I guess I've been reading too much radical literature, and you'll probably look at this page, and tell me it's totally crackpot and impossible to do. But here is my idea for alone in the woods.

I guess the trick is to start small with any project, without a limited objective, reaching a larger objective isn't pratical, or for that matter, doable. My idea is eventually to have enough money from my desired carrer, to be able to purchase a couple dozen arces of land in the country. Yes, that probably won't be pratical for many years, after I get a steady job, but I guess that's okay. I'm thinking of in the area of upstate New York, Vermont, Western Massachuttes, or maybe somewhere else in rural/small-town New England.

The Builder

When you own your own property (and can secure proper building permits for your buildings you want to build), the possibilities are only limited by government standrds (which in the areas I'm thinking of are kind of limited).

When you design stuff yourself, you can make it work for you the way you want. Although, from a pratical standpoint, I doubt at this point I'd have the skills to do this all by myself, I would need extensive help to design and put together a house.

Then again, there are probably many old farms on the real estate market that need nothing mroe then something fixing up to be useful. Heck, they would probably have already some of the equipment I need to achieve my goals, and plans. It would be nice to have the basics set up.

Or heck, there is always the possibility of renting out something like that on a teporary bases, so I could get away sooner. But that would be a trap, and would limit my control and freedom to run things the way i want to.

A Small Farm?

To be a farm, I guess it would imply that you produce food to be sold to others, commerically (at a local or national level). Unless you consider subsidence farmers as counting. To be a farm, that has at least some decent supporting income with gov't supports, I guess you'd have to raise dairy cows for commerical milk sales. Which, is well, lacking freedom, because many of your actions are controlled by some large almost-state wide or interstate milk producing company. Not cool at all.

Not to mention all the difficulties of raising milk cows. Lots and lots of water is needed (think 35 gal/cow or more). Nitrates and run off problems have to be managed. The politics of getting subsidies.. And so much other crap, that makes it impossible, if your not born into it by blood (I've mentioned this before).

But that's not at all what I'm suggesting. There are several books about various 'hobby' animals you can raise and plants you can grow. The variety, and general ease is fairly amazing, when you consider it all.

I guess this whole crackpot logic about farming, comes down to the idea, that if you own a lot of land, and don't have lots of neighboors, you can do what you want to. None of this boring city conformity stuff.

Got Control?

Just think of the possibilities—control over how you run your life, how you keep your land, and how you spend your free time. No pesky neighboors complaining about your ATV or sled, guns or burn barrel. In general, there would be far less ordiences and rules enforced, then your forced to live under, in the city.

I guess that is true with any kind of isolationism—with fewer people around, you have more freedom to do what you want. But farming, takes that one step further—it could extract you one more level from societies' insitutions.

If you raise your own animals, slaughter them yourself and cook them yourself, your in control all the way. There is no middlemen to interfere with the process, the quality is equal to what you put into it (and is not neccessarly dependent on money spent, or the alike.

Garbage In, Garbage Out

As they say, garbage in, garbage out. Of course, if you didn't make it yourself, how do you know if the output you are getting isn't garbage? Do you have any idea what kind of chemicals (if any) went into producing what your eating.

So much industrial stuff, has all kinds of chemicals on it. Pestasides and herbisides. Organic produce is suppost to be better, but how do you know that?