Mid week update

Things have settled into a strange routine here around the farm. Normally this time of year, I would be in a mad rush to preserve and can pretty much every day. Not so this year.

Garden still hasn't produced much to actually put up. Pulled up the potato plants Sunday. Got probably 50 lbs of potatoes. Fried some up on Monday night after taking Bear swimming. If you have never grown your own potato, the taste is so much different from your store bought variety. This is gonna sound strange but it actually tastes like a potato.

Something has been into the melon patch and at my prize cantalopes. Eating perfect cup sized holes in them and sucking the insides out.

Have been hard at work inside the M109 working on cut work right now. Hopefully we will get the framing done inside of it this weekend.

Dried some partridge berry this weekend.

A mom to be best friend. Will make a dried tincture with it when needed.

Trying to work out a deal with the local Army/Navy store (who are prep minded). They teach a Israeli Combat class and I am trying to barter teaching a herb medicine chest class in exchange for training. While there this weekend, was able to pick up a sweet suturing kit. Check one thing off my medicine chest kit list!

Sign of the times hits close to home as well. Family across the street from us moved out this weekend to beat the foreclosure. Didn't even know they were in trouble. Didn't socialize with these folks much as they were more into your typical drinking/bbq parties on the weekends. Of course they left their yard a foot high. Neighbors are already pitching in to keep it mowed.

Well, I'm gonna try to beat the heat and storms today. Definitely an inside day for us with temperatures reaching 105 without the heat index. Forcasted to get some more rocking storms this evening. Area is just recovering from Monday mornings derecho.

M109A3 conversion

This is what has been keeping me busy over the last few days along with major construction plans this weekend.

Right now the front half is waiting for its 3rd coat of white paint. It has really soaked up the paint.
Trip to the lumber yard tonight to pick up the wood for the Bed/Fuel storage area and the built over cabinet.

The fuel tank will hold 325 gallons of fuel. Good for a bug out situation. The smaller tank is a water tank and will hold 70 gallons of water on board. This will all be enclosed into the bed area, hopefully with alot more storage options. I'm worried about Grey Knight's plans for this since it seems to me storage will be very limited. If all else fails bins can be piled on the bed area, I guess.

Yuppies and the Drought

Reading the local new sources sometimes causes me to turn the air blue in our home office.

Drought stories are popping up at a greater rate locally and restrictions on watering and burning are being mandated for most towns near me. While we are on well water and don't rely on the town or city to provide water for us, the yuppies believe I should not be watering our food.

They comment on these drought stories with comments like prison terms for those wasting water on their gardens  (in my mind's eye, they are commenting as they drink their Double Lg extra Grande double shot something or other from Starbucks- who draws off the local water well) and sit in their corporate offices who are still watering their lawns (that don't grow food with town water).

Went out and about tonight (paying the insurance) and went by 3 golf courses who were actively watering at the time. I'm growing food for the winter and to put up for tough times. Last winter there were times we would have gone hungry if it hadn't been for my garden, but their 18 hole recreation time is more important!

We only water for an hour a day after dark and even that isn't keeping the veggies alive. I will be lucky if i pull a few melons this year. The pumpkins are baseball size and already turning orange. Corn is knee high and putting out tassels, definitely not a good yield sign. Beans are drying up. Taters are about dead, might be able to pull 20 lbs or so with what was grown earlier this season. Sure, I've harvested a bushel of onions and a nice container of garlic, but that's not going feed me for a year.
Can't tell what the salisfy is doing under the ground but the broccoli has yet to flower.

Meanwhile Mother Nature keeps teasing me. Out with Bear dog this afternoon and could see the storm clouds to the south of us and hear the thunder even. Rushed in to look at the radar. Was a pretty picture..

 But of course it stayed to the south of us and we didn't even see a drop. That will the news that next week we will be seeing triple digit heat again, the news just keeps getting better!

Do It yourself MRE Drink Mix and more!

