The Zombies Are Already Here

Just look around you. How many people do you see walking around with no life in their eyes? How many people don't seem to care about anything one way or the other as long as they have Twinkies, TV, video games, cell phones and pills, lots and lots of pills. How many people you know or see, that are really happy? How many are angry, bitter victims that point the finger and blame everyone and everything around them for the life that they perceive is filled with injustice and deprivation? So, what do they do? Here, take this pill, it will make everything all better.

It seems a majority of people have bought into Madison Avenue's sales pitch, you see it in every other commercial while sitting in a doctor's office waiting room. Here, take this pill, it will improve your life and kill you at the same time. Partaking of prescription drugs or over the counter medications for every little symptom or possibility has become so prevalent that the population in general has been chemically castrated and lobotomized. They don't feel, they have no drive and they just don't care. Sound like Zombies to you? Give me Cheetos! Give me TV! Give me video games! Give me special delivery pizza! Give me! Give me! Give me!

And you know what? That's exactly what they're going to say when we reach the bottom of the slippery slope we're traveling down at break neck speed. The momentum has accelerated to the point of

treacherous, fatal impact. Do the zombies see it? Can they feel the sudden drop as the wheels fall off as the ever quickening decent occurs? No, I don't want to see it. No, I don't want to hear it, stop talking about being prepared and taking care of my family. Where is my anti-anxiety pill? You are crazy. You are a conspiracy theorist. You are using scare tactics. I don't like you, the things you say make me feel bad. I need another pill, I'm stressed. Honey, could you pass the pill bottles and junk food? I just want to relax from a day of stressful interaction with all of these Nationalist, conservative wackos that want us all to die from global warming, climate change and hurt feelings. I don't want to feel like that, pass the other pill bottle over while you're at it.

Folks, do you realize that most prescription medications that everyone carries around by the grocery bag full turn you into a zombie? Yes, some medications are needed and necessary, but we know people that go to the doctor, doctor says, well, you're almost [fill in just about any age] and the survey says you need to take statins for your cholesterol. But doc, my cholesterol is okay, it's not high. Yea, I know, but it's preventative medication and for your own good. Here, take this pill. Oh, OK. What are the side effects?

Well, it may cause fatal problems with your organs, subdue your emotions and sexual drive, make you suicidal, and make you unable to react to dangerous situations quickly if you ever need to, but it's for your own good. Here, take this pill. Oh, OK. For how long? For the rest of your life. Oh, OK. Don't worry about your organs, we'll keep an eye on you. There are other medications that will take care of that if you need them. Oh, OK. And don't worry about not being interested in your spouse anymore, you're almost [fill in just about any age] and things slow down more and more as you get older. We need for you to take all of these pills so you will keep coming back to the doctor with side effect symptoms so we can prescribe more pills that will cause more side effects, then you will need more pills and I will make more money by seeing more patients that need more pills........until you are dead.

In the meantime, you will need to do bloodwork twice a year, and don't forget the occasional MRI and CT scan. To make sure that your organs aren't overreacting to your pills, we'll need to run a colonoscopy, endoscopy, and any other tests you may need. They may also cause hospitalization so we can run many more tests and procedures. With all of these tests, if we find something that is not quite right, you might have to have minor surgery. Do you want to have surgery? It will fix the problem, from taking all of those pills. But after that procedure, I will give you more pills to make you feel better, like some type of opiate pain pill that you will then become addicted to.

Zombies. We have this unfortunate running joke that when you see someone shuffling down the aisle at the grocery store, or driving slow hunched over the steering wheel that they've either just had their daily dose of anti-whatever, or they're taking way too much of everything. Too much Thorazine is our usual statement.

 
If Frank had followed the standard cardiac advice after his double bypass, he would be taking about six medications right now, all of which have major side effects to your organs, emotions, psychological well being, not to mention interest in life in general. That's why his heart surgeon kicked him off of his patient list.

You won't take all these pills? Then I won't be your doctor. Oh, OK, says Frank. See ya, cause I ain't taking all of these pills. Before the bypass Frank wasn't taking any medications at all. His blood pressure was fine, his cholesterol was fine, his bloodwork indicated no problems whatsoever. Now? He takes a very, very small dose of the most un-invasive blood pressure medicine we could find through our research and that his body will tolerate. That's it. Our current medical practitioner is okay with this. Frank is in charge of his body, not the medical/pharmaceutical industrial complex.

