Posted on 11/14/2012 4:53:51 PM PST by Kartographer
1. Not Having Enough Water
2. They put too Much Importance on Their Gear
3. They lack the Knowledge it takes to Really Survive
4. The Rice & Beans Mentality
5. Becoming too dependent on your Guns & Ammo
6. Not Understanding that People will become a Threat During a SHTF Crisis
True. There's one in this neighborhood that will never be fed at my table. Ever.
/johnny
I bet I can guess!!! ;-)
Pears make great preserves and leather and dried snacks.
I don't eat fresh pears. Not since I was 8 years old. Ever. Gotta be processed. Before they get to me.
/johnny
Of course, I must have put something coherent on the page, I like it when that happens occasionally.
/johnny
Food fatigue is over rated.
I've been on a severely restricted diet for three years now due to reactions to food from a mast cell disorder. Essentially all I can eat is oatmeal and chicken, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. I can small amounts of other foods on occasion to break the monotony but not enough to survive on if there's no oatmeal and chicken.
Yeah, it was tough at first, but you do get used to it. And hunger goes a long way to making the same thing day in and day out go down easier.
When you're hungry enough, you become grateful for what you have.
And you eat it.
If/when TSHTF, I have a couple months worth of chicken canned and frozen, and enough oatmeal to get by.
Then either God heals me or I die.
/johnny
IMHO, I think finding “Like minded” people in your community is a catch 22 situation.
Breaking the ice with a neighbor means revealing you’re a prepper. If your neighbor reveals that they are a prepper, then you have just discovered that they can’t keep their mouth shut.
My family, friends and neighbors have absolutely no idea of what I do or have, other than knowing that I used to have a few loud guns … before I lost them in that tragic boating accident!
Just went camping. each trip we are dropping another essential.
lessons learned. bring slingshots to deter racoons. lol
bring scissors. you never have enough firewood.
we set up all tents ahead of time and discovered lots of missing pieces.
a hammer and axe are your best friend.
cant wait til the next trip. this time no can opener (military only).
next time no lighter fluid or matches.
I have two large pear trees. One produces adequate number of really delicious pears. The other is what I call sand pears. They are barely edible tho in a pinch, I would cook them and add sugar. Unfortunately that tree is the one which makes a huge crop every year.
The pecan trees produce about every other year or so, so I usually have around 6 making pecans every year and also it is good that they don’t produce at the same time.
The apple trees only make a few dozen each year combined and they are a type made to grow in Florida. They are not particularly good but are better than the sand pears. The plum tree seems to take on and off years of producing fruit. They always make a few.
I forgot about the really large fig tree. It always makes a huge crop and they are fine. I do have a problem with stinging insects getting into them. I would guess the wasps get at least half of them but I still get all I want.
The satsumas produce all Winter and a large amount but each one is small, about the size of a ping pong ball only longer that they are round.
The one thing I have so many of that I always give a lot away is the scupernong vine. Most of them are really, really good. Sweeter than the grapes you get at the market.
My personal favorite is the Japanese persimmons. I have only one growing this year and it is ripe right now. The other tree seemed to die last year but I noticed it is putting out new branches. Maybe it will come back.
We have acorns, pecans, and mustang grapes, native. Not much chance of decent fermentables out of any of those. ;)
/johnny
It amazes me how many people these days can't follow simple directions. We're not far off the road and seems easy enough but even the second or third time people come out here we have to stand in the road and direct them with a phone.
I'm not so worried about city zombies because Katrina and Sandy have shown they'd never make it out of the city limits on their own. I'm more worried about the dingbat libs who've moved in around us. The latest dingbatty thing was one of them calling up all upset because a bird hit their window and they're just not country folk like me. Was I supposed to chase down the bird and give him a good talking to? I'm assuming the "country" comment was an insult but who called whom over a bird...
Never, ever, ever eat green ones. If they are that ripe, may as well squoze 'em, make fermentables with the juice and feed the pomace to the chickens and pigs.
Hangover beats 2 days on a throne.
/johnny
I don’t know. They are large white pears with a yellow skin. You can eat them raw and they are not that bad but not what you would choose if you had anything else.
Dear Lord, you've done it. I spit beer on the screen through my nose and laughed so hard the catz did a spontaneous abandon ship drill.
/johnny
Thank you. I really appreciate it.
Well, that leads to the really primary question, doesn’t it?
How long?
I think there is a point of diminishing returns.
Several philosophies, several ‘worst case’ scenarios.
I will postulate that the cost goes up almost geometrically for the time frame between two weeks and a year or two; that is to plan to be truly self sufficient for a year is going to be much more than 26 times as expensive as being able to be self sufficient for two weeks.
OF course there will be situations, such as people already highly sufficient, or potentially so, or who have easy access to large stores of goods, but as a whole, for a city or suburban dweller who does not have a spot in the country to run to and does not have an extensive start on prepping, to go beyond two or three weeks is very expensive and highly consumptive of space and time. On the other hand, there is no one in America so poor that they can’t have a few cases of water, a few thousand calories in food bars, a first aid kit, flashlight and radio at hand.
It’t not only realistic but a moral imperative to not be a burden on other people trying to survive and/or the people dedicated to and risking their lives to try to help. No harder or sillier than keeping a spare tire in your car, to prepare for a complete breakdown of society is more akin to building an airplane and learning how to fly it- it can be done but if you’re going to do it at all you are looking at thousands and thousands of dollars and/or years.
Thus, the more specific one is about how long to prep for, the better one can spend their money and mental energy.
Well, that leads to the really primary question, doesn’t it?
How long?
I think there is a point of diminishing returns.
Several philosophies, several ‘worst case’ scenarios.
I will postulate that the cost goes up almost geometrically for the time frame between two weeks and a year or two; that is to plan to be truly self sufficient for a year is going to be much more than 26 times as expensive as being able to be self sufficient for two weeks.
OF course there will be situations, such as people already highly sufficient, or potentially so, or who have easy access to large stores of goods, but as a whole, for a city or suburban dweller who does not have a spot in the country to run to and does not have an extensive start on prepping, to go beyond two or three weeks is very expensive and highly consumptive of space and time. On the other hand, there is no one in America so poor that they can’t have a few cases of water, a few thousand calories in food bars, a first aid kit, flashlight and radio at hand.
It’t not only realistic but a moral imperative to not be a burden on other people trying to survive and/or the people dedicated to and risking their lives to try to help. No harder or sillier than keeping a spare tire in your car, to prepare for a complete breakdown of society is more akin to building an airplane and learning how to fly it- it can be done but if you’re going to do it at all you are looking at thousands and thousands of dollars and/or years.
Thus, the more specific one is about how long to prep for, the better one can spend their money and mental energy.
Is he solo?
Or is there a prepper woman too
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