This post was inspired by K over at http://planningandforesight.blogspot.com/  Every week it seems, he reviews MRE's  and I was paging thru his back posts today about them. I noticed the price tag on the MRE drink mixes and then got thinking about how the Grey Knight likes these little Wylers packets to mix into his water at work.

 Now last time we bought these several months ago I was shocked at the price. Was roughly 3.50 for a box of 8 of these, which makes 16 8 oz servings. However at Aldi, I got this container of drink mix for less than 2.00 for 60 8 oz servings.

So quick math just to give myself a headache...
 .21 a serving for the Wylers
 .03 a serving for the cheap Aldi brand

Now we all know, carrying around a container of drink mix while hiking, camping, bugging out, etc takes up alot of room in any pack. How about a easy way to tote these around?

The bright yellow package with all the fancy labeling is of course the Wylers package.

The other one is mine. Here's how you do it. It's very simple and can be adapted to hold instant coffee, powdered creamers, any dried beverage mix.

First off you get ahold of some clear straws. One straw gets cut in half. This half will hold your individual serving.

You will need a candle, any one will do and a pair of needle nose pliers. Pinch the straw between the pliers at the end leaving a small tail to it. Hold this tail over your candle to heat seal the plastic from the straw... like so...

 Pour 3/4 tsp of the drink mix in (may need all of the straw for things like coffee etc.) This is a tedious job, something to do while watching tv or a movie or such.  Heat seal the other end and you are good to rock. You could probably fit 50 of these or more in a qt ziplock bag. Just throw in a pair of nail clippers to open the end of your homemade drink straw and add to your water.

Prepper Overload?

Anyone else experience this? We have realized that we are severely disorganized in our preps. In a bug out situation, we would most likely end up leaving essentials behind simply because we couldn't find them.
The Grey Knight works from 5 am to 7pm 5 days a week, and we had been trying to get things done on the weekends along with prepping tasks as well as running the farm. I've kinda woken up and realized that since I'm home 7 days a week with just me and the dog during the week, I need to light a fire under my butt and take this organization on myself.
Of course, this also comes with my household chores, farm chores and all the drying, canning and weeding that comes with that. I'm not having a pity party just feeling a tad overwhelmed.
Right now I'm attempting to work at least a corner in the back shed clean and organized making lists of things we need to repair and/or get while cleaning and organizing that area. I'm also trying to locate indoor preps by category in one spot as well. One indoor, one outdoor project a day plus chores.

Of course, the type A in me feels this isn't going fast enough or that I'm not doing enough, anyone else get this kind of prepper depression?

Updates from the Garden

I know I have been doing vacation posts for the last few weeks, so I figured I would catch all of you up on what's happening on the farm.

As of this morning, the weeding is finally done in the main gardens. The heat hampered us alot in getting out and weeding but plugged at it a few hours in the morning a day.
So far it looks like it isn't a totally loss.  The carnival peppers are coming into colors, the jalepenos are there though not abundant. The cherokee beans seem to be loving this weather and the onions are flopping over giving sign they are ready to be pulled and cured.

The potatoes are looking like they will be ready to harvest soon. Think I messed up and got a early variety this year. The amish paste tomatoes are looking amazing. It's hard to believe I grew them from seed this year. Usually I have no luck growing them from seed. The radishes are putting up flowers and I've been saving them for seed along with saving seed from the Egyptian Walking onions and the chives. The salisfy is doing its thing underground (first year for this). The corn is in the same state as the rest of the corn in the state, though I do have a few tassels showing. The dill is thin and hopefully will go to seed and fill out the patch next year and the sunflowers are slowly pushing their way skyward.

The broccoli should have flowers by now but doesn't. The ghost pumpkins (white ones) are very sad with only one bitty one trying to survive. 1 of 4 of the sun and moon watermelons is alive still. 3 of the 4 cantalope (this amazing orange and red striped one) are thriving. The sugar pie pumpkins are taking over the rest of the plot. Looks like a few of the basket gourds and dipper gourds will make it.

