Real Men Do Cry

Hello Everybody, Frank here.

Do real men cry? Let's address that issue.

Now, this is being addressed from a male's perspective, so if you're going to take issue with it because you're coming from a female perspective, or a snowflake perspective, please continue reading, you might find something of moderate value.

Do men cry? Absolutely. Let's say you have a good friend die, old, young, it doesn't make any difference. Is it okay to cry? Sure it is. If it's your little girl's wedding day and you're passing her hand from a loving, caring daddy to that brutal, barbarian about to receive it, of course it's okay to cry, because you know your daughter is going to a safe home. If you're giving her hand to a limp wrist snowflake, it's still okay to cry, and you know why. When you drop off your child at school for the first day, it's okay. When you listen to our National Anthem and your eyes get misty. There are lots of times it's okay to cry.

So let's go ahead and get this issue out of the way. Do real men cry? Absolutely. Real men are not ashamed or afraid to cry. Some people would say, hogwash, that real men don't cry. The guys that say stupid crap like that watched too many John Wayne movies when they were little, or whatever the current equivalent is now. Don't get me wrong, I love John Wayne movies, but John Wayne was an actor. He played roles that we as men associate with.

Something a little personal here. For years, when I was younger, I would cry on Veteran's Day. Sometimes I would cry for a long time. Now I am 70 years old and bunch of men my age died in Vietnam. I used to cry that day. November 11th. It's still a special day to me, but I haven't cried in years. 

I wonder if I will cry in the future when I realize that my country is gone. Do you think there will be a holiday celebrating the defeat of America? Maybe there will. Maybe there won't.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are losing our country. I didn't cry on Veteran's Day when I was a child. I didn't cry on November 11th until after my first time serving my country, and I did not serve in Vietnam. I have never cried before a funeral or before a wedding. So, am I going to cry after we lose our country? Who knows.

Here at this site, Thoughts From Frank and Fern, we've talked about gardens, dogs, cats, radios - ham radios that is, and we've talked a lot about the collapse of our society. We've talked about dark clouds on the horizon, the wolf at the door, brace for impact. And yes, we, you and I, have talked about these things. We also talked a great deal about preparedness, things we're going to need. So, we've talked about lots of things here.

If you are not prepared for the wolf at the door, you are not going to be prepared. Most supplies needed for preparedness are out of stock and have been for months. It is too late. Do I need to stay that again? No, just back up and reread the last couple of sentences. If you're one of those type that's going to go buy a gun and go steal from Grandma, good luck on finding a gun or ammunition, because Grandma has hers.

But as you probably know, you're not going to be buying any bulk food either. You're not going to be buying land either. The cost of land has skyrocketed. If you're going to go live with your prepared cousin, you had better make sure you are welcome. What are you going to bring to the table?

I know there are people that can't leave where they are. I know there are people that don't have the means to buy extra food, they live paycheck to paycheck. I read an article a couple of weeks back about a guy that was going to install a solar system right before this thing goes down. Is this the same guy that's going to buy wheat and bandaids and bullets?

Moving on. We have a virus shutting down our country. Is it real? Yes, the virus is real. So is the flu, the common cold, heart disease, diabetes, all of these things are real, but we have not shut our country down for all of them except one. Everyday a major agency somewhere issues a different story about effects, numbers and how to deal with this virus. Are we getting the truth? No. There is no truth. How can it change everyday? We can kid ourselves to believe that there is new and improved research, and there probably is in some cases.

Do you believe the lies? Have we ever been lied to before in history? Do we need to go down the list? Oh, let's see. The Kennedy assassination, the Gulf of Tonkin, 9/11, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and the list goes on and on and on. We are being lied to every day, every single day. 

