Fire

I am still woefully inept at the bow and drill method of fire starting.

Ankles

If you don't have high quality work boots why not?? Most folks don't spend a lot of time walking on uneven surfaces unless they are hunters or hikers. Your ankles may not survive a trip on a tree root.

Ferguson

With the probability of Violence after the Grand Jury decision , be prepared for Stupid in every city in America. From old school civil rights folks to the president the stupids are being encouraged to protest and the protesters WILL be used to create violence and death. If U are white U will be a target, if U are black and not participating U will be a target. Be careful friends and stand with your neighbors .

Shopping

I always thought I was a decent shopper. I've learned that I am really " not". 

Working on saving money I've gotten more for my dollars.  

The dollar store and dollar general and Aldis have helped me stock a few things and save enough to stock a few more. 

Wounded

Between the MS and all my stupid injuries , I am forced to find new ways to do anything and everything. 

It may be smart to consider how and what you can do if your arm or leg or back is out of service. I often smile when a right handed person can't use their right hand. They can't even brush their teeth . How will you function???

Bandaids

Had a blast booboo foot for a few days. Can't believe the number of bandaids changes I needed. 

Must get a lot more put back. I will put them in small food saver bags with first aide cream to preserve them.

Folks

So how do you choose folks that will join your group?? 

I use a common belief rule. The importance of agreeing on moral issues will help solve small issues that arise. 

Home

Relaxing a bit and getting my thoughts together. Next week I will start organizing preps and taking inventory. I need to add some canned food and fruit for sure. Maybe buy some peaches and put the dehydrator to good use.

Water water

Crossed the Mississippi on my way home.

End

Last night at the cabin. This weekend was a huge blast. Shooting practice and a bit of hunting. Scouted and worked a new trail to the east stand.

Knives

I would love the New Mora Bushcrat knife to show up in the mail.

No it's not a $600 autographed, tree felling, grizzly killer. But I just used one and it is one heck of a nice tool for the less than $75 price tag. That's with shipping.

Trapping

I like the " figure 4" trigger for snares. I have been carving a couple and learned that Hickory makes nicer triggers than does oak. They are crisper and splinter less. In our bags I carry 100lb test line for snarewire and large fishing swivels meant for salt water fishing. This is inexpensive and very light.

SC

3 shots of southern comfort mixed with cottonwood bark tea will make you sleepy: goodnight.

Tea

Fresh , new growth , cottonwood bark tea when made really strong is a good pain reliever. It is also as a tincture or extract.

Soap

I will experiment with different soap recipes this winter. I'm looking for one that rinsed out easily so I can conserve my water.,

Has anyone considered what they will do now that Ebola has been officially in the country?? Time to prepare our medical knowledge and supplies.

Be safe

Beans.

Carrying beans in a BOB or GHB is problematic. They need to soak before U cook them AaaaRRRRGGGHGG. 

I grind them into powder add onion and garlic powder and other spices , then grab a Soam Single. Put it in a food saver bag and take along. Add boiling water and chop up the spam and I have refried beans.

Travel

Does anyone besides me have a BOL a. Long way from home??? How many routes do you practice using?? I try to use 5. Of course my return to Florida trip this year will be Solo and I must eat the Whole box of Twinkies by myself.

Pain killers

Are u going native?? 

What do you do after the Tylonal runs out?? 

I make cottonwood bark tincture and same with willow bark. The willow seems to have better anti inflammatory properties but the city wood bark is stronger for pain. 

In the spring just strip the new growth bark( green) and chop it up and stuff s jar then fill in with Vodka. Let sit at least 60 days. Keep it under the cabinet out of the sunlight.

Pad

Mr Mike came to visit and he brought the needed stuff for my deer hanging thingy pad. We now have a pretty place to hang deer. Then he fixed the ATV and put up some lights and helped me frame a porch addition. Ha Ha I have a well organized Tornado in a human body for a friend and you all don't.

How big is your supply?

Do you store toilet paper? How about general stuff like soap and salt , sugar and spices. 

 How much do you save back? 

Solar

Panels up on the Camper and potty door installed . We officially have a "2 holer".

No deer again today . Did see a bobcat.

Trying hard to finish up this years projects with just one arm.

Never barter away your food or Ammo.

