay, but I suspect many people would place me in the LGBTQ+ "category." I did a search on the forums and didn't come across one instance of asexuality being mentioned outside of asexual reproduction in plants or worms!

So I feel I need to represent. Hi! I'm asexual. Nice to see you.

Hello, Vera, we have many shades of Permies people here. You are most welcome to join in.
(I admit I'm happily hetero, married for a long time, but often read as a butch lesbian and know about it.)
You are welcome to be yourself.

One question to ask, and you don't have to answer: what set of words should we use? Him/he/his, Her/she/hers, They/them/theirs, something else? Or don't you have a preference?

I dont know the MIGHTY PAUL very well. But what I feel is that everyone who is not a douche is welcome. I started this thread a long time ago. I think someday it will be a very popular one. One that spreads the love of our world. SO welcome sister and anyone who wants to post positive stuff and talk about the land, gardens and permaculture. Our planet is dying. It can be reversed. So can other ignorance.

Lets stop the ignorance.

Deb Rebel wrote:Hello, Vera, we have many shades of Permies people here. You are most welcome to join in.
(I admit I'm happily hetero, married for a long time, but often read as a butch lesbian and know about it.)
You are welcome to be yourself.

One question to ask, and you don't have to answer: what set of words should we use? Him/he/his, Her/she/hers, They/them/theirs, something else? Or don't you have a preference?

I'm a female. I see my asexuality as my (lack of) sexual orientation, nothing to do with my gender identity. Of course other asexual people's experience may differ!

Just had to be polite and ask. Some asexuals I know do use the They/Their/Them, so, wanted to have that clear. Thanks.

Vera Stewart, have a piece of cake 🍰

You're all very kind. Mmm cake.

If you remember the old song, "You can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd" and the line "But you can be Happy if you've a mind to."... that's what counts. No matter what flavor you are. Or shade. Or even if it changes on occasion.

Vera, welcome. And enjoy the cake.

Hi guys and gals,

How is the world treating you all. I just bought the farm land I wanted. Lots of space at my new place here in MI. Whats new?

Daniel Morse wrote:Hi guys and gals,

How is the world treating you all. I just bought the farm land I wanted. Lots of space at my new place here in MI. Whats new?

Hey Daniel!
Congrats on getting your farmland!
Got any pictures to share with us?
I keep looking at places, cabins, properties, wishing, hoping, being undecided.
I could almost say the same thing about about a new partner. Lol
Anyway, I sure hope you're enjoying the new place and hope you share some pictures too.
It's always nice to see others progress and happiness.

Rory

This thread makes me incredibly happy to see. Me and my partner are 24 and 21 respectively, and we haven't encountered many other members of the LGBTQ community who are also involved in permaculture. :)

Cheers from North Florida

Greetings from the North Cascades! Been up here a few years on 20, surrounded by the mountains. The scenery is superlative! Working on creating gardens & a home orchard. Hope to get some poultry/livestock...just a matter of (human) resources. Partner & I are hoping to share with others. I went through a year long Wilderness Education & Ecology program. I've worn many hats, including being on one of those floating cities with an airport!

Welcome man. I once lived in the California desert, think Joshua Tree, and did time in the northern Cascades. Lovely area. We were studying climate change, doing certain metrics. Welcome. SO, how are your crops going? Whats your animal choices as you mentioned them. How are you using your land? BTW a floating city. Tell us all more!

SO welcome. Let us know how it is going?

Thank You Daniel, glad to be here! Well, I found this place when attending the Winter survival portion of my Wilderness Education & Ecology program where we built quinseys & other winter shelters. As far as gardening goes, last year was a challenge since my well pipe rusted through & I had to haul H20 for a couple months, however the squash, tomatoes & cukes seemed to do okay considering. It's SO dry here that it's a real challenge to water things enough, even if you make hills & flood them.

For livestock, I was considering goats mostly for fire mitigation by reducing fuels but also for milk, though I'm told sheep are better grazers. Winter will be a challenge though! Also, many many moons ago in another life, I was on aircraft carriers.

Anyway, I'm looking to do a WWOOFERISH kind of situation here, perhaps with more of a focus on sustainable forestry (not logging) as there is A LOT of fire mitigation to do, including creating defensible space & reducing fuels while maintaining winter browse. I do wish to do all kinds of permaculture projects here as it is the ideal place, it's just a matter of time & resources.

