PREPS IN GENERAL

It's Monday morning and I am wondering how I am doing with my preps. Let's run through a short list and see.

WATER

We are abundantly supplied with water. We have numerous ponds about our property. We have several springs, in fact we have quite a few springs. We have a creek that runs through our valley. We have wells and one well that we are getting a hand pump installed. I do not fear a water shortage.

FOOD

The Handmaiden and I have several hundred pounds of food stored. And if this effort to grow beans an corn is successful then we are loaded with nutrition. The Handmaiden cooked up our first Crockpot of Horticulture beans yesterday and they were absolutely delicious. Some of the best beans I ever ate. Very good flavor. I am taking a break from shelling more of them to write this post. The Golden Bantam corn I planted has not turned down as yet so we haven't sampled it. I planted corn for grinding, not for freezing or roasting ears. I love corn bread and mush. The Handmaiden is drying tomatoes! I have never seen this done before. But she looks after them and keeps them covered with a thin cloth and they seem to be doing just fine. We have quite a collection of canned goods. All kinds of meat products and dishes. Starting to get some more vegetables. Spinach and peas took a build up this weekend. We also have fruit and probably will buy more, if the economy allows. And of course, we also have rice and beans running out of our ears. And almost 50 pounds of feed corn for grinding. We have spices galore and will probably get some more. The Amish are good about carrying the ground Cayenne I like so well and we will probably buy from them. Our Cayenne is getting put into Wristras and hung out on the porch wall. I would have to say that food supply is looking pretty good. And I can have this food supply on my meager pension because we do not have a mortgage on our land here. It sure is nice to be free of that bullshit. Gotta pay the land taxes and that is about it.

FUEL

We have all the wood in the world here in the valley. Good hardwoods, not the fireball pines they have out west and that burn across California every Summer. We can cook and heat like crazy with our wood supply. If we have to use questionable water we can boil it properly and have no fear of pathogens. We have a couple high springs that can get water up into some buildings if necessary. Makes having a flush toilet a wonderful thing. Our Poplar is renowned for building. And Termites don't think much of it. Get it off the ground and covered with a roof with some overhang and you are set to go. Of course we also have White Oak for building corn cribs and things of that nature. Fuel is not a problem here.

GUNS AND AMMO

I have plenty of firepower here at the ranch. It's not really a military arsenal but everything shoots and that means it CAN be used for defense. Pistols, shotguns and rifles. Pretty standard fare. I have an adequate amount of ammo. Not saying I couldn't use more but I can live with what I have. I don't reckon a man would ever say he had ENOUGH ammo. But if you get a whole lot you gotta come up with more space to store it and that can get hard to do! Women who live with you have a certain animosity toward anyone who wants a lot of valuable storage room!

CLOTHING

Starting to build my supply of good clothing. Not Sunday-go-to-meeting good but good as for keeping me warm and holding up to wear and abuse. I would like one more pair of good boots but I think I can get by for now. But I will be lookin'! The Handmaiden has plenty of clothes. She is the most unconscious shopper I have ever seen. She will go to the Salvation Army store and find a $300 thick leather coat for $15. She bought a pair of $200 high top leather boots for $10. And this stuff is like NEW. She has coats out the wazoo and sweaters and all that stuff. And if she gets bored she always slips on one of my good T-shirts. She has plenty of warm socks and scarves. She says she has plenty of blue jeans. She will have to check but she thinks she has plenty of long johns. We are doing okay in the clothing area.

MEDICAL SUPPLIES

We recently got a small medical kit together. Survival blogger finally got his band aids! So nice of him. But we have it going and that is what counts. And the Handmaiden is making salves and ointments and plain old raw dried herbs and what not. Anything you can make from stuff growing out in the wild will save you money. Various teas and decoctions are coming to the fore. We even have some small tools like scissors and tweezers. We have more to do but we are getting ready and that is what you have to do. You never have enough and you never are satisfied but you keep working at it. When the SHTF you go with what you have.

Stay alive!

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net