Homeowner Forum / Rural Living / April 2005

My neighbor is going to clear 5 acres of forest here in NJ to make way
for a farm on his land, and its right next door to me. I told the owner
to give me all the wood! Apart from wanting to keep lots for myself
(installing wood furnace this summer), maybe I can make some cash on

I am building a cedar home.  I want to use one of the clear sealer
products to seal and protect the siding.  We like the natural finish
and are considering one of the products that has a slight cedar tint
and had uv and mildew protection.  I have heard that one of the best

decide to redo the alum siding on our hundred year old farmhouse in
stucco done over 2" of styrofoam insulation.  having some real probs
finding out how durable the new type stucco is, what life expect is
and if the insul will be worth the effort.

There are often discussion threads here and elsewhere on the problem of
feral cats.  They have been around my area since I moved here - 1981 - and I
am sure long before that.  I took in some that I could tame as well as the
very lost and lonely drop-offs that came to the area.

We are looking into having a 'shallow buried trench' septic system put
in. Currently we have our septic tanks emptying into a FAST aerobic
system. The trouble is that the weeping tiles at the end of the whole
system are too low and are under water in the spring.

Fighting Injustice Pro Se
There is an excellent book for victims of legal and government abuse
who want to be their own
lawyer. There is a maverick lawyer by the name of David Grossack who

A curiosity question more than anything. Every so often I'll find a
brush cottontail hunkered down in the middle of my farm road during the
day -- for some reason this always seems around mid-day though I am not
sure this is important.

I live in a semi-rural area and must leave my trash at the bottom of a hill
for the garbage truck to pick it up. It is no where near my house as the
garbage company will not drive up the driveway to pick it up. In addition I
have to use the Garbage companies approved trash can ...

I cut the grass and leave the clippings right there. Got a few bare
patches, but now I'm really trying to make it nice. Is it worth buying
a dethatcher to pull behind my mower? Do I use this when mowing at the
same time?

I would like to purchase a tank and sprayer that can sit on the back of
my rider mower. But I am wondering where would be a good place to buy
liquid fertilizers and the such. Do you know if the commercial formalae
are powders that dissolve in water, or are water solutions to start

Got a tree next to the house I just moved into, about 15 feet tall.
When should I prune it down? Spring, Summer or Fall?
THX!
Dean

How much agricultural labor comes from Mexico?
Anybody hiring laborers from Mexico?
If the border was secured, for a month, could our government, find a
legal way to get enough legal workers to the fields, farms, ranches,

I was fixing a grounding issue on my turck and where my battery
connects to the block was rusty. I took the bolt off and the battery
cable and wanted to sand down the block to shiny metal. I couldnt get
anything in the tight space so I got some steel wool. After 3-4 swipes

Can someone who raises chickens tell me how much we need to feed ours?
They have been producing almost no eggs at all for the past few months,
and we assumed it was because we're in Wyoming and it drops below zero (F)
at night in the winter and sometimes goes a week or two without ...

Anyone know anything about unloader valves on pressure washers? Mine
won't work. It regulates pressure OK but does not relieve at no-flow.
I took it all apart and peered intently, everything seems to be clean
and intact. It's a rather simple device, contains a spring on the top