• Welcome to The Bushcraft Forum

    You are currently viewing the site as a guest and some content may not be available to you.

    Registration is quick and easy and will give you full access to the site and allow you to ask questions or make comments and join in on the conversation. If you would like to join then please Register

What Have You Done Recently To Improve Your Lifestyle & Chances Of Survival?

Keith

Very Addicted
Messages
1,630
Points
930
Age
75
Well, I finished all the plumbing on the new outside laundry & installed an outside sink with plumbing for washing vegies etc.
I fixed the not charging problem on the tractor. I fitted a new master brake cylinder on the Russian Lada 4WD & improved on the throttle control. I fitted an overflow pipe on the new 5000 gallon water tank & run it into a water butt. I fitted double gates in the western fence of the main house garden, that is 6 garden gates now!
One of my sons has been cutting firewood, & my wife has been expanding & planting the gardens. We now have new berry bushes planted & two choko plants climbing the fence. The broad beans are up & the raspberries are shooting. We are still eating out of the garden & spring must be getting close.
The double gates were installed so we can get a truck load of garden soil delivered & dumped directly in the garden.
Keith.
 
Fair go Keith, you are 12 hours ahead of us...:rofl::rofl::rofl:...
Sounds like another busy day for you while I've been up with my sheep, relaxed wander about checking fences and gate while the dogs look for bunnies and badger poo to roll in:eek:
 
gardens-back and front- are green and in full production, if I cant eat it I don't want it! we are about to start eating our own home grown apples.
fence front and side has been replaced, old ones had started leaning!
sun room had had its flashing tape replaced, its a lean to type of arrangement so this has to be replaced every few years or else it leaks!
all our 3 sheds have had their felt roofs redone and are watertight.
firewood stocks are all up to date, meat freezer is full and larder has been restocked.
 
l've built an outdoor compost toilet but need to finish the rainwater harvesting for hand washing. OH (not a prepper but likes to be self reliant) has extended the water pipe from the spring (original water supply to the house) to the garden. lt will be easy to then extend further to the house. The house has borehole water but this wont work without electricity which we get from the grid. l've made more veg beds, sorted and stacked wood, picked and frozen fruit, made jam from some of it and this afternoon will sort through my stored seeds. Oh yes, l stocked up on Branston beans 'cos they were on offer last time we were at the supermarket.
 
Fair go Keith, you are 12 hours ahead of us...:rofl::rofl::rofl:...
Sounds like another busy day for you while I've been up with my sheep, relaxed wander about checking fences and gate while the dogs look for bunnies and badger poo to roll in:eek:
So, another advantage of living down under ;)
Keith.
 
gardens-back and front- are green and in full production, if I cant eat it I don't want it! we are about to start eating our own home grown apples.
fence front and side has been replaced, old ones had started leaning!
sun room had had its flashing tape replaced, its a lean to type of arrangement so this has to be replaced every few years or else it leaks!
all our 3 sheds have had their felt roofs redone and are watertight.
firewood stocks are all up to date, meat freezer is full and larder has been restocked.
Good one. One set of our in-laws had a leaky roof, they let it leak. Eventually part of the ceiling collapsed, they left it. The floor rotted out!!! I think it has been fixed now, but it gives you some idea of the mentality of some people. Can you imagine what would happen in a shtf situation?! I sure don't want them coming here. They would be about as useful as teats on a bull.
Keith.
 
l've built an outdoor compost toilet but need to finish the rainwater harvesting for hand washing. OH (not a prepper but likes to be self reliant) has extended the water pipe from the spring (original water supply to the house) to the garden. lt will be easy to then extend further to the house. The house has borehole water but this wont work without electricity which we get from the grid. l've made more veg beds, sorted and stacked wood, picked and frozen fruit, made jam from some of it and this afternoon will sort through my stored seeds. Oh yes, l stocked up on Branston beans 'cos they were on offer last time we were at the supermarket.
Well done Barbara, you have been busy.
Keith.
 
Good one. One set of our in-laws had a leaky roof, they let it leak. Eventually part of the ceiling collapsed, they left it. The floor rotted out!!! I think it has been fixed now, but it gives you some idea of the mentality of some people. Can you imagine what would happen in a shtf situation?! I sure don't want them coming here. They would be about as useful as teats on a bull.
Keith.
wouldnt happen with my mrs! like most wives she wants it done yesterday!!:lol:
 
All is well at the house.Busy processing fruit and veg from the garden.Plenty of eggs,and the rabbits are doing what they do best!:lol:.Tons ( literally) of firewood ready to go.

Wife and me have been piling supplies( mainly coal) into our ' bug out' location for the last few weekends.My brother and me own an island on the river near here. It is about 75' x 80' with a brick built ' house' on it.We inherited it years ago from our grandfather.It was his fishing retreat( and mine now!),and the house is quite civilised.My brother has his narrow boat moored there and lives there with his Alsatian and Jack Russell.IF anything 'happens' its a lovely place to go,and we can walk there if we have to.
 
