Southern Illinois ...Welcome

Actually the 27th is pretty optimal for me.

Where?

Hey Dave glad you found us. You bring another awesome element and experience to this forum. Hope to meet up with you soon.

West Frankfort works for me.  If others want closer to Carbondale we could do IHOP again.

WF is OK.   I will wait for input from others. I am assuming 7/27 having not heard other dates.

The 27th is good. WF is good. But could we find someplace that also serves ice cream???😋

I will begin my search.

Having trouble getting a hold of my DIL, will keep trying , but should be able to do 7/27. Looking at eating options.....La Fiesta is a possibility and , or  Clubhouse Grille. Never been to either place, and know nothing about them , except they were highest on the list.

I am unable to schedule a meeting this month.   If anyone else wants to run with this, feel free.

I'm open to postponing till August. Tim is still waiting on his DIL, rain may bring down the temps hopefully and get some work done, and would not be a full house without John. Early August works better for me. In the meantime, one of my intentions for this group besides getting to know people in the flesh not just on this screen was learning from each other: what your situation looks like as far as land and what you are or hope to do with it; what skills we have that we can share; if you have or will have items to barter or sell; what help you need now or looking ahead i.e. putting up a hoop house or cutting up timber for firewood. You get the idea. Hoping to create a group that can relate and interact with like neighbors even if we're spread out a bit. Also maybe more will find their way to our forum. I wish I could see that the immediate horizon is getting brighter but I feel we'll be in the twilight zone for awhile (this is not a political statement as the problems have been building from different directions for a long time.) As the world turns (and heats up) I want to know who to lean on and who needs support. So while we're figuring out a next face to face, maybe we can do some sharing here in the forum. Give us an overview of the lay of your land. What are long-term and short-term goals, needs, hopes, dreams? Or whatever comes to mind when you think about getting together. And remember: spouses are welcome in this. The more the merrier. Over to you all----

Grandson is a week old today, mom and baby both doing well. My son is on paternity leave from the military, to take care of DIL because of c-section. Been trying to get him out of the military and here on the 80, to take care of his mom and I, in the lifestyle I want to grow accustomed to (and so I can have all the grandkids closer). So far the pay is better where he's at than anything around here. (Can't believe they get paid that good!) We've got 80 acres that is pretty much either up or down. If I find a good market for chiggers, ticks, and turkey mites I'll be set for life. I've got mulefoot/red wattle cross hog that I call the "Black Amish Mafia". (They're real gangsters!) They roam the 80 , and pretty much do what they want, till feeding time when they get shelled corn dumped on the ground. Been wanting to get started with food forests, and other permaculture  stuff that my tired old brain can't think of names of right now. I've got a neighbor that is trading  a couple of their irish dexter heifer calves for some of our swine and my labor, so I'll be able to have milk. Anyway, enough for now , it's getting past my bed time and I've got work tomorrow. GOD bless!

Congrats grand papa!! Will be good to meet up and swap baby pics😆
Like to see your cows some day one of my favorite breeds. Wrote a piece for AcresUSA a few years back on a couple in upstate New York raising them and their process for making raw milk cheese.

Greetings! I'm looking for folks who grow some heirloom veggies and fruits from Illinois that came from Native Americans and early settlers in the southern half of the state. I come on this board from Chicago and I'm seeking folks who are growing some Native American and early settler crops right now to get in touch in the near future. I'm growing a little Cherokee to honor my late grandmother this year. I'll welcome any help. Thanks!

I found myself burnt to a crisp ... too many irons in the fire.   I still have a sow and two goats ready to deliver.   I need to take the time to read to my livestock from my homesteading book that says babies are supposed to come in the spring.

I got goats too at my community farm, but I'll ask my group leaders to see if they want more. And what type of sow you have?

Hi Blake,

Sorry for the delay. My sow is a KuneKune as was the daddy.   The offspring are 3 boars that have been castrated.   There should be a new batch of Kunekunes due in spring.

I can’t tell if the big Cracker Barreling Event happened, and wondering when the next one is.  I’m in Indiana (relocating to Ontario over the next few hears, but that’s another story).  I’m new to Permies so I haven’t found many others in my area yet.  Plus my family has land in southwest Illinois that I’m always happy to have an excuse to visit.

Are there any upcoming get togethers that a noob would be welcome at?  I’d be up for helping at a build event.  Especially if it’s building a rocket mass stove.

Happy 2023 to the citizens of Permie! I'm looking for more heirloom seeds from Native Americans and early settlers from southern Illinois and from the Trail Of Tears Cherokee who crossed Illinois in the winter of the 1830s for my growing plots up at my community farm in Chicago this year. If there's anybody who's of Cherokee, Kaskaskia, Wea, Tamaroa or Michigamea descent please jump in and share with me to help me make my restoration gardens a reality. Thanks!

I was suffering from a huge case of social burnout…plus, I was otherwise stretched in a variety of different directions.   I may try to get a meeting together.

Howdy yall   I live about 40 mins north of Mt Vernon out by Omega   I try to learn alot and do alot.  I have cows rabbits chichens ducks turkeys  I hunt I fish   I am learning to blacksmith and I Have a small portable sawmill that I continue to try and learn to cut better with     I try to garden but suck at that and keep trying

Hi Jim,

I am about 30 miles east of Mt Vernon.  Raised beds work well for me.