We were talking about this topic at breakfast one morning. That is what gave me the idea for this article. Frank's comment? I want to feel, I want to be a man. I want to have the ability to duck if I see a baseball coming at my head. I want to live the life I have left, not be an unfeeling, medicated old man. Frank has a friend that has long used testosterone medication which caused many other health issues, so now he takes a number of pills to deal with the side effects of the original medication. Frank has a relative that has been taking statins, beta blockers and blood pressure medications for years, just in case. His comment was I don't have to change my diet or worry about my heart, I can do whatever I want......as long as I take these pills. But he also hasn't been with his wife in 20 years, there is no interest or desire there. That may be okay for him, but it's not okay with Frank. He knows he is going to die some day, we all die, but he doesn't want to die being a zombie, he wants to be a man, a real man.
 

This doesn't even begin to address the opioid, anti-psychotic and psychotropic medications that are being dispensed like candy at the state fair. Sometimes I wonder if people seek out these types of drugs to escape from the condition of the world, our country, their lives, or they're just trying to be like the Jones down the road. You know, screwed up in the head by Madison Avenue, Hollywood and all of the social pressure and unrest in the world. Is life so bad? In many cases I would say yes. It's awful. Look around at the hatred and anger that is spewed across the airwaves, right to your TV, your computer, your phone, all live and in your face. 

 A different thought here. Is our government using the medical industry to suppress the drive and motivation of American citizens as a means to appease and subdue the population? Are these medications being used as a means to control resistance? If you have a kid in school that is an issue, medicate them. That way you have a nice, compliant little boy. Just food for thought. Control.

Please understand, Frank and I take medications that our bodies need. We wish we didn't have to, but we do. If you need to take medications, then take them. If you don't need to take medications, it is your choice. It is your body. We all need to have our heads screwed on right. If you don't need it, get off of it. Focus. Keep your mind clear, sharp, vigilant and functioning. No matter how difficult life is now, if it gets a whole lot worse, which many of us believe it will, you will need all of your wits about you. Every last one of them. Folks, the zombies are already here. Don't be one of them.

Until next time - Fern

What You Know Might Save You

We received a very interesting and informative comment yesterday that we feel is worth posting for all to read. I have said something similar to this opening statement, that I was born in the wrong century. Frank and I have long known that our varied life experiences have brought us to this place and time with a plethora  of skills and perspectives that may help us as the current crises of the world unfold. It really doesn't make any difference when we were born or where we live, this is where we are and what we have to deal with. The events of the world will continue to unfold, whether we are ready or not. Please share your thoughts. Enjoy.

I feel as though I am a person born out of my time period. I am not yet sixty but my childhood experiences include using an outhouse, drawing water from a well, and taking baths in a tin bathtub after heating water on a wood cook stove. My parents grew corn, peanuts, and other vegetables in a five acre field. I grew up helping to harvest and can what we grew. We milked cows and my mom made butter from the cream. I was the last born of my siblings, and born late in my parents' lives. They grew up in the Depression and married at the beginning of WW2, so I am a tail end of the Baby Boomers. 

My experiences were embarrassing as a child but came back to help me cope many years later in the aftermath of a hurricane that plowed through our area. We lost power for about four weeks. I tried to do what my momma did and found that I was not the woman she was. But I did learn some very important lessons. I relied too heavily upon electricity and on my freezer for food storage. I had a pressure canner and had canned some vegetables, but I still had a lot of vegetables and meat in the freezer. Now I try to keep plenty of jars empty for emergency canning of meat and most of my vegetables go in jars. 

 I was given a dehydrator several years ago and found that drying vegetables and sealing them with a food sealing system in jars takes up less space that fresh. 

Since I did and do most of my cooking on an electric stove, the lack of that power has stirred me into looking into other ways of cooking without power. I have since discovered an interest and love for cast iron, especially Dutch ovens. My first experiment with one was in the coals of a burned brush pile from a tree blown down by a hurricane wind. Food burned on the bottom and was raw in the middle. But my daughters have taken up my pursuit and they cooked much of our Thanksgiving dinner last year in Dutch ovens outside over a wood fire. 

