Saturday, October 3, 2015

Curious

I've heated with wood stoves in the past and spent the summer cutting and splitting wood for a wood furnace (with my coworkers doing the cutting).

How many of you are able to collect wood that is the appropriate length to fit in a wood stove without any cutting or splitting?

I find it difficult to believe one can "collect" enough wood to heat their house. That would be a ton of branches and twigs if no chain saw or hand saw is involved in cutting logs to length.

119 comments:

  1. I think it would be difficult. Plus, the branches and twigs would burn too fast.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Add coal to the wood mix. My grandmother heated a small home in Philadelphia with coal in a small stove, it may have been a Franklin stove. Below is a link to Coal Weekly for September 29, 2015.

    http://www.howardweil.com/docs/Reports/WEEKLY%20REPORTS/CoalWeekly.pdf

    If your wood runs out before winter is over, lock up your home and head south till spring. Bring a rifle or shotgun, and some dogs.

    http://myfwc.com/hunting/season-dates

    Wild hog hunting in Florida is legal year-round, no bag limit.

    "Year-round by all legal rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders, crossbows, bows and pistols. Hunting license not required. Wild hogs also may be trapped but cannot be transported alive without permit from the Florida Dept. of Agriculture at 850-410-0900. (D)"

    "Bag Limit: No Limits".

    Field dress 'em in the woods where they fall, pack out the meat to your vehicle. Then get those little piggys salted and cured for market back home.

    Wild pig meat, naturally healthy, not factory farm crap.

    okay Meredith, balls in your court...have fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh no Meredith, don’t go all Jenna-fake-homesteader on me!

      see Guide to Wood and Coal Stoves - Mother Earth News

      "Ben Franklin invented wood stoves to increase efficiency of fuel-gobbling, radiant-heating, colonial fireplaces when coastal U.S. forests were being cut out and fuel costs were rising in the first "energy crisis.""

      http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/wood-burning-stoves-zmaz93djztak.aspx

      Wood/Coal Stoves are the work horse of the Alternative Heating industry.
      http://vogelzang.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=59

      United States Stove Wonderluxe Wood/Coal Stove (26 reviews)
      http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/united-states-stove-wonderluxe-wood-coal-stove

      COAL TIP: Coal routinely falls off the coal transport train on the ground next to the tracks. Historically people have gathered this coal by walking along the tracks with a bucket.

      Meredith, hunting wild Hog is not too difficult, see the videos. Field dressing may be more involved as there appears to be conflicting opinions, see the videos.

      Best Hog Hunting Ever! Hog Hunting
      https://youtu.be/tKYOORmouio

      Florida Wild Boar Hunting Trip
      https://youtu.be/Wr0c2QXacTw

      How to Field Dress Wild Pigs: Quick Tailgate Method
      https://youtu.be/5Y6yGSVhX1g

      DIY How to process a Wild Hog
      https://youtu.be/TILAKVN2lsc

      How to Clean a Hog
      https://youtu.be/D9WcNFRnphw

      Finally, I suppose there is a reason you don’t just buy a cord of wood and have it delivered. The wood is dry and split. You may want to split the wood further. That’s easy with a wedge and a 2 pound, short-handled sledgehammer. No chain saw needed. I used to do this sitting in a chair in my garage where the cord of wood was dumped. The length of the logs should be okay.

      Keep it real.

      Delete
    2. No no no...this is in response to a Jenna tweet about heating with "collected" wood.

      I've been busting my ass all summer for winter wood. If I know one thing it is that you simply can't walk into the woods and collect wood stove ready pieces. Not a chance.

      I'm in town in an apartment this winter...no wood or coal for me this year.

      Delete
    3. No no no...this is in response to a Jenna tweet about heating with "collected" wood.

      I've been busting my ass all summer for winter wood. If I know one thing it is that you simply can't walk into the woods and collect wood stove ready pieces. Not a chance.

      I'm in town in an apartment this winter...no wood or coal for me this year.

      Delete
  3. I don't see how you could hand gather enough twigs, plus like the other poster said, they would burn too fast to provide any real heat. I do hand gather good sized undergrowth from under my large spruce trees with a handsaw and a lopper. Much fast with a chainsaw, but I don't have one. I use it for kindling so I don't have to split so much (bad back).

    I'm glad the person who suggested coal gave you a link to a website. My dad when I was young had a special coal furnace in the shop (he was a farmer) but from my understanding you cannot burn coal in a woodstove. It's dangerous.

