Folks – I’ve been away for a couple weeks. Maine Prepper Girl and I traveled to South Carolina and Georgia to visit family and friends. It was great, however, just too short and not able to spend the needed time with people we would like. My youngest son’s wife is expecting their first grandchild(my 4th) in March. It’s really cool watching them get ready for this next stage of their lives.
You may not be aware, but my youngest son was married at 19 years old. He was married in Chimney Rock, NC right where Hurricane Helena caused such severe damage. Kass and I stayed right downtown where so many pictures were taken of the destruction.
The trip south went well. We drove the 16 hour trip both ways(I don’t fly). The weather was fantastic when we arrived as it was 61 degrees on Dayh 1 and 59 on Day 2. This was quite a change compared to the teens and single digits in Maine. What this warmer weather did was get Kass and I talking about the upcoming gardening season as well as the chickens and greenhouse we will be getting. Kass will be building a chicken run and coop once school gets out(she’s a school nurse now). One of my summer projects is to build a small greenhouse.
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
Anyone seen this movie – Arcadian? It sounded interesting, and I am thinking of giving it a shot.
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
Over the past couple of months, Walmart has had crossbow arrows on clearance. I’ve managed to accumulate about 12 to goo along with what I already had.
I’ve been meaning to do a review on this crossbow and maybe a video to talk about it and good deals you can get if you have patience. This Barnet was bought on eBay for $60. It didn’t come with a scope and grabbed a used one off eBay for about $20. I wanted a recurve as I wanted to stay away from the complexity of a compound. Extra string and the aforementioned arrows I believe have rounded out a pretty good system.
Oh – I also bought several packs of broadheads on clearance for $5 for a set of 3. Great deal!
So much fun shooting this thing!
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
So – Trump has been office for a bit more than a month and I am shocked at the level of true aggressive and needed change that has happened. In such a short time so many of things that many of us have hoped for is actually taking place. Actually – many things I never imagined are taking place. I’m so impressed. Of course not everything is happening exactly as I wish, but, in such a short time I could not be more thrilled.
One thing I’d like to see are charges against the corruption that we know has taken place. Maybe that will happen.
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
We’ve had a little snow this year…. 🙂
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
As we inch closer to gardening season, we are looking at really ramping up our efforts for food production as well as improving our overall system. Adding fruit bushes and trees is a major component.
We planted several young blueberry bushes 2 years ago and have had good production. Blueberries grow well in Maine and now I’m thinking of adding upwards of 8-10 more plants focusing on future growth. In addition to blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, elderberry, and echinacea, are also planned.
We have 4 apple trees and one peach tree. Likely we will add 2-3 more apple trees.
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
As I’m typing this I just completed some meal prep for the week. Every Sunday Kass and I get ready for the work-week and this includes making certain meals and making sure we have what we need for the week. We often make breakfast sandwiches, which often consist of eggs, cheese, bacon and/or ham, on an English muffin. Salt, pepper, and garlic salt are usually added.
Going through the drive-thru at Mc Donalds and grabbing an Egg McMuffin with hashbrowns and drink runs upwards of $11. Homemade meal? Much less and healthier.
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
Something I’ve been doing recently is going to Tractor Supply and other businesses and looking at books. These books are related to farming, home improvement, homesteading, raising animals, gardening, bee-keeping, etc. Books today are crazy expensive, so if I see something I would like to enjoy and if the cost is what I would consider excessive I’ll look on eBay and see if I can find a used copy cheaper. Often I’ll find a used copy and sometimes a brand new copy much cheaper.
This is allowing us to build an extensive physical preparedness library.
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
I recently had a comment from someone related to an article I published where I spoke of my dissatisfaction of traffic to this website and my feeling that I must change something to either get more visitors and engagement – or move to do something else. This comment suggested that it was ridiculous to complain that I am not getting an increase in traffic when I am only posting once per week.
Initially the comment got me pissed off. Knowing I don’t make the best decisions when I am upset, I waited and came to the conclusion that the comment was irritating – and 100% correct.
When I ran my previous website, it became one of the most popular survival and preparedness websites in existence, I was posting at a minimum daily. Sometimes twice per day. I should not expect the same traffic if the material which people are wanting to read shows up less frequently.
Yup – I agree. So – I need to publish more often.
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
Ok folks. I hope everyone had a great week. Stay safe!!
Rourke
Off-Grid® Compact Fire Starting Kit
FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS
This portable fire starting kit comes in a compact rugged metal box. Perfect for a bugout bag, survival kit, thrown in a vehicle - or kept handy for getting the firepit going.
INGREDIENTS INCLUDE:
Waterproof Matches(16)
Char Cloth
Ferrocerium Rod
Carbon Steel Striker
Cotton Balls Infused w/Petroleum Jelly
Butane Lighter
- The included waterproof matches can be completely submerged and will still ignite with no problem. Simply shake or blow the water off and then strike on the included striker piece. These matches burn at over 1,200 degrees.
- Char Cloth is a natural material made specifically to be easy to ignite even with a very small spark. This makes it an ideal fire starting material.
- The included butane lighter will strike a flame over 1,000 times. If you haven't made a fire by then, give up.
- The ferrocerium rod and included striker can throw thousands of sparks over and over again with each scrape. These sparks burn upwards of 3,000 degrees providing an excellent method to start a fire.
- Petroleum jelly cotton balls are one of the absolute best fire starters around. They light easy and burn time is measured in minutes.
Multiple methods of fire starting.
Free Shipping.
Could it get any better? Well, I'm working on it.
Great book! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316442976/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
I think I have most of those. Lots of info.
Over my lifetime I have planted fruit trees and bushes, but without a good plan. Consequently my results are/were less that great. Research and plant considering cross polination. Many sellers offer plants without supplying info on polinators. Do your homework for best results.
Also, make sure you are buying varities that are proven performers for your area. Don’t just trust what the catalog says. I’ve planted peach trees that the growers advertise do well in my area. Turns out they don’t. Get some input from locals (in your micro-climate) before buying trees and plants. A late frost can completely ruin a whole seasons harvest. In my case I needed to plant varieties that blossom at a later date than those I originally purchased.
Congrats on the new baby!
Ebay’s great for finding low-cost used books, but don’t forget about local thrift stores (particularly those run by churches) and the flea markets that’ll be popping up as soon as the weather gets warmer. Libraries and the YMCA sometimes have annual sales where books are sold by the bag full. My problem isn’t with finding books, it’s trying to find the space to store them all!