We really don’t do much to celebrate the Fourth around here. But this year, my daughter, Randie, is going to be up at son, Bill’s, this week and we had planned to go down and have a nice family visit. Unfortunately, while I was on my way home from mailing seeds, the serpentine belt on the Edge broke, leaving me with no AC, minimal brakes, and fan. Luckily, I got home without seriously overheating the car! Will called around and found the serpentine belt in Cook but the shop didn’t have a power steering belt he figured he should replace while he was in there. Replacing a modern serpentine belt isn’t like in the “olden days” where you could just lift the hood and do it fairly easily. No, now you have to jack up the car, take it apart and spend a few hours trying to get it put back in. Poor Will! And it’s pretty hot out today too. Hopefully, it will get fixed so we can go tomorrow.
David had gone to Virginia (MN) and was able to get the power steering belt so he and the kids stopped briefly to deliver the belt and pick up camping stuff so they can camp down at the lake where Bill and his family camp out. Delilah was so excited to go pick chicken eggs! We went into the coop and she found a whole bunch. (I didn’t tell her I hadn’t picked eggs today yet, as I figured she’d get into the coop right away.) Sarge followed us around, giving her lots of doggy kisses.
I’m starting to evaluate my stored food and supplies as I don’t like the atmosphere regarding the upcoming presidential election. Regardless of which side of the fence you’re on, I’m worrying about a lot of unrest following the election and just feel better knowing if we need to stay home, we can and be very comfortable doing so. Have a very enjoyable Fourth of July! — Jackie
So sorry about the break down especially in this heat. I’m with you re preps for almost any reason. Summer here in Maine is prep time for winter. You never know when a massive blizzard or ice storm will make going out impossible. Many interesting stories on You Tube about how people cope (or not) with long term Mother Nature events. Lots to learn. There is peace of mind in being prepared. Pyro
Fingers crossed for the car getting fixed in time and Happy Treason Day :D (I’m a Brit)
I agree that you guys are heading into an election with no good outcomes and that there are way too many people who are likely to throw a tantrum if their special doddering of man loses. At least our election in the UK had a selection of tolerable outcomes and despite the rhetoric, our two main parties are both pretty middle of the road.
I’ve recently developed an interest in lacto-fermentation, it’s not long term preps (although I could can it for that once fermented) but it’s proving really good for shorter term and for smoothing out glut/shortage situations.
Will did manage to get the car fixed in time for us to go to our family get together. Even though he had to lie in wet grass following a brief rainstorm!
I’m also checking and topping off preps. There are too many issues political, economic and social in this country as well as worldwide so it’s only a matter of time before the SHTF regardless of the election. Too much chaos and turmoil everywhere and it’s only going to take someone sneezing at the wrong time for it all to blow up on us.
I cling to my mantra which is Trust in the Lord. God may not prevent us from facing a SHTF situation, but he has promised to always be with us through whatever comes our way.
I totally agree. I’ve always figured he also expects us to do what we can too. Good for you to keep on top of your preparedness! COVID was a practice run.
As I was reading your article, my husband said he cannot get anything to grow this year. I told him I am ordering heirloom seeds to put up. Talking to others that are also having the same problems with their garden. Scary thought that we cannot grow our own food because seeds will not germinate and have to depend on the government for our food. Sorry to be political but times are getting scary.
PS, I put okra and bean seeds in a large pot on front porch so I could control watering them and neither seeds came up.
I’ve been hearing that a lot, lately. I don’t have a clue why those seeds don’t germinate. Every year, we seem to have a variety or two out of hundreds that don’t. Then, when we re-plant them, using the same seeds, they come up like gang busters. I’d say the weather, but we’ve had the same issues inside. Aliens???
My grandchildren love gathering eggs too! It is so fun watching them find them and see their excitement. I sure hope you get to see your daughter. Delilah is growing so fast and is such a cutie. It seems like Will can fix anything! There are very few mechanics where I live and it takes about 2 weeks to even get an appointment to get a vehicle in for repairs. It is incredibly frustrating. It is getting the time of year when I start adding to my pantry in preparation for winter. I like to be pretty well stocked up by the end of September so hopefully I can avoid any issues surrounding the election, however it turns out. Sending prayers for a blessed week.