Cheers

P.s. You can see my ideas in the WWOOFER forum here: WWOOF North Cascades - Hike, Camp, Fish, Garden & Enjoy the Harvest - LGBTQASU Friendly!

Terry, thats great. I will assume you have mixed topography. Awesome. Send us some pictures of your stuff.

Water is life. My old farmhouse, at the old one, I had to drop a new well. The water here is vast, free and abundance. Well until the multinationals suck us dry. My other place the old well is actually in the kitchen. A stick well we call them. I need to change the screen. That will be a fun project. The long-term tenant did a lot of damage to the house. Ignorant people chimneys and walls moved. Will take a lot of work.

I have some land I need to let rest as it has been corn and beans for a long time. I think I will do some cover or a grain like rye. I have some ideas. Flax is on the agenda this year. Some small plots. See what works best. Chickens a definite.

What is everyone up to?

...Just checking in to Daniel's thread here; and sending greetings to all from the Land of Snow, as we look toward Spring...Anyone contemplating taking a PDC this year?

Recently discovered these guys' YouTube channel. They're a gay couple building a shipping container house together and doing permaculture in the Appalachian Mountains/West Virginia. Thought it might be of interest to some folks in this thread. Must say they are pretty dang inspiring. Makes me want to hurry up and find my beau (I know you're out there, somewhere) so we can get started!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA7NTiugj7k

Hi all! Just moved to 8.5 acres in SW Tucson with plans to use permaculture practices to green up my little piece of the desert. Feel free to contact us with any questions or suggestions.

Hi Everyone! Just married the man in my life for the past 12 years and creating a permiculture/organic farm on 50 acres in Wilgarrup, South West Western Australia. Currently we’re growing heirloom vegetables, chickens and guineafowl..but on the horizon we’re expanding into market gardening and distributing produce at local fairs through a food van.
Love hearing where everyone is at through this thread!
Hugs Kim and Murray

Hello from Georgia.

I'm glad I found this post, thank you for starting it Daniel. I struggle with being gay, let alone finding gay men with the same interests, so its nice to see y'all here.

Anyways, I'm 24 years old, saving up money living at my dads house, and planning on buying about 10 acres in north Georgia. I built a chicken mansion last year, and my chickens should be making eggs this month. It's been a very productive year, full of many failures and lessons, but I think I'm starting to make the transition towards my homesteading aspiration.

I hope y'all find someone you can spend the rest of your life with.

Conor

Hey everyone. How did everyone survive the heat and summer. Glad fall is around the corner here. About to do my late crop of cabbage and stuff like. I was able to get a patch of flax and rye this year. Potatoes were a mixxed bag. Some did great, others meh,... Overall good stuff.

Lets tell each other how good or bad we did. I did well with my organic compost. Never used any fertilizer. A little lime is about all. I will be getting back a acre from a the farmer who planted gmo soy on it w the roundup issue. I look forward to rehabbing the soil. Already the hawk nests above us are empty. It was an amazing summer. My weekend at the land were amazing.

Let us know folks -Daniel

The summer was more interesting and exciting than I expected. Long story short, it was my first summer having all of my emotions with me and knowing how to properly manage my emotions. And the world is just so much more interesting and colorful now that I am feeling everything there is to be felt.

I found out I may be in the wrong field for a career path (biochemistry), because lab work really isn't my thing. I only had the intellectual interest but not the emotional satisfaction from it. So, I have been more seriously putting permaculture, urban agriculture, agroecology, teaching, health coaching, and counseling into my sights for careers (because that's really where my heart is: caring for people and caring for the earth).

Three weeks ago, I started volunteering at Garden City Harvest's farm by the Clark Fork River in Missoula, and I am really enjoying getting dirty, helping harvest for the CSA boxes, and weeding around the plots. And the past two weekends, I have been to the Clark Fork Farmer's Market and the Missoula Farmer's Market, and I enjoyed both of them.

And just enjoying the small things in life more. It's made me so happy when I make fleeting eye contact with the guys I have crushes on at college. And the sound of ravens crowing in the morning. Or the pitter-patter of little feet as a bird waddles on the roof. I hadn't known I was missing these things, and they're just so beautiful.

