Thank you for the article today, Leigh. Poised For Disaster.
Frank and I agree with your assessment. The most important decisions we can make are the one's that decrease our dependency upon anyone but 'Self'.
All comments are welcome. Please read Leigh's article, then let us know what you think. This is another example of 'We're all in this together'.
Thank you for your input.
Frank & Fern
Leigh's post was a timely reminder. We are all responsible for our own actions. Those actions determine our well being or our detriment. So much is happening simultaneously in this world, that it's hard to comprehend it all. From our own country to worldwide, we as a people have lost our moral compass. It's up to the ones that still have a conscience to lead by example. If only the golden rule "Do unto others..." was everyone's mantra, then I believe we would all be happier. Thank you for sharing Leigh's post - we all needed it.
ReplyDeleteHi, Mary. Your words are very true. There are lots of people that think we have lost our direction as a culture and a country. Many of those people believe that it is not going to return, and since we are all responsible for ourselves, then we need to prepare for what appears to be coming. There is a chance we will be on our own.
DeleteThank you for your comment, and it was our pleasure and honor to share Leigh's article.
Frank
I just got finished reading this a while ago. Indeed; the reason Americans are so vulnerable is that they're too dependent on "the grid" and other people doing the work we should be doing. A poster child for the "work" part; the guy standing by his car on the side of the road, waiting for AAA to show up... to change a tire...
ReplyDeleteCan anyone imagine how WW2 would have gone if our country had as many single points of failure as it does now?...
Hi, Pete. Thank you for your thoughts.
DeleteWe are too dependent. We are also fat, lazy and stupid. We have sold ourselves out. It's not going to get better, it's never gotten better, it's going to continue getting worse. Use your imagination. What will it be like next week? Next month? It's not getting better.
Take care. Really. Frank
I am still so thrilled that you are back. I feel I must make a comment, however... your new logo is upside down, haha... it is Frank and Fern not Fern and Frank...
ReplyDeleteSharon, look quick. It will make you smile.
DeleteFern & Frank
When I saw that your logo was upside down, I thought it might be a sign of distress (like the flag!) BJ
DeleteHi, BJ. Actually, it was intended to be eyebrows and lips. You know, one of those old Russian diplomats with the big, thick eyebrows. I can't think of the guys name, but you can probably picture him.
DeleteIt has been corrected for the time being, the was it's supposed to be. Women following three steps behind men. You know home, bare foot, pregnant, that kind of stuff. A woman's role. Think I should quit digging while I've still got a chance?
I just said that for all the Femi-Nazi, Socialist, Snowflake, Cry Babies named Buttercup. Think I should dig a little deeper?
And I want you to know that I'm not writing this, Fern is. Actually, I don't really exist. Think maybe I need a nap? I would never be able to go to sleep over the sound of Fern's laughter.
Time to go feed and do the chores. "Yes, dear, I'm ready to go." A man's chores are never done. "I'm coming! I'm coming!"
Ta-ta, Frank Feral
I started stocking up in 2009. I didn't like the idea of rotating lots of food so I bought some long-term storage food to put aside and, on a daily basis, just eat the fresh foods from the grocery store and small garden that we have. Recently, I decided to check on some of the food I had stored (dried pinto beans) and they weren't fit to eat. So I tried some of the freeze-dried corn that had rave reviews and I was very disappointed. I would eat it if I was very hungry. The old saying "eat what you store and store what you eat" is a good rule! I've decided I don't like freeze-dried fruits and vegetables - fresh, canned, or frozen is much better. But, if you are hungry and that's all you have, it would sure beat nothing.
ReplyDeleteSince we don't have animals I bought long-term storage milk, eggs, and cheese (sound tasty?) Actually, I believe these are good for only 5 years. Bought these during the last election!
I was about ready to chunk all this stored food and reclaim the space, then along comes an article like this one!!! I guess it's re-think time. BJ
Hi, BJ. There are reasons they call them old sayings. Eat what you store, store what you eat. Good advice.
