From the Desk of John Rourke – February 5th, 2024

“Life happens” is a frequent saying and is very true. My publishing schedule has been anything but consistent. Good intentions mean nothing. I’m working on that. I changed jobs a few months ago and my commute to and from work is much more than I expected. 1 hour to get there each morning, and around 1.5 hours to get home depending on traffic and weather. As you can imagine during a snowstorm everything slows. A couple of weeks ago I spent over 2 hours getting home during one such storm.

snowstorm, commute, travel, winter survival, prepare, prep

It is what it is and I’m thankful to have this job as the region doesn’t have a great demand for my professional expertise.

So – It’s time to get back on track, especially with the shitstorm going on all around us. If there was ever a time for you and I to be in contact more often it’s now. One thing I would ask of all of you if you could: When I publish something that is of interest – please share it with friends, family, and like-minded people. I’m doing my best to spread the word about preparedness and self-reliance across numerous social media platforms. I could use all the help I can get. Thx.

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During a recent trip to Walmart, I saw they were bringing out all the Springtime supplies. Kinda crazy to do that here as we have a lot of winter left. They have displays of seeds, seed starting kits, outdoor tools, and lots of canning supplies. I had seen someone I follow on YouTube report that their local Walmarts has an above-average amount of canning supplies scattered throughout the store. She thought that Walmart was predicting a large influx of people who were going to get into canning that normally were not involved in the activity.

canning supplies, Walmart, spring, planting, garden, gardening, food storage, jars, prepare

At my own local Walmart, they have a couple of end-caps of canning jars, and the main area where they normally keep canning supplies is maxed out. Does this suggest that the upper management team at Walmart knows there is going to be severe economic trouble and that supplies will be in high demand?

I think they simply monitor and see trends in product demands. Canning and gardening are on an upward trend. It makes sense they would increase the supply level they have in the store to meet an increased demand from consumers.

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A recent trip to Sam’s Club showed that 25-pound bags of rice are available for $12.98. While this is a 30% increase from just a few years ago it still represents what is the most affordable means to store calories.

If you have not secured a substantial food supply NOW is the time to do so.

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I’d written about our woodstove several months ago and the issue with it smoking more than we thought it should. Well, over the past several weeks we’ve fine-tuned the operation and now have no problem. In fact, this thing is absolutely fantastic in keeping the cabin toasty even in sub-zero temperatures.

We use propane for most of our heating, however, when the temps drop in the low 20s and below the woodstove is called in to handle the heating responsibilities.

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Stay safe all and please…..keep preparing.

Rourke

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