Close the Gate

[MountainGirl]

My approach... prepare for the worst and anything short of that is easier!

no power/gas for 3 years....

means..
no mowing (tall grass brings cover for critters),
no gas garden tiller (have to break ground by hand),
no swather/baler to put up hay (livestock here can't graze all winter)
no electric water pumps (have to irrigate for garden or devote solar/wind/hydro power to it)
no freezer/fridge (stuff going to spoil fast unless can dehydrate it! luckily we have outdoor freezer 8 months out of the year)

To me, gardening is a must! labor of planting and maintaining a field of potatoes is minimal vs putting up hay by hand for livestock and having to consume each kill in a matter of days or having to turn it into jerky to prevent spoiling) simple math.... 1 potato can give me 4 eyes.... 1 eye can give me 5 potatoes.. 1 potato = 20 potatoes. 1 cow+ 1 bull= 1 calf.... feed bull,cow,and calf and next yr get 2 calves.... assuming you didn't eat any of them.. it is unsustainable.... way tastier!!!! but doesn't add up for decent sized group here!

That ^^ is an excellent thing to think about. Hmmm....okay.

Ten Oaks: no power/gas for 3 years

Solar will run the cooling fans, elec water pump (hand pump if it fails), freezer until it's empty (we'll eat that first), and short spurts (1-2min) of our 1000w microwave. If/when solar fails the only true loss will be the fans. We'll adapt.
Solar lights for evening (set outside to charge during the day)
Solar oven (I'll be testing one soon; cooking dried beans soaked overnight for when it comes to that)
Solar shower (Did that often on the mountain)
Wood heat/heated water in the winter (3 full cord on hand; hand saws + trees on property)

We have 3+yrs of shelf stable food, meds, other preps.
We also have a very large supply of booze and some tobacco which we might be able to barter for food after the three years. If not? Oh well, it was nice knowing you.

I know I'm forgetting something... hopefully PO will chime in here.

[Piratesailor]

Looking forward to the thermal scope review…

[Prepared One]

That ^^ is an excellent thing to think about. Hmmm....okay.

Ten Oaks: no power/gas for 3 years

Solar will run the cooling fans, elec water pump (hand pump if it fails), freezer until it's empty (we'll eat that first), and short spurts (1-2min) of our 1000w microwave. If/when solar fails the only true loss will be the fans. We'll adapt.
Solar lights for evening (set outside to charge during the day)
Solar oven (I'll be testing one soon; cooking dried beans soaked overnight for when it comes to that)
Solar shower (Did that often on the mountain)
Wood heat/heated water in the winter (3 full cord on hand; hand saws + trees on property)

We have 3+yrs of shelf stable food, meds, other preps.
We also have a very large supply of booze and some tobacco which we might be able to barter for food after the three years. If not? Oh well, it was nice knowing you.

I know I'm forgetting something... hopefully PO will chime in here.

Baby, we are as ready as can be. We are going to enjoy our life, be as prepped as we can, and do it the way we want. We will do it our way. Fuck the world!

[Jester-ND]

^^^^^^ that is the ultimate answer kids! we party with whatever you brought.. we are all leaps and bounds ahead of most... like SOCOM said... never enough ammo

[Piratesailor]

Never enough ammo.

Damn.. I need to work on the %^&* garden.