A Pandemic of Preparedness
The leaves are changing and falling, the grasses and weeds are turning brown and scattering their seeds. The earth, in our corner of the world, is slowly dying and preparing for the deep sleep of winter. The animals have eaten heartily to store up a layer of fat for the lean times that are coming. The spiders quickly spin and repair their webs each day in hopes of another tasty meal before they lay eggs and die. The nights are cooler, even though the days remain warm, with a hint of the passing summer, it's not quite over yet, but it will be soon.
There are many things that will soon pass away from our world. Civility. Culture. Massive food production. Easy mobility. Just in time everything. Driving. Processed fossil fuels. Banking. Credit. Electricity. Cell phones. Internet. Information at the touch of a button. Our world has had it's day in the sun with massive growth in population, food production, manufacturing and technology. Just like the waning of the seasons, the stability and control of many countries is also waning.
Some folks like autumn, the crispness in the air, a time when the rhythm of life gradually slows down. As winter approaches, many people and animals prepare to 'hibernate' from the activities of the summer. As life continues to become less safe, more expensive, and less free, there are many that are planning where they will relocate and hibernate. Just like the ant filling it's colony and tunnels with food for the winter, many people are doing the same, and that is good, very good.
The pace of our work here is sometimes so fast that we can't keep up with ourselves. As we complete projects, one right after the next, it changes the way we live, and that is good. We now hang out the clothes to dry and have started growing food in the greenhouse. We now have three radio antenna towers in the ground waiting for the concrete to cure, so we can increase our ability to communicate. They will soon be powered by solar panels and a battery bank, which is another project on the list. The Survival Radio Relay Net is growing each time it is conducted. We are amazed at the distance between participants, and what that could mean for the safety of everyone involved. We have begun talking to a few folks about starting some sort of community trading post, and have had very positive responses so far. These are just a few of the activities that have occupied our time in the last few weeks.
We want to encourage you again to prepare every needful thing for you and your family, now, while there aren't many restrictions on doing so. If there is a financial collapse or major downturn, what will that do to your ability to prepare? If war breaks out somewhere in the world, how might that affect your ability to prepare? If there is a major natural disaster where you live, how might that affect your ability to prepare? If there is a terrorist attack, how might that affect your ability to prepare? If the government restricts your mobility, ability to buy, your money supply, or ability to relocate, how will that affect your ability to survive?
Let's face it, regardless of what this 'thing' is that we all know is coming, survival will be the bottom line. It is literally impossible for us, meaning all of us, to be ready for every possible contingency, impossible. What we can do is evaluate our lives, our survival needs and possible wants, to determine what areas are lacking in our preparations. THEN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. We have had people comment about friends and neighbors that say they know they need to buy some extra food or something, but they don't. We all know people that just laugh and tell us we're crazy. We all know people that think we should be turned into the authorities for hoarding or something. The time for warning our neighbors will soon be past. The time to be very, very serious about completing those tasks that will help increase the survival rate of our families is here. I pray, truly pray, that we are all wrong, very wrong, but unfortunately, I don't think so.
Every single day is filled with a drive to work and complete our survival projects. We have never worked harder in our lives. Literally. We've talked about it several times recently. Why would two retired people entering the 'golden years' work their tails off everyday? I hope that sharing our preparations will infect people with with an uncontrollable desire to do the same. I pray that this infection will be so contagious that it will become a pandemic. An uncontrollable pandemic of preparedness. That wouldn't be such a bad illness to suffer from, would it? Unfortunately, there are more people that have been vaccinated against this illness, than suffer from it. They are immune to preparing anything for themselves and their families, and when the time comes, their immunity will kill them. If you're not suffering from a full blown infection of preparedness-itis, work on it. Your example may be the one thing that infects another person, and you may never know it. Be a carrier. We pray that our example can somehow be infectious.
