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
Tell the cat I’m sorry. I did the same thing - burst out laughing. Couldn’t help myself. They were insulted and hung up. I’m still shaking my head, sigh...
My pear tree which produces the good ones is a Bartlett.
They are more than good enough to eat raw. They are a treat.
The sand pears are just the opposite. One year I gave them all away to a guy who fed them to his horses.
“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..”
Wait ‘till hunting season. Libs freaking out “there are people in the forrest out there shooting GUNS!!! Help!!”
Buy a cheap pink pop wine. Beringers Zin works well. And should cover 20 servings. Peel, core, and quarter the pears. Bring the bottle of wine and a cup and a half of sugar to a simmer, disolving the sugar.
Add touch of salt and a bit of lemon or lime juice, cinnamon sticks, one clove bud, 4 black peppercorns, crushed fresh cardomom, if you have it, and poach the pears until they are soft but not mushy. They should be pink or red by then.
Serve 2 quarters warm at a 60 degree angle on a dessert plate with mint garnish, and top with vanilla ice cream.
Charge $8.95 per plate.
That's what you do with crappy pears.
Or make hooch out of them. That's what I'd do.
/johnny
It goes to show you the difference between real food and what you buy in the stores.
The herbs I've dried and stored myself are WAY stronger than anything I've gotten out of a bottle.
That's about how often I shop at a grocery store now, during fat times.
During sorta lean times, 4 months between grocery store trips isn't a stretch, at all.
Do people not buy in bulk on sale of the stuff they normally eat? It actually saves money to do that.
/johnny
I don't buy stuff like garlic and peppers that God gives me for a little effort on my part.
/johnny
I don't grow mint here. It's a weed. Crap takes over.
I dry some, but generally, I eat and preserve seasonally, when the 'maters are in, so is the basil, oregano, and cilantro, then it's time to make and can red sauce italian, and salsa.
Thyme and rosemary are generally available fresh, or dried on the branch year round.
Can't grow black peppercorns, cloves, or cinnamon, though. Those have been valuable for centuries because of their restricted ranges.
/johnny
I also like rice with a few onions, carrots, and green peppers. Mashed potatoes and stewed tomatoes make another good accompanment for beans.
During the winter, I cook a pot of beans or bean soup every other day. We have beans and rice or taters with cornbread for lunch, and use what’s left to make chili con carne, or some other bean dish for supper.
This summer I plan to plant peanuts and make my own peanut butter - I have heard that the taste can be superior to that purchased in the store.
“It amazes me how many people these days can’t follow simple directions.”
Mine is just different. You have to know exactly where to turn already, meaning you have to have been here once, or you won’t get here. Service people who travel this town all the time, can’t find me, either and they will call and tell me where they are, then I have to tell them almost inch by inch to get them to exactly the right place. My friend, who has lived here many years, couldn’t find it, either, the first time she came.
So, I don’t fault people who can’t find this place right in town. When I turn in where my house is, the electric gate closes and it’s like the town is gone as I can’t see it anymore and they can’t see me.
But, when I need to renew my medicine, I drive across the street into the Walgreen parking lot. Then, I drive back across the street to my house and the town is gone again.
It’s like going from the country into town and back to the country in a few minutes. Maybe it’s an alternate universe or an Einstein time warp.
Golf carts can be your friend, even if you don't golf. A bicycle could be good. I wouldn't recommend a dog sled, mushing poodles. Too flashy. Too many would notice. And sometimes even poodles can be hard to stop once they get into the pulling. Full sized ones anyway. [or so I've been told...]
Toy poodles and a really small sled, maybe?
BFLR
I do like to grind my wheat and make bread and sprout the wheat and beans, but being single and lazy, I only do it for short periods every few years, just to keep familiar with it.
I will get on a jag of making candy and yogurt, marshmallows, making beer, doing the wheat thing, sprouting, making fresh pasta, liqueurs, curd cheese, sauerkraut, pickles, canning, and so on, but then put the stuff away and not do it for years at a time.
Depends on the "community". In many, they will be comprised of those so used to getting the dole that they will try to take what they want. I picture that there will be enclaves of like-minded folks who band together for mutual support/protection and they would form the core of a return to civilization once the zombies are quelled.
Talking excitedly to family about a gun purchase or deals on bulk purchases led to my kids as pre-schoolers talking to others. I had one parent come by asking to confirm if we had a gun, then freaking out when I showed her the “protected by glock” sign we had. Explaining that I work in downtown of a big city or could protect my family from a late night intruder was irrelevant. “Guns bad, you have gun, no more play dates.”
