Being Prepared

[CaryC]

Hey,

O yea, Les Stroud of "Survivorman" has a new book coming out today. It's about "getting off the grid". Which him and his wife and two girls did up in Canada. Am trying to run down any reviews to see if it is any good. Also, just heard of a guy who was in Argentina when it had it's meltdown, and he's got.... some stuff...out there about what happened. Don't think that just because it happened in a third world country it can't happen here. As evidenced over the last month or so, we are tettering on the edge. So don't say "can't". Am trying to run that stuff down, all I have now is a link to another discussion board. Will let everyone know what I find. If you find it first, go ahead and post it here. If all I end up with is this link, you'll have to PM me for it. Let you know how it goes.

[GodsStudent]

The calandar sounds good, but complicated and time consuming to read the posts IMO....I have plans to work up a calandar for my area (SC) over this winter, but so far time has been a factor. My personal goal is to complete this before spring when planting begins. There are so many subjects going on this board that the time needed to filter through them becomes an issue, but I feel that keeping up is important, so I give it my best shot. For me, its about priorities. I don't want to discourage anyone, but I wanted to share my thoughts on why I, personally, didn't get too excited about the calandar...seemed to be too big of a task given the regions in our country and the various ways people want to be prepared individually....(ie: some have grapes that need pruning and some dont, some have livestock issues and some dont, etc.).

The survivor book sounds important. I want to know more about how to survive in the wild, if need be....a simple and well put together survival in the woods 101 guide.

[CaryC]

Hey GodsStudent,

Aaaa, I see what you mean about the calender. It wasn't a dumb idea just a big idea.

My understanding of Les' book is that it is more towards off grid living like homesteading. You may want to look at homesteading.org. For genuine survival mode, with a BOB and etc.... the Armies FM on Survival Training is one of the best and is available to the public. I think you can get it at Amazon.

[Loop]

It may be a good idea for those who have drilled wells to get a bailer bucket for a drilled well, it was actually what we had when I was growing up, if the elect. goes off for some reason, and you have a drilled well it is pretty hard to get to your water, "found that out the hard way", we just went to the hardware store and had them to order us one, like we had when I was growing up...
MY hubby was going to get a two hundred foot nylon rope, but I told him we always used a light weight dog chain, "the nylon will wear out if used a lot", you also need a wheel to go over the well... If the elec. is off for a while you might have to pull the pump...

[Pretzelogical]

I am thinking of having an underground cistern put in with a hand pump...does this make any sense? Plumber said a hand pump is good up to thirty feet deep. Would use the run-off water from the roof for watering the veggie garden and fruit trees. Then if power was off, I could treat the pumped water by the gallon with colloidal silver to kill bacteria, virus and fungi. (No bleach needed.) I have no idea what this would cost. Is this even a good idea?
Thanks for the help!

[CaryC]

Hey,

Pretz: If you want a cistern go for it. Some things to weight:

If you are going to create sort of a natural cistern, meaning just dug and covered, you will need to see if the ground itself will hold up to it. Sandy type soil will collapse. Two, the natural cistern will be refilled by rain, runoff, other natural stuff, so will it be drinkable? Need for filters, etc..
Also hand pumps can go way down 100+ feet or more, just need the right one.

If you are going to build one with concrete or blocks then it might not refill itself, and you will need a way to fill it.

You can purchase an above ground plastic one at say TSCs, might could even sink it in the ground. Would need a way to fill and retrieve.

Whatever method works best for you, you will have a reservoir of water, which is good.

To all:

I'm going to put this link up to the ....white paper this guy from Argentina put up. Mods. feel free to remove link, and if they do and you're interested PM me and I'll give it to you. To give some info on what to expect: Even though the link has the word "blog" in it, the link I am giving is not to a blog. In the reading of it, it may sound a little funny. The reason for this is the white paper was pulled from a forum where this guy had put this up. There is no reference or link to the forum. All he did was pull (copy and paste) his posts from the forum and put them in a word processor, and created the paper from that. This is a first hand account from someone who went through the economic meltdown in Argentina in 2001. What they went through, what life was like, what he was prepared for and what he would of done different if he had of known it was coming. I'm not saying I support all his views, but I think it was very insightful and interesting reading.

