Pioneer Skills: Homesteading In Dead Of Winter 🔥…Let’s Get Honest

[@vincentcotnoir1356]

I'm living on a 28 acres land, all by myself ( with 3 cats ... ) for 23 years now. 85% of my house is heated with wood, one stove in the basement and one in the living room. When friends come to my place and they see my wood shed with almost two years worth of wood, that's about 32 cordes of wood. When I explain them the process of making fire wood, cut the tree, cut it in 20 inches, split it and than stack it in the shed, and at fall, taking the wood from the shed, put it in my basement, and stack it again ... Most of them don't understand why I spend soo much time to go through all that. But when in winter time they come and visit me, and we are sitting in front of the fireplace and have a nice meal and talk, now they understand why. No electricity, no problem, I will stay warm, and have a nice meal on the stove. And I also explain them that sitting in front of the fire place help me calming myself and forget about all other problem that can happen ... Often when my friend come to my place for a week end and it's time for them to go back in the big city, they often say thank you for those couple of days that they were able to really let go at my place ;) :) love watching your videos...

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Your comment is beautiful. Your life is beautiful. Ah, how lovely that your friends eventually come to feel & understand (at least in their partial way) the peace in your way of life 🔥 I understand, and I respect it so much. Cheers to you, from our snowy, cold spot here in Montana ❄️❄️❄️

[@nmelkhunter1]

I guess you could say honest work leads to an honest and satisfactory life.

[@Pp4Gd]

Sounds like a bit of heaven here on earth. I applaud your amount of wood stocked up. Enjoy your lovely life!

[@dwaynewladyka577]

My dad, who will be 95, this year, told me years ago, that when technology fails, the people from the country will have an easier time surviving. When he was younger, he and his siblings had things like an ice house on the farm in Alberta. I'm sure my (late) mother, and her three older sisters had the same experience on the farm in Alberta, during the 1930s and in the 1940s. They didn't have the amenities that we have today. Even how they farmed and homesteaded long ago, was incredible. They had to clear trees without the modern day tools. Horses and mules were used, before there were tractors. It's fascinating to read and hear stories of the experiences of these pioneers. The pioneers and the people who were around in the Great Depression era in North America, can definitely teach us so much. Cream of wheat is very satisfying and perfect for the cold days in winter. This was awesome. Cheers! 👍👍✌️

[@dianehall5345]

@dwaynewladyka577- Greetings from our working farm in New Hampshire. Yes, when technology lets us down, we farmers will carry on. My mom would have been 101 this year. Her siister-in-law is is still living at 106. The history my aunt has seen and my dad was at Pearl Harbor in 1941. My family left farming for a generation and lived a suburban lifestyle. It was prosperous in the 1950s, but I could not see it being long term sustainable. I returned to farming, trying to keep the best of modern times. 1935 is winning out, but I do enjoy my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and Instant Pot! We still have ice houses in New Hampshire. They rarely use horses anymore. We log with tractors. Before that it was oxen. Do you remember Glass Wax holiday window stencils? I have the original stencils, but no Glass Wax! I plan to keep many of my grandmother's and my mother's traditions. I remember spritz cookies and other wonderful Normal Rockwell memories. ~ Diane

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Oh whoa what lives they lived 🔥🙌🏻💗 Think of all their knowledge and experience… knowing how to cut and preserve ice properly! If we really had to go back, how few of us could know enough to get by? There’s so much I don’t know…

[@erincaywood7596]

@@dianehall5345what I wouldn’t do to get my hands on some glass wax! My grandma had some that was probably 40 years old when I got my hands on it and it was STILL better than windex 😅

[@dianehall5345]

@erincaywood7596 - Yes I tried a substitute but it did not work. So I will ask the store window painting artists what they use.

[@R_B62]

I'm 62 and we still have part of the farm from 1857 here in Missouri. Now it's fallow land but was we still have the first hand stories from my Father , age 87, who will share if you ask. I have the listened to the stories of how my great grand father farmed with a team of mules. How Dad as a Boy stayed with his grand parents in the winter to help gather fire wood, feed and do any other chores that needed done. How his grand pa plowed the fields with a team of mules and how my grand PA brought a Cub tractor and plowed thos3 fields in one daythat it took a week with a team as my great grand father shook his head in amazement. Oh the family history I have learned from Dad, I pray have him for many more years!! Signed an old Misouri farm boy.

[@MsHomesteader]

We live a very frugal, homestead type life, yes, we do have grid power but use it sparingly. We use an old commercial type oak ice box my husband revamped, and we change the ice bottles every other day and it has worked wonderfully for us now for over a decade. We eat wheat and corn porridge in the winter months sometimes twice a week. Breakfast in those times was often what was left over from the evening before supper. Meat hunted and either smoked or dried was a main stay and then any vegetables they were able to store in a cellar or cool but not freezing place. Fermented foods were also a mainstay because they kept well in crocks and jars. I think people today look back and think it was a simpler life but in reality, it was a lot of hard work and hardships. Thank you for sharing your views. that is why we are drawn to our elders, so we can hear their memories before they are lost forever.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I adore your comment-I was recently reading a pioneer story to our kids and they talk of eating rabbit stew for breakfast. You are so right that breakfast is different from how we think of it today. The way you live is very admirable. I have great respect for your efforts. It is hard work. An old timer commented some episodes back about how they had it rough when he was a child, but he never knew it and no one complained. He said, “it wasn’t hard, it was just life for everyone”. That has stuck with me. Knowing modern comfort/convenience and then choosing to do it the hard way, that takes real will. Cheers 🔥🔥🔥

[@dianehall5345]

Good morning Jesse- My gram would make cream of wheat and pour it into a bread pan. Once set, she would slice it and fry it and serve with maple syrup. Below zero here today. That grate allows the stove to keep coals overnight. There is a ton of coals and ashes on the summer grate this morning, keeping the fire going in our Home Comfort kitchen wood stove. The pioneers did not have magneto stove fans, but I sure love them! The fan is blowing blessed heat across the kitchen and into the living room where I'm typing, with my coffee. Good job sharing life in pioneer days. Your channel is giving us a window into our plains history. And we think New England was a challenge in the winter! ~ Diane

[@nooneyouknowhere6148]

As a child I spent many a winter's morning by the Home Comfort stove in grandma's kitchen. They had the kitchen stove and the wood burning furnace in the cellar to keep the old house warm. Not an easy job in the north country of N.Y. by the St Lawrence River.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Oh I always look forward to your wise & wonderful comments, Diane 🔥💗 I can just picture your little slice of paradise back East... 🔥 I must look into those stove grates and order some! Life has just been flying by and dragging me along lately 🤪 Today the kids and I are running off to help Robbie run the FFA competition in our little town. He loves the organization and always volunteers this time of year to put on their big event day. He even drove our tractor to town! Some kids here have never seen one operate. We will be out and about, but when I return I’m going to go back through our correspondence and find the name of those grates! 🔥🔥🔥 Stay warm and cozy today. Lots of snow on the ground here ❄️

[@maryjinkerson5246]

I have cooked a lot meals on our wood cook stove made plenty of cream of wheat a grits it is good fried with syrup over it.