    Good luck in your gathering! It works well for kindling.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jenna tweeted she collected wood for her wood stove and it felt bad ass...or something like that.

    I call bs. The odds of finding short enough logs to split without a chainsaw is so unlikely. What could be lopped would burn too fast.

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  7. Collecting wood is badass???

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    Replies
    1. Wow, I must be totally badass then... Badass at 60. Who knew? LOL

      Delete
  8. We used to have a wood stove and also lived on a wooded lot. I'd say it would have been nearly impossible to find the right sized logs to fit in the stove. We used the branches and twigs for kindling. For the rest, we had trees cut down and logs split. They were stacked in order to dry out and covered to protect them from the elements.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's another example of how she works the crowd that has no wood stove experience.

      Collecting wood that is wood stove ready for serious burning...as in not feeding it every 30 minutes is unrealistic.

      Delete
    2. This must be why she complains every winter about having to get up several times a night to keep her house warm! I live in a similar climate and heat with wood and somehow manage to get a whole night's sleep...

      Delete
    3. Oh, but anon1:33 sleep is for poodles. Getting up several times to stoke a fire is badass.

      Even more badass is sleeping on the floor near your stove cause it doesn't heat the whole house.

      Delete
    4. Which is why she does not have functioning pipes and her own mother will not stay there.

      Delete
  9. Getting your wood in is a competitive sport up here in Vermont. Many people peg and tarp their wood in the front yard - cause they're show offs. People start on their wood in July, August. I would think she would have at least 6 cord tarped and drying by now, with that wood lot she has, maybe she is just collecting kindling (just kidding - it's Jenna - there's no wood) After 10 years, you'd think she have the wood thing figured out. It is kinda embarrassing to witness.

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  10. She's heating her house with a Bunbaker oven, it's kind of a novelty stove, not really meant to heat a whole house. It can't have much capacity so she has to fill it a lot more.

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  11. Pffft. Her logic is stupid. I live in the Midwest, my house does not have a furnace - my wood stove is NOT a novelty, it's what helps the household warm and safe.

    The smaller the stove, the smaller the wood (piece/log) size it will fit. Neat little 16" splits of hardwood DO NOT HAPPEN IN NATURE. It takes me two months to carefully cut split and stack enough wood to last us for a winter, but after you do it once, you have. VERY good expectation of what to expect in subsequent years.

    Her lack of preparation and silly "I gathered logs!" Stories only feed urban dwelling wannabes.

    ~A

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! I worked my ass off from June to October to produce wood furnace sized cut and stacked drying logs...most halved but not quartered.

      Quartered is a whole different ball game.

      Delete
    2. Yep. People who actually *rely* on woodstoves have a specific knowledge of firewood. It's more of an art than a science, but collecting sticks and saying they'll keep your house warm is quite stupid.....

      When you go to bed and want to STAY in bed, warm and asleep, you develop an excellent ability to choose a nice piece of oak/walnut/similar and put it on right before bedtime. If you're a drama queen that loves to complain, you could certainly stuff a bunch of half rotten twigs, softwood, etc. in your stove, and keep getting up every few hours to repeat the silliness. And then blog about it, of course... while the rest of us stay in our warm bed and sleep.

      ~A

      Delete
    3. Around here (PA) it's typically an activity that spans from the time the snow melts in the spring to the time it gets cold enough to light the wood stove. Cutting trees (usually ones that have already fallen on the farm from storms), splitting logs, stacking. Since it happens every year, there's always the previous year's seasoned wood to burn. All that time and with multiple people helping.

      Delete
  12. You mean the parts she's not heating with electric space heaters!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Here comes her next beg. Standby for logo sale: 9 logos for $19.99, work begins July 2016.


    Jenna Woginrich
    1 hr ·
    What is the average cost of having a dog spayed? First estimate I got was $350?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's absurd...we have s spay/neuter clinic that does it for less than $100. Our cat was $40. Man is she a pro at pissing away money.

      Delete
  14. Yup, let the begging begin! You mean it costs money to care for a pet? Shocking! But here's a little tip: some shelters and humane organizations offer lower cost spaying and neutering if you live within their service area.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I meant "oh please" because she is now going to beg for money to have the dog spayed. But you beat me to it!

    ReplyDelete
  16. She wants to use her regular vet but is unhappy at the expense and irked that the dog has to stay overnight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've never heard of a dog having to stay overnight b/c of a simple spay.

      Delete
    2. Sometimes vets do suggest it.

