After years of reading about the homesteading adventures of Countryside readers, it has finally dawned on me. The difference between the homesteading success stories and the  tales of smoldering ruin is that successful homesteaders are craftsmen/women. They didn’t choose a minimalist lifestyle; instead, they combined determination and knowledge to craft a way of life , a heritage.  A lifestyle takes money. A  way of life takes time.

Established homesteaders like Sue Robishaw of Many Tracks and my friends Roger and Ann from Confessions of a Tightwad, are masters of the craft. They know full well that homesteading is a gilded craft, requiring the knowledge of the ages to sharpen modern skills. In the pages of Countryisde, the words of sage homesteaders guide others through the often tenuous steps to mastering their own level of self-reliance. I’m often in awe at the personal mastery of the readers who write to us. They are willing to try, repeatedly, to forge a way of life that reflects who they are and what they’re doing here. If you want to know someone’s heart, simply look at the things they care enough to do for themselves. Homesteading isn’t about a lifestyle; it’s about personal mastery.

Follow us on Twitter and get a FREE issue of Countryside.

The temperatures are climbing, along with the humidity. While the rest of the world above the equator views summer as a time for vacations in exotic places and frolicking on beaches full of tourists, those of us with livestock know that summer can put just as much physical stress on animals as harsh winter conditions.

On our dairy farm, we’ve noticed that our dark animals, especially the Holsteins, have more difficulties than the other cows. One of the problems we have is a lack of shade in our pastures. It took a little innovating, but we finally came up with a couple of ways to keep the milk from curdling in the cow on hot days. Here are a few tips for keeping your small herd cool and healthy in scorching summer temperatures:

• Let the cows graze in lowland pasture. Cool air sinks, so the lower portions of the pasture will be cooler.
• Hook up a sprinkler just like you do for the kids. Set the sprinkler outside of the fence so it doesn’t get stepped on and let it spray on the cows in the pasture for a few minutes every hour.
• If it’s incredibly hot and muggy, put the cows in a barn or shed with a fan or two. Even if you only have small fans, it’s better than nothing. Getting them out of the sun is great, but keeping them in a stifling shed is counterproductive. If space is an issue, bring in the older and darker cows and leave the others out.
• Have plenty of water available. The drinking trough shouldn’t run dry on hot days.
• Have plenty of real lemonade on hand (for you not the cows.) It gets hot herding everyone into the barn. See the recipe below for a great glass of lemonade.

Hot weather also decreases milk production, but that’s okay, since the biggest demand for dairy products is in the fall. Pushing cows to produce more milk in the summer by feeding them grain can cause serious digestive problems. Limit the grain and make sure there is plenty of grass and long-stemmed hay available. Then kick back and sip some frosty lemonade. Here’s the recipe from Yankee Harvest:

Grandma’s Real Old-Fashioned Natural Lemonade

Makes about 8 cups

A Old-Fashioned Summer time treat …!
Great pick-me-up, thirst-quenching, and not too sweet.

Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed from 8 large lemons (1-1/2 cups)
1/2  cup of sugar, granulated – more or less to taste
5  cups cold well water
1  large lemon, cut into small wedges or thin cartwheel slices

Freshly made Ice cubes. Make fresh ice cubes, as they may pick up freezer odors over a period of time, if not used regularly.

In a large pitcher, combine the freshly squeezed lemon juice, granulated sugar and 2 cups of cold water; stir briskly to dissolve the sugar. Add the remaining ingredients and stir briskly again.

To make a Honey Flavored Lemonade:
Substitute your favorite “honey” for the granulated sugar. Adjust more or less to taste.

To make a Pink Lemonade:
Add a few drops of grenadine syrup.

You know things are bad when career government employees start bragging about frugality. In a report filed by the Associated Press, Cherish Francik, a long-term employee of the Social Security Administration talks about her new found frugality:

“Most of my life, I’ve been a brand-name shopper. It was a quick change for me, a real quick change,” said Francik, whose haul from the Williams auction included trail mix, honey-barbecue chicken nuggets and a spiral-cut ham. “I guess it’s sort of a thrill now to find something that tastes good and is the right price.”

It’s highly unlikely that this newly inspired frugality will reach into the higher echelons of Government any time soon, which means grocery auctions will become more popular. If you’ve never been to an auction before, check out this article on auctions in general.

As with any auction, visual inspection is imperative. The food at grocery auctions bears close scrutiny. That’s because most of it is damaged in some manner or has reached its expiration date. There are good deals to be had, for sure, but you could easily over pay for inedible food.

How to find a grocery auction:

If you live in a rural community, locate a grocery auction the old-fashioned way: call up you local auctioneer. If they don’t handle grocery auctions ask them to consider doing so. Ask if they know of another auctioneer in the area than holds food auctions.

Below are some resources for locating grocery auctions.

• Colonel Kirk’s Auction Gallery
• Michigan Auction Sales
• Wishing Rock Auctions
• Schleeter’s Auction Ltd.
• Schiestle’s Auction
• Highway 99 Auction Company
• Colonel Steve Sitar and Company
• GSG Auction Services
• Missouri Produce Auctions (University of Missouri Extension site)
• Captina Produce Auction
• Pirrung Auctioneers, Inc.
• Plowboy Produce Auctions

What can you expect to find at a food auction? Here are some things that are common at grocery and produce auctions:

• Name brand hot dogs and lunch meats
• Pre-packaged convenience food like granola bars and Lunchables
• Cases of produce, some with moderate damage
• Bulk paper products like toilet paper and baby wipes
• Cases of cereal, hot and cold
• Snacks
• Pet food
• Pizza

If you know of a grocery or food auction near you, please share it here. If you are an auction house that handles grocery auctions, please contact The Scarecrow Chronicles via the contact form.

Follow us on Twitter and get a free issue of Countryside. Join the Nation’s oldest homesteading community.