[@elizabethmurray3221]

My Mom would make fried mush out of grits or corn mush, it was fabulous with honey.

[@Pipsqwak]

Every time I watch one of your much-anticipated videos, I'm amazed at the similarities in our lives. I too lived in a cabin in southwestern Montana as a young woman in my twenties (more than 45 years ago as single mother). I lived rent-free in what was the original homestead cabin on a large ranch, because I was fit, experienced in, and willing to do fencing, livestock-herding, and all kinds of ranch-hand chores and I was friends with the ranch owner. It was a hard but really fulfilling life! But I was pretty financially strapped, and there were plenty of times we lived on oatmeal, evaporated milk, and potatoes. I did often have venison that I hunted myself, and large lake trout that we caught (from ice-fishing on a nearby lake) that could be kept frozen on top of a metal-roofed shed and simply sawed into "steaks", and sometimes the ranch owner would give me some beef, but we didn't eat fancy foods! The only thing that really would grow there in the summer was potatoes and, oddly, Swiss chard. But there were wild onions in the meadows, and huckleberries along the creeks, if you knew how to find them! I also have very clear memories of the sound and sight of the wind kicking up "snow ghosts" - like dust devils, but with snow - and drifting in the little dirt road until it was totally invisible, burying fences, and occasionally stranding cattle (they'd freeze in place and we'd have to try to dig them out and get them moving again), and how cold it was. You quickly learned how to most efficiently use your wood stove to heat the cabin without going through your wood supply too quickly. Running out of firewood would have been a deadly disaster when it was far below zero in a blizzard! And I do remember many -40 degree days and nights.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Ohh you have lived!! 💪🏼🔥🙌🏻❄️ What you know & have seen blows me out of the water. To have done that life as a single mother makes me respect you SO much. Think what your kids saw their mother be able to handle?! They must have great respect for you. I too know the feeling of being locked in by the snow and winds. Deep in winter. Knowing nobody would be coming to help you. There was always something I was so proud of, in knowing that it was up to me to get through & make it happen for myself. I remember the snows were so deep one year I had to carry my dog because he couldn’t go any further. But we got home, and got warm. Love your comment. You really did it. 🔥

[@heatherscott3008]

Cream of Wheat - what a classic! I love the respect you give to those who homesteaded and their resilience. My husband grew up in rural Manitoba and part of the reason I married him was I knew in a pinch he had the ability to shoot something for dinner.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I totally get that. TOTALLY. I married my husband, Robbie, (in part) because he’s one of the few men on my generation that can confidently fix anything. He doesn’t panic, he just calmly starts problem solving and working. Must be his farm upbringing; 🤔 something was always breaking and always needing a man to fix it. Love your comment very much, cheers!

[@MEDavis-kn3ph]

​@@Montana_Ranch_Rescue Agreed. And if need be, a woman to point out it needs fixed or have it done when he gets in for the day. Working together works! But don't get me wrong !! It's handy to have a man around .

[@savagewolf1966]

I would also like to see a PBS show of long lost skills👊

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

They should make it. Bet there are lots of us who would watch 🙌🏻

[@Pp4Gd]

I watched a You Tube video on how to make cereal. It was Parboiled rice put in a stainer and the strainer with rice was boiled in oil until all the rice puffed up. It took about a minute for all the rice to puff up. She put in 2 Tbsp of rice at a time and did this several times. Amazing how easy it is to do, for some it might be a bit time consuming. I think worth the effort for a quality food.

[@christinaortega-pysherconk693]

I would love to watch more shows like this on TV. I was just telling my husband that. I don't even turn on the TV anymore. I read books and my Bible. So , yes please put more shows like this on TV. ❤ this is way more interesting than the Drama filled shows they have .

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I totally agree-we don’t even bother with new tv shows or watch actual tv. Nothing good on. But give me a show like that, with good storytelling, & I would watch. I know I romanticize the struggle, but that was a good era of life in many ways… families were closer knit and took care of each other. The great American West!

[@nmelkhunter1]

Another great video that tackles the ease with which we live today. I think it’s admirable that you lived off grid during your twenties. I lived semi off grid for four months after graduation from high school and I wouldn’t change the experience for the world. Said bluntly, the majority of the world has no idea how good they have it. Stay warm and keep your videos coming.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Yes 🙌🏻 If I could advise young people to do one thing, it would be to go off somewhere as remote as possible and try to live simply-without electricity, running water, and society. You learn really fast how to be grateful for all that is around you 💗 (and how to distance yourself from today’s nonsense too 😉 ) Love your comment 🔥🔥🔥

[@melissaallen4796]

Discovered your channel over the weekend. I'm starting at the beginning of your videos to catch up. This is very intriguing. Thanks for rescuing this home. Awesome connection to those before you. Also, huge Cream of Wheat fan. My mother fixed it and oats for breakfast in my childhood. I still eat both today.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Oh I love your comment! 🙌🏻💗🔥 Thank you for watching and spending that time with us. History is full of adventure, especially out here in Montana-it’s been an exciting year!

[@michaelwittkopp3379]

