my next step in self sufficiency would be chickens! we finally have enough space that i would feel comfortable getting a couple chickens, so at this point i need to convince nate that we could probably leave chickens alone for a couple days if needed. that’s always his problem when we talk about getting chickens. 
another thing that would probably work a lot better for my not-really transient lifestyle that nate’s so worried about is getting some honeybees. we’ve got this huge field behind our house that’s in CRP that would be great for bees. 
weirdly enough, both these thing would come via mail… funny thing, eh? i just looked up chickens, and i can get a 4-week-old bird for $17. if i were so inclined, i could get a pair of breeding trumpeter swans for $5200, but i don’t think i want to go that route right now. 😮
i think what’s holding me back is the start-up work, learning, and money. i know i have a lot of things that i deal with as far as this goes, but these two things seem daunting for some reason. i can’t imagine that these would be any more work or cost than dealing with 3 cats, but chickens and bees aren’t as snuggly.