So I was putting away my husband's socks when I found a buried stack of magazines

[Nuclear Unicorn]

Keep in mind he's a very conservative type.

Needless to say, I was shocked; my mouth just hung open. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

So I grabbed the magazines and confronted him.

"How long has this been going on?" I queried (we've only been married since the middle of August).

"A couple of months," he said.

"Why?" I asked.

He sort of meekly shrugged.

"I was thinking maybe we wanted to try some of it," he replied.

"With me?"

He looked at his feet and nodded.

I still don't know what to think but it's true.

It's all true.

My so-called conservative husband has a subscription to, Mother Earth News.

Now he has a list of projects for spring, including tearing down our wire fence and planting a hedge fence. He also wants to get some chickens and some guinea fowl for insect control.




And all this time you think you know a man!

[MineralMan]

1. Nice!

I wrote for Mother Earth News back in the late 1970 and early 1980s. I love it that they're still around. Good on them!

Here's a link to my favorite article for them:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1980-03-01/Build-a-Hot-Tub.aspx

[Nuclear Unicorn]

9. Oh please!

What use would a newly married young couple who are madly, carnally in love with each other have for a hot tub?

:P

I will say I'm totally impressed with Mother Earth News (M.E.N?!?!?). Great articles and it's PACKED (I like my MEN packed). Not a bunch of ads. A lot more pages then most news mags.

Great publication.

Cool to hear you wrote for them and a big thank-you for the website.

:pals:

[MineralMan]

16. Yes, it's always been a great practical magazine.

I moved on from it to more mainstream publications, but enjoyed working with those folks. Very nice people, and very sincere.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

21. I love stories like that.

I like to hear about good people doing good things and having a good time doing it.

[Arkansas Granny]

11. I used to love that magazine during that period. In fact, I may still have the

issue that your article was in. It seems very familiar. I've seen a few copies of the magazine in recent years, but it just doesn't seem to have the same "flavor" that it did in the 70's and 80's.

[MineralMan]

15. I lost my copy of that issue. If you find it, and could part with it,

could you PM me?

[Arkansas Granny]

18. I will look for it this weekend and let you know. I think I still have several

old copies stored away, but I'm not sure if that is one of them or not or what condition it might be in if I do.

[MineralMan]

51. It's no big deal, but thanks very much.

[jwirr]

22. The Mother Earth News was sold and has become somewhat

different. The original group of owners now produce a magazine called "BackHome". I get that one and am trying to get back issues of both magazines.

[Arkansas Granny]

29. I didn't know that. I just checked "BackHome" online and it looks very

similar to the old TMEN. Thanks for the tip.

[jwirr]

30. Welcome. Both are still good.

[roguevalley]

87. our sweet little OP is a big tease. :-D

[FSogol]

2. +1.

:thumbsup:

[EV_Ares]

3. LOL, you got me, hey, good post. Happy Holidays.

[NightWatcher]

4. he sounds like an actual "conserve"-ative. not one of these batshit crazies with that name today

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Would he like to buy the issues from the first 10 years? I have them all stored away.

[MindandSoul]

6. Funny. ..and nice! Good luck discovering more of his . . .hidden passions!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

7. good lord. Tons of conservatives practice good conservation

notice the similarities in the words...................

this should not be a surprise.

[GreenPartyVoter]

80. I think it has become surprising based on the types of "conservatives" we see

in DC. People forget about the old school kind.

[Odin2005]

91. There is a lot of those Old School folks here in the rural Upper Midwest

And they are a very important force for conservation via organizations like Ducks Unlimited.

[gkhouston]

8. And they say that virtue goes unrewarded...

:-) that's what you get for putting your husband's socks away. I've never figured out why my husband always has an odd blue sock every time I put his clothes away, even when all the laundry is clean and the socks are properly mated... and it's not the same sock. Maybe he's a secretly a wizard and keeps transfiguring the odd sock into one with a different appearance. :crazy:

[seabeyond]

12. +1. nt

[gkhouston]

27. You, too? Maybe it's a Secret Sock Conspiracy that husbands participate in.

I'd better watch the mail more closely to see if he's receiving small, squishy mailers every week. :rofl:

[alfredo]

10. Guinea Hens are quite loud, and just about anything will set them off.

Some farmers use them as a burglar alarm. Their eggs and meat are tasty. Chickens are good, but don't get a rooster. They crow early in the morning. When I say early, I mean early. They can be aggressive and will attack. Don't get more birds than your soil can handle. Their poop will make the soil too nitrogen rich.

