This weeks preps check-in

[Mountain trapper]

I’m working a lot lately. That’s good for putting money away but not so good for having time to work on projects around here. At least it keeps me out of trouble!

Since I "retired" I've been working far harder than ever before. The difference is, I enjoy what I'm doing now.

 

[Dani]

I’m working a lot lately. That’s good for putting money away but not so good for having time to work on projects around here. At least it keeps me out of trouble!

I know exactly how you feel. . . I had to stop by my bank on the way home from work and paid our house note. It was nice to see the balance but honestly there are so many projects at home that I still need to finish up like planting the last couple rows in the garden, only have 1/2 my garden mulched, finish a quilt then start another for granddaughter 4 that is already halfway here. . .

 

[JackDW]

My youngest daughter and my (future) son-in-law are big into camping and are putting together their own place. Her priority was a field and barn first (for her Horses) and then a place for them to live.

One item on their wish list was a generator for camping and emergency. Wifey came across a smoking deal on a CAT generator which we purchased for them. We delivered it last Thursday. On Saturday, a Tornado developed in the area. My daughter was rushing kids (riding students) and horse under cover and saw the funnel cloud touch down. It ripped out a lot of her fencing and took down several very large trees. No one was hurt and her building were not damaged. (The stables next door was not so lucky as both their barn and house received damage).

Of course, power was out. But, I had just given them a generator a couple days before. Generator was extremely useful and helped them through the event.

You never know when something will pop-up that you need to prepare for. In this case, only two days after getting better prepared, it paid off.

 

[Celeree]

The electric peeps finally deemed us worthy enough to put up our electric poles, 3 of them. We just gotta connect it to the house, about 50 feet, and we will have juice. Lucked out, my niece's husband works for the electric people and is willing to help us trench the wire and hook us up, saving us some dough. Once that happens things will progress quickly and we can get moved.

Had another bout of renting equipment for the road. Electric people's truck got stuck, requiring a tractor to pull it out. Luckily we knew someone. But the huge trucks and tractor took a bit of toll on our road. Didn't help Oklahoma got a crap ton of storms that night and totally messed up our single lane road leading to our house. Thank goodness hubby's boss is a good sport and let him take the day off to fix it. Going to go pack it down better after dinner tonight.

Got a few things planted in big tubs out there, as well. A few tomato, peppers, and jalapeno plants. The spot we have picked out to extend the garden area at the moment is covered with a huge pile of down trees from the clearing of the place. They'll make a big pile of cut logs soon.

Hubby said, in good spirits, to get used to this kind of stuff, it comes with country living. haha

Oh yeah, on another side note, finally got the hubby to consider a composting toilet. Why? Well, funds ran out to dig our septic and with imminent moving soon, says we can give it a go 'while we save up for a septic'. It is my hope he realizes that it's actually beneficial. A grey water septic that will be needed will be way easier on us to get done quickly.

I'm just so darn excited and antsy to get out there. Can y'all tell?

 

[KateMTx]

The electric peeps finally deemed us worthy enough to put up our electric poles, 3 of them. We just gotta connect it to the house, about 50 feet, and we will have juice. Lucked out, my niece's husband works for the electric people and is willing to help us trench the wire and hook us up, saving us some dough. Once that happens things will progress quickly and we can get moved.

Had another bout of renting equipment for the road. Electric people's truck got stuck, requiring a tractor to pull it out. Luckily we knew someone. But the huge trucks and tractor took a bit of toll on our road. Didn't help Oklahoma got a crap ton of storms that night and totally messed up our single lane road leading to our house. Thank goodness hubby's boss is a good sport and let him take the day off to fix it. Going to go pack it down better after dinner tonight.

Got a few things planted in big tubs out there, as well. A few tomato, peppers, and jalapeno plants. The spot we have picked out to extend the garden area at the moment is covered with a huge pile of down trees from the clearing of the place. They'll make a big pile of cut logs soon.

Hubby said, in good spirits, to get used to this kind of stuff, it comes with country living. haha

Oh yeah, on another side note, finally got the hubby to consider a composting toilet. Why? Well, funds ran out to dig our septic and with imminent moving soon, says we can give it a go 'while we save up for a septic'. It is my hope he realizes that it's actually beneficial. A grey water septic that will be needed will be way easier on us to get done quickly.

I'm just so darn excited and antsy to get out there. Can y'all tell?

