I have been a survivalist at heart since a boy growing up in Chicago, and escaped to the great Northwoods as soon as old enough. I enjoy hunting, fishing, gardening, and other self sufficient endeavors. Our family has more children than you can count on your fingers, and being self sufficient helps feed the many hungry faces around the table.

Being a somewhat prudent man, I see the need to prepare for the good days and the bad. Being reasonably self sufficient is one of the ways we prepare. I have made many changes in my life and my families life to become better prepared and more self sufficient. I believe my family has been blessed by these changes even though it may have been easier to just be part of the system. 

We have grown orchards, grown gardens, organically farmed, built back up power systems,  raised cows chickens and goats, owned Alaskan, ripsaw, and Lucas sawmills, cut and burned wood for primary heat for 20 years, taken large game with both bow and gun, trapped beaver, coon, muskrat, tanned hides, butchered cows, goats, chickens,  and canned and froze freezers full and pantry shelves bowing.

When we had goats we called the famous author of a renowned book on raising goats and asked him a question (he lived near us), turned out he had never had goats, All his writing was from book learning. Book learning is good, but actual experience fills in a lot books miss. Most everything suggested or recommended in these pages (not the including the forums) are things I personally have done or tried and am sharing the wisdom gained from actual experience.

The time to start is now, or even better yesterday, but if you didn't begin yesterday, today will have to do. Most changes that need to be made in ones life in order to survive must be started before the day of calamity comes. There is a learning curve to everything. A time period where you make mistakes and learn from them. Make your mistakes now while they won't hurt so much.