Close the Gate

[MountainGirl]

This morning, for our traditional Sunday morning coffee on the deck jazz in the background conversations...PO and I started to explore a concept - that I named 'Close the Gate'.

Premise: Before we forever close & lock the gate into TenOaks - is there anything (other than consumables, fuel, ammo) we'd like to get?

He listed off about 8 things, I had 2, and before this month is done they'll all be on premises. :)

There's only a very small chance, imo and hope, that we'd ever need to permanently 'Close the Gate' - but if we ever do have to, we'll be better ready. Better ready? I better put a grammar book on my list. LOL

So... how about you? Would your 'Close the Gate' list be really long?

[Chiefster23]

Where I live, I can’t close the gate…… no fence and no gate! But I have been thinking more and more on things that may become necessary, that I don’t have on hand right now. Thinking hard!

Examples; We don’t eat much bread and only seldom bake bread with a bread machine. I do store some flour. Perhaps it is time to learn to bake from scratch, buy some wheat berries, and invest in a good quality grain mill?

Maybe invest in a new larger generator?

[BucketBack]

Invaders here will be dealt with. It's the loco's I know around here that are of concern to me.

I saw some at Blessing of the bikes

[MountainGirl]

Invaders here will be dealt with. It's the loco's I know around here that are of concern to me.

I saw some at Blessing of the bikes

That's nice - but that's not what this thread is about. :fishwack:

[Piratesailor]

Interesting. I’ll have to think on that one a bit and ask the wife too. Right off the top of my head I’d say a large capacity solar genset to supplement our propane generators

[MountainGirl]

Interesting. I’ll have to think on that one a bit and ask the wife too. Right off the top of my head I’d say a large capacity solar genset to supplement our propane generators

One of the things on PO's list is the 2400 Oupes.. with 4 of their 240w panels. That beast can input at 960w; faster is better for opsec and intermittent sunshine. Between it and the 1800, we should be good to go for about anything.

https://oupes.com/products/oupes-2400w-portable-power-station

Some of the other things on his list were extra propane tanks, gas cans, some electrical stuff & hand tools...

My list includes a regular pressure canner (I can only pressure can now in the electric InstantPotMax).

[Slippy]

This morning, for our traditional Sunday morning coffee on the deck jazz in the background conversations...PO and I started to explore a concept - that I named 'Close the Gate'.

Premise: Before we forever close & lock the gate into TenOaks - is there anything (other than consumables, fuel, ammo) we'd like to get?

He listed off about 8 things, I had 2, and before this month is done they'll all be on premises. :)

There's only a very small chance, imo and hope, that we'd ever need to permanently 'Close the Gate' - but if we ever do have to, we'll be better ready. Better ready? I better put a grammar book on my list. LOL

So... how about you? Would your 'Close the Gate' list be really long?

The main thing I have on the "Close the Gate" list, is how many so called "friends and family member's" get to take a dirt nap for attempting breach of said gate...:attention:

[Piratesailor]

The main thing I have on the "Close the Gate" list, is how many so called "friends and family member's" get to take a dirt nap for attempting breach of said gate...:attention:

And that did cross my mind too..

[Piratesailor]

One of the things on PO's list is the 2400 Oupes.. with 4 of their 240w panels. That beast can input at 960w; faster is better for opsec and intermittent sunshine. Between it and the 1800, we should be good to go for about anything.

https://oupes.com/products/oupes-2400w-portable-power-station

Some of the other things on his list were extra propane tanks, gas cans, some electrical stuff & hand tools...

My list includes a full size pressure canner (I can only do pints right now).

Thanks for the link!

I started buying some hand tools awhile back. Was given some and inherited some too. I’d like to swap out of propane tank for a larger one. We have a significant number of the 20lb tanks as a supplement though. Because of the sailing, we have wound up with 3 pressure cookers and I the wife has a huge one for canning. She actually uses it for sterilization of her instruments. A dehydrator we have and need to use it more. Our garden sucks….. need to get on that PDQ

Where we live it’s not about the gate (although the property is gated), it’s about closing the street. There is one way in and out. I know everyone on that street; we all have property with various animals, etc. and everyone of them is of like mind. We’ve discussed closing the road, security and food. Security will be the issue. If we don’t lose power I’m thinking on my list is a few more cameras.