      Ive never kept them overnight.

      Delete
  17. Wow. Let's not put Friday's health above having fun, drinking in bars, etc.

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  18. She does not want to know the cost of spaying elsewhere. She wants everyone to know how much money to send her.

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  19. Before I purchased any pet or got pregnant with any child, I added up the expenses it would cost for the first couple of years and made sure I was ready. Nothing like jumping in and expecting others to bail you out! Oh, silly me!!! That's her Business Plan!!! Have thee no shame or pride at all? Oh, that's right.........shame and conscience is for Poodles!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh, it's all part of the dance, you know. She will hmm and hawww over the "high" price and gosh, try to sell logos and other crap but then Friday will go into heat and Gibson will get her and then oh, gosh, life is so sacred, unborn pups, gosh, well, just have to have this one litter, great bloodlines after all, and then sell those pups to pay for the spay.

    Just sayin'... It's coming like a freight train. All part of the set up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely reeks of a set up.

      Why bother polling people on the cost of spay? She knows as well as anyone how to pick up the phone and call the surrounding vets for quotes or seek out a clinic. She spends enough time on the internet that even her pea brain has picked up on how to Google info.

      She's priming her audience for sure. I love the way she doesn't want Friday to spend the night...this is the person who looks down her nose at dog strollers yet she can't bear to be separated from her puppy overnight.

      Delete
    2. It's her MO. When she wants something, she does not sit down and figure the cost. She just jumps in and does it. Which results in other people mopping up after her.

      Delete
    3. My dog was spayed laparoscopically. We dropped her off before 7 AM and she came home after 5 PM on the same day. In the average case, this seems to be enough time to make sure that the animal wakes up completely from surgery, does not vomit and aspirate and does not have any internal bleeding. I'm sure that she can find a vet in the area who will do that. Her request is, as you say, a transparent plea for money. She's had 6 months or more to plan for this expense.

      Delete
  21. "I gotta say this, I run a farm alone and it isn't half as exhausting as an afternoon with a three-year-old! "

    That must make farmers with kids superhuman then. Gosh, what about all the 4-H kids that have as many animals as she does and still manage to go to school, too? How do you get that clueless...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not half as exhausting because she really doesn't run a farm. She has some property with a handful of animals.

      Delete
  22. Well, thank the heathen gods.! She started to worry about wood (everyone else worried in July) and is having two cords "delivered", about half of what she "needs". So, Jenna-translate: bought, bartered or begged the wood instead of cutting it from own wood lot. Underestimated by half what is actually be needed (needs about 8). Is still short wood. It's October. Winter is coming. Got a new puppy for a thousand bucks but no money to spay. Translation: Friday's having puppies, what can you do? Gotta sell puppies, gotta buy wood and fix the burst pipes again. Why does this happen every winter to me? It's a mystery. Damn pipes, makin a mess everywhere. Homesteading is hard but I am scrappy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She posted a picture of her family on her blog. They are obviously at least relatively affluent. If she needs to borrow money, she clearly has somewhere to turn (and probably has). Everyone who "donates" should think about that.

      Delete
  23. Doesn’t all this wood-burning in wood stoves cause a lot of air pollution? Smoke and particulate matter air pollution from wood stoves?

    "... Scientists are raising red flags about the potential health effects of the smoke released from burning wood. Their study, published in the American Chemical Society’s (ACS’) journal, Chemical Research in Toxicology, found that the invisible particles inhaled into the lungs from wood smoke may have several adverse health effects. It is among 39 peer-reviewed scientific journals published by ACS, the world’s largest scientific society.

    http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2011/february/air-pollutants-from-fireplaces-and-wood-burning-stoves-raise-health-concerns.html

    Its like smoking a King Kong size cigarette.

    "The scientists analyzed and compared particulate matter in air from the center of a village in Denmark where most residents used wood stoves to a neighboring rural area with few wood stoves, as well as to pure WSPM collected from a wood stove. Airborne particles in the village and pure WSPM tended to be of the most potentially hazardous size — small enough to be inhaled into the deepest parts of the lungs. WSPM contained higher levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which include "probable" human carcinogens. When tested on cultures of human cells, WSPM also caused more damage to the genetic material, DNA; more inflammation; and had greater activity in turning on genes in ways linked to disease."

    Okay you air-polluting homesteaders (and Jenna W), get back on the GRID!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to respectfully disagree with this opinion (depending on context). The entire urban/suburban population would not be well served by burning 100% wood heat.