DeleteHere's my take on that. We have some freeze dried food that on very rare occasions, we will try. Now, most of the food I eat on a daily basis is my own meat, cheese, eggs, veges, bread, milk. I grind the wheat, but I do buy the wheat. When I eat in a restaurant, no matter how good the food is, it always upsets my stomach. I haven't eaten out in over a year.
Here is where I'm going with this. My freeze dried food is high in fat content, calories, protein, sugars, carbohydrates, salt, but what it lacks is taste. I have to remind myself that this food has a purpose. If I am having to eat it, not because I want to, but because I have to, all those extra calories, whether I like the taste or not, will come in real handy.
Now here is the conundrum. I know that if I start eating this food, it will make me sick. I'm not trying to be crude here, but it will probably cause either constipation or diarrhea which, either one can be a severe problem. There is no perfect world, especially when it comes to processed foods.
Moving on. I have stored pinto beans before and after a long period of time they get hard as a rock. You can soak them all you want and they are still hard as a rock. Some folks say to grind them into powder and make a paste type meal or use them as a flour. Well, that just ain't gonna happen in my house. We have tried pressure canning old pinto beans, the hard rock type. They do become more tender, but they're still tough, although edible.
Right now the main foods that I store long term - the first one is wheat. Not flour or cracked wheat, just hard red wheat. Salt. Nothing bothers salt. Regular rolled oats. We also store olive oil. I know what the books say, but it will last for years. We also store lard.
Our primary diet is fresh or what we have canned ourselves, that includes vegetables and meat. Something I will truly miss will be fruit. We have never been successful at growing fruit. We have canned a bunch of peaches, pears and apples. Some local folks find it irritating to have to mow around the fruit that falls from their trees. Currently we are eating a frozen fruit blend from Wal-Mart.
This is a brief description of how we do the food storage thing. We drink a lot of fresh water. By the way, I also store coffee. I have cans of Folgers that are pushing 10 years old and they are just as good as current supplies.
If you have any words of wisdom, please share them. Frank
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DeleteThanks for sharing Leigh's post. A while ago, I bumped into "The Tytler Cycle" at Common Sense Government's site. (3/4/09) Are you familiar with the cycle of Why Democracies Fail?
ReplyDelete"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.
Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage."
It is quite a cycle. The seasons are changing....food for thought.
bjo
BJO, thank you for sharing CommonSenseGovernment.com and the Tytler Cycle.
DeleteI was not familiar with the name of Tytler, but I am familiar with the quote. This is where we are. We have voted ourselves into a corner that there is no exit from. Therefore, things are going to continue to deteriorate. This is the cycle we are in. We can make excuses all day long - Why doesn't 'Somebody' do this or that?
I hate saying these things, but this patient is not going to recover. It is going to die. We can't vote ourselves out of this. I don't know what's coming next. It won't do any good to pretend we can go back to a certain point in our Constitution and start over. It is our Constitution that has gotten us to where we are today. I'm sorry, but this ship is sinking. There are lots of people saying this and have been for years. They patch a hole and another one opens up.
I appreciate the education that you have provided us with. I hope people will understand that this is a natural cycle. This is similar in nature to the Fourth Turning concept. Look at the seasons. Look at the circle, it goes around and around. I don't know what's coming after this one dissolves and no one else does either. It's like a succession crop. We don't know what we're going to get and we don't know how many causalities there will be. Simple mathematics will tell us that a huge percentage of people will starve.
Enjoy the days that are sunny. Try to find a way to survive. And thank you for your comments.
Frank
Thanks so much for the shout out. I appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteYou are more than welcome, Leigh. Like we said above, you don't express these types of thoughts very often and we respect your opinion and perspective. Thanks for sharing! Fern
DeleteHi! Thanks for pointing this post from 5 Acres out. It helps knowing that other people have the same thoughts I do. I ordered the book about homestead animals. Putting up 75 more pounds of rice today.
ReplyDeleteGood deal on the rice, Spinnersaw. The more information, encouragement, 'knowing we are not alone' the better. Leigh has a plethora of information about many things homestead and self-sufficient.
DeleteGood to hear from you, Fern