I just wanted to take a moment to introduce you to Shelley Sackier, author and blogger extraordinaire.. she has kindly agreed to visit with us here from time to time at Country Consultant to share some of her knowledge, wit, and obvious desire for a better life for all of us.  Please welcome her with feedback, and visit her blog, Peak Perspective. You can also find her at facebook.    ~Dene       In my house, dinner is often greeted with a great deal of suspicion. And when handed a plate, my husband and children undoubtedly poke at whatever is on it with a fork, bring it...

When deciding on a place to use for your food storage, there are a number of factors which must be considered to ensure the best quality and longevity of your food items.     EXTREME TEMPERATURES (HEAT/COLD) Heat can have many negative affects on food including: Discoloration Flavor Food Texture Nutritional Value The Growth Rate of Microbes Reduces Water Content and Dries Out (evaporation) and Creates Moisture Inside containers (condensation) On the other side of the equation, not enough heat (freezing temperatures) will lead to container breakage as well as some of the same...

Could Carla Emery, author of The Encyclopedia of Country Living have ever dreamed that her most simplistic advice would become the mantra of the self-sufficiency/self-reliance community?   It’s really the answer to finally reaching our goals, and in its simplicity we can achieve almost anything we want, one day at a time… just do a little bit .. every single day. Here are some things that you can be doing to add to your self-sufficiency resumé.   Like all things worth doing, it will take time to do these things well, but today is the day to begin the process of learning...

I remember talking about this before in a blog or on facebook.. but sometimes it’s important to bring these things up again just in case a new country-dweller-wannabe wanders into the conversation and still lives under the allusion that country living really looks like the pictures in the magazines. Correct me if I’m wrong and there is actually someone out there in Ruralsville who has a farm with: no animal poop no mud puddles no pile of rubber boots at the back door a perfectly manicured lawn, orchard and field dogs that always behave perfect garden rows with no weeds cats...

An interesting evening… My husband and I sat down with my 12 year old son and watched “Backyard Food Production” by Marjory Wildcraft.  As we move further into a lifestyle that involves raising our own food, including animals for meat production, there have been lots of new questions from our kids.   The biggest concern on their mind is, of course, killing the chickens.. since we have primarily used them for eggs, not meat. It’s tough to move past the first step with kids, and sometimes even with adults.  When we first buy those cute little chicks in the feed...

   SURPRISE! So are we really surprised to hear that bugs are outsmarting GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms)? Haven’t we learned that Mother Nature will always find a way to get around all of the stupid things we do, no matter how hard the big-brains try to harness her? Now we hear that the western corn rootworm is outsmarting a strain of corn genetically engineered to produce its own insecticide, Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis). “Just like cockroaches have survived nuclear bombs, and DDT lost its efficacy, and we now have *super bugs* which have become resistant...

We all know that someday our children will grow up and realize that they have the gift of FREE WILL,  stretch their wings and take that first flight out into the world … a place where you can’t reach out and offer your protection … all you can do is silently wait …. for the inevitable thud that comes with first flight.. But who could have EVER foreseen the rebellion of this little barred rock chicken as she led me on a great chase through the forest, down the creek and back to the house.   While I cursed her severely and threatened to make a stew out of her, she...

There’s something very special about being able to step outside your kitchen door and cut a fresh handful of organically grown greens!  When you take into consideration that lettuce, kale, spinach and collard greens manage to hit the EWG (Environmental Working Group) Shoppers Guide To Pesticides’  “Dirty Dozen” list every year– meaning that greens are among some of the most pesticide-laden fresh foods found in the supermarket — this gives us just one more reason to grow our own food, and do it as organically as we possibly can. According to...