Wood delivery and stacking in 100+ F.

This is FUN!!! 😉

Based on my firewood delivery experience, the first thing is you must have space for the wood delivery to be “dumped” or a place for the wood to land if it is thrown off the truck.  I’m lucky with my home. My shop has a good 6- 8 foot set back of ground available that fire wood can sit without impeding any traffic or parking in the alley. I know tend to get a little peeved if someone blocks my car’s access to being parked in my shop.  I assume other people might be peeved if their access is blocked to their parking/access.  This sort of thing does happen to everyone but if everyone limits the interruptions to access most people are okay with a minor inconvenience.  If you have a small amount of space for a wood delivery try and make sure all access ways are cleared for your neighbors in 4-8 hours.  I think that is reasonable especially if you give them a “heads up” on the delivery time.

Any hoo ,I got 2 cords of Doug fir  and 1 cord of white fir delivered and my delivery person told me the Doug fir had been split that morning.  The new Doug fir needs more time to dry and season! The white fir seems to be dry though a little more time to season it would probably make for a more efficient firewood. I’m sure some people will hate on white fir as a firewood as it has a lower BTU rating to most hardwoods.  I burned poplar last year and it had a BTU rating of 12-14 per cord and white fir is 18-22 in the firewood BTU rating per cord. I did not mind using poplar for firewood! It was the cheapest by the cord and it made a great fast burning fire and mixed with doug fir it kept my house warm in the winter.  Adding a cord of White fir will probably make the wood stove heat better compared to using the poplar I used last year. If any one is willing to deliver oak, maple or other hardwoods cut and split to my house in Idaho for under $300.00 per cord. I’d be happy to place an order with you.

I have become fond of my wheelbarrow since Mom got it fixed  with brackets and a new wheel. I’ll admit I bought the wheal barrow on the cheap, but now it is awesome tool to move fire wood and getting the wood stacked.

The weather in SW Idaho has been mild at least as far as Summer and winter temp. are concerned. But the late July temps. spiking into 100+ range is a throw back to similar weather in the early 1980’s of hot dry summers and very cold -20 F. degree cold for a month  or two that happened in the late 70’s early 80’s.  I’m not saying this winter will be extra cold, but based on my life experience I’m prepping for a very cold but dry winter.  A cord of wood is 128 sq.ft.  Now the fire wood stacks are usually 4 ft wide x 4 ft. by 8 ft. long.   You can stack wood however you like , be it 6 ft. wide, 5 ft. tall and 12-8 feet long.  As long as you pay and get a full cord of 128 square feet Over/Under  within a margin of error of stacked wood. You have a cord of wood if it equals 128 square feet, proved via calculator.  I am stacking a wood pile that is Approx. 5 feet tall 6 feet wide and 18 feet long. The math is easy multiply 5 ft. x 6 ft.x 18 ft. and divide the sum by 128s q. ft. =  your cords of stack of fire wood.  It’s a little over 4 cords of fire wood. I’m guessing the fire wood will fill up the space I have measured out. If some one is selling a cord of fire wood make sure you are getting a full cord of 128 sq. ft. of fire wood. If you buy a “face” cord of 4 ft. x 8 ft. and 16-18 inches deep don’t pay full price for a fire wood.

I learned the hard way about buying firewood and while I was willing to buy a  Cord of fire wood at the stated price I did not always get a cord of fire wood.  I have not tried this but if a firewood supplier does not deliver close to 128 sq. feet/ cord of fire wood. You could take them to small claims court.  That is a less than optimal choice. Find a good business  locally that delivers what they say, and boost the good suppliers. The majority of people are not assholes. They are just trying to make a living and live a good moral life.  Some times folks get a bit lazy/greedy and you can demand they deliver what the promise.  That is not a bad thing holding people to what the promise to deliver.  Holding people accountable takes some effort.

Over all I’m pleased with my wood delivery. Stacking wood in 100+ F.  is not fun dealing with disability . I figure  I’ll get the wood stacked in a week.  I’ll have at least 2 years worth of fire wood on hand for a “normal winter”.

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Canyon county Idaho has a “community spread” case of the Wu-Flu

We have had a few deaths here in Idaho and the rate of infection is growing fast from 3 cases to over 100 cases in less than a couple of weeks.  I am very glad I have started wearing my masks during shopping trips last week. You can’t outrun this virus you have to take steps to limit your exposure as much as you can by staying home, wearing a mask, using hand sanitizer and keeping extra social distance when you have to go out among the public.  Now I wear glasses and they provide some protection for my eyes, but if you go out add sun glasses, goggles of some sort to protect your eyes from any coughs and sneezing people in the public.

