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:
A local buyer came with his stock trailer to take delivery of two of our yearlings: A heifer and a steer. That went smoothly, with no real rodeo required.
I had to make a trip to town, for some grain and other supplies. I also bought a 25-pound sack of juicing carrots. We use those as training aids, for our horses and cattle.
We dehorned and elastrated a week-old bull calf.
I helped Lily with more manure hauling and rototilling.
I turned the water back on, to our fenced orchard/garden. (That part of our water system had been drained, for the winter.)
I’ve also been very busy, adding a backlog of pre-1899 antique cartridge guns to my Elk Creek Company online inventory. At the risk of sounding self-promotional, I want to mention that a whopping 19 antique cartridge rifles have just been added. They include:
- A Restored Winchester M1892 Carbine in .45 Colt, with Half-Magazine
- A Ludwig Loewe M1895 .45 ACP Scout Conversion Supressor Host Carbine
- A Fine Winchester Model 1894 Round Barrel .32-40, Made in 1898
- A Chilean Loewe M1895 Mauser 7×57 Boyd’s Laminate Stock Sporter
- A Ludwig Loewe M1891 Argentine Mauser Scoped Sporter
- A Scarce Pre-1899 Schmidt-Rubin M1896/11 Rifle, 7.5 Swiss
- Two Turkish M1893 Mauser 8x57mm Mauser – Ankara Arsenal Rework Rifles
- A Nice Finnish Valmet M39 Mosin-Nagant on an 1896 Receiver
- A Remington Rolling Block 7×57 Mauser Rifle – Circa 1896
- A Chilean Loewe M1895 Mauser 7×57 Iron-Sight Sporter
- A Winchester M1892 .44-40 with 23″ with Round Barrel
- A Sporterized Swedish Mauser, 6.5×55 with Weaver Scope
- An 1895-Dated Swedish M1894 Carbine 6.5×55 Semi-Sporter
- A Winchester M1894 .30-30 Saddle Ring Carbine — Made in 1897
- An Early Winchester M1892 .38-40 with 23″ Barrel
- A 7.62mm NATO-Converted Ludwig Loewe Chilean Mauser
- A Ludwig Loewe M1891 Argentine Mauser .308 Winchester Scoped Sporter
- A Ludwig Loewe M1891 Argentine Mauser Scout Sporter (7.65mm Argentine Mauser)
I haven’t yet posted photos of all of them, but please take a look at the Elk Creek Company website.
Now, Lily’s report…