what are y'all saving from the wild to deal with coming crisis?

[Willowspirit]

I am not hearing anyone saying that they would join up with their neighbors, pool their food and resources, and support one another in a worst- case scenario. I'm hearing, I'm gonna provide for me and my own to the bitter end, come hell or high water gonna make? But I say this is wrong. We have to hang togethe. There is great power in community and unity. Think about it.

If I'm ready to provide for me and mine and my neighbors do the same we'll be a happy and strong community. I actually do have a plan to combine resources with family and friends.

 

[Beer can]

There's a great novel called One Second After by William Forstchen. It really lays it out as to what will happen to most of us in the event of an EMP which would knock out all electricity. As someone said earlier--survival is for the young. People my age probably won't last long. That's okay--we've had our lives.

My chickens can manage during the summer, but not sure what I could get them in the winter. I have a couple of bags of wheat that have been sealed and that wouldn't last long. I have dogs and cats and have told everyone that if it ever comes to it they are all on the menu.

I have a small pond that would serve and several "life straws" that I think are an amazing invention. They allow one to drink water anywhere as they filter the water through the straw. There are many internet resources available on how to get fresh water etc. anywhere.

I have a wood stove I can cook on, a large cast iron pot and frying pan. Living in the woods fuel is not an issue.
Though I have about 100 pounds of rice in the freezer to protect it from bugs, I imagine we will eat the bugs if need be.
There are black walnuts, fruit trees and acorns locally. I have processed acorns out of curiosity and they were not good. Still, if that's all there is... Of course poke weed in the summer and berries. I have books (not electronic) that are reference books on what is edible.
I know how to save seeds but perhaps more importantly, I am part of a large community garden. There are farmers in the area and barter is a good option.

Regarding global warming, it is a reality. I'm not certain about this but I believe we were headed into a cooling period which has now been offset by human activity. Yes earth has had periods of ice and heat but these changes usually took place over hundreds of thousands of years -- not decades.

Just happened upon this thread and skipping through, I haven't read that book, (but EMP is scary and possible)
Another good book I read many yrs ago back in the late 80s, old book 1959, read it again few yrs back, pretty good read how they survive a nuclear war with a artesian well .
'Alas Babylon'.

One more thing... it may be possible for people to hunt in areas with low density populations, but I imagine most wildlife would be decimated quickly even in a rural area such as mine.

Ever watch the TV show 'Jericho' ?
The dad , Gerald McRaney sat in his tree stand forever off and on hoping for a deer to walk by, no luck.
I remember reading about the depression yrs ago, after, hearing song birds after the depression was something new, hadn't heard them in yrs , cause they ate them all.

 

[ValerieJ]

O I have more than enough to get full ss... I was looking at the site pretty regularly till life got in the way. I can apply early too because I was born in 55.

In one more year wether or not I apply for social security I have to apply for Medicare.... dont know how I will pay for that unless Medical takes up the payments.

I still have to talk to my insurance provider.... and my health clinic.

deb

Medicare insurance is very inexpensive, about $135/mo. There are many good insurance wrap around plans that cost nothing and yet pay for whatever Medicare doesn't.

 

[ValerieJ]

I applied early for SS because it made financial sense for our situation. When Medicare kicked in this year ,my monthly check decreased by about fifty dollars.

I am fortunate to be able to afford it, but that is about a quarter or so of what I was getting. I agree that you should look into your benefit now if you don’t know it exactly. I don’t know how people should live on that or how we should all have saved up a million dollars in addition.

Wow. I have to pay $135! I didn't know we didn't all pay the same.

 

[ValerieJ]

Five hundred gallon propane tank, Generac generator, venison, squirrel, rabbit, rivers full of fish/frogs/turtles, nuts, wild berries in season -- I made a promise long ago that I could/would provide shelter and food. I've been able to do so for 55 years and barring ill health see no reason I can't do so for the next 55.

We have a Generac too, but only a 100 gal tank. I keep telling my husband I want either another one, or a larger one. But, it's hard to convince him since we only have to have it fill about every three years.

 

[ValerieJ]

I researched it and found they are more expensive to run. I was thinking about trading my gas generator for a propane but decided it wasn’t worth the additional cost. It’s also easier to fill up a gas can than find a place to exchange a propane tank.

