what are y'all saving from the wild to deal with coming crisis?

[Maugwa]

I like how you have the solar panels mounted - hanging off the eave rather than on the roof itself. IMO putting solar panels on a roof is a tremendously dumb idea because it devalues the house, creates horrible problems if there's a roof leak and creates a hazard for firefighters if there's ever a fire.

They are not on the roof. There is to be a pipe through the logs just under the eve that they pivot on. If you happened to notice there were two cranks on the wall up in the little loft over the kitchen. One of these is to rotate the solar panels to the azimuth best for the angle of the sun in various months - they also can be rotated all the way up, till they are under the eves, facing down, for a hail event. I had hail trash two panels that I put on the roof of my van a few years ago. It wasn't large enough hail to dent the van, pea size, but it wasn't good for those panels. The other crank in the loft opens vents that run the entire length of the highest peak inside the cabin for air flow.

 

[clembone]

The complaints being made about this thread getting highjacked away from the OP's intention, and the need to start a separate thread on climate change are unfair.

In the original, first post, the OP asked,
“What are y'all saving from the wild to deal with coming crisis?”
This question is not simple. A simple question would have been “What are y'all saving from the wild to feed your chickens?” Or, “feed your family”.

The OP added “coming crisis” and then described that expectation:

“Unless y'all have been on the moon lately{LOL). Supposedly earth changes are here and getting worse every day. So much rain here in ky. and other breadbaskets areas. People having to sell off their herds last summer because of droughts. Now flooding etc farmers fields flooded mud everywhere. Other places droughts. ... The animals around here are acting strangely.” [slight editing, such as by guessing upper case letters]

Clearly, there are two parts to the original posting, namely,


A. The assertion that weather and climate are changing.

B. The question as to what wild resources are being gathered.


It is not fair to complain when folk continue to address both parts of this original post. It seems to me that the discussions concerning both of these two parts have been appropriate. For myself

A. On the climate matters:

Humans are driving climate change. That is a fact. This is to say, “scientific evidence supports this statement to a degree that refusing to accept it is merely willful.” On the other hand, anyone asserting a scientific fact must be prepared to receive contrary information, testing the conclusion. No knowledge is absolute. All knowledge is provisional.

That matter is closed, but with one opening left for those on the other side:

Where are the reliable sources showing a lack of climate change or a lack of human involvement?
I have seen NONE.
Peer review publications are the standard in the field. Those have been presented in this thread in posts above. Every one of them supports the conclusion that climate change is real, and that it is driven by human activity. All of the reliable, tested, accredited, trustworthy, academic, scientific, worthwhile, and genuine sources of information have said so for years. I would be pleased, however, to see some accredited peer review information to the contrary. I would be even more surprised.

Bare, unscientific beliefs denying climate change are hurting us.

It is natural that many of us would address this matter here, since the OP raised it.

B. On the wild resources aspect of this thread,

I would recommend

“The Foxfire Book” series;

Mother Earth News books and magazine

Ewell Gibbons, “Stalking the Wild Asparagus”;

and I found the US Army's “Survival Manual” to have good practical, basic information as well.

I keep a snapping turtle taming kit, along with various bags and bins in my trunk. Spilled grain on tight turns from off overloaded grain trucks and trailers has been my easiest and largest “wild” gathering source for chickens. The next most efficient source is domesticated but feral fruit trees along the roadway.

 

[perchie.girl]

Are Terriers better than cats at catching mice?

Oh yeah.... they go to ground digging up the tunnels and killing anything in thier way... kill and toss....

Even a regular dog with that instinct. I have seen them use terriers for the immediate kill but if a rat escapes the greyhounds are on their trail.... chase em down kill em then come back and watch for more escapeees.

I had an Aussie cross When i moved a couch that was sitting in the flour bed she killed every escapee then i pointed out the holes and she dug em out. She moved about a yard of dirt found six adults and four juvies and about three or four nests with pinkies. Killed em all shook them till they bled then dropped them. The pinkies I had her drop because I wanted to see if we got the whole nest.