Moving on again. Our government has tried to overthrow our current president for four years now. They, "the government", has projected lie after lie with no proof, just accusation. I can't see where that is going to change, but I can see where it will accelerate dramatically. Look at the rioting. Look at some of the decisions the mayors and governors are making. Who is controlling these people? Many of these elected officials have obviously sold their souls. They are going to do anything and everything they can to stop, infiltrate, change, cancel, distort, pick any word you want. They are going to try to affect the results of the upcoming presidential election. Write that one down boys and girls. 

We talked months ago about the long, hot summer coming. We now have an active virus shutting us down. If you want to, call it a bioweapon. We have rioting in several cities. Read for yourself, find out what is happening, it's happened before. They've disrupted churches, the educational system, the workplace, medical facilities, transportation, entertainment, the supply chain of everything including food. Ponder these things.

Do real men cry? Our country is dying. They are winning. The election will be disrupted. I'm not crying yet, but I can certainly see where we are going, and for that I will cry. 

There are so many examples of evil happening our world right now. It's not just in our country. What is happening here is an orchestrated event, it's controlled. These people are very well organized. They have been practicing on citizens of the planet for decades. We are about to lose our freedom. We've been losing it for years and we've done nothing, therefore, history tells us that we're going to do nothing. I can go on and on, and so can you.

It's been a while since we've talked. There really isn't anything to say. Some people say, I don't want to know all these bad things, so I don't watch the news. Fair enough. But that doesn't mean the events aren't happening just because someone chooses not to watch them. We both know that the vast majority of news is a lie.

Yes, real men cry. And so do real women. I don't think this is salvageable. I don't know what it's going to look like in the future. I do know that these issues cannot be resolved. There is too large of a divide between massive groups in our country. If you can get prepared, do so. If it means opening your mind and seeing what's happening, be aware. 

So you don't think we can lose our country? Ask King George. A very small group of people, some say 1%, some say 3%, took, from an advanced military, the colonies at that time. So, can a small group of people take something from a large group of people? Absolutely. Do the majority of people support the rioting and the fighting going on in congress? Does it make any difference? We have lost. The other side is practicing everyday, refining their skills. They have the laws on their side. You can't criticize, it's against the law. Don't think it's not going to happen, because it's happening right now, everyday in front of our eyes. I'm sorry. Maybe now I'll go cry.

In about 60 days things are going to change, and if you think things are bad now, just wait, it's going to be a very hot summer. I think you understand what I mean.

Please comment. Fern and I are doing fine. We've tried to make some final preparations. Don't get on the bus. Prepare your mind to do the unthinkable. Give your spouse a kiss, tell everyone you love them, and enjoy the times we have left.

When you kneel down tonight to pray to God, ask Him to bless our country.

We'll talk more later, Frank

 

Disturbing Times

Hello Everybody, Frank here.

I haven't had much to say lately, because I am sure you are watching the news media and the small folks like us that put opinions out occasionally. As you are well aware, we are under attack. This is not just some random kids running around pulling stunts, this is an organized, structured, well planned attack by a group that is out to overthrow our government. They are succeeding.

I don't have a solution for this problem, and I haven't read or seen anybody with a solution. The people orchestrating these events are not going to be satisfied and back off. These folks are playing to win by any means necessary. Let me say that again. These organized, structured combatants are trying to overthrow the government of the United States by any means necessary. They are succeeding.

Do you have a solution for this? I sure don't see one. Yes, I know we can all hold hands and pray, which is good. Or we can take action. Like what? We're not going to do that. I'm not going to go into all the things they are doing. I'm sure you see them on TV and read them on the internet. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are losing. They are winning. You know what that means? Everything that you have becomes theirs. Everything.

Let's see. No police. Do I need to say more?

Our country will soon look like Somalia, that's where this is heading. We have governors that are supporting these things. We have senior politicians that do also. You've heard it here before, we are in serious trouble.

Ok, so who is we? I am an older, white male, heterosexual, republican, married to a woman, veteran, Christian, taxpayer, property owner, and several other little titles. Everything just mentioned about me is a threat to them. Now we, obviously you are not all males, so therefore, we is a varied group, but I think you get my drift.