http://billstclair.com/clairewolfe.com/ ... g/arg.html

It may also give some insight on just why the government was so ....panicky the last month or two. What Argentina went through in 2001 is what Zimbabwe is going through now. Hyper inflation. The cost of everything is doubling every 23 minutes in Zimbabwe. A loaf of bread costs 1.00 in 23 minutes it will cost 2.00, in 23 minutes it will cost 4.00, in another 23 minutes it will cost 8.00 and it's only been 69 minutes. The annual inflation rate is 11.3 quadrillion percent! This is not the record though, that is held by Hungry after WWII. Germany also had hyperinflation after WWI. Not sure what all happened in Iceland.

I also ordered Les' book and will give a short review when through.

[CaryC]

Hey,

Les' book has come in. For what I wanted it for, it wasn't worth the money. It's all about survival in general and not about living off the grid. I've just looked over it and there may be some good info in it, if you want to know about survival. But...

There is a youtube video in 7 parts that is about living off the grid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg7EaLIJrBw

Let me be clear. I am not promoting doing that, what I am saying is there may be some stuff in there that we can use, or gain a knowledge of, which we can use now or later.

[Adamantine]

I have a friend who bought two kerosene heaters and recomends them as backup off the grid. Anyone have experience with them and any comments?

[CaryC]

Hey,

Yea, have used them in the past, and work good, but are not for a big ol' house more like a couple of rooms. Don't know the current price of kerosene. You can do some cooking on them, more like a slow cooker/crockpot.

[burien1]

I have a friend who bought two kerosene heaters and recomends them as backup off the grid. Anyone have experience with them and any comments?

I can`t stand the smell when you turn them off. The fumes stink up your house. But they are a good source of heat. As Cary said, they heat several rooms.

[daffodyllady]

On the subject of kerosene heaters... I am not sure, it has been so long since I used one... but I think I remember that a good wick and the correct kerosene makes a world of difference on the smell.

Another subject here...
Did you know you can stretch shampoo by putting a teaspoon of shampoo into a 1/2 cup of warm water, and shaking it up... then pour a little of it on your hair at shampoo time? It is amazing how far a tiny bit of shampoo goes, and it even lathers up better, I have found! Perhaps the reason is that it is dissolved completely in water. That way, you use every molecule instead of rinsing undissolved shampoo out of your hair and down the drain.

Now, if I could only find a way to stretch the conditioner. But when I was a child, we knew of no such luxuries. Our shampoo was dish detergent...
Mom had 7 daughters, and we all took our turns lying on the kitchen table on our backs, with our head hanging out over the edge, over a pan of warm water on a chair. Mom had quite a system going there. It worked quite well, except for how the hair was so stretchy and tangled. Terrible to comb out! (We all had uncut hair, until sis ignored a tangle at the back of her head... combed over it for a while, till Mom noticed a lump. Then Judy had a knot cut out of her hair.)

But I betcha you could put a tiny bit of lotion into a spray bottle and shake it up with warm water... and spritz on problem areas. Guarantee that would help...

[Loop]

If my daughter ever had to draw water out of a well and then warm it up like we did, I think she'd croak LOL!

except for how the hair was so stretchy and tangled

I've already warned my hubby, if it comes to me going without conditioner and detangler, I'll shave my head LOL!
Long hair is such a job to wash, detangle and dry, at least for me, especially since breaking my shoulder and it will have been a year the day before Thanksgiving.

[burien1]

Loop said,
I've already warned my hubby, if it comes to me going without conditioner and detangler, I'll shave my head LOL!
Long hair is such a job to wash, detangle and dry, at least for me, especially since breaking my shoulder and it will have been a year the day before Thanksgiving.

Long hair is definitely high maintenance. We have to be prepared with a lot of conditioner or scissors.

[CaryC]

Hey,

Ladies, ladies, life goes on without conditioner. Sherree's been talking about the same thing, lately.

Seems like I remember some of the old heads having hair down to their waist and not having conditioner. Keeping it up in a bun on their heads. Taking it down every night and combing, and brushing, and combing and brushing. What do y'all think??? Is that a solution or like naw, get a life dude!!!!

