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NEW POLICY:
Lets shift the conversations here (and sitewide) more towards Prepping & Preparedness while leaving out the political talk.
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Yes, we are embroiled in, and are facing, serious political and ideological turmoil in this nation (and elsewhere).
Yes, it absolutely affects preparedness in many ways. However I decided to designate a site specifically for those discussions, while restoring MSB to the nuts and bolts of prepping and preparedness.
Thanks for your cooperation and I hope to see you over on the new site as well…
For those raising small livestock, commodity prices are going nuts. USDA has misrepresented the harvest for the last couple of years and is revising numbers downward. Combine that with us selling (based on those fake harvest numbers) record amounts of soybeans, beef, pork, you name it, to China, livestock feed cost and availability is going to get hammered. Price for kind of chicken feed I used to buy is up almost 100% from several months ago.
Might want to take note of feed needs for the coming season and get it in now, like very soon. Also, this won’t be a short term problem. From intel gleaned on-line and folks I know in the biz, this will be years of recovery. Stocking up ahead of time will buy time to figure out alternate food sources, or how to grow what you need. In the old days, my ‘people’ had a practice of slaughtering most animals in late fall, keeping only breeding stock over winter. That may be an option, too.
If you don’t have a way to grow your own livestock, you might start thinking about that as well. Limits are being placed in some areas restricting # of chicks purchased.
Greetings Farmgirl and all,
We have been raising backyard chickens for 11 years…we do feed them New Country Organic feed (not pellets or crumbles). Anyway, when our chickens are young we always supplement with our own food. Get them to get a fond taste of these foods can help when your regular supply is low. Our chickens like: rice, pasta, scrambled eggs, small cooked bits of any cooked real meat (lamb, beef, chicken-don’t worry they wont become cannibals ;)), cooked fish leftover bits, corn, cooked peas, leafy greens, soft fruit they can peck at (not chunks, so no choking), watermelon (watch the party begin), extra raw squash or pumpkin cut open, they love it! Guess what, our chickens eat bananas!
No peel of course, but I chop it up small (make sure it is ripe and soft). They run with the banana bits like they’ve got secret treasure, funny! I have not tried cooked quinoa yet, but I wonder if they would like it. Never give dried fruit (raisins and the like) nor whole grapes, could cause choking.
They all love freeze dried meal worms, TS Co. and Rural King sell big bags. I think they taste like Fritos to them, maybe :) PS We give oyster shell to them for strong egg shells.
Chickens are so sweet and entertaining.Ours mob us when we are out.
NRA has filed bankruptcy…..just breaking last hour. Why the heck not…………
…….normally wouldn’t recommend this… but search you-tube for “old man sings ‘It’s a Good Day to Whoop somebody’s A**’ ” ….sorta sums up the events of the last couple months……..
Thats a good one Dennis. Did you check out the one next to it?
“I Don’t Look Good Naked Anymore”
That one is Great
Supposedly they “said it aims to reincorporate as a nonprofit in Texas, leaving New York”. We can hope that it plays out ok for them.
The NRA needs to leave Wayne La Pierre in NY when they move to TX.
thats a good thing
Romeo Charlie
. . . .
Right on! Won’t join the NRA until they stop treating their CEO like he’s the president or something. He makes enough $, he can pay for his own housing just like the rest of us.
AM,
He and his cronies have bled the NRA for years of money that is now desperately needed to fight the war on the 2A they have been screaming would come. I’m a Life member but haven’t sent them a penny in years and will not until WLP is gone.
The NRA was responsible for giving the left a cause. The timing of the lefts take down of the NRA wasn’t just random. The timing was purposeful. The NRA didn’t run political ads for Trump or anyone who was protecting the 2nd Amendment. This helped Biden’s campaign, it would have helped any Democrat who would have been running against him. The NRA wasn’t able to run political ads helping the Republicans in the Georgia Senate runoff. That helped Democrats. Given the number of gun owners in this country, including in Georgia yet nobody seemed to run on the 2nd Amendment as intensely as they needed to be. I hate what the NRA did, but we need to have an organization as powerful as they were on our side. So people need to donate and donate till it hurts to the NRA when they get back up and running again. Use a significant portion of Uncle Joe’s stimulus checks against him and the Democrats by donating the money to conservative causes.
Alias,
I agree but the NRA needs to clean house and getting rid of Wayne La Pierre should be their first priority. He has made them a toothless tiger.
We have a veteran acquaintance who is around 75 years old. He has lung cancer and is on oxygen. He caught Covid from his son, tested positive and quarantined for 10 days. The rest of the story is…. nothing, he was not sick at all, no cough etc. I just found this interesting, positive but never got sick. hummm?
Montana Home & Ron
Ouch. Dh & lived in Missoula years ago, and winds which you described never occurred in our time living there. It snowed just before Halloween until May, and that is what I remember. Kids trick or treating with the snow flying. lol
Antique Collectot & Minejim, Thanks 4 reply, soil is clay 4’ then small pebble dirt.
yep, have dB for muscle, taller too. Nice to know water 15 to 25 ft, love the fact private well in area, maybe like-minded soul in area, probably on opsec so I’ll never know. Thank you both for information. Db says a pressurized water pump tank, hidden, (city) prob 10k gal, bought sill cock keys just in case, have pipe wrenches as well, push comes to shove I’ll commander pool behind me, nicely of course. But that’s temp solution. Have a good weekend.
Good Morning GrGrandma, from my experience the shallow well as your describing can be useful they can also be EASILY Contaminated with leaking septic tanks-leech fields as well as lawn care chemicals like Roundup and such. Might need serious filtrations for safe use, even for your garden if folks around you have golf green “Scotts Yards” as those Roundup style chemicals kill off veggies.
Can you set up for rainwater collection and a couple of food grade IBC totes inside a garden shed or basement or such? Rainwater in your area will still need some filtering but al least chemical contamination a lot less an issue.
That old private well *might* be used for watering gardens if your area pays for city water- sewage “water” bills. Might not be drinking water quality.
3 days with out water OR drinking bad water and your almost dead. Glad your pro-active about this.
NH, live in suburb, water, sewer, elec all city. No one uses roundup around here, pool next to back fence, no other water lines in area. Collecting rain water not possible, Ca in drought. Minejim est. water table 15 to 25’. 4’ clay then pebble dirt but hard pan. We do have hard water but better than no water. Home sits on 4’ pad so no flood ins req.
was figuring to follow root line of 25’ bay leaf tree hoping to avoid roots. That’s all I can think of for source of water if SHTF happens. That’s my biggest hurdle for preps, brain is on over load. Just made orange liqueur w/100pr vodka, Jeezes, don’t inhale for 15 seconds, maybe I just consume and forget about everything else, be very happy at that point. Wake me up when it’s over!
GrGrandma you live in a California Suburb and nobody with in 1000 feet of you uses any sort of Roundup or similar Scotts yard type products to keep their lawns golf course green and free of Dandelions? Nobody uses fertilizer for that beautiful green grass and shrubbery either? Fertilizer run off is almost as bad as as sewage in your drinking water.
Please buy a test kit to check any water source for safety. Bad water can be just as bad as NO Water in 3 days of drinking.
Minejim, location Calif. capital 1/2 hr away on a good day, right in the heart of the beast. Just a little ole “gray lady”, nothing to see here.. Opsec is easy, peeps around are flatlanders, couldn’t identify posterior from hole in the ground. Really miss Redding area.
Thanks to Kulafarmer for the teriyaki spam recipe!
Spending the day dehydrating onions, peppers, etc. Going through the freezer…same ol same ol.
The hospital ward for covid is full. They’re opening another floor. Staff is worn out. Hubby and I are well.
luv ya’ll, Beach’n
Hey Beachn
i forgot to add,,,
one variation, one worth trying
i use saki instead of water
then less sugar, usually only half
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup sake
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup ginger (+\- i like ginger)
gives the yakitori type flavor
use on a NY pounded then marinated then quick grill with little cup of sauce on side for dipping
Kula,
Can’t wait to try this. I need to purchase Saki.
luv ya’ll, Beach’n
SAKE,
darn auto correct
Kula, grilling a pork loin using your teriyaki recipe today. I know, not as good as spam…but, we’ll see…
luv ya’ll, Beach’n
What I have been doing for preparedness; I’ve been working on getting more warm socks for the five of us, purchased more thermal long unders for myself and 15 year old. I started reorganizing and rotating food stocks, especially baking supplies after the month long baking frenzy of the holiday season. I need to get the oil lamps out and ready, as you never know what kind of storms this dark winter may bring. Seed order arrived in the mail this week.
Last week, we woke up one morning to our furnace not working. Blessed that hubby was able to quickly and easily fix it by cleaning a sensor. However, it was a good reminder for us to make sure we are keeping up with preventative maintenance and making sure we have extra parts readily available.
For us women who are alone, Watch your repairman when things are being fixed. This is what I did because it takes days to weeks before it can be repaired or it is unaffordable. This is how I can do much repair by myself and save money or save the house.
Some of the repairs are very simple, some may need a diagram, like in wiring. For me there was only one electrician who was too busy to come out for months so I learned how to replace a ground fault circuit breaker in the box that quit working. Also had to install a ceiling fan and dining room chandelier myself. (all wires were white with a small tape around one wire) I also had to thaw my frozen pipes under the house and wrap heat tape because my pipes froze when everyone refused to come out.
The new roof I had put on 2 years ago leaked, and the company refused to come out after the warranty of 90 days, so I sealed all the leaks that formed an ice dam that seeps through the ceiling walls freezing my doors shut. That is the trade off I have living alone and hardly any repairman to come out this far in the wilderness. In my case you have to be self sufficient.