This heat wave is supposed to break tonight for us, but of course no rain in sight at least in the 10 day forecast. Hopefully this will allow me to get out more next week and work on harvesting in the herb gardens and getting the dehydrators going. House needs to be finished painting and we have been slowly working on putting tires on the M109 at night. Just changing one of those tires is a chore at 400 lbs a piece.

Of course there is still the wood to split, should have at least a cord when it is all done. Now to get the woodstove! Going to work on my fire pit later in the month, I believe for cooking more outside with the dutch oven and of course dying yarns and fabrics and such.

Beating the Heat

Here is a snippet from our weather forecast.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL BE BETWEEN 95
AND 100 DEGREES ACROSS THE AREA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL ONCE AGAIN BE BETWEEN 95 AND 100 DEGREES ON
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.

THERE IS A CHANCE FOR STORMS WEDNESDAY NIGHT. A FEW OF THESE
STORMS ACROSS NORTHERN IL MAY REACH SEVERE LIMITS.

A CHANCE OF STORMS WILL LINGER ON THURSDAY...MAINLY IN THE
MORNING.

THERE IS A CHANCE FOR STORMS LATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY
NIGHT ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA. AT THIS TIME...THERE IS A SMALL
CHANCE FOR SEVERE WEATHER DURING THAT PERIOD

As you can see, it has been hot! Other than a slight soaking the other day (.37 of a inch) we haven't had rain in over a month. Yes, we have seen plenty of "forecasted" storms but they move south or north of us.  Meanwhile, we don't have ac except for in one room, the office. Bear's nighttime crate has been moved into it and frankly we spend frequent breaks in the office with the door closed to cool off.

How else are we beating the heat? Well with temperatures only cooling down to mid 70's at night, once dusk comes we close up the bedroom door, and put fans in the windows on high. Bear has been eating plenty of bowls of ice, even stopping to lay his head in the bowl on a bed of ice. He also has been spending time in his wading pool. (Need to get me my own since he hates to share it with me!)

Other things we have been doing are grilling outside to keep the temperature from going higher in the house, keeping lotion and body spray in the fridge for a quick cool off. I've found a quick cool shower before bed helps me to sleep faster in the heat.

Most of us rely on cooling to make our life's comfortable, what would you do without it if TSHTF?
Thankfully, I sold my beater truck last night and the money to fix the central air is now sitting on my desk (if they don't charge me a arm and a leg). If the company is too high on their estimate, several window units are getting bought for the house to help with cooling.

Here is hoping for some cooler weather!

Who are you to tell me?

Seems to me that everyone lately wants 2 cents into my life. My question is Who are you to tell me what to do with my castle, my body, my life etc.

We live in what I thought was a free country at least last time I read the Constitution. Now a days it seems like the federal government, state governments and even the local governments are trying to tell us what to do.

Lately in the news I've been seeing articles from NYC trying to ban certain types of food, California is another big one on that. It's my body! If I wanna eat a double sized movie popcorn and finish it off with a Big Gulp Slurpee (though I could see no instance where I would want to do that) its my body! Who are you to tell me what to put into it!

However I have seen some outfits on some people that should be illegal in all 50 states!

Now I read about small towns trying to fine and even jail people for non comformist lawns? http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/14/property-maintenance-law-in-new-york-village-may-expand-mayor-says/?test=latestnews
Let's face facts, we are preppers. We are really big on the comformists front. We reuse, repurpose and think outside the box with our properties. My township ticks me off because they have deemed I'm not legally able to have chickens (even though you can have chickens in the city of chicago on a postage stamp lawn) because I don't have 8 acres. Tell me, even free ranging do 3 or 4 chickens really need 8 acres to roam and how the hell do you find them or keep them safe if they are roaming 8 acres?

We grew 200 sq feet of wheat last year. Just an experiment to see if we could and what kind of harvest we would get. To most people that's a eyesore on a suburban lawn. We usually have various projects going on around the farm including wood to spilt, barrels that are being fixed into something new, etc. My point is I bought the property, it's mine. It's MY CASTLE! Who is the town, state etc to tell me what it looks like. Out of respect for my neighbors and myself I try to keep it looking cleaned up and maintained, mowed etc, but there are times when it's not.

