To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make 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 [1], 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 this column, in the Odds ‘n Sods Column, and in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!
Jim Reports:
I spent nearly every morning this week cutting and splitting firewood. Miss Violet has helped me, by doing most of the stacking.
Our new heifer calf is doing quite well. She nurses well, and follows her mom around, even when the herd is moving at a trot. We had another addition to the herd a couple of days ago. This one is a bull calf, and he also seems healthy and vigorous. We are hoping for two more calves in the next couple of weeks, from proven cows. Stay tuned.
Now over to Lily…
Avalanche Lily Reports:
Dear Readers,
The beginning of the week was extremely hot in the high nineties followed by a lovely cool down at the end of the week into the low eighties.
Sadly, at the beginning of this week my parents returned home to New England. I’m very sad they had to leave seeing that we don’t know what the immediate future will bring… and if we will ever see each other face to face, again. 🙁 Thankfully, the phones are still working, and they arrived safely home. It was a very lovely visit with them, a visit I will always remember.
This week the Raspberries came on full-fledged. I am harvesting them and have frozen a gallon’s worth thus far. I did make room for them in the chest freezer. We are eating some of those foods that are in there. We also have invited two sets of neighbors to come and pick. One this week and the other for early next week.
I finally transplanted some perennial herbs that have been residing in the greenhouse all summer. They went in the Perennial garden this week.
The kale and collards that I was growing in totes in the greenhouse were being eaten by something, so I pulled them out and I have been emptying old, pest-infested soil out of the totes out into an area of our ranch that needs a boost in soil nutrition. Any other soil dumped on that area of ground will boost its soil. It is very nutrient-poor and acidic being located under spruce and tamarack trees. And it is a desert there at this time of year, so the soil will dry out and most likely kill any eggs of pests that may dwell in the soil.
I have wild strawberries growing there and I want more of them to grow in the next years, Therefore I need to boost its soil. I plan to also put the composted manure out there someday, soon. I have bought more wild Strawberry seeds and plan to scatter them in that area sometime this fall, I think… Though I may do so in the spring.
I have washed and bleached about twelve totes and refilled them with newly-composted cow manure and have planted a few of them thusfar with fall crops of Swiss Chard, Red Russian kale, Scallions, and parsley. (Transplanted from a poor soil, store bought starting mix, tray into fresh composted soil tote.) I transplanted some onions that I started from seed back in April. I added new compost to some pots of sweet peppers that I’ve had growing in bussing trays.
I harvested Curly Dock fronds and started to thresh its seeds into a sheet. I ran out of time and put them into the greenhouse until the Shabbat is over and will finish threshing them next week. I may try eating them this winter, since they are edible…
Miss Violet and I separated seeds from pods of a few peas that were planted this spring. We also saved the seeds from a brassica plant. I’m not sure what exactly it is, but I decided to keep its seeds.
I have been incubating a group of my chickens’ eggs. If things go well this time, they should begin hatching out on Monday…
From the Annex Garden, I have been harvesting beets, onions, and broccoli, thusfar. Yum. Also, I dug up about six more pounds of volunteer fingerling potatoes that were growing in my new Asparagus bed.
I spent time weeding the Asparagus bed this week. I hope to finish weeding it next week.
This week, I have done a fair amount of bike riding and swimming.
Please continue to pray for Miss Eloise. Let’s just say that your prayers are having an effect in beginning to move things in the right direction. Thank You, Lord God!
Please continue to prep as much as possible. Jim thinks we will be facing war soon, at least more so overseas, but it could come here to our land, as so much seems to trend in that direction. Pray for the general public of both Israel and Gaza who are at the mercy of the global elites who keep waging stupid wars to further their evil agendas. Pray, read The Word of God, Fast, and keep preparing. The Four horsemen are preparing to ride. The stage is being set and is nearly ready…Jesus is Lord!
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.