Until next time - Fern
I would like nothing better than to see this preparedness-itis spread like wildfire. The more people who get on board, the better it would be for us all. I don't know what it will take to wake people up, though. Just lately the governor of my state let it be known that if citizens here would not welcome the influx of migrants, we should just move to another state. Seems to me that would fire up some people, but nobody seems to be paying attention. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteHi, Vicki. Thank you for taking the time to read and thank you for taking the time to comment. This migrant issue is already out of hand in Europe, and it's been out of hand in this country for a long time, just different migrants. But those in Europe are also coming here, and some have been coming for a long time. We are being invaded, and our government is encouraging it. War is inevitable.
DeleteFrank
Today DD and I wandered out into the veg garden - then got stuck in planting more seeds. It wasn't at a frantic pace but we kept at it for quite a while. I kept thinking there wouldn't be enough room to put all in that we want to - but there was. Will we have enough to feed us - I certainly hope so. I'm canning all I am able to much to the amusement of friends and family. All I can do is lead by example. If they decide to follow in preparing for themselves then so much the better.
ReplyDeleteWe have talked to friends and family about putting a little aside ready for tough times but like so many others they just laugh it off - although I think my mother is finally seeing the light as she commented that she stocked up when last she grocery shopped. Of course we will look after her no matter what happens.
Like the two of you I'm feeling an urgency to be prepared. Maybe it has something to do with that we are well into Spring and with the change of seasons and new growth surrounding us there is an urgency to grow and reap all we can. I know I can't predict the future - no crystal ball here - but I will be as prepared as I can and pray that we will stay safe.
Blessings to you both.
Calidore, thank you and blessings to you, too.
DeleteI don't know why people won't put a little food away. What is the big deal? A few extra cans of food. But they won't. I'm afraid of what will happen when they get hungry. What would you do if your child was starving? Most parents would do anything.
I know this day is coming. I pray for community development and community awareness, but it's just not happening. Thank you for sharing.
Frank
Thank you, Fern.
ReplyDeleteMeary
You're very welcome, Meary. Glad you stopped by.
DeleteFern
I agree. I have a blog and talk on preparedness every week. Really I am a beginner but before last Christmas I had a strong prompting to prepare. I couldn't ignore it even though then I knew not one person doing it! Now I know many.
ReplyDeleteIn the 10 months or so I have been working on preparedness we have come a long way. But still plenty to do. Your posts motivate me heaps, thank you!
Annabel, we all need motivation from time to time. Doing this blog helps motivate Fern and I. But it rained here yesterday and today, so there was no major outside work to do. The concrete work is done, and my back needs a break. Tomorrow is the Lord's day, we'll get back at it Monday. Keep preparing.
DeleteFrank
Normally I read my e-edition newspaper and my favorite blogs while eating breakfast at 5am. But I've had to make some changes, I quickly scan the paper, reduced the number of blogs I read and I've switched to reading your blog in the evening when I have time because your blogs make me think, rethink, review, plan, ponder and so on. I just can't concentrate on my daily chores, even though most of them revolve around growing my veggies or otherwise doing something to ensure our future, while mulling over what you've posted. Thank you for making me put my living in perspective for what is coming. Each day now has something new added that will make us better prepared and often something subtracted that is doing little or nothing to help with preparedness. As you can see, this is posted in the AM, on my morning break, because as I reread your post I realized how much you are influencing my choices in the best way possible. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi, Bellen. We're all in this together. We may be miles apart, and this medium of communication is still relatively new, it's just another means of communication that involves sharing of like minded people. Fern and I look forward to answering comments, it seems to provide something that we need. Thank you for your kind words, now break time's over. Take care.
DeleteFrank
I started a reply to your recent post mentioning the trading post idea, as the trading post/tavern is the centerpiece of our long-range plan. As it grew and grew realized it could be my first submission to SurvivalBlog, as I could really use some of the prizes they award...and just plain too long to post here (hehe). Still working on it and hope I can get enough courage to submit it.
