Here is a place to share things you’ve been thinking about lately. What kind of things?
- Recent accomplishments in preparedness.
- Projects being worked on.
- Thoughts on world events.
- Recent purchases & recommendations
- Current events related to politics, terrorism, crime – whatever.
- Go on an adventure or have fun? Share it!
- Whatever is on your mind….
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My turn…..
Kayaking: Hoping to go kayaking again Sunday mornin depending on the weather. In my area of the country, there is a 50% chance of rain all weekend. Need to remind my son to bring his remote control boat out on the river. Bought it for him for Christmas and it hasn’t been taken out of the box yet.
Hitler: 128-year-old man in Argentina claims to be Hitler.
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The Sawyer Bucket Kit is available now for only $10 with Free Shipping. Filter not included.
SOLAR CHARGE CONTROLLER: Picked up a new charge controller. Actually, need a couple of these ammo box projects. I also have 45-watt Habor Freight Solar Kit that is several years old and the charge controller doesn’t work.
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Your turn……
Garden in full swing and wife is spending Saturdays at the farmers market with excess. She’s done a good job and is taking excess canning as well as veggies and honey, eggs etc… My daughter said they fired things out of cannons smaller than some of the Zucchini :).. Save the seeds.. scrape out two cups and freeze for winter Zucchini bread.. which is awesome!
I’ve begun accelerating my preps a little .. Not liking the tenor of what I see from the left. My mobile load-out is upgraded as well.
Looking for a pre 1995 diesel 7.4 ford .. burns diesel, kerosene and JP3 no mods. Just starting.. As a farm I can legally have a Red Diesel Tank on my property and save $.95 per gallon on taxes.
Storm is coming I think
GG58
I agree sir.
Becoming a bit concerned by the Left’s terroristic leanings, and the fact that people in general seem to have no problem with it.
Putting in high tunnels here in DFW in my backyard. Will have shade cloth up during hot times and PVC in the winter.
I’m feeling the same as Indiana Joe. There seems to be complacency and acceptance of the violence from the Left. Very concerning. I worry about the reaction from Conservatives who typically will take and take abuse but then explode.
Expanding the chicken yard. Doubling the area for the Chickens and adding a run for Guinea’s. When finished, I’ll double the number of hens I have and add 12 Guinea’s.
Browsing the sales on the internet this week. Natchez Shooter’s Supply had a great deal on Remington .40. Golden Saber 165 Gr. BJHP rounds normally $28.49 on sale for $14.49. Stocked up.
Garden is producing beans like crazy this year. I cut back from 7 rows to 1 row of Blue Lake String Beans this year. My first picking of a 65 foot row has given us 14 quarts. I’ll have to pick again today. Also planted an experiment this year. Seed and Feed store had a speckled lima. Planted one row. Found out it was a climber, set up a trellis for it to climb. It will be interesting to see what it produces. Butter beans, field peas, peppers and tomatoes coming in also. Not much time left for anything else.
Had planned on going down to McClellanville, SC for some salt water fishing earlier. Garden maintenance squashed that plan. Have to wait until this fall now, depending on the storm season. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo used this area for a bull’s eye.
checking out SC Gun School in Easley, SC. Have classes on Tactical Rifle and Handgun. What the heck, at 71 years old it would be a good refresher if my knees hold up.
Summer here in SW Florida means heat, humidity, and bugs. The greens are stressed and will soon be done. I planted okra, and Chinese yard-long beans a few days ago because they love the heat. Also I sprouted a few more moringa seeds that will be potted in soil today.
CaptTurbo…can you recommend a commercial source of mornings seed ? TIA
CaptT, are these these the green beans yku in chinese resteruants?
Remember, if you buy from Harbor Freight you are buying from CHINA!
Unfortunately, same can be said for most items at Northern Tool…
I agree. It’s very hard to buy American, and in some cases impossible, But it’s worth the effort.
After the months of rhetoric came to action last week during the shooting. I never really talked to my brother in straight, plain talk, about prepping and events. Because of said events, like GoingGray58, I wanted to talk about the storm we see brewing. I think I’ve mentioned it here before. He works in a building that you will not see on Google maps, (meh).
I asked him what he was seeing, which is pretty precarious for him to “say” anything. Then I asked him on personal level was his eyes wide awake to what’s happening and he said yes. I was very much a peace with the fact he is prepping now. He’s in a bit of better financial place that most of us here..,(another meh). But the fact he’s actually doing something practical with it and preparing brings me relief. He has a realistic and practical plan for most contingencies. I told him about the cotton ball thing and he replied with, “oh you mean something like using aluminum foil or bubble gum wrapper with a AA battery?” I was even more pleased.
Tore out my entire garden and started over again. I may use modern insecticides to get it started again, but I’m heavily researching how settlers/pioneers/Indians did it. It’s not possible to store enough insecticide to last years and protect the food. Some of the stuff they used in the olden days..pfffft. Forget it, no wonder they didn’t live long.
Here is another leftist nut job praising the shooting and calling for the hunting of republicans!!
http://nj1015.com/hunt-republicans-says-union-county-democrat-in-response-to-shooting/
Any suggestions on how to add storage space to a small SUV with no roof rack or trailer hitch? If we ever have to bug out by car, we’ll have 2-3 large adults and a big dog. The only thing I’ve thought of is to wrap some of the bulkier items in a rubber-backed area rug and tie it to the roof. Could we do the same to the vertical hatchback? Could we overstuff the interior and tie down the rear door? Any suggestions appreciated. I know they routinely do things like this in Third World countries, but I can’t see myself driving down the road with a tied-on load bigger than the car. Of course, when it comes down to it, I’ll be doing a lot of things I never thought I’d do!
