Plan Three Times, Measure Twice, Cut Once

Hello Everybody, Frank here

I received an interesting email from the Frank & Fern site and I wanted to share it with you. This man is giving thought to relocating and has some good questions. I hope you will enjoy reading his questions and I hope you enjoy reading the response that I gave to his good questions. This is just the way that I saw it and the way that I still see it. You see, I love watching the movies Jeremiah Johnson and Never Cry Wolf. Yes, I have read both of the books associated with them, and they are very good books, which I would also recommend. Both of those stories influenced my wanting to go to Alaska, and explore and live that type of life style.

Well, Fern and I have been lucky. You see, I got to live a dream and I am still living a dream. Now, I'm not what you call a dreamer. These dreams have come from lots of study, research and hard work. I hope you get to live your dreams, too.

I use a saying which I'll share with you now, "Plan three times, measure twice, cut once." So for your dreams, Plan. Then plan again. Have a back up. Do what you need to do to be successful, but always plan for failure. Then live your dream. Someday I will tell you my whole story, but not today. 

If you don't believe in God, that is your choice. But I do and that's my choice. God has been good to me and I thank Him for it everyday.

I hope you enjoy the email I received and I hope you enjoy the response. Please tell me and this gentleman what you think. We're all in this ballgame together. So get off your hands and tell me what you think. Good or bad. Remember, we are ladies and gentlemen. Plan three time, measure twice, cut once.

We'll talk more later, Frank

Email received

Hello, My name is [omitted]. My wife of 40 yrs. and I have lived in Alaska 39 years. I see you also have lived here, so I thought you might have some insight for us.

We are 60 and done raising our children, and are entertaining ideas about moving south. We are Christians for 40 years too. We had a 40 ac. farm [omitted] [between Valdez and Glenn Allen] yrs. ago, and have learned the harsh realities of self-sufficient living here, and feel it is not really possible due to climate. We cannot grow grains for feed, nor fruits for ourselves, vegetables are limited, winters are so long and harsh our goats, pigs, chickens and rabbits all had difficulty. 8 mo. winter is simply too hard with firewood, water hauling, long, dark and cold, etc.

So I have a few questions.

In Okla. are summers too hot? We don’t mind 4 seasons, but 3 months to each would be fine. We have looked in west Montana, mid-Idaho, and east Washington. prices seem higher due to higher demand and scarcity, but 20 ac. is approx. what we’d like, ½ pasture for grazing & hay, ½ woodlot for ongoing firewood harvesting. Must have water of sorts, i.e. pond, creek, lake, etc. Definitely a rural forested area is our goal. A house is not necessary as I do construction, but cost is always a factor, so $50k or less is our price range for land as we need to develop the farm. Does this seem like a reasonable amount?

Also with all the instability in the country, dollar devalue etc. do you feel you are in a ‘safe’ place should civil unrest, depression etc. cause roving gangs from the city to seek nearby rural food sources? Or do you wish you had moved to  “the Redoubt” area? 

Thank you for an time or info you can provide. Also, I thoroughly enjoy your blog as I recognize experiential farming and all the added trials shared realistically.

Thanks again, and God bless.

[omitted]

Frank's response

Hello [omitted],

Congratulations on 40 years of marriage. 

Up front. Our time in Alaska was temporary every place we were, so we never gardened or raised any form of livestock, period. Here is a list of the places we lived, starting at the top and coming around and down. Barrow, the Kotzebue area, Nome, mouth of the Yukon River and Dillingham. We had a condominium in Anchorage for a few years, but it was only used a few days out of the year. So, again, we had no experience in gardening or livestock while in Alaska. We did have a church garden in one location, but it was really not very successful. That was in Dillingham, the lowest latitude that we lived.

Somewhere over the tundra about 500 miles from Anchorage

The reason we left Alaska, which was about 11 years ago, was my fear of the economy collapsing, which I still believe will happen. I did not want to be in remote, bush Alaska when the planes quit flying. We were there during 9/11 when the planes did quit flying, for 3 days I believe. That scared me then. Most people didn't have a clue what it meant, because all supplies there came in either by plane or barge during the warm months.

