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:
I had three on-site consulting days, on behalf of two different clients this week. I also went to visit an old friend. And on Friday, I attended a gun show. With so much time on the road, I was barely able to keep up with my writing, editing, and ranch work.
Now, Lily’s report…
Avalanche Lily Reports:
Dear Readers,
We had some rain showers early in the week and later sun with temperatures in the mid-seventies. It was very pleasant out to get work done.
Hey, hey, I am so excited! I finally succeeded in making edible ketchup this week! I strained fresh and thawed tomatoes through my Victoria strainer to remove seeds and skin. Note to self for the future: Do not put through strainer barely thawed tomatoes, They will freeze up the mechanism making it impossible to turn the handle. The struggle to turn the handle will dislodge the strainer from its counter mount and spill tomatoes and juice all over the counters and floor, necessitating a huge cleanup. 😉
Then I put all of the strained sauce into our roaster pan and put it in the oven to slowly cook down. It took about eight hours, five hours in the afternoon, then another four hours the next day. Then I seasoned the sauce, canned it, and sent it through my pressure canner for fifteen minutes.
This week I also washed three of the four sheep fleeces from our sheep that we sheared back in May. It is being prepared to be carded and used to make yarn and to felt.
Update: When some of the wool had dried, I actually carded with the hand carders a few bunches of the wool to get the feel and understanding of what I was going to be doing in the future. The roving turned out beautiful! I am looking forward to doing more of this work in the future.
Later in the week after doing this, Miss Violet and I happened to listen to Proverbs 31 while driving to town for errands. I say “happened to listen” because we were intending to listen to the book of Isaiah on our Alexander Scourby CDs and it turned out that the last chapters of Proverbs and Ecclesiasties were the first chapters of the CD that Isaiah was on. I listened to Proverbs chapter 31 twice through. These verses took on new meaning and understanding to me and stirred up my soul to actually do these things that I have bolded and italicized. I will do all of the other verses of course, too. I have the ability to do them, the land, animals, the equipment and hopefully the time ;-):
Description of a Worthy Woman
Proverbs 31:10-31
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
I dug dandelion roots, washed, chopped, roasted them, and bagged them up for future use for medicinal tea.
I pulled all but three bunches of celery from the garden. I gave a lot of it away and what was left, I washed chopped, and froze.
We also gave away a lot of zuchs.
I made and water bath canned twelve eight-ounce jars of apple mint jelly.
I have been studying-up on wild plants to supplement my beasties’ food rations. I have been harvesting Lamb’s quarters that have gone to seed for my fowl. I recently read that it isn’t good for sheep or cattIe. I am also cutting down many saplings of Alder and Balsam poplar, tying them in bunches, and drying them in the barn.
I have a ton of wild Amaranth/Pig weed growing in the Annex gardens. I am harvesting this also.
Additionally, I planted back in late June, peas, lentils and sunflowers down in the Annex gardens of which I only watered a few times and I never weeded. Surprisingly to me, they have produced crops despite my neglect. These I am feeding to the chickens.
Our plums are beginning to ripen. I have been picking a few each day. Yummy!
I pruned out the spent golden raspberry patch.
I weed-whacked the thistles on the two sides of the Annex garden. I am raking them up and putting them in a pile to compost in an unused area of the orchard by a pine tree. Lord willing we will dig up the thistle roots this fall and get a cover crop in on both sides of the Annex gardens.
May you all have a very blessed and safe week.
– Avalanche Lily, Rawles
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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.