This weeks preps check-in

[bill harrell]

I'm building a pig tractor, my wife thinks its more for a joke than necessity, but heck...jokes are a necessity. I built it out of an old cotton trailer, just discarded the frame and welded a new one to slide it on. I added some old golf cart wheels to the rear and a chain to the front where when you tow it , it lifts the front off the ground an inch or two. I'm painting it like apatrol unit, and I scored me some blue lights off a police cruiser Friday that ill mount on top....i told her I'm making labels for it that say...chefs department and down the side...To Perfect and Serve. ...heh its fun and cheaper than fencing

 

[bigpaul]

nearest i've been to a prepper show in the UK is our "wilderness gathering" in Wiltshire- sort of a bushcraft thing, went for several years on the trot but it all got a bit samey, same stalls in the same place year after year, then when I wanted to buy some more safari shirts the stall wasn't there that year! haven't been for several years now as its a bit of a long days trek from here.

 

[SheilaT.]

You're right about 1/4 acre being able to produce enough if you lay it out right. Another good thing about having a smaller space is it's easier to stay on top of maintaining it. I have too much to keep up with here. The blueberries and blackberries are so overgrown it's sad. One mistake I made was my lawnmower won't fit between the blueberry rows. I would do a lot of things differently now. As they say, hindsight is always 20/20!

I've been growing long enough to know how much I need to plant for a good crop and some spare. Yep I think 1/4 acre would do me fine. Although if I had a set up the size of yours, I would do my best to fill any unwanted space with fruit and nut trees especially some imprgnated with truffle spore.Even if the crop were too much the local wildlife would soon hear about it and meat on the hoof is always handy to have. I'd maybe even dig out a good sized pond to keep fish in too.

 

[Arcticdude]

I've been growing long enough to know how much I need to plant for a good crop and some spare. Yep I think 1/4 acre would do me fine. Although if I had a set up the size of yours, I would do my best to fill any unwanted space with fruit and nut trees especially some imprgnated with truffle spore.Even if the crop were too much the local wildlife would soon hear about it and meat on the hoof is always handy to have. I'd maybe even dig out a good sized pond to keep fish in too.

I like the fish pond idea and plantings to attract the wildlife. I've got a pond that's maybe a 1/2 acre in size stocked with fish. I'd like to add some crayfish someday too. This summer I'm going to fence the pond off to keep the cattle out and plant trees and shrubs around it and some water plants. For livestock water I'll put a couple of large water tanks around and these will be stocked with fish also. If you want to attract wildlife to your place, put out a couple of salt blocks. My salt blocks are buried under 4 feet of snow right now but the rest of the year every animal in the area uses them.

 

[Brent S]

I've been growing long enough to know how much I need to plant for a good crop and some spare. Yep I think 1/4 acre would do me fine. Although if I had a set up the size of yours, I would do my best to fill any unwanted space with fruit and nut trees especially some imprgnated with truffle spore.Even if the crop were too much the local wildlife would soon hear about it and meat on the hoof is always handy to have. I'd maybe even dig out a good sized pond to keep fish in too.

I dug three ponds here, but my first go at fish was a bust. Between turtles, storks and the occasional deluge, they all got eaten or washed downstream. I'm working on getting a wire fencing in the newest pond to keep them contained. It is good to plant as many edibles as you can. I look at it as an insurance policy, that also looks good. Speaking of attracting meat on the hoof, deer really like apples. Since I got two outside dogs they are kept at bay enough that I get apples now. I just wish I had more energy, money and time to do more around here.

 

[Arcticdude]

I'm building a pig tractor, my wife thinks its more for a joke than necessity, but heck...jokes are a necessity. I built it out of an old cotton trailer, just discarded the frame and welded a new one to slide it on. I added some old golf cart wheels to the rear and a chain to the front where when you tow it , it lifts the front off the ground an inch or two. I'm painting it like apatrol unit, and I scored me some blue lights off a police cruiser Friday that ill mount on top....i told her I'm making labels for it that say...chefs department and down the side...To Perfect and Serve. ...heh its fun and cheaper than fencing

Nice. Pigs in a police cruiser.

 

[SheilaT.]

I dug three ponds here, but my first go at fish was a bust. Between turtles, storks and the occasional deluge, they all got eaten or washed downstream. I'm working on getting a wire fencing in the newest pond to keep them contained. It is good to plant as many edibles as you can. I look at it as an insurance policy, that also looks good. Speaking of attracting meat on the hoof, deer really like apples. Since I got two outside dogs they are kept at bay enough that I get apples now. I just wish I had more energy, money and time to do more around here.

Life is a funny old thing. I never believed my Dad when he said you're too busy to have a life when you're young and too knackered when you've stopped being busy! How right he was.