Almost

The old cabin is nearly empty . I will be cleaning it next week. I still have much to do here . Being in just one has been helpful. I move the latrine today.

Taking an hour or so to scout. Deer at the moment. The arm injury is serious and the Doc says surgery is my only option so I have that to look forward to.

Arranging

Holy crap do I have a bunch of Kitchen Junk. Getting things put away is no fun. Still plan to vacate the old cabin by this coming weekend. Injured does not mean excused.

Goodnight

We are now sleeping in the new cabin. Still have lots of stuff to move and put away and construction to do. Solar panels are up and charging. 

L

I forgot to mention that the NICAD batteries do not last as long as the NiMH ones. I am replacing all the NiCads this year and the others are still fine. 8 years is not bad in my estimation.

After a bad hair day

Once u are living in a primitive BOL what are your plans for lights ??

Ive experimented with a couple. The best one are the sets from Lowes that have 3 lights and a panel. I have learned that in winter if I want a light in the Potty house all night I run the panel with a single light. One thing I've done with the spare lights is attach 4 together and then attach them thru a switch to a 6 volt rechargeable battery that has it's own tiny solar panel. This gives me plenty of light in the outdoor kitchens. The tiny solar panel and sealed battery come from the sporting goods at any Cabrlas type places.. They are used for cameras and feeders. So far the little 6 volt battery hD lasted 7 years.

Carpentry

Who had tried to do wood works with non powere tools lately.??? It just took me 6 hours to build a 32x50 landing extension with handsaws and hand drills and hand powered svmcrewdriver.

Fell

A board slipped out from under me and I'm rendered broken for the next few days. Good time to work on the wireing for lights and fans.

At my age and infirmary level a fall can really cause problems. So now I rest a bit. Still need to progress so to work I get.

H F

Harbor freight doesn't carry slot of high quality stuff , in my opinion. They do have good coupons. Having a dozen pairs of free sizzors or 2 dozens rolls of electrical tape at $1 per half dozen is a good thing. Today I bought 3 packs of super glue for.99 a pack. Also got some electrical connectors and rechargeable batteries that were  on sale. 

Frugal Tuesday.

Water

Tomorrow I hope to get some drums for my new water system. Because of lessons learned with the recent drought, I want to seriously up my capacity. I have more roof footage and will try to end up with a 1200 gallon capacity, for the cabin . I also want to set 100 gallons for the storage shed and 500 gallons for the camper. No way anyone could have to much water.

Food

Moving the canned goods today. Doing very little the next few days because of pain. What are your plans for Pain ? 

I obviously didn't plan well enough.

In

M thinking growing my own weed to compliment the willow bark and cottonwood bark elixirs and teas.

Gardens

So many folks posting about innovative gardening. Next year will be a testing season for me. I have tires and I'm making towers and I'll try some Hydroponics as well. 

Getting some seeds now and buying other supplies while they are on sale.

Neem oil an DE and other goodies .

Mr Mike has been successful with straw bales so I will try that as well.

Hot

106 and rising. The temps have been a bit high. 

Mixed two bags of quick Crete today and did some more shelving work. 1 more ladder bracket to install then put some more things in their places.

Epoxy cured the crack in the plastic gas tank on the generator. Next trip to town  I buy a dozen of the Gorilla Epoxy. 

Temp

Have been dealing with 100 plus for several days and at least 4 more after today. Difficult in a primitive setting, especially sleeping at night. Haveing a couple of tiny 12 volt fans to make the air move helps but I need to increase the number of fans.

Moving stuff

Poisen Ivy/ oak and Sumac

They all hurt and can kill with the infections that occur . Having a supply of Dawn dish soap and witch hazel and vinegar can save lives. Early treatment is mandatory . If you can not identify these plants you may get in trouble.

Bees

Any great way to remove red wasps without explosives and gasoline???

Common

Common sense is common to no one. A computer geek would never understand the common sense common to carpenters. So when you think everyone should know what you know ; you are the idiot. People brought up in New England do not have the common sense of someone brought up in a desert.

Walkin on a tin roof with Deck shoes is stupid regardless of your previous education. Luckily the ladder was secure enough to prevent a painful  reconnection to Mother Earth.

Pooh

How many of you are getting more serious about your survival shelters??? Do you have a pre planned location??