Stardust, this is good advice for women who are alone, but also even for those who are not. My husband used to have to travel frequently for his job. One time he was in Alabama, and we had what I refer to as the Great Flood of 2017. We had abnormally heavy rains, and the motor of our sump pump burned up. I not only had to deal with a flooded basement, but I had to deal with replacing the sump pump. We now have an emergency backup. This is just one example of things I’ve had to take care of when hubby wasn’t available. All this just to say, yes! Pay attention so you can fix it yourself! It may save you time, money, and provide opsec by not having to hire someone. I’m known in my circle for being pretty handy with car repairs. I once put a new serpentine belt on a Suburban.
In the Mitten
I am glad to hear you picked that stuff up. I rarely hear of women doing repairs that men do, and it is a good thing a woman doesn’t have to be helpless. Although those skills are good to have, it was terrible to reveal them on the dating scene.
Haha! My favorite idiot date statement was (and remains) “You think too much.”
I’ve fixed a lot of stuff, but replacing the computer board on the stove this week was beyond my desires. I bought a new one.
Lauren,
I’ve heard that one, a lot. I’m a thinking sort of person, so….
I had to learn how to go it alone – no Mr. Fix it around, and no money to hire one. Watching and helping neighbors, thinking through the repair ahead of time, You tube vids, and learning from my mistakes helped me learn all sorts of things. And yeah, Stardust, some of the opposite gender aren’t very comfortable with women who enjoy a degree of ‘handiness’. Although, as you say, it’s not good for a woman to be helpless.
Or other women, either. A few years ago I was collecting leaves and asked a neighbor if I could have hers. She insisted on delivering them, so whatever. An hour or so later here she comes with her husband and son, with the leaves in a truck. I start throwing bags of leaves over the fence and she’s staring like I’ve turned into an alien. “How do you do that?”
The bags couldn’t have weighed more than 50 pounds, most much less.
Learned helplessness is really a thing.
Something to consider. I was contemplating the fact that my new Speed Queen, $$, washer has a circuit board and the freeze dryer,,$$, also. So I purchased a good surge protector to plug them into.
Stardust, our daughter was taught all the same repair and maintenance things that our boys were taught. And she does them herself. And our boys know how to cook and clean well. In fact, they are better at it than their current life choices. You must first be able to care for yourself before you can take care of anyone else. You are a wonderful example of taking care of yourself.
Good for ALL women to have these skills. Years ago DH and I built our mountain home from the ground up….cut the driveway, waited for power lines, designed and then supervised the installation of septic systems, hired a good well driller after a good douser!, then built away. WONDERFUL experience. State electrical engineer even said our 200 amp temp panel was a “work of art” finest he had ever seen.
When DH was down for his surgeries, I was comfortable handing whatever might come along….even carting the 50 pound bags of chicken feed! LOL
This is what I mean when I encourage all to “live the lifestyle” We really need to be ready for anything. Great site for future reference “repairclinic.com” has huge database of parts…I kept my washer and dryer going for over 20 years with that (even at 16 loads per week when 8 or more kids at home at once…)
8 children,,, God Bless You!!! and all others who have the will and stamina to have that many. Kudos
raised 13 al together….8 at home on any given moment. was a BIG job!
Good name you have for what you do! I expected fix it women to be here, but 8 kids? Oh, dear…I cut down 2 acres of trees, designed and helped build a 3800 sq ft log home with a lot of sweat equity in it, while my bodybuilder ex-hubby sat at his old home and sewed. Now that was a laugh!
“repairclinic.com”….what keeps my old machines running.
Repairclinic.com is the best!
I repaired my dryer by myself!
YouTube has taught me many things in regards to home repair. 😁
That’s good advise for anyone not just “woman that are alone” I know lots of guys that can’t fix a damn thing around their homes and woman that can fix anything. kind of a sexist remark Stardust. it would be like saying men can’t cook, clean or do laundry because they have a wife
It would be more accurate to say that most men DON’T cook, clean, or do laundry IF they have a wife. My brothers were all taught, and so were my BIL’s, but only one of them does it.
Lauren
i was a bachelor for years before my wife and i married 35yrs ago.
i would help with the housework and she would say thank you (kiss) and then go back behind me and re-do everything. after a while i just gave up.
she is a country girl from birth, its just how they roll : )
The biggest built-in deficiencies (relative to men) that women AS A GROUP (think statistical distributions here) have is:
1.) Upper Body Strength
2.) Overall Strength (where back and legs are dominant)
3.) Hand Strength
Some of this disparity is that men are, on average, larger than women and are muscled differently because of hormones.
The distribution of these gifts also exists in the male population and the two distributions overlap at the tails in that some women exceed some men in some or all these areas.
These items are not Static – almost anyone CAN get stronger with specific effort and training.
Brute force is not always the ticket since there are tools and techniques that anyone can learn and use to overcome whatever deficiency they might have.
On the other hand, for some tasks women may be better suited than men. Ever heard of car jobs that require ‘Japanese hands’ ? There are advantages to smaller, thinner, shorter, etc. depending on the specific problem.
<bb
This week I did the 3rd prototype on my rocket stove. I sealed it with wet newspaper as best I could so I could test the draw–still not enough draw, but got enough heat to char the newspapers.
The next prototype won’t be done until I can dig the hole and test it where the final will go. Two feet down and ten feet across…
Two more pistachios sprouted and I put them in their pots. I think I may know the process now, but I have another test I’m running before I’m sure.
It comes from the pistachio being a desert plant. In its native range, it gets spring and fall rains and very little else. I soaked the seeds for 24 hours (to simulate fall rains) and let them sit dry in a plastic bag for a month, then soaked them again (to simulate spring rains) and two days later they had sprouted. It’s worked twice so far, the third test will tell the tale, but one of the new test is already showing root after a little more than 24 hours.
Two of these tests had no cold stratification, the one currently in process was in the refrigerator for two months.
Oh, Miner, check in Hurricane Utah. There are several commercial groves there.
Less than 48 hours and two out of 7 have sprouted. It’ll be 48 hours after soaking early this afternoon.
going to do a rotation today…some items on shelves might need to be used in February. Want to be sure there is enough stock before the disruption starts. DH said store was very THIN yesterday.
Stocking up on chicken feed supplies. We give them soaked oats as well as pellets, with fresh cabbage daily and throw in sunflower seeds as a chaser. GREAT eggs!
Keep living the lifestyle folks. It may truly be the saving grace for the future!
Is a new chainsaw a preparedness item? Absolutely!!!! Our government is handing out money like it’s penny candy. I decided to get a new chainsaw. Firewood will continue to be a huge fuel source for us. We have central air and heat, but the furnace rarely kicks on. As in once in the fall, to make sure it’s functioning correctly. The older I get the smaller my chainsaw. It’s OK, I just tackle smaller trees. There is an endless supply of hedge (osage orange). Something is just better with wood heat.
The wife helps a bunch when we cut. She drags most of the brush and ends up loading most of the firewood. We use a low trailer behind my old jeep cj5. That’s our wood cutting rig. Any bigger logs can be rolled onto the trailer or winched on. We don’t mess with the big trees anymore. We jokingly refer to our wood cutting expeditions as our “hot dates.” We’re slow and we rest a lot. Being in the woods with the old gal is great. A little liquid refreshment always helps when the actual cutting is done.
Prep on guys, we’re gonna need it.
I like your idea. A new chainsaw or even a new chain sounds like the perfect use of the gov. $$.
Plains
Absolutely, a new chainsaw is preparing. What kind of wood burning stove do you have?
Do you have extra fire brick? If your door has a tempered glass front, do you have an extra replacement?
Door gaskets?
So I could ask,
is a new circular saw a prepairness item?
I already have two, but….
Our chain lumberstore had a fill a grocery type paper bag, save 15%.
In addition to that saw purchase, I filled the bag with various screws and nails. I didn’t get much more in there, but every little bit helps.
Joe c,
We have a big Ashley in the house and a Earth stove in the garage. My garage is actually very nice, insulated, sheetrocked, tv, pool table, ham radio, etc. Though the wife still parks in the attached garage, it is an extension of our home in the winter. Yes on your new circular saw. Tools, ya gotta have em. I do keep extra door gaskets for both stoves. Neither stove has any glass at all. I’d also suggest extra single wall pipe for your stove(s). That stuff goes bad after 10-12 years. It’s easy to replace, as ya know, just might be hard to find in the shtf.
Good idea on the stove pipe.
Mine, at the house and cabin are both double wall.
For any new hams with just the technician’s license: Starting today at 1:00 PM and running through tomorrow evening 10:00 PM, there is a vhf contest. For all the newbies out there, ya don’t have to participate in the “contest.” In other words, ya don’t have to keep score or anything. It does mean there will be lots of hams on-the-air. A good chance to try out your new ham gear. Lots of hams will be trying to make lots of contacts. A great chance for you to figure out what kind of range you have. Get on-the-air. Talk to new people on the radio. Make new ham friends. They will WANT to talk to you so they can gather points. It’s a great learning environment for ham radio.
2m fm 146.52
2m ssb 144.200
At least turn on your radio to those frequencies and listen.
tuned in!
thanks
cid,
Your baofeng won’t do ssb so concentrate on 146.52 fm. You probably already know that. Things should get busy in another 1/2 hour or so.
Plainsmedic, minerjim,
i need advice on what brand to get on a quality 50 ohm coax cable. i just wan’t to buy it once and not get some junk that won’t work as well, and have to buy it twice.
thanks in advance
cid,
I really like LMR-400. It’s considered a high quality coax. An important consideration is “How Long?” Figure out where your antenna is going to be, how high?, are ya bringing it into a building? Just a few things to consider. The longer the coax the more loss there is. It’s way better to have your antenna up as high as you can manage. I would recommend buying the coax with the connectors already installed at the factory. So, figure out what connectors you will need on each end. Good luck.
I made numerous contacts today on 2m ssb. I had a little fun with it. Conditions weren’t great for ham today. It’s a little different every day. I hope it remains a fun hobby and not an absolute necessity. Who knows what the future holds.
Question about ham radio. Went to the arrl site, typed in my zip code to find classes near me to take in preparation for getting ready for the technician test, and there is nothing. No ham club in this part of the state,, no classes, zilch . Any suggestions?
