Rural Living

The Sun is out , the shears , lopers and pole pruning pole blade are all sharp so it’s time to get out there and prune those apple trees . Yes , a bit early as some recommend mid Winter as the optimal time for this chore but by that time , and at this stage in my life , my mind ( whats left of it ) is buttoning up for the Winter ! Now with leaves having gone its easy to see all the ones I missed last year like the so called “ water sprouts “ , those pesky straight up to the sky non apple producing new branches that pull a lot of energy from the rest of the tree , clip em low as the are not going to give you anything but more headaches later ! And those inward growin…

Tour Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm and get his thoughts on the current state of farming in America in this video:

Really....I can't believe this was a story on the news. I guess it was a REALLY slow news day But in case you are wondering.... here are the tips: Don't jump in old leaf piles Wear long sleeves and pants Check for ticks afterwards .... Honestly... I just can't 🍁🍂🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃🍂🍁🍂

Another gardening season has come and gone ( for most of us anyway ). Like many gardeners, you may already be thinking about lessons learned and what you may do when Spring 2026 arrives. This is an ongoing topic.

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See the rest here. Tell us, what do you do to get your garden squared away for winter?

Winter is coming here at 45 degrees north. That means my township’s solid waste transfer station will be reducing its hours and removing the seasonal bins for large items. Through the winter, we will still be able to haul our regular household trash and recyclables there on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. But the window is closing for disposal of things like the worn-out, lumpy mattress and box springs we wanted gone. Not that long ago, many rural families had a place out back where stuff like that got dumped. It wasn’t ideal, but it’s not like there were many options. Nowadays, local government units are responsible for ensuring “easy access” to appropriate s…

What’s more dangerous: driving on a rural road or a congested city street? If you picked the latter, you’re not alone. According to Nationwide’s 2024 Driving Behaviors Survey (PDF), less than 5% of survey respondents believe rural areas are more dangerous. However, the reality might surprise you. See the results of the study and the reasons behind it here.

You can read the rest of this column here. While written about the Adirondack region, this no doubt pertains to other areas of the state. What do you think about the author's thoughts?

by Donna Kallner Home gardens pay off in produce to enjoy in season, produce to put by for winter, and produce to share with neighbors.(Photo by Ray Shrewsberry / Unsplash) For many rural families, including mine, this does not feel like a year to be cavalier about what we have put by for winter. Grocery prices have not gone down. Availability feels uncertain. I can feed my household better for less than the cost of the “cheap” processed and prepared foods that have become the norm for many families over the past 40 years. But that takes some effort. And the growing season is short here at 45 degrees north. So we went into it with slightly more ambitious plans than in ye…

by Claire Carlson There was no shortage of buffalo check flannel and cowboy boots among attendees of Farm Aid’s 40th anniversary concert in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on September 20, 2025, but alongside them were just as many folks clad in t-shirts with “Stop Factory Farms” printed on the front. This message summed up the main takeaway of the event: farmers need just as much support now as they did 40 years ago, when the 1980s farm crisis spurred Farm Aid’s first benefit concert. Farmers and advocates at this year’s gathering pointed to the difficulty of competing with large-scale agriculture, the disconnect between producers and consumers, and vanishing federal support as…