Nunam Iqua, Alaska 2006

We looked in the Redoubt area, western Montana, Idaho, eastern Washington, just like you mentioned. At the time we left, I was about 57 or 58. At that time I had had several surgeries and after leaving Alaska, I had lower back surgery and open heart surgery. But one day it dawned on us that we were not getting younger, not trying to sound funny here, but I was really tired of shoveling snow. The places where we could have a car, I was tired of shoveling out the car. I was tired of ice, and dark, and cold, and I mean really cold. -50 is chilly. -20 was a good day. When it broke 0*, we celebrated. You should know what I'm talking about. And dark? I never realized how much I missed sunlight until it wasn't there. And light? I never realized how much I missed dark until the sun went in a circle for 24 hours in the sky. I take it you put foil paper or something on your windows in the summer.

Right now, I am 69. Two plus years back I had open heart surgery and about six years ago I had lower back surgery. I am as active now as I was then, if not more, but I don't think I could shovel snow if I really needed to. So, therefore, the Redoubt is out of the question.

 

The non-sunset, Barrow, Alaska, September 2000

Why Oklahoma? Lots of reasons. Fern's mother lived in southeastern Oklahoma. We went to school in Stillwater, Oklahoma which is where we met and were married 36 years ago. Fern is ten years younger than I am. For various reasons we bought a house and piece of property that joined her family's property. About 40 years ago, back in my Mother Earth News days, I researched property all over the country for survivability. Southeast Oklahoma, southwest Arkansas and north a couple hundred miles, and south a couple hundred miles is a survivable area. Lots of hills, some small mountains, creeks, rivers, forested areas, and not many people to speak of. Country folks for the most part, a higher unemployment rate, lots of churches, not many bars, and the issues of positive and negative that come with this type of area. 

A small example. The closest westerly nuclear power plant to us is Glen Rose, Texas. The closest easterly nuclear power plant is just west of Little Rock, Arkansas. Our prevailing winds are from the west. I am not concerned about a melt down at the Little Rock facility. Glen Rose, Texas, a melt down would not reach us here. Tinker Air Force Base, just southeast of Oklahoma City, if something nuclear were to occur there, it would not reach us.

Next topic. Neighbors are neighbors, and Bubba is Bubba. This is the same everywhere. 

The rolling hills of southeastern Oklahoma.

Summer heat. Well, it gets pretty hot in interior Alaska during the summer. I don't know where you live right now. We have mosquitos, but nothing like the ones we had in Alaska. We have no no-see-ums or white socks. Heat is relative. We get the moisture from the Gulf of Mexico that provides us with our thick forests, which allows us to grow just about any plant we want to. Fruit trees can be grown, but they struggle because they just don't have the same conditions they do in the southeastern Washington area. Because of the gulf stream, in the summer time there is high humidity and high heat and sharply fewer bugs than Alaska. Yes, the heat and humidity can be an issue. We never had air conditioning in Alaska. We had a pretty nice condo in Anchorage, but it didn't have air conditioning. In the summer here, we start much earlier in the day and much later in the evening. That's the way we do it, and we do have air conditioning. In the winter, if need be, we can use wood heat. And I truly pray to God, that if the electricity ever goes off, it's during the winter so we will have at least a little time to acclimate.

Land price and costs. It's this way everywhere, you get what you pay for. If you were to look around with various real estate agents, I think you could find what you're looking for, for around $50,000. Now there are places here that are covered with rocks. That's part of being in a mountainous, hilly area. Some places have good well water, some places have poor water. $50,000 depending on the quality of land, could get you a lot more than 20 acres, or a lot less. In Oklahoma, building codes in the rural areas are just about non-existent. I cannot speak for Texas, Arkansas or Missouri. We don't have silly laws taxing rain catchment, but there are laws about damming up creeks and streams and affecting your neighbor down stream. A competent real estate agent should be able to answer most of this type of related questions.