My neighbor has flipped out for 3 years because I have no plans to reseal my driveway. Can he report me for that under these new laws? (of course this the neighbor who mows every 2 days, we have a special name in this house rhymes with Rain all?)

I know big rant today, but seriously govt and people should keep their noses where they belong!

Raspberry Pecan Jam

Ambitious this morning after finally getting a night's sleep. Bear has developed this new habit of wanting to go lay down outside in the middle of the night. He barks when he wants to go out. Night before, I didn't get to sleep til close to 430 am and up with him again at 630 am. The training collar seems to be helping though I still have to get up to tell him No and to go back to sleep but less times last night.

Anyway, made Raspberry Pecan Jam this morning. This is the first year that our bushes have really produced and I am picking a little over a quart a day with no end in sight. Still plenty of green berries on the bushes.

Recipe is your basic jam recipe.

Raspberry Pecan Jam
4 quarts of Raspberries (roughly 6 1/2 cups)
2 cups of sugar
1/2 package of powdered pectin
scant tbsp of water
tbsp of lemon juice
1 cup of ground pecans

Combine everything but the pecans in a pot. Bring to boil and allow to boil for 20 min. (220 on candy thermometer). Last 5 minutes add the ground pecans.

Process in hot sterilized canning jars (pints) for 15 minutes at a rolling boil. Makes 4 pints.

It's like a peanut butter jelly sandwhich in a jar! Makes a impressive Christmas gift as well.

Doings at Farm

I know I've been quiet lately, just have been really really busy. Here's one of the reasons why.

I'm in the midst of painting the house this summer. I figure since we have no rain (haven't seen it in ages) I might as well paint.
Harvesting the raspberries has been a daily chore as well. The front center bed in the picture is our new Native garden. All plants that are native to this area including wild garlic, wild onion, wild ginger and the little tree that will get about 15 feet tall is a paw paw tree.

Last night we made the first of many purchases for our bug out truck, the M109a4.

I know what in the world? The large tank will hold 325 gallons of diesel fuel, and the smaller tank is a 35 gallon water tank.  These two tanks will be the base for a queen sized bed/storage area. A wooden frame will be built around them, making for a very tall bed =P. As you can see there will be 3 windows in the bedroom type area. More storage units will be built onto the walls. The Grey Knight is hoping to get a rare day off mid week to start working on the framing for this.

The heat has been oppressive but good training I quess if TSHTF. With no ac, anytime it gets over 90 here its uncomfortable. The house was a small lake/camp house and has itty bitty windows that don't allow for good circulation. Bear has been spending tons of time in the pool! Just really wish we would get some rain. Ground is like hard cement between waterings.

M109A3

 Or better titled Call us Crazy Preppers...

Here is the new beast....

Our plans are to turn it into a rv/bug out truck. Bought it at government auction and drove it home on Thrusday. Of course, par with military trucks, we broke down on the way home. The Grey Knight has lots of mechanical knowledge and is slowly teaching me. I even managed to change the tire on it today (which is no small feat considering the tires weigh 450 lbs each)

The trip was nice though. Bear was a stellar dog! So well behaved considering the long trip.
We stopped at a wayside (remember those?? hardly any states have them anymore!)

Here is the gratitious cute Bear photo...

Begging for the last piece of my lunch. Bear allows me to eat a little of my ...wait no his...food. Love the eyes..so soulful.

Later we stopped at another wayside and while The Grey Knight walked Bear, I used the lovely pit toilet. 2 Seconds later, he sees me running to the car chanting I need my camera, I need my camera..Grabbed it and raced back to take this picture for my fellow bloggers!

Well my p

hoto is as fuzzy as they are!

I called them Baby Round Beavers...they had tiny flat tails.

Huddled together for warmth, no mama in sight, just outside the bathroom door.

Needless to say traveling with us is always an adventure!

Try this one!

Fire in my Soul

I know that I haven't posted a update since we came back from vacation. We especially I came back from vacation with a fire in my soul when it comes to preparing.