Desert,
There are apps for your computer or phone. Many are free. You can do the studying from these apps. You can take a class if ya like. I think they do online testing now???? You can learn most everthing ya need to know on youtube. Keep searching for a testing site. I had to drive 45 miles one way. Find a house with a tall tower and antennae everywhere. Maybe knock on the door?
Desert,
i couldn’t find anything in my area on arrl either.
i looked up my state’s amateur radio websites and found a local testing site.
Desert
There is an online class to be given 6pm to 9pm PST, four days in a row by a teacher out of the east. Can not remember how I came up with it on the ARRL site, believe it came up as I left out a zip code. Class is $60
Complacency recently visited me. Ken regularly brings it up but I just give it a cursory thought and move on with life. Ironically, that’s a text book example of the meaning of complacency.
I’ve been in the middle east for the last decade+, so I haven’t had range time in long while. Since my return I have been going to the range with a group of friends, about once a month.
While visiting my son last week he pulled out his AR to show me his new optics. I was aiming and looking around. My son said “Hey Pops, what’s up with the “chicken wing””? I was embarrassed, yet proud of my son. I had taught him well. I realized that after all the years being inactive on the range, I had become lax in technique and complacent in a lot of areas in general.
Now I’m starting over and doing a reset in all tasks concerning safety, form, and technique. I’ll try to tackle all projects like it’s the first time. You can bet I’ll be checking my buddies for a “chicken wing” next time at the range. And if I don’t see any, I’ll ask them why they failed to correct my poor shooting technique. We can all slow down for a reset in all things, while the consequences aren’t so dire.
Say your prayers
Welcome home! retrain the muscle memory…you may need that wing!
Yes ma’am, thank you!
This time of year we have very few sunny days,so the blue skies on the day after
the wind storm was a welcome morale booster. I took the opportunity to set up the the solar powered lanterns and radio on the south facing back porch for a quick recharge.
This week will be an oil change for the generator and locate a carburetor kit for
just in case purposes.Prepping never really stops does it?
I am aware of how bad things are now and that the future may be worse but all of the ranting on the political and social topics was affecting me in a way that is not good. We are so happy to return to a preparedness oriented site.
We live in a rural mountainous area with some neighbors close and some a ways
away. My wife and I are in our mid 70s and not in the best of health.
During and after the storm we checked on a number of elderly and younger
neighbors to see if all were ok and needed anything.
No one called or came by to see if we were all right.Sadly I think it’s a sign of the times.
sadly, you are right about that! DH and I used to be the ones to check on everyone, plow the roads and dig folks out or tow them up the hill when in trouble. NO ONE EVER checked on us. One of the biggest reasons we moved off our mountain to a more amenable location. MANY of our new neighbors go out of their way to say hello and check on eachother….still have 40 acres, but NO private roads to maintain. Like it!
Ron
Some folks have forgotten their country manners, which is a sad state of affairs. It is good to hear that you & your dw are doing well, considering your area from all descriptions was pounded by the winds.
Have a feeling if you ever meet up with Montana Home you will like that family. Stay safe up there in the valley.
ac
For preparedness this week I gathered up all of my gift cards that had been gathering dust and a handful of cash and went shopping. Starbucks card for coffee beans, used the balance of a prepaid Visa card at the grocery store, went to the big box sporting goods store and used that card to purchase some freeze dried food. Then I … You get the picture. Used the balance of my Amazon card to buy an Ecard for a restaurant. It was delivered in a couple of minutes, used right away.
I did this because gift cards involve an electronic purchase process. In a grid down or a cyber attack on electronic payments the cards might become worthless or difficult to use.
Closed down my Amazon, eBay, and PayPal accounts because of their recent political activity and some payment problems. Starving the beasts.
Topped off fuel supplies with stabilized fuel for the generator. Drained out cash from the bank.
VERY smart. I too am doing something similar. Just not willing to feed the beast any more!
Tom
Told my dh I was lowering down our accounts down but at a rate that does cause the RED eye scenario from that establishment. Ordered the last purchases via A & walley eye, closed the A account no more prime time for or us.
With certain actors/actresses stance on life here, we are no longer purchasing new movies. If we want a movie shall purchase from the recycle stores that have been showing up in this area. Used CD’s/DVD’s and of course LP’s in vinyl,, nothing like the originals.
Many of the new movies lack humanity in my opinion. Also the endings seem to be stupid. Like they ran out of money and and said, CUT. There is also way to much extreme un real tech being used to enhance abilities that humans can NEVER do. No wonder our children are confused with reality.
Oh my goodness… It has been hellaciously wickedly windy here in the mountains of northern NH.
After much flickering of lights, the power just went out for good. Just switched over to my off-grid battery bank to get some ‘essentials’ powered back up at the homestead (e.g. chest freezers!). Sure love having this solar powered system for ‘just in case’ (and peace of mind)!
I normally have the system “on” all the time – at least the essentials – however we have had so many consecutive cloudy days (weeks!), I’ve been conserving the battery bank…
My backup is just 380 watts of solar going to 5 100ah 12 volt agm batteries.That is hooked to my 2000 watt 120 volt sine wave xantrex inverter,in the barn.I have a heavy duty extension cord running in to house.When power goes out I push the remote on button in the house,cord is powered and away I go.
Im not in a good solar area but I have a lot of panels/controllers/wires I can deploy quickly should the need arise,and a honda eu2000 generator to run while Im deploying said solar.
Got a dusting of snow on the mountain this morning. During the early spring much of the sun is blocked by a mountain so I am building a seedling starter stand out of 2×4 stud lumber that will allow me to start seedlings in the basement and then harden the plants off when it warms.
The height of the grow lights will be adjustable and I put my grow pots in the disposable aluminum roasting pans from Dollar General which makes them easy to water and move around without making a mess.
R/C
some cheap heating pads under the pans may help a lot with germination.
Yes,I picked up a waterbed heater pad at thrift store for our seedlings.
Not sure if it is just our bank or at all banks. When I withdrew our monthly $$ for dh’s wish list, which I do this every month. This is the first time I have noticed they are now programming the denominations withdrawn from said banking institution. If you are taking X amount of $20’s, $50’s,$100 from your account it is noted to the precise currency removed.
It use to be XX withdrawn and no counting of what was removed. 🤨🤔
my banks (s) have been doing this for sometime now. I suspect it is to see if people are sandbagging certain denominations. Stupid really because we take the big bills and then save back what is broken to smaller as we can….Does not help the bank track anything! And,,,,when the SHTF, I will have plenty of small bills to use, not requiring a bunch of change that won’t be forthcoming!
I’m sure they counted it before, it just wasn’t on your receipt. It’s an inventory thing. They have to order the cash, so if they give out mostly 20’s then they have to order more 20’s.
I agree. The banks I have used always do this also. It keeps track of what has been ntaken out of their drawers
AC, our bank has always noted how many of what denominations are given out….or at least I have noticed it since more than ten years ago. They also ask me how I would like my cash – what denominations I prefer.
Greetings MSB’ers!
Was up and at ‘em this morning. Topped off the gas tank and drove a bit extra to get to a Stater Bros store this am. For any CA people, the store was very well stocked – better than the 2 big national chains -may want to give them a shot if your store is running low.
Found lots of paper products (multiple brands) and a good selection of canned items. Ethnic and regional items also well stocked. Plenty of meat, even bone-in chicken breasts, which are not always in other stores.
Was nice to get in and out and back home without big crowds, and actually found everything on my list in just the one store.
Hope everyone is making the most of this weekend to get their errands run and stocks replenished.
Our debit card was compromised AGAIN,, over $2000 on Alibaba. sigh,, I am working on a chart now to see if I identify the link between the online purchase invasions. This has happened to us 6 times and is a Royal Pain you know where.
Mrs. U WHY do you use a Debit Card instead of a credit card? I know from experience that unwanted charges are easily stopped but once the debit card cash is gone well….
My debit card stays locked up unless I want to get cash from the atm.
I had good credit about 12 years ago, paid off house, have not needed credit since. Mr. has never used credit and when he applied to his bank for a credit card a few years back he was denied, EVEN after having an account with them for over 30 years AND having substantial monies going in during those years. So we have no credit per say. Will figure out a new strategy.
If you have and use a debit card that information should be going to the credit reporting agencies. They used to have a “secured” card for people rebuilding their credit–you put up like $500 or something and that’s the limit on the card. Another is to get a “line of credit” attached to the card, which if you use it once and then stop should also be sent to the credit reporting agencies. You can also self-report when you pay your utilities and such in order to build a credit rating, or be put on someone else’s card for a period of time until the credit scores kick into gear. At that point you or he should be able to get a card with no problem.
If you don’t need the credit score, get a refillable card, but watch the small print.
Was your DH in 5he military? If so, you guys can apply for a USSA credit card. I have had one for more 5han 40 yrs. One card…pay it off each month do you do not pay interest. They stop 5he fraud in its tracks and you are not out 5he money in 5h3 meantime. The banks make you work hard to get your money back. Sorry…seems to be having fun with this keyboard any my fingers.
USAA
Get prepaid cards.Get a secured visa card like Lauren says.Get a gasoline credit card,they are easy to get.Get an amazon card,also easy and just sit on it.All will build you a credit history fast.
Mrs. U
Contact PFCU(Pentagon Federal Credit Union), your dh is military. Even if he is retired you can open up a savings account and request a CC account from them.
As I told JayJay they are closer to you then they are us. We have been with them for over 20 years, great people to work with, check it out.
Yes, we have account with them as well.
Update: I received VA paperwork today. Amazing how many pages devoted to at home care/invalid care etc.
You have to be careful deciding which forms to complete since all is in one package.
Navy Federal offers a nice credit card with reasonable rates….Or you could open a paid in reserve card to get started. Both are easier to do at a CU than large bank chain.
I agree with NH Michael. You have more protection with a credit card than a debit card. A family member had their debit card hacked and drained their account. They had to file a report with their bank. They eventually got their money back after 3-4 weeks. In the meantime they couldn’t pay any bills. A real hassle.