Ahh Cream of Wheat. I preferred it over Oatmeal any day. But it's new fangled - Easterner stuff. Same with the canned milk. Well... canned milk was something to be had...if you had a milk cow, and did the work to can it. But then, why used canned, when you have _"straight from the source,"_ and have to use, before it goes bad...and that everyday. You can only make so much cheese, and can so much. Having the amount of grandparents, great aunts and uncles; that almost all homesteaded, starting in the early 1880s, and up until the 1920s, I have a very good idea of how _"it had to go, to be successful."_ 1) You have to bring with you, most everything you need to survive your first year. 2) That is because you'll be building mostly...dugout for you, dugout for livestock... a well, if there's not a stream nearby...sheds, fences...nothing fancy, but it has to function. 3) But also, hay for the livestock, and plenty of firewood. And of course, hunting. No time for fancy fishing. Doesn't provide enough, that can come later. You want big game, Elk. 4) And then, there's late autumn - first plowing of fields. Clearing them, so that they can soak up the winter snow runoff, and the spring rains. A garden, but also fields of grain. With most of that grain being anything but wheat. 5) So, you got to your new homestead in mid to late spring, and worked sunrise to sunset, until the snow got too thick; to do much more. 6) And if you didn't accomplish all that in your first year, the chances of seeing your second winter on your homestead, dropped to less than 25%. 7) And if you hadn't come from a farm upbringing, those chances would drop to half of that 25%. But backed to your Cream of Wheat. Early homesteaders, even in the 1920s, would never have bought a box of Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat. _(Only some of the richer ranchers would have.)_ That'd have been wasteful spending. But that said, porridge was an everyday food. You ate it morning, noon and evening, most often that same porridge, from that same pot. Porridges we today, don't even know existed. Wheat and rye, maybe some of the corn; would have been saved, to grind into flour. _(Which you did yourself.)_ But, oats, buckwheat, barley, millet, and spelt would have gone in the porridge pot, along with a tough and/or fatty piece of meat, and a couple carrots and onions for flavor. Milk porridge was something for very small children and sick people...But then, so was white bread. Sorghum, we get back to the molasses; And no molasses, no brown sugar, and no brown sugar, no white sugar. _(You'd press your brown sugar into a cone, called a loaf, then suspend it; so that all the rest of the molasses drips out (in about 3 to 4 months), leaving you with fancy white sugar. You can find those cones today as Piloncillo. That is; a Mexican Piloncillo is the hardened cone, before it starts to drip the molasses out.)_ Simply, a homesteader, both husband and wife, had to be a jack of all trades, and willing to do backbreaking work, from sunrise to sunset, nearly every day of the year...year in, and year out. Because, if you couldn't make it or grow it, you most likely went without. Go without on too much stuff, and you fail. Each year, hoping to see a bit less hunger, a bit less cold in winter, and a bit better food on the table. But even in the worst of times, it was better, more dignified, than working in some sweatshop 14...16 hours a day, back east. All the while, living in no better, maybe even worse conditions than on the homestead. A homestead was a chance, a good chance, at improving one's life. That said; What people call a homestead, in our day and age, has very little to do with what reality was. Go to parts of Colorado or western Montana, and look at the multi-million dollar homesteaders...or eastern Montana, to some of the hippies, that don't have the slightest idea what to do.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I really like your comment-full of great info. I’m sure you’ll see, if you zoom out a ways, that this episode was about connecting the not-too-distant past to today. Connecting via the foods we still have in common. Foods that were new to them, yea, but then became very common basics we still eat today. A time right on the cusp of forever ago… and yet just yesterday. Cheers to you! Always love hearing your brilliant insights & memories 🔥🔥🔥

[@mleppert8535]

You are so right! These folks have lost so much, they don't have any idea!

[@michaelwittkopp3379]

@ Our host is right; in that we are at a time, a transition, in which even the memories of _"the old ways"_ are going. Once my generation dies out, any connection, any understanding of what was, will be severed forever. They, younger generations, can relearn. But, it won't be the same.

[@carolynmoody9460]

Not only are your videos incredible but it does come with the bonus of reading the comments..there is so much knowledge in the past memories of others❤

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Thank you for your kind words-they mean a lot. 💗💗💗 It was all about experiencing the cabin this week, out in the deep snow. ❄️

[@dennisvos3573]

Watching your video’s from the Netherlands, it is always a pleasure to see the beautifull scenery and love the stories from the past. Thank you for sharing!

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Your comment makes me smile-thank you! 🔥💗🙌🏻

[@dianehall5345]

@dennisvos3573- Hello Netherlands from New Hampshire USA! I have always wanted to visit as my father's family came from Amsterdam. My name was originally Van Hall. I follow Matt Harnacke and Jesse Drent over there. They ride in dressage events. I get to see the scenery as well. So beautiful! Very flat fields. We have mountains behind our farm, rolling hills and hay fields. Lots of trees for miles. And lots of rocks! I grew up in a Dutch /German neighborhood in New Hampshire. I was told our climate resembles Germany. There were only three Dutch families. The rest were German. So I learned German and no Dutch, I understand it is quite different. Jesse has a challenge understanding German when he shows his horses in Germany. All the best! ~ Diane

[@dennisvos3573]

I find it very inspiring that your ancestors had the courage to immigrate to the United States. And especially to learn about their life in the new world on this KZbin channel

[@Caryldee53]

The memories these videos stir…these are the best! I’ve lived so much of this one time or another. Pioneer-ish cabin, wood cook stove, candle making, treadle sewing, knitting, making/sewing our clothes, homemade gifts at Christmas, kerosene lamps, outhouse, making do in lean times with a few basic food stuffs….. As a child…my momma would put on a pot of oatmeal with salt to soak every night for our breakfast porridge. And later..Cream of Wheat was made in the mornings…for a quick bowl of porridge. We kids fought over the lumps …and always plenty of brown sugar! Leftover porridge of any kind…is a yummy meal…fried and served with maple syrup. As I watched this the first time through….my pot of soaked oatmeal was slowly bubbling on the stove…some things never change. lol. BTW, the comments are just as special as your wonderful videos…lots of kindred souls out there. I feel privileged to be a member of your community. God Bless ❤

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I adore your comments 💗🔥 You are making me smile so big... There are some food traditions that connect us, always. Even through time. Thank you so much for becoming a channel supporter-i really appreciate it. Keeps me going 💗💗💗

[@teripittman]

I saw the title but took awhile to watch it. And the worst thing about homesteading in the winter is anythingto do with water. Think about laundry. And baths. There's a reason that folks just took sponge baths. I've got a book by a woman that lived in a sheep wagon in WY. She talked about a trip to California as an adult and said it was the first time she had fruit that wasn't canned. Really interesting life.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Oh wow I would love to read that. Yes, you are so right-water. Bathing, cleaning; oh I can only imagine how their hands made it through. I’d like to try doing old fashioned laundry but I don’t have the courage to try until spring or summer 😣

[@countryfrau8328]

I think you are amazing. My husband and I live in a log house in the sticks and I can't tell you how grateful we are for electricity and the running water it gives us. We try to use only our woodstove to spare the use on the old heat pump. How often in the winter I talk about being so grateful to have a house to retreat to with real doors. A log house without a bit of drywall is another creature in the wind but it is nothing like what the old timers experienced. People think it is so romantic. No it wasn't. AT ALL. You'd be scared out of your wits that you would run out of food in the winter or someone would get seriously sick and/or die. You'd be snowed in for real! So difficult! Just imagine having to clear your own land with horses or mules IF YOU WERE LUCKY. And Native Americans....

[@aprilninthr2886]

Love your channel. You’re not alone. A long time ago, my mother made me eat cream of wheat every day before going to school. I liked it! I still do. Would love to see PBS do the kind of show you suggested. I mostly watch shows about Alaska homesteading these days and I really enjoy them. Thank you.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Cheers, I love your comment & appreciate you watching 🔥 Maybe they will remake that series Frontier House-I’d sure watch it!