Guinea Fowl call.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=705vg1IkF38&feature=related

[Nuclear Unicorn]

14. We were kind of talking about that

I don't think roosters crowing too early is an issue. He's up at 1:30am and out the door an hour later and I'm up at 5:00. Even on the weekends we're pretty early risers.

He wasn't ig on the idea of a rooster because apparently they need quite a few hens to keep them content (typical boy!) and he doesn't want that many chickens because we wouldn't know what to do with all the eggs (local food bank doesn't take perishables even though eggs can last for months).

We also talked about eating the birds and whatnot. I don't think I could eat my pets. I'm too squishy for that. Maybe during the End Times, but not just 'cuz.

I prefer my meat properly grown at the supermarket. :P

[haele]

19. My mom grew up in wartime LA with a neighbor that raised chickens and rabbits

Rabbit was for the stewpot during the week, the occasional chicken was pretty much only Sunday Dinner - and she told me why - it only took a half-hour to an hour to prepare a rabbit from the butchering stump to the stewpot. It took 4 - 5 tedious, hard on the hands hours of dipping (boiling water)and plucking after killing to prepare a chicken.
Our current neighbors keep chickens for the eggs, and that's pretty much it. If they decide to eat one because it's too old, doesn't lay, they have too many, etc...they take it somewhere else to trade and a discount on an already prepared chicken.

Haele

[Nuclear Unicorn]

26. Harumpf!

I hope no one throws me in a stewpot just because I hit menapause.

[lildreamer316]

31. Quoteable!

Oh,I love that. LOL.

[haele]

32. I hit menopause a couple months ago. I feel like I'm already in a stew pot.

If he weren't already dead, I'd kill the guy who wrote "I enjoy being a Girl..."
Hot flashes are not always fun.

Haele

[PSzymeczek]

84. Especially during an Arizona summer.

Unhappiness is having a hot flash when it's 100 degrees outside.

[alfredo]

42. You don't want to have to pluck the feathers off anyway.

You have to dunk the bird into hot water to loosen the quills. It is a stench you will remember the rest of your life.

There's two ways to slaughter the bird. You can wring its neck, or you can chop or cut it off. A basket comes in handy to keep it from flopping around the yard. You put the basket over the body of the bird, cut off the head and hold the basket down until it stops struggling. If you have a youngster, have them sit on the basket.

There's a couple ways to wring its neck. You can hold it by the head and swing it around, or you can grab, pull and twist. Whatever floats your boat.

Fresh, grass fed chicken is delicious, so are eggs still warm from the hen.


BTW, get your hubby "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan.


If you have neighbors nearby, they may not like the crowing of a cock, or the call of the Guinea Hen.

If your hubby is fine with the slaughter and cleaning of birds, let him have a go at it. the heart, gizzard and liver are very tasty and should be retained.


Killing and plucking video. Not for the squeamish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61OmJ5zCYNU&playnext=1&list=PL063DA3673DFF4A11&index=1

It ain't pretty, but if you eat meat, you have to be at peace with killing.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

53. ew! No!

[alfredo]

54. I became a vegetarian for seven years because of

my unwillingness to kill animals for food. I figured if I couldn't kill them myself, it isn't better to have someone else do it. Now I have married a meat eater and I have to buy and cook meats for her, though I have cut meat consumption to a minimum. I also try to eat low on the food chain as possible.

[Odin2005]

92. My sister and her husband raise a whole bunch of open-range birds.

cows, too. grass-fed beef and poultry is INCREDIBLE!

[bertman]

89. I doubt you'll consider the guineas to be 'pets' after you are around them

for a while.

My wife got all hepped up on the idea of guineas to eat the ticks that the humongous herds of deer in our area have brought down upon us. So, she got five keets (guinea fowl chicks) that were about two weeks old. Very cute they are. Kept them inside until they got bigger and then put them in a rabbit hutch (poor bunny passed away at age 11).

They got bigger and sassier (but not smarter--but that's another story) so we moved the hutch and I built a coop and run. Turns out we have one hen and four roosters. The hen is an incessant talker.

Wifey, who was so excited about them at first, is now ready to strangle the hen--well, give her back to the guy she bought her from is more like it; although, I think she's decent baking size right now especially since she isn't laying any eggs.