NEVER use your debit card,they can empty out your bank acct.If a card use credit cards only,no credit card buy prepaid cards.
Stepson hacked at airport in arizona (Very bad place to use phones),bought some airtime.When he landed in San Fran his bank acct was gone!
Sorry to hear that :(. Consider getting a prepaid card. They are technically a type of debit card, but the money comes from a balance on the card, rather than directly from your bank account. They are not credit cards so you cannot spend more than the card balance. So if you have $200 on the card, and someone tries to charge $1000, the payment will fail due to lack of funds. The cards expire after a certain number of years just like a credit card does. You may have the option to renew it (depending on your card provider), or you could apply for a new card that has a different number. You don’t need to have any credit history to be eligible, because they aren’t credit cards. Just make sure to pick a card that is easy AND FAST to transfer funds to. Ideally it should also come with some sort of purchase protection so you can dispute unauthorized charges. Don’t put a lot of money on the balance, unless you’re about to make a big purchase. Keep the balance low the rest of the time so that if someone does try to steal from you, there isn’t much for them to take.
Pioneer Woman,
Nice to see you commenting today. Passed by your AO today on my way to pick up my beef. Presently sitting in Antonito waiting for my friend to make the drop off.(He’s coming from Hobbs). One thing I noticed as I came through, seems the drought is bad over here too. I was expecting more snow. mountains, pretty dry. Might consider giving those new trees a winter drink to get them through til spring.
yes, we are hard hit with the drought. Expecting 4 inches of snow on Monday though….hope it happens!
Has anyone heard if lumber prices will come back down to reasonable prices this coming spring?
…and availability?
I actually bought some project leftover lumber from a lady, this past week.
If I had only brought the trailer to load up the 16 footers.
Uhg.
Joe C,
Wondering the same myself. If b reverses trump’s tariff on pulpwood products, we might see osb drop some. But general feeling is with green new deal being pushed, lumber will have more regulations.
Minerjim
. . . .
Since the election guys out here have been logging like there’s no tomorrow. Guess they figure there might not be.
Joe c
Watching the commodities markets on everything from green backs to food, and that includes lumber prices.
On Friday the price was still over the $800 mark, and I am not sure how that is calculated in hundred of board ft or ??.
AC,
I believe that is price per 1000 board feet.
Hey all,I’m on limited duty today.I’m not as nimble as I think I am. Slipped down on my right knee and banged it good Friday afternoon. Feeling it today. So I’m at my desk catching up on emails and watching some YouTube videos my grandson recommended.
About 18 months ago the wife rescued a couple of barn kittens. They are now the size of racoons. I always keep my office door closed except for one fateful day. Came in to find the all black cat sprawled on my printer and the grey and white cat on my desk. Her mission in life is to push everything she deems “unworthy” off of desks and tables. Which is everything apparently. I have to leave the door open now when I am inside or they meow at the door like they’re dying.
So now,my desk only has my laptop and coffee cup on it. There’s a cat pillow where the printer was. My dog is sleeping on his blanket in my easy chair and the other dog is on a soft pillow next to the desk. They have the whole house to hang out in except the kitchen.(wifey barely let’s me in the kitchen.) But yet here they all are.
So here I am. Watching this guy Vito passionately teaching the world how to make incredible pizza. Not a bad way to spend the day…
BJH
Well, at least your still being productive, and cat entertainment.
Heal fast
Lots worse things in life. Thanks for the Cat laugh!
I know everyone has dealt with the shut downs in their own way.
My wife has been buying exotic coffee from all over. Coffee of the month club or something.(LOL)
She bought equipment to do printing on tshirts,hats, and Coffee mugs.
Wifey fell in love with baby yoda too. She has a full size plush toy and she saves all the memes with him in it.So she has made all types of personal items with his picture. She just brought me a fresh cup of coffee in my mug she made. Its him with a coffee cup with the caption: ” protect,attack,drink coffee, repeat.”
She also brought me a couple of her double chocolate oatmeal raisin cookies. The size of a small plate half inch thick and my personal kryptonite.
There’s my petite Asian wife in camo pants and a white bakers apron. On it is the little guy with the coffee cup. Caption: “stay calm,drink coffee, armor up.”
Its especially funny cuz the wife is carrying a Sig in a drop leg under the apron.
Her new normal btw…
BJH, sounds like your Missus, deserves wife of the month award. Not to mention her cooking attire.🙂
Sounds real nice Bill.
I previously posted as ‘Mom in the Mitten’ periodically. But I’ve change my handle now to Mitten Mom as there is someone using ‘In the Mitten’. I figured that it was a little too similar & I’ll just tweak my old name a bit. Hence Mitten Mom now. I didn’t post a lot so not a big deal. Busy week here. Stocked up on poultry feed due to the feed issues from grain & soybeans that Farmgirl mentioned earlier. With that purchase I got a couple of poultry blocks free too! The last stimulus check went toward a freeze dryer. After a REAL LONG wait to receive it I have been working that for the last 1-2 months (minus a 2 week break or so around Christmas). This week I did chicken breasts (some cubed & some whole). Browned them first, baked & then freeze dried. And I am pleased how those turned out (looks yummy vs the batch I did before that was not browned first). I’m very happy with my freeze dryer purchase courtesy of the dotgov. For the recent stimulus check, part of it will go for more solar panels at the cabin in the woods. Also got Signal app (w/ DH & DS2. DS1 just needs to make work of it yet); got a proton mail acct too. Working all fronts I guess!
Mitten Mom, sorry if I caused any confusion. I don’t post often either, so I wanted to keep it simple. I’m a mom, too.🙂 I love living in this state, love the Great Lakes. Not crazy about the current leadership of our state, though. I am grateful to see that there are others in our state, like you and Joe c, that are into preparedness.
In the Mitten, Mitten Mom
Yep, glad to be aboard here.
At last count, there is at least a handful of Mitters here on this sight, alone.
Some I haven’t seen post in awhile, but they’re out there.
Michigan is a great state. I believe we have an outstanding population, that has the same mindset as us
Current and past state leadership, not so much….
How you all like our winter weather, so far?
Halfway through January, and no terribly cold temps, moderate snow.
Now, let’s get through the next few winter months.
It’s been pretty mild so far. I love winter and I’m always waiting for that big snowstorm. My daughter went off the road yesterday, but was able to easily back out. This is an annual event with her. Last year she ended up in a ravine off of I-96 and the tow truck got stuck getting her out. It’s definitely a lot easier caring for the chickens with this mild weather. For someone who loves snow, I live in the wrong part of the state!
Haha,
I can only stand a couple months of winter. Dec. Jan. Then I’m done. I would love a good snow storm, though, as when I was a kid. Shut everything down for a couple of days.
Winter sure makes the farm chores rough(er).
Joe c,
same here, in our area they draw a 10ft circle and if 5 snowflakes fall in it they shut EVERYTHING down : )
cid, you live in Texas too?
Lol, guys
Nah, I’m meaning a storm that produces 8, 10, 12 plus inches of snow, high winds.
We had freezing rain Monday night into Tuesday. Not a show stopper.
Had the horses meet me at the tackroom door Tuesday morning,before work.
Of all mornings, they picked that morning to be trouble makers.
Daddies gotta punch in on time and you pick this morning of all mornings.
Kept it in between the ditches…and on time.
Mild over on the east side not much snow this year , hopefully doesnt mean a dry summer will be adding lake muck to the garden this year to build up the sandy soil
Joe c: I like snow for Christmas but come the end of January I’m done with it! I fear we are looking at a yucky second half of winter. Hope I am wrong!
In the mitten: we have a couple of different chicken types. I like the ones with smaller combs for cold weather living. those fair better in the cold when it comes to frost bite. I also put Vaseline on all their combs when it’s really cold. Heard it helps, not sure but it makes me feel better about them being out there – LOL!
Joe c
Don’t be jealous but it is short weather tomorrow to shop at the Big C store. Normally it is cold & rainy. Time for me to find that turtle we purchased in NM for rain-snow & back to the winter weather we all need.
AC
Shorts?
And what are they?
I don’t even wear them in the summer.
White chicken legs, with banged up shins and scars.
No one wants to look at that….including me.
-Hey Joe c, yes we are out here daily. Yes I am missing the snow and so are all the skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers, snowmobilers, ice fishermen/women and fat tire bike riders. We normally have the beautiful lake effect snow off Lake Michigan, so white and fluffy it shines blue. Today cloudy gray and wet, but they keep promising snow in the near future.
– Mitten Mom we went with a freeze dryer this summer and with the help and tips from Mrs U and hermit us on MSB, it has been in continuous operation. I am not a canner, short reason is, when I was very young I watched the lid of a pressure canner shoot through the kitchen ceiling and destroy the plumbing in a second floor bathroom. One of those memories that stick with you. Freeze drying works for us, all the garden veggies, beef, chicken, pork and left over meals gives me a great feeling of food security.
Michigan is a great state even when we have the power hungry constantly trying to keep us under their thumb. I believe that more than 3/4ths of the total area of Mi contains very good and wise individuals. A lot of people think only of Detroit and Lansing as Michigan, there is so much more.
NWMitten
And hello to you, too!
Now, if a Whiskey Vision and a grannyO, would chime in….
We are the Wolverines!!!
(Well, a few of ya might be State fans)
And I’m not just talking sports.
Sorry Joe c! I’m not a Wolverine. I Go Green! My hubby is a Wolverine fan. We are a house divided. But we quit watching all sports last spring. It was hard for us because as a family, we’ve always been big Tigers fans.
Lol
Same here in this house
Me, UofM
She, State…as she went there.
