I have really enjoyed this tread, have never laughed so much. Reminds me of that old acres of diamonds story where a landowner sells his farm to finance his global search for diamonds and ends up broke and homeless while the person who bought his farm discovers that it is awash with millions of dollars of crude oil or something of that effect. The moral of the story may be that many of us are sitting on acres of diamonds so to speak but are so motivated for a geographical change or the pursuit of some elusive but unattainable dream that we do not recognize the treasures that are beneath our very feet or underneath our very nose. reminds me also of the french movie Jean De Florrante, (ca'nt remember exactly how to spell it,) where a man inherits a farm in the countryside of France and kills himself trying to make a living off of it while being sabotaged by his father who is trying to steal the farm away from his son in order to give it to his mentally retarded nephew, because neither father nor son know who each other are until after the death of the son at which time the father discovers that he has killed his true son and has thus ruined his acres of diamonds so to speak. The poster sounds like that they could be a front man for a group of Amish people who quietly buy up thousands of acres of prime farmland that is poised to increase even further in value in the near future, but I doubt it, sounds more like someone from Japan or somewhere representing a bunch of businessmen or something, who knows, but very funny tread. thanks, Barry

We have alot of people that still can. I've also heard more this year, that the grandparent age group are teaching their grown grandchildren how to can. All my sons know how and now I'm teaching the grandkids (ages 11-5). I used to sell 10-20 boxes (25#) per day on Saturdays when people starting to can. It was normal for me, but most others didn't sell like that. I made sure that all of the boxes were the same quality as those on the table, and I think that's why I could get $50/bushel with no questions. Several times, we had to make time to sort the boxes before giving them out. People would stand and watch us throw out many that didn't look good enough. That usually sold others that were watching. I'd do the same thing with peaches.

Well, you'd have to call us more ranchers than farmers these days. But we still have more animals than most people, and yes we have a population of barn cats. I refer to them as wild cats and they are distinct from feral cats, which show up now and then at mating season. The wild cats are born on the place, stay close to buildings and are quite content to have humans near as long as you don't try to touch them. We provide food, shelter, and water. (I'd be happy to provide medical care also if I could find a way to manage it.) Also have created a fenced area away from dogs where they can bring their kittens to play and eat. This happens to be right out our large bedroom window so we enjoy quite a show during the birthing season. To answer your question: yes. We value our barn cats. Like every other thing on the farm/ranch, they serve a purpose and must earn their keep. They are distinct from "pets". Just as the donkey's job is to keep calving cattle safe from coyote attacks while they are down birthing, and the livestock guardian dog's job is to keep predators and vermin away from the homestead as well as the livestock, the cat's job is to keep the place snake and rodent free. They are very good at it. It's a kind of 'circle of life' thing where each species helps with the care of others. The chickens are kept for flea and tick control, cats for mice and snake control, dogs protect the cats and chickens from wildlife that would eat them etc. Chickens also keep the ground scratched up so we can see rattlesnakes if they come on the place. Ground cover around the home can be deadly here on the short grass prairie. It works well if you have the right animals and right breed of dogs, particularly. We do everything we are able to do for our wild cats. And many of them live a good long life. I've been here for 29 years and I can still see replicas of our first cats in their many-times great offspring. We do get the inherent problems of inbreeding now and again (dwarfism) but have had no bad disease run rampant in our cats. But I agree with the person who said you can't determine a mindset by an occupation. It's an inherent thing: you either 'steward' your charges or you exploit them. We see ourselves as stewards... though I fully understand that not everyone would agree with this assessment. I know that a couple hundred years from now those of us who made our livelihood providing meat for consumption will be looked upon as we now look upon slaveholders of old. We will be considered the worst of barbarians. *sigh* j

This is a bit off the ? I posted of collectibles, but really I guess related too! I too have used Ancestry.com earlier but found a few things I had asked them about but wasn't sure of the accuracy... they then posted it as factual & not as the question posted by me?! I have also gone to the local Mormon churches here & they are very helpful but a lot of more info. must be kept in Salt Lake City too. The genealogist in Sweden that did my genealogy a few times used Ancestry I noticed though also. Since my grandfather came as an adult to the U.S. from Sweden & my Dad a first generation here in the U.S. and I am a second generation & as our families are small, it was fairly easy for her to trace my small 'tree' here in America & go way back in Sweden where the families didn't move around much! I only paid for her to search back 3 generations in Sweden & then to America but may some day have her go back further & also find some very distant cousins living there in Sweden today! It becomes addictive, doesn't it! I find by my making a family 'Tree' (drawn like/as a tree!) on poster sheets, that for me it is so much easier to trace the ancestry than in the genealogists' way I guess in a book-like form. My Mother's tree (Drake) goes directly back now from me to the 1500's in England & was done by one of her uncles years ago. Now that DNA is available & getting a bit cheaper, wouldn't it be interesting what other things are in our ancestry to add to the 'tree'?!! As a little girl I always was interested in the people in the old photos & listened to the conversations of the old relatives at get-to-gathers & have always made sure all photos were named/labeled & perhaps dates (so many photos kept of 'people' but no writing on the backs: worthless!!) Fourteen albums (so afar!) all arranged in order & with a 'directory' I made to help to retrieve something if I need to. My family has found it so helpful to find current family photos w/o going through ALL of the 14 albums! Sure glad I have some others out there with my passion! Thanks everyone! -Vieja