We are losing. They are going to continue to attack and attack and attack. Why wouldn't they? They have the momentum. They would be stupid not to continue.

Fern and I have been talking here for a few years. There is nothing new to say. If you have space for a garden, I hope you have one. You should have been stocked up on beans, bullets and band-aids a long time ago. We are now seeing shortages. In my humble opinion, if you are not ready and you are not prepared, it is too late. Try to buy bulk wheat lately? Try to buy bulk bullets lately? They're not available as are many items not available. Want to go joy ride through a big town somewhere? I'm not. The talk is the economy is doing great. It's not. Are you up with the term repo in relation to the Federal Reserve?

By the way, as a side note here. This is happening world wide. Where I live in southeastern Oklahoma there are people buying large tracts of land with houses site unseen. These are not local folks, they are from Virginia, interior Texas, California. Imagine. Buying 100 acres of land on a U.S. highway with a house and outbuildings, but you've never seen it. Recreational vehicles are experiencing the highest sales in history. This is during a lock down.

Does somebody have to spell this out for all of us?

Here is a link to a letter I'd like for you to read. This man is a high ranking Roman Catholic official, lives at the Vatican and he wrote a letter to President Trump. If you've got the time, take a look at it, it's current.

Moving on. It sickens me to watch what is happening. This is not a game. It's not a joke. These people are dead serious. They are not going to quit. Why would they?

I don't have a solution. What I am doing is hiding. A lot of people would say that's cowardly. Well, so be it. I walked on foreign soil and have been shot at. There are times when you keep your head down and your mouth shut.

This thing is going to get way out of hand real soon. They will never allow President Trump to be reelected. Just look around. Prominent Republicans are announcing that they cannot and will not support Donald Trump. If there is an election in November, we all need to vote. I hope we make it to November.

I would highly recommend that you leave large cities, and for that matter, medium sized cities. Prepare yourself mentally to do the unthinkable. We have written for years that the storm clouds are coming, they are near. Well, they're here. Remember, we have been betrayed at the highest levels.

I've always avoided the subject of guns. Several years back I wrote an article about guns used around the farm. You need to prepare to defend yourself. You need to avoid crowds at all costs. I borrowed those words of wisdom from Ol' Remus.

Our 1st Amendment is blatantly being attacked. Our news media is for the most part a lie and corrupt. Most of our senior politicians are also corrupt. This thing is not going to end well for anyone. Wrap your head around it.

Only God knows what the future holds.

I've got one more little clip we received in an email that I want to share with you. You can find it down below. It's intended to be funny, but it's not. It's a story about a man ordering a pizza. Remember, anything you order with a credit card, there is a record. If you have it shipped with UPS, let's say, they have a record of it. If you buy it from a major store, they have a record of it. They have had this information for years now, don't kid yourself.

It's hot here in southeastern Oklahoma. It appears we're heading into our dry time which pretty soon will mean grass and forest fires. If my predictions are correct, it's going to be a very, very HOT summer.

Fern and I wish you all the best.

We'll talk more later,  Frank

2020

CALLER:

Is this Gordon's Pizza?

GOOGLE:
No sir, it's Google Pizza.

CALLER:
I must have dialed the wrong number Sorry.

GOOGLE:
No sir, Google bought Gordon’s Pizza last month.

CALLER:
OK. I would like to order a pizza.

GOOGLE:
Do you want your usual, sir?

CALLER:

My usual? You know me?

GOOGLE:

According to our caller ID data sheet, the last 12 times you called you ordered an extra-large pizza

with three kinds of cheese, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, and meatballs on a thick crust.

CALLER:

OK! That’s what I want ...

GOOGLE:

May I suggest that this time you order a pizza with ricotta, arugula, sun-dried tomatoes and olives

on a whole wheat gluten-free thin crust?

CALLER:
What? I detest vegetables!

GOOGLE:
Your cholesterol is not good, sir.

