High Altitude Living In WA & CO Resources - The Happy Homesteader Blog Bruce and Carol McElmurray live in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Colorado at an elevation of 9,750'. Ed and Laurie Essex live off grid in the Okanogan Highlands of Washington State at an elevation of 4200’. Bruce and Ed, bloggers for The Happy Homesteader at Mother Earth News, have decided to collaborate on a blog about their high-altitude living. Rediscover Haybox Cooking - Do It Yourself I've discovered a great way not only to use less energy in food preparation, but to serve tastier and more nutritious meals at the same' time! It's great-grandma's nonelectric version of the modern Crock-Pot: the haybox cooker. Make (Or Find) Your Own My family first used this once-popular pioneer cooking method about two years ago, and we've been haybox cooking fans ever since! Here's how we went about it: We began by building a sturdy, attractive, nearly airtight box out of tongue-and-groove knotty pine.
Essential Outdoor Survival Skills You can’t call yourself an adventurer without these critical outdoor survival skills. When heading into the great outdoors, or any potential survival situation, we all know to bring the necessary gear and supplies. You’ll need food, water, fire and all the other essentials on your backpacking gear list. A true outdoorsman, however, is ready for survival no matter the situation. In other words, the most important tool you have isn’t in your pack, it’s in your head. Your wilderness survival skill knowledge could very well be the determining factor in the wild. Herbs & Herbal Uses Herbs in medicine, cooking, and magic. Find charts, planting tips, and other uses for these valuable plants below. Imagine....awakening in the morning and stepping outside to a lush and fragrant paradise....which exists to satisfy your own culinary, medicinal, and even spiritual needs..... Welcome to Herb Gardening! What is an herb?
The Self Sufficient Blog The Self Sufficient Blog is my mini-journal about self sufficent farm living. It... -- keeps you up-to-date on new information and what others are doing to become more self sufficient. ---New methods and creative approaches to farm living. How To Build A Vertical Aquaponic System You can turn a small yard, a corner in a community garden or an unused space in your home into a thriving vertical farm for vegetables and fish. A household-sized vertical aquaponic system can fit into a 3ft by 5ft (1m x 2m) area and feed a family year-round. Sean Brady, the aquaponics projects coordinator at the Center for Sustainable Aquaponics and Nourish the Planet in Loveland, Colo., showed us how to build a system from scrap he found around the greenhouse. See how to make this below: How To Build A Vertical Aquaponic System
Airsoft. It’s Not Just For Kids: Using Airsoft in Your Firearms Training One of my sheepdog goals this year is to become proficient with a handgun and to get my carry license. I bought my first handgun a few months ago — a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm — and have been taking defensive handgun classes at the U.S. Shooting Academy. One thing I quickly discovered is that firearm training gets really expensive, really fast. What should I do? The most common question by far we get on this website is “What should I do?” Once people watch The Crash Course and are awakened to the very real threats posed by Peak Oil and reckless monetary policy, they understandably want to know how to position themselves intelligently. Our recommendation: start building resilience into your life today. Ensure that you, your family, and your community are as prepared and sustainably situated as possible so that you can enjoy a high quality of life regardless of how the future plays out. My staff and I have distilled the astounding wealth of knowledge our community members have shared on this site and combined it with our extensive experience to recommend specific steps and products for you to consider in your personal preparations.