      There are, however, a variety if places where it is the best, most efficient, and sensible option. Our home does not have access to natural gas. We can either use electricity (coal coal coal), out in a propane tank (cost prohibitive and not realistic in this area) or utilize wood heat. We have family in re area that owns over 200 wooded acres, which guarantees a virtually unlimited supply of dead oak and other hardwoods, each year. We do need to out in all of the sweat equity to comb through the woods, cut down standing dead timber, then cut and split and stack.

      It is a very practical option for us. It is not a practical option for everyone. If we had to purchase wood at regular cord / face cord prices it would NOT be a sensible choice.

      Just my opinion. What makes sense for some does not make sense for all.

      ~A

      Delete
    2. Thanks for your response.

      What about a solar heat setup?

      With super insulation, electric may be viable and cost effective. I heard about a super insulation test home in New England some time ago being heated by a 100 watt electric light bulb.

      When you evaluated the cost of propane based heat, was that a large tank, the size the propane truck carries around? A large tank should allow bulk purchase at a lower cost, and fewer trips to refill.

      Delete
    3. In parts of the country I think solar would be a good consideration. For us it wouldn't be realistic due to our local climate, and I would have to chop down my neighbors trees for sun exposure. They probably wouldn't appreciate that too much (haha).

      Our house does not have any duct work or vents, so we really cannot just "install a furnace" of any sort, including propane. Flooring, walls, etc. would all need to be altered, which is really pricey. We heated for a few winters wth electric heat prior to installing the new wood stove, and the price was crippling. We do own a nice portable infrared space heater (newer, good energy star ratings) for times when we leave overnight or get home from a long weekend and need to thaw the house. Not ideal, but it works!

      Red horse hit the nail on the head, some of the newer cast iron and soapstone models are very efficient and have to meet EPA cleanliness standards.

      ~A

      Delete
    4. Being on the grid does not necessarily equate to clean power. Electricity produced by hydro power is probably the exception, however there are environmental issues with dams, too.

      If you're on the grid and using electricity produced by a coal plant, that is about the dirtiest polluter, even though it's not your little house directly that's polluting, you are contributing because you are buying coal power.

      Nuclear is clean, but there's a little glitch because of all that nasty nuclear waste that lasts a gazillion years. I grew up an hour away from Hanford, and it's now a total leaking mess. Threatening the Columbia River which thousands of species depend on, including humans. One of the biggest super fund sites in America.

      Propane is cleaner, but still pollutes. Plus you have the problem of how they get propane, mostly by fracking.

      Of course solar, wind and geothermal are great, but unfortunately, there are not many areas that could supply enough for our human population.

      I think it's good that the EPA is making new regs for woodstoves, as they have done several times since the 70s. It will make for a cleaner environment, and wood for a lot of people is a renewable and readily available fuel source. I'd rather burn wood cleanly than use some of the other options, either directly or indirectly. I'd love to combine wood with some other clean technology, but cannot do it financially. Setting up wind, solar, geothermal (or any heating system, really) is expensive if your home already has another system. Maybe some day...

      Delete
    5. Just an aside, my main heat source is natural gas, supplemented by woodstove, and I use electric (hydro) space heaters so I don't have to turn the furnace on. The woodstove only heats one end of the house, thus the space heater in my office.
      Duckmama

      Delete
    6. Meredith, thanks for asking. She got to fly home to Fairbanks yesterday! They are so excited. I will call later today or tomorrow to see how she is settling in. She is making progress, but will be home on disability for a while and doing physical therapy. :-)

      Thank you to everyone for your support.

      Duckmama

      Delete
  24. It also makes a difference what you're burning wood in, I know several people who have high efficiency fireplace inserts, outside wood furnaces and indoor wood furnaces. You can barely see the smoke from their furnaces.

    ReplyDelete
  25. What I can't understand is how anyone can consider her a "superhero" when she is always wringing her hands over her apparent lack of money. What kind of role model is someone who has to beg to pay her expenses?

    Of course, everyone here gets it. Why her followers don't is a mystery to me.

    ReplyDelete
  26. If she misuses a question mark one more time I'm going to lose my shit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was just thinking the same thing!!!! You would think a 'writer' would know better.