I don't know if it was the sheer sense of accomplishment in being able to bring back 5 lbs of catfish fillets, and 3 nice healthy sized bass. Not to mention learning the skill of skinning and cleaning a fish.
I'm not sure if it was saving found seeds including paw paws, or putting up a nice mason jar full of file (sassafrass leaves used to season gumbo).

We came back and threw ourselves into preparing the garden and weeding and planting more veggies. Looked into several local classes to learn skills. Another thing that I realized when on vacation is that I need more range time on weapons. I'm not sure if just the sight of a 12 guage shot gun being held by a 100 lb woman is gonna scare them dead. I was proud of myself, I haven't fired a gun since I was probably 10. The 30-30 scared the hell out of me but I put on my big girl panties and fired it anyway. Hell of a recoil!

Bear came back much better trained from doggie boot camp but the grooming there was horrible! We had to cut alot of the large mats out of his fur. Is a shame since he's such a pretty dog normally.

One of the highlights of the trip for me (besides fishing every day and actually catching fish!) will sound strange. The campground hosts (federal employees) were a husband and wife team. They have a sweet deal. They camp there for free for 8 months of the year and the feds pay them plus provide a camper. The 2 of them were also preppers! In talking with them, the subject of trapping specically squirrel trapping came up. He told us how easy it was to trap them using number 1 traps and peanut butter. Simply nail the trap to a tree and bait with peanut butter.
So I'm now the proud owner of 6 number 1 traps and 2 number 3 traps. Can't use them in this backwards state , but I have them if the shit hits.

Meanwhile the gardens continue to grow and the herbs are in full harvest state. Put up a full tray of oregano yesterday, sage currently is in the dryer. Chamomile needs to be next.

It's Happened ....TSHTF

As I mentioned we will be leaving for ten days this week. We orginally were going to take Bear with us, but fortunes changed and we have decided to put him in doggie training camp for the 10 days to work on his manners. I think this will greatly reduce my stress level and allow me to get more done around here. So we dropped Bear off today and The Grey Knight just came in with a funny story!

(We have two rescue cats named Jethro and Horatio)

Jethro: OMG, it's happened!!
Horatio: What?
Jethro: First the dog disappeared! Then the humans disappeared!! The shit has hit the fan!!

Jethro: We need to load up our bug out bags! You grab the cat food! I will get the bottles of water!

Jethro: OMG! I just remembered we can't bug out!! OH NO!!
Horatio: Why not?

Jethro: We can't open the door! I have no thumbs!!!!

The Lists!

I'm a lister. I make tons of lists and leave them all over the place in order to keep on track around here.

I have lists for inside, the farm, prepping, sewing etc etc.

Right now I am working on checking things off the lists. With spring here they get big.

On the sewing list, I have been working on putting Bear's bug out bag (or walking backpack) together. With him being such a large dog, it is impossible to find a premade one. Will do a post on how I constructed it later.

On the farm end of things, (hands head in shame) I am still working through getting this fall's wheat threshed and sorted. I am saving the shafts to make bee skeeps with. Mainly decorative but a trade or barter item with the yuppies around here. We are getting a delivery of dirt later in the week so I can fill the remaining raised beds. Add that to the list....

Put some burdock root, dandelion root to dry for spring tonic, clover looks like it will be up soon. Harvested shepards purse to dry for ointment and also for seed.
After this bout of cold mornings this week, the Grey Knight is off this weekend and will be getting the big tiller out to finish the main gardens. Planting next week before we run off south for a week. We set up a timed irrigation system on Saturday which should work pretty good. We really haven't gotten much rain this spring. Weird weather.

On the prepping side of things, we ordered paracord last night to make belts and watch bands etc. Looking a handgun thats on sale at Bass Pro. We should get some range time in when we are down south.

Today will be spent working on the wheat again and possibly finishing Bears bug out bag. Its slow going as it has to be handsewn. May your days be productive!

Beth chases Bear out with wheat straw in his mouth!