News from the CDC!  Us serfs should wear mask to limit the spread of the Corona virus!  A bandana and sunglasses will give you some protection if an infected person coughs or sneezes at you and your coughs and sneeze particles will be limited by wearing a mask. People catch the Corona virus can be exposing people for days and not know they are because they don’t feel sick, don’t have a fever, cough or even the sniffles.  If you have Spring allergies, you can also have the Corona virus and spread it even if you don’t feel sick.  Wear some sort of mask and eye protection not only to protect yourself but to protect people in your community!   Perhaps Idaho is different but I did not have people stare or mock me for wearing a mask.  In fact a couple of cashiers thanked me for wearing a mask on my last shopping trip.

My skin was destroyed by all the extra hand washing I was doing the last 6 weeks. Cracked, drying or scaly skin is not good in Pandemic situation so I stopped washing my hands a 20 times a day, used less liquid soap per washing and added a skin cream/lotion to my hands and arms.  Good news!  It only took a couple of days for my skin to recover from drying out and getting scaly.  If you are staying home and you are keeping the house clean, you probably don’t need to go all OCD about hand washing.  Wash your hands before prepping food, eating food and after you use the bathroom should be enough to be clean/safe and your skin won’t get dry and cracked.

Every day, average people must do what they can to stop the spread of the virus. Stay home/self quarantine if you can, especially if you are in a high risk group.  If you have to go shopping wear a mask and some sort of eye protection and have a list of the items you need so you can limit your exposure.  Spray down your door knobs, mail box and clean your house so it is a safe place/sanctuary for you not to worry about the virus.  If you have not done it before set up an online bill pay for utilities, internet and other monthly payments.  I don’t like auto pays because what I need each month can change, but I think online bill pay and banking can be great for convenience and keeping people safe.

Internet and cell phone service may get a little glitchy as many people are working from home, home schooling and bingeing on Netflix and playing games.  Give the companies a little bit of time (2-4 weeks) to rework the data and voice traffic demands.  This virus is not going away in a couple of weeks.  Life will change in the USA and the economy will tank as Corana virus is a flock of black swans hitting the world economy.   Start thinking about how you will live in this new economy.  Sending your children off to child day care or a school will bring this virus into your home.  Schools are human petri-dishes of infections.  Spring break is now Summer break but kids can be asymptomatic carriers of this flu that might kill grandma/pa.  Start thinking about what you will do stop the spread, not only through April but into September.

I could be wrong and the Wu-Flu disappears in July and never comes back. How many family members, neighbors are you willing to risk because you did not like wearing a mask, goggles, or look like a goof? Masks are uncomfortable, I don’t want to wear safety goggles.  I’ll look silly to other people.  Those sentiments are correct and you will probably get infected and infect others close to you and in your neighborhood.

If I am wrong about wearing masks and goggles I may look a bit silly.  If I’m correct that wearing masks and goggles stop the spread of this virus in the USA. Everyone is a hero that masks up and shows the world how to stop this pandemic!  If you are out in the public wear a mask to protect yourself and protect others because you don’t know if you are an asymptomatic carrier or if other people are an asymptomatic carriers.

Shortest day of the year was Beautiful!

There has been a warm breeze blowing and the temp. hit a high of 60 degrees F. at my house.  This day was a treat for getting firewood stacked and getting some of the firewood split into smaller chunks that can then be split into kindling.  The axe finally has a good cutting edge. The new hardwood stump makes splitting firewood much faster and easier compared to the first sharpening attempts I made on the axe when I bought it.   I have to work on the hatchet edge as I must have screwed up the angle of the blade edge during the last sharpening session.  The hatchet edge is not terrible for cutting kindling but it cut a lot better before the last sharpening session I did before cutting kindling a week or two ago.

