Hello from Orkney
Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2018 8:08 am
Hello everyone,
I have been lurking for a little while but tend to be more of a reader than a poster so haven't gotten round to an intro yet!
I live with my OH and three kids on one of the northern Orkney islands, we have been here for 4 years. My husband and I are both ex-RAF armourers. We moved here to give our kids, what we feel, is the best upbringing we could. Island life can be tough but is totally worth it. We were into prepping a bit before we moved here but it was hard when your living in married quarters and moving round every few years etc. so we didn't really start until we came to Orkney. Even now, finances mean that I'm unable to achieve nearly as much as I'd like to. The good thing is that being on a small island forces you to do a certain amount of prepping anyway. Cancelled ferry's, power cuts etc. are all pretty common, especially in winter, usually due to high winds.
We have a 2 acre smallholding here where I keep a few sheep, chickens and ducks and we also fatten a couple of weaners a year. We home kill and butcher as we only raise meat for ourselves. We used to raise meat rabbits and quail but gave that up a couple of years ago. I also have a veg patch which is taking a while to become really productive, our ground is pretty much just sand and there are decades worth of docks to contend with.
We do store a decent amount of supplies as we only go to mainland every 6 months or so to go to the supermarket but my long term plan is to actually pare down the way we live so that I can produce what we need right here. For example, ive planted up soapwort and use this in the washing machine during summer. I make my own silage for my sheep. We have a few guns and can hunt game such as rabbits and geese. I'm also trying to plant up willow on my property to, one day, supplement the wood I have to get in for the wood burner.
I'm looking forward to learning from the forum.
I have been lurking for a little while but tend to be more of a reader than a poster so haven't gotten round to an intro yet!
I live with my OH and three kids on one of the northern Orkney islands, we have been here for 4 years. My husband and I are both ex-RAF armourers. We moved here to give our kids, what we feel, is the best upbringing we could. Island life can be tough but is totally worth it. We were into prepping a bit before we moved here but it was hard when your living in married quarters and moving round every few years etc. so we didn't really start until we came to Orkney. Even now, finances mean that I'm unable to achieve nearly as much as I'd like to. The good thing is that being on a small island forces you to do a certain amount of prepping anyway. Cancelled ferry's, power cuts etc. are all pretty common, especially in winter, usually due to high winds.
We have a 2 acre smallholding here where I keep a few sheep, chickens and ducks and we also fatten a couple of weaners a year. We home kill and butcher as we only raise meat for ourselves. We used to raise meat rabbits and quail but gave that up a couple of years ago. I also have a veg patch which is taking a while to become really productive, our ground is pretty much just sand and there are decades worth of docks to contend with.
We do store a decent amount of supplies as we only go to mainland every 6 months or so to go to the supermarket but my long term plan is to actually pare down the way we live so that I can produce what we need right here. For example, ive planted up soapwort and use this in the washing machine during summer. I make my own silage for my sheep. We have a few guns and can hunt game such as rabbits and geese. I'm also trying to plant up willow on my property to, one day, supplement the wood I have to get in for the wood burner.
I'm looking forward to learning from the forum.