Joe C. Go Blue. Sorry haven’t been on.Have had a VERY busy few months and I have been avoiding going on as I have had to finish up the Christmas gifts for the grand kids, sons and DIL’s. Crocheting scarves for the kids, sons and Christmas hot pads for the DIL’s. Not a real fast crocheter as hands don’t work so good now a days. Have been a Wolverine all my life but DH and Son2 are Western alums. Son 1 is a state fan but DIL1is true Blue, even though her folks graduated from “that” school (state)down the road from us. DH is going in next month for total knee replacement and I’ve been stocking up on somethings. He’ll have to stay in hospital for 2-3 days as they have to make sure his meds and platelet count is okay.Quite frankly I’m really concerned as BOTH of us are high risk that he may get sick while being there..Other than that so far so good, keeping healthy and safe.
Good to hear from ya, grannyo.
Hoping, praying that everything will turn out fine for your DH.
Keep safe
Thanks Joe c, Appreciate it.
No worries! We seem to have a similar situations as well! 3 kids and a handy hubby! And lots to do!!
Several years ago, ‘off the grid news’ had a weekly story.
A dude from Chicago flew his plane to Idlewild Mi, amongst a shtf moment. a survivalist type fiction. Idlewild was his BOL.
(Personally, I would have picked elsewhere, within the state)
Short lived, but was a pretty good weekly read.
Joe c, Idlewild has an interesting history and I think of it as one of the first BOL locations for a group of people who also needed a break from the big “D”.
NWMitten
Maybe it was just my upbringing.
Idlewild and Baldwin areas.
Senior skip weekend, my best bud and I where camping in Ludington.
“If you boys break down, don’t let it be in those areas”.
This coming from a Hispanic dad.
Of course , that was eons ago.
I never ventured off of 10 and 37 to explore, but I’ve read the interesting history of Idlewild.
Spent a weekend in Baldwin, last summer with the quad.
I guess meth is an issue, in that area, but I didn’t have any problems.
Then there’s Luther, and the legend of the ‘dogman’.
Lol,
I know. Some of this stuff just kinda freaks me out.
.
Joe c, that was good advice back then as well as now I believe. The dog man song was written by our local radio station manager. It is played frequently especially around Halloween. It’s the two track roads up here that are the creepiest for me. You do not want to go exploring down one unless you are absolutely sure what is back there. There have been many strange finds by hunters every fall.
Crazy weather. Wetter and warmer than usual thanks to monster La Niña. More rains so far than is normal for whole month. Winds took out some fence which took out some hotwire. Told my neighbor “no charge” for my pigs tilling his garden. They also ate his compost pile down. Looks like my big boar got to some girls I was planning to sell in a couple months. We’ll see.
. . . .
Planning to re-gravel drive and re-cedar chip around house. Hope to get a burn done before it rains again.
. . . .
Found reasonably priced pour-on ivermectin and restocked ivermectin paste. Just in case.
. . . .
Lengthening days make me happy, as does my writing.
AnonyMee, the good news is any piglets would come at a reasonable weather time of year. I like my piglets arriving May or early June. And then harvest in early October. We carryover the breeding stock and the new piglets so easier on the feed bill. We tried carrying old hogs through winter to have fall and spring harvest, but it was not cost effective and much more work over the winter….so that experiment won’t be repeated.
We watched the video Planet Lockdown film again to think about the end game. Continued our normal routine of home and farm chores. We have been busy squirreling away things we think we could need in the future that could be difficult to get. A dear friend called to tell me of some bartering that had taken place between her family member and a client (no funds but good items to trade) and then herself and other person. She mentioned that I told her it would come to this at some point. Thankfully, she is very self sufficient.
Our ground beef that was supposed to ready in September, then October, then in January is not coming now so alternate beef was just locally sourced. I also canned 14 quarts of ham and beans and ham & bean soup. I did have a failure on one of my seals on the soup batch so I got to taste it – delicious! Don’t use any rings with even a bit of rust roughness as they don’t move properly. It was an experiment.
We find ourselves praying a lot more these days and all of you are included in those prayers. Stay healthy and stay home if you are sufficiently prepped…it is about to get dicey. Take care all.
When you can, try wiping the jar rim with vinegar before putting the lid and ring on. I have never had a failure since I’ve been doing it this way. The vinegar cuts any grease that might cause a loose seal.
I would like some canning advice, please. A local store has boneless, skinless chicken thigh meat on sale for $.59 a pound in a 40 pound box. I’ve only canned chicken breast before and have not tried thigh meat. Dark chicken meat is not my favorite, but at that price it’s hard to pass up. Does canning thigh meat turn out ok?
TinnTX, I thought mine turned out well. I have even canned with bones left in. Easy to remove after…almost nothing. The flavor was great and tender. Can use for soups, stews, in gravy, in Mayo for sandwich….just about any way you prefer. Can also use alone with sides. I always use the liquid from canning meats too. That was a great price and you will most likely enjoy your bounty.
DAMedinNY, thank you for your input, I’m grateful.
Dark meat cans up just fine
Thank you.
Mine turned out OK also.
T innTX,
In a word wonderful! boneless, and skinless there will be zero waste.If you have sufficient jars would put in pints unless you have very large family. pack tightly, in chunks -as it comes, I add a tsp of meat tenderizer to each pint.. I add a teaspoon of water to dampen the seasoning… do not add more than a tablespoon until you see how much liquid ends up in the jar..with first canner load. expect about 12-13 lbs to go into 10 pints. there is a lot of liquid in thgh meat is on of most moist….. goal is to avoid overflow when canning and directions do not call for adding water to raw packed meats…because of the juices cooking out of the meat.This can be used for any recipe that calls for chicken from chicken salad to casseroles . it can be made into meat patties like one would do mackerel or salmon.and served for any meal of the day with some home made gravy and biscuits.acouple eggs will give a 4 course breakfast or supper.
“Does canning thigh meat turn out ok?”
It sure does !! Just did 7qts myself. They are great for any recipe that includes chicken.
Even found a jar lurking in the back of stash I missed from 2015. Yes, we ate it and it was good. Prob a little less nutrition, but as I said, the taste was fine. Although I don’t like to leave home-canned meat that long, this one slipped past me.
Ive been curious about canning whole thighs.
i have seen whole chickens in a can so wouldnt you be able to stuff thighs in a mason jar fill it with salt water and seasonings and can it?
I don’t see why not. The problem might be chicken bones shattering under processing. Or they might soften enough to be eaten.
Try it and see, then let us know.
Yes the bones soften.
Hmmmm,
I was thinking of the nutrients from the bones/marrow etc,
might be better to not do that experiment,
Maybe though the bones saved and canned by them selves? Wonder if that would be like bone broth? Or if the high temps kill the good as well as the bad,,,
I’d remove the bones after cooking the thighs just enough to pull them out and then make bone broth. Bone broth can be made in 45 minutes in a pressure cooker but the best results are to slow cook it for 6-24 hours under a medium to low heat.
Start off by covering the bones with water and a cup of white vinegar at room temperature for an hour. After slow-cooked for hours the bones can be crumbled in your hand, if not, keep cooking with the lid on.
When bones are soft, remove lid and heat it up to boil off excess broth. An ideal result is one quart from the 2.5 quarts of water needed to cover the bones. Like DaMedinNY says, a little salt, no seasoning.
Yes Kula, that is exactly how I do it. Very tasty. But only a touch of salt. I save the seasoning for when I’m actually using it. And you have to be careful cause some herbs like sage can get bitter if you can them
country:
Something “old or unique”
That would be ME… and ole Blue 😳😳😳🤣
NRP, are you SURE that’s a preparedness item? : )
Something “old or unique”
A newspaper roller (rolls newspaper or other paper into “logs”)
I read an article today saying that Biden is planning to ask farmers to plant cover crops to stop global warming. My concern is where will we get the food if farmers quit farming. I know there is a lot of manufactured food out there but I’m not sure it will be all that healthy & I know the bugs some are growing may be protein but I’m sure a lot of people may not find them too appealing.
Cover crops are not a replacement, but an addition after the field is harvested. Types vary with soil type and need. Benefits are additional forage for grazing, increased soil activity for the micro biome, water infiltration, weed suppression, reduced soil erosion and carbon sequestration. Doesn’t work everywhere and takes awhile to get results, but it does work. Think he is likely looking at carbon sequestration. If correctly done, won’t affect crop production.
SDman in theory cover cropping is an excellent farming technique. However looking at how “Well” the VA systems works and Obamacare “Works” do you WANT the Feds to direct Farming at the farmers level? Don’t you remember the farm banking PAYING farmers (mostly large Corps) not to farm to “Preserve our Lands”?
Farming is easy says Bloomberg, dig a hole throw in a seed and harvest. Yes he said that seriously. I think it was “The buck stops here” Truman who said “Farming is easy when all you have is a pencil and are a thousand miles away”.
We are talking “Woke” version of Soviet Centralized Farm Program. I KNOW how well those Central 7 year plans went there…
Got Heirloom Seeds? Know how to seed save. Time’s a coming when seed sales will be “Regulated” OH Heck, that HAPPENED during COVID19… Opps.
NHM, we’ve been doing cover crop, no till, proper grazing rotation and 3 crop rotation for over 10 yrs w/out govt forcing us. It makes sense for us and we see the results. Organic matter and carbon have increased, input costs have gone down and yield has kept constant. We do it because it’s right for the soil not some govt lackey saying so. As for paying farmers not to farm, well, I had the same discussion with RDM when he was here. Govt. wants their taxes, have to make a living, thus CRP does make sense at times so farmers don’t farm marginal ground = erosion, oversupply in market. A point we may have to disagree on.
NHM
in practice cover cropping is an excellent practice to incorporate.
Big ag in many sectors is adding cover cropping and no-till, yields go up in many cases as well as reducing in field time, a friend who rotates soy, corn, wheat and cover crops has increased his yields considerably and has reduced inputs of fertilizers and supplements while cutting his fuel costs by more than half, yea he had to invest 1.2 million in equipment but his cost savings in fuel alone the first year were in the 300,000$ range
SDman and Kula I’ve nothing against cover crops. I use them myself along with fruit tree guilds and such. Permaculture works.