      Delete
  27. Donate to Bailey Ryan you skinflinted old poodles, release the money from your slot machine infected souls! A donation a day keeps Birchthorn away, we need to help Merly, Gibby, Fry, AK and Percocet the Pig, so donate all you can, you can't take it with you you know, but she can! Potter, you old crow, join the clan already

    ReplyDelete
  28. I'm pretty disgusted how she is treating Patty's fundraiser. Whatever the issues are with crowd funding, Patty is one of Jenna's BFFs. Jenna has done the bare minimum to promote it - by simply 'sharing' Patty's announcement. It irritates me that Jenna can't even be bothered to write a little paragraph of her own to let people know why she is sharing the photo. She's so gross and self serving it makes me sick. She could get so many donations from her 'fans' for her friend but can't have them donate to Patty instead of her!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Article in the Guardian about Jenna and her hawk. The Guardian might want to consider firing their fact checker.

    "I’ve been hunting with hawks for three years now, and I still have a lot to learn."

    She trapped Italics Fall of 2013.

    "Nothing is keeping her with me but the relationship we have built over the past few months."

    She trapped Anna Kendrick September 5.

    Also hilarious, is her assertion that she's middle class.

    "I’m a middle-class woman living paycheck to paycheck in upstate New York, I do not own anything made by Barbour or Burberry, and I have never been to Europe."

    I wouldn't consider someone living paycheck to paycheck middle class. And while she might not have any Burberry she has an $8000 Fell Pony and an imported puppy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What paycheck? She lives handout to handout.

      Delete
  30. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/07/falconer-hunting-falcons-hawks
    by Jenna Woginrich

    ReplyDelete
  31. "When you take a bird out of the wild for falconry purposes, you are most likely saving its life. "

    ?!

    What a hero.

    Also she said she had italics for 2 years?

    Is that right?

    Jenna is just like Ayrshire. They try to "brush" the photos off and said they were from 2 years ago...when they said that I hadn't even started working there 2 years prior.

    Crazy people.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Man, that article... Shesh. She just lays it in thick, doesn't she?

    I don't understand how she can keep all her little half truths in line. Everything fishe seems to say or do or write to enhance and polish her image, her self esteem. It's kind of sad.

    ReplyDelete
  33. In that article is the first revelation, I believe, of any hunting success. She caught rabbits with italics. Hmmmmm. Truth, half-truth or lie? Lie I think.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I think that if she'd ever caught a rabbit with Italics she would have mentioned it on her blog. I agree with you - untrue.

    ReplyDelete
  35. She shot a rabbit and gleefully posted a photo of its bloody carcass. She even said she smiled when she shot it. Maybe Italics was out there but he didn't kill it. She did.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Typical Jenna. She wouldn't want anyone to confuse her with the kind of dog owner she looks down on......yet she can't bear to let her puppy to spend the night at the vet and practically needed a shot of Ativan when Gibson cut his paw.

    Jenna Woginrich ‏@coldantlerfarm 4h4 hours ago
    Stop calling my dogs my kids. They are my broke roommates without cars.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Oh, spare me. She spends her days uploading vlogs of her babbling about her favorite deodorant, checking her PayPal account for donations and tweeting at Anna Kendrick...how very fucking Amish of you, Jenna.

    Jenna Woginrich ‏@coldantlerfarm 14h14 hours ago
    Don't have a cell phone.
    Never called an Uber.
    This makes me feel Amish compared to what I read on my feed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha yes because the Amish spend their days tweeting....

      Delete
    2. I don't even know what an uber is! Guess I'm more Amish than her! Haha!!

      Delete
  38. That thing about the rabbit is untrue. She admitted she didnt get anything with italics that day amd the rabbit on her own later. That was plainly posted on her blog unless she deleted it.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I don't understand why someone would spend their life exaggerating or outright lying about something like farming, homesteading, falconry, etc. The whole premise of these activities is that they are simple, honorable pursuits that take one closer to nature. People who actually practice these arts have something to tell us about how living a life bound to the rhythms of the planet changes them. If you want to lie for a living, there are far more lucrative ways to do it, like being a hedge fund trader or a politician! Her only satisfaction at the end of the day is another 24 hours of survival due to fleecing unsuspecting people. And I don't think she's doing it unconsciously: I believe that she still knows the difference between her lies and the truth. What's the point, though?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is why I keep tuning in.

      I think Woginrich is just an empty human being. Rock bottom low self-esteem with no real sense of who she is. That's why she doesn't pass up an opportunity to grab another title for herself: author! archer! horsewoman! and on and on. Anything to attach herself to something tangible.

      Why be a scammy homesteader? Probably because she can't cut it out there in with the general population-- too many reminders that she's average or, more accurately, mediocre. She only interacts with people who marvel at her greatness and recognize that she needs to be fawned over.

