Comments on: Something’s Changed

By: Lynne

Lynne — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 01:12:03 +0000

I found a site from the UN (please don’t let that scare you they do employ a lot of good researchers). Let’s not reinvent the wheel, but great data none the less. restarting Apprenticeships and all kinds of info on what would rebuild the world economy. Great stuff for setting up real world/practical stuff we need. As much as I hate the UN they have gathered a lot of real world solutions data. I just wish they’d implement them. Well heck and other bad words. They won’t implement the studies I will, moving onward and upwards until the Feds try and shut me down.
The feds think I can’t trade and by barter only? Hell they couldn’t shut down alcohol in the “Prohibition era. They can’t shut down drugs or illegal immigrants. Lets see how successful they are shutting down the internet? Gardens, Hah, lets see you enforce “Commerce clause” then. I do understand that the “Tea par-tiers are seen as a threat to your government. But it’s not your government it’s ours. It belongs to WE THE PEOPLE. You rule because we let you, not cause you are so smart or better than us. It can change in a heartbeat, We gave you shot Obama and you failed. You have sown the wind, Now you will reap the whirlwind.

By: Oldmanriver

Oldmanriver — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:50:56 +0000

Jatropha is planted extensively in tropical climates for biofuels. Not sure how well it would grow in a temperate climate. Might be able to grow it in Texas or florida. I dont know anything about its yield potential for biodiesel.

By: VJ

VJ — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:23:16 +0000

Ran across this interesting link at SurvivalBlog.com. It is for a plant that is supposed to be superior for bio diesel.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Jatropha-Curcas-seeds-1200-grams-approx-2100-seeds-/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230493866527

I’ve never heard of the Jatropha plant before but if the claims are for real it sounds like a potentially valuable long term survival item. Thought you all might be interested.

“The ONLY difference between a Patriot and a traitor is who wins the war and writes the history.”

By: Lynne

Lynne — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 03:33:20 +0000

I won’t tell you what to store as food, or doing crritters or what to grow in your garden. Unlike many in the “Nanny State”. Grow and build what you want to eat. I may tell you about some basic buys to get. But it’s your family, you know what you like to eat. Plus what is important to you. I know what works for me and hopefully you get ideas that work for you. There is no right answer on prep though there are some basics you can start with and build on.
Just to run a few basic scenarios. A dirty bomb set off within 5 miles of your house. Or no grocery deliverys to your store for 6 days. no water or sewage service for 6 days. Then no power to your house for 6 days.
Could you survive after turning off the main power breaker to your house? No heat, no air conditioning. No stove or freezer, heat or air conditioning. No oven and fridge and freezer is defrosting.
What about water do you have enough for 90 days? If you don’t have you decided who will die? and not get water? You may have to make that choice. I don’t want to that’s why I store water.
What will you do when folks camp on your front lawn? Assume the worst and hope for the best; and little extra security never hurts.

By: Lynne

Lynne — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 02:13:37 +0000

I think we all hope we are wrong that an “Economic” or some other types collapse can come in the future. At least I hope the powers that be will wake up. Maybe they will but I’m still prepared for a bad snow storm, a tornado, an earthquake or a volcanic eruption. Governments can be stupid, Mother nature can be a bitch. I’ll be prepared in any case. Plus I save so much money cause I have enough to get by until sales happen. I try never to pay full price and use coupons or stalk those “Loss Leaders” in grocery stores.
Prepping does not need an economic collapse to make sense. Unemployment, a big bill for medical or a transmission or an engine needs replaced on a car. Hey you don’t need to shop for 2-6 months of groceries.
Think about what you spend on all groceries. Not just food but toothpaste, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies and meds. Not food but you need those items to keep a household going.
Now think about those items bought on sale and maybe with a few coupons. You will need detergent and toilet paper! Now lets build a stock of basics. So you can hit sales only to rebuild stocks. Plus you have trade/barter goods.
Do you have a 6 month supply of toliet paper? Could you survive at least 3 months on stored food and water? 1 pound of rice or beans has 10 servings. How many pounds have you stored? Do you have meds? An alternate way of heat or cooking? Could you take a spit bath? Can you stay clean? Water filtered or stored for 3 months? Are you ready?
Books, puzzle and games? No TV or power, time to work on card games maybe dice games to entertain yourselves. I love books amd can be entertained by them, but if you or your kids need movies or TV programs. Get a laptop and a solar charger. Make prep work for you. I’m happy with a book or card games. You maybe happy with PC’s and TV. Plan for it and make it happen. I’m always learning stuff and trying stuff out.

Let’s say for giggles all stores only take cash? You are allowed 1 ATM transaction. Just a little test for you to try for a week. You must pay cash on all your purchases. If you have precious metals on hand you may withdraw up to 5 oz. of it worth to buy what you need on this test. Now my 5 oz of silver is worth around $100.00 USD 5 oz of gold is worth around $6000.00. Think about how you would spend real money that has value and not based in “faith”.