I liked your article because it fits my lifestyle of gardening, canning and enjoying the fruits of my labor. I live in a climate that allows me to grow food almost all year round, but for the past several years, I have had an urge to save seeds from the vegetables we grow and to try to save extra possibly for neighbors in the future since I can't feed them all and they may need to have something to plant. Most of us "country folk" live like city folk now because we buy fresh seed from the feed and seed stores each year and there are fewer and fewer of us gardening and growing our own food, because it is quicker and easier to run by the grocery store and get what we need or want. It is a lot of work to grow and process your own food. I have heard comments to that effect. 

After reading the Woodpile Report, I found someone giving voice to some concerns that have been in my heart for a couple of years...namely, what would happen if we could not grow food for a year or so because of outside circumstances. And what would happen if the stores that sell seeds are no longer open or stocked? About three years ago, I saw a clearance sale of end of summer goods at a dollar store. Included in those goods, were packets of flower and vegetable seeds. I bought quite a few for pennies a packet and so I have been collecting these seed packets and storing them in my freezer for my own use and for future giveaway seed. To my surprise I even found a few heirloom seeds among them. I have other seed that I have saved in glass jars using the food sealer system and jar attachment. I opened a few jars of seeds this spring and was amazed that most of the seeds were viable. Only one of the jars of seeds failed to germinate. 

Anyway, my next canning experiments are going to include oranges, lemons, and butternut squash. By the way, have you heard of okra seed being roasted and ground to be used to stretch coffee grounds? I have heard that such a thing was done in the Great Depression, but I would like to know if anyone else has knowledge of this. 

Thanks for sharing your experiences with others.

[Name removed]

Please share what you know and have experienced. We're all in this race to survive together. The finish line is simple. It's your life.

Until next time - Fern
 

Without Food, You Are Dead

Everyone needs to read the opening dialogue from Ol' Remus at the Woodpile Report this week. He's right. Food is a Weapon that can, has been and will be used against you. There is a reason Bison Prepper is always writing about food first, wheat, calories, wheat, wheat, wheat. Without food, you are dead. End of story. Not to mention the disease and debilitation that comes from malnutrition and starvation. 

I've been thinking about sharing our fall/winter growing plans for a while and the thoughts from Ol' Remus decided for me that today, I had better get with it. We are working on putting most of the garden to bed for the winter. We're in the process of taking down the tomato/pepper/green bean trellises. After they are out of the way Frank will brush hog all of

the plants, including the okra forest, into a type of organic mulch.

Then we'll clean out the chicken house and barn and add that to the garden and till everything in for the winter. If the weather isn't too cold by that time, it usually isn't in our latitude, we will broadcast some winter peas for an edible cover crop. It's good for man and beast.

 
This is the plan for most of the garden anyway. The two ends, east and west are planted with a few more food crops. Not to mention these volunteer squash plants that came up in the yard close to the compost pile. We're enjoying a few last meals of squash. The first frost we had, we covered these plants with a frost cloth which prevented death, but did not keep the plants damage free. We'll be covering them again this weekend to see if we can get a few more meals before winter takes it's toll.

We have a small patch of turnips planted for greens. These are seeds we saved this spring from the turnips we planted last fall. It seems to be a good cycle to get into. We were also able eat fresh greens well into winter, again in the spring and even canned a few jars in June. Our permanent turnip bed idea didn't work out, so maybe this cycle is a better alternative.

On the other end of the garden we have planted some beets for canning, if they make it that far. 

Some carrots for winter eating.  
 

And some cabbage. We still have some frozen, shredded cabbage we grew in the spring of 2018 that we are using in soup. It's a great addition. If these cabbages make, I'm hoping we won't have insect problems this time of year, we'll eat some fresh and freeze the rest to continue our soup making routine.

 

This small bed on the east side of the house is the only place I have successfully grown spinach. We have had our first salad with miniature spinach and lettuce leaves. I was too impatient to let them grow any bigger before we had our first taste.

In the greenhouse we have started our winter salad collection.

We have two kinds of lettuce. Romaine

Black Seeded Simpson

Russian Kale

Pak Choy from seeds we saved this spring.

