Wet and rainy here all day too. Decided to finally change the filters in my under-the-counter water filtering system. Four-way filters and then the water still goes into a Brita filter before drinking or cooking with it. The neighbors all go shopping for bottled water for their drinking needs...I thought the filter was a better way. Cheaper too.
This weeks preps check-in
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It is cheaper. We have a family sized Berkey in the kitchen, and also R/O spicket at the sink.
Painting fence today
Painting fence today
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Cold and windy here. Working on the wood shed, splitting firewood and need to change the oil and filters in the tractor and my truck. Could snow this weekend.
I have two berkeys and the charcoal filter in the fridge. Even with a clear deep well we don’t drink anything that’s not filtered. The gravity feed ceramic filters are my favorite. No moving parts and they last forever.
I thought I finished 2022 garden up. It’s deer proof, but then I started thinking what about raccoon proof......
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But from what I’ve heard raccoons are good eating! At least to the clampets on the Beverly hillbillies… or maybe that was possums. Either way, meat and potatoes!
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Raccoon is good eating but you have to cook it right or it's tough like squirrel. It tastes better than squirrel to me. But the coons I ate lived off mostly corn. Fish eating coons might be different. Country fried, raccoon has to simmer in the gravy a while.
They were consider a delicacy for thanksgiving when I worked in the hood. Sold a bunch of carcasses for a friend that trapped.
But if you have ever skinned out a coon, I would put it on the survival list.
I’m definitely not above eating raccoon or possum. Right now I prefer beef from the grocery, but you can bet I would start hunting in a heartbeat if meat became scarce.
I do recommend to all to learn to catch, skin and cook wild game. Hopefully it’s a skill you would never need, but it just might help you out in the future. It’s a lot like gardening. It takes some practice to get good at it. Now is a much better time to learn than when you need it to survive. I watched some Utube videos to learn how to clean my first rabbits and chickens. I posted a thread here with some pictures a while back. I have never cleaned a deer but imagine it’s similar, just a lot heavier.
I do recommend to all to learn to catch, skin and cook wild game. Hopefully it’s a skill you would never need, but it just might help you out in the future. It’s a lot like gardening. It takes some practice to get good at it. Now is a much better time to learn than when you need it to survive. I watched some Utube videos to learn how to clean my first rabbits and chickens. I posted a thread here with some pictures a while back. I have never cleaned a deer but imagine it’s similar, just a lot heavier.
Put the new sheet metal roof on the garage today between the spouts of rain. The wooden roof with some plastic nailed down just was not working any more and the sheet metal has been laying around for almost a month...it was time to finish it...
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Filled up a cart at Aldi today, mostly for storage. Picked sage to dry, and mint seed heads for spring
Started gathering pecans this morning and making sugar
Increased stored food supply, but better yet, the wife and I started dramatically reducing any and all debt. If we stick wtih our plan, we'll be debt free in less than a year. That means no car payments, mortgage...none of it. The only things we'll be paying for then are insurance and taxes... That will also free up a lot of funding for additional preps....and the occasional vacation get away.
Advice from Wendy Rogers in Arizona.
“Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) Tweeted:
Buy more ammo and read more Jesus.
“Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) Tweeted:
Buy more ammo and read more Jesus.
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Hunny and I ran thru Meat Market while at the store just to check out the prices of beef. I have to admit it was STICKER SHOCK! We haven't had to buy beef for years now and the cost per pound is just outrageous right now! I saw the good steaks. . . a package of 3 ribeye steaks thick cut for $50-$65 a package!! Sorry, dont remember the poundage price.
For small wild game, like squirrel or raccoon, I find slow cooking after a quick browning, in a gravy to be the best. For deer cleaning, we bring back to the house and hang them on a cross beam hunny hung over the back yard gate to gut. Basically the same process but on a bigger scale.
Yeah, small game may be the only meat many people can afford before too long. I pity the wildlife populations as things deteriorate. I’ve read that there is nothing left to hunt in Venezuela now
It amazes me how few preppers consider eliminating debt as a major part of prepping. Once you do that it frees you up to persue so much more and reduces stress for the rest of your life.
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Absolutely. We did that a few years back, and now we are retired. Car/Trucks paid for in cash, no mortgage. We just pay insurance and taxes.
Taxes. Ugh.
Taxes. Ugh.
As I can gain freezer space, I am going to Costco Business center and buying the ’Roasts“ at 4-5.99 a lb. It might cost me an $100, but I will have steaks worth 3 times that At current ridiculous retail.
