One of the most useful objects on a farm or rural home is the common five gallon bucket.
If one had exsisted during Wm. Sheakspear's time he would have written a sonnet to it as he did a rose.
The bucket carries all manner of objects in all kinds of shapes and states; liquids, solids, granular, mixed as in filled with trash. However there are other less obvious uses for the white bucket. It can be used to as a step stool by the lighter folks or with a board laid across makes a nice sitting bench. It can be used to protect the tender plants from frost by covering them at night.
I have used one as a door stop and to bring home fish from the lake; I also have used one as a stool to rest on while painting or planting. Feeding animals is common using a big white bucket and once they get used to being fed from or by a white bucket just the sight of the thing and maybe a few pebbels rattled in it will bring some animals running for their dinner.
Of course you can mix all kinds of things in it like feed, planting soil and fertilizer; mixing cement for small jobs is possible also. With ice it will cool your favorite beverage. With a tight lid it stores food like cornmeal and flour. With the addition of a nipple it can be used as a calf feeder. There are liners that lap over the edge and convert the bucket into a tool box. For light loads it can be used to wash clothes or yourself if need be. Collecting things like when beans are harvested the bucket comes in handy or when collecting squaw wood those small dried pieces of wood found on the forest floor.
Even when it leaks from a crack it still can be used for a trash can. They are good for holding things while your sorting out a pile of something like in the garage or barn. One turned upside down over a fence post marks the spot were you worked last so the next day you know where to start again with what ever you were doing.
The uses for the simple white cylinder go on and on. I wonder if people in other lands use the same bucket or do they use something else?
4 comments:
Kay, I'm loving your adventure! Terrific!!!
I am so glad you are welling to share your homestead life with us!
I know what you mean about the usefulness of plastic pails. I have used them for years on my farm. Currently I have saurkraut fermenting in a couple. They are not all white. You can get an endless supply from anyone with a big machine as oil comes in 20 litre pails. They accumulate fast and are garbage. They can be cleaned well enough for most things except food products. Have someone show you how to easily remove the lids. I have had ones clean enough to hold drinking water without any taste of oil. Food quality ones can be gotten from places that use large quantities of lard or cooking oil, eg. bakeries or chip stands. I enjoy your blog very much. I look forward to sharing your adventure.
I even use an upside-down white bucket as a mounting block to get on my horse. http://journals.aol.com/mosie1944/MYCOUNTRYLIFE/
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