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[Lynn Wigglesworth <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>]

Bob; when I think of northern Arizona, I think of the Grand Canyon. 
Isn't that area dry and rocky? I live about 3 miles from what's called 
the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. Rocky, but not at all dry. 
http://www.geotimes.org/oct07/article.html?id=Travels1007.html

Water isn't a real issue in northern PA because it's everywhere. We have 
abundant rain and snow, spread throughout the year. Any property of more 
than an acre or two probably has a spring or small stream on it. I was 
always kind of amused by discussions of water conservation and mulching 
to keep moisture in the garden. My problem more often is drying out the 
garden so the seeds don't rot. Once plants are established, I rarely 
have to water.

If you are going to do it, I think you should do it as soon as possible. 
Especially if you are starting from scratch. One thing I like about my 
property is that it's been a farm for close to a hundred years. Many of 
the problems (mostly drainage around the buildings) have been dealt 
with. Building up good garden soil can take years, depending on what you 
have to start with. I started with dense clay, and after 10-11 years of 
adding tons of organic matter, I finally have a garden that warms 
quickly in the spring and drains well enough not to drown the plants. It 
takes time to get things working right.

Lynn Wigglesworth
Tioga County, PA

bob ford wrote:
> Lynn, clear live water is very important to me.  I guess, like you, I'm at 
> an age where I want what I want. And, I want  water.  The good thing about 
> northern AR / So. missouri is the abundance of beautiful , live , clear 
> water.  The fact that the Ozarks makes it a bit more difficult to get to is 
> a plus.
> 
> I don't want a "farm". I know my limitations, and I am not up to being a 
> full-scale (even small) farmer. I want to grow most of my vegetables and 
> grow or otherwise harvest most of my meat/fish.  There are only two of us, 
> even if both live full time , in the wild.  Maybe that would be partial 
> subsistence farming, but not a real "farm" like yours.  I have no progeny.  
> I'm not trying to leave a legacy, other than being a good steward of the 
> land.  
> 
> James is right , though.  I can keep putting this off for-ever.  I 'm in 
> the process of trying to arrange a final pay-off to an acronymed gov't 
> agency, afterwards, I really will no longer have excuses.  We won't be as 
> finacially capable as we were before, but that just means I have to build a 
> smaller shack/house on a smaller piece of ground.  I'm still thinking that 
> having a tiny house in town, for her, would not be a bad idea.  Homes, even 
> in town, in someozark towns can cost less thana car.  It is really strange, 
> you can look at a small town in Mo. and the will have a 2 million dollar 
> house and a 15, 000 house, both in the same tiny town?
> 
> ...............bobf
> 
> 
> --- On Sat, 10/25/08, Lynn Wigglesworth  wrote:
> 
>> From: Lynn Wigglesworth 
>> Subject: Re: [Homestead] Music was  Newsweek -
>> To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
>> Date: Saturday, October 25, 2008, 8:33 AM
>> bob ford wrote:
>>
>>> I'm curious, how to you come to pick
>> "place"?.  I've looked and bought and sold in
>> different areas of the country, never can find just what I
>> want.  
>>
>> I'm not Bev, but I can tell you how I picked my place.
>> First, I knew the 
>> area of the country I wanted. It was a large area, from
>> West Virgina up 
>> to Maine. I wanted real seasons and a relatively cool, not
>> humid summer 
>> (that eliminated the south and much of the coast). I
>> pictured the 'look' 
>> that I wanted...rolling green hills. Lots of pasture and
>> farms, with 
>> lots of trees between farms. My family had vacationed in
>> upstate New 
>> York for years, so I knew that much of the Northeast fit my
>> vision. Then 
>> I looked at land prices and taxes and general cost of
>> living.
>>
>> Northern Pennsylvania was a good fit for me. New York has
>> high taxes. 
>> Vermont has high land prices. If I moved to Maine, it would
>> be near the 
>> coast, and that's expensive. I looked at lots of areas
>> online, then we 
>> came up here for weekends and just drove around, over 3
>> counties. I saw 
>> this place and saw (in my minds eye) the kind of farm I
>> wanted. Everyone 
>> else saw a rundown farm that had everything of value sold
>> at auction. I 
>> bought the newspaper from the local town, had it mailed to
>> me in Philly, 
>> and read it for almost a full year before we bought. After
>> reading a big 
>> city paper, a rural newspaper was delightful. Who shot the
>> first buck of 
>> the season, who caught the biggest fish. No murders or
>> serious crime. 
>> Someone breaking into an unlocked car made the headlines.
>>
>> The fact that, after a year, my farm was still available
>> was a clue to 
>> the economy (it had, in fact, been on the market for 9
>> years). Houses in 
>> town sell quickly, but farms are a white elephant. I knew
>> this wasn't a 
>> property I could sell easily, but I have no intention of
>> ever moving, so 
>> it doesn't matter to me. By coincidence, this farm was
>> going to auction 
>> for back taxes/mortgage just as we wanted to buy it. The
>> government had 
>> somehow ended up owning it (farm mortgage, I think). We got
>> a lawyer who 
>> negotiated us a great deal; the government was happy to
>> take pennies on 
>> the dollar since they'd get cash, and we got it for
>> about half the going 
>> rate for bare land (with a house, barn, and lots of
>> outbuildings). We 
>> put every cent into paying down the (small) mortgage and
>> making 
>> emergency repairs (new roof on the house, structural work
>> on the barn). 
>> When my ex bailed out, the farm was accessed at double what
>> we paid for 
>> it, so I had to pay him half of that price. So here I am
>> with a 
>> falling-down farm :-)
>>
>>
>> _________________________________________________________________
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>> http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/115298558/direct/01/
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> 
> 
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