Cress









I have also planted a tub of amaranth since it is supposed to be good in salads and we know it's packed with nutrition.

Even though I don't expect success, I planted some of the tomato seeds we saved this summer. I wanted to make sure they were viable and wanted to try one more time for winter greenhouse tomatoes.

On a whim back in the spring I bought a six pack of sweet potato plants, put them in some rather rocky ground under a trellis, and pretty much ignored them. They made a few potatoes, more than I expected. We'll try one for supper tonight with some of those turnip greens we canned in June.

I tried keeping the vines when we dug the potatoes and planted them in a pot in the greenhouse to see if we can use this for our plants in the spring. I don't know if they will make it when the weather gets cold. We'll find out.

This is the first year we have had anything close to an apple harvest from the two trees we planted about eight years ago. The apples are good, not too sweet, but homegrown which means a lot to us. We have one with lunch almost everyday. 

 

So, food. What do you have? Is it enough for everyone you need to feed? For a while? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? Can you replenish the supply on your own without any outside assistance? 


Food has always been used to control people. Always. Think of Joseph in Egypt. His father and brothers had to come and beg for food. They had the money to pay for it, but that didn't mean they would receive any. It's no different today. Look around the world. Look at how interdependent everyone is. Some countries have oil. Some have water. Some have the type of land and soil that will grow food, some don't. If any one thing goes wrong, one spoke of the wheel breaks, all systems fail. No water, no food. No oil, no fertilizer, no commercial farming apparatus, no food. No transportation, food rots in the field. No workers, no food. 

Food can and will be used against you as a means of enforcing your compliance to any and all demands. Moral, immoral, just and unjust. Be ready. Provide for yourself and those you love. Otherwise....... 

Without food, you, and everyone you love, are dead.

Until next time - Fern
 

You Can't Go Back

Things are changing in the world. Quickly, with a complexity that cannot be fathomed. There are too many variables, too many players, too many possible outcomes to be considered, combined and deciphered. We have many daily conversations about a myriad of topics all of which leave us wondering what in the world will happen next.

Here are some topics we have been thinking about. We would really like to know what you think. There is much afoot in the world and it's difficult to see through the haze, and listen through the cacophony of blaring noise that surrounds the world of information everyday.

The Queen's speech indicates the UK will have Brexit and leave the European Union on October 31st. Now Boris Johnson has made a deal with the EU. It still has to go through a vote of the Parliament. I don't know how the governmental system of the UK works, I have not studied it. But we see similar disagreements and attacks on Boris Johnson that we see here with President Trump. The UK voted years ago to split from the EU and become their own country again. From what I can gather they were tired of unelected bureaucrats in Brussels deciding things for them. They want their country back. There are other countries across the globe that seem to be on the same path.

Turkey, Syria, the Kurds and the USA. Very interesting situation. Almost the entire Congress disagreed with President Trump. What happened? A cease fire. The events of the 120 hours or five day "pause" may usher in a new era of peace in a region that has known war for decades. The resultant relationship between the USA and Russia may be an added benefit from the events taking place in the region. I read recently that President Putin said the relationships between our countries could be much better if it weren't for the political upheaval in our country. He understands why President Trump can't meet and work with him at this time.

Then there is this underlying hum of information from groups across the globe. Groups supporting their own countries instead of globalism. Imagine that. I applaud any country/culture/peoples that have a national, patriotic pride for their own country. We are not all the same. We are not. And we shouldn't be. There is nothing wrong with being different. Unless, of course, you don't like anyone that's not like you. Please read this tweet.

I think President Trump put it quite well. They are coming after us. Just like the EU is going after the UK. I have no problem with a country running their own affairs the way they see fit. I am forever grateful for being born in the United States of America. I don't want to wear a burka or be banned from driving a car. But you know what? If other countries have different laws and customs than we do, that's okay. We don't have any more right to impose our customs and beliefs on another country than they have the right to impose upon ours. We have enough trouble within our own borders, we don't need more coming in to muddy the waters even further. We don't have to abide by Sharia law, we have to abide by US and local laws. If you want to come here, learn to speak English and abide by our laws. Otherwise, go back where you came from.