Texas stand

The deer stand that we lovingly call the Texas Stand got blown over last winter. It is a two story affair with the bottom section being a tool shed. I had come up with a pulley cable and winch set up to re- upright the darn thing. Mr Mike and Mr Larry says,  hey,  let's see if we can pick it up. It worked. We stood it up like walking up a ladder; lesson: look for the simple solution first.

Serious work

Mr Mike used his magic weed water and axe to clean up all the brush within 50 miles of the cabin. Even better than that he brought me fresh veggies again.

Larry has worked hard on the tree trimming and I have goofed off. The Texas stand got repaired. We mowed and really cleaned the yard at the old cabin as well. I sent the grandsons on a short canoe trip 4 miles and found them 2 days later only 400 yards from where I dropped them off.

Lesson for Grandpa; teenagers do not listen to anything I say.

Generator

I need a generator and weed water repair guy

To much

Got some help the last 2 days. Both youngsters thought they had better ways to do things and could complete my chores in 1/2 the time my crippled body can. They were wrong. Folks if some old fat guy has found a good way to do things it's liky he didn't get fat by working stupid.

Prepped

How prepped are you?? Ready for anything? Multiple flat tires , run out of pain meds, run out of lumber or screws for your project deep in da woods. 

Unemployment for a long period of time ?? Solar storms raging across the continent?? The collapse of the stock market and the Dollar ?? 

 I do well with the natural disaster arena but have been challenged with man mad stuff this year. I used up my emergency fund on Medical stuff and now I'm in a tight spot. Oh well time to get a better Emercgency fund I guess.

Backache

Getting some things done. The potty house is in construction and coming along fine see the picture. I got it primed today I realize the front wall is not up yet but I ran out of lumber. I think maybe we will just go with the open air version. Just kidding. I have been foraging some cherry plums and some American plums the last couple of days that has been very nice. I also was able to catch a nice catfish yesterday morning and had catfish for breakfast and again for dinner. I have a problem with weeds and the weedeater is broke so I am going to bar an old-fashioned idiot stick for cutting down the weeds. Have a great day

Work

The floor for the new Loo is screwed down and framed up and ready do me to start on the walls tomorrow.

Potty house

Resting.

Getting some needed rest this weekend. Glad I'm in town in an air-conditioned house it was 112° today. Will be back out Tuesday a.m. getting to work on the new two whole composting Lou. Also will start some shelf making inside the new cabin. Have been doing pretty good and making some decent progress. The weather has been very helpful. Only a couple super hot days so far. And 1 mild rainshower in the last two weeks. My physical health has deteriorated and my right shoulder and arm is nearly useless therefore everything I do takes a lot longer than I planned. I will continue because I am one stubborn old fat bastard. May all of you have a great coming week I may not post at all because it looks like the weather will be good which means 16 hour days for me. Of course my 16 hour days would be a healthy young man's three hour day. Oh well look good and have fun bye

Skills

What non-powered tool skills have you mastered??

I'm learning the art of ax and machete sharpening and trying to get better at knife sharpening.

Murphy

Funny how so many things can go wacky at the same time , flat tires , run out of propane in 3 bottles at the same time. I had it all covered but it still cuts back on progress.

When U thing you are fully prepared ; look again.

Tires too

Tires

I have had 4 flats in 33 days. 1 was a total loss. The first tire got plugged then patched then plugged again. The second was just a patch job. This ha stretched me a bit but I actually had the needed tools and plug kits. It did eat a lot of precious time.

Beds

Working today

Did some priming and some painting . Now to drive a few screws

Picture

Hi

Busy working and then trying to recover between bouts of working. I have had some success this week I have gotten 90% of the trimming done inside. The rest has to wait until I run wires. Today I framed a divider wall to separate the sleeping section from the kitchen dining room section. Just got back from the store with more paint and more lumber. I am sick of painting. Tomorrow I will hang the plywood on that divider wall at least on the sleeping side then I will start constructing bunkbeds. I will also prime lumber for the other set of bunk beds. Have a great night.

Hi dere

Got the second coat of sealer on the floor. Stacked some firewood and secured the deer hanger. Hung up a Clovis for the pulley we will use to re- stand the deer stand/ shed. It blew over this past winter. Helped cleaning job on one of the campers. Much more to do there. Painted the baseboards for the cabin. Tomorrow I will cut and prime some more of my custom trim boards.