By: C Harriger

C Harriger — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:57:04 +0000

Something’s Changed but it changed out of our line of sight. We will gradually see the results over a period of time running through this summer and especially into the fall and winter months. If anyone thinks they have a year or two to prepare they better do some more research very soon. For the remainder of this year at least have food and water laid back. For 2011 and 2012 ‘move’away from populated areas and especially the Gulf area. I am old enough to not just remember a different life but also hear it and smell it. The generation i helped create is now insulated from that life and can only read about it. That is what makes it so hard to convince people of the coming difficulties. My children only know comfort and plenty and there are days when old Pop looks pretty crazy. I hope i am wrong but i doubt it. Linda is in a good spot and gives good advice. Listen to her.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:56:20 +0000

Sorry I also kind of missed your point above. There is a lot of spring flooding in my area so I get sand bags cheap. Other folks prefer mislabeled plastic bags. Things to keep in mind: A little barbed wire fencing in between will help stabilize. Almost all the bags will break down in UV so coating with something is a must (I find mud to be plentiful). Walls must be perfectly plumb. It’s labor intensive, but really is solid when done.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:11:32 +0000

Linda,
The best info I can give you on earth bags is this site here: http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/earthbag.htm
He also has great articles on other ways of building with earth. If you recall the story Lights Out the community had problems with new structures for folks that had moved in. Well since dirt is pretty abundant in most areas it would make an excellent way to house folks. Also after looking at some of the traditional methods it’s amazing how structurally sound they are.
We make our vanilla with vodka and beans we buy off ebay. Mexican vanilla is excellent, but a little off the beaten path for me. Whereas the beans are cheap to buy and ship.

By: Linda Brady Traynham

Linda Brady Traynham — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:12:39 +0000

Kevin! What a GREAT post. How about a three-sentence course in bags (make? buy? Use empty dogfood bags? Fill heavy black plastic at the site you want them? How thick does the dirt barrier have to be?) I suppose you’re talking about growing your own herbs, a long-time passion of mine? If you’re anywhere close to Mexico pick up several bottles of La Vencedora. The real stuff (comes from orchids) grows there and even a liter is very cheap; little is as lovely as real, first-class vanilla. So long as the goats don’t eat them a sage bush will grow year around and a lot of things will grow indoors under lights. There are recipes available for making liqueurs. We all need to learn more about medicinal herbs. VINEGAR is another thing that should be stocked heavily, including apple cider (many, many uses) and balsalmic (the prince of vinegars.) Growing our own onions, garlic, and shallots, starting now…horseradish is easy to grow (confine it in a bucket or it will take over the world), although I have never had any luck with ginger root. I’ve copied the site to check later, thanks.

By: Linda Brady Traynham

Linda Brady Traynham — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 03:56:44 +0000

PPD: If you can’t find a case of Mason jars for closer to half an ounce of silver you’re shopping in the wrong place. I always wonder how serious the injunction ALWAYS to use a new lid is. Seems to me the worst that could happen would be that it didn’t seal tight, and that’s easy to check. Still…I tend to buy more lids than jars.

Nice thing to know about trimming goat hooves, which terrified all of us for a year: if you cut a little too deeply by accident and get a smear of blood you will feel like a monster for about half a second, by which time you will realize the goat didn’t even feel it. I had to watch it done three times, and I think the final teacher got that drop on purpose just to show me that it’s like the first time the baby rolls off the bed. You don’t want it to happen if you can help it, but you’ll both live through it. The thing to remember is WHY you have to trim hooves, and it is not just because the goat starts to walk funny. The outer edge of the hoof grows and curls under the bottom. I’m sure you, Chris, already know that there is a channel down the middle of the hoof and that you pick out any dirt that is in there. Hang on, ’cause this is gross but important: if you don’t do this little bit of routine maintenance it is POSSIBLE (not commonplace, but it does happen) for the goat to get an infection up in there, leading to necrotic flesh, leading to a hoof full of maggots. I’ve never seen it (Thenk You, Lord.) but I can imagine what a monster I would feel like. If the tidbit’s giving you any trouble at all, put her on her milking stand. A goat you don’t handle much (like a male) will scream bloody murder, but you aren’t hurting him; he’s outraged because he has been captured and confined. As an alternative, two adults do it. Put the goat on its back, and one of you hold it down. (This could be exciting, depending upon the size of the goat. They’re STRONG.) Finally, for a neater looking foot clip just a bit off the front edges to square the toes up. And…while I haven’t tried it…the girls would probably get a real kick out of painting the hooves with a little flower or two at least once.

Restating basics is good for all of us, because what can be “obvious” to some is an eye-popper to another. Michael Rough gave me a great idea about a compressor meant to fill SCUBA tanks, last night. Then you have a source of compressed air to run tools away from your shop. I go on about goats all the time because if you could have just one thing bigger than chickens a milk goat will be the most valuable. The does are grand companions–PPD, would you mind sending the photo I have to Michael to stick up? I don’t know who looks happiest, the tiny blond cuddling the little goat girl or the doeling because she’s got girls to love her. Very small goats can be a bit rambunctious, but by about five months they probably won’t jump in your lap any more! At least cuddling and preferably bottle-feeding is how you end up with goats who think you’re Mom and Dad and get up on the stand nicely to be milked. A goat who has been raised without hands-on CAN be caught and milked, but it is a real wrestling match. They’re fast and have to be tackled. No, they don’t bite, and they only have teeth on the bottom, but catching a goat even in a small pen requires perseverance.

Just for fun, everybody go to http://www.fiascofarms.com. The lady who writes there is interesting and funny, and there is all sorts of useful information, beginning with instructions on how to milk a goat. You don’t pull! Trap and squeeze. As they say, though, “This isn’t rocket science, just milk the dam’ goat!” First I learned how to get the milk out of the goat and then I learned how to get it in the bucket. The goat thought I was crazy but she was very good natured while I squirted her, myself, the ground, the stand…You may never own a goat, but if the worst happens a dairy goat will be a reliable source of milk 300 days out of each year.