      As Queen of the Blog, she sits behind her screen and effortlessly conjures up this Dire Wolf persona out of thin air. There's no one to call BS this way.

      Delete
  40. Does anyone know the status of the claims that were filed in small claims court against Jenna concerning refunds for the wool csa?

    ReplyDelete
  41. No idea, Anon 3:01. I was wondering, too.

    I find a couple things disturbing on the Antler Stock schedule, though:

    "10AM - 11AM Sheep and Wool! Come and meet the flock of CAF and learn how wool turns into yarn, by hand, with the use of simple hand tools like carders and drop spindles!"

    Wool doesn't turn to yarn at CAF, that's for sure.

    and:

    "I'll be in the farmhouse to talk about getting started with small backyard livestock, raised bed gardens, and composting at home."

    She's the worst person to ever ask about anything animal. Raised bed gardens? Ha! What a joke. And composting, I think the last thing she composted was Maude.

    One more:

    "2PM - 3PM - Prepping 101
    Storms, power outages, and other events are a certainty. Be prepared without a tin foil hat. Resources, podcasts, basic steps towards personal freedom from debt, fear, and uncertainty."

    Ah hem... Freedom from debt? Fear?? Uncertainty??? Those are JW's middle name.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OMG, she is teaching freedom from debt? Maybe it covers panhandling and crowdfunding. How can someone who can't hold onto a dollar teach debt freedom?

      Delete
  42. The whole thing looked like a snooze fest.

    Getting financial advice from Jenna...holy smokes, do these people not see the irony? Eight months have passed since she announced the urgent need for a root canal and she still hasn't accomplished it. She's perpetually behind on her mortgage and frittering away who knows how much in late fees. She isn't someone anyone should be modeling their lives after. "Prepping"? From the woman who acts like normal maintenance of a home is a shocking occurrence not to mention cosmically unfair? OMG!! Septic needs to be pumped! Who knew??

    Next years line up will include workshops on home dentistry the way she's going.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How much does it cost to attend Antlerfest? $100? $200?, you can buy a lot of really good books for that much money. You'll even have some money left over for paying down your debts.

      Delete
  43. LOL!!! Anon 7:39. I seriously have my doubts that she ever needed a root canal in the first place. You can't just let those go, even with antibiotics. I think she needed the last payment or two, plus airfare, on that puppy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Plus a little extra, you know, for makeup, hair dye, and new clothes.

      Delete
  44. She's overdue for a crisis. They used to be spaced farther apart but have become more frequent lately. I wonder what the next one will be? I can hardly stand the suspense.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Yawn...... just like last year: firewood crisis! hay crisis! pipes frozen!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't forget mortgage, truck and vet crisis.

      Delete
  46. Has anyone paid for Friday's spay yet? PUPPY Crisis?

    Gonna need shots and all the expensive stuff that puppies need so she can try to sell them...

    That's a few grand right there.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Dear Antlerstock Attenders - Please, please, please come here and tell us what kind of financial advice JW has provided. Inquiring minds would like to know!

    ReplyDelete
  48. Hey, I just had a thought. Maybe 'freedom from debt' was about HER being free from debt. Maybe it was a beg-talk in which she solicited donations from the attenders.

    ReplyDelete
  49. I wouldn't put it past her, Anon 9:52. You know, captive audience and all.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Talking about Antlerstock on reddit:

    "It was a great time and the fifth year I have done this here."

    That doesn't seem right. Pretty sure she skipped it last year anyway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She did skip a year but I don't think it was last year.

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  51. Tick tock - it is October 13. Remember Friday's spay was "scheduled" for early October. I suspect that was a lie. I'm guessing the ask for vet fees didn't work, so it is going to be puppies! Maybe that will be the next crisis. Perhaps Antlerstock funds will cover it. I can hardly wait to find out. It is like watching a really bad reality TV show, the kind you feel guilty about even seeing, but you can't tear your eyes away from the disaster. Sadly, this one also involves animal neglect (again).

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  52. We should do "crisis bingo". You know, puppies, mortgage, truck, dental, sheep, fencing, pipes, animal death, raccoon, lack of health insurance, dog injury, arrested, hangover, lawsuit, foreclosure, fraud inquiry, ran out of booze, um...what else? We could make bingo cards. It would be fun.

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  53. um...what else? knocked-up.