[@FulbrightFarmstead]

If you haven't read it yet, Homesteading by Percy Wollaston is a very interesting book written by a man who came to Eastern Montana to homestead with his family in the early 20th century. In one part he talks about his brother who came over first and got the homestead started before his wife and children came and he had the milk cow and chickens right inside the tar paper shack with him because there was a storm and no other shelter for them yet. Jayce's Great Grandpa who, with his family, homesteaded their family ranch here in Central Montana also had a tar paper shack when they first came. When they had been in the tar paper shack for a year, Great Great Grandpa told Great Great Grandma they had enough money for a roof or a floor, which did she want? She said she wanted a floor because she was tired of the babies crawling in the dirt.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

WOW!! Wow, the lives they lived! Such tough people 🔥 Can you imagine?… And the wildest pasty I always think of it wasn’t that long ago. There were cities and fancy houses on the East coast when these good people came West to carve out a life. This time period fascinates me…. Love your comment 🔥💗🙌🏻

[@FulbrightFarmstead]

@@Montana_Ranch_Rescue And what amazes me is what they gave up to come out here and endure this way of life. They had a thriving farm and a beautiful, big farm house in Missouri. So what was it that drew them to Montana, to leave the comforts of an already established farm and a big house to live in a tar paper shack?

[@danmorgan7737]

I live off grid and alot of what you talked about is still true today,you dont want to run out of food or anything else in the middle of winter ,I have solar and cook with gas ,and wood and coal heat,50 miles to town on a good day and 70 miles in the winter. The only way out of here is snowmachine and it might be that way until April,I leave my pickup at a neighbors 6 miles away the road from there is usually plowed out,but not always,hasnt been plowed now for a week,20 below here this morning here in mt. if you get hurt or have trouble here you are on youre own,but I love it here and wont leave until I am to old to stay or tip over right here.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Oh wow what a life! I have great respect for your way of living. You’re here in Montana? I loved about 30 miles from a small town in my 20s. I hiked in and out from where I’d park by a neighbors too. I can remember being covered heard to toe with frost by the time I’d make it in or out in subzero temps. It’s a very satisfying life 🔥🔥🔥 Thank you for your comment-you’re living a rare life!

[@jstoeck784]

Cream of wheat is the northern version of our grits. Grits with some butter and cheese go with anything or by themselves.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Yes! I’ve only tried grits once, in South Carolina, and I gotta say I think I could live on that 😋 Delicious!

[@jimmason1072]

"A WORLD OF HURT"....one of my favorite sayings ! Mom feed us cream of wheat as kids in the 60's....

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Great comment 😉🔥🙌🏻 I grew up on it in the 90s. Some foods cross all time and space

[@Chucklingjavelina95]

“It’s not fancy. It’s not glamorous. But it is honest.” In today’s world where all we are bombarded with is highlight reels and façades, thank you for making this statement and video. It’s not wasted on me.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Your comment really hits home for me & I appreciate it 💗 Not everyone gets what I’m trying to share, but people like you and others here leaving comments really make me feel like we are looking for the same thing-some realness, some meaning. Cheers to you from a snowy Montana! ❄️❄️❄️

[@jennifer-oh-jenny]

Hey cousin! I sat here in my Tesla at a supercharger station eating El Pollo Loco tacos and you transported me to another time. I’ve been feeling down since I lost my home in the Altadena fire a few weeks ago but I have it made compared to the hard life of a homesteader. A beautiful message of a simple life and freedom! Love ya! You are so talented. ❤

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Jenny, Jenny I am sending you so much love 💗💗💗 You come up here and escape with us ANY TIME. I still can’t believe what this last month brought…

[@jennifer-oh-jenny]

@ Awe thanks cuz! Your videos are my escape. I will definitely have to come visit soon. So glad I got to see you over Christmas. All my love to you guys.

[@annag8448]

I literally just finished watching that series 'Pioneer Quest'! Literally, no joke, two minutes before watching this video! I was so bummed that it was over and wanted something similar to watch and then this video popped up! As good as the show was I completely agree with all of your thoughts though, it'd be so much better if they did it with people who knew what they were doing & getting themselves into, with the pioneer skills to actually get them through a year. I also wished that they had a full growing year because starting in June they had so much to do that they didn't even get started on ploughing & planting crops until July when they'd missed a good two or three months' worth of growing time. I'd love to do it myself but I'm so aware that there are gaps in my knowledge and things that I don't and probably won't ever know. Just trying to focus on getting myself a house with a garden at the minute- one challenge Pioneers didn't have to face was the 21st-century housing market! Would much rather have wandered across the prairies and set up wherever felt like I could call home.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Oh I am with you 100% ! I just discovered that show “Pioneer Quest” like you did 🙌🏻 The American version was called “Frontier House”, made sometime around the early 2000s. The Canadian one I can see has much more skilled participants. But the people struggled to disconnect from the modern world. Interesting show, I enjoyed it & got hooked too. And I agree fully on our modern problems. Millennials have looming lifelong debt and an impossible housing market 😔 I’d trade that for a pioneer cabin. I think that’s why I like to run off and forget about the world; just worry about chopping wood and scrounging food. Loved your comment very very much 🔥🔥🔥

[@annag8448]

@@Montana_Ranch_Rescue Oh my goodness I didn't realise that there were different shows from Canada and America! I have a new programme to go and find now! I give myself a little bit of grace whilst watching TV shows and as long as I have some hand-quilting that I can do while watching it I don't feel like I'm completely wasting my time in front of a screen!

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I am with you-I feel like I’m learning a bit & filling mind with good things, not junk

[@Caryldee53]

See…what I said about kindred souls on here! Pioneer Quest, The Pioneers (Nat Geo) Frontier House…all in the queue….the “drama” maybe takes away from the shows..but I now just laugh at it…and focus on the good bits.

[@Old-Dog-Max]

It was 1957, Albert Sabin had invented a medicine to stop polio that was made from the live virus. At age 7 with my family of six, including a brand new baby, dutifully made the trip to the hospital to receive a sugar cube that had been splashed with a red liquid. My father, who thought he was doing the best for his family, was told at age 41 that he was too old for the medicine. Unexpectedly, he caught polio from his own vaccinated young family, and forever more, life was dramatically changed. I still remember his returning by ambulance and the medical personnel struggling to carry him up the long stairs to the 2nd floor of our somewhat unconventional home. As the years went on, I realized this was the earliest memory of my father that I have retained. Yes, life changed forever. For those next few years, we survived on welfare, which in those days mostly consisted of government commodities. Government cheese, high carb staples, flour, rice, and, of course, oatmeal. Prepared in the same manner with a little brown sugar and a spoon of peanut butter for protein. To this day, I still eat cereal with a spoon of peanut butter. Our favorite meals were made from the occasional canned shredded pork with gravy. Powdered milk was mixed 50/50 with goat milk to improve the taste. A carry over of self-sufficient ways from the Depression. Dad eventually improved enough to walk with a cane for short distances but primarily used crutches for the rest of his life. I, on the other hand, quickly developed a strong back as his strength was negligible, and I was called into service daily. You might think struggle would bring a family together, but in many ways, it truly changes the dynamics. My position was altered to the extent I was often viewed as the straw boss, so to speak. Being placed in charge over siblings who didn't appreciate the situation. I became very independent, very early on and emotionally distant in many ways. This resulted in my joining the Mercant Marines at age 17 and the Coast Guard at 18. The sooner I was gone, the better. One less mouth to feed with a mighty big appetite. A common situation in those days.