Today

Today was a maintenance day we emptied to composting toilet containers we moved a large shelf unit with Put down plywood flooring got first coat of waterproofing on it. We also cleaned out the fireplace holy crap. Moved nine large bags of blankets sheets and winter clothes to the new cabin actually Lucy's camper for temporary storage.

Progress

I folks I apologize for not posting sooner. I have been trying to stay busy getting all my stuff done. I have made some progress and the deer hanger is now back up it has to be secured. Today I am working on screwing down the plywood on the floor that's a tedious task but it will be done today. The entire inside has been painted the ceiling trim has been put up. I still need to trim the corners hang a door and trim both doors. Hopefully that will help happened this week. You all have a great week thank you bye PS I have had help from brother Jay for couple days last weekend and our answer to prayer Larry shows up three or four days almost every week this has been a major help both of these gentlemen with the heavy stuff.

Flat

The truck fell off the jack.

Tools.

I am an idiot for not having a good High lift jack and a good mechanical " screw" jack on hand. 

Lesson learned.

I have been pretty much layed up since the flat tire on Saturday. I finished the plug and replace the spare today. 

I am buying some old fashioned mechanical jacks.

Lights

As I relax this weekend. I've been thinking about lighting requirements. I will use LED lighting because of the low energy input requirement. Now to discover a good source of affordable lights. 

That sounds like work so I'm going to go take a nap.

Bust

That got you attention; I am just plain tired today. Lots of sore joints and muscles. Got a coat of pain on the ceiling and some of the trim painted as well. Trying to do little clean up chores to jus chill for the rest of the day.

Painting

The inside is now primed including all the trim boards. Tomorrow starts the ceiling painting, and the trim boards. I finished the roof work on the camper re- roof project. A friend has loaned us a generator so batteries are charged . The weather last night and today was amazing.

Murphy's law

Our primary generator broke down two days ago and went to the shop yesterday. Today the secondary generator broke down. Then Our 3 rd generator is at the new cabin I am not allowed to lift it because it is too heavy. Normally this would not be a problem but with the vermin horde that has attacked the old cabin I found out the hard way today that they had eaten through all three sets of wires to the solar panels. So the panels are up there on the roof doing nothing. The batteries went dead and now no fans. Hot humid and no fan. Happy happy joy joy. Tomorrow I will get a part to fix the secondary generator and I have just finished rewiring the three solar panels. Can you say have a bad hair day.

Bottles

The new water bottles are so flimsy they are not really re- useable. The fruit juice bottles on the other hand are very good. I get the Ocean Spray stuff and the small bottles are great for minute rice and spices for my bags. I dip the tops in wax to seal them. Then just open, empty, and add boiling water to the cup and I have dinner and an empty bottle for collecting water or other thingy's

Sabbath

I was going to work today and take tomorrow as a day of rest. We all need a day of rest regardless of how many chores we have waiting for us. Today's rain decided I would rest today. In a way I am thankful because my pain level is pretty high so I sat back and did some reading today. I did wash some more dishes and put away a little laundry.

Fun

The last two days have been very busy. Went to L Doredo and got a bunch of lumber. Then got unloaded and Hauled Inn to the cabin. Well hung up a lot of insulation and some plywood,  hopefully tomorrow I will finish the insulation in the plywood. Made a major mistake today. Did not look at the gas in a gas can , well I think it was mostly water. The generators' now not going to run , I have drained out three water bottles full of water so far and tomorrow I will remove the spark plug and clean things and get the rest of the water out I hope. May you all have a great Saturday.

Starting

I have gotten some things cleaned up. And today I started hanging insulation in the new cabin. Darn it is hot in there. Ha ha my injuries seem to be much worse this year than they were last mostly because my shoulder shot. So work is slow but steady hope I can get more insulation hung tomorrow and more old cabin cleaned up tomorrow. I have been putting some stuff in totes and moving him to the new cabin. So progress is being made. How many ways can you cook spam today good night

Damage

The mice did a lot  of damage. Chewed wires chewed food packages chewed bedspreads and sheets chewed clothing. If you are going to have a bug out location I suggest mouse proofing it. I do not know yet the best way to mouse proof. I will be planting mint all around the new cabin. I will also caulk asmany holes as I can or put steel wall in places they may infiltrate. I got here 3 weeks lake because of an injury the Empress has and now I will waste 2 weeks washing everything and square inch at the old cabin. I will need to do at least 18 loads of laundry at a laundry mat . YAY me.

