What did you do today to prepare?

[woodsghost]

Laid in another 45 lbs of rice and beans. I need to package it in 5 gal buckets now. Which means I need more 5 gal buckets.

I've been building 5 gal buckets with roughly 10 lbs rice, 10 lbs different beans and lentils, a bottle of oil, and a spice of some sort. Based on my calculations, it should do for about 20-25 days of food for 1x adult, and I feel having a different spice in each one will help with food boredom. Also, having different beans/lentils helps too. But based on my 2 years of mostly rice, beans, veggies and meats (when available), I wish I could get more variety for cheap.

A key issue is "am I just prepping for my family? Or my extended family and maybe others?"

Realistic answer: we are always prepping for more than just our family.

[wolf_from_wv]

Have you had any problem finding lids?  Lowes usually has enough buckets to stack to the ceiling, but many times has no lids.

[woodsghost]

Have you had any problem finding lids?  Lowes usually has enough buckets to stack to the ceiling, but many times has no lids.

When I was in Lincoln, NE, I started having a hard time with lids starting in about 2020. I think I mostly used Lowes but also searched at Home Depot.

Different state now, but my local Tractor Supply (60 min away) says they have both lids and buckets in stock. I was considering just ordering, but might try to do an in store pickup or something. There is a Cabela's in that town too, and the drive is pretty, so any excuse to go is a good one.

FYI to all: I was keeping some cans of spam in each of my buckets, but they were about to expire so my wife donated them and I have yet to replace them. My wife would rather I didn't replace them, but I'm kinda fond of spam now.

Anyway, that is how my buckets used to be a 25 day supply, and are currently a 20 day supply for an adult.

[RoneKiln]

I've been building 5 gal buckets with roughly 10 lbs rice, 10 lbs different beans and lentils, a bottle of oil, and a spice of some sort.

For some reason it never occurred to me to put different but complementary items in a single bucket. This just blew my mind and completely changed how I'll pack my deep pantry in the future. Except I will add multiple spices in each bucket.

[woodsghost]

I've been building 5 gal buckets with roughly 10 lbs rice, 10 lbs different beans and lentils, a bottle of oil, and a spice of some sort.

For some reason it never occurred to me to put different but complementary items in a single bucket. This just blew my mind and completely changed how I'll pack my deep pantry in the future. Except I will add multiple spices in each bucket.

Perfect idea!

My logic is "if I have 5x buckets, I now have 5x spices, + iodized salt." I recently discovered that iodized sea salt is also a thing and I am now stocking that.

Anyway, you don't need to do things the way I did them. I just wanted to share my logic.

[woodsghost]

Have you had any problem finding lids?  Lowes usually has enough buckets to stack to the ceiling, but many times has no lids.

I checked another local farm store and they, too, had food grade buckets but no gamma lids. They had the clip down lids, but that was just not what I wanted.

[SCBrian]

Laid in another 45 lbs of rice and beans. I need to package it in 5 gal buckets now. Which means I need more 5 gal buckets.

Curious - How are you packaging the buckets?  Individual vac sealed bags, or putting it all in a large bag, and dumping in an Oxy absorber?

[Blast]

Cleared more land for gardening.
-Blast

[Crosscut]

Winterized the guest house yesterday, it's really only adding some antifreeze to the toilet and a few squirts for the connectors for the (removable) water line to the pump.  Need to get some more RV antifreeze on the next trip to Amish country (best prices around).  Filled the firewood rack in the garage from the wood crib, we'll likely need to light our first fire of the season this coming week.  The passive solar in the primary home is all we've needed so far to keep the inside temps in the high 60's, even with 370 heating degree days this season and nighttime temps down into the 30's and highs in the 50's recently, but the next few days look cloudy, rainy, and colder.  Ordered a couple Lansky Pucks, never used these before but going to give them a try for a better edge on our kindling hatchet.  Still trying to deal with that badger(?), a new hole last night, but this one is different - dug in a circle around a mostly buried rotten stump.  Putting out a second Dakota Alert in the hope whatever it, or they, are trips one of them.

[Ever (Zombiepreparation)]

Added:
Four boxes of crackers.
Four pounds honey.
Two cans chicken.
Seven cans diced tomatoes & green chilies.
Four pounds peanut butter.
Nine pounds roasted cashews.
Four large original V8.
Four 2 ltr. bottles water.

[Crosscut]

No luck yet on whatever is digging up my property, although the new holes are mostly outside our fenced in area where the dogs keep guard.  No luck with the Dakota Alerts either, even set to their highest sensitivity.   I don't think whatever it is is large enough to set them off, or at least not at any distance.  Starting to wonder if it's opossums, seen more of those this year than is usual.  I'm kinda neutral on opossums as with other critters that don't cause property damage, live and let live, but might have to thin their herd to see if the burrowing decreases.  Our dogs will gladly help with this job, and all it requires is my not warning them before letting the dogs out after dark as I often do (mostly I'm checking for bears and skunks before "releasing the hounds" at o'dark thirty in the morning).