Dave, I chose the wrong field path too. Agriculture Economics. Hah. And then I discovered Joel Salatin, who led me to Wendell Berry, and then my world flipped upside down in the best way ever. I suppose my degree is helping in showing me what I'm up against
It's nice to hear you are feeling things again. I think we can all sympathize with that one. This year I've been getting better at it too. I think what really helped me was reading the book, "Farm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest". It's great.

Daniel, I need to get on starting winter veggies - will be my first time planting for winter. Kinda bummed I didn't get in pumpkin or butternut squash.

This past year has been my most successful year of my life, and quite a roller coaster. I moved back in with my parents and helped them move into their new house. We tilled the only place that got enough sunlight, but it was all clay and urbanite, so it didn't do much. I wanted to do raised beds, but my dad has his way, so we dug. All the rain from the road cascaded down through our little plot and flooded just about everything. Nothing really made it, except the herb garden which was raised. We scrapped the whole garden and got A LOT of free flowers from our nursery friend who ended his business, so we just ended up making our yard real pretty. I'll have to post some pictures. Its kinda funny how my dad and I do all the gardening and cooking. Next time around we are definitely doing raised beds, and I probably should look into the whole waterworks permaculture thing that everyone is talking about.

I think the best part of this year was my new job building custom staircases. The stuff I've been learning is indispensable, and I'm feeling more prepared for when I design and build my house.

Also pretty proud of my chickens. I have 5 easter chickens. The chicken coop that I built I made my own plans for, since I wanted it to be connected to the earth, for deep litter. I throw in all the sawdust that the planer produces at work and it's turned into great soil already after 3 months. Probably can fill it in there for at least a year or two before I have to clear it out. One thing I wanna do is start taking all the bad fruit and veggies from the farmers markets and giving it to my chickens.

I've also been taking all the horse manure from local horse farms and mixing with the wood shavings I get at work. Might be able to start a business out of it lol. We used to take a lot of expired food from trader joes. Most was still good to eat. Wish they still did that because I would love to start a soil building company.

Oh, I started making allergy tea - rooibus, stinging nettle, and whatever else I felt like throwing in there. It works!

I think the dumbest thing I did this year had to do with filing my taxes for the first time. I owed 415$ and when I mailed it I put cash in the envelope instead of a check. I never occurred to me that you never wanna do that. They never got the money. I can be pretty damn naive.

Anyways, I have more I want to talk about, and some questions, but I need to get some rest. I might post tomorrow if I have time.

-Conor

I think it's safe to say I survived the summer heat. Me and my (non-monogamous) partner are out in the countryside of western Washington. I'm about halfway done with planting a really great permaculture orchard, and my gardens are all up and running. It's been a great year.

The summer was, shall we say, challenging! I moved after the building and land were sold off by the landlord, and am now in smaller quarters; but it is October, and that means harvest is all around town. And I'm thinking about a plan for this space come Spring....

Conor Haley wrote:my first time trying to build a structure. I went a little overboard for just a chicken coop

But it's beautiful!

Well, its time to make the big decisions. I have a leg on the farm and a leg in the city. There are no jobs in the rural areas, or should I say few? Anyway I am spending the week here in the city working. Weekend at the farmstead. Last week, I found a lot of stuff had been stolen. Funny, I told the township supervisor I was coming out and I was robbed the next day before I got there.

Someone wants me to sell so bad. Prime location for some building lots for wealthy people. I will not sell. Period. I will sow it with salt first.

Getting ready to plan for next year. New fencing and security about to be installed. Got ideas myself.

SO the bigger question is this is this,... Does anyone feel like they are being targeted over political and or lifestyle by vandals and thieves? I think true thieves should have severe punishments. Just a personal opinion.

So I am putting in some trees soon. Not sure where. But some old producers. I want to see a 100-year-old apple tree in 100 years my kin can harvest from. My new fences will also produce raspberries and other tasty berries that are thorny. I look forward to people enjoying that as they try to trespass. Building for my kids and their kids.

My house n Detroit is about to be put on the market. I was mugged in front of the house a few weeks ago. Called a faggot and was knocked out by gang members. I have some broken teeth and still memory problems. The police never did much or care. Homophobic assholes. One cop was laughing. It is time to devote my full attention to our rural farm rich people want to buy the land. Maybe time to get pigs. Tasty and cute fellas they are.