[burien1]

Cary,
They had to have had some beauty secret other than brushing. I can`t get a wide tooth comb through my wet hair without conditioner. That is, without a lot of ripping and yanking and "ouch`s !" I have long, thick hair. I understand perfectly now why my mom always kept it short when I was young. As part of being prepared, I will keep the scissors ready.

[Loop]

They had to have had some beauty secret other than brushing. I can`t get a wide tooth comb through my wet hair without conditioner. That is, without a lot of ripping and yanking and "ouch`s !" I have long, thick hair. I understand perfectly now why my mom always kept it short when I was young. As part of being prepared, I will keep the scissors ready.

Yep. Same here. Its terrible, my hubby says just run your finger's through your hair to get the tangles out, well the wide tooth comb is a lot slicker and I can't even get it though my hair without conditioner, so I'm not about to set for two hours trying to get my fingers through it LOL! ...

Ladies, ladies, life goes on without conditioner.

My hubby might disagree with you there LOL!

[daffodyllady]

I have uncut hair. Didn't for about 10 years... while I was away from being a Mennonite... but that's another long story.
It is long enough to sit on. But before I cut it, it was down below my knees.

I don't HAVE to have conditioner. Combing a little at a time, from the bottom, and working your way up really helps. I think Mom was in a hurry to comb out all that hair. LOL

Basically, I keep it braided or up in a bun, and covered with a cloth veiling. It doesnt get dirty nearly as much as when my hair was only to the nape of my neck! I used to have to wash it every day to keep it manageable. But now, I need to wash it only twice a week. I think the oils get distributed the length of the hair, and therefore do not make the head feel so dirty so fast.

[Sherree]

Good subject! Cary told me ya'll were talking about this, so I thought I would chime in. I've been thinking about what I would do to prepare for hard times concerning my long hair, too. The only thing I have come up with is to stock up on my favorite conditioners. I have long, thin, and baby fine hair. I have to wash it every other day or it looks like "Yuk"! Washing my hair won't be a problem, but going without conditioner is frightening! For me, cutting my hair isn't an option. It is also uncut like Daffy's.

[Loop]

Combing a little at a time, from the bottom, and working your way up really helps. I think Mom was in a hurry to comb out all that hair. LOL

Thats what I do "with" conditioner , And it still takes forever , guess I'm just a very impatient person...
My hair is a little past my waist, I do keep it french braided a lot "which my hub hates ", and if I put it up in a bun and we start to go somewhere he always ask's, are you going to wear your hair like that? LOL...
So you can guess how much he likes that idea too...
So I'm stocking up on conditioner and friz-ease ..

[burien1]

You`re very lucky if you don`t need conditioner, Daffodyllady. The only way I`ve ever been able to comb my hair is working VERY slowly from the bottom up. Every beautician I`ve ever been to, tells me I have the thickest head of hair they`ve ever seen. I usually wear it in a long braid during the week. I only wear a head covering to Church, so that`s no protection from dirt for me. My head never gets cold in the winter time , so that`s a blessing, but it`s like a wool cap in the summer time. I can`t count the times I`ve gotten caught on a cabinet handle or door hook. Long hair can be quite dangerous. It`s also bad for the vacuum cleaner. I have to clean out the motorized carpet head on mine once a month, or else the rollers get stuck and bound up from my hair.
When we were little, all we ever used on our hair was Zest soap. I had white hair then and it was so shiny. My mom couldn`t handle how hard it was to comb my hair and my sisters, so she cut our hair short, very short, until we were old enough to rebel against it.
When I`ve had to do without conditioner, it was a long, slow, painful process to detangle my mop. And it breaks so much hair, I`d be better off to cut it , rather than spend so much time fighting with it. So I`ll definitely be stocking up on conditioner.I got mad and chopped all my hair off once and I don`t want to do that again. But if I had to go on the run. . . . . . .?

[Loop]

Long hair can be quite dangerous

It`s also bad for the vacuum cleaner

Isn't that the truth, along with, sticky , grabby little fingers , (grandbabies)

I had white hair

I have iron water (red) , so glad my hair is dark and it still gets reddish from the water...

[CaryC]

Hey,

Just continuing with some thoughts we all could be doing in preparedness: To do in Dec.

