M Smythe

Tereza Okava wrote:M Smyth, you've also had a heck of an experience and I think it's an important topic that others may find very useful. Would you consider making a thread about squatters (and avoidance thereof)? You could put it in the homesteading or community forums and resume the conversation.

Hi yes, I can do that later. It was a nightmare for me and my mother. I worry for other people who are small farmers and too trusting like I was, which some in the permies community might be.

Kelly Craig wrote:I'm on sites where some individuals cry out to abolish ALL government. I am not bashful about telling them they are fools for it. The real issue is, moderation and control.

As you pointed out, one person can only rarely stand against an army of just a few, but by joining with others, those few can be held off and, if need be, beaten down.  

In reality, the only reason most of us have an ax / vehicle / house / stove / electric and so on is, people came together.  And, the only reason many of us are/were able to keep our things was because people came together, created rules, and enforced them.

Our roads that allow producers to move goods to market and us to get to them got built by people coming together, not because someone built them by themselves.

M Smythe wrote:. . . .You need like-minded friends or family with you. Something can and will always happen. It could be covid or could get robbed or could be something as simple as no power and water and far from help and heat. You need another person who can be a trusted helping hand, especially in these dangerous times. I am telling you my personal experience because it is too easy to get killed now doing something stupid. I'm 41 and healthy, and people still thought they could try to kill me and take over. Be careful for god's sake. If not for real friends and fellow neighbors, I would have died on my own place.

Society and laws exist for the common good. I have been alone most my life. Good people need other good people, and they need to band together to survive. It's too easy to be picked off otherwise.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

M Smythe wrote:It was hard. They took over my shop, destroyed my house, I lost control of half my fields after they blocked access with aggressive dogs. They had a whole squatter encampment set up and walls and fence to keep me out. The worst is the law of this state make it hard to get rid of criminal scum. Imagine being told by law enforcement that said squatters got rights and you don't.

That sounds pretty ugly. And yes, having good and trusted neighbours and family is of great value, wherever you are. These give law enforcement a 3D picture of the situation, and attest to your character, which guides their response.

It got bad. We had tense stand offs, and they tried to bottle me up in my own home while they circled round and round and controlled my movements outside. It only ended when they got raided by the sheriff, and the crazy lady and her boyfriend realized they got into some deep s***.

Byron Gagne wrote:That’s a crazy story!   I’m glad you made it through!  All the reason to join Jijitsu.   I would hate to have someone grab me with my two livestock dogs around they would quickly become Maremma sandwiches.  Sorry you had to go through with that!

It was hard. They took over my shop, destroyed my house, I lost control of half my fields after they blocked access with aggressive dogs. They had a whole squatter encampment set up and walls and fence to keep me out. The worst is the law of this state make it hard to get rid of criminal scum. Imagine being told by law enforcement that said squatters got rights and you don't.

Trace Oswald wrote:

M Smythe wrote:Your biggest problem and mistake was living alone. Especially in a place like Scandinavia. I run a small farm and am the main worker. I took in some former friends turned into squatters that then tried to take over my farm last year. They broke into my house, and threatened my 76-year-old mother after beating me bloody in my backyard. They did it and dared to because they had 5 people vs. me and my old mother. Never again will I make the mistake of being too few. You need like-minded friends or family with you. Something can and will always happen. It could be covid or could get robbed or could be something as simple as no power and water and far from help and heat. You need another person who can be a trusted helping hand, especially in these dangerous times. I am telling you my personal experience because it is too easy to get killed now doing something stupid. I'm 41 and healthy, and people still thought they could try to kill me and take over. Be careful for god's sake. If not for real friends and fellow neighbors, I would have died on my own place.

I'm sorry you went through that, but the OP made it perfectly clear that she is very lonely and would like someone to share her life with, so I don't think it's fair to say that her "biggest problem and mistake was living alone".  Not everything is a choice, sometimes we live in the circumstances we are stuck with and do our best.

Find someone to accompany. It can be a trusted, trusted friend, family, but have numbers and have help. That's all I am saying. I hope others who hear my story will avoid the mistakes I made. Be careful who comes and who you let in. In a world of covid and vagrants, there are too many dangers to count.

Your biggest problem and mistake was living alone. Especially in a place like Scandinavia. I run a small farm and am the main worker. I took in some former friends turned into squatters that then tried to take over my farm last year. They broke into my house, and threatened my 76-year-old mother after beating me bloody in my backyard. They did it and dared to because they had 5 people vs. me and my old mother. Never again will I make the mistake of being too few. You need like-minded friends or family with you. Something can and will always happen. It could be covid or could get robbed or could be something as simple as no power and water and far from help and heat. You need another person who can be a trusted helping hand, especially in these dangerous times. I am telling you my personal experience because it is too easy to get killed now doing something stupid. I'm 41 and healthy, and people still thought they could try to kill me and take over. Be careful for god's sake. If not for real friends and fellow neighbors, I would have died on my own place.

If I had access to spent grains, I'd use it to feed pigs and let them rototill the clay before planting. They manure and turn the dirt over real good. Make sure tight fencing and don't let them into your pasture. They can do a lot of damage fast. I have pigs so I seen how quick they work.

Eden wasn't planted overnight. And work on getting well!

Hi Cathy, I started as a gardener, now am a farmer. A lot of things work the same from big to small. ❤️ If you can, try to source or produce organic matter to make that dirt living soil. Next year I'm putting in a fruit orchard, so like you, I gotta coax this clay into compliance.

Don't add sand, it just makes things worse. You're starting to make the recipe for concrete. Organic matter is the key. Trust me, I have buried my tractor 6 feet down in cold muck and dug it out by hand. Learn to work with the clay.