You addressed roving gangs. Civil unrest. The farther away you are from towns, I believe the less this will happen. As far as the instability of our country and the devaluation of the dollar, the dollar has been devalued before. And instability? Just look at Washington, D.C. Look at that circus. As Ol' Remus says, Avoid crowds.

Buckland, Alaska 1990

I'm about to wrap this thing up. You ask, do I wish I had moved to the Redoubt area? Outside of the romance of a few novels and films? No. It's not survivable unless you are very young, in excellent condition and have skills that very few people have. It has a lot of the same features Alaska does. People struggle with gardens there, they have hard water issues. You know, ice. It gets as cold in Montana as it does in most of Alaska. We have ice here for a few hours, or a few days a winter. I am more than happy with where I live. If I were to ever move again it would be 30-40 miles farther east, therefore, I am extremely happy with where I am.

If you would like a recommendation, and I do not live in that immediate area, but I am about 60 miles away from Mena, Arkansas. Or come right across the border into Oklahoma. I do hope this helps.

You know bad times are coming and we are going to have to do the unthinkable. I hope that you and yours have your heads screwed on right. I would gather food storage and a realistic way to protect myself. Some day this thing is going to break. Most people will move to the cities and the vast majority will succumb within a few months. This is a horrible thing to think. You will need to protect yourself. This is the part where it's important to have your head screwed on right. I don't believe that God wants us to put our hands up in the air and just give up. God made us fighters and He expects us to do so.

Peace be with you,

Frank Feral

Frank & Fern Feral

Barrow, Alaska

2000-2001 

In October 2016, a city referendum renamed the city from Barrow to its traditional Iñupiaq name, Utqiaġvik.

 The non-sunset in July, 2000. The sun just went around in a circle in the sky. This was around midnight. The ripple in the water in the foreground is a baby whale.

Coast Guard cutter in the background

Polar bear cage used for old movie prop, somewhere out on the tundra west of Barrow.

 Will Rogers, Wiley Post monument eleven miles west of Barrow.

I made my parka - northern opossum liner with wolf ruff and trim, denim cover.
 

Bowhead whale butchering by local Inupiaq Eskimo
 

The bones and scraps were all taken out to the point, away from town so the polar bears would gather there, away from the people.

 
Dogsled ride on the Arctic Ocean, May 28th, 2001

 

Point Barrow, May 2001

From the adventures of Frank & Fern

 

Why We Are Here

Hello, Frank here.

We received an interesting comment on our post, "I Can't Think of a Thing to Write", which, by the way, was the post before this one. We've been receiving comments from N.W. Illinois for a good while now and I'm going to try to give an accurate assessment to his question. I really don't know if it's a him or a her, but I'm going to respond as if it's a him. Then I don't have to him-haw around playing semantics.

His question is, why did we move to southeast Oklahoma. But, here is his comment in it's entirety. 

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"Hello Fern & Frank, For having nothing to say that was an interesting read. This is N.W. Illinois again, been a while. It's too cold to plant anything in the ground here. A week ago the ground was covered in snow! Yuck. The weather has improved this week, 65 deg. on Mon. 3/30/15. On the note of something to write, how about telling us why you picked Oklahoma to retire in, what's the advantages over say N.W. Illinois. Other than the fact our growing season is three months shorter or we have more snow."

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There are a lot of parts to the answer here, as to why we moved to Oklahoma. So I'm just going to start.

Fern and I were both born and raised in Texas, but we didn't know that about each other until we met in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She was

a normal aged junior, and I was about ten years older and trying college again on a full time basis. What brought us both to Oklahoma State University? Well, Fern's dad passed away when she was a young child, and in about ninth grade her mother married a man from Oklahoma. His wife had passed away a couple of years earlier. So her mom left her college teaching position and moved to southeastern Oklahoma where her new husband lived. That is how Fern ended up going to Oklahoma State University.

My case is a little bit different. I'm a big city boy, born and raised. I have pulled two tours in the military, both of them short tours. I had been researching major universities, not located in major cities. Oklahoma State University, OSU, was kind enough to offer me about 36 hours of good solid credits for my military training. So that's what brought me to OSU. 