Cutting wood in Dec. is always a good idea. I was cutting some today at 38* and wanted to come out of my jacket. This today is just cleaning up some brush around the edge of the yard. Had a Wild Cherry tree to fall across the fence so cut some of it for me and gave the rest to my neighbor. Boy, does that stuff split good, and smell good, and look good, I hate to burn it.

Should of already killed the hog, and now have it in the smoke house for 3 weeks covered in salt. Soon you will want to rake off all the salt and hang it from the smoke house rafters and build a fire in the dirt floor and put green hickory in the fire so as to smoke the pork. Once you smoke it to taste, you can either leave it hanging there (it's in a preserved state now) or hang it from the house eaves.

Still getting some pecans out in the yard, a pocket full today. As we are sitting around in the house watching TV and letting the bread dough rise, we have started cracking our pecans. They are dry enough now, and sure taste good. Off of one tree we got ...uumm about 3/4 of a bushel. Sherree has 2 pint bags full and in the freezer, and it's hard to tell we've even been working on them. Just be sure you rotate them so you crack the oldest nuts first.

Read a brief from the U. of Minn. on black walnuts. Which says you are not to use the husks as mulch, it's got something in it that will kill off everything. So got out there yesterday and moved them out of the flower bed. Used them throw away latex gloves to handle the nuts. Some of the husks were already coming off, so I pinched out the nut and am letting them/those dry in the shed. My father-in-law told me they just used to let them lie all winter and then pick them up in the spring and the husks were off and the nuts were dried out. Am thinking about going that route.

With deer season being in full swing, you can also can your venison. Should of already canned your sausage from the hog but if you froze it, you can bring it out and thaw it and then fry it up and can it. Freeing up room in the freezer.

Christmas is only a few weeks away you should be in full swing on the things you are making for your loved ones. 'Course we cheated this year and bought everything. But, but....I do have plans to make Sherree a bread kneading board. Our kitchen counter tops are ceramic tile, and the dough/flour/everything gets in the cracks. So I'm going to make her a ...."board" out of some leftover walnut, so she can do her dough stuff on it instead.

Also at Christmas week it's time to trim you roses.

Lot's of; baking all kinds of different stuff, drinking good and hot black coffee, cracking nuts to be used in all that baking stuff, and for those that have them,.....roasting chestnuts on an open fire.....

May you have a very Merry and Blessed Christ centered Christmas.

From all the Ridings.

(Psst, just to let you know, I've been good all year....I can't wait)

[Loop]

Read a brief from the U. of Minn. on black walnuts. Which says you are not to use the husks as mulch, it's got something in it that will kill off everything. So got out there yesterday and moved them out of the flower bed. Used them throw away latex gloves to handle the nuts. Some of the husks were already coming off, so I pinched out the nut and am letting them/those dry in the shed. My father-in-law told me they just used to let them lie all winter and then pick them up in the spring and the husks were off and the nuts were dried out. Am thinking about going that route.

You also can't use black walnut sawdust, for a horses stall, it will cause them to founder even if they just stand in it, its some powerful stuff...

[CaryC]

Hey Loop,

Wow!!!

What does "founder" mean?

[momma4Him]

I was reading all of the conversation about the hair, I have a very simple solution. You could stop combing it, and it will grow into dreadlocks

[Loop]

Hey Loop,

Wow!!!

What does "founder" mean?

What is laminitis? Is it the same as founder?

Laminitis, commonly called founder, is an acutely painful inflammation of the foot. It occurs most often in the front feet although it can affect the hind feet as well. Founder is the name given to the resultant tissue damage and complications following one or a series of acute attacks of laminitis.

In the worst case, permanent damage to the laminae can result and the attachment of the coffin bone to the hoof wall breaks down. The whole weight of the horse bears down on the coffin bone, and without the attachment to the hoof wall, the bone rotates down and can actually be pushed right through the sole to the ground.

-----------------------------------------------------
At best its like having a severe migraine in the feet effected and having to walk on them,
at the worst, it can be a death sentence.... no foot, no horse...

I was reading all of the conversation about the hair, I have a very simple solution. You could stop combing it, and it will grow into dreadlocks

I've thought about that a few times LOL! But figured bauld would be easier to wash...

