Hey all. I'm Erik. Without specifically identifying where I'm from, I'm from a very large county in the Midwest with a major city at it's core. I grew up in the immediate suburbs of the city, but nowadays I live in the ruraler parts of the county.
I intend for this to be a strictly personal account so I won't advertise or name my business in any way, but the general nature of it is important to lay out my background. We're somewhere between farmers & homesteaders, but the scale of what we do doesn't fit cleanly into either category. Our primary business is in aquaria & exotics (breeding for sale of fish, corals, feeder insects, plants, reptiles) but we also sell seeds, grow mushrooms, have crops, are relatively self sufficient, and run livestock. We run chickens, ducks, turkeys, peafowl, guineafowl, goats, sheep, llamas/alpacas, donkeys, horses, pigs, livestock guardian dogs, and barn cats. We also run and host our own website, and a major part of our preps is a completely off grid "internet"
I'm an extra class ham radio operator involved in the county club ERT — ARES, RACES, SkyWarn. My wife, oldest kids, and other family members are also involved in ham radio to various degree. My wife is an engineer & teacher, she's been teaching online school for several years. I'm a big time biology, chemistry, and electronics geek as well although I'm slowly becoming more competent in mechanical matters. I'm a purple belt in BJJ but temporarily on hiatus due to COVID, and am a gun nerd.
As of currently the farm is my main job, but I'm also an active medical professional. I'm dual licensed as a paramedic for 8 years and nurse for 6. I worked full time in both the county ambulance service and a major university hospital emergency department in the city, I hold teaching roles in both positions — however more recently I've shifted into being a regular but per diem employee for both employers, while also taking medical & non-medical odd jobs. I occasionally take shifts as a substitute teacher, substitute school nurse, event medical coverage, urgent cares, semi-local travel assignments to different hospitals, and even as a nurse for summer camps. Prior to being licensed as a paramedic, I was an EMT-B for a short amount of time and before that I was a vet tech for several years.
I hope I can be a good contributor to this community. Thank you very much for accepting me!
I intend for this to be a strictly personal account so I won't advertise or name my business in any way, but the general nature of it is important to lay out my background. We're somewhere between farmers & homesteaders, but the scale of what we do doesn't fit cleanly into either category. Our primary business is in aquaria & exotics (breeding for sale of fish, corals, feeder insects, plants, reptiles) but we also sell seeds, grow mushrooms, have crops, are relatively self sufficient, and run livestock. We run chickens, ducks, turkeys, peafowl, guineafowl, goats, sheep, llamas/alpacas, donkeys, horses, pigs, livestock guardian dogs, and barn cats. We also run and host our own website, and a major part of our preps is a completely off grid "internet"
I'm an extra class ham radio operator involved in the county club ERT — ARES, RACES, SkyWarn. My wife, oldest kids, and other family members are also involved in ham radio to various degree. My wife is an engineer & teacher, she's been teaching online school for several years. I'm a big time biology, chemistry, and electronics geek as well although I'm slowly becoming more competent in mechanical matters. I'm a purple belt in BJJ but temporarily on hiatus due to COVID, and am a gun nerd.
As of currently the farm is my main job, but I'm also an active medical professional. I'm dual licensed as a paramedic for 8 years and nurse for 6. I worked full time in both the county ambulance service and a major university hospital emergency department in the city, I hold teaching roles in both positions — however more recently I've shifted into being a regular but per diem employee for both employers, while also taking medical & non-medical odd jobs. I occasionally take shifts as a substitute teacher, substitute school nurse, event medical coverage, urgent cares, semi-local travel assignments to different hospitals, and even as a nurse for summer camps. Prior to being licensed as a paramedic, I was an EMT-B for a short amount of time and before that I was a vet tech for several years.
I hope I can be a good contributor to this community. Thank you very much for accepting me!