Mice

Holy shit those little monsters really make a 

mess. I wil be ea ing up for at least 2 weeks. Lost several blankets sheets and some clotheing. Lots of food in the trash. Dead mice smell bad. 

Nearl there.

I did not try to circumvent every town on the road. I've got work to do. I will arrive tomorrow about 1 local. Then to clean up a mouse infestation at the old cabin and get unloaded. Saturday will start the work on finishing the new cabin. 

I've taken what I believe to be the shortest route here this time. I only traversed two larger cities, mobile Al and Jackson Miss.

Trip

Today is pack the truck day.

Trip

Planning the June trip. This year I will avoid any large cities "30,000" or bigger. This will make for interesting routing.

First Aide

How good is your training??

Have you even tried practicing procedures? The Empress broke her ankle at a campout. Ice ing splinting and treatment for shock. Then transport to the ER. Folks I admit I was out of practice. Now dealing with patient care and doing 100 percent of household chores instead of 70 per cent. That is a serious load increase for me. Try it in practice soon to see how many adjustments you need to need make.

Endurance

After trying to hard last summer I have spent the winter trying to recuperate. Today I timed my pain level while fixing dinner . 22 minutes and I had to lay down. That sucks. This years work is much less strenuous thank God. But may take as long because of my progressive back pain. I will have to have my left hip and knee replaced next winter so I desperately need to lose at least 60 pounds. Yay.

Antsy

About 6 more weeks until I head back to Kansas. Have to finish the inside then get water projects done. Also need to move from the old cabin to the new. I will have a bit more help this year so I may actually get something done. I got a new back brace that should help as well. Only being able to do the equivelant of a couple hours of work every other day sure does slow things down.

Soon to be headed to Kansas.

In mid-June I will head back to Kansas and finish the cabin build. This time I'm bringing more spices and a more in-depth plant I D book so I can have more food variety. Also going to wear a bicycle helmet when working alone to help prevent conclusions and helicopter rides to the ER .

Medical prepping

Lots of band-Aids and gauze and first aid cream. Lots and lots of Band-Aids gauze and first aid cream. If you are not equipped to do surgery do not buy a surgery kit. Sometimes the best thing to do is let the patient die without killing them more painfully. First aid cream is also Cortizone cream and preparation H which is absolutely wonderful for bad infections remember lots of preparation H for infections and sore butts. I also have lots and lots of Vaseline aspirin Tylenol Motrin and the most important medic medication of all in Modi in HD. Do please have lots of Imodium HD and Learn the plants that can stop diarrhea. Diarrhea kills more people than any other disease in the world.

Fitness

I've started trying to exersize and part of that is playing 9 holes of golf each week. Walking riding a bike and a little swimming. Today is a little bit of canoe paddling. Trying to exersize with Avery bad back and knees and shoulders and heart is a serious challenge but if I'm doing it most people can do something. 

It's like frugal prepping ; even a little bit helpsz

Gardens

It's amazing how many changes I need to make to plant a successful yard in Florida . As I am used to doing some in Kansas, many of the same things grow at different times of the year here. Blasphemy::: Asparagus won't grow in my new home. I need to move.

Meetings

Going to a Prepper group meeting this Saturday hope it's more interesting than the last one. Last one I guy spent way too much time bragging about his prowess with ham radios. Supposed to be about solar power this week. Went to a meeting two weeks ago in Marion County. Good articles good educate education on vertical gardening. Going fishing and crabbing tomorrow. Trying a new Crabtrap

This years trip

This year I won't be heading to the Cabin until 18 June. Lots of things have piled up here and I have to spread my energy and dollars. 

I have been rotating my preps which means I'm learning Bean recipes . Yesterday I didn't do a darn thing because of laziness. Do any of you have energy boosters that help when I have the lazies????

