Hello 👋🏻

[Lavendermotherhen]

1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like? Rocky Mountains/Southwest US. A dry desert climate with sagebrush and mountains
2. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient? It’s a big thing in my culture and religion, I’ve always wanted a farm as a child too- we did have a mini/hobby farm growing up
3. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more? I’ve got 10 chickens, we hunt and fish and trap. We’ve always done a garden and food storage. I cloth diapered for many years. We homeschool. I do sourdough and fermented veggies. We collect discarded wood and stuff for future projects. Wood burning stove. Etc Writing this down makes me think I’m further along than I thought. My goal this year is to bottle all the things. Get a good solid food storage of home grown and bottled stuff
4. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? Yes
5. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these? I sew and crochet. I can teach myself to do any handicrafts. My favorite is sewing clothing for my family
6. Can you legally keep livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?
Chickens- everything else- not so much
7. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing?
We love growing tomatoes. Still learning, and our soil is basically sand so it’s been tough
8. Do you fish? Bait or explosives?
Yes- bait. Catfish mostly
9. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country?
1/3 almost 1/2 acre in a bigger small town. Bigger than I grew up with, and growing every day
10. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn?
Chickens and sewing. I’d like to be a better gardener
11. Do you do wood work? Framing, finish, cabinet?
Nope- hubby knows the basics and makes me anything I want
12. Are you interested in herbal medicine?
Yes
13. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be?
Somewhere warmer than here. Seasonal depression is the pits.
14. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? Yes- heating
15. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? Raw milk? Farm fresh eggs?
Not really, but I do it out of necessity. We use our own eggs
16. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs?
We hunt- would love to forage
17. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient?
I can sew, cloth diaper, take care of chickens, homeschool... and more
18. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy?
Nope- don’t have $$ right now
19. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to?
Nope- maybe...
20. Do you make things yourself to save money?
Yes- especially lately with prices going crazy
21. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending
Somewhat- I still succumb to retail therapy sometimes- but it’s mostly books lol I love to learn

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Welcome. A lot of experience on this forum. Many of us put our general location in our profile so it shows up with every post. Makes it easier to connect with folks living in the same area/climate.

 

[baymule]

We lived on a tiny city lot for years before retiring 7 years ago and moving to 8 acres. I totally get trying to have a city farm! Chickens are wonderful therapy for those of us longing for a better life. Welcome to the forum from Texas.

 

[Hinotori]

Welcome!

I grew up in the semi-arid desert of Eastern Oregon. Soil was sand. Lots of compost helps. Mom's favorite is horse, but she likes the chicken I take down to her now because it works well with pots. We always broke the watering rule and watered late in the evening or at night. Less is lost to evaporation and the droplets don't cause the sun burn leaves that way. Mom does drip irrigation now which doesn't matter time of day.

 

[Britesea]

Welcome! Getting ready for bed here but checked out the forum one last time.

We also live in High Desert, in Eastern Oregon. I have had trouble with seasonal depression too-- I find upping my Vitamin D helps a lot ( I take 5000IU a day)

 

[Hinotori]

Vitamin D is a must. I live in the land of cloudy drizzle now. It's a pill everyday

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Agreed, supplemental vit D is a must. Here, we go days at a time during the winter w/o ever seeing sunshine. It's cause to stop what I'm doing and run to a window if the sun comes out. vit D is also a huge benefit for immune function.

 

[Chic Rustler]

hello from Texas.

 

[CLSranch]

Howdy and welcome from Oklahoma.

Somewhat- I still succumb to retail therapy sometimes- but it’s mostly books lol I love to learn

Books (hard copies) are a good thing to invest in. Especially anything to do with gardening or other self sufficiency education (or any history/education) books. It's always there without a battery or someone else having the ability to change it regardless of whether or not you already bought it.
A good one today to make sure of to have on hand is the bible.

 

[The Porch]