ReplyDeleteSo many reasons to start a trading post for the coming hard times. People need stuff, so they will gather at the trading post as they have done through history. When the Darker Ages arrive, information will be king...knowing what is going on around you and further afield may be the difference between life and death. You will need goods and services...and travel will be very dangerous in the aftermath. So rather than traveling from neighbor to neighbor til you run across someone who has something you need and is willing to trade for something you have - bring it home. Have others bring all the stuff right to you - and this way, you will hear the news first, have first pick of whatever is available and you won't waste time searching for needful things. Having a central location will save everyone time - as it will take every moment of every day to get everything done that will be necessary for survival.
And as the person who foresaw the need and prepared for it, you are likely the best person to organize your area into something that will allow many to thrive, rather than just survive. All those around you who haven't prepared are going to be ill-equipped for survival...and you are going to need help growing that huge garden, preserving food, tending livestock, cutting and processing firewood, fixing and maintaining things, protecting things. So you turn a liability (hungry people at your door) into a benefit by putting your neighbors to work for you - and themselves, by "paying them" with a share of production. Or setting them up to produce a good or service needed by the trading post, in return for a share of their production. This will also allow you to sort of direct activities...rather than having the hobbyist blacksmith just growing food for his family, help set him up as the local blacksmith. Or encourage different farmers to grow a wide variety of crops, rather than everyone growing the same thing. One may be better suited to livestock production, while another could produce hay, another corn, etc. This is why it is so important to have land, skills and infrastructure - and a plan. Those who do will be in a far better place than those who don't. And as the person with the plan and infrastructure to pull it off, you will be able to influence how your region survives, thrives and rebuilds...hopefully into something more workable than our present system.
PlantLady
I have a vegetable garden, as do some of my friends. I always have a wonderful corn crop, but my tomatoes are a disaster. A close friend and coworker has the opposite situation. Her tomatoes are super, and she never has any corn. We've teamed up and swap vegetables. It's a win-win situation.
DeleteWell put. Good ideas!
DeleteHi, PlantLady. Your ideas are very well received here. Our local community is about 5 miles away. There are a couple of empty buildings there that would make a good trading post, or other type business. I'm hoping somebody local (very near town) will pick up the ball and run with it. That's my hope anyway. The seed has been planted, we will try to nurture it, and hopefully it will grow. Thank you again for your comment.
DeleteFrank
Prepared Granny: Excellent idea! We do something similar here...my best buddy and I sort of coordinate our gardens. She grows some things better, as do I, then we share. And since we sell together at the farm market, this way we don't directly compete, and can offer a wider range of products to our customers. Another neighbor grows pickling cukes for sale, so I don't bother planting those and trade things with them. Another neighbor has a small pumpkin farm, so we save space in our garden and get those from them. We all end up with more...a great deal for all.
DeleteAnonymous: Thank you.
Frank (and Fern, of course): When I mentioned that those who see the need and have a plan are best suited to direct the community through the Darker Ages through the vehicle of a trading post...I specifically meant the both of you (hehe). I would hope you would set up the trading post, rather than hoping "someone" else would do it. The overall trend today of "somebody should do something about that" (today, meaning the government) is probably our biggest problem and why we have ended up in such bad straits. And who knows if anyone else would step up...and if they did, what sort of weird ideas they may have about what is suitable? And at that point, it won't be nearly as easy to pull up stakes and move to a "better" place - even if you could find one. All your ideas and view of the coming Darker Ages are spot on...and that is what we need to step up and get us through the initial mayhem then rebuild in a more sane manner.
And I get the idea you are about same age as my husband and I (mid 50s/60s). By building your community around yourself (and ourselves), and making yourself indispensable and beloved to the community, you will ensure a better old age for yourselves. That old saw "To have a friend, be a friend" is true for very good reasons. There won't be any more nursing homes.
And for folks thinking of using this plan, here in the upper Midwest, the traditional small villages are all about 8 miles apart. That is as far as most folks could come/go to "town" on foot or by horse, between morning and evening milkings. Don't try to fight history unless you have no choice...there is generally very good reasons for those small villages to be where they are...potable water, trail crossroads, centered in a fertile growing area, etc.