Let us know how the composting toilet goes. I have heard good and bad things. I don't have any imminent plans of building anything or even being in a position where I could put one to use, but I like to get ideas for my distant future plans.

 

[Petoski]

Let us know how the composting toilet goes. I have heard good and bad things. I don't have any imminent plans of building anything or even being in a position where I could put one to use, but I like to get ideas for my distant future plans.

I built my own composting toilet last year for inside the house and it has worked very well. Good old fashioned 20L bucket for the poop and a 10L container for the piss. Under the toilet seat is a funnel that diverts the piss to the container and a rear hole to the poop bucket. We cover the poop with hemp fibre and masks any bad smells. Empty into the compost bins we use for the flowers about once a week and empty the piss container every 3 or 4 days. I found using vinegar as a cleaning solution works best. I guess it depend on the person but I don't have a problem cleaning out the bucket. It saves water, uses no electric and provides me with free compost. Mostly it just gets used in the winter as we have a nice outhouse in the garden with a view of the river which we prefer to use and that only needs emptying before winter.

 

[Celeree]

I built my own composting toilet last year for inside the house and it has worked very well. Good old fashioned 20L bucket for the poop and a 10L container for the piss. Under the toilet seat is a funnel that diverts the piss to the container and a rear hole to the poop bucket. We cover the poop with hemp fibre and masks any bad smells. Empty into the compost bins we use for the flowers about once a week and empty the piss container every 3 or 4 days. I found using vinegar as a cleaning solution works best. I guess it depend on the person but I don't have a problem cleaning out the bucket. It saves water, uses no electric and provides me with free compost. Mostly it just gets used in the winter as we have a nice outhouse in the garden with a view of the river which we prefer to use and that only needs emptying before winter.

Good to know! The hubby is probably going to build himself an outhouse as well, he likes him private time, it's cute. We don't have any saw mills around to get sawdust, so I've scouted around and found some horse bedding to use for cover material at the local Tractor Supply that we will try out first. You're right, less wasted water and no electricity needed. Sounds prepper to me, and I hope that he realizes it's just no big deal. We will be building a few compost bins for dumping them. Making them out of unwanted pallets we can get free. Have the Humanure Handbook and going from that.

To make it more palatable I'm going to be making the enclosing wood box myself, pretty it up a bit, so there's not a "bucket" in view.

 

[DrPrepper1]

I am still here and financially prepping still
So it’s not really exciting to report, but it’s all I have. I did meet one likeminded (in regards to prepping) individual where I work. It was refreshing.

 

[Petoski]

I thought i'd better post a photo of the finished composting toilet so you don't all think i only have a bucket. The bucket is hidden and there is one compartment for the hemp fibre and one for cleaning products.

 

[Petoski]

That didn't work. Why can't i attach photos?

 

[Dani]

That didn't work. Why can't i attach photos?

That has happened to me more than a time of two. . . Some days I can, some days are a no.

 

[Brent S]

That didn't work. Why can't i attach photos?

Neither my iPad or my new iPhone will download pictures anymore. I just gave up trying... the new phone is too much info on the image, and I don’t get an option to reduce the image, but the iPad is the same one that worked well for a long time. I freely admit I’m not an IT person....

 

[Brent S]

I got a deal on a bag of peace silver dollars today. It was more than I wanted to spend but was worth it. My take on silver is it has been low for a few years now and has a better chance of going up than gold, which is still pretty high. You can get silver ingots and rounds for less premium over the silver content, but I figure the silver dollar is kind of a universally recognizable form of money that should be easily bartered with if we do have an economic collapse. Either way, as an investment it may go up, or in a total collapse it could still be used hopefully.

 

[DrHenley]

I got a deal on a bag of peace silver dollars today...

Yep, the Peace Dollars are a bargain. I have a bunch of them in the safe.

 

[DrPrepper1]

I am still saving. I have saved a little more than twice the amount I started with.

We got an additional exterior security camera for our house.

I am also trying to teach my ( extremely sheltered) 10 year old grandson about crime and safety.
He frequently answers the door because he thinks he knows who it is. Many times, it isn't who he thinks it is. The other day I was over at this house babysitting. I was in the kitchen (it's a small home about 1500 square feet) and I was getting something out of the crock pot. It is direct shot from the kitchen to the front door. I heard him tell me that some man was there to talk to me about the house. I never heard a knock on the door. The front door has frosted glass on it, and I think he saw the guy and just opened the door.

