The Alpaca

Clive and Stuart

Recently we got two Alpacas, why you might ask? Who gets Alpacas, why wouldn't you just get a horse or a sheep, why an Alpaca? Well, let me tell you the journey we took to getting Alpacas.

When I say we I am referring to Queen Cassowary, author of "A Preppers Wife" (yeah, it's about me), so on the 5 acres we have a lot of native trees (large trees) and other types of natural debris (logs, sticks, shrubs, etc.) so mowing is not really a possibility. So why not clean up, you ask? Well we are trying to make this a natural sanctuary (if you will) and restore it to what it should be like, Australia native bush. But, in trying to do this we don't want to encourage nastiness like snakes that will eat me while I sleep, even though I say I want the natural environment, I don't like to die either. So we need to ensure that grasses are maintained, the chickens, ducks and geese do this also, but they are so cute and little that it would take them a year (if the grass stopped growing) to even think about clearing 1 acre! So, we needed a bigger, faster (and so what cuter) solution. Alpaca. Why not horses or cows? Well, we were looking into horses and cows, and after looking at the land that we have, we have seen the devastation that the horses and cows hoofs make on the ground, we needed a better solution. I know a bit about goats, and I know that they would love to eat all the baby trees and plants before doing what I want them to do (the grass) because they are like that, and we have planted about 50 new trees and shrubs on this land since we have been here, and I didn't want them to be a light snack. 

So, after a search, we found out about Alpaca. They don't have the same feet as horses and cows, they are from the same family as camels (and lama) and they do little when they walk on the ground (they do leave cute little foot prints in the wet soil). 

We set out and talked to some Alpaca breeders and picked out two. We don't like having just one of an animal, because it would be lonely for them, and having 107 Alpaca might just be slightly overwhelming for our little 5 acres, so two was the right number :)

The other really appealing part of getting the Alpacas is their wool, it is nice and soft and durable, and can be used to barter as a raw product, or can be made into a lot of different things, and as mentioned in other posts here, I like to make and do everything myself, so having a source like this on the land is very beneficial. Also the poo, they are relatively clean animals, they will have "piles" where they like to 'go', so for gardening reasons it is really really handy :) My gardens will love it!!

This is Clive, the is the older of our two boys (both de-sexed because we have no interest in breeding at this stage (and to boys can't breed)

And this is Stuart,I think that he is a little more handsome than Clive, Clive is kind of goofy looking, but he does his job :)

Well, I must head off, the day is starting without me and the ducks are yelling at me already, but I will leave by saying that these Alpaca are great, if anyone was considering them, I would recommend them. They make beautiful soft noises when they talk, they defend the area from wild dogs, and when they walk around they act as a snake deterrent because they are big and heavy and noisy, all the things that snakes hate :) 

I hope that you all enjoy your day, and enjoyed reading about our two new babies. I will keep you updated about these Alpaca and the rest of the monsters as our saga unfolds. Enjoy life, be happy :)

My wife.. the blogger

So, my wife has a blog page.. I am not sure if this is a good thing, a bad thing, or a scary thing :) Considering it is called "A Preppers Wife"  and I think that it might be a slightly objective view, but that is ok.

So, about being a #prepper, well, about ME being a prepper. What I have learnt is that there are so many kinds of 'preppers' out there, the title alone is so ambiguous. Some people assume that you wear tin foil as a hat, others think that you have a large cache of underground weapons capable of taking on a small army, some think that you will quit your job and start to monitor the radio for signals that come from another planet. I am not any of those (I do like the feel of tin on my head though).

Why do I say that I am a prepper? What does it mean to me? Well, I have talked a little about this in other posts on this blog, but now I will go into some detail (without mentioning the NSA secret plots, aliens that want my toenail clippings or my long lost uncle in Nigeria), I am preparing for when I don't need society anymore.

What? That is crazy, all people need society. Is that what I hear you say? Well, if you have not read all my posts yet, you will know that yes, I am slightly insane, however what I mean by this comment is very simple (I think). What I mean is that if anything happens (government overthrown, bikie gangs rule Queensland, oil companies monopolise the industry or aliens come and take us in our sleep) I would be prepared to handle it. I would not require too much help from others to complete this. I am building a place (home) that is self-reliant, one that can live off the grid for a period of time and remain as alive and as efficient as before.

Does that mean I have a secret tank at my house and a stolen satellite?!? ... no.. sorry, I don't actually have anything as interesting as that. In fact, one of the things that I try to ensure is that everything I have and do is legal, I don't need to get in trouble for something silly and lose all that I have. I intend to get a fire-arms licence and get the right stuff (safe), and it will all be above board. I am not one of those preppers that has a laser-guided-anti-missile-seeking-nuclear-silo-anti-alien-mind-reading-probing-projectiles in my basement (I don't have a basement yet).

