I've pretty much abandoned this site until now. There's really only so much a person can do while juggling work, prenatal visits, home reconstruction, and life planning. Dark Days Challenge...well, that became something else entirely.
In the end, I've come back much to where I started...wanting to feel well stocked for a world of unknowns. Recently we've had a ton of power outages...okay, not a ton, but something like 4 in the past 2 days. Every time the electricity goes off I have this out of portion fear of it not coming on again, well at least for a while. Fortunately we've never gone more than a few hours without power again.
But it reminds me of college. We went without electricity for a week after a pretty severe storm. I'm not really sure how we handled it. I should be reassured because if a college student can handle a week long outage, surely a more mature and better prepared adult me would be fine too. It also reminds me of Iraq, where people had 2-4 hours of electricity a day due to intermittent power interruptions.
So every time the power goes out, I wonder how long I could prepare meals out of the pantry. Right now, I think is the most vulnerable time. I've been eating out of the pantry all winter, but haven't had anything to harvest so far. And yes, we do have a garden this year, even if it is a little smaller than usual. Realistically, I'm going to have to buy a bunch of stuff at the farmer's markets this year because our yard is more of a token garden this year.
Things we have in the garden?
tomatoes (not even half the number of plants I had last year)
garlic
onions
cabbage (8 heads)
potatoes
carrots
cucumbers (if they make it)
summer squash (1 plant, and the leaves look pretty bad right now)
brussel sprouts
celery
peas
green beans
grapes
blueberries (maybe 20 berries on one bush?)
raspberries
beach plumbs (unless the birds get them first again this year)
strawberries (seems to be already tapped out)
rhubarb (but we're not picking it this year in the hopes it begins to flourish)
What am I missing?
Well, first of all, more of everything I'm actually growing. But also:
zucchini
kale
lettuce greens
spinach
herbs
radishes
shell beans
sunflowers
leeks
corn
broccoli (planted some but it immediately bolted)
cauliflower
I'd also hoped to add a few fruit trees by now, but that's going to have to wait a little while.
So as much as I can, given that I'll have twins within the next two months, I'm going to start restocking. I'm not a "prepper" really. I certainly hope the world won't end in the next few months...but I am a "prepper" in the sense that I can totally see needing supplies for a period of time while humanity overcomes whatever chaos nature dishes us. While I know I'm willing to bend my values once in a while to suit a need for an easy fix, I'm pretty determined to let those times be few and far between. So here I go again...try, try again, right?
Almost exactly 6 years ago, STL had a nearly week-long power outage. Large parts of the metro area were out. Half of our neighborhood had power (my half), so we had house guests since it was in the 100's that week. That house generally kept the power on, but it did make us think about how to deal with outages.
ReplyDeleteI don't generally worry about doomsday scenarios, but do get a bit worried in the winter, especially in the new house where we're a bit more rural than the old place, though no bad luck so far. Longest outage was about 12 hours, and we were able to just keep the fridge closed and use a match to light the gas stove. The grill is another good option. Our deep freezer will keep for several days unopened.
Longer term, we keep talking about solar panels, but that's still a someday (after we get rid of the old house and do a few other things, and assuming new neighbors don't complain). We probably wouldn't be able to power the whole house, but could likely keep a fridge running in a power outage, and possibly cover the Air Conditioner needs during normal summer.
There are also smaller solar units that are marketed towards hunting cabins and RVs and such, and could probably power an electric cooler or smaller fridge.
A lot of people who are truly rural around here keep gas generators in a detached garage or shed in case of long outages (especially in the winter). Again, its a short term solution, not a doomsday one :)
Cooking outside with a grill, bbq pit is a good option for long-term, and many fresh veggie would probably do ok for a few days at a time kept in a cool basement instead of a fridge. Its the milk, eggs, other perishables that need refridgeration (or else an on-site cow so that you drink it fresher "from the tap") :)
I've debated getting some sort of generator, either solar or gas. We often have so much stored in the refrigerator and freezer that I would hate for it all to go to waste. We're not really sure where we want to land someday, so I'm unwilling to invest much in solar panels for geothermal heat until I know I'm settled. But OH how I want want want them... I'm not overly worried about one day where everything suddenly goes wrong and civilization is tested to its core, but I do think there will continue to be more difficulty reestablishing power as the population and natural disasters increase. Living in a big city has its perks, but food security would NOT be one of them.
ReplyDeleteAnd we joke about the cow :) I say I'd rather have a mini-goat and a pair of chickens, but Gerd insists we can't have livestock until he gets a cow. I suppose a big back yard will be a key in our next house purchase :)