All is well at the house.Busy processing fruit and veg from the garden.Plenty of eggs,and the rabbits are doing what they do best!:lol:.Tons ( literally) of firewood ready to go.

Wife and me have been piling supplies( mainly coal) into our ' bug out' location for the last few weekends.My brother and me own an island on the river near here. It is about 75' x 80' with a brick built ' house' on it.We inherited it years ago from our grandfather.It was his fishing retreat( and mine now!),and the house is quite civilised.My brother has his narrow boat moored there and lives there with his Alsatian and Jack Russell.IF anything 'happens' its a lovely place to go,and we can walk there if we have to.
COAL !!! So I assume you are not into looking after the environment as a survival issue?
Keith.
 
Just been adding to my collection of bow saw blades so I can hand process firewood without making too much noise or using fuel. I bought out a whole load of deadstock Sandvik blades from the 1980's (old shop stock) better then any that you can buy these days.
The old blades are 15% thicker steel then Bacho and hold their set for longer. I've also sharpened and set my pit saw and my big crosscut saw.
The chainsaws still get aired on a regular basis but I just want to be ready if the fuel runs out. My firewood stocks are looking good for 2020 since I cut a couple of years in advance.
Fixed the springs in one of our old c1850 armchairs this evening, they'd shifted a little out of position....now it might last another 150 years. I couldn't afford to replace it with anything anywhere near as well made.
 
Just been adding to my collection of bow saw blades so I can hand process firewood without making too much noise or using fuel. I bought out a whole load of deadstock Sandvik blades from the 1980's (old shop stock) better then any that you can buy these days.
The old blades are 15% thicker steel then Bacho and hold their set for longer. I've also sharpened and set my pit saw and my big crosscut saw.
The chainsaws still get aired on a regular basis but I just want to be ready if the fuel runs out. My firewood stocks are looking good for 2020 since I cut a couple of years in advance.
Fixed the springs in one of our old c1850 armchairs this evening, they'd shifted a little out of position....now it might last another 150 years. I couldn't afford to replace it with anything anywhere near as well made.
I have never had any luck using a bow saw, I can only assume that the blades must be poor quality & just don't hold their set. But when I was a youngster my Father & I cut all our firewood with an axe & a two handed crosscut saw. I have a crosscut saw hanging in the woodshed because I love old tools, & because, like yourself, just in case!
Keith.
 
COAL !!! So I assume you are not into looking after the environment as a survival issue?
Keith.
The environment is always an issue, we burn both wood and coalat home and on the island.

As humans we ALL consume. We drive cars ( do you Keith?),use water and food. We use gas and electricity. In most cases electricity is produced by burning coal or gas. Or nuclear, which leaves toxic waste that will not disappear for 50,000 years.

There's a move to push us to electric cars. Instead of petrol or diesel. But where will all that electricity come from, as well as that we use in the home? Not from wind turbines and solar panels in a land of nearly 70 million folks that's for sure!.

So many questions. But one thing is certain, every one of us has a negative impact upon the planet in one way or another.

" Let him that is without sin, cast the first stone."

So right now we will keep boating in coal, as given the remoteness of the island, it packs a punch that wood does not in the middle of our English Winter. We have wood, and access to it, so no more guilt than a person climbing into their car or firing up a generator or chainsaw.
 
I am always amazed by modern humans fixation with electricity, electricity is a VERY modern invention and has only been in British houses for LESS than a century, the first houses in the UK were wired up in the 1930s and many didn't have it until the 1960s, our ancient and not so ancient ancestors did not have electricity(my own grandparents did not have access to electricity until quite late in their lives) yet many people alive to day could just not survive without it.
as someone who has lived off grid with no electric of any sort I have trouble adjusting to this fixation.
the one thing that will prove to most people that some event is actually happening is when the power goes off, until that happens they wont believe or accept that something is actually going down.
"the system" as it stands will continue to be used until at some point it does not function anymore, so shipping in food and other consumer goods from the other side of the world, the use of petrol and diesel vehicles, building all electric houses without chimneys or fireplaces, and all the rest of modern life will continue until at some point it no longer functions, which as we all know will be too late for the vast majority to do anything about it.
all civilisation in the past have collapsed, so will this one, and those that fail to learn the lessons of history are destined to repeat them.
 
Since I drive three diesels I can't comment on using coal but there is an Oscar Wilde quote about the best thing about "being wealthy enough to own a coal mine means that you're able to afford to burn wood"
There are places in the UK where coal will still be accessible for a long time after the shit hits the fan, in some parts of the Alaska, US its actually sitting on the surface. If it's a choice between freezing or burning coal I know which I will do. The problem for me is that it stinks and furs up my flue increasing the maintenance burden.
When I burn seasoned hardwood there is very little residue and the ash is usefull but when using coal I'm limited to disposing of the ashes and clinker on the fields to add phosphates.
 