Mom got another box of kindling last week so I’m staying ahead of our kindling needs this winter burning season.  Mom had a small problem with her wood stove chimney not working and her house filled with smoke!  No casualties and the worst that happen is Mom got some excitement, learned her smoke alarms need to be in a different location and she met some nice boys from the local fire department.  It looks like the so called “Chimney Sweep” did not clean the Baffles/secondary combustion area of her wood stove.  She got a recommendation for a new Chimney sweep and was very pleased with the quick service she got from this new company.  I’ll be using this company to clean my wood stove next year as I have not been pleased with my most recent chimney sweeps.  People get dead, homes get damaged from chimney fires and clogged chimneys!  I went through a chimney fire back as a child. No one was hurt but it made me very “anal retentive” about having the safest firewood stove possible.  I have the chimney swept every year.  I have two fire extinguishers in my house that are in exit ways from bedrooms to the exit doors.  You must have safety measures to prevent house fires and if the house fire happens, you are alerted and you can fight your way out of the burning house.  The more effort you put into ensuring BAD Things don’t happen often makes those BAD Things not happen!

I have cleared all wood from my Douglas Fir, walk/breeze way firewood storage area.  So far this winter I have not used a lot of fire wood even with helping Mom out with some kindling every couple of weeks.  January/early February  tend to be the coldest winter months and is when I used the most fire wood.  So far this winter has been relatively warm.  There is a lot of difference between 10 degrees F. being your low or your high temp. for the day!  So while we did get an early frost and snow.  This winter has been mild,  with temperatures in the 20’s and 30’s for highs this winter.  It seems that my planning for a Snowmeggedon event like 2016/2017 winter has paid off with no 18 inches + of snow for the last two years. City roads not plowed or watching cars literally buried in snow along the street.  It often seems if you are ready for the “worst”.  The worst doesn’t happen!  Then again if you are prepared for the worst, you already have a plan in place and it’s no longer the worst thing ever to happen to you.  This warm day was a gift and it will get a bit snowy and cold by Xmas.

I’m trying something new for Xmas dinner of a rack of pork loin/chops and roasted brussel sprouts/sweet potato veggie mix.  I can cook a good BBQ turkey, my Prime ribs seem to be good tasting to most people.  Why not try something different? I’m roasting a pork loin/chops this year.  We will see if it a good holiday meal.  I doubt it will be bad as my Rotisserie cooks meat well without over cooking it.  Roasting veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts in a toaster oven add a bit of crunch/texture and the high heat of the oven releases the vegetable’s sugars and flavors without the veggies getting mushy or over cooked via boiling in water.  Never pass up an opportunity to add flavor to food via a cooking method.  Also be careful not to over season your food.  Sometimes less is more especially with vegetables.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Douglas Fir is all stacked! More wood coming in June. Arrrgh!!

I finished stacking the last of the Douglas fir.  I’m a little sore and tired, but it sure feels good to have all of the wood under cover.  I have never had a problem with theft here and fire wood in May is not a high value item subject to theft.  It just makes me feel better, when a person can’t see wood lying around the alley.  Another advantage of having the wood stacked is I can start planting the Mossy Rose/Portaluca and sedums in the alley area I have been covering in wood mulch.  I have had some success growing sun chokes and the sedums in the mulched areas of the alley.  I have seen Sunflowers grow along the border areas of the alley and fences. So there are a few plants I can plant that hopefully will start replacing the the weeds.  This year I’m going to add some dirt and compost to those alley planting areas and I can water those areas through out the summer.  The weeds this year seem to be bad along the edges of where I laid down mulch and rock.

It might be Karma, now fire wood suppliers are calling me to take loads of wood.  I got scammed a few years ago on a fire wood delivery when I paid cash up front.  I learned and usually do a pay half now and pay off the delivery in cash when delivered. Today I got a call from my primary wood supplier to take early delivery of 2 cords of poplar.  I suspect the supplier has a lot of poplar and needs to free up some work space as many people don’t buy poplar or any kind of firewood in May or June.  Any hoo I have another 2 cords of cut and split poplar to be delivered on June 7th but I can’t pay for the wood in July. It really feels good that my wood supplier trusts me to pay after I have the wood delivered to my home.  This capitalism at it’s finest as both the customer and the business work with each other for mutual benefit.

As for the other wood delivery it was cheap wood because of the price and they were honest about the wood being delivered was not a true cord for $125.00 per “cord” nor was all of the wood cut and split to fit in a wood stove.  While I don’t think I’ll buy more fire wood from that supplier.  I will say they were very honest about the firewood quality and why it was offered at such a cheap price.  This person also called me back to take another delivery of their fire wood.  If someone asked me about getting some cheap fire wood fast I would show them the wood and let them decide if it worth $125.00 a “Face Cord” delivered.  I don’t think I got screwed on this wood delivery.   It is just a bit daunting the work I have to do to get Mom her wood and get the carport area prepared for 2 cords of poplar in about 2 weeks.