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I recently went up to the feed store to buy more bulk seeds and as I have said before in Chat, they didn't have a whole lot to chose from, but I did get some of what I was looking for. I just wanted to do the top off from what I had previously bought this year. I have gone 3 times this year. I ended up putting everything in individual vacuum sealed bags for the freezer. Seeds are getting hard to come by from what the girl behind the counter told me. Get them while you can!! I phoned my neighbor to inform him. He is going Monday when they open back up. Being able to grow your own may just be a life saver. . .
I would also suggest to stock up on your food pantry and essential items as much as you can. I topped us off a couple months ago trying to get us ready for whatever may be coming.
I would also suggest to stock up on your food pantry and essential items as much as you can. I topped us off a couple months ago trying to get us ready for whatever may be coming.
I can’t agree more with getting prepared for hard times and stocking up on all the things you commonly use. I’ve got the normal food pantry well stocked with things that last 2 hrs or so. Also have long term foods covered, most of which will still be good long after I’m gone. Freezers are full as well. Most preppers cover these things in just a few years of prepping. After all, food is one of the most important things. Water sources and filtration is the only thing more important. But think of what you need aside from the food and security things. (Security being the third most important thing to most preppers). I bought a stack of cheap blue jeans, t shirts, socks, shoes and underwear too. I stocked the medical and hygiene bins with everything I could think of, bought loads of extra hand tools of all sorts, etc. Everyone has unique needs depending on their situation, location, budget, etc. so give some serious thought to what you could need if the stores either stopped having many of these things or they got priced out of your range. Many never thought we could see shortages like we have in the last couple years already, but I believe we will see it much worse down the road.
My sister just turned 65 and her property taxes dropped to a quarter of what they were. It wasn’t automatic, she had to file a form at the local office, but glad she had heard about it. I’m sure each state has different rules for such things but hopefully it can help some others here. She went from almost 5 grand a year to around one. Huge savings for them. I live in a much more modest home but even my taxes are high. Everything you can save is always better than having to earn more to cover it.
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Well @Brent, those hard times are coming up fast now with the inflation we are seeing in this country now. If you aren't prepared now, I will say you may be hurting in the very near future, depending on your situation. Right now, I have a full time job, but that is not guaranteed tomorrow, at least at my current job.
Went to start the car this morning and it was firing on three cylinders. Found a rodent or squirrel nest under the hood. So, after sourcing three new injector wiring harnesses and splicing multiple other wires back together I got it running well enough to drive to the dealership. There were piece of a vacuum hose but I couldn’t find where it came from. Of course some of the splicing was in the worst possible location to access. Although there’s not a lot of free open spaces in any of the newer cars anymore. The point here with prepping is even if you don’t care to learn how to be a mechanic, being able to at least fix things to get it to the shop at least saves a tow bill, and possibly gets you out of being stranded somewhere. I also got 40$ worth of rat poisons while out getting the parts…..
I’m retired now and in decent shape. I feel for the young people just starting out in life with kids to feed. Honestly I’ve always known we are rich in this country, even the poor people. At least compared to the rest of the world. Most of the materialistic crap people want won’t hurt if they have to do without. 57 years has taught me that food, water and shelter are all you really need. Everything else is just window dressing.
This week I've...
Topped up first aid and personal hygiene supplies
Did a food stocktake and topped up a few things
A friend gave me a baton to replace my length of rebar
With all the warnings about shortages I'm wondering what I should be stocking up on. We're being told to prepare but not which areas/items. Any suggestions?
Topped up first aid and personal hygiene supplies
Did a food stocktake and topped up a few things
A friend gave me a baton to replace my length of rebar
With all the warnings about shortages I'm wondering what I should be stocking up on. We're being told to prepare but not which areas/items. Any suggestions?
make sure you get a copy of your latest optical prescription >> important for a few reasons
uber cheap internet ordering of "back-up" pairs of glasses isn't the worst idea - probably wouldn't go that route for your everyday wear - but spreading around pairs in your various caches can be a lifesaver - literally ...
in a servere SHTF situation you might be able to get lenses ground - while an optometrist with his equipment might be almost impossible >> plenty of former "Lenscrafter" employees floating around ...
then there's the used glasses option >> collecting eyewear while you're scrounging OTC and prescription meds go hand-in-hand - worry about the prescription later
I put a 180 watt solar panel on my old shed, to a 20 amp mppt.charge controller and my trolling motor battery. From here I can charge my power tools and computer and power 12 volt lights and learn what else I can do, not just read about it.