There are many issues that aren't being addressed here. The border wall. ILLEGAL aliens, they aren't immigrants. The constant attempts to impeach President Trump. Endless wars all over the world. The unbelievable fake news stories coming from the mainstream media. Attacks on religion. Always attacks on the 2nd Amendment. These are just a few.

The header for our last article said, "I miss the America I grew up in." And we do. The civility of yesteryear is not to be seen except in the rearview mirror of time. But you know what? We can't go back. Why would we want to? That would be like the movie Ground Hog Day, reliving these same mistakes over and over and over. Why would we want to return to a system that could lead us right back to the same problems we face today? We may return here even faster the next time since we already know the way. Besides, why would we keep trying the same thing again expecting different results? Some say that is the definition of insanity.

What we need is a new system. There are a number of groups that support a variety of changes to the current system. John Mark and Curt Doolittle support a system they have devised called Propertarianism. There are a number of people that see a financial reset to a sound money system that does away with fiat currency and the debt cycle we have created with the world wide central bank systems. There are others that see no way out of the cycle of hatred and division in our country outside of an all out civil war. Regardless of how this all plays out, it is abundantly clear that things will continue to change. There is no way our country, and therefore the world since we are all so intimately interconnected in this day and time, can continue on the current course without massive, destabilizing change occurring. The question is where do we go from here? What will it look like?

Add one more dimension to the mix. The food supply. The climate of our planet has gone through many changes over many centuries of time. Sometimes warmer, sometimes colder, but always changing. Until the last hundred years or so, there wasn't enough man made activity to impact any of these climactic changes and they happened anyway. The problem is not man, the problem is man's ability and willingness to observe the changes and take steps accordingly. Running around crying the sky is falling, the world will end in 12 years, we have to become cannibals and start eating babies (which was an actress sent to disrupt a presentation), does not address the issue of the food supply.

There are those that insist we have too many people on the planet to feed. There are those that think the growth in population is due to the overproduction, through chemical means, of franken-foods. Either way, the current solar output from the sun is affecting the weather which in turn affects the food supply. Over the last few years, weather has impacted food production across the globe, some areas are flooded, some are too cold, some are too hot and some have droughts. Is this normal? Maybe a little more extreme than at other times? I tend to believe the solar minimum we are experiencing is bringing on one of the times of climactic change that may have a drastic impact upon mankind. Others see it as a challenging time that will pass just like it always has in the past.

When you add these things all together, what do you see? Are countries pulling back, trying to increase their independence from the interconnectedness of the world because the food supply is going to be impacted in such a way that there will be shortages? Will there be starvation? Just from the impact of weather, diseases like the swine fever that is decimating the hog population in China? Crop failures like corn, hay and soybeans in the US this year? How does that impact the meat and milk supply when farmers can't feed their animals? 

Are we going to stop participating in the endless wars as President Trump calls them because we need to draw inward? Bring our troops home to deal with whatever problems are going to arise here from food shortages, to hatred, and division? Peace where there has been war for generations is a good thing. I am all for it. I think there is more going on behind the curtain than the good will of some of the leaders of the nations of the world. If we could really see behind the curtain would it cause panic in the streets all across the globe?

The events unfolding all across the globe will take us to a new point in time. A different way of life. We can't go back, it's impossible. I'm not sure where we are going or how bumpy the ride will be before we arrive at our new 'home'. What I do know is that things are changing. As for Frank and I, we will continue to prepare. Some things can't be fixed. Some cancers can't be cured. Sometimes things die. 

Your thoughts, wishes, desires and insight would be appreciated. If need be, we'll see you on the other side. Until that time, keep your powder dry and watch your back. And never, ever get on the bus.

Until next time - Fern

Reality or Delusion?

We have to ask ourselves, is all of this prepping, survivalist, collapse mantra just another hoax? Is it just another relatively new economic opportunity for a section of entrepreneurs? Have we drank the "prepper" Koolaid?

There is no doubt the world is in a state of change, and in some instances conflict. Just to name a few.

• Global warming vs. Grand Solar Minimum
• Open borders vs. limited to no immigration
• Socialism/communism vs. Nationalism/patriotism
• New Green Deal vs. traditional ways
• Democrats vs. Republicans
• Congress vs. the President

And the list goes on and on and on, ad nauseam. The question is: What is really going on? What is true? What is hyperbole? What is a con game? What is really behind the curtain?

