Volcanos in Western USA!

Shelter for Critters?

Prepper's talk about various bunkers, earth sheltered homes, shelter in place, etc.  but what about your critters?

Lately I've been looking at "off the grid" options of living on a small scale....5-10 acres, in a remote, yet accessible area.  Possible critters would include a few goats, chickens, a bee hive, etc.  along with a nice veggie garden with perhaps a small green house.

Even if I have an underground bunker or earth sheltered home, living roof, etc...what about the critters if the SHTF?

An earth covered/sheltered barn is perhaps the answer!  In my example, one about 12' X 16' with self contained water & food supply for several days would probably suffice.  It wouldn't be that expensive to build and just may save your critters!


Here are some other ideas I've found:  Earth Sheltered Greenhouse

Green Roofs...Barns, homes, & more! 

#PrepperTalk

Let There Be Light!

Whether camping, prepping, or hiking, a good flashlight is a necessity.  I have several....a small Mag-Light on my fanny pack, and angled one with changeable colored lenses and a few other backups.  They all use "AA" batteries, of which I have extra, that I rotate the shelf life of.

So far I have resisted one of those "Kinetic" shaking flashlights...they just seem too noisy to me. but will probably get one anyway.  I'm pretty sure LED is a good idea, all mine have krypton bulbs (yeah I have extras).

They make Solar Powered flashlights and other solar lighting.  These would be excellent for your retreat or backup. My emergency radio has "AA" batteries, a crank charger & solar.  For $79, you can get one with a USB port to charge your electronics!  (Need a larger Solar Panel for that too).

Not sure if you need to protect flashlights or solar powered items from EMP...sounds logical to do so...but that's another subject.

I forgot about "Lightsticks"...I'd just get white, about 99 cents each.  Get at least a dozen!

When the SHTF, you do not want to be left in the dark!

Learn Tracking...a Hobby & Prepping!

Here is an idea that is both a great hobby, especially to get kids involved, and a good #prepping skill:  Tracking!  Learning the various animal tracks, see which way they went, and most exciting for kids...see the animal that made the tracks!

Many State Departments of Natural Resources have pamphlets on tracking to get started.  The Public Library and your local bookstore or Amazon (an affiliate of Total Survivor Dad) have books on tracking.

Go to a park, or nearby Nature Center to practice and introduce children to the outdoors.  It teaches kids to be quiet in the woods in order to see wild life and patience.  A nature center is not a playground, so keep screaming, running, & horseplay to a minimum...you won't see any wild life & it is really annoying to others!

The National WildLife Federations has the children's outdoor magazine "Ranger Rick", that is highly recommended to acquaint youngsters with critters. it will tell a story of a particular animal, their tracks and how the animal lives.

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are also great organizations that have Merit Badges in Tracking.

Have fun learning tracking, teaching your kids about the outdoors and leaning a great #prepper skill!  It's #prepping because you may have to hunt to eat and tracking is an important aspect of hunting!