Candle Making .500 (or what not to do)

I don't like being outside in the dark. Don't like it one bit! Comes from being stalked by a big growlie thing (cougar) for an hour in Missouri once.

So WTSHTF I want light. Sure I've got oil lanterns, kerosene and lamp oil, even have emergency candles. What happens when that stuff runs out? Beth has to face the big growlie things lightless!! No way!

I've never experimented with candle making before and wanted to do it from the ground up so I started with making my own wicking (yes I have extra lantern wicks but ...see above)

You can get alot of candle wicks out of 420 ft of cotton twine. I braided these together 3 strands at a time to come up with this.

All the research I did said to soak the wicking for 12 hours in a mixture of 1 cup water, 1 tbsp salt and 2 tbsp boric acid..I don't know why but who I am to argue?

So this morning after soaking and drying the wicks out, I got out my supplies. Everyone on the net recommends toilet paper or paper towel tubes as inexpensive molds..DON'T DO IT!! What a mess!



I wanted to scent my candle with some calming traditional Native American scents. So I added about 1 cup of combined chopped sweetgrass and white desert sage that I was lucky enough to wildcraft on our trip out west last year. (Mental pic of Beth drying sweetgrass on a unlit bbq grill in a campground in the sun)

After the fiasco with the toilet paper tubes (leaks out from the bottom) I mad dashed all over the house trying to find suitable glass containers.  Here is what I ended up with.

2 candles scented with sweetgrass and desert white sage and while I was at it I made 10 containers of lip balm flavored with hazelnut extract (because I'm wierd like that) The directions for the lip balm are hereLip Balm from PatarusFamilia Blog

The chopsticks I used to keep the wicks upright while drying. I will trim the wicks up later.

Anyone have suggestions on how to do it better?
Beth

Busy busy!

I haven't forgotten about you all just been really busy around the farm. Spring has sprung around here and aside from some colder temperatures the next 2 nights, its been getting to be planting season here. I've held off on putting anything new into the ground so far  for fear of a freeze, but the herbs have all come up and the apple trees are getting green. (So far no flowers yet).

The Grey Knight and I spent yesterday (after our 4th trip to Cabelas to get 1 gun! Talk about a corporate screw up!) building a raised bed in the front of the house. We really haven't done much to the front since it's mostly shaded during the day but the handy dandy internet has provided me with a list of shade herbs that I can put in out there.

The county is also big into Prairie restoration around here and is holding a native plant sale. Alot of what they have is on my wish list but will be picking up wild ginger, wild garlic (onion), anise hyssop, and spicebush and some replacement sweetgrass.

Today will be spent tilling a small section of the main garden so that I can get the sweet peas, beets, radishs, carrots and onions in. Those can stand a freeze if necessary. This weekend has been a push around here, as I lose the Grey Knight for the next 3 weekends due to work.

On a bright note, during our trip to Cabela's I found a gentleman in the area that gives bow lessons. I believe I'm gonna start taking some bow hunting lessons.Silent Death from Afar! I really want to use a traditional bow, even have a box of feathers saved for making arrows. Even have a pattern for a traditional quiver that I have been hoarding for years in the like to do box.  The Grey Knight suggests the next step would be finding out how to put explosive charges on the arrows =P

Stay safe, stay prepping!
Beth

A few odd ramblings...

For lack of time today and frankly mentally energy, posting a few odd ramblings here today.
PRAYERS-

Asking for prayers today for myself- dealing with some issues (if you wanna know more, lol email me I don't air my laundry for all on the web)

Also asking for prayers for our good friend BMCD in Montana who is having a potentially life saving procedure today for his terminal illness.

RANTS-
Have you seen this order? If you actually read it, how much of your stuff is on it that they can take?
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/16/executive-order-national-defense-resources-preparedness

Turns out we have an individual in our neighborhood that is taking pictures of ladies in their bedrooms. The upside of it is that I have found 2 preppers in our neighborhood , had my suspision about them before.