CALLER:
How the hell do you know!

GOOGLE:

Well, we cross-referenced your home phone number with your medical records.

We have the result of your blood tests for the last 7 years.

CALLER:

Okay, but I do not want your rotten vegetable pizza! I already take medication for my cholesterol.

GOOGLE:

Excuse me sir, but you have not taken your medication regularly. According to our database,

you purchased only a box of 30 cholesterol tablets once, at Drug RX Network, 4 months ago.

CALLER:
I bought more from another drugstore.

GOOGLE:
That doesn’t show on your credit card statement.

CALLER:

I paid in cash.

GOOGLE:
But you did not withdraw enough cash according to your bank statement.

CALLER:
I have other sources of cash.

GOOGLE:

That doesn’t show on your last tax return unless you bought them using an undeclared income source,

which is against the law.

CALLER:
WHAT THE HELL!

GOOGLE:
I'm sorry, sir, we use such information only with the sole intention of helping you.

CALLER:

Enough already! I'm sick to death of Google, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and all the others.

I'm going to an island without an Internet, or cable TV,

where there is no cell phone service and no one to watch me or spy on me.

GOOGLE:
I understand sir, but Alexa says you need to renew your passport first. It expired 6 weeks ago..

Control - The Noose is Getting Tighter

Folks, the world is getting stranger every day. There is just too much going on to even begin to talk coherently about it.

Here are two videos we saw today that really gave us the chills. The choices we will be making in the days to come may drastically alter our personal lives. In my view, we will have no choice because I am not getting on the bus, being taken from my home to a quarantine center, or eating bug meat for dinner.

Please watch these and share any new information that you have that can help all of us make wise choices about our immediate and not so distant futures.

It would appear that we are being driven or forced to accept a particular mindset. We're being told it's for our good. Maybe it is, maybe it's not. These things are moving too fast.

We've talked for years that all of our normal disciplines are under attack - religions, schools, commerce, customs - just to mention a few. Our freedoms are being eroded, not just a little bit everyday, but a whole lot everyday. We don't know where this thing is going, but have the distinct, gut feeling that it's not going to a place where most of us want to go. I'm sure there are some good people in government. We have to believe that. But our government is lying to us and we're not sure why.

There is so much more going on in the country and world that will play out in the midst of these two scenarios that it is impossible to see clearly the big picture. The only advice we have is hold on tight. It's going to get very dicey.

Be well, stay safe.

Frank & Fern

A New Era of Individual Responsibility?

COVID19 will be a part of the world's vocabulary for many years to come. Discussions of the impact it has had on countries, cities, towns, neighborhoods and families will be ongoing for many years. We don't even know what those impacts will be, for they have yet to play out in real time. History in the making, right in front of our eyes.

If you or yours have suffered a loss as a result of this virus, our hearts and prayers to out to you. There have been many difficult situations and fears that have been heart breaking. I look forward to the time that I can go into the nursing home to see my mother again. Visiting through the window with someone in the advance stages of dementia is very difficult. She doesn't understand and it just breaks my heart.

After the initial scare of a raging pandemic that was predicted to kill millions and millions of people, leading to shortages at the store, and overwhelming the ability of the medical industry to cope, we are now in the stage of trying to regroup and regain a sense of normalcy. The resulting stay-at-home/lock down orders have highlighted some of the tendencies of governments to initiate and strengthen their desire to control the lives of the people they 'govern', showing they aren't in the position to serve the people, but to control them. Some of the serfs are not happy with this. Most of us initially complied under the false narrative of the severity of the virus and pending threat of death by a virus - the invisible enemy, President Trump calls it. 

But this isn't an analysis of the advice given to the President by his task force members that are also trying to roll out their own agendas of control. Personally, I think this has been a bioweapon unleashed upon the world as a backlash for leaders and countries backtracking from the One World Government and attempt to control everyone and every country in it. Control. Ultimate control of everyone through the monetary system, the food supply, medical attention, the ability to work and provide for the family. All of it. The whole package deal. Life. And everything that it entails.