[Piratesailor]

Looking at the link. That thing is small and powerful. Easily run the fridge and freezer over night and then some. Interesting that it could run a 8k AC unit too. I think that’s on my list.

[MountainGirl]

Looking at the link. That thing is small and powerful. Easily run the fridge and freezer over night and then some. Interesting that it could run a 8k AC unit too. I think that’s on my list.

Um... 8k? Did you mean an 800watt unit? We've got a 960watt window a/c - and the 2400 could run it..for just over 2hrs.

EDIT: Never mind; 8000btu. Yes, it will, lol. Ours is a 10,000btu and pulls 960watts. Got it. :)


Our grid down cooling plan - is to run the window air in one closed off room (our bdr) the whole time a gas gen is running... and then use an Oupes + fans to keep it cool as long as we can and for sleeping.

[Prepared One]

Well, first I suggested a stripper pole, but MG said she didn't need one. :eyebrows:

Kidding aside: it was a good conversation, we are going to fill those needs in the next few months.

[SOCOM42]

Where I live, I can’t close the gate…… no fence and no gate! But I have been thinking more and more on things that may become necessary, that I don’t have on hand right now. Thinking hard!

Examples; We don’t eat much bread and only seldom bake bread with a bread machine. I do store some flour. Perhaps it is time to learn to bake from scratch, buy some wheat berries, and invest in a good quality grain mill?

Maybe invest in a new larger generator?

I would go with a new, smaller genset, you are most likely going to be or should be using less electric.

Bigger generators eat more fuel.

What I wanted to do decades ago, was to build a steam engine geared up to run a generator, plenty of wood around.

Life just got in the way of the project, biggest problem was getting the patterns and casting made first.

If you get a mill, make sure you can power it up in some way, lot of work, time you can put to better use.

[red442joe]

Closed gates are NOT the place I'll be marauding.

Joe

[TJC44]

Why close the gate when they could just climb over the guardrail and fall down the hill? Or light 2 lanterns and come in by boat? Besides I am nowhere near the point of self-sufficentcy that I'd like to be. I'm still waiting on firewood to be delivered.

Are you taking notes, Joe?

[Inor]

What I need more than anything right now is time. We have plenty of "stuff" (shop tools, cooking tools, equipment for caring for our land, etc.). We have plenty of backup supplies to repair our tools. In short, pretty much everything important that we can prepare with a checkbook has been done. But...

We have only been living at M.T. Acres for about 5 years and the first 2 years of that was spent building a house. So most of the fruit and nut trees we planted are not yet bearing enough fruit to sustain us. The gardens are getting better each year, but we are still a couple years away from having the soil as rich as we would like it for producing everything we need. The steer pasture is getting better but we are still a few years away from being able to grow enough grass to get by without buying hay. This year, we are bringing turkeys and pigs into the mix and that will pretty much complete what we plan to raise for meat. But a couple years to work out the kinks on how to raise them the easiest way would be very helpful.

In short, I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished in a short period of time. But we sill have a way to go to get where we want to be if our lives depend on it. However, there is nothing we can buy to move us the rest of the way. Only experience and trial and error can take us on the last leg of our journey.

[rstanek]

Our gate is closed all the time, visit by invitation only, all other are for the crows and vultures

[Jester-ND]

I prep for when My close the gate supplies run out.... 3 year grid down, much of those things will be useless. be the only one with electricity after 1 year is like a beacon to the moths.. my main concern is hiding the smoke from wood fire cooking/heat. my goal= live like a pioneer with many luxuries!

water- stocked, filters, & a still
food- stocked, snares,traps, ammo, reload supplies/equipment
Heat- wood stocked, bunch around me, chainsaws, hand saws, axes

No gates to close here... just wide open space..

Would be nice to have a thermal scope for the first yr or so!!