Oh yeah, by 'talking' I mean the constant "buckwheat" "buttcrack" sound that guinea hens make. 130 a.m., 330 a.m., 5 a.m. I sleep through it, but wife doesn't.

I'll let you know how Henny Penny tastes if it comes to that.

P.S. Great setup for your story!

P.S.S. If you prefer your meat properly grown at the supermarket, why the hell would you subscribe to Mother Earth News?

[Dappleganger]

86. Guineas are whack.

One of our friends has them and I find them to be quite irritating. They do free-range with a pen on wheels that gets moved about.

[seabeyond]

13. funny. cute nt

[Hubert Flottz]

17. Get Down...

And get dirty!

It's nice to go out into your own garden and pick better food than you can find at the super market.

Good for your Man!

[Vinca]

20. Wonder where he hides his Birkenstocks. LOL.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

25. Oooo!

Those would be fighting words.

I'm glad he wasn't here to see that.

:pals:

[InvisibleTouch]

23. Cool!

The next stage in my own self-sufficiency quest is to raise chickens and rabbits. Good luck to you!

[Sal Minella]

24. Be on the alert -- he may have some magazines on

vermicomposting hidden around the house too.

I know some people of excellent character who have been seduced into this lifestyle.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

28. I love it. Hope I find a man like this. n/t

[Withywindle]

33. He only gets it for the articles. ;)

[AnArmyVeteran]

34. Great story, you hooked me :)

[Nuclear Unicorn]

43. It really is an awesome magazine

You should pick one up.

[AnArmyVeteran]

45. I used to be a subscriber, but let it lapse. Thanks for the reminder of how good it is.

[Warren DeMontague]

35. Tell him that the compost bin centerfold is airbrushed.

No way those curves are real.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

36. Composting is also big on his list.

Is it just me or am I the luckiest girl in the world?

[Warren DeMontague]

58. Having been at it for several years, now- I can say a couple things:

One, the keys to it are making sure you have a good mix of dry brown material- like dead leaves, etc. in with your green material and vegetable scraps. Also, lots of mixing and oxygen. That'll keep it from smelling bad.

Also, if you do it right, it'll do wonders for your garden. SERIOUSLY.

[MedicalAdmin]

60. You are lucky. Watch out for vermiculturing.

I'm telling you composting is just the gateway drug. Soon he'll be onto the "hard" stuff.

[Gold Metal Flake]

37. Oh just wait until he starts composting!

Your first harvest of dark, fresh, worm-filled earth will fill you both with joy and uncontrollable urges.

[Mimosa]

38. ROTFLMAO! You had me. n/t

[vanbean]

39. So, are you going to meet him at the door wrapped in Saran Wrap?

[Nuclear Unicorn]

41. plastic is not eco-friendly...I'll slather myself with compost

:P

[Tsiyu]

49. And if you really love your Mother

the two of you must perform the obligatory fertility ritual in the cornfield under a full moon.

At least my neighbor and her husband swear by it...


Probably don't google that...




you'll come up with something :)

[Nuclear Unicorn]

52. I howled at the moon once while we were camping and "enjoying" a night under the stars

Freaked him out but we had a good laugh about it.

I just kinda knew I was in love and I had to do it.

[Tsiyu]

88. And he's thinking,

"Oh, Hell No, she's a vampire....but I don't want to stop just yet..."




Now, I see marathon sessions panting over advertisements for composting toilets and plans for twig toothbrushes and passive solar sewing nooks.

We'll NEVER get you two out of your room!


:D

[awoke_in_2003]

81. ooh, dirty talk

:)

[David Zephyr]

40. K&R.

Nuclear Unicorn, you made my day.

[bvar22]

44. We love our Mother !

Mother Earth News is one of our bibles.
Jus got the new issue yesterday.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/


The other bible is Countryside & Small Stock Journal
http://www.countrysidemag.com/



:hi:

Note: As pointed out upthread,
Guineas are LOUD, and the Cocks (Males) can be rather combative.
We had some for a while, and were not really sad when they decided to fly away.

If you want fowl for "insect control" that won't destroy your veggies and gardens,
Ducks are the answer.

[librechik]

46. That would be my fantasy. However, my husband has a stack of old Playboys

and I never get a thing done around the house! (except me--so I guess I shouldn't complain)

[hayu_lol]

47. Was fun to read this thread...with everything so dire today...

the humorous relief is worth it's weight in...earthworms or something equally useful.

