Hello everyone,
Found this site after a moderator here suggested I might like it.
In an introduction to who I am, I started as a dog handler with Search & Rescue for 15 years and that started me on my 'being prepared' lifestyle and keeping a ready pack in my vehicle at all times for up to 2 weeks out. Since I also (usually) farm and store, can, rootcellar alot of my own foods from meat to herbs, it just has sorta escalated since 1986 in collecting, learning and putting my own foods up as well as for emergency preparedness.
I grew up on farms in the Willamette Valley since I was little, but for awhile, I bailed from living in the States when I moved to the bush in northern Canada and homesteaded on 40 acres for almost a decade. Most emergencies up there were multiple wild fires which could encompass 180,000 hecacres or more in a very short time. Being on evacuation alert half the summer or more and having multiple escape plans, not to mention possibly having to move/turn loose 75 head of livestock could get a bit nervewrecking at times. You also had to be careful at -40F or colder too, even just going out to get firewood from the sheds. Always planning on each step, as even if you fell on glare ice, with no one around, you could have just killed yourself if you were injured with no one to find you for possibly weeks.
One of my hobbies (obsessions) is heirloom vegetables and grains. After collecting for ten years, I now have 705 varieties in my collection. I rotate and grow different varieties out for seeds each year and hold seed swap meets once a year for the past 6-7 years.
Circumstances were such two years ago I returned to the States with my child, where I have rebuilt a pantry, re-establishing gardens, fruit trees, livestock and planning for the new situations which are man-made as well as natural disasters which potentially could happen at my new home. I don't feel like I fit into the labels of "prepper", "survivalist", "gun enthusiast", etc., as it is just the way I live. Where I lived in Canada, there was only yourself to depend on, you learned to live light and/or be creative/innovative, if you didn't stock it, it might be 3-4 months before you hit the grocery store again. There was no one to butcher your animals easily, so from chickens to cattle/hogs/moose, you just learned how. And contrary to belief, you do not require a bonesaw or other major equipment, although I would bemoan the fact of being without my meat grinder/sausage stuffer. Sure I like my comforts like a television after 9 years of not having one, but I also know that luxury is a clean pair of socks after 6 days when you are on the trail and forgot the others at home.
Anyway, I am happy I found you guys and hope to glean some cool ideas from you all and maybe I can even post something of interest to others. Thanks for inviting me,
Cedar
Found this site after a moderator here suggested I might like it.
In an introduction to who I am, I started as a dog handler with Search & Rescue for 15 years and that started me on my 'being prepared' lifestyle and keeping a ready pack in my vehicle at all times for up to 2 weeks out. Since I also (usually) farm and store, can, rootcellar alot of my own foods from meat to herbs, it just has sorta escalated since 1986 in collecting, learning and putting my own foods up as well as for emergency preparedness.
I grew up on farms in the Willamette Valley since I was little, but for awhile, I bailed from living in the States when I moved to the bush in northern Canada and homesteaded on 40 acres for almost a decade. Most emergencies up there were multiple wild fires which could encompass 180,000 hecacres or more in a very short time. Being on evacuation alert half the summer or more and having multiple escape plans, not to mention possibly having to move/turn loose 75 head of livestock could get a bit nervewrecking at times. You also had to be careful at -40F or colder too, even just going out to get firewood from the sheds. Always planning on each step, as even if you fell on glare ice, with no one around, you could have just killed yourself if you were injured with no one to find you for possibly weeks.
One of my hobbies (obsessions) is heirloom vegetables and grains. After collecting for ten years, I now have 705 varieties in my collection. I rotate and grow different varieties out for seeds each year and hold seed swap meets once a year for the past 6-7 years.
Circumstances were such two years ago I returned to the States with my child, where I have rebuilt a pantry, re-establishing gardens, fruit trees, livestock and planning for the new situations which are man-made as well as natural disasters which potentially could happen at my new home. I don't feel like I fit into the labels of "prepper", "survivalist", "gun enthusiast", etc., as it is just the way I live. Where I lived in Canada, there was only yourself to depend on, you learned to live light and/or be creative/innovative, if you didn't stock it, it might be 3-4 months before you hit the grocery store again. There was no one to butcher your animals easily, so from chickens to cattle/hogs/moose, you just learned how. And contrary to belief, you do not require a bonesaw or other major equipment, although I would bemoan the fact of being without my meat grinder/sausage stuffer. Sure I like my comforts like a television after 9 years of not having one, but I also know that luxury is a clean pair of socks after 6 days when you are on the trail and forgot the others at home.
Anyway, I am happy I found you guys and hope to glean some cool ideas from you all and maybe I can even post something of interest to others. Thanks for inviting me,
Cedar
