Sunday, July 20, 2008

LOVELY MORNING

It's a beautiful sunny morning here in the valley and I am thinking of a trip to town and doing some prepping. The handmaiden slept in this morning so she is in a decent mood and will probably go with me. She just said she wants to do the dishes first and then she will go. She is crazy about keeping her dishes caught up. And her kitchen floor swept. It's just the way she is.

I have contemplated the inner city gangs this morning, both in my musings out on the porch and on line. I am still of the opinion that they present a grave danger to anyone who gets in their way. They don't like us normal citizens. They like their own kind. And I can understand that and sympathize with them but I cannot go along with their plans to enslave or murder me. Their best shot with me is to leave me alone. Don't mess with me or my cohorts. Period.

I am still thinking about what to buy for my preps. I think about more food. Those great big cans of Hormel Chili sure do stimulate my hunger. It isn't as good as the Handmaidens chili but it is damn good. I think about buying cans of pudding and keeping them around for a while. They would be nice to have in the event of an emergency. After an afternoon of fighting Freebooters it sure would be nice to come home to some goodies to go along with your rice and beans. And for the zillionth time, don't forget that the first three days of an emergency are the most troubling and the most taxing on your system and you really need to eat well on those days. So have some goodies you can use to stoke up! Canned fruit comes to mind as a good dessert-treat thing to have around. There might be some real nourishment in them.

The Handmaiden still has our bean seeds in the sprouting process and they have not yet sprouted. I be watching those little devils for signs of life. If they sprout then I have a chance of saving a ton of money on bean seed. Getting a lot for very little appeals to me. But i have to be sure they will work. Hope they do.

I have meditated on garden growing this morning. I am thinking that gardens are degenerate. They have to be watered, fertilized, weeded, sprayed for bugs and finally harvested for eating. What a crock of shit. All around me are millions of plants I can eat and live on. And we persist on growing gardens. My main flaw in my thinking is Winter food. and Spring food. And Summer food. The Fall we have covered by the garden and we can store a lot of it if we plant crops that store well. But that seems like a lot of work for not so much food. You basically get one quarter of a year to grow the whole years supply of food. And that is sorta like the cup being half full or half empty. You gotta work like hell for one fourth of the year but then you can relax for three quarters of the year. But there is all this food growing out here for nothing! And the bugs don't eat it and the weeds don't starve them out and they make it on the available water and you just essentially have to pick the stuff and eat it. Something is missing in my equation.

Mayberry got on a talk he had with his neighbors. Very interesting. I enjoy it when folks who never get heard from get a chance to voice their opinions. Maybe they aren't too smart but they can report what is going on. And once in a while you meet a smart one. You just never can tell.

Gotta get up and go to town. Preps, you know. I'll keep you informed! Stay alive.

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net

3 comments:

vlad said...

food insurance aka tree crops
by harmon
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=51900&highlight=seaver
excerpt
Well, here's what Earle Barnhart said in Tree Crops, an article published in the Journal of The New Alchemists: "Tree crops can match row crops in both protein and carbohydrate yield per acre. Modern hybrid-grain crops such as corn, wheat, and soybeans only outproduce tree crops such as Persian Walnut, filberts, Chinese chestnuts, honey locust and black walnut if they are highly subsidized with fossil-fuel inputs such as pest protection, weed removal, nutrient enrichment and constant, adequate water."... "large fields benefit from being sheltered; the approximate 5% used for windbreaks is well-compensated by higher productivity from the remainder. Tree products such as acorns and honey-locust pods can match corn and oats pound-for-pound as winter feed supplements for livestock." Or us.

Levy Goddess said...

Michael, have you looked into square foot gardening? I got the book, cd..and I think that is what Im going to try. NO WEEDING, holds moisture well, no fertilizing..you can extend the growing season...look into it I think you will like it.

Staying Alive said...

Dear Levy Goddess,

I have looked into Square foot Gardening and it is not what I need to use. I want square acres, not square feet. I need to be able to feed hundreds of people, not a small family. For a small family I would say it might be fine.

Vermiculite is expensive and I can get my soil conditioned to do what I want without it. Within a couple years I should be able to push a 3/8's inch dowel rod two feet into the ground with my bare hands. Good soil conditioning.

Good luck with your garden and than you for the tip!

Michael