Thanks again Marilyn. I’m truly blessed to have a husband that can fix things. And he doesn’t get frustrated, throw things and swear when things don’t go right. He just keeps plugging along. Much longer than I probably would have!!
We did have a nice family visit, thanks to him.
I’m glad to hear you’re also stocking up your pantry. I don’t get into political issues, but right now, the boat is pretty rocky.
I’m topping off my preps, plan on staying home around the elections! Keeping all the vehicles fueled and pantry full. Just waiting for the chimney sweep to come! Hope your knees are holding up!
The knees are doing pretty well, considering all the recent planting. But that’s done now and it’s weeding and mulching time. I’m so glad you’re also keeping up with your preparedness. The election this year is kind of scary, no matter what party (or none) you favor. Just another world thing that could blow up. If it doesn’t, great!!
I’m on the same page re: the election. Been telling the better half we’ll need to hunker down aka stocked up. Will also make sure Dad does the same thing AND look closely at any doctor appointments during that time frame. I have no qualms rescheduling if the situation isn’t safe (have done so with weather but we always have to tell the office a good chunk of our drive is open country roads).
The one doe I frequently see must have had twins again this year. Saw two spotted fawns on our other property tonight.
We’ve seen both of our close-neighbor does that have their fawns near our buildings every year. Both have single fawns that are growing like weeds. So cute!! IF they stay out of the gardens and yard!!
I hope the election goes smoothly, but I fear it won’t. So, we’re stocking up and getting everything in place to hunker down if we need to, to be safe.
Thanks for the heads-up about our preps, Jackie. Maybe an inventory is needed. I know BHM has an ad for Prepping 2.0 podcast. I just got their latest book, Food Preps 2.0, by Glen Tate and Shelby Gallagher. As Shelby says, We need to layer our food preps.
Yep, and we are always making sure we have a wide variety of foods available. Nothing gets more boring and frustrating than a steady diet of rice and beans!! We store what we regularly eat, only more of it, from canned meats to easy-to- fix meals in a jar like chili, beef stew and canned meatballs. Not what you think of as “survival food”, but pretty darned tasty any time. But especially, when times are hard.
My thoughts exactly about this election. No matter who wins, there will be big problems for America. I am trying to plan ahead. For a 79 year old widow, I am not sticking my head in the sand.
Good for you, Sheryl!! Everybody should be thinking along those lines, not just hoping for the best. Of course, we all wish things will just go smoothly, post-election. I look at the last one as an example. And that could have been much worse. Better to be prepared and NOT need it than not prepared and wish you had been.
Yes, Jackie, good to err on the side of caution.
The wise man sees trouble and prepares, the fool keeps going and suffers. Pro. 22:3
The only thing harder than failing to prepare, is explaining why you didn’t.—Glen Tate, Prepping 2.0 podcast
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.—Ben Franklin
I love the quotes!! But Dad always said, “You can’t fix stupid!”. I cringe when folks just go from day to day without a care or thought of the future and its possibilities. We sure aren’t folks who worry about “the world ending” or “zombie apocalypse”. We just keep an educated eye on what’s going on around us and try to keep prepared to take care of ourselves and our family.
Or any one of the many “conspiracies” that are a cancer running rampant. All I can say is “yeesh – don’t you have anything else to fill your days?”
Election years are always “interesting “😬
I like to try and maintain the status quo with a normal routine and staying ahead of the curve seems to be a good practice. It seems like I always run out of favorites and have too much of not-so-favorite home canned goodies. That is something to work on this season. Happy 4th!
Of course we always seem to run out of the favorites! And each year, I stock up extras on those, finding another missing favorite the next year. Ha ha!! But that also helps us keep stocking up.
Yep, elections are always a bit interesting. This coming one is the first ever where I’ve felt really nervous. We’re pretty much independent thinkers, voting for the person we think will be able to do the best job for the country. This year….oh boy! Keep prepared!!
What do y’all do for water storage?
We live near a lake, so I guess if worse came to worse we could filter it. But I would love to get your solutions!
