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!
JWR
Dear SurvivalBlog Readers:
Our winter supply of firewood is now all safely under cover, but this past week I spent some more time splitting and boxing fire kindling wood. (I prefer to keep our kindling in plastic tote bins, for subsequent ease of handling.) My preferred kindling wood is western red cedar. I usually cut small rounds to just 9 or 10 inch length. I do a lot of the kindling splitting with a shingle froe and a 30-ounce mallet. I find that at least with straight-grained wood and a froe, I have better control. More control means that I spend less time chasing pieces of kindling. (Which is the norm whenever I use a mine axe or large hatchet to split it.)
Avalanche Lily Reports:
This week at the Rawles Ranch, we butchered two Turkeys that have reached butcher weight. They are beginning to eat us out of house and home. We roasted one, and have de-boned the breast meat, froze it and boiled the rest of the carcass for the meat and broth. We have quite a few more Turkeys and chickens that we’ll be gradually butchering over the next few weeks. We are lacking enough freezer space, maybe not so bad if I’d do some rearranging. So we might be canning some. I’m not a big on canning. And we will be giving a few away to friends and family.
This week we started our homeschooling year. We have a high school senior and a sophomore still at home. Both are taking a class or two through HSLDA and CLRC. This is to get them used to on-line classroom formats and to understand what a college course will be like–as well as to lessen my teaching load. It’s time to let them be accountable to someone else for part of their learning. I am teaching them the subjects that I most enjoy, such as a foreign language, Essay writing, Literature, History, Current Events, Bible and Biblical subjects such as: Apologetics, Discernment, Prophecy, Jewish and Christian History and Philosophy. I find it interesting that even though I was a science major in College, teaching science and mathematics are what I’m least interested in, in teaching my children. Go figure.
This year between the two of them, we will conquer (Lord willing): Chemistry, Biology, Algebra II and an overview class of Geometry, Basic Math Review/Pre-Algebra, US History, together, Music Theory (Younger), Essay Writing together with IEW: Institute for Excellence in Writing: Andrew Pudewa), Advanced Communications (IEW), Advanced Spelling (IEW). Older daughter is taking after Jim and wants to be a writer, so she’ll take a Novel Writing class through (IEW). Both are studying Biblical and Modern Hebrew. Both play piano and have received regular lessons, for years now. Both will study Literature for their respective years. Older daughter will be reading literature that involves apologetics, a history of philosophy, “The Consequences of ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped our World” by R.C. Sproul and other books similar to what has shaped our western thinking and the “development of man” through history. Younger child is finishing up American Literature and will be moving into English literature.
I’m trying very hard to keep things very simple and straightforward this year. It is very difficult to run a ranch and businesses, and to homeschool well. We need to work on being very disciplined with our time and motivations to complete what we must and to keep distractions at bay until we finish what we must. I’m hoping to get the rest of the main garden harvested, soon. But all is good out there if we don’t have an early frost.
May you all have a very blessed week.
Many Blessings to All, – Jim Rawles and Avalanche Lily, Rawles