Queen's Edge Farm: Stealing is Stealing

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Stealing is Stealing

This is a draft of a letter I am preparing to submit to our local newspaper....

Dear Editor:

It's sad that in today's society people are not aware of personal property rights. Every year that my pecans fall, I find hordes of people in my yard picking up my pecans. No one even asks. I find this very rude. I would never dream of going into someone's yard and helping myself to the fruit off of their trees, the vegetables out of their garden, or the pecans off of their trees.

What is with people? I shouldn't have to post a No Trespassing sign, or fence in the entire property. It is understood that you just don't take something from someone without asking.

When we first moved in we had three large pecan trees. Over the past 15 years, two have died, just leaving me the one. In the past, I'd get upset but not say anything, as the people generally left when I pulled up into the driveway. They didn't even apologize or act guilty! Just casually walked away, with bags of nuts in their hands. I use these pecans for baking and to eat, and it really, really bothers me that I moved to a small town because I thought the people were nicer, and had old fashioned values. It is sad to see that is not the case. What is even more shocking is that many of these people in my yard are over 50, so they know better.

This morning I went out and asked the people to leave, and to leave the pecans they had picked up already. The said they would leave but they wouldn't leave the pecans. I told them that it was stealing, the woman just shrugged and said "Call the police." I said "how about I just call my dog or Smith and Wesson?" She laughed and walked away.

Enough is enough. I would like to ask everybody to please respect everyone's property rights in this town and elsewhere. Grow some sense.

I am also putting everyone on notice that I will no longer tolerate the jumping of fences and walking through my yard, the picking up of my pecans, the stealing of my wood, the destruction of my property. I will prosecute those I come across in the daylight with tresspassing, those that I find in my yard at night, well use your imagination. Anyone creeping around my property in the dark, deserves a load of buckshot in their rear.

Sincerely,

Me

2 comments:

Bob Westbrook said...: Get some rock salt loads. That'll do the trick. And do call the police. Trespassing is against the law and you can make them prosecute. I'd love to be there and fire off a few blasts to see em run.; October 18, 2007 at 8:32 PM
Woody said...: I would be fuming mad! Hell, I'm made just reading your post. Two years ago I caught a moron cutting my fence so he could run his 4-wheeler onto my property. He explained that he wanted to retrieve a deer he had shot off my neighbors property that had fled to the back of my ground. I know he had no permission to hunt on keiths' ground, and sure as hell didn't have permission to cut my fence. I held him there (with his own firearm) till the sheriff showed up and hauled him out. Yes...I did prosecute.; October 25, 2007 at 2:46 PM

Grandma's Yummy Cinnamon Rolls

2 pkgs active dry yeast or 5 tsps if using bulk yeast
1/2 cup warm water (not too hot)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening, butter, margarine
2 tsps salt
2 cups milk, scalded
1 1/2 cups cold water
10 to 12 cups flour (white or whole wheat)

Yield: 4 loaves

Soften yeast in warm water, springkle in a tsp of the sugar
In LARGE mixing bowl blend sugar, shortening, salt and milk until shortening is melted. Add cold water, cool to luke-warm. Stir in yeast. Gradually add flour to form a stiff dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and satiny, 5 to 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover with foil or damp towel. Let rise in warm place (85 to 90 deg) until light and doubled in volume about two hours. Punch dough down by plunging fist in center. Knead dough for about 5 minutes.

Roll out one fourth of dough to a 16 X 12 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 TBSP of melted butter. Combine 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (or more to taste). Sprinkle mixture over dough. Starting with 16 inch side, roll jellyroll fashion. Either cut into 16 1 inch slices or leave as a whole loaf. Place on a greased pan, cover and let rise in warm place until light, about 30 to 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Mix one box 10X sugar with 2 tbsps water. If too stiff, add more water until icing consistency, add a drop of vanilla too. Spread on baked bread while bread is still warm.

2010 Homestead Stats

Laundry Soap

Homemade Laundry Soap:
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small washpan or bowl that holds about 2 gallons.

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the washpan. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Transfer soap (using a funnel if necessary) into empty plastic laundry holders, milk containers (I use my empty glass milk bottles and old Fab containers) Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

5 cups grape juice (about 3 1/2 pounds of ripe grapes)1 (1 3/4 ounce) box of sure-jel pectin7 cups sugarBefore getting started it is best to clean the entire kitchen, making sure the sink is empty. Bleach the sink and all utensils used in making jelly (I do this as I sell my grape jelly as part of my homesteading business.)

Wash the canning jars in warm soapy water, and rinse well. Set off to side.

Place a large pan of water on the stove to heat. Once it starts steaming, place lids and rings in the bottom, and 2-3 jars (depending on if you use actual jelly jars or pints) to sterilize.

Next make the grape juice using clean washed grapes (make sure you use rubber gloves when picking or washing wild grapes)To 3 1/2 pounds of clean grapes (6 cups of grapes) add 1 1/2 cups water.Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 10 minutes.Strain and squeeze out all of the juice with cheese cloth (see paragraph below)
I didn't have cheese cloth, so I poured the grape mixture into a large spaghetti strainer with a large pan underneath. I had to stir it around some as the skins and seeds would sink to the bottom, and clog the colander up. Stirring allowed the liquid to drain out. I then used a large metal spoon and squished it some to get more of the juice out.

In a very big pan, put 5 cups of the juice (it’s okay to add no more than ½ cup water to even out amount)Add the fruit pectin to the juice.Mix well.On high heat, bring to a full rolling boil, and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.Stir in sugar all at once, and bring back to a full rolling boil, again boil hard for 1 minute stirring constantly.
Remove jelly from heat, skim off foam
Use a large spoon inserted inside the jar to lift CAREFULLY out of the water. DO NOT TOUCH THE INSIDE OF THE JAR OR THE RIM WITH YOUR HANDS.
Ladle jelly into hot jars, place a lid and ring onto jar (do not tighten yet).
Set jars to the side. After a while you should start hearing “pings” as the jar seals.
When jars are completely cool, tighten rings and store on pantry shelf.**SIDE NOTE: Wild Mustang Grapes are normally ready the end of June, so be prepared. Keep an eye open for vines on the side of the road, or any that friends and family may have growing in their yard. Many people just let them grow and don’t do anything with them, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a good supply. Also, the more you pick off the vine, the more the vine produces new grapes, so you probably won’t EVER run out of grapes to use until the vine dies or you get sick of making jelly. Good luck and feel free to contact me at queensedgefarm@yahoo.com for questions.