Skills To Have In Case SHTF

This is a list of skills I feel would be good to know in case of a widespread emergency. It is, of course, not all-inclusive, and some of them are probably less than nessassary.

Hand Sewing. This would be a good skill to have for a variety of reasons. Now, it wouldnt be something you'd HAVE to learn beforehand, as you could figure it out, but if you already know it, it is a marketable skill, and one that will serve you well in many senarios.

Making Fire. From scratch. This one is obvious, I think. Eventually our lighter will run out. Matches are limited, and can get wet. Fire is something that would be a very important thing to have.

Banking a Fire. On the same lines as before, it could be very important to already know how to bank a fire for transport and/or night/day time. You wouldn't want to have to build a fire EVERY time you needed one.

Basic Woodworking. As in, hand saws, building with a hammer and nails, that sort of thing.

Hunting/Trapping/Fishing. And how to improvise in case your gun breaks, fishing pole gets stolen, or store bought traps "disappear".

Foraging. Because when the shit hits the fan, we're not going to be heading to the store for salad and green beans.

Natural Animal Husbandry and Care. I am experimenting with this currently with my rabbits. They eat a natural gathered diet (with the exception of some grains) and are a source of freeish food. As in, they replicate themselves pretty consistantly. Another problem is their transport, but you know, cross that bridge later.

Building with Local Materials/Garbage. Important because people (including me) will still need shelter, but all of our "ready made" homes will be at a stall, and possibly unlivable. Of course, we could salvage almost anything to build with, so there.

Purifying Water. This should have been at the top. You die without water, period. And if you drink contaminated water, you also die. Period.


John 10:30 "I and my Father are one."

SHTF Senario

What would you do if today you were at home, making dinner, setting everyone down, and the shit hit the fan? An earthquake struck, or a tsunami came, or some bomb blew up half the town? Would you be prepared? I wouldn't be. I am getting prepared, but I am not nearly.

To prepare I am learning about wild foods, I am raising rabbits. I am hoping to get off of my dependance on the welfare system, and figure out how to raise my own family, poor or not. I am seeking out and learning skills that I believe would be good to have in such an emergency. After all, they can take your food, water, freedowm, and shelter, but they can't take your knowledge.

John 10:30 "I and my Father are one."

Pregnant Mommy

I am officially two days overdue. Fat and cumbersome, I am dreading each day chasing my little one, who just had a second birthday. He, of course, wants to play and climb and run, and I want to sit and do as little as possible. I eat all the time, and so does he, but he wants to do more.

I have recently become engrossed in survival senarios, what they call in one forum I've been lurking in as SHTF senarios. So I have been putting up dried foods, enjoying my new rabbits, and planning my new camper as a home. Of course, none of these plans get very far, because I am tired and grumpy. I start, and stop, then start again, and stop again. I know I need to get these in order for the baby to come, but I am so lazy. So, so lazy. And then I try to fool myself that I will have more energy once the new baby comes. Yeah, right! Lol.

John 10:30 "I and my Father are one."

Rabbit Feeding

I have gotten my new buns into an eating form that I like, and I am in the process of refining, through research and reading others' experiences, a form of rabbit nutrition that will work out great for me. They are on an almost completely weed-created diet, rich in blackberry leaves, some rose cuttings, LOADS of good grass, and common english plantain. They love clover, and dandelions, and prickly lettuce, and I feed them a bit of grain and molassas each day. I need to get a mineral salt block for them, but for now, I think the molassas is okay. I also am feeding a SMALL portion of pellets to my doe and her kit, partly because they both need a higher protien diet, and partly because they are brand new and I want to make sure they are transitioning well.

So far we have had no poopy butt problems, and all the bunnies are doing well. They eat a TON a day, and it is simply amazing how much they poop.

They also get little treats, like apple, strawberry, and the occassional carrot. It is very exciting to learn how to feed an animal on a completely natural diet, and I love that with rabbits, it's all plant based. I try to feed Wallace, my cat, naturally as possible, but to be honest, it's a pain dealing with all that meat, and he is smelly because of it. The rabbits are just way more rewarding, and in three to four months, I'll be eating bunnies. Can't eat cats. I even heard it was illegal to eat cats, although I could be wrong.

Anyways...



John 10:30 "I and my Father are one."

Midge Has Been Bred

Yesterday I bred my broken black Minilop buck to my black (broken?) Satin doe. He didn't seem to have any idea what he was doing, So I decided to leave her in there for 24 hours, like we used to when I was a kid. She is now back in with her doe kit, to continue nursing her for two more weeks, and to let the baby adjust to the feed easier. I also feel like babies of all species grow better when mom is allowed to nurse and wean them at a more natural pace. It may very well be true that rabbits wean early, but I see no reason to take baby away when they are happy together.

In two weeks, I plan, baby bunny will be taken away from mom, and that will give her a good two week period to get ready for her new kits to be born. By that point, I will have a cage system set up so we have growout cages, a buck cage (probably to go downstairs, Doodle will be a "pet"), and doe cages. Three doe cages, to start, six grow out cages (one for each gender of each litter), and one buck cage. So I need to build eight cages, as I can use a dog crate for Doodle. They need to stack, as I have them inside, and they need to have good trays underneath so i CAN KEEP IT CLEAN. No worse smell than cat piss, but bunny pee comes in not far behind, and I live in an apartment complex, and am not supposed to have animals, let alone a full-blown rabbitry. Hehehe.

Now here's hoping Midge WAS bred, and with a kit colored/gendered like I want. :) That is to say, a fat doe with good broken coloring.


John 10:30 "I and my Father are one."