There is one thing that is obvious. Our government is at war with itself. Or is it? Is it all just a great show to distract us from something far more sinister? Are we truly to the point where we can no longer tolerate each other? There are more and more people saying the unmentionable words - Civil War.

It appears that the curtain has been pulled back to reveal the "business as usual" activities of many factions of our government. Some are shocked, some deny the 

many allegations that continue to pop up like summer thunderstorms on a daily basis, and some obviously don't care, because what has been revealed is business as usual and has been going on for a very long time. So, what's the big deal? Just because we, the public, didn't realize how our government has been, and is being run, does that all of a sudden make it wrong? Why? Because some label it corrupt? Because I label it corrupt and have lost my last vestige of faith in the integrity, honesty and good will of our government? Because I now think I see the day to day machinations of our government for what they really are? What difference does that make?

Our lights are still on. Water still comes out of the tap when I turn it on. The shelves in the store are still filled with items that are available day or night. This internet is still up and running providing me instant resources from any research I care to conduct, all at the tap of a key or the touch of a button. What's not to like about this life of ease and luxury that we live? This is reality. These things do exist and I take advantage of them everyday. So what difference does it matter how corrupt they are or much money they print to cover our bills?

Many have said for years, this is just another shift, a downturn, a momentary glitch in the system. Things have worked out before, they will this time also. We've all heard this many, many times. And you know what? So far, they are right and we are wrong. What does that tell us? 

In my bones, I have no doubt that one day our civilization will change - drastically. How? I cannot tell. I do know that more and more people are voicing their resentment against those that are intolerant. Now both 'sides' are indicating that the 'other side' is intolerant. There are now comments of irreconcilable differences between various factions in the country. Does that mean civil war? Does that mean secession of some states or portions of states or cities or what? Does that mean all out anarchy, every man for himself, violence and death in the streets all across our country? I do not know the answers to these questions, and I don't think anyone else does either. We all have our opinions and theories, but that leads me back to reality or delusion.

We can state that our opinions, actions, statements are based on facts, but are they? Look at the current whistleblower fiasco. First the facts indicated this, then they indicated that, then one side said no, it's this, and the other side said no, it's that. What are the facts? From my chair, there is no way to tell what the actual facts are. You can word things in such a way that two sides are saying the same thing, the exact same words, but the context gives each statement entirely different meanings. 

If the corruption in our government, in our country has been going on for decades, just business as usual, what is the problem? If you have been cutting the tail off a turkey before you cook it, just like grandma did, is that wrong? Even if you find out later that the only reason she cut it off was to get it to fit into the pan she had? Is change required? Is it necessary? Yes, I know everything changes, seasons, physical abilities, opinions. Just because our government is corrupt, does it have to change? No. Now that I see, hear and read information detailing what appears to be massive corruption, do I want it to change? Yes. But wanting doesn't make it so and hope is a very poor strategy.

It is difficult to lose all faith in my government. I have come to the point that I realize that I now love my country as my homeland, the place of my birth and life, but I loathe my government for the bloated, behemoth, oozing corruption and sucking the life blood from the fabric of our society. 

Do I think we have massive unrest possibly leading to anarchy, mayhem and a break up of our country? Yes. I actually can't see anyway around it. Look at Washington, D.C. Look at the war currently taking place in the halls of Congress, in the White House and in many state and local houses of government. What do you see? People coming together as communities to take care of those they have been elected to serve and protect? Look at the homeless crisis that grows everyday. 

There are still good people. People that stop and help each other. You just don't hear about them because they are not the ones out there in front of the camera, and some of those people are even in Washington D.C. They are the quiet, hard working folks that make the country tick. But the sound of that ticking has been dimmed by the rancorous anger and hatred being spewed across the airwaves and internet. One day, I pray that quiet majority doesn't reach the end of the line and that ticking counts down to an explosion. An explosion that has built up over many, many years and has a massive amount of energy behind it. I heard someone say recently that a human being can only take so much. I hope this part of my vision is the delusion and not the reality of our future.

Until next time - Fern