PlantLady
PlantLady, I hope everyone reads your comments. They are certainly well taken. Thank you.
DeleteFrank
I am honoured that you think the ideas are worthy. I pick up a lot of the good ones here (hehe).
DeleteIf I had one recommendation that will do more for anyone now and in the coming hard times, it would be to produce food...any food. Storing food is vital, but until you have the ability to personally restock the stored food you use - you will just starve slower than everyone else. In the "now", any food you can grow is food you don't have to buy - that is immediate extra money in your pocket. And the more you grow, the more "extra" money you will have for other purposes. Plus, you get a far fresher, safer product than you can buy anywhere or are able to enjoy things you can't afford to buy. I just figured out that the cider we make is a lot more valuable than I had dreamed. Organic apples are selling for around $2 lb, and it takes between 21 and 29 lbs. to make a gallon of cider. If we had to buy the apples, it would cost us on average $50 per gallon - far out of our price range. Using our apples, we make up to 100 gallons a year. Producing your own food also insulates you from the risk of current food supply problems. For instance, the recent big increase in the price of eggs didn't bother us, since we have chickens. As a matter of fact, it helped us, as it made the eggs I take to the farm market even more valuable. And when the e. coli problem in spinach occurred years ago, I started growing a winter salad garden of lettuces, greens, green onions, kale, etc for ourselves, the goats and chickens under a low tunnel. Haven't bought any salad stuff for 9 years now...and this effort turned into my main farm market specialty - salad mixes. No other vendor offers any lettuces/greens, so no competition. And producing your own food has other benefits - if you grow a goodly amount, you won't need a gym membership or treadmill...you will get all the exercise you need to stay healthy and enough sun exposure to make all the vitamin D you need. And when the coming Darker Ages arrive, you will be one of the very, very few who won't have to panic over lack of food or watch your children starve to death...because you were clever enough to get a head start.
So much easier to learn now with libraries and the internet, to get equipment and stock while it is widely available and break as much ground as you can now while you have the use of tractors and tillers. Trust me, you don't want to be breaking sod with a shovel for a garden big enough to feed a family...the very thought gives me nightmares.
Grow food...start now.
PlantLady
Thanks Fern, great post.
ReplyDeleteCarl in the UP
Thank you, Carl.
DeleteFern
Great post. I check your blog daily even if I don't comment. I went to the grocery store this morning and added a 'pantry' item to my cart. The last year or so, I've been adding something, anything, to each grocery store or hardware store trip. Slowly I've been growing my pantry and clearing clutter out of my apartment to make room for more useful stuff.
ReplyDeleteTo add to my food storage options, I purchased a small pressure canner last week. I'm a little intimidated by it but am giving the instructions a thorough read, and then a re-read. I really want to can some meat. Especially after today's trip to the grocery store and a very poorly stocked meat counter. It was so low in stock, I actually had the thought of 'wow, what will this look like when transportation issues really hit us".
I've also been experimenting dehydrating frozen veggies. Amazing! A bag of mixed veggies fits into a 500ml jar. You're right - we can all do something to prepare. A neighbor came over this weekend because she had run out of sugar in the middle of making something. She needed a 1/2 cup of sugar. I gladly gave her the 1/2 cup but had the thought - you're that low on sugar, really? I stock up when I've got two bags in the pantry -- 10kg bags.
Thanks so much for the encouragement you bring.
As a side note, I am really looking forward to your venture into solar power and related posts. Setting up a small solar system is one of the things I think I can do here in my apartment.
Cheers, SJ in Vancouver BC Canada
Hi, SJ. Thank you for sharing your efforts. It's a good concept to pick up a little more than you need every time. It certainly builds and it will continue to build. Make sure you keep your canner instructions handy. We review the safety procedures each year. Our pressure canner has become part of our house, as well as the water bath. Keep working at it, you're an encouragement to many readers.