I have a LOT of concern about a Socialist-Democrat controlled Government shoving it’s camel nose into how farmers do their business. Remember the story about the cold camels nose into the tent. A little at a time until they are fully inside the tent and you are outside shivering.
cover crops are very beneficial in the winter to control soil erosion and to add nutrients back into the soil. also in the summer if you don’t plant an area.
does anyone here know the term “truck farming” its what i do.
CID,
That is something I aspire to. I grew taters with the tractor last year, did well. I tend to learn by doing. Truck farming is tough here, especially with our severe drought, but I do have good irrigation. Might try carrots and taters this year with the tractor. (Already have 20 acres grass hay. 6 acres of wine grapes) may have to ask you a few questions this spring.
Minerjim,
i grew up in your area and i can tell you that the ground there will grow anything as long as you can keep water on it.
much alkali in it? it’s hit and miss in those parts.
Cid,
Not much alkali on our place, but soil ph of 7.6 makes it hard for grapes to uptake micronutrients. Those now get fed through special sprays and really help. Area famous for sweet corn, pintos, and onion. Formerly they grew potatoes, sugar beets, and barley for Coors beer. Have used soil testing to good advantage in the past. Thinking root crops are my best bet overall.
Interesting. I’ve never had a problem with grapes here, and I know our soil is alkaline (vinegar test : ) on the soil).
He’s not asking people to use cover crops on the off season–he’s asking them to retire the land from farming.
Lauren, guess I’d have to research that a bit, but do know overproduction has been an issue. Prices have finally rebounded, but for how long? With where they’re at, farmers will do what they’ve always done, plant more and prices will fall and then we wonder why we need price support or Ag subsidises. It’s tiring to watch the same cycle repeat itself. Satisfaction for us is making enough for our family and selling enough to live, pay taxes and land payment. We’re not looking to get big, just get by.
First on the search list: agriculture dot com/news/business/biden-vows-to-pay-farmers-to-plant-cover-crops-and-put-land-in-conservation
At a time when some we know are retiring the land completely , this makes a lot of sense to further reduce production of food going into a solar mnimum and reduced natural crops..(sarcasm off) This is why we should all be growing as much food as we can ,to feed our families and our nearest neighbors who are unable to grow/work
Lauren,
the USDA has been paying farmers in the lower mississippi delta region for 40 years that i know of, to not grow anything. corn,cotton and soybeans. and i’m sure it’s not just in that area. very large land owners have become rich, and don’t even have equipment anymore. haven’t for years. this is nothing new. its to control commodities pricing.
This is true. However there have been some measures taken to prevent someone like Gates to benefit. Payments related to ag programs are not available to certain owners that aren’t actively involved in farming or whose gross income are too high. There are also payment caps that are often subverted by large or extended families spreading out the enrollment among all the adults in the family group.
Interestingly it was the agricultural programs that were the first entry into the list of welfare programs with the Supreme Court declaring they were for the “general welfare” and therefore constitutional.
I am the child of someone who lost their farm in the farm crisis of the 80s. The list of pros and cons on the farm programs is very long. In the end, I think this kind of market meddling is now doing more harm than good.
My dad lost the family farm through poor decision making in the end. He also had a chance to keep it but he was having a pity party and let it go back to the bank as his final dramatic gesture. Still pisses me off.
cid,
Great example of farm welfare.I don’t suppose the rich farmers donate to anyone’s campaign fund do they ?
Almost always Democrats, in order to keep their subsidies. My sister deals with this, and so far talking to those around her about it has been useless.
i don’t know, we are a strong red state so i would not think so. if they have they threw their money away here
I dont see how cover crops stop globull warming,
i plant cover crops on our place continually, just makes sense, has nothing to do with globull warming though and everything to do with soil conservation and improving the ecosystem here on our homestead. Plus id rather grow food for the bees and critters than democrats
He’s asking the farmers to stop planting consumable crops. He’s asking them to put the farm into “conservation” status.
Kula, agreed on making sense for the soil, critter’s and pollinators. We’ve seen real benefits on the ecosystem and wildlife. We do the same thing in the two large gardens – no chem, no till and cover crop btwn rows and in the fall. On the main ground we see more wildlife and that is good. Bees have done well with the reduction in chemical and better forage of pollen in the pasture as it is more native plants. We let each pasture rest every 3 yrs and never graze more than 1/2. Gotta take care of the land and treat it with respect.
process your bugs through a chicken
Just wanted to give everybody an update on the availability of ammo, and reloading supply’s in my AO. Went to 4 local shops this past week. One was a large retail chain store, and the other 3 were mom and pop shops. The large retail chain store had ZERO reloading supply’s, no shotgun shells at all, no 5.56 or 7.62X39 at all, and no 22 long rifle ammo. The mom and pop stores were a mixed bag. First mom and pop store who just sold ammo I’m sorry to report is closing his doors forever, this is do to the fact he can’t get ammo to sell from his wholesalers. Next shop is still open, but just barely, he had a little pistol ammo for sale, but no rifle, and no reloading supply’s at all. The last shop is doing better, but i think this has to do with his fathers long personal relationship with the owners of the company’s who make primers, powder, and bullets.They had in stock both large, and small rifle, and pistol primers, a very good supply of powders, along with many different caliber rifle, and pistol bullets. One last thing to report, all of the mom and pop stores told me the same thing. This shortage is going to get MUCH worst, before it ever starts to get better, so plan according.
Prepping and preparedness: Food, water, means of self-protection, personal hygiene supplies, fuel, means of food production, medical supplies and training, contingency planning. That’s all, folks! Going dark. Bleib ubrig.
Never got around to doing one NRP’s “Black out weekends” here in the Inland Northwest so this week, Mother Nature taught us a lessen! Wind storm with gusts to 60-70Mph! Hundreds of trees down. power out for 4 days! Going look into a Genset for sure! Otherwise pretty well prepared.
We are getting (on average) 6 eggs a day from our chickens even though the weather has been cold, damp and overcast. I think the solar lights that come on at dark have helped as well as supplementing their diet with leftover veggie scraps.
Their eggshells are very hard, which is most likely from the extra calcium in oyster shell grit that we toss into their food every few days or so.
Thanks all for the good advice on “wrangling chickens!”
If you can find the time sign up for the traditional/technicians class I happen to save that information. Put in zip code 90009, teacher is Mr. Phinney. Class is from 19th until 22nd, if you require more information post back to me & when time allows with respond back to you.
Neighbors asked me about starting a garden. They’re standard suburban consumers. Not bad people but nothing noteworthy. Flick their smartphones all day waiting to die. The youngest kid was an outdoorsy kid until he found Juul. Now he has an oral fascination with USB vapesticks hiding around the yard so ma and pa don’t catch him.
Anyway, if lazy suburbanites like my neighbors are considering starting a garden you might want to buy your stuff even earlier this year. If you buy tomato plants and whatnot normally it might be worth starting from seed.
Lead has all but disappeared around here. The local ranges want processed prices for clean out lead. I have resorted to buying alloyed ingots off the Internet. Kind of sucks primers and powder coat more than whole cartridges did a year ago.
Morning all, does anyone have any recommendations on autocad software that is easy to use and fairly inexpensive? I have a lot of plat drawings I need to do. The weather here in SW Nebraska is unreal, 20’s at night and 50.s during the day. Haven’t had enough snow to even put the blade on the tractor. High winds and range fires last week, area even made the national news.
Plainsroamer,
Try looking at Turbocad. I have been trained on Autodesk AutoCAD, and found Turbocad to give a good workable platform. That said, I do all of my septic designs anymore with paper and pencil, old school here, I look at physical drafting as an art form.lol. you would be surprised that the percentage of my clients that comment on my septic design drawings. But if you have a lot of plats to do, and tie together, in a short time, autocad is a wise choice. TurboTax is fairly inexpensive too.
Should be TURBOCAD is fairly inexpensive.
Minerjim: thanks I have to plat an existing mobile home park for spacing, water lines, septic systems, and electrical. I prefer to hand draw also but it would take me for ever with the scope of this project. Thanks again
Greetings to all this week. Thanks to BJH for sharing the latest tail of his new barn cats/now turned house cat pets. They are fun to read about. My own new addition ( nickname of Dweezle ) is eating a lot and his profile now resembles a bowling pin or prairie dog. He still plays a lot and gallops around the house after he eats his fill. Last night he snuggled in my lap and fell asleep when I came home from work and settled in my recliner. ( this is the first time he has done that to any of us people in our home ).
When you adopt an older cat from the Humane Society, their history is sometimes sad or has some trauma in it. Our new addition came from a house of a hoarder so he was scared of us for the first 2 weeks. He is warming up to his new home pretty fast. ( he is even getting used to the dog ).
Also people shy away form adopting cats with FIV, sadly called feline aids, because of fear or thinking they will die soon. My rescue Siamese is around 9 and doing well. He get homeopathy and DMG for the immune system. At 16 pounds he can still scale a tree in record time.
To BJH: I am an asian guy that has 4 cats and 1 dog. At work I call myself the asian cat rancher ( I got the hat, got the boots, I drive a pick-up truck, even got a dog to help move the herd ).
When I say that cats are the other white meat, I get lots of strange looks from people that do not know me. They will be nervous about eating what I bring to the pot luck at work. ( there is generally some one around who will tell them I am joking )
cats or dogs are truly service animals if they help you sleep and lower your blood pressure at home. Better than any pills out there.
Calirefugee,
They sure are.I much prefer to hang out with my dogs then deal with the general public these days…
Bill Gates and farm land. The Gates have been thinking agriculture since early 2000 according to Fox Business. Helping the African farmers become more productive. Very curious as to why now American farmland. Is he going to retire the land because of the ‘global warming’? Or have places for people to go to in a controlled environment OR who knows????
Bill Gates loves POWER and Control. His Big Tech Empire gives him a lot of power and buying Farm Land gives him control over food production.
