Irritated

[ninnymary]

dewdrops, I don't like negative people. I would befriend him. He's not adding anything to your quality of life.

Mary

 

[bobm]

I have been growing our own garden vegetables and fruits as well as raise chickens, ducks, quail, pheasants, rabbits, sheep, beef, for decades. When I add up all the TRUE costs of doing so, I find that it costs me 100%- 500% more than if I baught it from the local grocery store. Example : I can buy already processed chickens at the store for $0.89 and a dozen eggs for $1.69 but when I total up my costs of feed, fuel to go to the feed store, % share for electricity, % share of power costs for well water, % share of property taxes, % share for property and liability insurance, vaccines, Vet., herbicides, pesticides for pest control, fertilizer, equipment costs, and NOT include any cost of my labor ( I can't afford to pay myself a salary), I end up with a cost that is 2-5 times more than buying from the store. The big agri farmers have the advantage of volume discounts as well as the advantage of spreading out their fixed costs over MANY animals to minimize the costs for each individual. Example: One bale of alfalfa hay costs me $12.95 each or 16 individual bales will cost $ 207.20. While I can buy by the ton ( 16 bales) for $ 160.00.Many more tons result in much more discounts. Econ 101 says that I am crazy !

 

[catjac1975]

Quietly unfriend him. I try not bite when others try to make me. No one needs to have their hard work minimized. It is a life style choice. It may not be for everyone but, no one should be judging you. Facebook should be fun.

This is the only place I know where I can vent my frustration . So here it goes.

I have a "friend" on facebook who either doesn't understand what it's like to raise their own food or is jealous because monty and I DO raise our own food. When I post a status on my page, he always has something to say about it.
I posted that I was finally starting to get fresh eggs , he posts something like go to the store pay 1.69 for a dozen , or .40 cents a can at aldi's for green beans. Why do other people have to try and bring you down for being self sufficient?
I told him I didn't care how much green beans are at aldi's, home grown are better. On the egg comment, I told him I'd be wasting $3.79 in gas to buy eggs at the store when I can save the gas and get them from my back yard for FREE.

It's no wonder this person and my brother get along so well.......... they are too much a like! Even my brother asked my why I got chickens I told him " because I CAN" and I wont have to buy eggs. I'm just waiting to hear him (my brother ) ask me for a dozen eggs!!!!!

These two guys are going to be the ones who starve to death when food prices are too high and they cant afford to buy it.

Just something I wont understand.

Rant over

 

[journey11]

If you think it might make things more awkward, you can also choose to add him to your restricted list. He won't know he's on there. Or for particular posts just change your settings to hide that post from him (click the little arrow that is right beside the blue "post" button.) Or create a list for people you know are interested in those topics and only make the post visible to them.

I just figured out how to really work my friends lists last week. It has made a BIG difference in enjoying my facebook. That way I'm only sharing with groups of people who care or that I can trust. I'm still considering killing my fb because of several weird incidents of people ranting about things on my fb that they would never have the guts to say to me in person. The introvert in me is appalled at the things that go on with fb.

I totally understand your frustration though. I have very few friends who understand my commitment to raising my own healthy food. I frequently bear the brunt of jokes about butchering chickens and I've had "city-fied" friends who follow my blog in morbid fascination.

I haven't kept a ledger on my garden as I have for the chickens, but I'm certain I do come out quite a bit ahead financially with it. Certainly when you consider how much you get from a $1.99 pack of seeds, and especially when you get into saving your own seeds! Even the chickens I come out ahead on, comparing them by quality with the pastured poultry sold at the farmers market. You have your own blood, sweat and tears to factor in, but I just consider that exercise that I needed anyway.

What they don't understand is the vast difference in quality and healthfulness of the food you raise. Fresh fruit and veggies are nutritionally superior too.

 

[so lucky]

And, if you are a softie like I am, there is a definite value to knowing you are not aiding chicken factories by buying their product. Your fresh eggs come from happy, healthy chickens that do not know what abuse is.

 

[canesisters]

And besides all that - it's just plain FUN! :rainbow-sun

 

[Southern Gardener]

Too me it's not just the money saved or spent. I know my hens cost me way more than buying eggs would. And I could certainly buy potatoes cheaper at the store, than putting in an order for the varieties I want to grow.

But NOTHING can match that feeling of well being that I have the knowledge to grow food and tend chickens, and what is put on the table means much more than just food to eat. It's confidence and it's the knowledge that you are in control of what goes into that food.

There's also a quality that you can't attach a dollar sign to. It's being out in the sun and rain, working in the dirt, seeing how this world is so beautifully designed and watching your plants grow and your chickens scratch. You can't buy that and you can't sell it.

So don't let them get you down Dew, in a way you should pity them because they will never be as rich as you.

Southern Gardener LIKES this post!

Seriously - unfriend him. Not worth it.

 

[dewdropsinwv]

Well I told Monty about my "friend" and he decided it would be a good idea to make an itemized list of what we plant and the cost to us to grow it. Now all I have to do is make a status about what it costs us to raise our own food and chickens! If that doesn't shut him up, I'll delete him or restrict what he sees.

 

[Kassaundra]

Rant all you want. This is a good place for it. I think we all have acquaintances or relatives like that about something, not always gardening or animals. My sister has driven a wedge between her and the rest of the family because of stuff like that, but a different topic. And shes poisoned her kids against us.

My wife recently started facebook so we could keep up with photos of our granddaughter. She friended a few people shed now like to unfriend but thats hard for her socially.

I kind of like how a friend we were chatting with yesterday does it. She goes on facebook about once every two weeks, looks until shes tire of looking, then comes back in two weeks. Most of the stuff never gets looked at.

I dont have any great words of wisdom, just rant away. From your last post, it sounds like you may not have quite gotten it all out of your system. Keep going. Well listen.

Unfriending people is hard for me too, though I have done it when it has become ness. anyway if she doesn't want to unfriend you can hide most of their posts, just click on the option to hide from my feed.

 

[catjac1975]

I don't think a person can tell when you unfriend them. I would not itemize for the mouthy oaf. I do not think I really save money growing most of our food. I would not like the results of the tally.