Spuds and Machine Parts

My cousin is helping a local farmer finish up the growing season. Thanks to them I scored a good amount of potatoes to get me though the winter. Spuds have loads of nutrition and last a long time if stored in a cool dry place. Squash is another food that lasts with no preparation than keeping them in a good place. It’s old school prepper foods. That’s pretty much how they used to get though the winters back in the day.

Any potatoes left in the spring can go back in the ground to start the cycle all over again. You can also save those squash seeds.

The supply chain problems are affecting farms too. If something breaks on farm equipment the odds are good that parts won’t be available. Local farmers are sharing parts to get through the season. To make it all happen those poor guys are working day and night.

Should be an interesting winter.

-Sixbears

North of Northeaster

 

Well, that big Northeaster storm blew in. Fortunately the bulk of it never made it over the White Mountains. We just had a day of mild rain and not even much wind. That’s fine with me.

I must admit I was worried when I got up to the sound of chainsaws. The first thing I did was to check to see if we still had grid power. That wasn’t a problem so I went outside to see what the fuss was all about. As it turns out it was the regular crew that the local power company uses to trim trees. They were catching up on regular maintenance.

Before storms I make sure the house batteries on my solar electric are topped off. Had the grid gone down it’s best to start at full power. Storms come with a lot of clouds so the solar panels don’t do much until it passes. With that in mind energy intensive jobs like laundry and dishes get done ahead of time.

While normal precautions were taken, it’s just as well not to need them.

-Sixbears

Red Zone

 

It’s been a while since I posted. Frankly, not all that much to write about. Northern New Hampshire is a virus red zone right now. The local hospital is maxed out. Even Walmart had to close for a while because too many of its workers were sick. I’m not taking any chances because I suffered enough lung damage when I was a firefighter. Because of that I’ve been sticking close to home or doing activities far from people.

For what it’s worth plenty of vaccinated local people have caught covid. However, they aren’t the ones in hospital beds or dying. That’s what I know from the local doctors. Personally, I don’t want to be even a little sick so I’m channeling my inner hermit.

Until recently we had an unusually mild fall. My lovely wife and I didn’t pull the sailboat off the lake until last Wednesday. Today it’s supposed to snow. What a difference a few days can make.

The weather was so warm that I didn’t go hunting much as my hunting clothes is all cold weather stuff. I should be able to get back in the woods this week.

I’m also looking forward to catching up on some handgun practice. One of my favorite handguns is my Ruger P-89 in 9mm. Old man Ruger required that it be able to function with just about any brand and type of ammo. That’s been really handy when there are shortages. I know of $4,000 handguns that can only function properly with a specific cartridge.

By now everyone has heard about supply line issues. We are at the end of the line during the best of times. Now you never know what will be missing. This week it was butter and frozen pizzas. Go figure. Good thing I make a mean pizza from scratch. If there’s no butter next week I can always open a big can of dehydrated butter. It’s surprisingly tasty. Too bad they’ve doubled in price since I stocked up. Glad I got mine when I did.

Should be an interesting winter.

-Sixbears