To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!
Jim Reports:
I finished the Rawles Ranch Redneck Pool cleaning project on Wedesday. That work took about nine hours, over the course of four days. It is now filled with crystal clear water, and lightly chlorinated. It should be warmed up to proper swimming temperature by tomorrow afternoon. That is good timing, since our four grandsons are arriving for a one-week stay, soon.
Today, I’m returning from a long trip to Billings, Montana. On Friday, I attended a gun show there, in the hopes of finding some pre-1899 cartridge guns to replenish our inventory at Elk Creek Company. After searching through the 200-table show, I did find just a couple of cartridge pre-1899ers that were suitable, and affordable. But they are definitely getting more scarce. The law of supply and demand is inescapable. The two pieces that I came home with were a scarce early Finn-captured M1891 7.62x54r Mosin-Nagant rifle — clearly dated 1897 on the barrel — and an original Remington-made Rolling Block Argentine contract rifle, rechambered in 11mm Mannlicher!
Now, Lily’s part of the report…
Avalanche Lily Reports:
Dear Readers,
This week was another beautiful sunny summer week. Afternoon temperatures were in the mid-eighties and the low temperatures were around forty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. At the end of the week the clouds came in and we are hoping and expecting rain for the next four or so days. We really need it.
This week was super busy and was focused on learning how to process my sheep’s wool fleeces. I took two private classes. In the first class, I learned how to pick through the raw wool to pull out the vegetable matter and to spread out the fibers. Then I learned how to wash it without felting it. Then I was taught how to card it. I was sent home for two days to work on my raw wool, to pick it and spread the fibers, wash it, dry it, and card it. It took a long time and was a lot of work and we didn’t even get through one complete fleece. I have a total of fifteen fleeces from this year, not to mention seven more from last year, still awaiting processing. Miss Violet helped.
I returned on Friday with my carded wool batts to learn how to spin. That was so neat. I was able to spin two spools and then we plied them together to make yarn, albeit quite lumpy. So, I left with the skills needed to spin wool. Now I need to practice, practice, practice to get the yarn uniform. My instructor was quite pleased that I picked up the skill so quickly. I guess that some folks have a lot of trouble getting the wool spun and even onto the spool the first time they try…I had my struggles, but got it there. I look forward to honing this skill.
Also this week, I had to have some dental work done. Hopefully, this is the last time, for a very long time now that I have a new way of caring for my teeth.
Any trip to town usually blows at least half the day. There were three trips this week.
So other than the usual animal chores and household chores, cooking, cleaning, laundry, scrubbing our white stone floors, etc, that was my week.
Usually, I am the one to clean our Redneck Pool, but this time around, I had other interests, so Jim thankfully, took on the task. I am very appreciative of him for doing so. I did feel a bit guilty about not participating much in the scrubbing, and only helped at the very end to just empty the buckets of the muck at the bottom of the pool while Jim filled them and plugging and unplugging the pump while it sucked up the last of the gunk and the bottom of the pool sump pit. I did scrub with Jim one evening the shallow end, but only for about twenty minutes, so we could talk privately about the possible consequences of current events. But that was all the scrubbing that I did this time around.
We usually clean the pool out about three times a summer, so I’ll probably be on it, later on.
With all the driving we did this week, Miss Violet and I listened to Isaiah, Revelation, Jeremiah, First Corinthians, and Romans in the car and at home while pickin’ wool.
Jesus said in Matthew 24:6-8:
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Please pray for the Salvation of all the Iranians and Israelis who are caught in the crossfire of the governments waging these needless wars. Pray also for those folks in neighboring countries, since this war may spread quickly.
May You All Remain Safe, Blessed, and Hidden in Christ Jesus,
– Avalanche Lily, Rawles
o o o
As always, please share and send e-mails of your own successes and hard-earned wisdom and we will post them in the “Snippets” column this coming week. We want to hear from you.
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