Lansky pucks arrived, I like it.  Sharpened a hatchet and two wood splitting mauls in not much more time than it would have taken on the grinding wheel, and sharpened our limb cutters/loppers that don't open far enough to use on the grinder and were very dull.  Picked up some more RV antifreeze and shopped for a new handle for one of the splitting mauls that broke recently, but the usual place didn't have the correct size in stock so just ordered one from Amazon rather than drive to the hardware store in the next town.  Getting the broken handle out of the maul was a PITA.

Glanced through Anesthesia Off the Grid: A manual for humanitarian health care workers that arrived a few days ago, not much use for us personally but might be a good reference for a physician in the ZPAW.  Well illustrated, worth the <$6 cost imo.  I need to get more hardcopy reference books as most of my library is digital.  Also ordered a chest percussion cup, it'd be fairly easy to improvise one or just use a cupped hand, but might as well have one designed for this use.  And a venom extractor, no not really much use for snakebites but could be useful for bee or wasp stings and tick or spider bites (particularly in the allergic).  Maybe after lancing it first to open a wider channel for extraction(?), although I suppose that might just push the venom deeper too.  Just thinking out loud, but might have to give this a try just to see if the itch of a bite/sting is noticeably reduced afterwards, tick and spider bites sometimes itch for a week or more on me.

[Crosscut]

Rain-X'ed the solar panels, helps the snow slide off a bit easier.  While on the roof inspected the safety lifeline/rope and decided it needs replacing.  The anchor in the roof looks OK both from above and from the attic below, but the safety line purchased from FallTech (10 years ago  ) is looking just a bit too iffy for my likes.  Ordered one of these and will replace it next weekend.  Need to figure out a different solution for clearing the panels of snow before too long as I'm not getting any younger (or braver when it comes to heights).  Seems like every solution I come up with (including moving them) has drawbacks as bad, or worse, then just climbing up there with a shop broom and brushing them off. 

The wife isn't helping much either, she doesn't want to take her turn up there brushing them off and she nixes my trained chimpanzee idea every time I bring it up.   

[Mr. E. Monkey]

The wife isn't helping much either, she doesn't want to take her turn up there brushing them off and she nixes my trained chimpanzee idea every time I bring it up.   

Don't look at me, I don't do heights.

[NapalmMan67]

Added:
Four boxes of crackers.
Four pounds honey.
Two cans chicken.
Seven cans diced tomatoes & green chilies.
Four pounds peanut butter.
Nine pounds roasted cashews.
Four large original V8.
Four 2 ltr. bottles water. 

How are you storing those cashews for long term?


.

[NapalmMan67]

Over the last few weekends, I've canned 6 pints of Blueberry Jam, 6 pints of Apple Butter and 7 quarts of Beef Stew.  Planning to can some Chili Con Carne soon.

Added another dozen cans of store bought soup for my old lady, as she has this weird fear of eating anything I can.   

.

[wolf_from_wv]

No luck yet on whatever is digging up my property, although the new holes are mostly outside our fenced in area where the dogs keep guard.  No luck with the Dakota Alerts either, even set to their highest sensitivity.   I don't think whatever it is is large enough to set them off, or at least not at any distance.  Starting to wonder if it's opossums, seen more of those this year than is usual.  I'm kinda neutral on opossums as with other critters that don't cause property damage, live and let live, but might have to thin their herd to see if the burrowing decreases. 

I'd attach a trail cam to the fence pointed at the stump.  I've got a couple in the front and back to see what goes on when I'm at work.  It cut down on the drug deals in front of the house.  Usually when I'm not home, there is open space on the street for parking.  I got tired of waiting for the guy down the street to finish his deals so I could park in front of my house when I got home from work.

I put up two battery powered motion sensor lights on the front of the house.  I've noticed quite a few people  cross over to the other side of the street until they get the house.  I had the one aimed wrong.  I was picking up cars on the street, and drained the batteries in a week.

[Raptor]

No luck yet on whatever is digging up my property, although the new holes are mostly outside our fenced in area where the dogs keep guard.  No luck with the Dakota Alerts either, even set to their highest sensitivity.   I don't think whatever it is is large enough to set them off, or at least not at any distance.  Starting to wonder if it's opossums, seen more of those this year than is usual.  I'm kinda neutral on opossums as with other critters that don't cause property damage, live and let live, but might have to thin their herd to see if the burrowing decreases. 