PLANS FOR THE DAY-

Hopefully, not answering the phone to deal with my prayer situation. Cleaning out more stuff from the back shed. Weeding (yes weeding in March) in the herb garden along with making some chive oil to pass on to some neighbors and some of my bartering customers.

May your day be pleasant-- Beth and Bear!

So you wanna buy a Gun?

So you wanna buy a gun do you?

This weekend the Grey Knight decided that we needed to purchase another gun for our home defense. After much looking around and comparing and of course a quick question and answer session with our good friend BMCD in Montana, He decided on a Remington 870 12 guage.

Cabela's happened to have this on sale but yet is a 2 hour drive from us.
We get there and encounter the biggest wall of red tape I've ever seen.
After showing his FOID card, which he had to fill out a 4 page questionaire for and paying for this purchase, he then had to answer another questionarie for the government.

Questions included...
height..weight (told him to put 3'4 and 450 lbs just for giggles)
had he ever been convicted of anything...(convicted no...)
Had he ever been declared mentally incapicated..(well depends on who did the declaring, his ex wife thinks he's insane)
had you ever renounced your citizenship to the U.s ..seriously?

As you can see, both of us are bit of smart asses...but here are the questions that we both feel really should be on the federal questionarie.

Have you ever screamed cuss words at the tv while the President or any member of congress is speaking?

Has your picture appeared MORE THAN ONCE in the Post Office?

Are you on a first name basis with a secret service agent?

Do you or have you ever been a member of a militia? (does a milita of 2 count?) Have you ever been or are you now a member of any domestic terrorist organizations such as the NRA, the National Republication Party or The Church of Jesus Christ of the Later Day Saints?

Have you ever used the terms CME, SHTF, BUG OUT, PULSE in a conversation?

Have you ever accused anyone of being a zombie? (The Grey Knight qualfies daily on this one!)

Do you believe the nation is headed for a hyper inflation caused economic collapse with a pandemic brought on by a coronal mass ejection following a nuclear pulse which brings on a tsunumi followed by global warming? (yes we have been watching too much Doomsday preppers)

Just saying at least this would be a true depiction of who the government doesn't want to have guns...

Free Cheese Press Plans Online

Cheese Press Plans

Picked up the new copy of Hobby Farm Home at Farm and Fleet today, and they have the plans for a cheese press in it. The online plans aren't as detailed but still work for someone with basic woodworking skills.

Thought I would share this resource.

Typical Preppers Conversation

Persuing the news stories this morning, ran across this gem. The Grey Knight has a rare day off in the middle of the week so he was reading with me. This news story generated the typical preppers conversation.

News Story-Los Angeles man wakes in the night to find 500-pound bear raiding his fridge

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/15/los-angeles-man-wakes-in-night-to-find-500-pound-bear-raiding-his-fridge/#ixzz1pBjCsCuR

LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles man investigating noises coming from his garage in the middle of the night stumbled upon a 500-pound black bear, with food all over its face, raiding his fridge.

Glendale resident Joey Ball said the hungry bear tore through his freezer, eating tuna and Costco meatballs.

"He had steam coming out of his nose, and he had food on his face. It was crazy!" Ball told KTLA on Wednesday.

The bear apparently entered the garage through an outside door that had been left open.

"He had the refrigerator door open," Ball said. "And he had all these drawers laying around and there was food everywhere.

"As soon as I saw him, he looked at me, I thought, 'uh-oh!' So I locked the door on the dead bolt.

"You could hear him eating, slapping his gums."

Ball called police, who arrived with shotguns, but the bear had already made its escape into the surrounding hills.

While reading the story, the following conversation started:
Me: Obviously this guy wasn't a gun owner.
The Grey Knight: Yeah, I would have been calling you telling you to look up on the web how to gut a bear!
The Grey Knight: Does bear meat make good meatballs?
Me: Don't forget to add tuna to the shopping list at Cosco.
The Grey Knight: Where were I can hang the hide where no one will see it?
Me: Wouldn't be cold if TSHTF...

We could have gone on all day like this. Preppers are a rare and sometimes very wierd breed!