I hear that Berkey water filters are very good, but Pro One is just as good at half the price. We get no rain in summer-time, far north California. I’ve been praying my better half will get with prepping. We have wild game on this mountain, Lake Shasta nearby for water. My canning preps are over flowing our basement storage. At least we’re off-grid.
Elizabeth, just a reminder that when times get tough, lots of folks will be hunting that game that is now plentiful. In tough times, hunting can get very difficult. This is why I can up so much meat when times are fine. I know in our area of northern Minnesota, the white settlers wiped out the woodland buffalo, caribou and elk, then when the depression came, the deer population really took a hit. Just saying…. Good for you to have your basement stuffed with food!!
We’re very lucky. In our basement, as we live off grid, we have 600 gallons of water storage through two 350 gallon vertical water storage tanks as we can’t have our well pump kick on every hour or so as it’s a 220-volt pump and we have to run the generator to power it. But, at the barn, our well pump is only a 120-volt pump, and we could power it with our battery bank & solar panels, keeping the tanks full. That well is fairly shallow, down into a spring, so we could also, if necessary, put one of our hand-powered water pumps down into the casing.
If you have lake water, great! Get a good water filter and a few larger water storage jugs/barrels and you’ll be fine.
Happy Fourth of July to you and Will. Delilah is a doll, future farm girl.
I hope you had a happy Fourth of July too! We managed to get to visit our family and it was so nice! Delilah sure loves farm stuff, from planting seeds to visiting the cows and horses.
Great to celebrate our independence. I likewise am stocking up. I worry about our country’s future. All you can do is take care of yourself and neighbors. Staying home and safe is OK with us.
Us too, Everett. We love our life and wish more folks would concentrate on the positive rather than the hate and violence that seems to be on such an upswing.
That is really a good idea to look our supplies over. I think I will get started on that. Yes there is much unrest. There will be “something” no matter who wins.
I think your granddaughter is the cutest!!! When the grand-kids were little they loved collecting eggs too!
I’m kind of having fun working through my stocked-up supplies. You know, “Gee, I didn’t remember we had that!” and “Oh, I’ve got TWO buckets of brown sugar!”.
I just hate all the nasty remarks and violence folks seem to be prone to these days, regarding politics, race, religion and so many other things. We figure live and let live….and plant more beans.
Off subject but on the subject of stocking up I baked a sourdough loaf with eikorn for the first time and was it ever good. Great taste and scent of the wheat was wonderful as I ran it through the mill. I’m just starting the learning curve with this wheat though.
Your egg collector is a beauty!
Hello Sue,
I’m trying to interest the local flour mill to carry einkorn, but can at least purchase Jovial at local nutrition store. I want to start making sourdough with it, since it is an ancient wheat, never changed, very nutritious.
Our local Amish owned store carries some unusual varieties but I ordered the einkorn from Grand Teton Ancient Grains thinking they might have a faster turnover and fresher product than the store.
It’s fun to experiment.
We think she’s so cute and some of her sayings are just too funny. She recently informed me that Will’s backhoe was NOT a backhoe, it was an excavator!! And when Grandpa gave her a sucker, she said, “Thank you very much!”. Just as serious as that, then jumped up and down, laughing.
Einkorn wheat is one of the best!! It is wheat before they messed up the genes with genetic manipulation.
An interesting observance about the recent debate on tv; at one point both the candidates implied that if the other guy is elected, our country is headed for World War III. Hmmm. According to their words, and since it appears we do not have a third candidate who would win the election, we’re headed for war.
So yes, Jackie, I agree. We all should feel uncomfortable and take heed to the ample warnings we are receiving. The political storm and the weather have both really ramped up.
I still love this country–it’s the Best! So have a safe and fun Independence Day, everyone.
So right about the ramped up weather and politics. Things have become very heated in both. A reflection of heavenly activity.
For sure! I just hate the nasty remarks and violence throughout our country right now. I’m not sure there’s World War III in the future but I feel like something may blow up after the election, no matter who wins. We’re very patriotic around here. Will is a Vietnam War veteran to boot. So, we take elections very seriously. Now, we’re cringing.
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