I’ve shifted our “play dates” to focus on friends from church, people who home school and have similar values and those at the private school the oldest now attends. There are neighborhood children on the street my kids now see only driving past and trick or treating. But I no longer have neighbors asking why I have a gun (or more) or why I bought so much of something.
Spices can be kept in the freezer and it greatly preserves their potency. I put them in canning jars so they’re hermetically sealed.
I know that in a SHTF scenario, that freezing them is not going to be a priority, but then if you just keep the jars sealed, you’ll be starting out with them as fresh as possible.
It’s too bad they know.
Maybe you should consider moving.
Kartographer, would you add me to the prep ping list? TIA.
Cowgirl
Kartographer, would you add me to the prep ping list? TIA.
Cowgirl
I get that reaction too once in a while, usually from family.
I just point out that I’m effectively mute (I can whisper, but it hurts, and it’s not loud enough to be heard over the phone), thus, I can’t scream, I can’t talk my way out of a situation, and I can’t call 911. On top of that, I have asthma and can’t run.
And then I share the story of a girl I used to go to Sunday school with when I was a kid. A lot of FReepers have probably heard of her. Her name was Brittany Zimmerman.
Usually by the time I get to the end of that story, they’re too stunned to say much else.
I said “curd cheese” but I meant “cottage cheese” I haven’t made real cheese.
Everyone needs to try the processes and products that they consider a part of their survival plan,
Not many of us are in the position to make them part of our routine life, but it is fun to try them out, for instance having some friends over for a wine party while everyone helps in a shared, first time canning experience, or trying out the wheat grinder and making a few loaves of homemade bread for all the participants to take home.
Come to think of it, perhaps ‘prepper parties’ are a good idea. Parties where friends try out the mysterious processes that a lot of modern females have not experienced, such as sprouting and wheat grinding, and making bread from scratch, people can show up with their various devices for comparison and trying out.
People have a tendency to read about something and then think that they have experienced it, that they know it, but that is inadequate.
Having your friends over to show them what wheat berries look like, feel like, to let them see that they actually exist and are available to city dwelling know nothings, and letting them grind them in your grinder, and then help you bake the bread, wins a lot of converts, and it is an incredible bonding experience for friends.
I agree with Never P.O. the cook
On my first ship a chief yelled at a mess attendant for no real reason but it had to do with cleanliness of the Chief’s Mess. (kicking the dog scenario) The brave Seaman Recruit proceeded to do his job even better by cleaning out every single Chief’s coffee mug so they were gleaming bright! Most Chief’s take pride on the inch or two of coffee stains/seasoning that they have lovingly built up over the years. Oh the Goat Locker was piping mad and they took it out on the Chief and not the kid!
Prepper Parties!
What a cute idea. And much more fun than tupperware parties or other such things.
Only problem is, I don’t want to let too many people know I’m prepping. The only ones that know right now are just a couple that I’m sure are prepping themselves.
Ground water may protect from fallout better than surface water.
cheese is really easy and can be done without using any electricity. i make hard cheeses, usually aged cheshire or cheddar. i usually make them in the middle of summer on my porch when its in the 90s out. Easy to build a cheese press and forms. The only real learning curve that I came across was how to wax. not very good at that. Right now i have about 50 pounds of cheese aging in my basement. the oldest is 3 years old and everywhere in between.
I like being a sort of Johnny Appleseed of preparedness, I’m willing to trade the minor risk to my own preparedness (since I don’t have a family to worry about), to spread the word and help other people get interested in it, in a sense, my extended family of other Americans.
I think the chance of a road warrior America happening is very slim, at least during my time, and rather than hunker down and totally focus on that unlikely scenario (it is my favorite scenario though, and the one I prep for), I compromise, by planning for it, and also being open and sharing with information and knowledge while doing it, I love to win over converts to preparedness.
The security of us all is helped by increasing our numbers and public acceptance of preparedness, and overall better preparedness of the people in general, that means that some of us have to be the public advocates and sales people.
As an old survivalist, I love this new, soccer mom, “prepper” thing, this new mainstream image, and the mainstreaming of the common sense of being prepared for emergencies and the unpredictability of nature and of human life.
Wow, I hope that you start posting on cheese, for instance, how about a simple, small, beginner recipe that we can make without having to go all in and buy gallons of milk and such?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.