[T-Man 1066]

I have a shared drive with a like minded neighbor, his turnoff is about 2200' off the paved road. I am behind him. Gated and fenced. I did cut a path through the woods a few years ago, and I can "escape" in an alternative route if needed.

Am I prepped as I would like to be, never enough... but better than most.

[MountainGirl]

I prep for when My close the gate supplies run out.... 3 year grid down, much of those things will be useless. be the only one with electricity after 1 year is like a beacon to the moths.. my main concern is hiding the smoke from wood fire cooking/heat. my goal= live like a pioneer with many luxuries!

....

Yes! I knew there was something I'd forgotten - a Solar Oven!

Most of our food stocks can be eaten cold out of the can/jar... but all those eggs I dehydrated will need a bit of heat and a solar oven will do it just fine.
Thanks!! :blow:

[Slippy]

What I need more than anything right now is time. We have plenty of "stuff" (shop tools, cooking tools, equipment for caring for our land, etc.). We have plenty of backup supplies to repair our tools. In short, pretty much everything important that we can prepare with a checkbook has been done. But...

We have only been living at M.T. Acres for about 5 years and the first 2 years of that was spent building a house. So most of the fruit and nut trees we planted are not yet bearing enough fruit to sustain us. The gardens are getting better each year, but we are still a couple years away from having the soil as rich as we would like it for producing everything we need. The steer pasture is getting better but we are still a few years away from being able to grow enough grass to get by without buying hay. This year, we are bringing turkeys and pigs into the mix and that will pretty much complete what we plan to raise for meat. But a couple years to work out the kinks on how to raise them the easiest way would be very helpful.

In short, I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished in a short period of time. But we sill have a way to go to get where we want to be if our lives depend on it. However, there is nothing we can buy to move us the rest of the way. Only experience and trial and error can take us on the last leg of our journey.

Your and Mrs I's "Journey To Preparedness at MT Acres" has been enjoyable and an inspiration to follow!
:hail:

[Slippy]

I prep for when My close the gate supplies run out.... 3 year grid down, much of those things will be useless. be the only one with electricity after 1 year is like a beacon to the moths.. my main concern is hiding the smoke from wood fire cooking/heat. my goal= live like a pioneer with many luxuries!

water- stocked, filters, & a still
food- stocked, snares,traps, ammo, reload supplies/equipment
Heat- wood stocked, bunch around me, chainsaws, hand saws, axes

No gates to close here... just wide open space..

Would be nice to have a thermal scope for the first yr or so!!


Thermal Scope investigation and reviews pending from your old pal Slippy!

Been looking at some of them for a while, but dang! Mucho Dinero as my lawn guy Pancho would say! :bongodrums:

[MountainGirl]

What I need more than anything right now is time. We have plenty of "stuff" (shop tools, cooking tools, equipment for caring for our land, etc.). We have plenty of backup supplies to repair our tools. In short, pretty much everything important that we can prepare with a checkbook has been done. But...

We have only been living at M.T. Acres for about 5 years and the first 2 years of that was spent building a house. So most of the fruit and nut trees we planted are not yet bearing enough fruit to sustain us. The gardens are getting better each year, but we are still a couple years away from having the soil as rich as we would like it for producing everything we need. The steer pasture is getting better but we are still a few years away from being able to grow enough grass to get by without buying hay. This year, we are bringing turkeys and pigs into the mix and that will pretty much complete what we plan to raise for meat. But a couple years to work out the kinks on how to raise them the easiest way would be very helpful.

In short, I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished in a short period of time. But we sill have a way to go to get where we want to be if our lives depend on it. However, there is nothing we can buy to move us the rest of the way. Only experience and trial and error can take us on the last leg of our journey.

Time. Yeah. Same here, only differently.
So many of our conversations include the phrase 'If we were 30 it'd be different...'
I'm really impressed by everything you & Mrs. Inor have done, you should be proud. Damn proud.
And I'm grateful beyond words that I had the chance to do a tiny bit of that on the mountain - but now?
Chasing 70, I'm getting tired of having so much fun LOL Thankfully I'm married to a young pup; city-boy marksman that he is. :)

[Chiefster23]

Thermal Scope investigation and reviews pending from your old pal Slippy!