Exchange a propane tank? They just come out and refill it here. But, this thread is about a major disaster which would probably make it impossible to get someone out to refill. Even if I get a bigger tank (mine is 100 gal) eventually it would run out. We are not counting on the generator for such a time as that. But for the many outages we have every year, it works great, and like I mentioned in another response, we only have to have it refilled about every three years. And we never allow it to get below about 40% full. We have only essentials hooked up to it, lights, refrigeration, heater, and it comes on automatically when the electricity goes out. We would run it manually in a major disaster.

 

[ValerieJ]

IMO folks should at least keep in the back of their minds the possibility that we are entering into a period of colder weather. That's definitely something to be prepared for as much as possible because tragedy can strike swiftly in really cold weather; warmer weather doesn't present the same challenges and threats. There are a number of scientists who are beginning to think that we may be headed into some sort of little ice age-type period. There has been no significant warming in the last 20 years, and the last 3 years have cooled. So they might be right.

https://electroverse.net/nasa-predi...years-dalton-minimum-levels-the-implications/

"NASA is effectively forecasting a return to the Dalton Minimum (1790-1830) but gives no mention of the brutal cold, crop loss, famine, war and powerful Volcanic eruptions associated with it:

• Like the deeper Maunder and Spörer Minimums preceding it, the Dalton brought on a period of lower-than-average global temperatures. The Oberlach Station in Germany, for example, experienced a 2C decline over 20 years, which devastated the country’s food production.
• The Year Without a Summer also occurred during the Dalton Minimum, in 1816. It was caused by a combination of already low temperatures plus the aftereffects of the second largest volcanic eruption in 2000 years: Mount Tambora’s VEI 7 on April 10, 1815.

...

One Virginia resident recalled, “In June another snowfall came and folks went sleighing. On July 4, water froze in cisterns and snow fell again, with Independence Day celebrants moving inside churches where hearth fires warmed things a mite.”

Clothes froze on the line in New England, ice on ponds and lakes was reported in northwestern Pennsylvania in both July and August, and Virginia had frosts in August. The temperature occasionally got into the 90s, but then would drop to nearly freezing in just a few hours.

Crops that had managed to sprout were frozen out in early June, replanted, and frozen again in July. Very few crops were actually harvested, and of those that were, the yields were very poor. In turn, food and grain prices skyrocketed — for example, in 1815, oats sold for $0.12 a bushel but by the next year, a bushel would set you back $0.92."

 

[ValerieJ]

I can’t ask her as she has passed away. I do know she used an electric dehydrator. They use very little power to dry veggies. Maybe you could look into something that will work with your system.

There are dehydrators. I have an air fryer with a dehydrator function, and near as I can tell, it uses convection heat on very low setting for several hours (like 6-8 hrs). There should be a way to figure this out in any oven. Good luck!

 

[ValerieJ]

Are you referring to the Day Lily family [Hemerocallis] or the Oriental, or True Lily family [Lilium]? I do not think the two plants are closely related. Post 504 was talking about Daylily.

Perhaps both are harmful to cats, but I bet it is just the trues ...

Day lily is pretty tasty. Buds are prime now [early summer], really nice steamed or stir fried, still crisp. True lily is not edible for people.

What does it do to the cats? I have lilies and the cats lay under them. They don't have any symptoms at all. What should I be looking for?

 

[EggWalrus]

Hydro is not considered renewable energy in the US. So solar and wind are responsible for about 8% of US production. Worldwide they are less than 1%.

Natural gas made coal unprofitable. We have fracking to thank for that low cost energy enabling the US to reduce its CO2 by more than most (or any) industrialized country. Solar/wind only appear to be cheap because all of their hidden costs are not factored in. Solar/wind actually increase the cost of electricity wherever they are implemented on a large scale.

One would think if you put hydro-electric dams every few miles on major rivers that aren't prone to drying up, we could have more than enough electricity. But boats would have to go thru locks which would slow down transportation of goods and we can't have that.

“Oh My Gerd!” Those dang worms. We have one and I despise the thing! I think they’re only good for fishermen using those nasty-a$$ worms that spit on you.

Those horned Cahaba/Catalpa worms make great bait. When they start eating the tree, start picking them and freeze then in small jugs. When you want to go fishing, pull the worms out of the freezer and they come out of hibernation. Some of the best fish bait God ever created!