No, this article isn't about that. You can read many different articles and opinions about those topics. This is about the changes some people appear to be making in their lives. For instance. Why are the Mom & Pop mail order chicken hatcheries unable to fulfill orders until late summer now? Why are seed companies out of seeds? Why are gun and ammo suppliers seeing record all time sales and shortages? There are shortages of radios - alternate forms of communication. Why are the shelves at the store that hold beans, rice, pasta, flour and other staples mostly empty? Why are the news stories on the mainstream sites showing how to make bread, how to bake, how to cook?

Frank and I have discussed for years that if just a tiny percentage of the population of our country woke up one day and realized they would run out of food, went to the store and bought enough for a week that the shelves would be empty. Then along came COVID19. And it happened. And it continues to happen. And the prices of everything are going up, except for oil and gasoline. It appears they will continue to go up. Excuses for that? Supply chain disruption, it's China's fault, it's...... It really doesn't matter what caused "it" and what is going to continue causing our new normal to unfold. The fact of the matter is the future will unfold whether we like it or not, vote for it or not, or deal with it or not.

Frank and I chose our life style decades ago. We have worked toward this level of self-sufficiency for a long time and have realized many of our dreams. Now we are working on new dreams, how to maintain as much independence as we can, as long as we can, while we 'grow' into old age. We are in a time of change in our lives. The parallel is that now the whole world is in a time of change with no real sense of the direction it will take. A true time of cognitive dissonance where normal has flown out the window, never to be seen again. Where did it go? How did it leave so fast? Amazing, isn't it?

Now people are searching for ways to manage, ways to provide for their families, ways to continue to be independent without leaning on the government, food banks, or other means of income. Will this lead to a new era of individual responsibility or an ever growing population that expects everything to be provided? 

The few times we have been out and about in a very limited fashion over the last month or so, we have noticed more garden spots. Some large, some small, some in tubs or buckets. We find that to be very encouraging. We have heard of some folks that are focusing more on food and provisions, for the time being anyway. Will it continue? Will this be a wake up call for some that priorities need to be changed and focused on the real things in life? I think once the restrictions are lifted there will be a rush to regain the old normal, only to find it no longer exists. Some behaviors will be driven by fear of the virus and the effects it will have. Government overreach in it's many facets will be here to stay unless people stand up and install those that would reverse the heavy handedness that has shown up in some areas. At this point, I would say the future is an open book with blank pages. If things are allowed to continue the way they have been going it's just a matter of time before we are all locked down, tracked, banned and told to sit back and shut up. But that's not my focus here.

Take stock of your shelves. How long will your food last if you could never buy one more scrap of food? Without Food, You are Dead. I wrote about it not long ago. Control of the food supply can and will control you. Period.

What can you do to supplement, stretch, extend your food supply to the maximum extent possible? What do you need to learn to increase that supply even more? We have been writing here on and off for a number of years about our attempts to grow food and raise animals to increase our self-sufficiency. If you haven't been reading here very long, check the list of articles and pages that may lead you to some information that may benefit you. Frank has written extensive articles on radio communications that will explain how to set up a network of communication for your family or area in case cell phones are down. There are many articles on gardening, raising goats, chickens and pigs. We have written about reusable products you can make, like the masks that are being made around the world right now. If you have questions, ask. We and other readers are always ready to share our experiences in the hopes it may help another.

We're all in this together folks. Some days it looks like we have fallen over the cliff of no return to soon crash at the bottom with a resounding thud. Other days? It just looks real dicey. We have yet to see if more serious food shortages and economic calamities are right around the corner. At this point, I think the virus is the least of our worries. I can only hope it is a new era of individual responsibility which will lead more people to step up and take care of their own instead of holding out their hand for more while they scream about someone not wearing a mask.