[@dianehall5345]

@Captain-Max- Hello from our working farm in Central Lakes Region New Hampshire. Grass fed beef- commercial hay- commercial logging/firewood. We appear to be the same age. My father was at Pearl Harbor. He came home and worked for a creamery. My mother went to nursing school. We lived next to to my maternal grandmother, who baby sat my sister and I. Gram had weathered the Great Depression. It was rough. Her father was a Vermont farmer who was recruited by the mills in New Hampshire with the promise of a better life. He barely got by. My gram had to quit school at 13 and work in the mills to help out. She made $14.00 every two weeks working six days a week. She had a victory garden, canned foods, sewed clothes and was my champion who taught me the Old Ways that I live today. We too received polio shots. It spared us. I will say I got to live a " Happy Days'" lifestyle post WWII. I realize that was not realistic once I reached 18, however fond memories. Now my husband, his brother and I are still farming at the family farm that goes back to the late 1800s. We choose to live a 1940s lifestyle that is sustainable and healthy. A real help in these times. Like Jesse, I light our 1930 kitchen wood stove that came out of the same MO factory as Jesse's stove. We can live off grid if need be. A godsend during a power failure during a blizzard. Jesse does a great job of bringing the past into the future. ~ Diane

[@Old-Dog-Max]

Yes, Jessie does an absolutely fabulous job of bringing together a dedicated group of "Been there, done that" people who survived to tell the tale. At my age, having a place where the memories that are locked up in my head have a place to go where they add to a real-life narrative giving credibility to a "You do what you need to do way of life" is priceless.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Oh, oh,…the reality of how it changed your family dynamics and forced you to grow up early 😔 Not an easy go of it. My heart breaks just hearing it… You took care of your family. But at a huge cost. My father, born in 45, got polio as a young boy. Changed him physically and his personality too forever. He eventually got much stronger from it & went on to swim at the Naval Academy. But it has come with a price later in life.

[@Old-Dog-Max]

I agree completely with not only the physical changes but the personality and emotional changes that came with it. My father was an only child and lost his father early at age 12. His mother wasn't emotionally capable of taking the lead through the depression so my dad had to. His early life greatly affected that of his own family. Very often, it was no picnic for all of us. All of us youngsters moved on as early as possible. You're very fortunate to have a strong roll model in your father in that he was able to overcome rather than be consumed by a devastating disease. That many of us lived our own struggles and are able to share in this forum is such a blessing in understanding how real life works. Sometimes it just isn't easy, but we just keep on.

[@mleppert8535]

@@Old-Dog-Max All. anyone can say to your story is that these medical serpents like Fochi will Receive their reward, and it won't be A full pardon that's for sure!!

[@BrendaMaggio-k6m]

I grew up in Northern NY where being snowed in was common. We were raised with cream of wheat and oatmeal too for those cold mornings. Here's a tip for cooking the cream of wheat: you'll avoid those clumps you were smashing, if you pour it out a little at a time while stirring.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Ahhh you are very right-I let the clumps get a little too big 🤦🏻‍♀️ Tried to cook one handed. I’ll let you in on a secret though: guess what my favorite part is?! I used to beg my mom to leave more clumps 🤪 Odd child, I guess

[@countryfrau8328]

Yes! I loved that PBS show. There was one big lesson I got from it, trying to see past all the personality drama. That lesson was from the wealthy family with the Irish wife. Basically, you (like they) would need to be flexible and resourceful and basically do whatever it took to survive and maybe thrive.

[@goatfarmmb]

I always get cream of wheat mixed up with grits we used to be able to buy grits from wheat but been a few years since the stores in my area don't carry it but at least they have cream of wheat which technically is the same thing I think anyways. Good warm or cold as a desert or as a simple meal. Swiss folks settled in Montana back in those days too a fb friend of mine his grandma came from the Canton of Uri (in the heart of the Swiss Alps and one of the three founding states of the Swiss Confederation in 1291) she came in the 1880s or 1890s. Your totally right they should bring those shows back in living in the west but without the drama (there is also a Canadian series called Pioneer Quest). Maybe if someone didn't have some of the skills yet like perserving meat but wants to learn it in something like that would maybe work as well. I sure would love to do something like that I don't have all the skills honestly, but if I ever had the chance I would try. Back in the day all year long they worked so they would have enough food for the winter and coming growing season we Swiss have an old saying: Waer im Frueling nit zapplet im Summr nit gapplet im herbst nit fruehae uffstat cha lueggae wiis ihm im winter geit. Here is my english translation: Who doesn't hurry in Spring and in Summer doesn't pitch with the fork in Fall doesn't get up early has to see how, he will be off in winter! awesome video as always

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I totally agree with you 🔥 I lack some key skills (like smoking meats) but am eager to learn-and plan to. In our world today I think so many would like to learn how to live more simply and not be hooked into our complicated modern system. Great catchy saying! Summer must have been a flat out sprint to get all the work done. Honestly, it still feels like that here in Montana! but I guess if I forget to stock up on food I know I just have a short drive to get more 😅

[@Lizziefilmsthings]

I just found your video through the algorithm. The only way I can describe this video is 'cosy'. A kind of comforting, even though I am learning a lot. I personally have a dream of having a homestead one day, though we shall see how that goes! For now I will watch these videos and live vicariously. :) EDIT: I like how you tell the stories, with video of different seasons, the story behind the wheat but also the homesteaders. I think it feels like my natural thought process, so that's why I like it! I love seeing your little helper too. She's very cute! I find it fascinating how single women became homesteaders. I have never heard of that, sounds inspiring to me.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I really love your comment-thank you for your thoughtful words 💗🔥 It is kind just my thought processes coming through. I hope you get to try living simply; it is very satisfying. And honestly a bunch of land and animals and all that are not necessary. A lot of women in history made the leap. It was hard, yes, but they were free! Check out “Montana Women Homesteaders” for a great book.

[@bantyrooster411]

Great content. Please keep it up!