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  54. Just some of my thoughts on Antlerstock.
    Pretty much same lineup each year. Leaves no incentive for repeat, happy, attendees to return.

    Fairly high cost. Why go to some teeny little backwoods production when you can go to the Mother Earth faire at a quarter the price and bazillion more events, vendors,activities.

    It seems, very little excitement locally, no real promotion other than blog.

    Schedule is so that you miss 2/3rds of the events if you attend. It's so small a gathering that it seems it could easily be one event, then the next and so on to get the full value of the expensive gathering.

    Never see many pictures or reports of the event from anyone. Not even Jenna. It would be the best way to promote and encourage next year attendees but there are only a few random pictures used over and over.

    No incentive to pay full price because she always has some sort of fire emergency sale every year, several times a year.

    And last of all, teaching and trying to share wisdom on things she routinely fails at. Hardly worth the cost to hear a newbie rattle on thing she is not well versed in. Debt reduction? Financial security? Animal breeding, fencing, making wool, homesteading, gardening????? SMH...

    My opinion? And I know it's just my thoughts but why not make Antlerstock a freebie... A chance to experience all that is Jenna and her fantasy life, and a chance to promote her books, and other fee based workshops etc. make it big and fun and something to look forward to. Change it up, each year new talkers, new subjects. Limit the classes until the people flow warrents it. Have a free will offering bucket for those kind souls that would like to chip in. Sell books and locks of Merlin's mane and her wool hat... Whatever to turn a dime. Bring in local vendors to rent a space or table to help pay for the porta potty. If you have to limit people, then have free tickets that come available at some special date.

    Just my thoughts. Anyone else? How can she make it more appealing instead of the same cheesy show?

    -S

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  55. I think bringing in local vendors with homesteady products is a great idea. Maybe charge a basic fee for a whole weekend, but also have an option to just attend one day by advance reservation, or just show up at the door and charge a one-day admission.

    Put up posters and such around town. Run it in the local rags in the area, or on Craigslist. My community is much larger, but they have a dedicated site of their own that shows local happenings. I'm sure if her town doesn't have one, then the closest larger community would. Even Nickel Nik or some such. Get get those bodies in the door however. Even consider taking out an ad in a New York City gardening newsletter, etc., online. There's a million ways she could promote it.

    And changing it up every year is a good idea, too. Find some new faces to do talks, displays, or a how-to.

    I think the biggest problem is that she hasn't mastered the skills she's been teaching, for the most part. If she was progressing and mastering things, THEN learning new skills, then there would be something new to attract the old crowd. I would be great to see someone growing and evolving, and fun to come back to see what's new.

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    1. *It would be great......

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    2. Another thought, usually farmer's markets charge for the booth space for a vendor. She could charge the vendors a small fee for that, too.

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    3. Here we go again on the next crisis! The cat has an infected toe. Just as she was going to the dentist for the famous root canal. OH NO! Whatever will I do?

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  56. We didn't have to wait long, did we? OMG. She does NOT need a freaking root canal. We all know that. Get the poor little kitty fixed up. Gawd, what brainless moron would let their animal suffer. Oh wait.... I know one! Sheesh.

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  57. How come we never heard of this "root canal" appointment coming up before this? You'd think she'd have been crowing from the rooftops about it. It's only mentioned when she needs money for something else.

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  58. Oh, here's some real words of wisdom from the Jenna Fan club:

    "Jennifer Kleffner It's time to treat yourself to the same quality of care you are always showering on your animals. You need to take care of you, because everything else depends on it. Cat's abscess pretty easily. If lanced and allowed to drain, they almost always heal up just fine. People with abscessed teeth either lose the tooth or much much worse. You need to finally come first. Because there will always be another crisis. Always."

    The same level of treatment she showers on her animals???? Like aging Merlin standing outside in below zero; the pigs, the same. Other pigs locked up in a smelly shit-hole in the barn. Goats with no room to be goats. Maude and the lamb suffering and dying a slow death.

    Need I go on???? Oh, and OF COURSE there will be another crisis. That's all it is at CA, crisis after crisis...

    Those people are just brain dead. Unreal.

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  59. She should have taken that cat to the vet before the poor thing got an infection. Now it's going to cost more.

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  60. Some smart Alec posted a recipe for braised cat.

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  61. Some smart Alec posted a recipe for braised cat.