I think that I started to be a prepper by accident, I know that a lot of preppers reading this will most likely agree (if not now, you might by the end). I started hoarding first. I hoarded (and still do) lots of things, wood, metal, electronics, waste, I don't know the list goes on (I can detail everything if you are really that interested however it will all come out in these blog pages). I started 'collecting' all these things in case I needed them, why? Why would i need them? Who knows, literally nobody in the world could ever know why I might need some of these things, however I think that I have a problem, well, I think that is a given since I have purchased 5 acres to store it all in!!

So why is it a problem? Good question, you might be thinking right now, 'No, you are right, keep collecting all those old trampolines and freezers!' (my wife doesn't agree), however it does get to a certain point where enough is enough. I don't think that I have got there yet, but I am sure that there is a "spot". I collect things. I have a large collection of (what some may say useless) things which I hope to use for projects around the place.

Most of my prepping is not about stopping zombies or the government from stealing my basil crops, but it is about being able to live with as little purchases as possible. Right now I am relying so much on other people to "give" me things, charity. I am looking for anything really, old sinks, tvs, freezers, wood, etc. anything that I might be able to reuse into something around here. Why? Am I that cheap that I can not afford to buy a real raised garden bed from Bunnings? Well, yes. Companies over charge for things, they have to pay so many people, deliveries, packaging, warehousing, shipping, storage, etc. what if you could just buy from the guy who makes it? Surely that will save a LOT of money (e-bay is great for that), but even better, someone else has already paid silly amounts of money for something, and now either has no use for it, or it does not function in the way it was first intended to function, so they throw it out. Well, that is where I am trying to come into it. I am trying to catch all that stuff, trying to stop all that from going into the land fill. Please don't get me wrong, I am not after money for this, I don't get things that are broken, 'fix them' and then resell, I either use everything on this land (or store it for when I can use it), or give it to charity. There are a lot of people that are now donating things to me (mainly clothes and toys, etc) and I am just taking them to the local thrift shop as a donation. If I can not use it, someone else might be able to. I just want to try to stop so much landfill and save people (including me) money.

Well... I have no idea what I started writing about, but I know that the geese are outside the window right now yelling at me (they have little to no patience), so I must go now.

I will, as always, hope to update you all soon on what I am doing (and how my Adsense account is going), and anything that I hope to do in the future.

In the mean time, I hope that you all have a great weekend/night/day/life, and I hope that we can help or meet each-other soon :) and sorry for no pictures on this post, tomorrow morning I will have some about the new chicken coop :)

Gardening and Prepping..

Gardening and Prepping, nearly the same...

What is prepping? Well, what does that word mean to me is a better question. You hear the word "Prepper" (or some variety of) a lot more these days, mainly due to shows like "Dooms Day Preppers" and the like. So, why would I say that gardening and prepping are the same? Gardens and zombies, EMPs, civil unrest, they don't normally go together, but in my case I think they do. 

Let me just say, I don't think that zombies are about to jump out of the sewers and eat peoples brains, but I do believe that the world that we are living in is changing fast, and not for the best. So, if you haven't worked it out yet, if I garden and create my own livable area, an area that is self-sufficient. I realise that it is hard for humans to become self-sufficient, however it is easier for plants to do it. So what I am hoping to create is something that will create food, warmth, shelter, harness water and protect itself from predators (bugs and what-not). Above is the first 4 garden beds we put in around September 2014, below is the same garden currently (taken start of February 2015). 

Firstly I would love to note how much better the area around it looks, so nice and green and alive. The previous owners to our place didn't really care for green, or dirt, or trees, or air, or life. I have no idea what they were doing with 5 acres, I don't think that they knew either. They helped destroy this land, there was so much damage when we got here, so much of our time (even now) is spent just trying to 'clean up' the messes and try to reverse the damage done to the place.

Since we are trying to live with the land, we created this enclosed garden bed. It is just over 6' high and fully surrounds the 4 garden beds. This is to stop possums, bids (including my chickens/ducks) and any other animals that would like to munch on what I have done. The gardens themselves are not thriving as much as I would like, but I have learnt a lot since first planting them, since the soil was so bad we got some nicer soil (hence why they are slightly raised), however since the soil below the raising is so poor as the roots got through the good stuff they are met by nothing good. So, what have I learnt from this, you must make sure the soil below is perfect first. This is hindering the development of my garden. They are getting there, just slowly :) For our first attempt I am happy though.

The edgings of the garden are made from an old above ground swimming pool, the wooden stakes are either recovered or leftovers from other jobs, and the wire was spares from the chicken pen fencing.

So, what am "I" prepping for? Nothing particular, just a nice happy future with my own veggies, and eggs. I don't want to be so reliant of the main system (shopping centers) I want to know what goes into/onto my food, I want to be able to grow enough food on this land that I can happily share with the animals around me, and the people around me also. Our idea is to have multiple fruit trees and food sources around the yard, some that are not protect from animals, so the wild birds (and the chickens) can eat the fruits and nuts from those, and other gardens (like the above) that are for human consumption. I plan on eating from the "wild" trees also, but if the animals get there first, we won't stave.

Ok, it is nearly 0600, I have a lot of work on today, so I best get to it. Enjoy your day, hopefully you are doing something that you love doing today.

Until my next update, have a great life!