I told her drop it and she did and waited till I examined then nest and tossed them. then I told her to go get more and off she went.

afterwards I cleaned her up looking for bites and she had none.... Boy did she sleep that off.
Here is movie about rat terriers

 

[perchie.girl]

Terriers make very nice companion dogs. Two in one there?

Yep for sure...

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

That's amazing. Looks like my hens when I'm moving dirt or wood.

 

[yaldnif]

View attachment 1827040
Thanks for looking that up! I do dry zucchini for soups in winter but in a grid down situation that wouldn't work for me because of the humidity here in Virginia during the summer.

I read that you can dehydrate cucumbers in the dehydrator, so surely you could do zukes. But I wonder how we will pull off
dehydrating in our humid summers when there’s no power. Will have to rig up something solar.

I always wondered how much nutritional value they could have, though. Rather than keep guessing, I looked it up. Values are for one medium zucchini.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Where are the reliable sources showing a lack of climate change or a lack of human involvement?

No one disputes climate is changing or that man has an influence. For example, cities are responsible for a lot of localized warming because of all the asphalt and concrete. What is disputed is how much that change is and, more importantly, that it will be catastrophic. There is no evidence to suggest existing or future catastrophism. That idea comes from computer simulations (models), which are not evidence of anything except the programmers' understanding. If a model accurately portrays reality then the understanding is good, and vice versa. Virtually all climate models do not portray reality accurately; they overestimate warming about twofold. So their understanding of the science is not very good.

So, there are more pressing things to be concerned about, very real possibilities of immediate crises like nuclear war in case of a war with Russia, economic collapse for numerous reasons (this is actually the most likely IMO), electric grid failure via terrorist attack or act of God, among other things. Things we can actually prepare for to some degree.

 

[perchie.girl]

Terriers make very nice companion dogs. Two in one there?

Also the other breeds....

Kengal or Great pyraneses... Both historically live in house and guard the flock. You are also included as the flock by the way.

Texas heeler.... perfect all round dog... love human attention.

Rat terrier..... What can I say.... skillful vermin catcher.

 

[ocap]

computer models and scientific forecasting?
When I look at a weather map that is forecasting the path of a hurricane....
Why is there more than one path?
I usually see eight or ten models with no one agreeing on the eventual path. One or none might .....

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I apologize to the OP for getting drawn into the "discussion"

My plans arent so dramatic... I do have a thread about surviving Social Security... With limited funds I believe I have enough to handle feeding my horse, chickens and goats.. This will be my personal chrisis. At sixty four my SS income will be pretty low. But I have calculated that I will need:

Ten bales of Bermuda a month... No pasture here
Four bales of Alfalfa a month
Three twenty five pound bags of Flock raiser.
Salt licks one for goats one for horse Horse goes through one fifty pounder about every two months... Goats Salt lick has lick holes in it but ffity pounds last more than a year... four goats at the time.
Chickens get salt in their feed.

I hope to can dog food for the dogs and or feed them raw food.... Canned food will have a few veggies like rice and carrots. I hope to have a Terrier of some sort to handle the mouse population in and around the house. As well as a livestock Guardian dog for the Goats and Chickens... Horse can protect herself with her size five hooves i have seen her punch a hoof shaped hole in plywood....

I also want a dog that will be my companion so I probably will go for a Texas Cattle dog. Smart and wily good with livestock too... Good at herding and general knowledge of human language..

So three dogs at least one of each size... All will be allowed in the house as long as they are good citizens.

So even if I cant can food I probably will go through fifty pounds of dog foood per month Maybe 100 pounds.

prices here: per month
Bermuda 13-16 a bale. ten bales 160
Alfalfa 16 a bale four bales 64
flock raiser 13 a bag four bags 55
dog food 30 a Bag two bags 60
salt licks ten ea 40/12 3.3
total 342.3

One quarter of my income

deb

Deb, are you in a position to hold off retiring until you reach full retirement age? You will be losing a ton of money and when you get to Medicare age, part B will take a chunk of your SS check. Also, if you take early SS and have any earned income you will lose a portion of your SS check to that. At full retirement age you could work full time and collect your total SS check. Just a thought.