ORIGINAL: Anthropoid
So do I understand Rhonda that you are living "off the grid" and free of the "system?" Meaning you are trying as much as possible to operate a completely self-sufficient ranch out there?
That is a commendable, if obviously eccentric, agenda!
How do you preserve the eggs? Do you slaughter a goat periodically for the meat? Goats are fascinating critters. Lots of people throughout Eastern and Southern Africa live primarily by goat. They always seemed more 'personable' and 'friendly' to humans than cattle. Almost more childlike or something.
How do you retain enough electricity to operate your PC for gaming and internet?
I've got a total of 12 solar panels plus a wind turbine that produce about 50 amps on a sunny day. Have 8 Rolls Royce deep cycle batteries for backup, an old Kohler 10KW Generator (propane), and a new 8500 watt Predator gas powered generator.
I generate about 8 kilowatt hours of electricity daily (plus whatever I get out of the wind turbine, I can't track it's output as it goes directly into the batteries and not through the charge controllers.
I run the refrigerator and chest freezer, a waterbed heater (sometimes), big stereo system and television, my computer, printer, and toaster / microwave / washer /dryer. In other words, about everything you would run in your own home.
When cloudy days hit, I can end up with a choice of throttling everything back or else running a generator to boost the battery charge. I am choosing to avoid burning gasoline or propane if I can help it this winter. the first two years, I relied on the generator way too much (and it really cost me in propane bills). My big luxury is running that waterbed heater (at the lowest setting). When really cold weather sets in I may be turning that off and relying on a thick cushion of comforters to avoid hypothermia from the cold waterbed mattress, plus lots of dogs under about 4 blankets for warmth. I really should lose the waterbed, but I've been on waterbeds for decades so try to soldier through. Winter is a big challenge though.
Someone told me yesterday that the Farmer's Almanac predicts the hardest winter in 50 years for our area, which tracks with predictions of heavy snow from other sources. So I'm preparing to be able to survive at least two months snowbound if necessary. Personally, I love snow, but the inevitable thaw is disgusting on a ranch when all the accumulated animal waste liquefies and creates an evil, stinking morass for a few days or a week. That's when a good pair of muck boots are essential. The rest of the year is fine as the sun dries the manure and it is relatively odorless. I use a deep layer system in the chicken coop which creates great fertilizer with no odor. The buck goats get stinky during breeding season, of course.
So, I am preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse (joke) as a hobby and personal challenge. Just to see how self-sufficient I can make myself. I'm mostly vegetarian so I haven't slaughtered any goats or chickens yet, but it's just a matter of time before that becomes necessary as the herd grows and the chicken flock ages. I have no ethical problems with eating meat, I do have a problem with inhumane factory farms. What I've been reading lately on Salmonella Heidelberg bacteria in up to 75% of US produced chicken really has me moving towards relying on my own chickens for food before trusting what is in the stores.
Anyway, living "off the grid" has been a challenge but deeply satisfying. It keeps me very busy in retirement with high levels of peaceful contentment with Nature and all of the animals around me.
