I'm Going To ???

Hi Everybody, Frank here.

There are many articles out there that talk about what people are going to do when the collapse comes. Most of them are going to raise a garden, many are going to have livestock, many are going to forage for food, and some of them are going to take food from others. These articles all have the same general theme, what they are going to do. Unless you read very closely, some of these articles make it hard to tell that the wishful folks have not started these endeavors yet. Yes, I know, everybody dreams. Some people plan quite extensively before they make their move. Dreaming and planning are good things to do, but there comes a time when you have to put your boots on the ground. Literally.

Well, let's talk about what it means to do some of those items up above, like gardening, livestock, foraging and taking from others. Let me deal

with taking from others first. If you plan on surviving in a rural setting by taking from others, and this is your plan, then you might want to consider that most rural folks are armed and know how to use their weaponry. It's not uncommon to scare off a dog with a shotgun, send a mangy dog to dog heaven, and you get the drift here. Most rural folks use guns like any other tool. So, if you're planning on taking from others in rural areas, this may be your biggest failure of all times. I know of little old ladies that are very comfortable with a 410 shotgun. We all know talk is cheap, but this type idea, taking from others, will promptly get you killed, even by a granny with a 410.

Okay, let's go on to gardening, for those who plan to garden when things fall apart. I dearly hope you have a years supply of food stored up, and you have an existing garden place to go to. The reason being, if you're going to take a lawn somewhere and just start planting seeds, you're going to get awfully hungry by the time that seed produces fruit, if it does. Things to consider before planting. First, you have to be able to get to your soil. You need to be able to break the soil some how or another. Do you have a

source of water? If you're going to use manure, then you have to have a source for the manure. Now you need to mix it in and let is sit for, hmm, a month maybe. During that month you can continue to weed it, water it, if you have water that is, and just overall tend to your soil. If I remember correctly, this is what you're going to eat and feed your family. So, that piece of soil I'm talking about is probably going to be around 100' by 100'. Better get started early if you're going to do this with a shovel and a hoe. Say you like corn? Now you've got that 100' by 100' turned over and all conditioned, and the big day comes when you put that corn seed in the ground. What are you going to do for the next 90 days? Yep, this will give you time to weed everyday, because, remember this is what you are going to survive off of for the rest of your life.

Okay, while you are waiting for 90 days to get your first bite of corn, you can get a batch of day old chickens. That's right, I forgot, there's been a collapse of society. The guy you brought with you to help you survive decided one night he would expedite the matter and go steal granny's

chickens, but he never came home did he? So, by some miracle, you get a batch of day old chickens and it's in the heat of the summer, so the little guys might live, and you brought 90 days of chicken feed with you, because you're not going to be able to grow it until your corn is ready to harvest. Remember, you're waiting on your corn to get ready, some how or another you got some baby chickens, you've got less help now because your buddy never came back, and in about 12 to 14 weeks, you can butcher friers. What are you going to do with them? Well, if you butcher them at 12 weeks, you can have fried chicken and corn on the cob. Okee-dokee? You're not getting any eggs yet because your birds aren't 6 months old. You didn't by mistake butcher your hens, did you?

Oh well, you're going to eat red meat. Where are you going to get it? When you moved here, you were lucky enough to find a local farmer to sell you some baby goats. They're probably about 8 weeks old. You want milk and meat, right? Right. Those 8 week old

baby goats you bought, you can butcher the males when they are about 6 months old. Now, aren't you glad you brought that years supply of food with you? You've already waited 90 days to get your first ear of corn, 12 weeks to get your first bite of fried chicken, 6 months to butcher your first goat, you do know how to butcher a goat, don't you? But you haven't had that drink of fresh milk yet, because it's going to be 6 more months before you do, right around one year from the start. You do know how to get milk out of that thing, don't you?

Okay, now it's been one year. You've got corn, eggs, chicken and goat meat, and milk. Congratulations on the milk. I'm really surprised you lived this long. Too bad your buddy didn't. That was halted when he was stealing granny's chickens. Lost some weight, haven't you?

Okay, let's talk about foraging. You know those books you brought with you about things to forage? What to eat, what not to eat. Those pretty glossy pictures, they just don't look the same as they do when you are down on the river bank. That thing that you picked up that you're considering eating, it looks just like that other plant there that

will make you deathly ill. Do you take your chances? Well, maybe we'll forage a little deeper. What's that pain in my ankle? Is that snake edible? Am I going to die from that thing that just bit me? Still got that book you were carrying with all those pretty pictures in it? Okay, so foraging didn't work out too well.

Maybe you'll just hunt your food. Did you know that wildlife, let me take the white tailed deer to be specific, during the early

1930's, the Great Depression, there were no white tailed deer left in the state of Arkansas? But, you're right, you watched all of those survival videos. If you think you're going to live off of wildlife, sorry buddy, it ain't gonna happen. Even if you do know how to butcher the animal. I hear opossum is tasty, never have eaten it myself. But, I have long past relatives that did eat opossum, racoon, skunk, snake, crow, deer, squirrel, ducks and they knew which were wild onions and which were not.

Back to that years supply of food you brought with you. Let's say it's a year later, your years supply of food is gone and you weren't quite able to restock it. Things are looking a little gloomy, aren't they?

We all hear stories about people that are going to do something. Everybody looks good at the beginning of the race, but there are few that finish the race. This thing coming our way is no joke. If we are not prepared, and we have not practiced, and if we don't have our head screwed on right, then we're probably not going to make it. You can practice in your apartment. You can buy a case of carrots or peaches

and start learning how to can. You can find chicken on sale and practice your canning skills. You can practice foraging while the times are still good. You can put together a 'get out of Dodge bag'. Doing this will give your mind a lot of good work. Even those of us that do it everyday need more practice, because right now we are all living with the abundance that God has given us in this country. Everyday it gets closer. Nobody knows the exact day, but there are things you can do. 

By the way, our national population has almost tripled since the times of the Great Depression. A significant number of the population at that time were rural, and many did not have

electricity. When this thing does come, we as a population are going to be much worse off than the folks during the early 1930's. Thank you for letting me play with your head, about gardening, livestock, foraging, gardening again and taking someone else's stuff. Take advantage of the opportunities provided us while the stores are still full, travel is still free and the internet still works. There are many, many people that believe someday, in the not too distant future, the stores will be closed, travel will be highly restricted and the internet will be gone. Give thought to it.

We'll talk more later. Frank