DeleteFrank
My husband has bugged me for years to read Camp of the Saints by Jean Raspail. I started it last month...I need to lay it down from time to time because it is so depressing...but it is our world right now. It's at the door and the time to wait until later is coming to a close. We grow everything we can in our garden and I dry or can it. We have much done but we need to do more. I'm inspired by your focus and I do thank you for sharing your journey!
ReplyDeleteLorraine, thank you for sharing. I'm not familiar with the book you referenced, but we will give it a look. It is at the door, isn't it? I wonder what it's going to be like when it is in the door. I pray everyday for one more day of calm, and I'm thankful when everyday is calm. One day, it's not going to be calm.
DeleteFrank
I just got a Sun Oven and have been cooking in it the last couple of days. Cooking with the sun is a lot of fun! But, on a serious note, it's another one of our preparations for the coming days. Now, along with our wood stove, we have two ways to cook our food. We aren't even close to being fully prepared, but I feel good that we are one step closer. Thanks to both of you!
ReplyDeleteHi, Vickie. Could you share more details about your Sun Oven? We have a Sun Oven, but we have never used it. We just haven't got around to it yet. You might want to check out a Rocket Stove for days when the wood stove is not necessary, but you need a hot meal. Keep up the battle.
DeleteFrank
My friends know that I have begun beekeeping, and some have made comments that hint to their mindset. I don't tell people that I'm 'prepping.' Close friends suspect it, and have hinted that they are too. Some have commented about things they have stocked up or skills they have, and mention that they don't have access to honey. I jokingly say that the day may come that we can trade. The look I get tells me that they know our world will probably come to this.
ReplyDeleteA retired friend was stung by the beekeeping bug, and I was able to help him. He and his elderly father have wanted bees, and a man I know sold all of his well-established hives. I introduced them, and a deal was made. Today I took my extraction equipment to their farm. We inspected hives, and harvested honey for several hours. They were so excited to have their own honey. We talked about how important that honey may be some day. They said it may happen sooner than we think. They plan on keeping most of the honey, but will trade some to a neighbor for pecans.
I'm glad to see that more good folks are preparing for what we know is going to happen. Thank you for your posts. I love reading every one of them. May God bless you in your service to others.
Hello, Grammy. We have a direct neighbor that raises bees commercially. He doesn't do honey a lot anymore, but he sells a contraption type thing with a number of bees and a queen inside that is inserted in the brooder in place of a couple of frames. But he still does produce honey. Bees are interesting creatures. We've tried bees a time or two, and maybe we will try them again. Thank you for your inspiration.
DeleteFrank
Thank you, Frank and Fern. Your blog is an inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words, and thank you for reading here. Like Frank says, we're all in this together.
DeleteFern
Does anyone know of a good wood burning stove that could be used for heating and cooking?
ReplyDeleteWe got the large Kitchen Queen wood cookstove. Has an oven large enough to bake 8 loaves of bread at once and has a stainless 27 gallon hot water reservoir on the upper back - which can be plumbed into the household water system. Imagine the luxury, ease and economy of hot baths/showers using the water heated when cooking or heating the home. Keeping ourselves and our food equipment clean will keep us far healthier in the coming Darker Ages. They also offer a summer grate, which raises the fire closer to the cooktop, so you don't need as hot a fire to cook in warmer weather.
DeletePlantLady
Fern, the book Camp of the Saints by Jean Raspail, was written, I believe, in 1970. It is absolutely spot-on with what we are facing at this moment. It is written from the perspective of the French as Jean Raspail is a Frenchman and was trying to warn his countrymen. It is hard to read because it is so spot-on. It is raw, I warn you. Not sexually explicit or anything of that nature but just raw human nature. It shocks and makes you uncomfortable, which it was mean to do. 1970. Imagine that. It's now 2015 and who has come awake yet?
ReplyDeleteLorraine, we read a detailed review of the book. You're right, 40+ years ago, and it's happening right now, not just in Europe, but here. Our government has betrayed the people. We all know what's coming next. Thank you for the recommendation of the book. For those e-readers it's available on Kindle. What a sad day. Prepare for the unthinkable.
DeleteFrank