Looking forward to doing more planting. The ground there waits to be used. What I planted this spring did so darn well. Darn well.

Hope to see more posts guys. Love it!

I've been getting some weird looks since I started wearing a pride sticker on my hat and got called a faggot once. This is at college and in Missoula, so it is a bit tamer.

I am sorry to hear about what happened to you Daniel.

And yeah, hearing about stuff like this does make me consider getting pepper spray and taking self-defense training as more serious considerations.

Yes, in the current social climate, I am thankful for all the martial arts study I did in my 20's...I don't anticipate a problem here in Vermont, but still...

I'm worried about the political climate emboldening people and making them more extreme. I'm not sure what to do about it yet. I'm not very open and out with strangers, but I'm sure people know. With a conservative supreme court and federal government, I'm more nervous now than I was a few years ago

Hi all, I just joined this site today and it seems that this thread, which is still pretty active, might be a good place to start posting. I am from the UK but this year I have moved to a ‘cortijo’ stone cottage, in southern Spain, about an hour from Granada and two hours from Malaga. It's in a small valley with a track which leads into the local town, about 20 mins walk away, which is a hub for the variety of hippies and other ‘alternative’ incomers who have settled in the area over many years (http://www.granadaspain.co.uk/orgiva-capital-of-la-alpujarra/) .
The land here is planted mainly with olive and almond trees, on 7 terraces (4 acres) leading down to a small river which flows part of the year, and with the agricultural water channels, developed by the Islamic population who for centuries inhabited this region, also flowing nearby. It’s beautiful and peaceful, surrounded by mountains but not remote. I have been spending this first year, with the help of a series of visitors, developing a garden infrastructure, ready for the possibility of building cabins and yurts around the land. The intention is to develop a non-commercial retreat centre along Epicurean lines (societyofepicurus.com), and applying organic and permaculture principles to manage the land. It is secluded around the house, and for most of this year it has been very much a ‘clothing optional’ environment, so naturists will fit in here. I’m open to visits from those touring Spain, or for anyone who would be able to stay and help out for a few weeks, maybe longer. It’s also very steep here so visitors need to be pretty fit, especially if planning to work. Message me here for further info. I am 59, and a retired psychologist. Thanks, Ian.

Hey guys.   I'm extremely interested in selling my house in the next month or so and moving to an off grid life style, possibly in NE Arizona in Apache County where this seems to be fairly easy.    Although I'm open to other ideas.   Looking online at several tracts in the 40 acre range there, though I haven't visited them in person yet.    I'm great in a kitchen and could cook on a woodturning cookstove, make jams/jellies, can food in a pressure canner to preserve it.   I'd love to have some chickens and rabbits which both seem to be sustainable food sources.   I was also thinking about an "outhouse" connected to the "Home BioGas" toilet system so that methane could be used for cooking outside at a summer kitchen.  And believe it or not, I was thinking about living in a 28 ft tipi from Colorado Yurts.    In a perfect world, I'd find a handful of 3 or 4 gay guy friends who knew a little about gardening and off grid living to be there with me as a community where we work together and support each other rather than tearing one another down.    Any interest in talking with me about this?   :)  

25 gay guy living in NJ. Thought I'd say hello. I'm definitely interested in the idea of going off grid with a few other gay guys and starting our own community. City living is unsustainable and the thought of grid failure is terrifying. I know with absolute certainty that living off grid is the healthiest and smartest thing to do right now. I don't think its a coincidence many people, even young ones are flocking to the fields, I honestly think it has to do with a sixth sense and those of us listening are responding to what the earth is suggesting we do.

I would love to be out of my city shoebox apartment by this summer, and if you feel that way too and are in a position to get to know each other and move off grid hit me up!

I’m in western Washington about halfway between Portland and Seattle. There are a few other gay people out here and the community is growing. I’m trying to bring more people out here in general, because there is definitely a lot of opportunity for this kind of lifestyle and for transitioning to a more sustainable economy. Here is a post I wrote on where I live:

https://permies.com/t/100135/Praise-Lewis-County

Hi All,

29 year old gay man who is new to the Permies website, new to the idea of homesteading, and hoping to find an active community.  I'm really excited to see this post and witness the inclusiveness here!  Currently I live on Long Island, New York, but hoping to purchase land and make the move in 2020.