Thanks for the humor.

[babylonsister]

48. Hysterical! Thanks for the laugh! nt

[MrsCorleone]

50. Fantastic story!

:rofl:

[WhiteTara]

55. Thank Goddess you found out in time!

Now you can get your projects in the line up!

[WCGreen]

56. Very cute...

Kick and Recommend

[CLANG]

57. You had me going there for awhile!

:rofl: :rofl:

[Radical Activist]

59. I often say environmentalism is a Democratic wedge issue we should be using.

Funny post.

[Swamp Rat]

61. HAHAHA!!!

:rofl: :applause:

[MissDeeds]

62. Yea!

You've got a winner there, NU. And thanks for the chuckle!

:toast:

[ClayZ]

63. My work was in the Mother Earth News many years ago.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/1983-05-01/Homegrown-Music-A-Potpourri-for-83.aspx

I always loved that magazine.


I am no longer at that address, of course.

We are:

http://www.clayz.com


Marc is still our friend.


Your husband is wise :)


edit to K and R

[GreenStormCloud]

64. Congratulations on your marriage.

We have missed you down in the gungeon. Drop on in and say, "Hi." and let us know how things are going.

[penndragon69]

65. COMMUNIST !

[Denninmi]

66. Ah, a man after my own heart.

My running joke is that, as a 45 year old single guy, I have a big stack of "dirty magazines" under my bed, too -- 'Horticulture' 'Fine Gardening' 'Garden Gate', the various American Horticultural Society publications, etc. Martha Stewart Living is even under there.

[backwoodsbob]

67. no Guinea fowl...for the love of all that is holy

They are the single most irritating animal in the world

[Thav]

68. Oh man, Guinea Hens are awesome at insect control

My parents had a friend who lived on an acreage, so they did up a huge garden. He had about 10 guinea hens, and my mom said there was never a spot on those plants. They had so many vegetables, they couldn't give enough away.

I always got a kick out of him, he was a stereotypical biker dude. A gearhead, had 2 motorcycles, all kinds of Harley stuff, but he had guinea hens, peacocks, and another type of bird.

Be warned though, Guinea hens can be NOISY. Hilarious, but noisy.

[LynneSin]

69. Guinea Fowl are great for ticks

And they also make good security systems/doorbells too since they will squawk like hell when someone is near the house.

[Lost-in-FL]

70. This is cute. Lol. Nt

[Joe Bacon]

71. Count your blessings!

Could have been a stack of Commentary...

[rasputin1952]

72. LOL...

how cool...:D

[louis-t]

73. You are so funny!

You totally had me going. Ha!

[skyounkin]

74. MOTHER EARTH NEWS?!!

You married a fucking pervert!!

::shuns the pervert and his wife::

::SHUNS::

[Nuclear Unicorn]

76. ::feels shunned::

[RagAss]

75. LOL ...Love You...wish you guys were my neighbors !!

[snot]

77. LOL!

[shireen]

78. he sounds like a sweetheart!

:rofl:

That's a cute story ... you're a good influence on him, even if he'd never admit it willingly. :)

[GreenPartyVoter]

79. LOL I'm married to the same kind of conservative.

[The Green Manalishi]

82. Un Recced

Hahaha kust kidding. K&R, best laugh I've had all day :yourock:

[proud patriot]

83. LMAO

very well done

[Anakin Skywalker]

85. Darn! From just the title of your post.....

I thought it was some naughty magazines you found, and that this was going to be one of those "upset wife" stories.

[Odin2005]

90. This post is a perfect example of why we should NOT demonize the other side.

[Dystopian]

93. Too funny....wonderful!

Thank you for posting a ray of sunshine and humor....
You made my day!
What a sweet couple!

[madmax]

94. He's a keeper ;-) nt

[racaulk]

95. I read the whole thing knowing there would be a punchline.

I'm glad I waited for it. Well done! :thumbsup:

K&R

[tpsbmam]

96. LOL! He's infected with your liberal cooties! nt

[Nuclear Unicorn]

97. He's a real sweetheart but truth be told some of his ideas aren't so crazy

Like the idea that the people who are drawn to government power are too stupid, self-serving and greedy to ever be trusted with government power.

Let's face facts: that idea could find a sympathetic audience here at DU considering how disillusioned we all feel these days.