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Thank you so much-means a lot 💗🔥🙌🏻

[@amyhamilton2201]

Oh, I love this history mixed with survivalist/decor, etc. Fabulous value.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Cheers to you! Thank you for your lovely comments. Appreciate it very much 💗🔥

[@paulyoung5327]

Very informative and also pleasing to the senses, if you keep the oven hot while you're there even if your not baking the stove will put out more heat , I'm sure you're already aware of this.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

That’s a great tip-I should pull that lever and take advantage of that! 🤔 Makes sense, more radiant heat from all that hot iron

[@savagewolf1966]

Really enjoyed your cooking on the cook stove and the stories🙌🔥👊

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Thank you, I really appreciate it that 🔥 I could ramble for hours. I know, but I was just grateful to be out there after a major snowstorm and enjoy the beauty of the little valley 💗

[@gerryhartung736]

You have what sounds to me an accent when you say hour/our. I watched a Brit tv show back in the 70s, ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL. About veterinarians. To a tile setter (at the time), it was super interesting. Not much on PBS anymore for me. Now retired from carpentry and cabinet building, at 80, camping, traveling, exploring, and my KZbin adventures, visiting KZbinrs. 64 years of work, time to share a life of learning and doing.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Cheers, Gerry 🔥 I think it’s because I watch too many British movies 😂 I love hearing your experiences & wisdom

[@CandaceAustin-bv2wo]

In Alaskan Bush we melted snow, we had 33 gallon trash cans. Took big pots out to shovel snow. Pots on stoves. Wood and coal stoves fired up and pots melting always. Cornbread broken up scattered on iron pot with bacon grease, heating, adding cinnamon , nutmeg, and added brown sugar and canned milk. Awesome cereal. Or grits. Bacon, biscuits made that morning early & a cup of coffee.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Oooh what a wild recipe! I would like to try cooking that breakfast 🙌🏻🔥 Love when you share recipes-I’m looking for creative recipes!

[@jasonmunson382]

Comment #2 time now. Cream of Wheat, I grew up eating this. My mother grew up a poor New England farmer, and this was something she fed to us on our farm as kids. I didn't know grits until I moved to the South and you made a great point about corn, Montana and your growing season so corn may not have been all that readily available to your homesteaders of the period. Bringing back a series like that would be great, you KZbin creators do that in a way yourself. Great video!

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Man, I love your comments-I grew up on Cream of Wheat too. It was a staple for me on the ranch. Not sure if my suburban friends grew up with it as much or not 🤔 Hey thank you SO much for becoming a legacy supporter 🙌🏻💗🎉🔥 I’ve got a couple cool things to mail to you. I’ll give you my email & if you’d like to send a mailing address feel free to share in via email for privacy. [e-mail] Cheers from us on a gorgeous sunny day in the snow here ☀️ ❄️

[@countryfrau8328]

Also, I lived in Wyoming for a number of years and I have opened my door to find myself facing a wall of drifted snow. Blizzards are so intense! I am sure they were terrified of not only running out of food but also firewood and even with it literally freezing to death. My place is way the heck bigger than the places of old and it is almost a full time job to tend the fire in the woodstove all day and into the night in order to keep the temperature in the main room at 55 degrees maximum. the heat never reaches the bedrooms.

[@amyhamilton2201]

I love evaporated milk. A college buddy, from Buffalo NY and oldest in a big Catholic family, taught me to love evap in my coffee. I adore old Burns and Allen TV shows where Carnation shared old recipes made with canned milk. Gonna join soon!!!

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

It is good in coffee! ☕️ There’s a richness to it 🔥🔥🔥

[@JeffRamblin]

My dad was born in 1909 and he ate this daily 👍😎👍

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

It really became a good food staple. Ha I grew up on it 😅💗🔥 1909… wow. He saw a lot in his lifetime.

[@JeffRamblin]

@Montana_Ranch_Rescue 👍😁👍💯❤️

[@simonemoreno4324]

That you should make a lot of precious memories with that beautiful cabin with your family just enjoy it take the week off and enjoy it with your beautiful family make lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of precious memories❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Appreciate your beautiful comment. When it’s a touch warmer I want to do exactly that! 🛌 🔥❄️🙌🏻

[@rafaelortiz327]

I really enjoy watching your videos!❤

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Thank you! Means a lot 🔥💗

[@celestehammell4067]

Thank you❤

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Cheers 💗 Appreciate your comment very much

[@stevegordon5243]

I remember watching the series on PBS you are talking about. It was very interesting and I would love to see a new version of it!

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Me too! Feels like the economic climate is right for a simple show like that

[@noiseosoutros]

Thank you my friend very very good ❤

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Ah best to you, friend, appreciate your comment, always 🔥

[@kristin280]

Thanks

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Cheers, appreciate it 🔥💗

[@marinespec1960]

I lived in Montana when I was a kid. Still want to go back there sometime. Love your videos. Subbed

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Cheers! 🙌🏻🔥 Appreciate your thoughtful comment-Hope you make it back here to Montana soon!

[@shelleymoore7691]

I love your videos, I grew up eating cream of wheat and ralston hot cereal.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I ate a LOT of cream of wheat growing up too. 🥣 I will have to try Ralston 🔥 Cheers!

[@samaholderfield1518]

I love the Pioneer Quest series

[@dianecrossman3676]

Great video. I so love the pioneer ways..(think I was born a little too late)

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I hear ya! 🔥 I’m just trying to keep up.

[@Autumnpeace]

PBS, yes!!

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

They really should remake it! I’d watch 🙌🏻

[@michaelnorman4476]

I just finished this episode and immediately started making some cream of wheat. I’ve always loved it and I thought it was something that came around in the 50s. I didn’t know it went back as far as it did. I knew about canned milk though. It really would be neat if there was an show that wasn’t a contest between people but a group of people that really wanted to make it work working together like you said it would be really interesting and educational. As always excellent episode.😊

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I totally agree on making it not a competition but an adventure together, really learning. I know I’d watch! Love your comment 🔥 Got to love Cream of Wheat-it’s a little taste of time travel!

[@michaelnorman4476]

@ Now here’s a big debate question, lumpy or smooth cream of wheat? Personally, I’m a lumpy one person.😀

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

@ I’m with you 100%. An entire episode could be made on this itself 😉

[@Pp4Gd]

@@michaelnorman4476 ha ha I like mine smooth!

[@jenniferschmitt7938]

I love your videos!

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I really appreciate your comment, thank you! 💗💗💗🔥🔥🔥

[@BK-dv1hh]

Just saw a re-run of that PBS show on the homesteading “experiment “. I too would like to see it done as you suggested. The big difference besides the life skills, would be realistic expectations! I so enjoy your channel and the memories I have from days gone by. Thanks, and may God bless you and your family.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I agree on expectations-The biggest trouble, I heard one of the people say in the Canadian version, was that we bring our modern anxieties and comparisons with us; fighting that and letting go would be near impossible. 🔥

[@mattthornton6729]

Loved cream of wheat growing up…

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Me too! Classic winter meal

[@LynnBoergermann]

I love cream of wheat!

