To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, 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 the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!
Jim Reports:
I have been traveling out of state for the past week. I will have more to report, one week from today.
Avalanche Lily Reports
Dear Readers,
We had a lot of rain this week. We had one day of sunshine. That day, I did the deep cleaning of the chicken coop. I sent all of the birds outside, scraped the manure and straw from the floor, brought it down to the orchard. Then I sprayed the interior with the hose: roof, walls and floors and nesting boxes to get rid all of the dust bunnies hanging from the walls and ceiling. I scraped out all of the water with the flat-bottomed shovel and a large floor squeegie. Then with the door and nest boxes open, allowed the coop to air dry for three hours. When it was dry, I put in clean straw, water and feed.
That same day, I also rototilled the entire main garden. I had spread out some piles of manure at an earlier time last week. That also was rototilled under. I will let the garden sit for a week or so, as it is too wet anyhow to plant anything, then will rototill it again. I need to plant my onions and potatoes ASAP. Sunday is supposed to be warm and sunny to plant. I will be planting those raspberries, blackberries and some more tree saplings that were ordered and came in at the end of the week.
I started in the greenhouse, in trays, herbs for my future herb garden: Basil, oregano, cumin, thyme, cilantro, and others. I bought some more seeds this week to plant and to stock up with. I have a very large tote full of different seeds, mostly organic non-hybrids, bought and self-grown/saved from my own produce.
This week the girls and I washed, chopped up, froze and dehydrated ten pounds of mixed sweet peppers. I also received another order of 20 pounds of peppers that we will be doing the same with this coming week. These will be dehydrated. We just don’t have the space to freeze too many peppers and if we lost power we would lose them. I’m coming around to the reality that we need to dehydrate many more foods to have them available to us if and when things hit the fan. I love fresh and frozen foods the most, but, especially concerning meat, we need to dehydrate and can more of it.
May you all have a blessed Hag Sameach Pasach and Resurrection Day, Yeshua has Risen, indeed. He is the atonement for everyone’s sin and is the First Fruits of the Resurrection, Life from the dead! He’s alive forever more and is returning very soon. Watch, therefore! Get ready! Repent and Prepare your hearts and your homes to be with Him in Heavenly Places. Great turmoil and destruction will occur on this Earth as Satan fights against the Lord’s people and demands to be worshipped as God. Christ returns to clean this world from Sin and to take up His own. Hallelujah to the Lamb! – Avalanche Lily, Rawles
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As always, please share your own successes and hard-earned wisdom in the Comments.
We topped off our defense caches. Now have 40 new thirty-round magazines. Five new AR-15 rifles and five new 80% lowers. Can’t wait to schedule the drilling and milling portion of those AR-15 lowers with the new format of their jig [which doesn’t need a drill press].
My wife and I also drew up plans for a landing strip and hanger on our homestead property. I’m a private pilot. In addition, to adding a tiered [on ranch] fully stocked fish pond. The tiers will start out shallow then have steps down to about 100 feet in an L shaped pond [that’s so my wife can utilize her scuba diving certification and our new equipment].
Stay thirsty my friends! My God keep us strong in the upcoming unknowns of this world.
Do you mind sharing what company for the 80% lowers? Looking for a jig and a few 80% lowers for a summer project.
Avalanche Lily you need to talk Jim into buying a Harvest Right freeze dryer, much better than dehydrating!!!!
Tell me about it!!! 🙂
“Freeze dried food will last up to 25 years and does not need to be to be rotated like other foods. Freeze drying does not shrink or toughen the food, and foods retain their flavor, and color. Freeze drying maintains 97% of the nutritional value of the food. Freeze drying works great for fruits and vegetables, but unlike other options, it also perfectly preserves meat, fish, dairy, eggs, ice cream, and even fully-cooked meals.”
https://harvestright.com/how-it-works/
There is also an excellent, informational face book group (if you’re comfortable going to Face Book) Betty is running 4 freeze dryers and has been doing so for years. She has a wealth of videos and files on her page that cover all aspects of freeze drying. It’s the place to go with your questions.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BettysHarvestRightFreezeDryersGroup/?ref=bookmarks
A long week of organizing the cabin and outbuildings. It is pretty much ready to leave. Oh, I have a couple yard things left to do, but our place is as move-in ready as I’m going to make it.
I bought some heavy artillery (6 more “enter and snap” traps) for the Mouse Wars.
Moved another wood/brush pile and started cutting for next winter. Had to use some at the start of the week when the temperature dropped and it snowed.
Got the RV ready for summer visitors.
Finished fixing the vehicles and changed out the studs for nice weather tires in hopes that we will have some nicer weather. Ye ‘ol farm truck is raring to go.
It is also too wet to do much gardening here. I did plant and mark the rhubarb I ordered. I’ve never bought rhubarb crowns before as we’ve always had it growing. I didn’t realize that we are not to cut any year one and very few stalks year two. My mother always said it was the first plant to harvest and eat after a winter of stored food. Something I haven’t thought about much for years as I am able to buy fresh vegetables and fruits year round.
Blessing to all this Holy Season
It rained 4 days this week and we received over 4 inches in our location. Even the chickens would not go out their coops! The house is on a small hill so it did not effect the house or the raised outbuildings, but the barn is a sea of mud. If the soil dries out a little we can get the corn and meadow mix in; but it might be May before the seedlings go in the ground.
May the Lord bless and keep you in his love.
A lot of our time has been spent preparing for our move to our BOL. Our BOL is about half the size of the house we are currently in so we are getting rid of “stuff” and moving stuff. House was on the market for less than 24 hours and we had 4 people look at it. Realtor said this is a “hot” area right now. We are really hoping we get near asking price so we can put some of the proceeds on a new tractor. Once we sell the house, our only debt will be whatever we fianace for a new tractor.
Organized the shelter room at the BOL, un-packed some boxes and organized the re-loading bench. In the barn I tidied up and put some items up on the peg board.
Picked up a few thing from Amazon too. Got a P3 Kill A Watt meter, with the solar power I think this is a must. Got a kit of Chicago Scres and Rivets for the leather making/repair kit. Got a solar light that I have been looking at for a while. If it is good, will get a few more.