It was some pushy pest control salesman. I told him that I didn't live there or know anything. The guy kept pushing. He had no name badge or solicitor license visible.

I had one hand on the door, but I also had the baby on my hip to keep her from running out the front door.

The guy then has the never to ask me for a bottle of water. I said no, and shut the door.

I asked my grandson why he thought he might ask me for a bottle of water. He said, "Because he was thirsty." I told him maybe, but it could also be that he wanted me to turn my back so that he could come in the house. I asked him,"What do you think he would do if he came in the house?' He replied, " Attack us." I also asked him "Once he came in the house, do you think your neighbors would hear any of our screams?' He said no.

 

[KateMTx]

I am still saving. I have saved a little more than twice the amount I started with.

We got an additional exterior security camera for our house.

I am also trying to teach my ( extremely sheltered) 10 year old grandson about crime and safety.
He frequently answers the door because he thinks he knows who it is. Many times, it isn't who he thinks it is. The other day I was over at this house babysitting. I was in the kitchen (it's a small home about 1500 square feet) and I was getting something out of the crock pot. It is direct shot from the kitchen to the front door. I heard him tell me that some man was there to talk to me about the house. I never heard a knock on the door. The front door has frosted glass on it, and I think he saw the guy and just opened the door.

It was some pushy pest control salesman. I told him that I didn't live there or know anything. The guy kept pushing. He had no name badge or solicitor license visible.

I had one hand on the door, but I also had the baby on my hip to keep her from running out the front door.

The guy then has the never to ask me for a bottle of water. I said no, and shut the door.

I asked my grandson why he thought he might ask me for a bottle of water. He said, "Because he was thirsty." I told him maybe, but it could also be that he wanted me to turn my back so that he could come in the house. I asked him,"What do you think he would do if he came in the house?' He replied, " Attack us." I also asked him "Once he came in the house, do you think your neighbors would hear any of our screams?' He said no.

I have a bad habit of answering the door without knowing who it is. My excuse is that most peep-holes are too high for me to actually look through. So this is probably how I will die.

 

[Brent S]

And my son thinks I’m paranoid for carrying a ccw. I figure if I never need it great, but if I ever do , at least it’s there.
All I know for sure is most of the time you never know when someone will either try to hurt you or steal your stuff. I’m not a fan of either scenario.

 

[Mountain trapper]

In the last 3 years I've had one person come to my door. And it was a lost hunter. It was late at night and he almost got shot.

 

[Brent S]

In the last 3 years I've had one person come to my door. And it was a lost hunter. It was late at night and he almost got shot.

That reminds me of a show I saw on Alaska. They said it’s rare to lock up a cabin in the remote areas so that lost hunters could use it as shelter. I guess if it was locked they would just break in anyways. I would be glad to help an honest person out of a tight spot, but agree that if someone shows up, armed, at my door I’m not sure I would give them the benefit of the doubt during tough times.

 

[KateMTx]

In the last 3 years I've had one person come to my door. And it was a lost hunter. It was late at night and he almost got shot.

I don't answer the door in the middle of the night. If I did I would want to be ready to do the same thing.

 

[tmttactical]

As I understand it (slightly before my time), in the old days of the west, it was considered a very good idea to hail the camp BEFORE riding in. A yelled "Hello in the camp" was a good way to avoid being shot. During difficult times it would also be very wise to hail a house before approaching. Hello in the house could prevent lead poisoning.

 

[Brent S]

I don't answer the door in the middle of the night. If I did I would want to be ready to do the same thing.

As a young lady, and especially if you live alone, I think that’s wise. One thing to consider too is most doors are not very strong. Breaking through a locked door dosent take much effort, breaking through a window even less. I strongly believe in having a firearm handy to ensure your odds of being able to protect yourself are increased.

 

[KateMTx]

I have been using my prepping skills to get ready for my road trip. My siblings are coming to Texas and we are leaving on Friday. I'm the "details" person (AKA control freak) and the older of my brothers who's going is the "start driving and see what happens, hope you don't run out of gas or food" type, so this will be interesting. Fortunately we won't be in the same car, at least most of the time.