[daffodyllady]

Spread your black walnut hulls on where you want grass to grow thick. The chemical in black walnut trees is powerful to kill many plants, even if its only the roots growing close by. Hulls falling into flowerpots with tomato plants in, will kill them off.

But I know a farmer who hulls walnuts and bags them up to ship to the shellers. He collects walnuts from many people, paying them by the pound. He does this for the purpose of collecting the hulls, which he promptly spreads on his pastures. They make wonderful soil, with a natural broadleaf weed inhibitor. He has been doing this for over 10 years, and you should see his fields! The topsoil is so rich and loamy, and holds moisture long after his neighbors' fields have gone brown from drought.

[daffodyllady]

The following is an excerpt from http://www.wvu.edu/~Agexten/hortcult/fr ... kwalnt.htm

...The causal agent is a chemical called "juglone" (5 hydroxy-1, 4-napthoquinone), which occurs naturally in all parts of the black walnut. Juglone has experimentally been shown to be a respiration inhibitor which deprives sensitive plants of needed energy for metabolic activity.

The largest concentrations of juglone and hydrojuglone (converted to juglone by sensitive plants) occur in the walnut's buds, nut hulls, and roots. However, leaves and stems do contain a smaller quantity. Juglone is only poorly soluble in water and thus does not move very far in the soil.

Since small amounts of juglone are released by live roots, particularly juglone-sensitive plants may show toxicity symptoms anywhere within the area of root growth of a black walnut tree. However, greater quantities of juglone are generally present in the area immediately under the canopy of a black walnut tree, due to greater root density and the accumulation of juglone from decaying leaves and nut hulls. This distribution of juglone means that some sensitive plants may tolerate the amount of juglone present in the soil near a black walnut tree, but may not survive directly under its canopy. Alternatively, highly sensitive plants may not tolerate even the small concentration of juglone beyond the canopy spread. Because decaying roots still release juglone, toxicity can persist for some years after a tree is removed...

Gardens should be located away from black walnut trees to prevent damage to susceptible plants. If proximity to such trees is unavoidable, then raised beds afford a means of protection. However, the bed must be constructed in such a way as to minimize tree root penetration into the raised portion. Care must then be taken to keep the beds free of black walnut leaf litter or nuts. If a garden is separated from a black walnut tree by a rock wall, driveway, or other physical barrier, then root extension growth into the garden area may be limited and juglone toxicity problems minimized.

From observation of native stands of black walnut, decreased toxicity seems to be associated with excellent soil drainage, even among sensitive species. Thus, any steps that can be taken to improve drainage, such as additions of organic matter or replacement of existing soil with a lighter type, should tend to minimize toxicity problems in a garden area.

Leaves, bark, or wood chips of black walnut should not be used to mulch landscape or garden plants. Even after a period of composting, such refuse may release small amounts of juglone.

Juglone Sensitivity in Plants

The following lists were compiled from published sources. They are based largely on observations of native woodlands, gardens, orchards, ornamental plantings, and forest plantations. Few plants have been experimentally tested for tolerance or sensitivity to juglone. Thus, the lists should be used for guidance, but not regarded as definitive.

Plants Sensitive to Juglone
Vegetables: cabbage, eggplant, pepper, potato, tomato
Fruits: apple, blackberry, blueberry
Landscape plants: black alder (Alnus); azalea; basswood; white birches; Hopa crabapple*; hackberry; Amur honeysuckle; Japanese larch; lespedeza; lilac; saucer magnolia; silver maple; mountain laurel; loblolly pine; red pine; scotch pine; white pine; potentilla; privet; rhododendron; Norway spruce Flowers & herbaceous plants: autumn crocus (Colchichum); peony

Plants Tolerant of Juglone
Vegetables: lima beans; snap beans; beets; corn; onions; parsnips
Fruits: cherry; black raspberry
Landscape plants: red cedar; crabapple*; elm; winged euonymus; forsythia; hawthorn; hemlock; hickories; black locust; most maples; oaks; autumn olive; pachysandra; pawpaw; persimmon; wild rose; sycamore; most viburnums; Virginia creeper
Flowers & herbaceous plants: bluebells; Kentucky bluegrass; daffodil; daylily; ferns; fescue; iris; Jack-in-the-pulpit; liriope; narcissus; phlox; poison ivy; Shasta daisy; trillium

[daffodyllady]

Also...from http://www.americanforests.org/products ... rofile.php

black walnuts are a boon for cows but potentially not so good for horses and dogs. When horses are bedded on wood shavings containing more than about 20 percent black walnut shavings, clinical signs of laminitis, an inflammation in hoof, can occur within 12 to 18 hours. Juglone is not to blame here, although scientists are still unsure which toxin is at fault.

