The first weeks of this year have created a range of cold weather issues. There are a number of steps that can be taken by a family looking to become prepared for problems with extremes of cold weather seen from parts of the Deep South to the most northerly regions of the U.S. over recent months.
Continue reading “Cold Weather Emergency Preparedness”
When we were living on the 40 acre homestead before we downsized, we had over 50 laying hens. There were lots of eggs to collect each day. The egg basket that I was using wouldn’t hold them all so I switched to a 5 gallon bucket. I quickly realized that a large bucket was a quick way to break eggs and carrying eggs in my T-shirt wasn’t cutting it either. I needed a solution to this problem without spending much money (“much” to this mama is about $10)…I finally decided that I would make an egg gathering apron out of an extra pillowcase and a little bit of ribbon. The apron was made in under 15 minutes and there has been no issue gathering eggs since!
Continue reading “How to Make an Egg Gathering Apron from a Pillowcase”
Chickens are pretty easy creatures to raise. That is, until the cold season comes. Jordan Walker, the lead content curator of Coops and Cages, shares tips to improve the survivability of chickens during winter.
Chicken owners who live in mild climate regions are a bit luckier than most. Those who live in harsh weather conditions have to keep their chickens closely monitored especially during winter season. Find out how to prepare for such circumstance beforehand to avoid any untoward incidens when the time comes. Continue reading “Keeping Chickens Alive During Cold Weather”
I have always had an interest in primitive survival techniques, and I enjoy teaching myself the lost arts of our ancestors. These days I normally kill three or four deer per year to fill our freezer, and I do what I can to use every part of the animal. However, I noticed that our deer camp throws out seven to ten deer hides every year.
I made the decision to find a way to use these hides. The more I thought about it, the more I settled in on an idea. Every winter I complete a survival challenge during which I spend three or four days in freezing temperatures to hone my winter survival skills. However, I can never seem to find a warm and comfortable buffer between myself and the ground. Continue reading “How to Tan a Deer Hide”
Few fruit say summer quite like a tree-ripe peach, dripping juice down your chin and hands all the way to your elbows. Although you are unlikely to find this perfect peach at the grocery store – peaches do not continue to ripen more once picked — you can enjoy this treat if you grow your own. Growing top quality peaches is not without its challenges. If you are prepared, however, you can conquer them with a little bit of knowledge and regular attention.
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The kitchen is the most important room in every household, and as such it must be taken good care of. The kitchen is the place where the entire family gathers every day and spends most of its time there. That is why the kitchen needs to always be perfectly cleaned and disinfected so that it is a good environment for your family. But even the cleaning can sometimes be dangerous. Using a bunch of chemically induced cleaning products will not make your kitchen any healthier or safer, than being dirty. The trick is to clean it in a way that you do not do even more harm. That is why this article will tell you how to clean and disinfect your kitchen in a way that it really is cleaned, not just from dirt and bacteria but from dangerous chemicals as well.
If you are lucky enough to live on a homestead, there’s no doubt you’ve probably learned some very impressive skills. Homestead life can be tough, it can be challenging, but it can also be highly rewarding, especially when the skills that you’ve learned can be put to good use elsewhere.
It’s interesting to note that there are a lot of homestead skills that can be transferred over to survival skills. This means that if you fancy becoming a bit of a prepper, you should already have a lot of skills and knowledge that will help you to get through a survival situation.
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Treating ADHD with medication has become as standard as handing out ibuprofen. Unfortunately, the use of these types of medication also creates a long list of potential side effects ranging from mild symptoms – such as irritability, stomach ache, and insomnia – to more serious symptoms like high blood pressure, psychiatric episodes, substance abuse and irregular heart rate.
What super-food can you make for pennies, maybe even for free? Chicken broth is healthy, very simple to make, and supports your immune system. And did I say it’s inexpensive?
Whenever I make chicken for dinner – at least once a week – I remove the bones and put them in zippered freezer bags. The bags go right into the freezer.
I grew up learning the value of preserving food for the winter and hard times. Our family grew a big garden each year and canned or froze the extra for later. We visited pick your own farms or combed the fields for wild apple trees to harvest fruit to stock our pantry. I continue to put away produce for my own family now that I’m a wife and mother. I want to make sure there is plenty of food in our house in case a snowstorm closes the roads or price increases put the basic necessities out of our price range. Besides that, I get a real sense of satisfaction when I pull jars of my own home canned foods out of storage and make a meal entirely from foods I preserved!
Continue reading “Putting Up Food on the Homestead”