 

[Brent S]

Life is a funny old thing. I never believed my Dad when he said you're too busy to have a life when you're young and too knackered when you've stopped being busy! How right he was.

How true! Lol

 

[Brent S]

Had two days in the low teens now. This morning woke to no water and about 16 degs. Anyways, two feet down through muddy clay found a fitting had blown apart. Had to get more supplies from Home Depot, (got duplicates for future issues), and finally finished about an hour ago. Luckily everything else was unfrozen and only had the one problem. Anyways, I had 2 liter bottles of water handily stashed away, so was at least able to make coffee, brush my teeth, and flush a toilet. I wouldn't waste drinkable water in a toilet tank if we had a real issue, but I knew I'd have this fixed relatively quickly. I could always haul a bucket from the creek for the toilet if need be, although I would have had to break thru the ice this morning to get to it. Working in the cold takes a lot out of you. Either that or I'm just getting older! Either way, I'm beat. A Cold beer, hot Ramon noodles with shredded pork and some gravy mixed in, and some reheated fried potatoes will make everything better. That and a hot shower that I missed this morning.
Oh, ordered the Sheetrock for the new building, to be delivered weds afternoon. I really hate hanging the stuff, but borrowed a lift from a friend to hold it up while we screw it in. Hopefully in a week or so I can say we're done with it!

 

[WGregMiller]

I don't mind hanging Sheetrock. I hate the mud....

 

[Brent S]

I don't mind hanging Sheetrock. I hate the mud....

I'm the other way around. The mud is easy when you do it right. If you are careful and don't put too much mud on then there is minimal sanding. We will also use crown mouldings which eliminates doing the top edges. We are hanging mostly 12'sheets, and a lot of those need to go upstairs. Not my idea of fun. Just manhandling the stuff is enough for me to want to hire it out. In the real world though, my budget is tight on this, so we are doing everything ourselves even down to making mouldings and cabinets. The woodworking is the part I like the most, and can't wait for this step to be done so I can move on to better things.

 

[WGregMiller]

I'm the other way around. The mud is easy when you do it right. If you are careful and don't put too much mud on then there is minimal sanding. We will also use crown mouldings which eliminates doing the top edges. We are hanging mostly 12'sheets, and a lot of those need to go upstairs. Not my idea of fun. Just manhandling the stuff is enough for me to want to hire it out. In the real world though, my budget is tight on this, so we are doing everything ourselves even down to making mouldings and cabinets. The woodworking is the part I like the most, and can't wait for this step to be done so I can move on to better things.

I don't mind sanding, but then I have a Porter Cable sander for that. My shoulders hate the mud, at least overhead.

 

[Brent S]

I don't mind sanding, but then I have a Porter Cable sander for that. My shoulders hate the mud, at least overhead.

I started taking statins recently to lower cholesterol. The side effects are arthritis, espechially in both shoulders. The doctor put it simply, you can live another fifteen or twenty years with aches and pains, or live just a few without them. I'm beginning to question which option is best here..... I've been really healthy my whole life, and pain free. This last year has been a tough adjustment. I have more empathy for people with real health issues now.

 

[WGregMiller]

Yep. I'm not on statins, but bursitis is a problem for me. I keep forgetting that I'm not 18 any more....

And I'm with ya with questioning the options. I personally don't want to live to be 100 if I can't do anything.

 

[Brent S]

Yep. I'm not on statins, but bursitis is a problem for me. I keep forgetting that I'm not 18 any more....

And I'm with ya with questioning the options. I personally don't want to live to be 100 if I can't do anything.

I agree, I'm only 53 and am really questioning if I would want to see 80 or not. I guess when your 79 you might change your mind though! Seriously, quality goes way further with me than quantity.

 

[jontte]

got atlast a small power bank,geez it took some time,but it will go to my EDC.

 

[Brent S]

got atlast a small power bank,geez it took some time,but it will go to my EDC.

My daughter got me one for Christmas. I doubt I'll ever charge the phone with it, but you never know. It's an amazingly bright LED flashlight, with solar charger, so it's a welcomed addition to my bob.

 

[WGregMiller]

We had bought one, a Goal Zero, for charging stuff. We did that after buying one at Harbor Freight that was crap, but expected to be so. Works really well.

 

[Brent S]

We had bought one, a Goal Zero, for charging stuff. We did that after buying one at Harbor Freight that was crap, but expected to be so. Works really well.

A lot of the stuff at harbor freight it crap, but some of it is great. There are things that you don't need to be top of the line, and they'd have lots of them for cheap. Some things though, espechially if you have to depend on them, it's better to buy quality.

 

[WGregMiller]

Yep. I've found that in general, don't buy much that is electrically powered. I do have a tile saw from there that'll last longer than I do.