Pay attention. Take notice and take stock of your shelves and yourself. No one is coming to save you. If They show up at all, don't get on the bus.

Until next time - Fern



By the way. Does anyone know why some of the pictures in our last few articles have disappeared? All of them were taken at the same time, none were downloaded from the internet. I haven't researched the problem, it just wasn't that important to me. It may be a simple fix.

The Zombies Are Already Here

Just look around you. How many people do you see walking around with no life in their eyes? How many people don't seem to care about anything one way or the other as long as they have Twinkies, TV, video games, cell phones and pills, lots and lots of pills. How many people you know or see, that are really happy? How many are angry, bitter victims that point the finger and blame everyone and everything around them for the life that they perceive is filled with injustice and deprivation? So, what do they do? Here, take this pill, it will make everything all better.

It seems a majority of people have bought into Madison Avenue's sales pitch, you see it in every other commercial while sitting in a doctor's office waiting room. Here, take this pill, it will improve your life and kill you at the same time. Partaking of prescription drugs or over the counter medications for every little symptom or possibility has become so prevalent that the population in general has been chemically castrated and lobotomized. They don't feel, they have no drive and they just don't care. Sound like Zombies to you? Give me Cheetos! Give me TV! Give me video games! Give me special delivery pizza! Give me! Give me! Give me!

And you know what? That's exactly what they're going to say when we reach the bottom of the slippery slope we're traveling down at break neck speed. The momentum has accelerated to the point of

treacherous, fatal impact. Do the zombies see it? Can they feel the sudden drop as the wheels fall off as the ever quickening decent occurs? No, I don't want to see it. No, I don't want to hear it, stop talking about being prepared and taking care of my family. Where is my anti-anxiety pill? You are crazy. You are a conspiracy theorist. You are using scare tactics. I don't like you, the things you say make me feel bad. I need another pill, I'm stressed. Honey, could you pass the pill bottles and junk food? I just want to relax from a day of stressful interaction with all of these Nationalist, conservative wackos that want us all to die from global warming, climate change and hurt feelings. I don't want to feel like that, pass the other pill bottle over while you're at it.

Folks, do you realize that most prescription medications that everyone carries around by the grocery bag full turn you into a zombie? Yes, some medications are needed and necessary, but we know people that go to the doctor, doctor says, well, you're almost [fill in just about any age] and the survey says you need to take statins for your cholesterol. But doc, my cholesterol is okay, it's not high. Yea, I know, but it's preventative medication and for your own good. Here, take this pill. Oh, OK. What are the side effects?

Well, it may cause fatal problems with your organs, subdue your emotions and sexual drive, make you suicidal, and make you unable to react to dangerous situations quickly if you ever need to, but it's for your own good. Here, take this pill. Oh, OK. For how long? For the rest of your life. Oh, OK. Don't worry about your organs, we'll keep an eye on you. There are other medications that will take care of that if you need them. Oh, OK. And don't worry about not being interested in your spouse anymore, you're almost [fill in just about any age] and things slow down more and more as you get older. We need for you to take all of these pills so you will keep coming back to the doctor with side effect symptoms so we can prescribe more pills that will cause more side effects, then you will need more pills and I will make more money by seeing more patients that need more pills........until you are dead.

In the meantime, you will need to do bloodwork twice a year, and don't forget the occasional MRI and CT scan. To make sure that your organs aren't overreacting to your pills, we'll need to run a colonoscopy, endoscopy, and any other tests you may need. They may also cause hospitalization so we can run many more tests and procedures. With all of these tests, if we find something that is not quite right, you might have to have minor surgery. Do you want to have surgery? It will fix the problem, from taking all of those pills. But after that procedure, I will give you more pills to make you feel better, like some type of opiate pain pill that you will then become addicted to.

Zombies. We have this unfortunate running joke that when you see someone shuffling down the aisle at the grocery store, or driving slow hunched over the steering wheel that they've either just had their daily dose of anti-whatever, or they're taking way too much of everything. Too much Thorazine is our usual statement.

