As I am in a rural location, and not going anywhere, I am interested in this one.

We live on three acres, and we are 3/4 of a mile (through the woods) to my mother in law's house where there is a natural spring. We garden and have chickens, and I would like to add goats soon. (Or maybe a pig. Or both.) We are surrounded by open prairie, with woods behind the house. We are waaaay off the beaten path, and I think we are as safe as it's possible to be from rampaging zombies. (barring a zombie proof house, of course.)

My stepdad is only a short buggy ride away (1/2 day maybe?) and he has mules, mule-drawn farming equipment, and in the case of the apocolypse, he'd be coming towards our town, because this is where his parents live.

I think we'd hold out okay here, until all the nuclear plants start melting down.

Do you have organic barbed wire along your boundaries (I mean...blackberries)? That'd help keep your place less obvious and would enhance its defense if you needed as well. Plus blackberries are great for all manner of baking.

I'd love to, but we rent. (from mother in law) And we are right on a road. (Gravel, but still...) So there is no real hiding from anyone who is actually on our road.

We do have blackberries on our property (we planted them last spring) so at least we'll have the good eatin'.

My dream house is way off from a road, down what appears to be a deserted driveway. But, wish in one hand...

Where I live the blackberries that are invasive (but might stop invadors) are non-indigenous, huge and delicious, and tend to grow in disturbed soil (road side, old building site, cleared land...). Most common non-indigenous here (pacific NW) are the Himalayan Blackberry. They tend to ripen in the late summer and early fall. My daughter and I pick them in the morning for snacks during the day. It is difficult to freeze them as they usually get eaten as they are being picked. And they do make an excellent boundary.

Himalayans make a good boundary, agreed. Around here you don't have to plant them, just let them grow---particularly near a creek (I'm also in the PNW). THere's a variety of blackberries I'd consider if I were growing them solely for the berries---Triple Crown I believe, which doesn't have too much in the way of thorns.

I live in a rural location in deep south Louisiana. I own 3.75 acres of pasture land with a raised home that sits 2200 ft off of the nearest roadway. I built the home last year with lots of attention paid to heating and cooling in the absence of electricity or gas. I also had to prepare the home for hurricanes so I way overbuilt the house strength wise. The way the house is situated I have a clear field of fire from an elevated position. The way someone would have to approach the house I could defend it pretty easily unless I come under a massed assault, in which case I couldn't defend it in any fashion without heavy weapons and more shooters.

I currently tend chickens and a 7500 sq. ft garden. My house is not visible from the roadway and I am surrounded by trees and have a canal in the back as a source of water. It would have to be treated (boiled and filtered) to make it fit for drinking but it is a year round source. I am trying to store as much produce as possible without refrigeration and am learning a bunch as each day progresses. I have room for other animals and want to get pigs and maybe some goats but I am not quite there yet.

My goal or plan is to produce things that can be bartered for things I can't produce. I hope to make it through the violent transition from BAU and then provide a valuable service to my community. My degree is in biology, but early in life I was a diesel mechanic and I have a knack for fixing things. I am also pretty fair at jury rigging things to make them work despite not having the proper parts or tools.

What gives me hope for the future is that my area has thrived for a couple of centuries by living off the wealth of the land including the fresh and salt marshes and swamps that surround the area. It will be a hard life but I can definitely see this area continuing to survive in the new reality.
Tim

If you don't already have it, I highly recommend this book, with yummy methods of storing food without freezing or canning, and most of the recipes are from France: Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation [sometimes this is using whey from raw milk, but not always necessary, I have vegan ways to do it too... I can show you how to do this if you wish], The Gardeners & Farmers of Terre Vivante.

rural areas being specifically targeted

http://ferfal.blogspot.com/2011/04/rura ... acked.html

http://www.whenshtf.com/showthread.php? ... 1%21%21%21

So did this happen in Texas or in Argentina, Satori? Were they on drugs? I wonder why they killed the woman.