The environment is always an issue, we burn both wood and coalat home and on the island.

As humans we ALL consume. We drive cars ( do you Keith?),use water and food. We use gas and electricity. In most cases electricity is produced by burning coal or gas. Or nuclear, which leaves toxic waste that will not disappear for 50,000 years.

There's a move to push us to electric cars. Instead of petrol or diesel. But where will all that electricity come from, as well as that we use in the home? Not from wind turbines and solar panels in a land of nearly 70 million folks that's for sure!.

So many questions. But one thing is certain, every one of us has a negative impact upon the planet in one way or another.

" Let him that is without sin, cast the first stone."

So right now we will keep boating in coal, as given the remoteness of the island, it packs a punch that wood does not in the middle of our English Winter. We have wood, and access to it, so no more guilt than a person climbing into their car or firing up a generator or chainsaw.

Not quite the same thing Alan, yes we have vehicles, we use them as little as possible as they are only required to get us into the city. The work vehicle gets used occasionally for transporting firewood. We too could burn coal as we have a wood fired stove working all year round & a heater during winter, but we don't because we do not consider it the right thing to do & do not see the need over & above environmental issues. We use solar power not coal fired power, & we own & manage a forest which offsets our carbon footprint in regards to vehicle use. If there was some other method other than a motor vehicle for getting to the city, then we would use it. Horse or horse & cart or electric 4WD are not options due to distance.
Keith.
 
Since I drive three diesels I can't comment on using coal but there is an Oscar Wilde quote about the best thing about "being wealthy enough to own a coal mine means that you're able to afford to burn wood"
There are places in the UK where coal will still be accessible for a long time after the shit hits the fan, in some parts of the Alaska, US its actually sitting on the surface. If it's a choice between freezing or burning coal I know which I will do. The problem for me is that it stinks and furs up my flue increasing the maintenance burden.
When I burn seasoned hardwood there is very little residue and the ash is usefull but when using coal I'm limited to disposing of the ashes and clinker on the fields to add phosphates.
I know of no coal mines in the South West, I think they are confined to places like Yorkshire and County Durham, I was once told that it can be picked up off the ground in County Durham but i'm not sure if this is correct.
"Sea Coal" used to be able to be picked up on the beaches and coast of North Devon, this is the stuff that was used for traction and steam engines but I haven't heard anything about this for years.
what there is are depot's not far from me with coal(and other resources) sitting in great heaps in the yard.
there is someone burning coal near me, it is evident by the coal dust that settles on all our window ledges!!
 
I know of no coal mines in the South West, I think they are confined to places like Yorkshire and County Durham, I was once told that it can be picked up off the ground in County Durham but i'm not sure if this is correct.
"Sea Coal" used to be able to be picked up on the beaches and coast of North Devon, this is the stuff that was used for traction and steam engines but I haven't heard anything about this for years.
what there is are depot's not far from me with coal(and other resources) sitting in great heaps in the yard.
there is someone burning coal near me, it is evident by the coal dust that settles on all our window ledges!!
There are no coal mines left in County Durham and l never heard of people picking coal up off the ground except when the coalman had just delivered but people certainly used to pick sea coal off the beaches. NOT because they were poor, as l heard someone on TV say one time, but because it was free! Our nearest neighbour uses coal to heat the house but we use wood as there's plenty of it around us. (and it's almost free - just the fuel for the chainsaw. Bowsaws are also available here but l must get some more blades for the future.)
 
no Barbara it was just something that was told to me, it was probably just a "tall tale" to tell the yokels.
there is plenty of scrap wood around here no need to go chopping down trees just yet, although I have a stock of saws, I use a general purpose saw with an adjustable handle, I have several of these and intend picking up more as I can, they are about £8 each online but I have been collecting them for years at £2 a pop at sunday markets.
 
My word! What monumental hypocrisy I am reading here! Keith uses a motor vehicle ( but not much,there's no option because of distance),and uses solar power.I use some solar too.However,it takes fossil fuel to produce panels,wiring ,regulators etc. I too have land planted with trees etc,which offsets carbon emissions,as Keith correctly states.

Lonewolf cannot understand our modern fixation with electricity.True,it has not been round that long, but it's here,and its damned useful! Lonewolf,you have lived with no electricity. Fair enough.I am sure you could again - but remember; no electricity would mean that this very forum would not exist.In an earlier post Lonewolf you stated that you are not allowed to burn solid fuel at the moment.If the power goes off ( normal outage,not SHTF) you have to rely on the grid.

I for one LIKE electricity.I LIKE the independence of solid fuel ( at the moment coal is legal).What I find irksome is when folks get holier than thou about being 'environmentally friendly'," I don't use the car much; not like you - so I am greener!",or " I get my energy from a certified green energy company, not like you; you burn fossil fuel!"

To sneer at modern fuels and ways of living,is to throw yourself,or purport to,back into the dark ages.As I said earlier,We ALL have a negative impact on the environment, if only by being alive.
 
Back
Top