Been looking at some of them for a while, but dang! Mucho Dinero as my lawn guy Pancho would say! :bongodrums:

Thermal scope has been on my wish list for a long time. But too much $!!! I did get an infrared scope. A poor substitute, but at least it does give me some limited nite vision capability.

[Chiefster23]

And MG. Concerning your canner….. All American Pressure Canner. The only way to go!

[MountainGirl]

And MG. Concerning your canner….. All American Pressure Canner. The only way to go!

Thanks! They are sweet, for sure.
I'll be using it on a propane burner outside - quickly canning up the meats, etc from the freezer.
(Which reminds me, I need more jars/lids on hand)

[Prepared One]

Like Inor, we are proud of what we have accomplished in the 14 months since we got Ten Oaks. We each brought our own skill set to the table and we each threw money at what we thought were critical upgrades to the property. I brought a lot of my preps from Houston and we added quite a lot after we got here. Food, Ammo, etc. She has been instrumental in doing research. Her canning and solar knowledge has been a huge benefit in the food department and getting us supplemental power and whole house gen capabilities.

And like Inor, we need time. Time to adjust and maybe expand our capabilities. Maybe a garden, getting fruit trees put in. Not sure about the critter thing tho. We discuss it often and who knows. This year I have Peppers and she has Black berries. Fortunately we can get fresh vegies from the farm out on the main hwy. He has a little stand were we get corn, peas, peppers, fresh eggs, taters, and such.

While being prepared is a never ending job, all and all, if we had to close the gate today and get the heavy fire power ready, I am pretty damn comfortable with how we are set up and our stores. It could always be better tho. The journey continues.

[Inor]

Like Inor, we are proud of what we have accomplished in the 14 months since we got Ten Oaks. We each brought our own skill set to the table and we each threw money at what we thought were critical upgrades to the property. I brought a lot of my preps from Houston and we added quite a lot after we got here. Food, Ammo, etc. She has been instrumental in doing research. Her canning and solar knowledge has been a huge benefit in the food department and getting us supplemental power and whole house gen capabilities.

And like Inor, we need time. Time to adjust and maybe expand our capabilities. Maybe a garden, getting fruit trees put in. Not sure about the critter thing tho. We discuss it often and who knows. This year I have Peppers and she has Black berries. Fortunately we can get fresh vegies from the farm out on the main hwy. He has a little stand were we get corn, peas, peppers, fresh eggs, taters, and such.

While being prepared is a never ending job, all and all, if we had to close the gate today and get the heavy fire power ready, I am pretty damn comfortable with how we are set up and our stores. It could always be better tho. The journey continues.

Just one thing that we have noticed...

Raising meat animals is a lot more efficient (time-wise) than raising a garden. Feeding animals is only about 10 minutes of work, twice per day. Working a garden is a butt-ton of work time-wise, planting, weeding etc. The down-side is: Getting setup to raise livestock is quite a bit more expensive in terms of the upfront costs whereas gardening is cheap to get started. (But then you are stuck having to eat shitty vegetables when you are done as opposed to eating good meat with the livestock.)

[Chiefster23]

For all you folks in a hurry to establish good soil in your gardens. 4 or 5 years ago I built all raised beds about 11 inches deep. I filled them with 100% mushroom mulch and had excellent production from these beds. The next year some of that old mulch had composed down so I topped up with more mushroom mulch. Again excellent production. Every year after I went thru the same procedure but the amount of top-up mulch became less and less. The beds were filling up with wonderful fully composted black gold dirt. This year I only require a small amount of top-up mulch, and a small amount of urea fertilizer. So in 4 to 5 years I went from no garden to a great garden soil. Of course your results may vary, but I’m real happy here with the time frame and results. If you are looking for a shorter time frame, consider getting a huge load of mulch and dumping it in one big pile. After a year you should have enough fully composed to fully supply your garden top-ups going forward. Instant garden in one year!

[Jester-ND]

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!

[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. :thumb:

[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. :thumb:

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.