What did you do in the garden today?

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I'm really happy that that people doing ours are local. Literally the next town over. The only thing I am a little unhappy about is that the panels are Chinese panels, although manufactured in the US. While that is somewhat better, it still concerns me that the Chinese are behind the engineering of the panels. Oh well, we'll see how it goes.... I suppose at the end of the day, nothing is immune to an EMP.

I agree with everything you said.
There is only so much people can do to protect themselves.
The government for years has not been happy with our bartering we do. FSA wants cash transactions only, no trading. It will come down to bartering in the end.

 

[Sally PB]

I love barter. Here's my unwanted/extra stuff for your unwanted/extra stuff. Or my time for your stuff. Or your stuff I'd rather have/really need in exchange for my stuff you'd rather have/really need.

Has any seen or heard from @BReeder! recently? Hope he's ok...

 

[TJAnonymous]

can you give more information about those batteries? any link? when are they due?

I've asked for this information....still waiting for it.

 

[MACCanadianCoop]

I suppose at the end of the day, nothing is immune to an EMP.

old school mechanical windmill is

 

[Elyrian1]

Anybody seen those Solar Flowers? I just ran across them last night and they seem like a genius idea for big hail country. Just... expensive. Oof. Makes me wonder if I could build one from scratch and pay somebody to program similar functionality. *brain gears spinning*

Last night DH finished filling the garden bed for me. So all I have to do today is get some compost topping on it, then mulch, and then some time in the next two days get the plants in. Today they're saying 94 and thunderstorms later. Tomorrow 79 and cloudy. The last thunderstorm we had knocked the power out for 3 hours and had winds over 60 mph. My kid is still saying "Papa's shoes blow away!" in an excited/worried tone. So, this morning I need to batten down the proverbial hatches and see what all wind light items I need to weigh down or stash.

Good times. Y'all have fun.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I agree with everything you said.
There is only so much people can do to protect themselves.
The government for years has not been happy with our bartering we do. FSA wants cash transactions only, no trading. It will come down to bartering in the end.

Completely agree about the bartering....that's why I've encouraged my kids to learn a trade/skill. It's also why I have spent every waking hour for past 4 years learning how to be self sufficient. Before the past 4 years, I killed every plant I randomly tried to grow. I certainly never "gardened" before..... Never knew how to do things like make my own soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. Didn't know how to properly store food long term, etc (with or without electricity).

So what drove my obsession with this? Well, I've worked with critical infrastructure preparedness and disaster recovery for the past 10 yrs. I've been through so many drills, table top exercises, and planning sessions that I've lost count. My personal background has been in utilities, healthcare, and financial industries so those are the infrastructure systems I know the best. Anyway, about 6 or 7 years ago, I participated in a meeting with several ABC agencies about EMP preparedness. That's when I learned that North Korea actually has 2 satellites positioned over the US that could deliver an EMP at any time they choose. After learning this rather concerning fact, we spent 1-2 hours discussing the domino effect fallout if one were ever to be triggered. Let's just say it was extremely concerning.....and that is when I decided I needed to learn how to live as if I lived in 1715 instead of 2015.

 

[TJAnonymous]

old school mechanical windmill is

Yes it is....which is why I named it in an earlier post as something I'm definitely looking at!

 

[Sueby]

They also offered me a free Google Nest thermostat and I said NO WAY! I work in cybersecurity. That thing isn't coming anywhere NEAR my house.

Same here. No thanks! My brand new stove came with wifi & DH was like heck no, they'll kill it the day after the warranty expires. Would be nice to have the timer on it go off on my watch while I'm outside tho.

Nice cool down here. I really do need to water everything. I will have a big batch of strawberries to pick this weekend. Unfortunate thing is this is my kitchen right now :

I suppose I'll eat tons fresh & then just freeze the rest till I can make some jam to can & some desserts.

2 chippies, 1 squirrel & 10 carpenter bees gone . A stupid squirrel dug up the chives & pathetic tomato starts I planted yesterday. You know, I'm an animal lover & I hate to off the wildlife - but they're killing me here.

I weeded some today but my allergies awful so I need to hide inside. for rain.

 

[Sueby]

Completely agree about the bartering....that's why I've encouraged my kids to learn a trade/skill. It's also why I have spent every waking hour for past 4 years learning how to be self sufficient. Before the past 4 years, I killed every plant I randomly tried to grow. I certainly never "gardened" before..... Never knew how to do things like make my own soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. Didn't know how to properly store food long term, etc (with or without electricity).

So what drove my obsession with this? Well, I've worked with critical infrastructure preparedness and disaster recovery for the past 10 yrs. I've been through so many drills, table top exercises, and planning sessions that I've lost count. My personal background has been in utilities, healthcare, and financial industries so those are the infrastructure systems I know the best. Anyway, about 6 or 7 years ago, I participated in a meeting with several ABC agencies about EMP preparedness. That's when I learned that North Korea actually has 2 satellites positioned over the US that could deliver an EMP at any time they choose. After learning this rather concerning fact, we spent 1-2 hours discussing the domino effect fallout if one were ever to be triggered. Let's just say it was extremely concerning.....and that is when I decided I needed to learn how to live as if I lived in 1715 instead of 2015.

I work in IT, one of the main things I do is antivirus so I have a slight understanding of just how vulnerable we are, but nothing like you. It's scary. DH & I had the discussion the other day that in the event of an EMP the only transportation we would have would be the Corvette & the 2 tractors. Not very practical to get far!

 

[Elyrian1]

Oh! What year corvette? That's my favorite car ever