With all those caveats stated I’m sort of looking forward to splitting that wood and stacking it.  While there are a few chunks of wood that need a chainsaw to cut to length, there is a lot of hard wood that just needs to be split to make a long burning fire.  My “redneck” is coming out as I have a new splitting maul/axe in the 3.5 pound range that I want to try out splitting those hard woods using a 3 pound sledge. I tried out the 3.5 splitting wedge on a small piece of poplar and it split the wood.  The wedge will do better when sharpened.

Some times you can get screwed and all you can do as look at that situation is a learning experience and not do that thing again.  I’m a firm, believer in “what comes around goes around”.  Learn from my mistakes but don’t think all people are evil because some people do evil.  Also don’t be dumb like I was, and always hold back about 50 % payment on any job.  It does not mean you won’t get screwed but at least the cost is lower.  80% of all people you meet are great, that 10-20% of assholes are very annoying.

 

Mowing the weeds at Mom’s place

We had a big work day at Mom’s place cutting down weeds in the garden area.  The green works electric mower did okay cutting down the semi-damp/2 foot tall weeds.  I wanted to use my bagging lawnmower hoping I could bag some of the weed seed.  I’m not sure I bagged the weed seed, but we did get Mom’s garden area cleaned up enough so she can start her raised bed gardens with new soil and compost.

Mom was a little concerned about using my lawnmower on her weeds but the little Greenworks mower did good, even though the weeds were very damp. I think I showed Mom she can take her riding lawnmower into the field and keep the weeds cut back even if we can’t eliminate them this year.   Cutting down 2 foot tall weeds is a challenge for any mower but I have proved the Green works electric mower can handle the job if not quite as well as a powerful gas mower.

A friend suggested using old carpet as a weed barrier.  This friend is a garden goddess that built a greenhouse from cast off window frames.  So she knows about going cheap but also spends money when and where it is needed.  Our friend just happen to know someone getting rid of some old carpet and Mom got it for free.  After mowing/weed wacking. Mom laid down the carpet “JUTE” side up and will add mulch on top carpet so the carpet makes a weed barrier and Mom can walk around her beds without the weeds trying to trip her up!  Mom will need more mulch.  I don’t know about anyone else’s garden but I always need more mulch.  It might be that as I learn more about gardening and landscaping I see more areas that mulch would be a great addition from building soil to water retention

The Kellog’s soil,  I love using this soil in my raised beds and when (the soil) went on sale a couple of months ago and I was correct in guessing the cost per cu. ft. was going up by about 33- 50 %.  I was able to give Mom four of the 3 cubic ft. bags as well as top off all my garden projects.  I did not plan for that soil to go up in cost but I’m composting and the steer manure/compost is a low cost augment to my garden beds.  Now I have added enough good soil in my beds that I hopefully no longer need to add soil.

Great news my onions are coming up in the garden bed!  The grass seed is sprouting up and my potato buckets are starting to grow.  The pepper spray on the straw mulch in the berry buckets seems to have dissuaded the squirrels from digging in the berry planters.  My hoses reach to all parts of the garden and I soaked all the planters I have not watered the last few days.  I’m still working on the garden irrigation plan but now I know I have plenty of hoses ready to water all of the garden beds.

Last but not least I splurged on some Jiffy starter packs.  I want to have a fall garden as well as succession plantings in my raised beds. These are cheap starter beds, but if they last 2-3 years the cost of $4-6.00 is an acceptable cost for starting plants.

 

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New door knob and dead bolt installed

I have never changed a door knob or dead bolt before today.  Installing the new lever type door knob and dead bolt lock on the back door was a simple replacement job.  Changing from a standard twist knob to a lever type is easy just make sure you buy a handle that can be switched from left to right so you don’t get bound up by the door jamb/frame.  The door should be more secure as I replaced the 1/2 inch long strike plate screws with much longer screws that are screwed into the actual wood studs that frame the door and not just into finish wood around the door.

I did not lock the dead bolt at night on this door as the old lock was a key open system on both sides of the lock.  With the new dead bolt we have a simple knob we can turn on the inside of the door.  This dead bolt knob makes it much easier to get out the door in case of a house fire.

