HOW IT WORKS

We spend so much time getting the pieces of survival together that we sometimes forget how it is to work. And we ought to think about that more often.





We need to think about our retreat and how it is supposed to work and what it will do for us. I think of the TPN, http://texaspreppersnetwork.blogspot.com/ and the opportunity it provides for people down in Texas. They could really get something going down there if they put their heads together and worked it out. If 100 of them gave $100 every so often they would have $10,000 every time they did it. Do that three or four times a year and you have enough money to really do something. Go look at some land, maybe. And douse for water before you even think about paying any money for it. Then you have land and water. You have a toehold on living when others may be having a very difficult time.





There is a small outfit about 20 miles South of me on the main highway about 13 miles away. It is a Methodist Church camp and it has been there as long as I have been in the neighborhood. Just a few acres of ground but it is packed out for people coming for church camp. There is a big church building, at least bigger than any other building in the area. And there are 30 or 40 little cabins built by people who attend frequently. And they aren't dwellings as per se, but rather little sleeping rooms. Some have a porch roof built on a side to sitting and talking. They are for sleeping and getting out of the weather and little else. Little tiny houses. Not much uniformity except that they are all small. There is a kitchen-dining building where they eat communally while they are in session. So they only have to build one kitchen. They have a few bathrooms but not one in every cabin. Bathrooms cost a lot of money, especially if you go to building 30 or 40 or them at once. This set-up is in place and functioning. It has functioned for decades. Not a whole lot too it, but it is more than most people have.





And this is how it can start. I think Riverwalker and Mayberry had a fine idea of bringing Texans in the area into the survival fold as a group. Folks around the country talk a lot about how hard it is to find other preppers and these guys have all the local preppers they want. Doesn't anybody get it? You can find other people just by setting up a network and getting it publicized. I'll publicize it and I know a lot of others will join in that effort. The word will get out there, no problem.





So you get a hundred acres of land that has some water under it and you get busy building your survival machine. Nothin' like it. You get your fences built for your cattle and goats. You get your hayfields all planted and ready to produce. You have a huge garden to feed yourselves and make money with the extra produce. You get your chicken coops built and your egg laying going. You have laying hens and meat chickens. Sitting down to a nice fried chicken dinner on a Saturday night after a hard week is a wonderful thing. All the people in the different areas come together and eat and relax and enjoy themselves. The gossip and the news will be thick in the air.





Pretty soon there will be people moving on to the property and living there full time. Then you will have security on board 24 by 7. Can't beat it. You get a good mechanic like Mayberry keeping all the pumps and trucks and tractors running and then you have something. That 5 acre garden will start to produce food and money and it will be enlarged very quickly. The egg business will be a surprising venture and some will want to grow it also. There will be people interested in the farmer's markets in the area and they will be hauling produce all over the place and bringing home money. There will be people interested in drying and maybe even canning food for the group to eat and that will grow within your midst. You might then be driven to buy adjoining land for more production. I hope you have plenty of trees for wood production for building and for heat. With the uncertainty of our fuel supplies as we look to the future, having heat and buildings will be a nice thing. Especially if I am correct in my view that we will start having very cold, long Winters.





Cold weather will shorten the growing season for a lot of folks unless they live in the deep South. Places up in Wisconsin and Michigan and Ohio and Pennsylvania can become once a year crop states. They will learn to plant heavy to insure their survival. They will learn to overcrop with Winter Wheat to keep their soil fertility up to snuff.





And there will be security to perform. Guards posted at night so that things don't go disappearing. Calves don't seem to go away as if by magic. Garden produce will still be there in the morning for the days picking. And if push comes to shove, the whole camp can turn out for defense against raiders. You just never know what will happen when the economic slide deepens to include the whole nation and all classes of people. I have read some rather ugly scenarios of freebooters and their mischief. Hasn't happened yet but that does not mean it won't. We depend on law enforcement and our military right now, but those boys can disappear quickly under the right circumstances. The various governments will say that it ain't gonna happen but you know how they lie.

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TIPS FROM CHARLI GRIBBLE



Here are some recipes for Elderberry whatever....these come from my
Settlement Cookbook..................
Elderberry Cordial
1 Tbsp each: whole allspice, cloves, & 1 piece stick cinnamon
8 qts elderberries (this recipe can also be used with blackberries)
2 qts cold water
4 lbs sugar
2 qts whiskey or brandy
Tie spices in a cloth bag. Pick over and wash berries.
Place in preserving kettle, cover with water, boil until thoroughly soft;
then strain. Measure, and to each qt of juice add 2 cups sugar.
Add spice bag and boil 20 min. Let cool and measure again. To
each qt of syrup, add 1 pint of whiskey. Bottle and cork tightly.
Will keep, improves with age.
Elderberry Wine
about 9 lb elderberries
4 lb sugar
wash & pick over berries & place with sugar in a 2 gal jar.
Fill with cold water. Cover with cheesecloth and keep in a warm
place. Stir twice a week for 6 weeks. Strain & let stand 2 weeks
longer to settle. Strain and bottle.
Elderberry Jelly
Take equal parts elderberries and apples. Cover with water and boil.
Mash, strain. To 1 cup juice, use 1 cup sugar. Boil juice, skim, add
sugar. Boil to the jelly point. Pour into hot, sterilized jars, seal with
paraffin.
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So gather together and make your preps and grow in strength. United we stand and divided we fall. Stay alive.





Michael





mboone@rtccom.net