Horses in a pasture that contains black walnuts may show mild respiratory signs from the pollen or fallen leaves. Dogs, too, can get sick from eating the seed hulls, although the larger question is why they'd want to.

The trees are a boon for cows, which enjoy standing in their shade because bothersome flies and other insects tend not to follow them under the trees.

[CaryC]

Hey,

Thanks daff. for all the info on Black Walnuts. Like I said I originally had them laying in one of Sherree's flower beds, thoughts of mulch swirling in my head, then read the brief, and moved them to the fence line in hopes it will kill the weeds there. I don't know if there is enough to sell, though. I gathered about 5 Wal-mart bags full, and you can't tell I gathered any. So this is sort of a trial for us, how much work is involved etc. This off of one tree, but was told there were some more over in the bottom.

Loop: Boy ain't that weird. I've always wanted a horse ever since I saw Trigger & Silver. Even though Trigger loved Peanut Butter Sandwichs and RC Cola's, and a local horse Cody loved iced tea. I was always afraid that I would kill one in about 24 hours, from just not knowing anything about them. I volunteered to look after Cody one evening while the owner was away overnight. Went down there to check and make sure she hadn't turned her water over and still had some. As I was cleaning all the hay out of her water, she came up behind me and started sucking on my hair. I almost went in to the water, scared the snot out of me. I hope we weren't engaged or anything cuz I was/am a happily married man. I told the owner when she got back about it and she was amazed that Cody even let me in, cuz she doesn't let no one in her stall. I never knew I had a near death experience. But I still love horses.

O if this is to personal you don't have to answer, just say you'd rather not, and it would be fine with me. Your horses, are they for riding? Or, are they for pulling plows and things like that?

[Loop]

O if this is to personal you don't have to answer, just say you'd rather not, and it would be fine with me. Your horses, are they for riding? Or, are they for pulling plows and things like that?

My pony who is 32, is the best little cart pony anyone could ever have, of course I retired him at 20 but I know if I had to he could still get me anywhere I needed to go , his name is Bonfire or just "Bummy" for short, he loves to bum candy especially peppermint, which I had to put a stop to people giving to him (the candy that is) because he would terrorize some who came up to visit who didn't know little ponys don't attack LOL!
Amigo my spotted Walking horse, is for riding I've had him since he was about a year old, sold him when he was four for a year and then got him back (realized I'd made a mistake) he is a wonderful smooth gaited riding horse, am planning on training him for pulling, my horse that got poisened was the one I was training for a Cart, but he would have also been a riding horse, I had been riding him for about six months when we lost him...
My husband is planning on getting another Belgian horse, he likes the big horses, he has regretted selling his last one who stood over 19 hands (over 6 foot at the shoulder) we used to take the wagon and him (Goliath) and go to town on the weekends, the people around here didn't know our names very well but they did know Goliath LOL! He was very popular. A regular gentle giant...

[casegreti]

Sorry to change the current subject, especially since I like horses. But I need some info. Does anyone know how to keep boxed,cold, breakfast cereal? Can it be frozen? Or should it be in containers with O2 absorbers? Anyone had any experience, or have a way to look it up?

[Loop]

Sorry to change the current subject, especially since I like horses. But I need some info. Does anyone know how to keep boxed,cold, breakfast cereal? Can it be frozen? Or should it be in containers with O2 absorbers? Anyone had any experience, or have a way to look it up?

I buy flour, cornmeal, boxed cereal, stuffing , lightbread ect. on sale and put them in freezer bags in the freezer, I haven't had any problem with doing that and always have them on hand if needed..
I've never used 02 absorber's so can't comment on that...

[casegreti]

Thanks! Just wanted to be sure!