I know operating a door knob is not a big deal for most people.  Now I can grab that lever and give it a 90 degree twist/push to open the door.  The simple mechanics of a lever compared to gripping and twisting a standard round door knob is incredibly easier for me to use multiple times a day.  Plus the the new door hardware looks great on the newly painted doors and fits the new exterior very nicely.

One thing I noticed with hardware that is retro looking, such as the door levers rather that twist knobs or sink hardware levers/star type faucet fixtures is that hardware is more “Handicap Compliant/ ADA approved” compared to the average hardware around in many homes.  It is so much easier to push a lever open or close with an elbow or a hand that can’t grip as good as you age or get disabled.  Big plus is the hardware looks great in any type “look” you want in your home.  I know  now replacing a door knob is not a big deal.  Trust me getting your door open to get inside where it is warm and not fighting to get a grip on a round door knob can really cut down on the cussing!

Had an inversion in the valley this week and while it hasn’t been very cold, 30’s during the day and high teens at night the moisture of the fog  gives us chilly feeling.  The inversion has had an impact on how well the wood stoves burn and Mom and I are still trying to figure out how to use the wood stove since the house is better insulated and we have added more ceiling fans to move the air around.  I thought it would be simple this winter.  Nope, just different.

I need some help/info from you all if you make your own soft/wet dog food.  Mom and I want to make wet dog food and move the doggies off canned dog food.  I have a general idea of the grain to protein mix but I’m unsure of the vegetable matter that needs to be added and in what proportions.  Rice will be our primary grain and we will not use any sort of wheat products as our dogs do terrible on that grain.  We would be open to corn meal as a grain if you have used it for your dogs.  I also want to add fats like lard or beef tallow as I don’t have a warm a fuzzy feeling about most vegetable oils.

 

Warning !! Food stamps may not get paid Oct. 1st if the government shutsdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — A government shutdown Oct. 1 could immediately suspend or delay food stamp payments to some of the 46 million Americans who receive the food aid.

The Agriculture Department said Tuesday that it will stop providing benefits at the beginning of October if Congress does not pass legislation to keep government agencies open.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONGRESS_BUDGET_FOOD_STAMPS?SITE=DMN&SECTION=HOME

We had a trial run of this October of 2013 What did you do during the great ebt blackout . People were very upset and a lot of food got wasted as shopping carts full of food were abandoned and people just left the stores.

I will be finishing up my shopping and getting my gas in the next couple of days. But I’m not taking any other special precautions at this time. If the government shuts down I’ll probably just stay home and see how things work out.

 

Buying tools, cleanup, organizing and getting ready for fall/winter

I have been buying up a lot of basic wood working tools and home maintenance items. Yet at times I find my mindset stuck in the past when I did not have tools/knowledge to do basic repair jobs. It’s not enough for a person to have tools on hand, you have to learn how to use those tools, that can be a scary at times. You can lop off parts of your body or worse cut some lumber wrong and have to buy more lumber to fix your screw up.  Desperation might be a good motivator in the collapse but knowing you have a Emergency Room available if you”screw the pooch” on your DIY projects is better right now. Learn how to use your tools safely on DIY projects so you respect tools and not fear them.

I have a been a bit slow on creating more shelving for storage. Or as I call it being an acid minded moron. While I tend to like 55 gallon drums for storing “long term basics” like grains, beans and rice long term.  I have really dropped the ball on short term (2-5 year) food storage. Since most of my food storage is in my basement the shelves don’t have to be pretty, just solid.  My hope is that as I build the shelves I will become more proficient working with wood as I learn some basic carpentry skills. Worse thing that can happen is I  screw up a cut and have more kindling for the wood stove.

I called up L about some wood but it did not work out. Good fire wood but it need cut and split to fit my stove. While the price was great, neither Mom or I are physically capable of cutting/splitting wood this winter. While I’m not rich I can afford to buy a few cords of wood that is cut and split to fit my stove. Many people can’t afford split wood so getting free firewood of any sort will be helpful to them. I’m sure some folks will think I’m foolish passing up “free” fire wood of any sort. I figure God wants me to do my best and be honest with my need. Do I need fire wood? yes, I can also pay for it and other people can not pay cash.  If they are willing to sweat cutting and splitting wood, good for them!

