So tired.

Can't write for long. It's been a full on few months. I don't know who from, but I've been running. I can guess why. They're not gov or police or local intelligence agency. These aren't your basic thugs. They offer carrot and stick - rewards if you side with them... much worse if you don't. Need help, need resources..

Seeking... Those wanting somewhere to bolt to...

I have decided the time has come.... The only way to prepare is to get together those who want somewhere to escape to, but don't have the time or knowledge to prepare a place to go to, but do have the financial capability.

It is a simple proposition - I bring the people, the time, the knowledge, and the ability. You set aside a tiny portion of what you would otherwise spend on distractions.

I create not just a bug-out location, and you have somewhere that has had the ground work done.

Somewhere that is ready for you to be.

Yes, you could find an old farm place - but how much time can you afford to take to get an extensive garden growing, to fertilise and water, to sort out all the problems? Staff able to do the day-to-day chores, keep the place protected before you get there...

The biggest problem initially is getting suitable land, but then there's the problem of changing it from raw scrub-land to a fully functioning farm, and somewhere safe.

Depending on funding as to exactly what facilities would be available.

Think of it as insurance.

Don't get rid of the Indispensable

On the other side, don't forget there are people who will indispensable to you - people who have skills and knowledge that you will need. If you find someone who has plenty of knowledge of chemistry, engineering, or medicine - even if you've decided to be a raider - don't harm them...

Be Indispensable.

Don't just know the basics. Know how to do things that others don't know.

Don't just grow food. Grow things that need to be processed before they can be eaten.

Don't be part of the long train of evacuees. Be a leader of your new community.

Found one of the many quotes worth remembering.

"Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics."
    - Gen. Robert H. Barrow, USMC (Commandant of the Marine Corps) noted in 1980


Copy and pasted from here. Someone else might have said it first, but it's still worth remembering

The Bounce

I've been trying to find something I once read that predicted that the next oil crash would be preceded by an unprecedented price drop before sky-rocketing, and destroying the oil-based economy that we currently live under.

Then there's the knowledge that certain oil producing economies have been deliberately over-reporting their in-ground reserves. Add to this the fact that, under international agreement, the amount of oil a country is allowed to pump out of the ground is proportional to the amount left in the ground - the more you have, or say you have, the more that you're allowed to pump out.

Add to this the principle in Economics that says that if there's a resource in the ground, it's best if you can dig (or pump) it up as quickly as you can...


Let's just say that, while pump prices are good for my wallet - I'm not optimistic that things will stay this way.

Fortunately, I think I've finished my major tree purchases - the only ones I'm now really after I think I can no longer get. I'll keep an eye out for those ones, there are a couple of gaps I could fill in the garden.... I now just have to look after the ones I have put into the ground.

Retail therapy...

Well, one of my suppliers has come through, and finally has a couple of carob trees - I was feeling a bit meh, and they've brightened my day. I shouldn't feel as low as I am, we've had plenty of rain the last couple of weeks - everything is green, plants are growing, and my hayfever is working its magic.

Not that I should use the term retail therapy... Let us call it... Prepping Therapy.

Carob is one of those trees that any prepper with land in a suitable climate should consider. The pods are reasonably nutritious, the trees are drought resistant, and are long lived - we talking decades. I'm reading mixed things as to their nitrogen fixing abilities, though; if they can host the bacteria, that means less fertilising.

Personally, I prefer carob to chocolate. Many reasons - used as a chocolate substitute, it's not as oily, and doesn't irritate my gastro-intestinal tract the way chocolate does... Yes, it does taste different, but... I can grow it where I am. I have found that it gets too cold here during winter for cacao trees to survive. In a PSHTF-world, I don't think anyone would complain for too long if I gave them a choice between having carob, and not having chocolate.

Thinking about it - that's an important lesson that many survivalists, preppers, and sheeple would have to learn PSHTF - you have to come to terms with what is at your disposal.

Or, in the words of a favourite author of mine: "We are here, and this is now."

Now I have to go outside, and finish getting rid of that tree stump that is exactly where I want to put one of these saplings.

My Wish List

My wishlist for 2015:

   Water tanks
   Solar water still
   Bore water well
   Greenhouse
   Zeer pots
   Cotton gin
   Composting toilet
   Stills for essential oils, etc. - multiple
   Rocket stove
   Solar food dryers
   Grain, etc., grinders - again several
   Compound bow, plenty of arrows
   Finish my garden, put up shed...

Anyone care to help?

The Joy of Friends

A friend learnt about my (so-far limited) preps, and said to me "So, I'm coming to your place when the apocalypse happens!"

My reply was "No - I'm the person who you realise you should have helped earlier, when the apocalypse happens..."