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What a great article Liz, and wonderful feedback Joe and Nicky!

Brings back memories as a young boy learning how to weir fish along a swift and wild river at my Grandfather's cabin deep in high mountains and raise them in a man-made parallel creek throughout the year for food.

He had a single apple tree that he planted at the front of the cabin that would regularly attract his neighbor, a big ole cantankerous black bear. Things got real exciting when that ole bear would pull on and break limbs laden with ripe apples!

I ate well at that old log cabin with Grandpa. Lots of venison, rabbit, potatoes, apples and trout.

One thing my Grandpa always had, even when he was too old to rough it in the wilderness, was a huge beautiful abundant garden that he shared generously with his neighbors, and town folk that couldn’t afford to buy or grow fresh fruits and veggies for themselves.

Thank you for sharing this story Liz. It brought back many fond memories, including a scary one when my Grandfather warned me as a young boy about the times we are facing right now.

How could he have known?

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founding

Grandfathers are awesome aren’t they Zak? Loved your story.

Coach Bear

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Yes they are Coach, yes they are!

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founding

Excellent writing and very informative.

I can’t tell you how much Barbwire has a special place in my heart. I am the 63-year-old retired teacher coach and second generation Ukrainian farmer rancher. My grandfather escaped the Bolsheviks Revolution in 1908 in Russia and came to this country in Central Texas, town of Bremond . There he farmed and ranched about 150 acres. As the baby of seven, my mom would visit her parents on the weekends and I would happily go. Since I turned five, my Gogga ( Ukrainian for grandpa)Phillips handed me a pair of gloves, and I walked the ranch with him and pulled Barbwire. We took out the old rusted wire and put in new ones to keep his 50 head of Hereford cattle in check. I can’t tell you how much I learned from Gogga Phillip. I walked with him as a three year-old as he water witched and found water. There we dug a well. I was with him as he would, cross two types of pears using only his hands, mud and an old rag to tear and bandage where he put the two branches together. The food that my Busha ( grandma)Phillip cooked was unbelievable, straight from the farm. Even though my food that I ate at my house from my mom was excellent, it was nothing compared to my grandmother. Of course I never said that out loud in front of my mother. Ha ha.

When the depression hit in the 30s, the Phillip family never experienced it because they had a farm that provided .

Since I left home in 1979 to be the 1st to seven to go to college, I’ve lost touch with bigger livestock and their maintenance. I’ve always maintained the garden and/or chickens since the early 90’s, but working with cows and Barbwire were lost to me. I miss those days. After retiring from teaching, I work remote in big construction projects where I’d drive the school bus that I received certification for as a coach. Currently south of New Orleans, I’m renting a little cabin and of course I’ve got me a small garden thriving , tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, . And if you look under the cabin, I have rolls of rusted Barbwire because now I use The Art side of me to make jewelry out of the Barbwire and other decorations.

The government is slowly tightening its noose around our neck and so many of us are so distracted we don’t realize itI second your statement that everyone , at the minimum, grow a garden, we can all do it even in containers. Because unfortunately, 2030 is right around the corner, and the world economic forum doesn’t mind boasting that in that year no one will own anything and everyone will be happy.

I have no problem surviving on my own with the garden by Seeds and a couple of chickens and a gun for protection. Get ready!! It’s really happening!

Be the ant not the grasshopper!

Again, thank you, Raw Milk mama for a great article and great memories.

Joe

Coachbear

The urban farmboy

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author

Hi Joe/Coachbear,

What a great story. Thank you for sharing your childhood memories and experiences. It's truly fascinating all the threads that make up this gorgeous tapestry of American history!

Yes, I hope that many more of us can and will grow a garden and become producers of food and not just consumers. We need to!

Wishing you well.

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Thank you dear LIz! The American cowboy will never die but many of them need to get in the saddle again and join John Wayne and Barbara Stanwick, if they are going to save their way of life. My dad was a real cowboy from Wyo. and they all have guns and don't need digital anything to keep their cattle and bison roaming the range. Lets hope they are awake and fired up out there.

Putting digital anything on a "lil doggie" would be as abhorrent as putting it in the brains the cowboys. Lets watch them all saddle up!

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Great article and comments!

Re: "the USDA" - I have looked at this entity (back to ate least regarding to the case of Vernon Hershberger and probably before then) and I'm looking at it all the more now with eyes more widely open and I wish all the "American cowboys and cowgirls" and the rest of the American people would do the same or similar now.

What is real here? .........

IMO - only we are the reality along with the cattle and the earth. "The USDA" is only a legal fiction ever since the start of their "paper tiger" existence! As soon as we fully realize the reality of us and the unreality of all legal fictions we will be able to move beyond what i suspect is a fear base of conditioning that this and all the other legal fictions have been perpetuating. In light of the direction that is indicated in the timeline mentioned in another comment we must get clear on who we are and the true nature of these legal fictions so we can respond in our Lawful power and with our Lawful authority and give Notice to any man and/or woman regarding our property and the intent to trespass that appears to be intended. I don't think there is any other way but if there is I'd like to know what that might be.

I don't want to have to witness any "death march"!

For Goodness Sake - "Know Thyself", Honor Thyself, and be men and women!

-

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Thank you so much for this beautiful article and for the story below! Love these special farming stories.

Nicky

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