When the Former Soviet Union was in the process of failing food was a real problem. The jokes about waiting in line HOPING there would be bread to buy wasn’t a joke. We saw a tiny part of that with Just In Time Issues from COVID. Soviet Family’s has the advantage of extended families and closer links to small working farms and Dacha gardening. That kept plenty of Russian families fed when their “Dollar Bills” wouldn’t buy anything.
Got food, got Grain (as Mrs. U likes to say :-)) got heirloom seeds and some gardening skills?
I would like to mention again Biodynamic Farming. Steps above organic. Something to consider reading about.
For all my laments about the dark side of technology, I am 2 states away from my high school age granddaughters, but still able to watch them playing basketball streamed over the internet. And for that I am grateful for the business that does this for a small fee for each tournament.
MamaLark, Know what you mean. Grand daughter 1 is in volleyball down south. So we get to see her play regularly. Gotta brag on her. She finally got to move in with Son1 this last summer (Thank the Lord) and beat out about 60 girls for a spot on the JV team.She’s that good and that not just Gramma bragging, Son1 said the coach was highly impressed with her at try outs.She’s really thriving and having the time of her life.
Excellent. I hope she continues to do well.
MamaLark, Thank you. We hope so too.
Mamalark,
Are you using nfhs network? If so, would you recommend their service? Just became available for the wife and I to watch our grandchildren in high school sports. I’m not great with computers ……
I have used 2 different services and both have been acceptable. Both were private companies affiliated with the event sponsors running the tournaments. I don’t have much luck watching their high school sports shown over the web by their school in Illinois. I don’t know about nfhs. But I have some friends in coaching here. Will see what they know.
I also see the girls have games on nfhs next month. Will try it out myself.
Joe c, My family used to spend a lot of time, many, many weekends in Luther. Baldwin had a bad reputation and we always heard, “Don’t go to Baldwin”. We did take a drive there once, for pizza, and the pizza was actually great, but soon after that we quit going to Luther. The area around there is beautiful, but sometimes you did get that “I hear banjos” feeling.
Lol,
Yeah,
I was hitting some back roads, last summer. Back roads that all of a sudden turn into trails….in a 2wd 2500. Just me and m&p .45
Banjos is a good way to put it.
My curiosity soon diminished.
Hi all ,,,,,,,,,spotty web,,,,,,,,,, seeing comments about B#%! [email protected]$×÷ buying land ,, I am in conflict with same at this time ,,,started in August ,,, going through a hell ,,there not use to hearing the word NO ,
,,,,,was in meetings this week ,,,,food shortages were and are planned ,,,,,,the worst is yet to come ,,
Get your seeds NOW,,,,,,,,,,
Much I would like to say ,,,,,China is behind this ,,,,we are at war with them ,,,,,
Was going to sell my pet oxen think will keep them ,,,,,have sold down the cows
,,,,,,,,,get out now ,,,,,,,,
My sister just headed back home, so if they hold off for two days she’ll be in a relatively safe area. I worry about my brother, in the Guard and currently on assignment.
All I can do for the rest is pray. Dad can’t walk far, so we’ll shelter in place unless there’s no other option.
Oldhomestearder, do you know if the shortages being planned are to force us to eat their fake meat and insects? (Speaking of B$## [email protected]$#S buying land….) or just thin the population?
Thank you for all the information you give to us here. Stay strong. Blessings to you.
Option c: All of the above.
BG is invested in insect farms, indoor growing, fake meat, vaccines, GMO (super) cattle, and also the UN’s food committee (? Not sure of the name at the moment). He is also a eugenicist who has touted the maximum population for the world at 200 million. He stated that “we cannot reduce” population until everyone is vaccinated. He is invested in facial recognition, cradle to grave tracking, and a number of other “control” mechanisms.
My opinion: Food is a way to control the population. Once control of food is achieved, you can easily implement other control mechanisms, under threat of food being removed. Then it is simple to reduce population or eliminate anyone who does not conform.
Someone once said an empty belly is a poor political advisor.
That doesn’t make Chris Christie a good one.
Good one bummin,,,
Lauren, yep. That is exactly who BG is. Well said.
Super cattle huh, Would that not mean super cow patties and more methane?
opps sorry BG’s s… wouldn’t stink.
DJ5280,,,,,,,,,,, I think (me) that’s it’s about control,,,,,,,and power,,,,,,,, by sick people ,,,that are playing games on a massive scale ,,,,there really PO at me ,i bought more land just to keep them from having it just two weeks ago ,a key stone property for access ,,, im now land rich,but cash poor ,, the though of going back to work in business is grim ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
The shortages in food are because we are at war with China,,,,YES at war with China ,study history ,food has allways been the most brutal weapon ,,
,,i have dared to say no ,,,
,,,,,,,,, we are living Atlas shrugged ,,,,
Cash poor, maybe…but rich in spirit! God bless you friend.
Homesteader,
i felt that long ago, too many signs leading to the same outcome, now it will accelerate,
i may not have a gulch full o industrialist but i am done
Kula ,,,,,,,the folks with wealth have made it possible to live in the valley for those not so well off that are like thinkers ,,its called “commuinty”
Tea and chocolate
Minerjim, cid, Dookie, & Mrs. U
Finally able to get back to this question, thanks for the suggestions…
Minerjim & cid – I checked my furnace (ground source system) and you’ve described the setup perfectly. The wall of the storage room is less than 6′ from the return, so that would definitely be doable, tho’ would potentially require a couple of 45-90 degree turns to avoid the door header and come in to the right place on the return, will flex duct handle that (and what size would I need…4″ 6″ larger?).
However, you got me to thinking. There’s a wide dropped section of the ceiling that contains plumbing and who knows what else — possibly a duct from the kitchen ceiling return? Kitchen is positioned directly above the storage room. I took photos of everything before the drywall went on, so will dig those out and see if it give me any clues. Would be nice if the existing hole in the drywall that was made when a feral cat I was TNRing got into the ductwork was near the return side duct rather than the one going the other direction, lol. Still haven’t patched it, may put a camera up there to see what I can see…..
Dookie & Mrs U replies on next post.
OK, going to try this again…..
Dookie & Mrs U,
Dookie – yes, I have a service contract on my system, but they guy is a real flake. Good at what he does, but i have to be the one to remind him to come out. Also, more than a little concerned about OPSEC. The stairs to the basement come down in about the middle. To the right is how I direct them to the mechanical room, to the left is an area chock full of preps. and not terribly easy to conceal. If I could find some sort of vent to install between storage room and that side of the basement, it would be ideal, but the suggestion from Minerjim sounds like a fairly simple one if all else fails.
What’s your main concern about the carpet? I was thinking it might be hard to move things around without wheels under the heavier items, or having wheels sink into the carpet.
Mrs U – At the moment, I’m planning to use strips of 1/2″ OSB over 2’x4’x12′ boards to stack mostly 12″x 18″ boxes on. Would like to keep things close to the wall if possible, but pallets do sound like an option if I have more to stack than I realize at the moment. Thanks for the suggestion!
Ken –
Having a frustrating time trying to post the second half of my post from a little while ago. The little “I’m doing something” in the upper right corner of the page does it’s thing, but the Post Comment button doesn’t blink. Have tried maybe a dozen times, so maybe it will suddenly show up in many multiples. Is there some sort of limit on how often or how much one person can post within a certain time frame? Thanks,
FYI
landreport.com//americas-100-largest-landowners/
I know I dwell on food storage, etc…but do not throw away food until tested.
I have canned green beans, some generic, some name brand, some 2012, some 2014.
Point is, the older is still good and I’ve had to throw out 2014, the name brand.
Sav-A-lot is great and Aldi’s are not.
Remember, the defining fact is how long the cans were in warehouses before shipped to stores, not necessarily year or brand.
Hope this helps folks interested.
Stay safe.
Ken,
Look I don’t mean to be argumentative,
I’m just looking for an explanation.
I know you have alot on your plate, especially with this new site.
But as a human, I take accusations personal. I’ve tried to be reasonable, tonight, and not offensive, to anyone, (for a Just Crazy, Joe), just asking for an explanation.
Deleting the thread or deleting my posts altogether, in the manner, is no explanation to me….to just let it go.
My alias has been accused of being fraudulent, maybe, momentarily. Just in an instant. But none the less.
That, to me is, personal.
I’m not looking for trouble or to be kicked off.
Just a simple explanation will suffice.
Thank you
Water under the bridge.
Hope you have an updated PO Box listed somewhere.
I’m not sending crap via net.
Aka
debit card….aka. donation
Joe, again, you saw and responded to the thread on the other site, but if you would like me to repeat it in public over here – that’s your request.
I had responded to the new person over there, ‘Meep’, indicating that she and you had the exact same IP address at one time. I do not try to second guess what or why. It’s just the fact of the matter. Perhaps a coincidence of some sort. I do not know. That’s all there is. Simple enough?
NH, dandelions are the favorite ground cover here, I get so tired of pulling the dang weeds from my yard. I’ll use their dandelions for harvest if things get bad. Our dear governor convinced homeowners to kill off lawns, go to rocks or wood chips cause of drought. Bushes are on their own so not concerned about roundup etc. no run off, houses on 4’ pad, drainage when it rains is excellent, no standing water. If a lawn is seen, it looks 1/2 dead, all lawns slope down toward street drainage, which is street level. I’ll keep working on water issue. Thank You for info.
“Our dear governor convinced homeowners to kill off lawns, go to rocks or wood chips cause of drought.” Which is seriously irritating. In order to “preserve” a resource (water) they kill off the soil and all the soil organisms, raise temperatures in the area, and remove food for pollinators.
Transpiration is a real thing, and it takes live plants to do it.
Glad to hear dandelions are favored in CA. A sigh of good soil indeed. I remind folks they were Imported into the Americas by European settlers as a spring potherb, as a healthy tonic after a winter of eating from ever wilting root cellars. Back then spring was known as the Starving Season as the root cellars had little but wilted and rotten leftovers and seeds needed time to give you something to eat. Dandelions and Good King Henry were the first things up and edible.
