phiguru - Member - The Prepared

Reply to: Which lighter is best for use in cold weather? Posted May 16, 2022

Thanks for sharing this. I had no idea it wasn’t widely known but not everyone lives in the great white north. I do a LOT of cold weather stuff and don’t own a bic. My go-to is stormproof matches, my backup is flint/steel/tinder. Same with stoves – anything other than actual wood or white gas is a massive failure below freezing, especially when you get below 0F. I swap about 50% of my gear in the Winter but fire is something that gets better with practice so I keep that the same year-round.

Reply to: Hurricane Preparedness Week May 1-7, 2022 Posted May 12, 2022

I’ve had weeks without power and generator fuel gets precious. Some understanding of what is essential to power and what isn’t is definitely helpful. In my current situation, for 3-5 day outages, I keep a small generator and fuel that allows for essential operations (the freezer, phone, laptop, fish tank bubbler) and we scale back from there, e.g. as soon as the freezer is empty we don’t need to keep it cold.

Reply to: Hurricane Preparedness Week May 1-7, 2022 Posted May 8, 2022

Fascinatingly, and truly a case of weather being strange, two of the worst hurricanes I have seen were Cat 1/2 and some of the Cat 3/4 were better in the exact spots where I have lived. I used to live in Coastal NC and a Cat 1 caused extreme damage just off the coast – the winds were truly like nothing we had ever seen before or since – snapped nearly all the taller pines at 9-11 feet up the trunk. Everyone had a tree in a car, wall, roof, smashing water pipes. Floyd was a Cat 2 when it hit us and I still weep for the towns that were destroyed. In VT/NH, the hurricane damage is still being cleaned up after a decade. We lost a bunch of bridges and some communities were isolated without. Because they hit at the end of summer, we don’t have the same supply stores that we have in January. It’s when we are cleaning out freezers, etc.

Reply to: Should I start with a bug out bag or preparing my home first? – New and need advice Posted December 29, 2021

Howdy – Sorry I’m late to the party. I like to think very small and things that may be needed on an average bad day as a way to get started. It makes it easier to explain to spouses that it’s not about being prepared for a zombie hoard, but it’s about being prepared for getting stuck at work late or having to change a tire in Winter. FYI, I live on the Quebec border in mountains with snow. As folks have suggested, building some reliance in your apartment would probably make the most sense. Maybe you start by just building your pantry a bit – The First In – First Out article gives a great example of this with canned soup. If you drive – keep a small kit in your car for Winter (tire pressure gauge, emergency triangle, mylar blanket, wool blanket, chemical hand warmers, spare $20 for gas). That’s something that fits under a seat. On your person, perhaps you can carry an extra set of dry socks, a hat, and a granola bar in your bag?(Socks double as mittens when required.) I have a friend who lives in a very small studio apartment and she uses plastic tubs under her bed for all her storage. Every category of stuff (linens, pantry, clothes) has a tub and she has her bed on very small risers that gave her a few extra inches of height so that she can slide tubs under easily. She uses a bedskirt to keep that storage hidden from view. One minor warning about water filters – they do not like to freeze. In Winter, this means keeping it inside your coat next to your body until you can dry it out for storage. It’s not a big deal, but it’s something to consider. My Winter filter is an inline because I can tuck it in an inner pocket much easier than a pump filter (excellent for Summer).

Reply to: What are your grid-down reference resources? Posted December 28, 2021

I have three books that I find very useful: The American Boys Handy Book, Handy Farm Devices and How to Make Them, and Week by Week Vegetable Gardeners Handbook. The two handy books both have information on how to build different types of thingamabobs, like fish baskets, that are useful. They are in the category of never knowing what you might need. The Week by Week garden book is good for keeping track of when you can do various stuff to maximize your production but it is particularly terrific because it is oriented towards your last frost/first frost – it doesn’t assume you are frost free in April. If I didn’t have it rattling around in my head already, I would probably include a medical book, animal husbandry book, and/or shelter building book. If I wanted to use powered stuff – regardless of source – I would want repair manuals, wiring diagrams, and other information to make that work. (I’m mostly a non-powered person already so my preps do not include long term power.)

Reply to: Outer coats for the seasons, watcha wearing? Posted February 14, 2021

I wear wool in more/fewer layers as needed for the temperature. “Woolies” are a staple in Northern New England, Quebec, and the Maritimes. A waxed canvas anorak goes on top when windy or wet. In early fall or late spring, I swap the anorak for a rain poncho. For example, today I was checking the trapline with snowshoes and it is warm (-6C/21F), sunny, and there was no wind. I wore a thin long sleeve baselayer top & bottom, wool pants, a wool sweater, lined leather work gloves, and a thin wool hat.

