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, 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:
This past week, I had to make trip to Spokane, Washington, to have our snowplow repaired. It had been repeatedly reverting to “float” mode, unexpectedly. The main fault turned out to be a glitchy controller handset. But while I was there, I had them change the hydraulic fluid, since that hadn’t been done in a couple of years. I also had the main power cable changed, since the connectors showed some corrosion. “An ounce of prevention…” is wise — especially when it is a 3.5-hour drive to the snowplow dealership.
On my way home, I dropped by a large farm and ranch store, to pick up some chicken layer pellets and a couple of “All Species” 80-pound Lixit tubs. (We do a little supplementary feeding in the winter, for both our cattle and horses. These tubs are low-moisture feed supplements that are molasses-based) I found that the store was sold out of the brand of layer pellets that I normally buy. So I bought the other brand. I noticed that they had less than one pallet of that feed remaining. The prices of both brands of chicken grain had jumped by about 18%. Oh, and the store is now selling 60-pound tubs of Lixit for about the same price that they used to sell an 80-pound tub. With a “you’re lucky to be getting these” admonition, I bought the last two 60-pounders that they had in stock, for $72.85 each. Ouch. Welcome to the “new normal” of “beggars can’t be choosers” shopping. We are witnessing both Bidenflation and Wu Flu supply chain disruptions, in action.
Just after stepping out of that store, I bumped into an old friend, who was there looking for circuit breakers. She reported that all of the hardware stores and even the big box store were sold out of the type that she needed. And she had just learned that the farm and ranch store was sold out of them, too. There’s that “new normal” again, for you.
Now, back at the ranch, I’m still catching up on packing and mailing all of the orders that came in, during our month-long Patton’s Birthday Sale. (For my customers in most states, pre-1899s can be sent via US Mail. And regardless, with no Federal paperwork.) With the sale now over, I have reverted the pricing on most of the guns and knives, but I left some very low sale prices in effect on a dozen percussion revolvers. Take a look, at Elk Creek Company.
Now, over to Lily…
Avalanche Lily Reports:
Dear Readers,
We have had snow showers all week. The storm that we worried about last week, did not produce a power outage for us. But all of the snow has finally given us a proper snow base for skiing and it looks like a wonderful winter wonderland.
Honestly, this week, I don’t feel that there is a lot to tell. We’re just living life and maintaining the ranch and animals. Our week was mostly made up of animal feeding, watering, and cleaning chores; house cleaning, laundry, and cooking chores, feeding the woodstove, a run to town for errands, etc.
This week I began to harvest microgreens to use in salads and smoothies from the indoor bathroom greenhouse, mostly kale and broccoli, some parsley, and Pack Choi.
I am enjoying eating sprouted sunflower seeds, so I soaked my third batch this week and dehydrated them.
Folks asked for a review update of my trial use of Silicone food storage bags instead of using plastic freezer bags. I like them, enough. They definitely are better to use than plastic — and not just as a “save our environment” thing. They make sense for avoiding the regular expense of throwaway plastic bags. They are a little bit harder to get into, are bulky and take up more space in the freezer, and they tend to take on the smell of the fridge or freezer and the smellier food items, such as salmon. The smell does not wash away very well with just washing with water and dish soap. I have yet to try washing them with baking soda. I tend to just air them out for a while and then rewash them. Time seems to dissipate the odor. If anyone else has experience with the smelly part of their silicone bags, what is your solution to getting rid of the smell? Please e-mail me and tell me.
We are continuing to dry clothes on clothing racks in the Great Room. I think we have saved quite a bit of propane, just in the past three weeks.
Finally, our Americana chickens that had gone on egg-laying strike since their move to the new henhouse, laid their pretty blue and green eggs again this week. (Either they went on strike or some chickens were eating them.) Since the eggs were considerably smaller than the other birds’ eggs. I think they went on strike, which might have delayed their size development?
Mrs. Hen Turkey –a wild turkey — is still with us. She receives her daily ration of pellets when we feed the chickens. This past week, I have not been feeding the animals after dark, so I’m not sure if she is roosting in trees or on our rail fences at night.
The cats, pups, cows, horses, and sheep are doing well.
This week our family has taken up playing Scrabble during some evenings. We are not really big game players, but we’ve been enjoying playing this game.
Miss Violet and I have spent more time studying flowers of all kinds: house, garden, herb, wild, and edible.
I have cross-country skied four times this week, around the ranch for 45 minutes each time. I am trying to get those muscles back in shape.
This week, I am listening to the book of John and spent time reading Romans, 9, 10, and 11. Our Shabbat Bible study is going through the book of Revelation, once again.
My Adventure of the Week.
Jim bought a replacement SUV for our family that we had delivered to us this week. It was dropped off at a local wide spot in the road that allowed for enough room to turn around and unload the vehicle. That is about six miles from our ranch. On the day of its arrival, Jim and I drove down together to pick it up. The gentleman unloaded it from off the car-hauler trailer. We all inspected it. Jim told me to drive it home. As I went to get in the vehicle, the hauler gentleman, mentioned that the gas gauge said “Seven miles to empty”. Jim and I, both gasped. The vehicle had been idling the whole time we had been chatting with this guy. I said that I might not make it home. Jim was planning on running to the post office in our older SUV (the 12-year-old one), so he would be about 45 minutes behind me. So he could rescue me then, if I ran out of gas and was left stranded on the side of the road.
Jim said, “Well it’s about 6.5 miles to home. Get going.” I jumped into the vehicle and immediately, prayed that the Lord God would multiply the gas and at least get me into our driveway. There are hills along the way and flats. About a quarter of a mile from the drop-off point the gauge dropped to “6 miles to empty”. I was on a downslope, so I eased my foot off the gas. At the next upslope, I gave it just enough gas to keep it going up the hill. I passed a mile marker that indicated that I was five and a half miles from home. The rest of the way, I went much slower than usual, coasting the downhill stretches and some flats. I was watching the mile markers, carefully. About 3/4 mile from home the gauge registered “1 mile to empty”, I prayed again and made it to the driveway and praised the Lord while opening the gate and driving in. And I made it to the house, with probably less than a pint of gas to spare!
Of course, we store gas here at home. When Jim returned home about forty minutes later, he added five gallons of gas–more than enough to get us to the gas station in the nearest town, to fill up the tank. By the way, we had been much closer to a gasoline source by going home to the ranch rather than driving to the nearest gas station.
That was the major adventure for me, this week. If it had run out of gas about a mile from home, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. Just a short walk home and I could’ve retrieved a gas can and could have driven our pick-up over, refilled the tank, then, driven the pick-up back home and walk back to the new vehicle and then driven it home. But, I am super glad that I didn’t have to do that or wait for Jim to rescue me, etc. The Lord God saw us through in this small detail. Jim has joked about calling the dealer to “complain” about the small amount of gas left in the tank. In the end, it was just a big chuckle — calling it that close.
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.