Do hens Crow!

We have been working hard trying to get the ranch up and ranching.  One of the fist things we did is start some chickens.  Last weekend when I was taking care of the adolescent chickens, while my son was off visiting some friends, one of the chickens crowed at me!

I had no clue that chickens would crow, but I looked it up on the interwebz and what do you know, sometimes the dominant chicken will crow if there are no roosters.  We learn stuff every day.

Long time

It has been a long time since I posted.  The reason for this is that we moved from the East Coast (Washington DC Area) to Dallas Texas.  My wife and I were planning our retirement so we purchased a very nice condo that was cozy and fit our needs.  We kept prepping and were of the mindset of urban preppers and were hoping for a mild TEOTWAWKI.

Unfortunately life is what happens when you are making other plans.  Our plan was to live just the two of us. It looked like our oldest son had become a hero and was serving in the USMC, he currently is in Afghanistan and will be back early next month thank god.  Our daughter had 5 or 6 jobs on the east coast and was doing awesome we had no worries about her and her career, although we worried about her location and how far she was from us, I often imagined heading from Dallas to DC and back in a post apocalyptic adventure to bring her home!  My middle son had found a girl and move back to Phoenix with his mother and we hoped for grandchildren.  And my youngest son was struggling to finish high school also with his mother in Phoenix.

So a quiet condo in the suburbs seemed like the way to go.  I stopped blogging mostly due to laziness.  But then tragedy struck, my first wife in Phoenix suddenly died.  Unlike many ex-wifes my ex and I had buried the hatchet several years back and not only was she one of my best friends she was pretty good friends with my current wife and her sister who lives very close to us was our best friend in Texas.  My middle son who had decided not to pursue his relationship with his girlfriend had at this time moved back out with us and was studding with me to do my profession.  I happened to be in DC at the time of my first wives death and had drove back to Dallas to be with my wife and my first wives sister to help decide what to do.  As soon as I arrived my middle son said, "we have to go out there and handle the situation no one else will!"

We all carpooled out to Phoenix and my ex-mother in law and I took care of all the issues that go with a death with no life insurance.  We gathered up the boys and headed back to our tiny condo to make a new life for ourselves.

The condo was just too small to handle our new family.  My wife told me this time we should get a new home, but it should be one that I choose, in the past I have let my wife choose what sort of home we live in.  Maybe due to the death of my first wife or because of the news around the world or maybe because I have always wanted land to call my own, but my idea of a place to live is a ranch or farm, not to large but large enough where you don't have worry if your music is to loud, or in our case our beagles.

We now have a 10 acre ranch (although my wife prefers we don't call it that she says ranch sounds pretentious).  And all the issues and trouble that go with homesteading and living rural!

Short Term Emergency Check List

From Texas Preppers Network blog

Short Term Emergency Check List

ESSENTIALS:

Flashlight

Battery-operated radio

2-way radio or other form of communication

Extra Batteries

First Aid Kit (one for your home and one for each car)

Note: As a precaution, do not include candles. Candles cause more fires after a disaster.

WATER:

3 gallons of water per person, minimum, in a food-grade, plastic container

Water purification tablets

Additional water for sanitation

FOOD:

Minimum 5-day supply of non-perishable food that requires no refrigeration or preparation and little or no water

Dry cereal

Peanut butter

Canned fruits

Canned vegetables

Canned juice

Ready-to-eat canned meats

Ready-to-eat soups (not concentrated)

Quick energy snacks

SANITATION:

Disinfectant

Household chlorine bleach

Soap, liquid detergent

Toilet paper, towelettes, paper towels

Personal hygiene items

Cloth towels (at least 3)

Feminine supplies

Plastic bucket with tight lid

Plastic garbage bags, ties (for personal sanitation use)

CLOTHING:

Plastic garbage bags, ties

Sunglasses

Rain gear

Sturdy shoes or work boots

Blankets or sleeping bags

Complete change of clothing and footwear per person

TOOLS & SUPPLIES:

Whistle

Aluminum foil

Crowbar

Compass

Paper, pencil

Plastic sheeting

Medicine dropper

Needles, thread

Signal flare

Matches in a waterproof container

Assorted nails, wood screws

Pliers, screwdriver, hammer

Plastic storage containers

Heavy cotton or hemp rope

Cash, traveler’s checks, change

Map of the area

Non-electric can opener, utility knife

Cell phone with charger

Mess kits, or paper cups, plates and plastic utensils

Tape, duct tape and plumber’s tape or strap iron

Patch kit and can of seal-in-air for tires

Shut off wrench, to turn off household gas and water

FOR BABY:

Formula

Diapers

Bottles

Medication

Powdered milk

Baby food

PETS:

Food, water

Non-tippable food and water containers

Leash, harness, carrier

Records of vaccinations

Pet medications

IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS:

Important telephone numbers

Record of bank account numbers

Family records (birth, marriage, death certificates)

Inventory of household valuables

Copy of will, insurance policies, contracts, deeds, stock and bonds

Records of credit card account numbers and companies

Copy of passport, social security cards and immunization records

FAMILY MEDICAL NEEDS:

Insulin

Prescription drugs in original containers

Heart and high blood pressure needs

Denture needs

Extra eye glasses

Contact lenses and supplies

ADDITIONAL ITEMS:

Family photos

Jewelry

Irreplaceable personal items

Thanks to Tess Pennington at www.readynutrition.com for putting this short term emergency checklist together.

Rural Revolutions Bug out bag

From Rural Revolution
http://www.rural-revolution.com/2010/12/bug-out-bags.html
Here's what our Bug-Out Bags contain (click to enlarge photo):

1. Sleeping bag.

2. Standard military hard foam pad. Good for a dry spot in wet conditions and as a fairly good "door" in an improvised shelter. Marginal for actually sleeping on, but hey, better than nothing.