 
If Frank had followed the standard cardiac advice after his double bypass, he would be taking about six medications right now, all of which have major side effects to your organs, emotions, psychological well being, not to mention interest in life in general. That's why his heart surgeon kicked him off of his patient list.

You won't take all these pills? Then I won't be your doctor. Oh, OK, says Frank. See ya, cause I ain't taking all of these pills. Before the bypass Frank wasn't taking any medications at all. His blood pressure was fine, his cholesterol was fine, his bloodwork indicated no problems whatsoever. Now? He takes a very, very small dose of the most un-invasive blood pressure medicine we could find through our research and that his body will tolerate. That's it. Our current medical practitioner is okay with this. Frank is in charge of his body, not the medical/pharmaceutical industrial complex.

We were talking about this topic at breakfast one morning. That is what gave me the idea for this article. Frank's comment? I want to feel, I want to be a man. I want to have the ability to duck if I see a baseball coming at my head. I want to live the life I have left, not be an unfeeling, medicated old man. Frank has a friend that has long used testosterone medication which caused many other health issues, so now he takes a number of pills to deal with the side effects of the original medication. Frank has a relative that has been taking statins, beta blockers and blood pressure medications for years, just in case. His comment was I don't have to change my diet or worry about my heart, I can do whatever I want......as long as I take these pills. But he also hasn't been with his wife in 20 years, there is no interest or desire there. That may be okay for him, but it's not okay with Frank. He knows he is going to die some day, we all die, but he doesn't want to die being a zombie, he wants to be a man, a real man.
 

This doesn't even begin to address the opioid, anti-psychotic and psychotropic medications that are being dispensed like candy at the state fair. Sometimes I wonder if people seek out these types of drugs to escape from the condition of the world, our country, their lives, or they're just trying to be like the Jones down the road. You know, screwed up in the head by Madison Avenue, Hollywood and all of the social pressure and unrest in the world. Is life so bad? In many cases I would say yes. It's awful. Look around at the hatred and anger that is spewed across the airwaves, right to your TV, your computer, your phone, all live and in your face. 

 A different thought here. Is our government using the medical industry to suppress the drive and motivation of American citizens as a means to appease and subdue the population? Are these medications being used as a means to control resistance? If you have a kid in school that is an issue, medicate them. That way you have a nice, compliant little boy. Just food for thought. Control.

Please understand, Frank and I take medications that our bodies need. We wish we didn't have to, but we do. If you need to take medications, then take them. If you don't need to take medications, it is your choice. It is your body. We all need to have our heads screwed on right. If you don't need it, get off of it. Focus. Keep your mind clear, sharp, vigilant and functioning. No matter how difficult life is now, if it gets a whole lot worse, which many of us believe it will, you will need all of your wits about you. Every last one of them. Folks, the zombies are already here. Don't be one of them.

Until next time - Fern

Without Food, You Are Dead

Everyone needs to read the opening dialogue from Ol' Remus at the Woodpile Report this week. He's right. Food is a Weapon that can, has been and will be used against you. There is a reason Bison Prepper is always writing about food first, wheat, calories, wheat, wheat, wheat. Without food, you are dead. End of story. Not to mention the disease and debilitation that comes from malnutrition and starvation. 

I've been thinking about sharing our fall/winter growing plans for a while and the thoughts from Ol' Remus decided for me that today, I had better get with it. We are working on putting most of the garden to bed for the winter. We're in the process of taking down the tomato/pepper/green bean trellises. After they are out of the way Frank will brush hog all of

the plants, including the okra forest, into a type of organic mulch.

Then we'll clean out the chicken house and barn and add that to the garden and till everything in for the winter. If the weather isn't too cold by that time, it usually isn't in our latitude, we will broadcast some winter peas for an edible cover crop. It's good for man and beast.