I'd attach a trail cam to the fence pointed at the stump.  I've got a couple in the front and back to see what goes on when I'm at work.  It cut down on the drug deals in front of the house.  Usually when I'm not home, there is open space on the street for parking.  I got tired of waiting for the guy down the street to finish his deals so I could park in front of my house when I got home from work.

I put up two battery powered motion sensor lights on the front of the house.  I've noticed quite a few people  cross over to the other side of the street until they get the house.  I had the one aimed wrong.  I was picking up cars on the street, and drained the batteries in a week.

That is good advice. ----^^^^

Holes sounds like armadillos and not opossums. Both IMO are mostly harmless as long as the population is reasonable.

The opossums do eat ground nesting chicks and will literally eat anything that they find. They are not hunters per se but opportunists. Think of them as the garbagemen of the animal kingdom. 
https://www.montanadecoy.com/news/meet-the-turkey-hunters-worst-enemies-raccoons-and-opossums

Armadillos on the other hand do eat grubs and insects hence the digging. I view the ones in my AO as beneficial and give them a free pass... even as I fill in their holes.

[NapalmMan67]

'Possums aren't burrowing animals, they usually stick to tree tops for living/safety.  And, they're tick eating vacuums.  I always leave them be in our area.

https://possumfacts.com/do-possums-dig-holes/

https://forfoxsakewildlife.com/2018/12/19/opossums-dont-dig-up-yards/#:~:text=Opossums%20are%20not%20digging%2C%20burrowing,to%20withstand%20digging%20up%20lawns.



Now the damn whistle pig on the other hand, digs burrows all over the place and makes a hell of a mess everywhere.  His days are numbered come next spring.

[Crosscut]

No luck yet on whatever is digging up my property, although the new holes are mostly outside our fenced in area where the dogs keep guard.  No luck with the Dakota Alerts either, even set to their highest sensitivity.   I don't think whatever it is is large enough to set them off, or at least not at any distance.  Starting to wonder if it's opossums, seen more of those this year than is usual.  I'm kinda neutral on opossums as with other critters that don't cause property damage, live and let live, but might have to thin their herd to see if the burrowing decreases. 

I'd attach a trail cam to the fence pointed at the stump.  I've got a couple in the front and back to see what goes on when I'm at work.  It cut down on the drug deals in front of the house.  Usually when I'm not home, there is open space on the street for parking.  I got tired of waiting for the guy down the street to finish his deals so I could park in front of my house when I got home from work.

I put up two battery powered motion sensor lights on the front of the house.  I've noticed quite a few people  cross over to the other side of the street until they get the house.  I had the one aimed wrong.  I was picking up cars on the street, and drained the batteries in a week.

That is good advice. ----^^^^

Holes sounds like armadillos and not opossums. Both IMO are mostly harmless as long as the population is reasonable.

The opossums do eat ground nesting chicks and will literally eat anything that they find. They are not hunters per se but opportunists. Think of them as the garbagemen of the animal kingdom. 
https://www.montanadecoy.com/news/meet-the-turkey-hunters-worst-enemies-raccoons-and-opossums

Armadillos on the other hand do eat grubs and insects hence the digging. I view the ones in my AO as beneficial and give them a free pass... even as I fill in their holes.

When the D.A.'s weren't detecting whatever it was I wondered if I'd have the same issue with a trail cam, but I'd need to get new batteries for the ancient ones I have just to find out.  Checking their prices now though they aren't as bad as I thought.  Another option was some older Q-See wired cameras I have in storage, but no motion sensor on those plus the extra power for the DVR.  But whatever it was (too far north for armadillos) seems to have been scared off, no activity in about a week.   

It does bother me that something can wander around my property and escape detection, and I've been admiring NT2C's recent pics of his yard and barn from his security cam, it might be time to research what options/features are available now.  The problems last time I looked were mostly the power consumption, the range for wireless devices, and the cost. 

'Possums aren't burrowing animals, they usually stick to tree tops for living/safety.  And, they're tick eating vacuums.  I always leave them be in our area.

https://possumfacts.com/do-possums-dig-holes/

https://forfoxsakewildlife.com/2018/12/19/opossums-dont-dig-up-yards/#:~:text=Opossums%20are%20not%20digging%2C%20burrowing,to%20withstand%20digging%20up%20lawns.



Now the damn whistle pig on the other hand, digs burrows all over the place and makes a hell of a mess everywhere.  His days are numbered come next spring.

Thanks, and yeah, we've had opossum's around as long as we've been here and never seen holes like these before.  Usually they just eat the birdseed that's fallen from the feeder, and usually too dumb to climb the tree before the dogs get them.  Didn't know they ate ticks.

[wolf_from_wv]

I've been using the $30 trail cam from Walmart - 8 AA batteries and SD card.  I think the camera is 12MP.  It isn't fast enough to pick up cars on the street, but usually gets people and deer.