Fern and I met in Biology 101, and just about two years later we got married. A couple of years later we completed our education we started looking for jobs. That started our teaching career in Oklahoma. We worked in Oklahoma for six years, not anywhere close to southeastern Oklahoma. We took jobs in Alaska for one year, came back to Oklahoma, and worked for nine more years. We are still not in southeastern Oklahoma. Then we moved back to Alaska and taught there for eight more years.

During our sixth year in Alaska ten acres of land became available that was in the vicinity of Fern's family. It was a nice, pretty, square ten acres, and each summer when we would come down here to visit her folks, we would look at assorted pieces of property. We really didn't plan on living on this land some day, it just seemed like it was a good investment. Even after we bought the ten acres, we still continued to look at other pieces of property.

Now, what brought us here? Well, let me back up a little bit. We had also very casually looked at locations in Washington state, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Oregon. But there was nothing that ever really flipped our switch. And upon doing a little deeper research, not all, but most of these states have restrictive water rights, and that's just not something we were looking for.

But the major reason for not moving to any of these states just mentioned, was the snow and the cold. We had just spent eight years in some climates in Alaska that were, to say the least, extremely bitter and harsh. As a school principal, I had to shovel snow on a regular basis. Then, about my fifth year, I injured my lower back, which I still suffer from that injury today. I knew that I never in my life wanted to shovel snow again.

Now I'm going to back up one more time. The last couple of years in Alaska, I started noticing some very dangerous trends in the

economy. This was about 2006. Now, I'm by no means an economist, but some things I saw going on in the financial world started to give me grave concerns. I started educating myself about the financial world, and to me it became apparent that the economy was in a death spiral. I did not want to be in remote bush Alaska when things spiraled out of control. So, in 2008 we quit two successful administrative positions, sold our condominium in Anchorage, rented two big UHaul trailers, and made our last trip down the Alaska highway. 

Which, on a side note, cell phones don't work on the vast majority of the Alaska highway. So we purchased two GMRS handheld walkie talkies, and that's how we communicated while we were driving down the Alaska highway. That was the beginning of my jump into ham radio.

I'm going to back up one more time. A really interesting thing happened about four months before we left Alaska. There is only one house that bordered our ten acres, and the lady that owned the house happened to know Fern's mom. She mentioned that she was going to sell the house, and asked Fern's mom if we would be interested. The day that we got here from Alaska, the next day we picked up the keys and the house was ours. I can't help but believe that we had some divine help there. We already owned the ten acres, and now we had one acre with a house that attached to it. That's how we got here.

Now, let me share some benefits of being here. A lot of folks don't know this, but southeastern Oklahoma is a mountainous area. Ok, ok, they're not the Rocky Mountains and they're not the Appalachian Mountains, and some folks would just call them big hills. But whatever you want to call them, they are what they are. And they are beautiful. There is one medium sized town about 30 miles away. There is a fully functional town about 60 miles away. And there are two big towns, or what we call big towns, in different directions about three hours away.

Taxes overall here are less than most other states, and that includes income tax. There is an income tax here in Oklahoma. We have crime here, but it is less than the national average, especially out in the rural areas. The schools here are as good as they are anywhere. Yesterday I was out in my backyard sighting in a rifle. About two miles away is a huge national forest. About a mile in the other direction is a large wildlife refuge. We can grow things successfully about seven months a year. And there are some things that will survive year round. It's hot in the summer, it's humid in the summer. I know most folks think of Oklahoma as the dust bowl, but not the southeastern part. We are heavily treed, with mountains. It says so on the map.

It can get cold in the winter, but on average it normally doesn't get any colder than 20 to 25 degrees. We get snow, but you can normally sweep it off of your porch. On occasion we get ice storms which shuts everything down. We do have tornadoes and some violent thunderstorms. But these are things you learn to live with, because you have violent thunderstorms just about everywhere. Most states have the occasional tornado. But we don't have hurricanes, we don't have mud slides, we do not have tsunamis, but we do have wildfires. 