I finally got a hold of the guys Mom suggested for firewood and have a delivery of 2 cords scheduled about the 16th of September. I have seen the wood they delivered to Mom and Dad for years and feel confident I am get a good bang for my buck. I have sort of bad feeling about the folks I called earlier as one cord of wood delivered for $100.00 is very low priced for this area. I think they might mean a “face” cord rather than a full cord of wood.  I hope I’m wrong as I would like to stock up on firewood and $100.00 a cord delivered is a bargain!

I will get another 3 bags of mulch for the alley way garden. My sunchokes and mossy rose put on a lot of new growth after adding a thick layer of wood mulch around the plants. Plus it seems that the weeds are not growing back as quickly. It seems that using the wood ash, a thick layer of wood mulch and adding in more layers of rock is helping to kill out the weeds naturally.  While not as fast as using a weed killer, I have been a bit surprised that many of the weeds I dug out in mid July have not made a come back going into fall. I added a 2 light weight garden hoses and a new oscillating sprinkler that were on sale. I need to call the water dept. for a leaky irrigation valve to find out who is responsible for it and how it should be replaced. I recommend every prepper with a yard/garden have a couple of backup hoses and a few hose repair kits on hand.  Moving water by hand is a lot of physical work.

I don’t think you need to panic unless you are still in the “Market” or a TBTF (To Big To Fail) bank. If you have not moved your cash accounts into a local bank or credit union that should be a priority. Start saving about one month’s of bills as cash on hand and pre pay any reoccurring bills you can afford to pay, such as insurance, electricity and what ever utility that will allow you to pre-pay. You might be like me and suck at saving cash but don’t mind being cash poor if all the bills are paid. So pre-pay utilities now and your utilities are covered somewhat this winter.

I think an Economic collapse of the USA is the greatest disaster we may face. That does not mean it will happen, just that it could happen. If you are ready for an economic collapse you are ready for most local and regional disasters.

• Food for 3-12 months
• Water on hand for at least 2 weeks and filter plus water source for additional water needs
• Shelter and energy that is not grid dependent for at least a month
• Security via lighting or alarms along with security measures to protect you, your family and others
• First aid and sanitation

Prepping and self reliance is not a zero-sum gain. While you might have start off slow depending on your budget. The effort you put in is good for all kinds of local disasters up to so big disasters like an economic collapse. I did not add fire extinguisher to my home because of an economic collapse. I added them because of how often house fires happen!

This prepping and self reliance stuff is usually simple. That does not mean it is easy!

 

 

 

Puttering around the house, trike maintenance and dealing with Riot control agents

I finally got started cleaning up and organizing the basement. The basement is sort of a catch all for all the items that need to be in a temprature controlled enviroment and can not be stored in my shop. I got the paint and cleaning supplies awawy from the food supplies and stacked on shelves just for those sort of items. In general you want to store cleaning/home improvement (paint, caulk etc.) supplies away from your food supplies. Any how I got a few items organized, so I could walk easily  and swept the small carpet and the concrete floor to clean up dust and trash.  While my basement isn’t “all that” I  think of it as my little bunker. Keeping it clean and organized is a challenge.  I’m not one of those people that does “A place for everything and everything in it’s place.  Quite often I get stuff I think I might need/want on hand, find a place to put it and then figure out how to organize it later…  Not such a good plan if you are just starting to prep as you can miss getting items you need and get overly redundant on some items.  I thought I had plenty of both C and AAA type batteries. Nope! I have lots of AA and D batteries. Don’t stress out just fix it as soon as you can afford to stockup again.  I try to think positive on all I do to prep. While I may miss a few small items, in genearal I am well prepeared to handle a minor disaster.  When I screw up I don’t beat myself up, I simply adjust my shopping list and top off those missing items.

I got my adult trike out and cleaned it up, aired up the tires and added a headlight and break light along with a little bell. Bikes and adult trikes don’t get much love or notice in the prepping community and I think a bike or trike is something all preppers should have on hand and practice everything from bugging out to daily shopping.  If you are semi-healthy and walk a couple of mile per day,  a bike/trike would get you about 6 miles away from ground zero. Let’s say you are physically capable of walking 5 miles per day. A bike/trike would probably triple that mileage and weight you could carry more stuff means give you better chance at survival.  Practice using a bike/ trike and have a plan for bugging out. It might be using a backpack and a basket or using a child trailer but get your bike setup ready and practice shopping, riding around and setting up your  bug out routes now!

