To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!
Jim Reports:
Early in the week, we had an extended family outing at the Silverwood theme park, near Athol, Idaho. That was a lot of fun and gave us our annual “fix” of rollercoaster rides.
I made some more progress on firewood felling, hauling crosscutting, spitting, and stacking. I did so much chainsawing that I ended up with some sore fingers. So I took a pause for a few days in any additional sawing and splitting.
Now, Lily’s report…
Avalanche Lily Reports:
Dear Readers,
We had an unusually roaring hot week, here at the Rawles Ranch. For three days in row, we had highs in the 90s. This really cut into our productivity. But we did a lot of swimming!
I really enjoyed our trip to Silverwood with our son, the super awesome daughter-in-law, and the grandsons. I went on the tiny Tot Roller coaster with one of the grandsons and also on the Bumper Boats with the sprayer guns with the second youngest, we shared the boat. The two older boys had their own boats. That was a super fun blast. It was very refreshing to get sprayed with water to cool us down. That was the extent of my partaking in the theme park rides. I’m not a roller coaster fan. I kinda like being thrown around some, but not to the extent of those big coasters. 😉 The manufactured adrenalin of those rides is too much for me to handle.
This week for work around the ranch, I harvested the last of the Transparent apples and dehydrated a large amount both in slices and chunks. Also, I made apple sauce. I set aside eight trays worth, I added ground walnuts and dehydrated into “Pancakes”. I got about a gallon’s bag worth. I really enjoy those. They are super yummy.
I spent a lot of time moving watering hoses around.
I harvested cabbages and put them in our “Cold Cellar”.
I harvested three more large rows of potatoes: one of Yukon Yellows, one Red fingerling, and one Red potatoes. I still have potatoes growing in various small spots where I had extra room to place them in between other crops.
I harvested another huge group of Zuchs. A number of those were chopped and dehydrated.
Because it was so hot outside this week, the afternoons were spent surfing the internet and reading “How to” books on processing our sheep’s wool, making soap, and making cheese. I want to knit our own socks and felt some boot liners. I’ve not ever worked with wool or yet made our own soap, but I have made cheese in the past when I was milking. But I had problems aging it. I just watched Aaron Fletcher and he discusses aging cheese without refrigeration. I would like going to try his method. I am planning on milking our cows again in the fall, once most of the gardening and harvest is complete, in order to make, cheese, butter, and Ghee. I seem to react to casein in the milk, but I might be able to eat Ghee. I still have to try and see. Jim and Miss Violet enjoy milk in their cereal and eating cheese. So…it may be time to start up again.
I spent time reading Niki Jabbour’s book, “The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener” for more ideas about my gardens. I am definitely going to try to have cover crops this fall and next summer and have ordered seeds to do so. I have had cover crops before down in the extension garden, but they didn’t seem to do the job so well. But I believe it was my fault for not rototilling them under in a timely manner. I just had so much going on in the past and distractions, etc.
I spent time reading Carla Emery’s “Encyclopedia of Country Living” book.
I spent quite a bit of time following Aaron Fletcher on his channel 123Homefree. His way of life is fascinating to me. I think there is a very good chance we could end up like that in the coming years…
I spent time working out this week with calisthenics, push-ups and sit-ups, 30 and 50 respectively, Jumping Jacks (50), leg lifts, weights, bike riding a bit in the evening, and swimming, though the swimming was more for cooling off this week than for working out.
I also took a lot of naps this week. Haha! I haven’t had naps at all this summer — not since last winter, actually. The heat and being on the computer for multiple hours really got to me.
When I did go outside I went out wearing shorts to catch more of the sun’s light on my body. Since the mosquito population has crashed, I can now safely bare more of my limbs to the sunlight while working in the gardens. I need to boost my vitamin D levels while I still can.
I read Ezra and Nehemiah and listened to the book of Exodus this week.
I have a very uneasy feeling about this coming fall. Please finalize as much as possible your preps. I am. We will never ever be completely ready, none of us will be. But do the best you can, study, practice your skill sets, ask the Lord God for common sense, hide some clothes, shoes, tools, tarps or tentage for shelter, sleeping gear, seeds, and food away from your home in case your home gets destroyed like on Maui. “Do not have all of your eggs in one basket.”
Do not take any more vaccines at all, none of them, or any of their drugs. They are only meant to kill you. The Powers that Be are going to try to fearmonger you again, this fall. Both for Climate Change and more Covid and Ebola Viruses. Don’t believe them. Don’t fear or give into fear. Trust in the Lord God and proclaim Psalm 91 over yourself and your family and use your common sense. If it looks really bad, then do isolate yourselves on your own terms, not theirs.
Trust in the Lord God.
May you all have a very blessed and safe week.
– Avalanche Lily, Rawles
o o o
As always, please share and send e-mails of your own successes and hard-earned wisdom and we will post them in the “Snippets” column this coming week. We want to hear from you.