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Me too!! Raised on the stuff 🥣

[@deborahstewart2322]

Your channel is so very interesting! ❤years ago I got a phone call from someone asking if I would be interested in joining a documentary making on just this very subject, going to a place to live like settlers did in the 1800s they had followed my FB telling about gardening and putting up food and such as that . I told them if my children had been younger and could help and I had been younger too I would have said , sure but I couldn’t do it by myself. I believe that was around the time that show came on that you were talking about. What an adventure that would’ve been!! Wonder if any of those that did it made it through? I know some of them were fussy and upset specially the teenage girls without makeup and phones

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Oh wow! Do you think it was that Frontier House?! It ended up being a fascinating show, but the drama the producers pushed makes it hard to rewatch. You probably dodged a bullet. You would have raced out ahead of all the others, especially if you know gardening & other pioneer skills 🙌🏻🔥But how cool you might have done it! I hear you on needing to be at the right place in one’s life.

[@perrybrantley6188]

Enjoyed the video. What size is your cabin?

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Cheers! It is 16x20. Originally built sometime between 1889 and 1900

[@pattymankowski5375]

Love cream of wheat

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I grew up on it 🙌🏻💗

[@maria13corvette]

Greetings, I have a Spark 1847 wood stove. I would like to know what is that black stick you rubbed on yours. Thank you

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

1847?! Whoa! That is spectacular, I’m going to look up photos of that it must be lovely 💗 The stick was a stocking stuffer this Christmas. It is from Lodge, the cast iron cookware company. It is supposed to clean rust from your cast iron pans 🤔 I’m not entirely sure if it is made of a fusion of charcoal? Metal? Minerals? It had a hard but little bit soft feel to it 🤷🏻‍♀️ Honestly, steel wool works better haha

[@maria13corvette]

Thank you😊 There are no pictures of it anywhere, there was a small piece missing but husbans made one, its a latch to close upper door. Looks like yours except its black cast iton with white porcelain doors and light blue lettering, also has shinny metal around it looks like chrome, on legs too. I bought it from a lady who was 100 years old and it was in her family, I will treasure it because I love it and she loved it. I love love your videos.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

@@maria13corvette thank you so much! 💗🔥

[@KimFaith01]

I too ❤ cream of wheat the trick was not to make it lumpy.😊😅

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Ahh I used to beg my mom to make sure it HAD lumps when I was little 😂 but I was pretty silly that way

[@pelenaka]

Hopefully new inhabitants would have been given a heads up on storing food. Water glassing eggs, fermented produce.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I wonder that myself! Did people tell each other what to expect? So many of those who came West were told it was good soil & great country-basically sold a bag of goods to get em out here for the railroads or to tame to country. I think a lot of them had a rude awakening 😬

[@pelenaka]

@Montana_Ranch_Rescue my ancestors came from Massachusetts & Vermont to what was then the wild frontier of Western New York 1800s. Spurred by Holland Land Co. advertising cheap land. Hard to believe that my 5th GreatGrandfather felt Vermont was crowded in 1779 😆 City Slickers would be very disadvantaged.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Oh absolutely-a lot of city people basically got conned into going West. Your ancestors no doubt knew what life/survival took when they continued to move West. What incredible times! Men and women went on great adventures, that can be said 🏔️❄️

[@amandaclark7718]

I love cream of wheat I'll eat it dor dinner if my daughter is at her dad's and it's just me

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Same here-I grew up on it & I love it!

[@MEDavis-kn3ph]

​@@Montana_Ranch_Rescue Have you tried Cream of the West ? Montana made, whole grain, nutty goodness flavor.

[@goatfarmmb]

Here is something cool, in the 1866 two American brothers George Ham Page and Charles Page founded in Switzerland the Anglo Swiss Condense Milk Company which decades later merged with the Henry Nestle Company I got a old/ new book about Swiss Goat breeds and how to keep em for Christmas but came a little late though because of the Postal strike. Its a reprint from 1887 it came all the way from India though its in the old German print (similar to Old English print)

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

How fascinating! 🧐 Love your interests

[@MEDavis-kn3ph]

My father was born in 1914. Both he and his mother were expected to die. His great aunt kept him alive with Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk in Rocker, Montana

[@haskettlibrary3621]

As for the PBS series, I feel I get that through some of the youtubers I watch. But, it would be fun.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I hear you-I agree there’s so much wonderful content now that is authentic & not staged like tv used to be

[@simonemoreno4324]

Most beautiful stove at the cabin was it expensive?❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

We traded for it. Found it locally in a storage unity and had to do a LOT of scouring/cleaning of the grease/soot/rust

[@simonemoreno4324]

Precious memories please make precious memories with your family

[@ashleybarrett2383]

First off, simply adore your channel. But question, where do you get your loose leaf tea? Do you sell it in your shop?

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Cheers! I wish I sold it in my shop, but I found it here in our town-made in Montana by Missoula Tea Company. Thanks for your wonderful comment 💗

[@jasonmunson382]

Comment, like, subscribe! Here to show my support.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Cheers man! Appreciate you 🙌🏻🔥

[@savagewolf1966]

What's the next on the cabin for warmth dear, insulation in walls.A wood stove? Do you oil the top of your cook stove like a cast iron pan?

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I need to give the stove a good scouring & then season it. 🔥 I used stove blackener at first, but I want to get rid of it & season the whole stove with oils/fats instead. On my list 🙌🏻

[@brianpeck3120]

Like the BBC Living History Farm Series.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

THAT is my favorite series. Hands down. Ruth is a genius. She’s like a British version of my dear friend Susan. Great comment-I agree with you completely

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Just need one for the American West

[@Caryldee53]

Just finished rewatching Tales of the Green Valley…a favorite!

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

@@Caryldee53 me too!! I think I rewatch it every year 💗😍 Of course you would know and love it! Kindred souls

[@rafaelortiz327]

There is a show called pioneer quest!

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I just found it and got hooked on it this week! The American version was similar and called “Frontier House” I believe

[@JF-fx2qv]

This was simple art of film eye candy. Talking a one minute verbal concept and turning it into 15 minutes of lost of one’s life time.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Ah losing one’s time in an old cabin (sigh) in a big valley… I can think of worse things. Sorry if I wasted too much time though 😉

[@MEDavis-kn3ph]

Time well spent, surely not wasted!