I have been Teared gassed and while very unpleasant, there is a lot you can do to adapt to being gassed. # 1. Don’t freak out or panic. Getting gassed is very unpleasant but it is not the “end of the world”! #2.  Do not rub your eyes or mouth or your skin.  As quickly as possible rinse your skin  and face with cool water for at least 5-10 minutes and strip off all contamimated clothing.  Have a basic mask, bandana and safety goggles at all times when entering a potential riot area.  For tear gas “sip your air” through your mouth.  Getting tear gassed is very unpleasant your first time. You ever wonder why anarchists go into the fog of tear gas. They have a bit of protection and have leared to deal with gas. Tear gas is pretty unpleasent at first, but with a bit of practice it isn’t that bad to deal with if you are prepared.  I would recommend any one going into a possible riot zone wear a long sleaves and be ready to strip to shorts and a t-shirt.  Thinking in layers is just not for winter.  While a gas mask on hand is great, it will be easier to stash a couple of masks and goggles in your jockey box and add a bandana to your every day carry gear.

While I give you some ideas. Be aware and prepare, so you don’t have to go through riot areas. That means you must keep your vehicle topped off.  You need to plan your routes to avoid any “potential riots or bad areas”.   Be polite and respectful to all and have a plan to kill all around you.  I did not choose this option I’m simply taking measures to protect myself.

Got the “emergency backup dog” today and stored the snacks Updated!!

Today Mom and  I stopped at the pound to look at a few dogs we saw online. Mom looked at a peke and I checked out a small pit bull.  I have a new dog though Mom is still thinking about the peke.  Samson the pitbull is small, about 16-18 inches tall at his shoulder and weighs 36 pounds though he is a little on the thin side though he does not act like he is starving and I have started him on a high quality dog food.  So far so good, he is intrugue by Smokey the cat and got swatted by Smokey a couple of times but Samson did not get crazy, just backed off and mostly ignores the cat. Samson the pit was intrigued by the chickens and has some chase instinct, but overall I was very happy how well he behaved his first day around the birds while they foraged in the backyard.  Diana the Peke tried to assert herself at Samson’s dog dish and there was a small altercation but no one was hurt but Diana’s pride and she got slobbered on. It is interesting that Samson the pit has shown zero interest in Diana the peke’s food dish and he does not seem overly protective of his food.  Smokey just tagged Samson on the nose but that is more Smokey the cat not caring for dogs rather than Samson not liking cats. Mom’s pekes are very accepting of other dogs and so far Samson has just has sniffed around them and then ignored them.  It’s only been a few hours but once all the critter’s settle down I think Samson will find his place in the “Casa de Chaos” Pack.

Update: The pitbull did not work out. Diana got aggressive toward food and Samson the pit snapped back at her and had her down. Diana has a sore leg but otherwise okay. I took Samson back to the pound.

I have had several dogs but never a pitbull. Samson is very sweet and much more accepting of people and critters in general than I had anticipated.  While I have been looking for a dog that is slightly more intimidating than my peke. I don’t want a dog that is viscious day to day.  Pekes tend to have have a heart of lion and are about as intimidating as a Hostess “Sno ball”.  While I’m not sure Samson the pit will make a good guard dog. I know I would think twice about entering a pit bull’s “space” of any sort, while a peke is not much of a threat besides barking an “alarm”.

I have been looking at rescued dogs for several months and I think a person should take time to evaluate what you want in a dog, understand the breed and see if you and the dog resonates with you. In my mind a pet is not a way to check a block or accesorize. It is a living creature who needs must come before your own.  If you are not willing to prep for your animals or share the last drops of your stored water or your food. Don’t have animals! While I’m a Christian and believe in the Bible.  I really hope one day I can be as good a person as my dogs seem to think I am.

I ran out of “popcorn tins” storing my snacks. I moved on to a 3.5 gallon bakery bucket for the saltine crackers, bagged pretzels and corn chips.  I doubt most preppers have live on their storage for a month or two. I have and I like salty snacks  and had none during my little adventure.  For some people it might be sugary snacks or chocolate.  It is your preps and while there is plenty on the Internet  about prepping. Make your own stock pile work for you and your family.

I like storeing bulk goods beans and rice to bulk grains. A few cases of canned fruits and veggies will work until you get a garden planted but sometimes you just need a quick snack and ramen oris pasta is great for a quick meal.