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Have had some interest in leather work for a while. Utility stuff, mostly. Covers for hatchets in my tool box, chisel rolls, a belt holster for a pliers/multitool, belts, etc. Finally worked up to buying 2 "sides" of cow hide. To give you an idea of what I just did, think of a cow. Then...

Lately I've been thinking about how our personal motivation is often a distraction from the work of preparing for the future. One thing I've noticed about the prep/survival community is that everyone like their own motivation. Often people introduce themselves with really specific reasons for...

I think the internet is tired of bug-out-bags discussions but I thought I'd share what I've done recently, version 1 and 2. First, there was a big wave that hit some part of SE Asia. In the ensuing discussion, it became apparent that systems that are only for emergency are not usually...

I've been working toward getting rabbits for quite a while. My sister got me started on the idea years ago but it took me a while to get it arranged. Have a HF temporary garage (200 $) with a bunch of cages. I found some on craigslist but after paying for gas, washing the poos off, and...

Got a pair of silver velveteen lops for DD1. It's a surprise for Christmas. Anyway, the guy offers to deliver so I take him up on it. Shows up with 2 rabbits but only 3 healthy eyes between the two of them. The one's eye is crusty and the eyelid is swollen. I'm going to use a warm wet rag...

First of all, I don't even know if this is a good idea. Is castration even needed for meat rabbits? Probably not. My gut tells me it's for suburban rabbits that you let run around your kitchen. Anyway, for curiosity's sake, here's a link to how it's done...

Made a 55-gal cistern in the basement with a used 55-gal barrel with a food-grade plastic liner. Finally filled it, bucket style, after it sat for half a year. My emergency prep mojo is recovering from a slump. It's only enough for about a month of extreme rationed use in cool weather, if...

Finally got some hens. Not sure what took so long. A friend gave us 5 year-old australorps. Took them a while to figure out the water but now they're drinking OK. I threw in some kitchen scraps and they were less excited than I expected so I wonder if they're still stressed from the move...

This is a neat way to package up a fire bow. It's a compromise between modern and primitive. And it's interesting to read about the emotional side of discovering self sufficiency. http://www.improvisedlife.com/2014/05/19/modern-primitives-guide-starting-fire-without-matches/#more-41066

I got a 2-bottom plow last year. It was old and rusty. I wanted to fix it up for this year. Well, it's almost time to plow. So far, I've taken it apart. Seems like just a few parts but there's 75 pieces. Many of the pieces are for the sod-cutting coulters, but still, it's a lot of pieces...

So spring is here and it'll be time to plow soon. But is plowing the right choice? I watched a UW Extension presentation on lawn care and one of the points was that spring is a bad time to disturb the soil because of weed seeds that will then happily germinate. He suggested a slitter, which...

I signed up for a blacksmith course. I've been wanting to do this for a while and seeing the class offering was the kick-in-the-ass I needed. Lately I've been watching videos on the intertubes. I'm amazed at what you can do with some charcoal, a fan, hammer, and anvil. Almost no job is too...

I've been thinking about how to label my canning jars. I'd like to fancy it up a bit and have more information about what's in the jar. I've been using masking tape on the tattler lid, with a few letters scrawled on it with a fat sharpie. It's not ideal. So far I haven't had any trouble...

My backpack finally gave out. The zippers were the main structural component and they started failing too often for me to repair. So I'm in the market for a new bag. I usually carry 1 MRE, small first-aid kit, rain gear (summer), snow pants and extra socks (winter), and a 1 L water bottle...

I'm in MN and it's really winter now. I put blankets in the car today. I'm thinking of putting the backpacking stove in the trunk, too. In a situation where you can keep warm, the next problem is water. Packing snow into a pan and melting it with a small stove is one solution. I have a...

I've been storing water in 1+ gal food-grade containers for about 6 mo. It's fine but I don't come by many of those non-milk-jug type containers. Also, they require a shelf, which is reserved for other SS items, like jars of food. I do have some 55-gal drums in the garage that I'd like to...

We had a fairly late fall here in SE MN and I just finally brought in the cabbage. I planted it in mid-July, so I didn't expect much. Long story---new house, no implements yet, travel for work, etc. I dumped the cabbages in the garage yesterday and this afternoon I made my first batch of real...

Pie is my favorite way to consume... anything. So when I found this, I was interested in how to make my own pies-in-a-jar: http://www.permies.com/t/4565/cooking/jar-pie-years But, is it safe? I don't know. Here's my thoughts: You can preserve pie filling but only with certain...

So I was looking for jars. We're coming up short this year, what with the garden and all. Such a blessing. I started canning with 6 doz pt jars thinking that it was a crazy number and that I'd never use that many. [Many, many jars later, I'm still searching for dozens more.] Well, I found...

I'm canning applesauce and I noticed that one of my jars (that I opened) had some apple pulp that straddled the seal. Is that an issue? Seems like it could be. I'm using Tattler lids but I don't expect that it'd matter which type you are using. I guess this comes back to a much more basic...