3. 8 x 10 nylon camo tarp. A waterproof wrap for the sleeping bag/ground cloth/improvised tent or a camo cover. Has grommets but can be "up-graded” with item #18.

4. Ziplock bag containing copies of birth certificates, plasticized maps, immunization records, insurance records, title insurances, contact info for friends and relatives, etc. Each pack contains a complete set for the entire family.

5. New Testament. We will all need support in trying times.

6. Wash cloth/utility cloth.

7. Two bandanas (earth-tone). Nothing is more useful than a bandana. It can be used as a tourniquet, pot holder, sun block, sling, sweat band, extra pocket, gun swab, head cover, dust mask, and of course blowing one’s nose. The list is huge. Ask a cowboy.

8. Duct tape. As the saying goes, duct tape is like The Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it binds the universe together. With duct tape and two bandanas, the world is your oyster.

9. Mosquito netting. Good for bugs, filtration, camo (make sure to get an earth-tone color).

10. Gloves leather or synthetic working gloves with Thinsulite lining.

11. Light shoes (in this case, moccasins with rubberized soles). Wet feet suck. You can wear these while your boots are drying.

12. Medium ALICE pack with frame.

13. Knit watch cap (preferably with knit face mask)

14. Poncho Good also as a quick tent/shelter. Don't pack a rain coat. You want something that can easily cover the pack on your back.

15. 100 feet of paracord. Make sure you get the kind with either a five or seven strand interior. The strands can be separated and used for hundreds of things. (One time, while part of a group of pretty savvy survival types, I was asked to name the one thing I would have with me if dropped in the middle of nowhere. My answer was rope. Think about it.)

16. Spare ALICE pouch for things that should be close at hand.

17. Two canteens and ALICE attach-covers. Don't forget to fill (and change often) these with water the moment you have your kit done. It won't do you a bit of good to run out of the burning house with empty canteens.

18. Plastic snap together grommets. Excellent and easy ways to re-enforce a tarp, fabric, or blanket. Not as strong as metal grommets to be sure, but a lot easier to install in troubled times.

19. Food. Since food is usually one of the bulkiest items in a backpack, we purchased a 3600 calorie ration bar with a five-year shelf life. Supposedly this is a three day supply. Perhaps not, but it’s better than nothing and only weighs two pounds. You'll still be alive after three days but probably pretty hungry. (This ain't Lembas, folks.)

20. Toilet paper. (Hey, I’ve got three females in the family.)

21. Dental floss. This has many uses and is very tough.

22. Cash. This will also include some coinage. Might still be working phone booths somewhere.

23. First aid kit. The best compact first-aid kit I could find was $14 from the Red Cross. I upgraded it with Tylenol, Imodium, and Benadryl. A more extensive kit will travel with me.

24. Space blanket bag. This is like your standard space blanket, but formed into a bag suitable as a bivvy sack for outside your sleeping bag (a big multiplier for heat retention as long as you recognize its limitations).

25. Bar soap. Good for washing everything as well as finding water leaks in pipes, unsticking zippers, and lubricating saw blades and screws.

26. Two space blankets. Good for signaling, ground clothes, heat retention, etc. These can be duct-taped together for a tent, grommeted, used as a sun-shade, game-wrap, or (of course) a blanket.

27. Sewing kit.

28. Flashlight. This is an LED flood and single-point light with a strong rare-earth magnet and a hanging hook. (Spare batteries are not shown but we have them packed.)

29. Four ratchet type tarp holders. These make great clamps and tie-downs.

30. Clothing. One shirt, pants, two pairs of underwear, three pair of socks. The outerwear is in dark earth-tones or camo.

31. Matches, match cases, and a Bic lighter.

32. Florescent plastic survey tape. Each family member gets a different color.

33. Comb

34. Sun-block SPF 50

35. Sharpie, two pens and pad of paper.

36. A Leatherman-style tool: pliers, knife, awl, etc. with case.

37. Toothbrush and toothpaste. Sure you can make it three days without brushing. But why? I can tell you that a good tooth brushing will make you feel better no matter how bad a night you've had.

[It is mentioned to add Safty Sun Glasses] -Viscount

(Not shown: small mirror, compass, AM/FM radio, long johns, water treatment pills and hexamine fire starters.)

"The Gun Is Civilization" by Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)

"The Gun Is Civilization" by Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.

In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force.

The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.

There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat--it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed.

People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.

Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser.

People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level.

The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply wouldn't work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.

When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation... and that's why carrying a gun is a civilized act.

By Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret.)

5 - 8 -1 Homemade Gatoraid or electrolytes solution

Hydration is important,
Home made electrolyte solution for hard physical activity or illness....

5 cups clean water
8 teaspoons of sugar (or less)
1 teaspoon of salt

Multi Use items

Ideas from:
http://offgridsurvival.com/backpackinggear/

■Bandana - cooling head or neck wrap, sunscreen, water filter, bandages.
■Candles - lighting, fire starter, waterproofing.
■Compass with mirror – emergency signal, personal mirror, finding your way.
■Dental Floss – fishing line, sewing thread, etc…
■Duct Tape – Use to prevent blisters, repair gear, bandage wrap….
■Metal Canteen with Cup- Boiling Water, cooking food, bowl for eating.
■Multitool – Knife, tools, scissors, nail cutters, saws,…..
■Paracord – For traps, cloth line, fishing, clothesline, food bag line.
■Plastic Baggies–carry items, emergency water carrier, storing food.
■Safety Pins – fishing hooks, hanging items, securing bandages
■Socks – warming hands, filtering water
■Tarp - Can be used for shelter rain gear, ground cover, rain catch, etc…