Reply to: What to consider when buying an acreage? Posted February 14, 2021

I think some of it is knowing what you can do or want to do. For many people, chickens are part of their prep. They are not my thing. I hunt and trap instead. (And maintain a good relationship with the chicken-keeping neighbor so that I have eggs.) I like having access to land without having to own it so my property is adjacent to conservation land, town forest, and state forest. I can access their lands for hunting and gathering without having to pay the taxes on it. That allows me to own much less. We have (only!) 5 acres for our home, garden, ice shed, woodshed, outhouse, and butcher station. This is what I need – I need an ice shed and an outhouse. Your needs and wants are probably different. I like having streams on the property and/or a river nearby but downhill (no floods for me!) The river gives me a good source of ice, makes for easier hunting, gives me great trapping space for furbearers, and I can fish it. I can use it as an emergency water source. Since heat is important to me, I have good timber lands. The timber is habitat, building supplies, syrup, and the best craft supplies. I also have excellent wild food sources, like mushrooms, cattails, berries, crabapple, and ferns. What I could use more of on my property is sun. Years ago I saw a one-acre farming plan and it is my general model – compact and strategic. I’m clearing some trees to open up more of the land for growing food. I hope to have a half-acre of good sunny stuff in the back this Spring, which will allow me to grow what I need to feed my small family. (We have 1/4 acre clear now and grew almost everything last year.) This is what works for me. You should think about what you want, how you want to live, as part of your land evaluation.

Reply to: (Official discussion) Best large water barrels and tanks for your home Posted January 25, 2021

We have a slow-recharging well and so we mitigate that with a 500gal cistern. It isn’t our first choice for power loss (often) because it is harder to tap than a 5gal container. However, longer power outages, it is wonderful. Our is see-through (dark spot – never had any growth issue) and is rigged with low-water sensors that help trigger the pump and an alarm (again, this was for mitigating a well issue). However, I like that it is see through because I can see the water level and if I need to flush the system. Like a hot water heater, it does need periodic flushing because of gradual buildup of gunk from all the water passing through.

Reply to: Where do you keep your car fire extinguisher? Posted January 8, 2021

Fair notice, I do not keep a fire extinguisher in my car because of temperature limits. I have found long velcro ties (Velcro One Wrap) to be just terrific. They go into molle webbing, obviously, but can also wrap on to a bit of metal on the under-front passenger seat. In a rush, if peeling them loose isn’t working, they are very cuttable.

Reply to: Preps for people with physical disabilities and limitations or who aren’t in great physical shape Posted January 8, 2021

My mom’s collapsible cart is like a wagon. It is designed to mostly pull, but it also works in push mode. Very manuverable, big wheels. She uses it to bring in groceries (prepandemic). We also have dogs that pull things. However, when a dog is not interested in pulling but is not injured, we can tie them to the side of a sled/gig and they will walk along side. After the first five minutes of excitement is over, try tying the leash to the side of your cart and see if your dog will walk along.

Reply to: What does prepping look like in your area of the world? Posted January 3, 2021

Hi Neighbor! I completely agree with what you said about the long barren season and isolation being major factors up here. Wood supply, foraging skills, and hunting/fishing/trapping skills are a must. I grow what I can but nature is a far better gardener than I so I rely on foraging, especially in Spring. Don’t want to rely on it exclusively, but birch bark tea and beard lichen are better than nothing.

Reply to: Great survival crop Posted January 3, 2021

I think climate, topography, personal taste, and available land use all matter. I don’t store seed for more than 2 years – I plant all but a small emergency holdback each year and save seeds from my plants each year. I’m quite curious about your adventures in rice and amaranth. I’m thinking of trying buckwheat when I can figure out how to redo the rotation correctly. I have rocky, acidic, shady soil on slopes, currently covered in snow. We have to rely on storage but our root cellar keeps most of our food. I’ve not read your post history, so forgive me if you talk about this elsewhere – do you nixtamalize a portion of your corn? This just came up in my ladies circle – about half didn’t know that corn needs to be properly prepared to prevent pellagra. Potatoes grow great for me. My yield is roughly 80 pounds per 10 pounds seed. We eat roughly 200 pounds per year, so I have no trouble with storing and growing that each year. I could grow kale but gosh I hate kale so I just grow and forage other things. I mention this because I think it is important for people to know/accept that they don’t have to grow or perhaps cannot grow (or cook or store well) “the very best thing”. That’s OK – we each need to work out what will be good for our situation. 😀

Reply to: Great survival crop Posted January 3, 2021

Yes! All the parts of the cattail is edible. It’s a terrific plant for foraging and well worth the habitat space since animals like it too. The young shoots are similar to asparagus. Older roots can be dried and made into flour that is similar to casava flour. The new leaves can be eaten raw, old leaves are better boiled. Even the fluff can substitute for flour in cookies and the pollen can sub for cornstarch in gravy. Wild greens come up before anything cultivated in Spring, so I forage those early greens. I make a salad from young cattail shoots and leaves, fiddlehead ferns, dandelion greens, and watercress with a dressing of cider vinegar and maple syrup.