[Adamantine]

I have noticed some developing backlash against preparation among religious people who are sensitive to the problem of how to prepare for oneself without losing Christian charity for others.I do not mean on this site but in the Christian world at large which is starting to beat the drums to keep up donations in the face of possibly falling incomes. I say try to give to food shelves now and try to make a store to later give away. Nevertheless people should realize that by preparing for themselves they are doing a good deed for others in that you become one less for the others to provide for in charity. No one else is better prepared by oneself being less prepared. It will always be a puzzle
without answer and one will have to be lead by the Holy Spirit.
There may come a time when it is not a dire shortage of food but a regulated shortage. People who have the mark may be fine but those without it will need to be prepared. Then there will be five wise and unwise virgins to debate the issues. From my perspective it appears there will be only one wise virgin for every one hundred unwise.

[daffodyllady]

The more I think about it, the less I think we should lay up a storage of stuff for the future. It will run out. What we need to do is lay up knowledge. Knowledge of how to take care of ourselves when we are in hiding. Survival skills.

Do we know how to make a bow from a sapling and sinew, using a homemade hatchet? An arrow from a twig, a stone and a few feathers? Can you make a knife from a sharp rock, willow branch, and cattail leaves, to butcher that animal you get with the bow and arrow? Do we know how to preserve meat by drying and smoking it?

Do we know how to gather and preserve food from the wild, and to keep it in storage for winter?

These will be the things we will need, far more than canned food.

Knowledge is far more powerful than stuff. With stuff, you shut people out. With knowledge, you draw people in, and empower them to care for themselves.

How much more good we will do for the body of Christ, if we have survival skill knowledge to share, instead of just a stash of food that will be drained all too soon.

Here's a link to get you started: http://www.primitiveways.com/index.html

[Adamantine]

As I prepare a talk and review information it has been interesting to be reminded that when Solana was foreign minister for Spain in 1995 and serving as Council President of the EU he was also serving as President of the rotating presidency of the WEU. This was apparently the first time these posts had come up at the same time and to have been held at the same time by one person. From this Solana was able to launch the Barcelona Process and arrange for his appointment to NATO. From this he later was appointed HIgh Representative of the EU and its secretary general and he knew of the advantage of also serving as secretary general of the WEU and they gave it to him!
One must admire his savoir faire!

Just think he may soon be Secretary General of the EU,Secretary General of the WEU,High representative of the CFSP, Head of the Defense Institute and Galileo,vice President of the EU commision and have a seat at the UN security Council.
In the US that would be at least the equivalent to being 1)Secretary of defense, 2)Secretary of State, 3)Ambassador to the UN, 4)Vice President of the US, Head of NASA and the WAR college.
Then imagine the serving president was a governor who rotated in for six months.

[CaryC]

Hey daff,

Thanks for the link, looks promising.

I have been advocating the same thing for quite some time, although not as elegantly as you have. I might add its not just knowledge, head knowledge, but actually going out into the yard and practicing it, until you get the hang of it. It's one thing to know that you can build a fire with a magnifying glass, it's quite another to get out there and do it. Until you do, don't expect supper at 5:00 PM, because it won't be ready.

One of the things that might give us an advantage over the "caveman" is a Bug Out Bag (BOB). With knives, fire making material, etc., etc.,

[casegreti]

On that note, just want to encourage everyone, that my husband and 3 sons have joined a Father-Son survival skills church group. And they are out winter camping today!! I am so proud of them for doing this. I believe God is giving His children desires TO DO what they need to, in order to prepare. My husband is very laid-back & easygoing, but he is involved in this survival group and I am amazed! God is good! BTW there is about 40 people camping he said and the pastor of our church is taking this Sunday to preach for them, instead of the church.

[CaryC]

Hey,

Kewl! Sounds like fun!

[burien1]

Hey Cary,
Just reread some posts and saw that it`s time to trim the rose bushes. [ before the deer beat me to it ]

I was looking for the thread on black walnuts. Fresh ones are selling for $7 a lb. here this year. Yikes ! No Banana nut bread baking in this house. The trees around my place didn`t have any this year. The neighbors up the hill from me cut down the huge tree that I use to get nuts from. It`s a shame too. It was a big, beautiful, gnarly old tree. And no I`m not a tree hugger, but in this case, it was senseless.