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  62. Before her fan club starts filling her coffers, one of her FB friends should ask her-

    1) which vet will the cat be going to if you choose the cat and
    2) if she and her "root canal" are chosen then what dentist, what time, and a photo-copy of the bill. Otherwise all her fans are doing is sending her the money she needs to live off of-i.e. her paycheck and then when she needs her next paycheck that root canal or infected cat toe will pop up again. As someone who had bad teeth, abscesses and serious need for root canals, in my thirties, you can't just wait it out. I had to put off a lot of dental work when younger, mainly because of $, but you cannot keep putting off a root canal. Antibiotic or not it just doesn't work that way.

    Also if any of her paying fans decide they want to part with some $ tonight, ask to have a picture uploaded to FB of the kitty's paw.

    Because as far as I'm concerned JW is doing the same thing with these money requests as she did with webinars, wool, and logo's. She took money and then did not deliver to many many people over the years. Now she is regularly guilting her kind followers into helping keep the farm hers yadda yadda by sending money for her regular crises. But no proof, none. People sent money months ago for a root canal, but it didn't happen apparently. People send money all the time to help her catch up with her mortgage. But she's been late every month for over a year- since I started following her on FB. So where does all that money from the subscriptions, begging $, book royalties I presume? logo's, workshops go?.

    Someone remind why she has a cat when she can't stand cats? She is quite literally the only "homesteader" I've ever heard of who not only doesn't produce anything on her farm, regularly, to support the farm but also begs or continues to re-buy the same things year after year that cost her money ALL year rather than at some point produce something in return. Total nonsense.

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  63. I don't think her cat has an infected toe at all. A commenter suggested that she treat the cat with penicillin and keep the wound cleaned out. She claims she treated with penicillin for a week and it "didn't work."

    I call bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. A). if her cat had an infected toe and she was treating it with penicillin, wouldn't she be crowing about how she's rough and tough and scrappy because she can give her own cat injections of abx? Wouldn't that help her image? B). I've never seen a course of penicillin and careful cleaning NOT cure an infected wound on an animal. I used to work for a vet. That was how we fixed animals with infected wounds. We never lost a patient. And it never took more than a few days to start clearing up.

    SO MUCH BULLSHIT. I need waders.

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    1. I call bullshit too. Our cat came home with a sliced side from God knows what. Cleaned it out with warm water and cotton balls then treated with neosporan until it healed. Took about a week. She's fine now. Not like this is brain surgery.

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    2. how do you keep the animal (cat, dog, bunny, etc) from licking off the neosporin moments after it is applied? Every time I used neosporin, the little buggers licked the stuff off ASAP. Is it safe for an animal to ingest neosporin? My critters lived, but they only got one dose of neosporin to lick off.

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  64. I demand a photo of the infected toe. Or a photo taken from the dentist chair. Either will suffice.

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  65. Some moron posted she should take a chicken to the vet to trade for services. I'm so glad a voice of reason pointed out a vet isnt' going to trade a "$500 bill for a $10 chicken." Are these fans of hers living in la-la land too?

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  66. Dan Blather here reporting for CBS (Coldantler Bull S&%#) News
    Dateline Jackson Veryork
    In a state of shock neighbors awoke to the horror of naked hippies and traffic jams as "millions" descended on Antlerstock, closing the NY State thruway for days. Mrs. O'Leary a nearby neighbor to Wozgar's "farm" said "This is just as bad as Woodstock except we had Jimmy Hendrix all I heard all night was bad violin music" Other neighbors gathered near the woods to see the millions of freaks, cats, dogs, rabbit killers and tree huggers Said Jane Brown the neighbor on the other side of the pegs "I knew this was going to be bad when so many people climbed the sheep fence to get in for free, crap they really wanted to go to Katz's thing but got "high" and lost their way" Meanwhile lumberstud Joe McCloud and a certain redhaired heather maiden were seen disrobing in the wild grass, seemed there was one more log to be pulled. Although the bonfire got cancelled due to non-inclement perfect weather, bladders were full as no one was allowed in the house, however a nurse from Common Sense crafted an organic catheter class, so that helped. One highlight was everyone cut a butternut squash in half prior to peeling it, so something was learned. After the second collection for the second molar fund participants admitted that this was the best Antlerstock ever and after chanting Hare Jenna and throwing roses at the new old truck for 6 hours swore to return so they could sit under the damn big maple tree once more and make someone else's life worth living.

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    1. Hahahahaha!!!! Thank YOU!!

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    2. loved it! so true! hare hare

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    3. "seemed there was one more log to be pulled."

      Sooo funny

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    4. Omg - how do you come up with these things? Too funny!

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