 

[Mountain trapper]

The last couple of weeks have had some ups and downs. On mother's day I noticed that one of our heifers was having problems having her calf. I figured that I'd have to pull it. The wife and I managed to get her into the corral. By that time the calfs nose and one foot were showing and I could tell the calf was dead. I reached in and tied a strap around the calfs leg and hooked the other end to the winch of my 4 wheeler. Finially got the calf out.
A couple days later a neighboring rancher gave me an orphan calf. At first the cow didn't want anything to do with the orphan, so I sewed the hide from the dead calf on to the orphan and locked them both in a stall in the barn for a couple days. The calf is nursing and they're both doing good now.
Still working on completing repairs on the perimeter fence, building the new working corral and finishing up on some new fencing. Last week I picked up a trailer load of posts, barb wire, several tube gates, new squeeze chute, lumber, auto gate opener and various tools and hardware.
A couple days ago I got word from the state that they approved our new brand request. Now I need to find a blacksmith to make our brand. Currently all of our new calves are unbranded. Once the corral is finished I'll run all the cattle through and put our brand on the calves.
We've had some rain, and even a little snow the last week or so.
The house is painted inside and out now and the flooring should be delivered any day. Need to start installing the light fixtures and celling fans next.

 

[Brent S]

I have been using my prepping skills to get ready for my road trip. My siblings are coming to Texas and we are leaving on Friday. I'm the "details" person (AKA control freak) and the older of my brothers who's going is the "start driving and see what happens, hope you don't run out of gas or food" type, so this will be interesting. Fortunately we won't be in the same car, at least most of the time.

I wish you a fun and safe adventure! A long trip sounds great. Hell, right now I’d take a long weekend.... I love what I do, and make really good money, but having your own business requires constant attention and time away is minimal. I think I will take a three day trip from your inspiration though. Haven’t seen the builtmore house in a while. It’s the biggest and richest private home ever built in North America. Beautiful place and the most amazing greenhouse.

 

[Maverick]

And my son thinks I’m paranoid for carrying a ccw. I figure if I never need it great, but if I ever do , at least it’s there.
All I know for sure is most of the time you never know when someone will either try to hurt you or steal your stuff. I’m not a fan of either scenario.

The way I figure it, the opposite of paranoia is complacency everything in between is insanity

 

[KateMTx]

The last couple of weeks have had some ups and downs. On mother's day I noticed that one of our heifers was having problems having her calf. I figured that I'd have to pull it. The wife and I managed to get her into the corral. By that time the calfs nose and one foot were showing and I could tell the calf was dead. I reached in and tied a strap around the calfs leg and hooked the other end to the winch of my 4 wheeler. Finially got the calf out.
A couple days later a neighboring rancher gave me an orphan calf. At first the cow didn't want anything to do with the orphan, so I sewed the hide from the dead calf on to the orphan and locked them both in a stall in the barn for a couple days. The calf is nursing and they're both doing good now.
Still working on completing repairs on the perimeter fence, building the new working corral and finishing up on some new fencing. Last week I picked up a trailer load of posts, barb wire, several tube gates, new squeeze chute, lumber, auto gate opener and various tools and hardware.
A couple days ago I got word from the state that they approved our new brand request. Now I need to find a blacksmith to make our brand. Currently all of our new calves are unbranded. Once the corral is finished I'll run all the cattle through and put our brand on the calves.
We've had some rain, and even a little snow the last week or so.
The house is painted inside and out now and the flooring should be delivered any day. Need to start installing the light fixtures and celling fans next.

Glad mama cow and adopted baby are doing well.

I wish you a fun and safe adventure! A long trip sounds great. Hell, right now I’d take a long weekend.... I love what I do, and make really good money, but having your own business requires constant attention and time away is minimal. I think I will take a three day trip from your inspiration though. Haven’t seen the builtmore house in a while. It’s the biggest and richest private home ever built in North America. Beautiful place and the most amazing greenhouse.

Thanks! Hope you can take those days off; sounds like you need a vacation.

 

[Proud Prepper]

I ground up the last of the venison meat from hunting season. Filled 15 quart ziploc bags, about 45lbs. Using my reliable Cabela's 3/4hp meat grinder.

 

[DrHenley]

I only grind it right before I use it. And I trim off everything that isn't red meat. I feel like it fresher that way than freezing ground meat. And it gives me options of how to use the meat. All my venison is vacuum packed right off the deer and immediately into the freezer.

I'm still using a hand-me-down manual grinder.

 

[Brent S]

Ok, this has just about nothing to do with prepping but I started stripping the interior out of my Jeep today. I am going to clean it really well, sand, prime and rhino line the entire inside. The seats will go to an upholsterer on Tuesday. It feels really good to get started on this finally as I’ve been thinking about it for a while now.