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:
While I’m recovering from my eye surgery, things have been quiet, here at the Rawles Ranch. My recovery has been slow, due to a swollen cornea in my right eye. That is my eye with the new implanted synthetic lens. I’m hoping that the corneal swelling (“Fuchs”) is acute, rather than becoming chronic. I’m still on doctor’s orders to avoid any heavy lifting, but I did help Lily reorganize our barrels of feed grains for our livestock. (I rolled and tilted barrels, rather than lifting them.)
I got most of the March, 2025 SurvivalBlog Old School (S.O.S.) newsletters stuffed in envelopes mailed out, on Monday. Folks who subscribed can expect to see those soon. This latest issue is six pages long. It includes some very, ahem, “useful” machining diagrams for gunsmithing.
We have reactivated the shopping cart at Elk Creek Company, and we are looking forward to your orders. We now have our widest-ever selection of pre-1899 guns. (More than 90 guns, and 25+ knives and bayonets.) No FFL is required, to order. Many gun prices are now discounted, so take a close look.
In the coming week, I plan to set up a new sheep-milking stand in our sheep shed. I also need to walk our fencelines, to see if any trees or large branches have fallen on our fences, over the winter.
Now, Lily’s part of the report, with some baby news…
Avalanche Lily Reports:
Dear Readers,
Spring is springing. The weather has been super sunny with low temperatures at night about 28 degrees Fahrenheit and highs at about 48 degrees Fahrenheit. This week the Pileated woodpecker was heard drumming in the trees. The drilling of the trees is so loud that Jim and I joked that maybe it’s Big Foot pounding the trees to celebrate spring’s arrival. On the topic of the arrival of birds this week: the Oregon Juncoes, Winter Wrens, Merganzers, Mallards, Buffleheads, Great Blue Herons… The Tundra Swans will probably move along father north soon. But for now, they are still dotting The Unnamed River.
Our fifth grandchild was born this week. Finally, a baby girl! We are delighted. On Friday we visited and met her. She is beautiful! After the visit, we took the four boys home with us to the ranch to give the boys some fun during their spring break and to allow their Mom and Dad and baby sister some space to adjust to each other and get some rest. I love having the boys here. They bring so much fun and life to the ranch.
This week Miss Violet and I transplanted a lot of tomatoes into larger pots. With Jim’s help we also moved to the outside green house all of the brassicas. I also moved out of the greenhouse bedroom the rosemary and a few other plant trays to make room for the boys to sleep in there.
No more lambs were born this week. I have a very pregnant ewe that is due any time now. I hope I also have two more ewes that are pregnant in my meat/fiber flock. Time will tell. Our dairy flock ewes are due in May. Since my meat/fiber flock are a “wilder” (ancient) breed, I’ve been spending at least forty minutes a day with them in their shed, just sitting and observing them and feeding them grain from my hand and holding the one female lamb, a lot. The ram lambs I’m not handling so much, because one doesn’t want rams too familiar with you. They can take unsafe liberties with their shepherd, when adults.
We went hiking this week twice in the adjoining National Forest. I’ve recently took a serious look at the 10,000 steps per day “requirement” for great health. I wanted to know what the distance really was. 10,000 steps is about 3.5 miles to 4.9 miles depending on the individual. I’ve always known that walking is great for you and I have always aspired to do so. I do a ton of walking around the ranch and in the house just with doing chores and I most likely walk at least 3 miles around here in a day. But I want to add more hiking off-ranch and for a set time and for further distance and up hills. I’m going to try to make it an absolute priority in our daily schedule, whether we do it morning, noon or night starting this week. This week, we walked twice, for forty-five minutes the first day and for an hour and 15 minutes the second day. We will hike with the boys this week since they start spring soccer in a few weeks. We will start getting them in shape while they are here with us.
I copied the rest of chapter 28-30 of Deuteronomy this week. The book is nearly complete. Since we are entering the Passover season, I’m thinking of copying Exodus next. Stay tuned.
May You All Remain Safe, Blessed, and Hidden in Christ Jesus,
– 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.