Something that some people will find probably a little surprising is that not one precinct or district or polling station had a majority vote for Mr. Obama in either election. You read that right. Not one. You can take that for what it's worth. So, if you think that Wyoming is conservative, welcome to Oklahoma. 

We also have more churches than we do bars. That means that church has a significant influence in everything that happens here, especially in the rural areas.

This part of Oklahoma has a higher unemployment rate than the national average, and it has for many years. There's just not a lot of wealth in this part of the state, if you judge wealth by the amount of money someone has. But you will see a man driving a tractor with his child sitting on his lap. And you will see a family fishing together. I guess you can judge wealth by other values also.

Okay, I'll try to get back on topic now. When Fern and I left Alaska and moved here, we did not have jobs lined up. At first things didn't look like they were going to pan out. Fern would get an offer at one

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little school and I would get an offer at another little school, but our entire married life and teaching career, we've always worked in the same district. Maybe not the exact same building, but very close by. Then one day we interviewed at a school and the superintendent there offered us both teaching positions. That was around July 4th. It was starting to look like we might need to apply in Alaska again. But, again, the good Lord was with us, and He gave us two teaching jobs, me at the high school and Fern at the elementary. I taught there three years and retired. Fern taught there six years and retired. You see, God has been very good to us, and for that we are truly thankful. And I really believe that, too.

Okay, let's review. Why southeast Oklahoma? It's beautiful. The winters are survivable even if we didn't have heat, as long as we had shelter. There aren't many folks here in this area. We can grow food almost year round. If need be, we can harvest game. The climate is not harsh on our livestock. The water laws and rules are easily livable. The folks are ultra conservative. The vast majority of people are Christian. The folks here are just decent, hardworking people for the most part. The taxes are kind to retired folks, and to everybody for that matter. No national politician is ever going to retire in my neighborhood. That's another thing to be truly thankful for.

On a serious note. If there is a collapse, and for whatever reason there is no electricity or power, this part of the world is survivable. Those states I talked about earlier. If you live inland, away from the major population centers, the winters are not survivable without external assistance. Maybe a few very young and very hardy might be able to, but the majority will not. And I'm sorry to say that, but these are facts. A lot of folks may think that with -20 degrees below zero temperatures that they are going to be okay. Well, they're not. That is an illusion. 

So this is why Fern and I settled in southeast Oklahoma. There is going to be a collapse in our society, because it is already starting. It's a big ship and it takes a long time for it to stop. The economic and social trends that I seriously started following in 2006 have not halted or reversed, if anything, they have accelerated. This big ship is grinding to a halt. If you can't see it, I'm sorry. But this area is survivable. 


N.W. Illinois, I hope this answered your question. I want to thank you for the comment, and I want to thank you for reading. But first and foremost, I want to thank God for giving me the ability to see what is happening. And I want to thank my wife of 32 years for always being by my side. I am truly blessed. 

We'll talk more later, Frank

Adding Sourdough To The Menu

I have tried to get a sourdough starter going a couple of times over the past few years, but it just doesn't work. This time was no different. I had read that using potato water was good for a starter so when I made potato salad recently, I tried again.

I got out my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and followed the directions. It never did start. So I dumped it out....again.

 

In the meantime I contacted a relative that I knew had a starter that she had been using for years to see if she could send me some. She was more than happy to do so and it arrived Christmas Eve, a nice present.

This is a starter with a history. It was given to my relative in 1986 when they moved to Anchorage, Alaska. They met some friends who were part owners of a lodge on the Iliamna River. These friends had gotten the starter from an elderly man who had lived on the river for years. At that time, 1986, the starter was 85 to 90 years old. It has made several moves from Alaska to their current home and now to ours. I think that is really neat. Now, if I can just keep my part of it alive.

I am brand new to sourdough and caring for a starter so this is a very introductory post. When we got it from the post office, we brought it home and fed it. This consisted of giving it 1 cup of white flour and 1 cup of water. I stirred it up well, covered it with some cheese cloth and crossed my fingers. Throughout the day, I checked it and stirred it up a few more times. It worked! It bubbled up a little and looked like the descriptions I had read. Yea! So far so good.