Reply to: Great survival crop Posted January 3, 2021

My husband grew up eating collards and swears they taste better when frost nipped. I bet those will be perfect! In the far North, where our growing season is roughly 90 days, I tend a patch of watercress (early Spring) and plant chard (Fall harvest) instead of kale or collards. I also tend a patch of cattails. We plant pumpkins, dent corn, and trout beans as our 3 Sisters and I grow potatoes on the side for extra calories. We also have apples and bearberry that store well. Sunchokes and cranberries are on my list for the next few years. I adore both but I have to figure out the right land for each.

Reply to: What three firearms would you have for prepping? Posted January 3, 2021

The 556/223 is a nice thing if you can do it safely and reliably. A 5.56 round is .125in longer than the .223 and that allows it to hold 1gr additional powder. Not a ton, but it amounts to a difference of roughly 10,000 psi additional from the 5.56 upon firing. Too much pressure and your weapon maybe unhappy (if not immediately, increased stress over time) – too little pressure and the mechanism may not cycle correctly. As a safety nerd, I would feel better about putting a .223 in a weapon designed for a 5.56 rather than the other way around. Definitely something that comes down to knowing your weapon and what it can truly do/handle.

Reply to: What three firearms would you have for prepping? Posted July 24, 2020

Ah! You answered my nagging question about why people are including .22 rifles! To me being able to shoot rabbit or squirrels is a waste of ammo when you can snare or trap. I live in an area that is just covered in snowshoe hare (who are most active at night) and turkey. I don’t want to shoot them when I can snare them much easier and quietly. I want a rifle for moose and bear, so that means I either have 2 (ugh) or I trap small game and shoot larger game. It’s a different skill set – for sure – for a different region and likely circumstances.

Reply to: What three firearms would you have for prepping? Posted July 24, 2020

I can only answer with what works for me. I found that a lot of regular holsters did not provide protection to my body from the top of the weapon (or for the weapon from my body sweat/oils). A standard IWB holster on jeans left me with terrible gouge marks even through a tank top. I wear a belly band and carry a smidge higher than my pants waistband but at my appendix – this works with my personal curves. If I am wearing work clothes (pencil skirt, cardigan) then I carry very high and center so my breasts provide cover. My third and least favorite option is putting it in my purse or bag. I have a dedicated pocket when I have to do that. I off-body carry when I am out fishing, which seems silly but my fishing clothes are super lightweight and I have a crossbody bag (a Maxpedition versapack) that I found at a thrift shop and it is the very best fishing bag.

Reply to: How do you (safely) access the water in your water heater in case of outage? Posted June 29, 2020

I drained mine last fall and we literally just opened the tap on the bottom. Closing the cold water supply, shutting of the gas/electricity should be done when those are operational. If they aren’t, that’s not a problem. The electric is as easy as flipping a breaker. The gas shutoff is a valve turn. Yes, as part of regular maintenance, you should drain your water heater once a year to remove any sediment from around the element. It helps the element stay cleaner and working happily. However, if you have “gunky” water, it is sediment from your water supply, which I presume is potable, and something that you can filter with a cloth if you need the water.

Reply to: How do you (safely) access the water in your water heater in case of outage? Posted June 29, 2020

I drained mine last fall and we literally just opened the tap on the bottom. Closing the cold water supply, shutting of the gas/electricity should be done when those are operational. If they aren’t, that’s not a problem. The electric is as easy as flipping a breaker. The gas shutoff is a valve turn. Yes, as part of regular maintenance, you should drain your water heater once a year to remove any sediment from around the element. It helps the element stay cleaner and working happily. However, if you have a “gunky” hot water heater, it is sediment from your water supply, which I presume is potable, and something that you can filter with a cloth if you need the water.

Reply to: How do you (safely) access the water in your water heater in case of outage? Posted June 23, 2020

Your water heater should have a spigot on the side, near the bottom, for draining it for repair. It connects to a standard hose fitting if it is too low for a bucket.

Summer BOB