Lazy

I apologize for not writing much lately. Just in a holding pattern of daily chores and trying to work on fitness. My education pursuits have been on hold and I seem to be caught in the doldrums. I have a group meeting this Friday and they have a speaker covering Verticle Gardening. Well back to some chores. 

Groups

I've been to two different Prepper groups meetings. They are both related and intermix often. So different than the folks in Kansas. I will stay active in bothe groups here to continue learning and networking. Here in Florida they seem more amenable to monthly meetings and group outings. On group even has no notice bug out practice sessions, that last 3 days. Sub-group meetings occur just for fun.

Now if I can only learn how to get this done in Kansas.

E and E

Went to Orlando for shopping with the empress . Didn't like it. Spent my time trying to search out escape and evasion routes. So the time wasn't wasted.

Crap

I have spent $500 in cash and $231 in coupons for groceries so far this week. I haven't bought any meat. That will have to wait until I get paid on the 20th. I can't believe the cost of food. Looking at labels to make sure we don't get anything from China. , India or anywhere outside of Europe or Canada. The stuff from the pacific countries like china and Vietnam are full if pesticides and who knows what. I'm glad it's crappie season here. I will go catch a bunch this coming week .maybe even do some saltwater fishing as well.

Warning

To all my diabetic friends; exersize allows us to eat candy !! I have to carry a Snickers when I ride my bike , oh shucks. This morning on a 6 mile ride ( on flat  ground) I was forced to eat a jelly donut because my sugar got a bit to low.

Fitness

Fitness fitness fitness. I am sick of the "captain obvious assholes" telling us we have to be as fit as a Gren Beret in order to be successful Prepper. I know fitness is important and I believe we all do. What I disagree with is the extreme view of the so called experts. Folks getting in the best shape that you can is a great goal . Ripping your old joints to shreds to get there makes no sense. My program is well rounded and designed for an old fart with a very bad back, asthma, arthritis, diabetes and heart problems. I am progressing.

Design

I have been trying to figure a way to make a nice 2 burner Rocket stove for the cabin. If anyone has any ideas I would love to see them. It would have to be large enough to hold a good sized stock pot or huge cast iron skillet.

Fitness

I am working on improving my fitness level . With all my injuries and MS I have a lousy starting point. I am currently doing some swimming and biking. This week I have walked 1/2 mile twice . My pain level is crazy at the moment. I am also doing some counter push-ups. I place my feet 3 feet from the kitchen counter and then lean forward and do push ups. This is the best I can do with my shoulders and back. I will not be competing in Ironman races ever again but if I keep at it I will be better off.

Shopping

Have U ever gone shopping for free food? I went to a field today and gathered some Plantain and dock. Made nice greens for the fish I caught just before dinner time. They were red eared sunfish. Total cost for dinner for 2 , $0.00

I love foraging

Preps

I am going to try and find a local source for Barley, I know I can buy wheat when I travel to Kansas but I would like equal amounts of oats and Barley to have a variety. This will help with nutrition somewhat and the different textures will be welcome in the long term. Barley grows readily and I would like to cultivate some next summer to give it a try.

Starting from scratch

Life happened and I am starting over on my GOOD bags for my Florida home and yesterday we found that our food preps have also been compromised so we need to restart that.

First , order some dehydrated stuff and then go from there. This time I at least don't need yard tools. The bags have to be 7 day bags because it may take half that long to get to our BOL. I am going to start by purchasing 2 sets of canoe wheels. Placing these on the canoe will allow me to put everything in the canoe and I can push/ pull this a lot easier than carrying all that crap. 

Lube job

If U R concerned with a long term shutdown what are you doing about lubricating oil ? I Suggest saving your vehicles old oil in several fruit juice bottles. I'm storing 6 gallons. Each of the Cabin Clan families are also storing 6 gallons. 

This stuff can be used to soak fence posts before installing or used in chainsaws and soaking bicycle chains. I bet we could come up with a few hundred uses.

Winter garden.

So far my plants are ok. Of course I have to make some frost tents to protect them so today I go to aquire some clear plastic and sticks to make the Tee Pees. Really hope to have fresh tomatoes by March. I do need to think about my summer garden in Kansas. Fortunately I have some friends there to help get it started.

If U are a beginner gardener don't use your expensive. Heirloom seeds to start. Use cheap seeds so if you goof , you don't cry.