Over the years we have cut a good number of subscriptions; cable, newspapers, magazines. I should’ve cancelled Audible long ago, but now I’ve done that. Now we are eliminating our #1 source of Saturday night entertainment, Amazon Prime video, which is also our last subscription service, except for internet service.
To fill the void for Saturday night entertainment I’ve decided to stock up on DVD movies and I have found that they can be found for $1 each at various resale stores, Salvation Army, garage sales. Not so much on Craigslist, the sellers there think Arnold Schwarzenegger movies are made out of gold.
And if we ever do want to view a movie on Amazon we can rent it without a subscription, but we probably will never do that. If you have Prime “Victorian Farm” and “Pioneer…” are two excellent preppy flicks.
At a local 2nd hand shop I picked up a “Duck Dynasty” season #1 for a buck. Mostly garbage selections but also here and there documentaries and hunting, instructional material.
The only subscription that I have of concern is from amazon – kindle unlimited. Hate to give them money but it is my main form of entertainment : (
Aka,
i know,,, it WAS mine too, i downloaded the Nook app from Barnes and Nobel and am just getting books from them now, cancelled everything i had with Amazon, wont support them ever again, rather pay more.
The thing i really am pissed off about the books i bought from Amazon is the format is not compatible with other readers, guess that taught me a lesson though, DONT BUY DIGITAL BOOKS IF YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT THE CONTENT!
I wont make that mistake again i assure you.
There are systems that will transfer a file to another format. If you care about having the books, it’s worth it.
What I hated about the Kindle was that books I had purchased scrolled off if I hadn’t used them in a while.
“send to Kindle” is a free app from Amazon with which you can make your own books from a PDF formatted document. You can find it on their website. Nice thing about it is that you have a copy on your computer where it is secure.
aka: there are numerous sources for ebooks that will work on the kindle. Archive org gives you the option of downloading in PDF or kindle format. Libraries also, and there are many more.
Bummin, KF and aka try project Gutenberg if you haven’t already for free out of copyright books in various formats. There are all sorts of fiction and non fiction books available. Some are pretty los but others are newer, at least by several decades lol!
Thanks for the tip!
😎🤙🏻
Good News: The Treatment Recommendation Panel at the National Institutes of
Health has now decided that Ivermectin can and should be used in the treatment
of the Covid disease
Bad News: Severe nation wide shortage of oral Ivermectin.
As Dr.Martenson has said many times “it didn’t have to be this way.”
Vickie that is good news. We won’t debate putting it on the skin again. Everyone to do their own research.
Monday Gallows Humor,
BREAKING NEWS, Unnamed sources say that the elite Ghostbusters Team has been deployed to DC in case all those Dead Biden Voters become violent.
Sorry I couldn’t get the whole meme picture of them at the Lincoln Memorial. Classic.
Just think in just 2 more days we can UNITED TOGETHER Say like Scarlett O’Hara say “I’ll never go Hungry again”.
OH WAIT… The Sock will FEED everybody with a few fish and loves? WOW. Correction-edit the Queen will say “Let them eat EBT cards”.
What’s that saying, it’s all fun and games until folks start getting hurt. Wait until that EBT card buys NOTHING.
THEN the Real Trouble will occur.
Grey man is a proverb, Proverbs 27:11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart, so that I can answer him who taunts me. 12The prudent see danger and take cover; but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
The Reverend Martin Luther King,,
Truly a great man.
😎 🤙🏻
Good morning folks,,
its a rainy chilly morning in the islands today.
What to do if the interweb gets shut down? Yall got a radio? Any ideas on getting info?
it can and may happen, our enemy, read the bureaucrats in DC, dont like us
So here’s a question regarding my earlier post on Panels, and Batteries. The Kit I was looking at had a 40A MPTT charge controller.I believe the 400watts of panels would max that out at 12V. Could I get another idetincal kit with 400 W’s of panels and the same 40A Controller and plug it into the same battery bank? Basically have 600W’s of panels connting to (2) 40A charge controllers, connected into the same battery bank, that would in turn feed a 3000W PSW inverter.Think I would rather build one bigger 400AH total bank to start off with. Thought? Thanks in advance!!
Meant 800 Watts total
Some charge controllers can be used in pairs like you describe but I don’t know about yours.
One of the better forums for solar is diysolarforum.com and for youtube videos: diy solar with will prowse. He has a lot of good how to videos and there are a lot of users on that forum that are very knowledgeable.
Thanks!
Another electrical question. Is it possible to tap into the lines of the well pump and the Septic pump and add in an outlet to connec up to a battery bank or a generator if grid power can’t be used? kind of link an available shut with a cutoff switch so as to not backfeed the house.
Double Tap,
They make “transfer switches” that can do just what you said, isolate a load from the electrial service so you can run the load off a generator. You could concevably put a break in the electrical run to your well pump and septic pump. this would involve putting a physical break in the lines, and mounting a switched electrical recepticle on the service side and then box with an SO cord (and male plug) from the load. The idea would be to normally have the SO cord plugged into the recepticle from service. In the event you needed to power the pumps off of a genset, you would disconnect the SO cord (with plug) and then plug it into a genset. Basically you would put “power cords and plugs” on the pumps so you could plug them into whatever power source you wanted to use. You must put a switch on the recepticle side, this way you can safely plug in the SO cord without a live load (switched off! if you plug into a recepticle with a live load, you can get ARC-Flash! very dangerous!) the only draw back i see would be the cost of the recepticle, SO cord, and plug rated for higher amperage of the pump. just my 2 cents. best to have an electrican help with this.
Double Tap,
look around online for a transfer switch. Just saw a single citcuit, 60 amp, 220v manual transfer setup for around $140. I would still suggest you get an electrican to help you mount this, you want to make sure it is installed safely.
Double Tap
I concur with Minerjim. If YOU install the transfer switch & it is done incorrectly harming someone or property. You will held responsible from what I have gathered as df is an electrician. Installation permits are way up in this area & inspectors are finding installs that could have caused injury or damage to neighboring properties.
Check your insurance cover believe it will not cover this type of loss(non professional install). Better to spend the $$$ and have a professional do the work that way your behind is covered. mho
D. T.
if you do the install yourself and something goes wrong, you can be held liable personally and your homeowners insurance will not cover you.
you will sleep better knowing a licensed contractor has done it right. if something goes wrong, its on them and not you.
P.S. electricity is nothing to fool with. i don’t mean to sound snide, but if you have to ask questions here, you don’t need to attempt it yourself. that stuff will kill you.
be safe, and good luck
Yeah I know enough to definitely hire an electrician. I was just looking to see what others have done to solve this problem.As an engineer I tend to over-analyze most everything so sometimes I like to see if there is an easier way. I had figured a transfer switch would be the best way and will eventually get one, didn’t know if there was another way that I didn’t know about that would be easier.
Thanks everyone!
Double Tap,
There is usually more than one way to solve a problem. My thought with the SO cord route was that you might have those compents on-hand, or could implement it in an emergency situation. It could be done to code also. Good opportunity to barter your engineering skills for an electricians electrical skills.
DoubleTap
I second the suggestion of getting a Transfer Switch. Then you can pick and choose what you can run using your generator and not worry about backfeeding the power lines.
Fox News video showing many thousands of Honduran immigrants heading north to you guess where.
And so it begins.
Yes indeed saw that too! They are trying to stop 10,000 of them at the far south Mexican border.
This “caravan” was said to be at our border by Friday to jus stroll on in because president Harris said our country would be open to all.
Come to Kalifornia go to the welfare office without ID or a Social security number fill out a 1page form and get 360$ per person and a 3 day motel voucher,
Go as a USA citizen and you are handed a 10 page form and must wait at least 2 weeks to be given help.
If ever, usually not
Vickie, and others,
Lets move all political oriented topics to the Open Forum at AttackOnLiberty.com
Oops. Sorry, Ken.
Question for those who have bought/cured/eaten one of the country hams.
Its been years since I have gotten one of them but I am thinking about it now.
Internet has a million suggestions about cooking,storing etc..
The directions read “dry cured, soak,cook and serve”
I would rather hear from one of you with experience in dealing with them.
After cooking can it be stored in vacuum packs or should it be frozen?
Appreciate any info you can share.
McCatfish, country hams will store real well as is, IF they are stored correctly which would be cool area with low moisture. They might still drip a little so put down protection on the floor. The idea behind the salt and sugar rub in the cloth is preservation. Mold might develop, but can be wiped off with vinegar. My grandparents/aunts/uncles stored a lot of hams and rotated them out. They had cool basements. If you make jerky seal in vac pacs or mylar with oxygen absorbers and a desiccant. I have found ham to be the best consistency rehydrated meat from the freeze dryer.
Thanks Mrs U.
I always wondered why no one mentioned hams for storage.
I did a search on here but it comes up with
“Ham Radios”
Not ready to try and eat one of those :)
The late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught that people “must learn to live together as brothers and sisters or perish together as fools,”
Wise wise man
Does anyone know how long hand/toe warmers will still work past their expiration date? I’m trying to put together an emergency kit for my son to keep in his backpack for school.
ITM,
After their expiration date, their effectiveness is greatly reduced. Air gradually gets through the thin plastic wrapping and that’s it. You might try vacuum sealing a few of them to see if that extends their life. I used some at work the winter of the year after purchase and they were minimally useful.
Thank you for your response jon dowe. I have some from 2016, so they are obviously past their time. I do have some with more current expiration dates, but didn’t want to waste these if they might still be useful.
I don’t have all of the details yet however it seems that a judge in New York issued a court order forcing a hospital to treat a 80s female with COVID infection
and on ventilator with Ivermectin. She is suppose to be recovering.
Thank you PapaS, think I am going to leave water problem for bro. Moving in next month, this well stuff is just over my pay grade, will pass info off to him. He is the mechanic & Mr fixit man. Naval orange tree did well this year, 7 days dehydrating candied orange slices, tested with da & friend, loved them, want a refill, nope, great way to consume vit C, made orange liqueur & candied orange rind also. Don’t want to see another orange for a month.