[@devemch7851]

Cream of wheat was a favorite of mine. Used to eat lots of it. My last four years was a legal battle to save my family home against the legal storm my brother threw at me. I worked ten years as my mothers care taker doing it all for 24/7. When she died, I had no way to survive. I had to save the house from taxes and reinvent myself. I had chickens and I hunted elk. Often I would eat cream of wheat for breakfast or another favorite, fried spam with sunny side eggs. I grew a lot of food as well. Yellow and purple potatoes was a mainstay along with roots. Another dish was red flannel hash. Elk corned meat, potatoes, red beets. Scrapple made from my mothers recipe was also a favorite. I called it amish bacon. I used lots of condensed and evaporated milk including using it my coffee. While I lost the house mama gave me to my brother, I did save the civil war wood stove. On those nights when temps plunge to minus 20 F or worse, that stove was a prized item. When you get knocked down, you get back up, wipe off the dust and mud and keep going. I have managed to get 50 ac of sugar bush maple in Vermont and began the struggle to rebuild. I hope to document this journey on my channel.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Oh you are a survivor 🔥What a journey… in the end, you know your character has been built through hardship, and that means something real. Hope your Vermont farm gives respite and peace. Sure sounds like heaven to me. Thank you for your thoughtful and deep comment. Cheers to you from a tough place in Montana 🥂 I’m planning to make a recipe or two of yours for sure!

[@colinvoss8484]

What about oatmeal?Just as good.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Totally agree. That is definitely what frontiersmen ate. John Muir bragged he would eat oats dry, never with milk. He made some wild comments on the subject actually 😬 Really despised milk…

[@MEDavis-kn3ph]

Granddad, born in 1874, came to Montana in 1877. Struck out on his own at 14 and worked as a cowboy with just his bedroll to his name. His standby, go to, was sowrydough . Kept in a dry ball in the flour sack. Yumm!! Biscuits, pancakes, oatmeal cookies, cornbread.

[@teriwilliams6393]

I would love to see older people and young people and see who would survive even one month out there

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Honestly that would be very interesting! Older people would have so much knowledge & information that has flat out been forgotten today 🤔 Buuuut I know some local Montana kids who could seriously put away the firewood and raise the animals 🙌🏻

[@AVILLAGEGIRLLL]

Awsome ❤😊

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Appreciate it 💗🔥🙌🏻 Cheers!

[@shawnteecarpenter7423]

I believe everything worked better before technology slow living truly is a good life 💝

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I really think we have lost good things as we marched toward our physical comfort in the tech era. 🤔 We have gained good things, but sacrificed so much as well

[@ScottBrown-e2j]

I would love to live there I have a 4x4 to get in and out

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

We have a 9’ snow drift on the road at the moment 😉 But hiking in and out is pretty fun too 🔥 Love your comment

[@ScottBrown-e2j]

@ I could probably drive in take a little bit longer, i have been 4 wheelen in deep snow over 45 years

[@teripittman]

Have you read "Life of an Ordinary Woman" by Anne Ellis. Her dad was a miner and she grew up in the gold camps. I think you'd like her.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I’m going to see if our library has it, and if not I will order it 💗🔥 Always love your wisdom and comments. Thank you!

[@teripittman]

@ the book on the WY woman is Sheep by Louise Turk. Amazon has it.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Thank you so much for becoming a channel supporter 🔥🙌🏻💗 I appreciate you & your help & wisdom very much. I’m ordering books tonight 😍

[@teripittman]

@ least I can do. You make great videos!

[@LynnBoergermann]

Nothing like gravy made with canned milk

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Oooh I will have to try that!

[@gerryhartung736]

Three channels to check out on KZbin. BORR 100 YEARS TO LATE, BILL RATCLIFF WOODWORKING AND FURNITURE, for the carpenters toolchest, and WESTERN PIONEER. Another idea for a pie safe is a wi dow mount, ala todays a.c. units. Measure a single hung sash, build to fit leaving an inch or less from safe to botton of sash. Place safe in opening,lower sash against safe, place to pieces of wood top of sash to bottom of header to lock everything in. Brings back taste memories of evaporated milk! Simple cooling pie safe. Box frame of 1x2, screen sides and bottom, piece of tin on top for rain stop. Depending on sash opening slatted shelf w/screen for bottom, slatted shelf, removable for extra backed goods add inside door if you want. Three channels I watch, Born 100 years to late, Bill Ratcliffe Woodworking and Furniture, (for carpenters tool chest) and Western Pioneer, (for half soddy half log line shack, (covered wagon and minimum tools).The lead in of this video reminds me of a song, I WILL SURVIVE, as in PIONEER WOMAN! Thats you! This summer, for the windows buy the sliding screens that expand to fit window and lower sash. Cross ventilation, no skeeters! When I read old Zane Gray or Lamore westers I see myself in the book. Thats the power of reading as well as videos like your channel. Looking forward to spring. Go East Old Man, Go East. Now where have I heard that before? Joy and prosperity to you and your family in 2025.

[@Caryldee53]

The Woodland Escape is another one to try on KZbin

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

You are so right about reading, it takes us right into the places and lives of those long ago! 🔥 Love your comment. When “Western Pioneer” had juuuuust started I messaged him to say how much I loved his videos! Very nice man. I wish him much success. He’s really doing it 🙌🏻

[@janetgilmore8006]

Elk meat.?

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Hoping to snag a bit more elk meat from family and cook some soon 🔥

[@wolfkin73]

Maybe that show is a few KZbin videos for ya. Challenge people to live a week, month or year in your cabin. Yes without the made up drama. Real life has enough without making more.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Ha great idea 💡 I’m not sure I’d survive filming it though 😉 Fun thinking!

[@rafaelortiz327]

You tube web page Down The Rabbit Hole.

[@karennugent529]

Condensed milk and evaporated milk is two different things. Get your facts straight.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Condensed *sweetened* milk is a different thing

[@judyjudd7215]

I like your channel but don't like the jumping around and repeating all throughout the video. Not sure why you do this. Just start at the beginning and continue to the end. That's how you tell a story.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I hear you. You’d prefer it chronological 🔥 Appreciate your comment

[@maria13corvette]

Judy, I love her videos you have a choice not to watch. She doesn't need negativity after her hard work.

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Cheers, Maria 💗🙏

[@gerryhartung736]

Remember the off button? If you don't like something, do something else, that's what makes America great....FREEDOM OF CHOICE!

[@judyjudd7215]

@@gerryhartung736 guess you forgot about freedom of speech.

[@andrewingram2108]

I’m from Tahoe, melted lots of snow on the wood stove!

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

Oh I bet! You guys get heaps and mountains of the stuff! That storm what, a couple years ago, 🤔 was unreal seeing the photos

[@andrewingram2108]

Tell me about that Scottish tea?

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

I stumbled onto it here in town-Lake Missoula Tea Company. Looks to be a Montana based smaller company (love that). I brewed the “Scottish Black Tea”. Very bold! I loved it 🔥🔥🔥

[@MEDavis-kn3ph]

​@@Montana_Ranch_Rescue Lake Missoula Tea Company goes to great lengths to find very good teas

[@andrewingram2108]

Are you ever going to insulate? Outhouse?

[@Montana_Ranch_Rescue]

No insulation planned for the moment-keeping it authentic to how it was. Yes on an outhouse! Just need the ground to thaw first. ❄️❄️❄️