After it's arrival and apparent living state, I began to look through my cookbooks. I actually thought I had a sourdough cookbook, but found I didn't. There are some recipes in Cookin' With Home Storage that I looked at. Then I searched online and found some information and recipes. Then I went and found a couple of cookbooks and ordered them. In the meantime, I fed the starter on Christmas again and it looked healthy so I decided to try it out in a bread recipe. The first one I tried didn't rise. Well, it may have risen half an inch. So we got another taste of brick bread. This is what Frank calls the bread I make that doesn't rise well and is very heavy. The taste was fine, it was just very dense and heavy. Disappointing, but not too surprising since I was using starter and no yeast for the first time.

So for the next loaf I tried a different method. I found a recipe that had me start the sponge the night before. So I took one cup of my starter, added two cups of fresh ground whole wheat flour and 3/4 cup of water. Stirred very well, several times, covered with cheese cloth and let sit out all night.

The reason I have wanted to learn how to maintain a starter and be able to bake without yeast is because one day I fully expect to run out of yeast and not be able to get anymore. This is another step I have wanted to take in becoming more self-reliant. Just like learning about and maintaining kefir. I will one day run out of yogurt culture, but want to be able to produce a product that will help maintain our digestive health. The funny thing is, after we received the sourdough starter and I started looking for recipes online, I ran across this information on "the health benefits of sourdough bread." God works in mysterious ways. No doubt about it. I had never even considered the possibilities of sourdough having added health benefits compared to regular yeast breads. I was surprised. So here are the health benefits listed from that article.

•  the longer rising/soaking time [like making the sponge overnight] breaks down the gluten making it more easily digestible, therefore making it better for those with gluten intolerance
• the bacteria present in the starter eat the starches and sugars in the grain lowering the carbohydrate content of the bread, thus helping to regulate blood sugar; also increases vitamin and mineral content of the grain
• lactic acid predigests the grain for you
• bacteria present activates phytase, an enzyme that breaks down phytic acid which can strip your body of minerals and be hard on your digestion 

Amazing! That is what I thought when I read this information. I had no idea. It reminds me of the wolf spider and finding out they carry their babies on their back. The world is just full of unique opportunities for learning and I cherish them, especially if they prove useful to our endeavors to be healthier and return to a more natural state.

The bread we made from the overnight sponge was great! I only made enough for one loaf just to try out the recipe. When I turned it out, I thought it was a little much, but I didn't know if it would turn into brick bread again, so I left it all together instead of dividing it into two loaves. Well, it just about fell out of the pan it rose so much. So here is a comparison of my first two loaves.

I have since made another batch with the overnight sponge, this time dividing it into two loaves. It didn't rise near as much and since we had company and I wanted to bake it for lunch, I didn't wait on it as long either. The loaves were smaller, but still had a great flavor.

I have left the original starter out on the cabinet since it's arrival, feeding it everyday. A few days ago, I took about a cup and a half of it and put it in the frig to see if I can keep it alive. It's next to my extra kefir grains that I am also experimenting with to see if I can store them and keep them alive as well. Both will need to be fed once a week, so that will be one of my Saturday chores.

We have been provided with many different opportunities to be self-sustaining when it comes to food. There have been many things produced by man in the past decades that we are not able to reproduce and we didn't give them a second thought for many years. Now the more I

read and learn, the more I realize how important the 'old knowledge' and skills are. Like gardening and heirloom or open pollinated seeds that will reproduce themselves, unlike the hybrid varieties. Speaking of which, have you ordered your seeds yet? When you do, order or buy more than you will ever need in a couple of lifetimes. I truly believe they will soon be worth more than gold. Do you know how many people you can feed with just one seed?


Learn all you can. Books, online sources and easy access to information may not always be around. Be ready, be diligent, be vigilant. Wolves may come knocking in sheep's clothing.


Until next time - Fern