[CaryC]

Hey Brenda,

Uumm not sure what you are looking for but here is a link to a paper by ......Mich. State U. (?)

http://www.extension.umn.edu/projects/y ... lkwal.html

It's about what to do once you have some.

I'm not a tree hugger either, but man O man, I would love to have that wood. They probably got a good price for it. You might think about checking with your neighbor and see if they left the stump, If they did....that's were the good stuff/expensive is. 'Course if I had it, I'd let it stand.

[burien1]

Hey Brenda,

Uumm not sure what you are looking for but here is a link to a paper by ......Mich. State U. (?)

http://www.extension.umn.edu/projects/y ... lkwal.html

It's about what to do once you have some.

I'm not a tree hugger either, but man O man, I would love to have that wood. They probably got a good price for it. You might think about checking with your neighbor and see if they left the stump, If they did....that's were the good stuff/expensive is. 'Course if I had it, I'd let it stand.

Just wanted to let you guys know what they were selling for, that`s all.

[CaryC]

Hey Brenda,

O, OK thanks, I appreciate it. Boy, talk about miss reading something.

We decided to go the way of the "old folks", which is to leave the walnuts, in their husks, under the tree and then next spring, pick them up. This will allow the weather to clean them up, and dry them. Although we do have some in varies stages.

What we do have going on is cracking and hulling pecans. We have about a 5 gal. bucket of pecans. We have been working on these, while watching TV etc... for a couple of weeks now. Sherree has 3 quart bags chopped up, and you can just now see that there is some pecans gone from the bucket. Now we are thinking about what all we can do with all these pecans. Like Pecanmanna, Pecan Nut Bread, Pecan Pudding, Pecan-nanna Pudding, Pecan Casserole, Pecan Green Bean Casserole, Pecan French Cut Green Bean Casserole, Pecan French Cut Green Bean Casserole with French Onion Rings in Mushroom Sauce, and, and, well you get the picture. Imagine the cookbook for manna.

[Loop]

Ooooh Come on Cary! Are you trying to ruin my diet?

[burien1]

Cary,

The squirrels here steal all the walnuts left on the ground.
Where`s the pecan pralines and the pecan pie ? I know, waaaaay too many calories. :lol

[CaryC]

Hey

Ain't no diets here, eat, come on you can do it eat. This is Christmas!

Those ol' sorry squirrels better be careful or they will be on a side plate at Christmas. Just kidding, but we are covered up with Pecans that we'll just have to take it one step at a time. All this is a great learning experience. We've been eating those Pecan Pies uumm, uumm good, and still (now) 4 quart bags. Good Lord imagine eating Manna for 40 years.

Want to give a shout out to the Lord, that's a new way of saying a praise report.

For the last month or so we were .....thinking that we might have to go from getting prepared to shifting into a "homesteading" living mode. The company I work for made an announcement back then that they were doing a study to see which one of their 4 plants, they would shut down. At 56 and 20+ years at Cooper we thought it would be tough on us to start over, and at far less pay. We knew that the heart of the king was in the hands of the Lord, so we weren't worried, but knew our lives and life style might be in for a change. And were thinking about what we would need to do. They made the announcement yesterday that they were shutting down the Albany, GA plant, so we are still in business. Sherree and I are so thankful for this, on the one hand, and on the other hand we could almost cry for the folks in Albany.

[burien1]

Praise the Lord it`s not your plant, Cary. I pray for all the workers in this country that are laid off this year.

[Sherree]

This is totally changing the subject here, but I was wondering about something.

With Obama already saying that he plans to do an overhaul on the environmental policies that are in place now, I have read on another board, that we may lose the right to use our fireplaces, wood stoves, and out door fires of any kind!!!!! What will we do as far as survival if he bans all these things in the name of global warming? Trying to survive off the grid in a survival situation takes on a whole new meaning if we can't build a fire!!!!!!

What do you guys think????

[daffodyllady]

I do not know, sheree, but I am sure that the Lord will make a way.

Methinks that if and when the economy gets so bad that people will be in dire straits just to keep food on the table, they will also be keeping warm any old how they manage. Uncle Sam notwithstanding.

Seriously... I have been wondering if I should build an underground cabin back on the mountain behind my house...

It sure would be easier to heat.