There are roof racks you can get that attach to the door window sills, and others that attach via straps going thru the car windows. We were looking at both types, for my wife’s previous car. I have seen both in use, on various cars we have seen on the highways.
The soft car roof ravk works pretty well from REI. Fit my 2004 ford taurus well during my drive from Kalifornia to North Texas
I’d get the trailer hitch and buy the rack that attaches there is not a 4×8 trailer.. takes almost nothing to tote it.. Critical stuff in the cab .. secondary in the trailer .. IMO .
I agree with GG58. Spring for the hitch. Traveling with the hatch open can suck in exhaust fumes. You probably won’t die, but you will be miserable and tired.
You can buy trailer hitches relatively cheap. Some like $120 and under. I’m sure there are plenty of Youtube videos how to install by yourself. Even Uhaul sells them and will install them, but that would be around $250. But DIY on even older car works. For example if this guy can do this on a 2002 Honda Civic. Surely, your car can have something put on that will tow a 4×8 like GoingGray58 said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCc2bKZrfX4
Thank you all! I’m going to have to break down and do something like that, because I’m getting very worried about the future. Our primary bugout location is only 35 miles away, mostly by interstate, but I have enough concerns about getting there that I want to be able to take everything we need in one trip. There is an alternate route, but it’s 20 miles longer. Are you all feeling the same sense of urgency that I am? I’m making lists upon lists of what needs to go and in what order so I don’t freeze up when the time comes, and even the kids are voluntarily playing an active role in our plans.
We were working on this ourselves, this evening. We have a thule carrier for my wife’s car, now. Had to modify the attachments.
Our major concern is our dogs. Way less complicated than human children, but challenging all the same.
Let us know how it turns out.
First let me qualify this, that I am no Solar expert. What I do know though is there are two kinds of charge controllers: PWM and MPPT. The MPPT is more efficient. Also, monocrystalline panels are better than polycrystalline panels, and pure sine wave inverters are better than square wave or modified sine wave inverters. From what I can figure, the combination of MPPT charge controller and pure sine wave inverter is your best bet for running sensitive electronics and some appliances.That is pretty much the sum total of my Solar knowledge.
Uncle George;
Yup fairly accurate information on Solar. I would add this .. If you use a battery bank, and let Solar and Street charge your batteries then use off of the battery bank you get a steady voltage and conditioned power. The output of a Solar Panel varies with the amount of sun and at what angle it strikes the Panel. You do have to remember that VDC drops off quickly over distance though. So if you need to run a long line it’s better to run separate panels and batteries closer to where you need it. It took me a while to realize I was used to AC power from a single source … anyway two smaller projects are more energy efficient than one bing one stretched at a distance.
just a couple thoughts
GG58
The biggest challenges for me at the moment is the garden was only out in 3 weeks ago and nothing is producing yet. If this was grid down we’d be eating only from food storage or foraging for food. Two, how to travel to two possible bol spots but one is nearly 5 hrs away. Three, job is VERY iffy at the moment.
JH, I commend you sir. The very fact you started a garden and found out what your seeing now. How difficult it can be when we have everything at our finger tips compared to when it hits the fan. Your already ahead of most people. I’ve posted on here before that I had to dive into this whole gardening, PH balance, water balance, soil food for plants, time of the year vs what to grow and insects. Sheesh. I recommend looking up a good online resource to review your gardening and why it’s not producing. There are plent of universities, youtube, what not to help you in this endeavor.
JH… getting started is a big deal. Crops usually take 70 – 120 days to produce depending on area, temps, and crop type. Imagine something happening in the fall.. depending on where you live, it could be 6-7 months away from food. While I’m not there yet I’m working toward 9 Months of meals. And of course I moved out and built .. so some foraging is possible.
I have one location that is about 6 hours.. two major cities and bridges over geographic obstacles. So m.. I get ity other is in the opposite direction 4 hours .. similar problems.. and a 3rd 2.5 hrs .. similar issues. I think the key is have a plan, and evaluate what your best option is at the time. second key is LEAVE Early.. you can always come back if you don’t need it later.
Jobs man .. sorry to hear it. Do what you can and look for another one .. maybe in a location closer to where you need to be. If ur like me .. and over 40 .. that become really tough. All you can do is all you can do though. Do what you so you don’t have to look back and say I should have.. and didn’t.
Good luck man … scratch that dirt and learn.. knowledge and what yo have in you library and head are invaluable.
GG58
Speaking of gardening, my little yarrow crop had me puzzled. It grew like weeds (ha ha) this year, but it just didn’t have the right scent. Since I use it for medicinal purposes, I was concerned about whether or not I should keep drying the leaves or give it up as a complete loss this year. I contacted our local Extension office, and they pointed out that our weather has been unusually cold and wet in recent months. In all the years that I’ve been growing this, I never stopped to consider that it needs a certain amount of sunshine and heat to form the necessary oils that make it so valuable. The pros advised me to just be patient, and everything should be fine in a couple weeks.
Capt. Michaels- insecticides are extremely harmful and most people over use them.
Integrated Pest Management is a very effective approach. Have you ever tried Companion planting ? By planting certain veggies next to another bugs can be
repelled.I know it can be very frustrating.I have always gardened organically but living in the north is so radically different than in warmer climates. Lightning