 
This is the plan for most of the garden anyway. The two ends, east and west are planted with a few more food crops. Not to mention these volunteer squash plants that came up in the yard close to the compost pile. We're enjoying a few last meals of squash. The first frost we had, we covered these plants with a frost cloth which prevented death, but did not keep the plants damage free. We'll be covering them again this weekend to see if we can get a few more meals before winter takes it's toll.

We have a small patch of turnips planted for greens. These are seeds we saved this spring from the turnips we planted last fall. It seems to be a good cycle to get into. We were also able eat fresh greens well into winter, again in the spring and even canned a few jars in June. Our permanent turnip bed idea didn't work out, so maybe this cycle is a better alternative.

On the other end of the garden we have planted some beets for canning, if they make it that far. 

Some carrots for winter eating.  
 

And some cabbage. We still have some frozen, shredded cabbage we grew in the spring of 2018 that we are using in soup. It's a great addition. If these cabbages make, I'm hoping we won't have insect problems this time of year, we'll eat some fresh and freeze the rest to continue our soup making routine.

 

This small bed on the east side of the house is the only place I have successfully grown spinach. We have had our first salad with miniature spinach and lettuce leaves. I was too impatient to let them grow any bigger before we had our first taste.

In the greenhouse we have started our winter salad collection.

We have two kinds of lettuce. Romaine

Black Seeded Simpson

Russian Kale

Pak Choy from seeds we saved this spring.

Cress









I have also planted a tub of amaranth since it is supposed to be good in salads and we know it's packed with nutrition.

Even though I don't expect success, I planted some of the tomato seeds we saved this summer. I wanted to make sure they were viable and wanted to try one more time for winter greenhouse tomatoes.

On a whim back in the spring I bought a six pack of sweet potato plants, put them in some rather rocky ground under a trellis, and pretty much ignored them. They made a few potatoes, more than I expected. We'll try one for supper tonight with some of those turnip greens we canned in June.

I tried keeping the vines when we dug the potatoes and planted them in a pot in the greenhouse to see if we can use this for our plants in the spring. I don't know if they will make it when the weather gets cold. We'll find out.

This is the first year we have had anything close to an apple harvest from the two trees we planted about eight years ago. The apples are good, not too sweet, but homegrown which means a lot to us. We have one with lunch almost everyday. 

 

So, food. What do you have? Is it enough for everyone you need to feed? For a while? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? Can you replenish the supply on your own without any outside assistance? 


Food has always been used to control people. Always. Think of Joseph in Egypt. His father and brothers had to come and beg for food. They had the money to pay for it, but that didn't mean they would receive any. It's no different today. Look around the world. Look at how interdependent everyone is. Some countries have oil. Some have water. Some have the type of land and soil that will grow food, some don't. If any one thing goes wrong, one spoke of the wheel breaks, all systems fail. No water, no food. No oil, no fertilizer, no commercial farming apparatus, no food. No transportation, food rots in the field. No workers, no food. 

Food can and will be used against you as a means of enforcing your compliance to any and all demands. Moral, immoral, just and unjust. Be ready. Provide for yourself and those you love. Otherwise....... 

Without food, you, and everyone you love, are dead.

Until next time - Fern
 

Homestead News, Volume 22

I keep going back to the quote on the last article.

"Consider what you would do if you knew [we inserted if you actually BELIEVED] your country had already moved beyond the point of no return."

When Frank and I discussed this quote, my response was we would keep doing what we are doing, because we do know that we are beyond the point of no return. So, with that, here is the next homestead update and some of the things we are doing to prepare.

We are watering the garden with the water well and a 12volt pump. Why now? It's time. We have had this well and pump since late 2008. It's been waiting in the wings. This spring Frank looked on the shelf at the box with the pump in it again, took it down and figured out what we needed to install it. Nothing. We had everything we needed, it was just putting in the time and effort to install it. Since then we have treated the well, pumped out the old stagnant water, treated it again and had it tested twice. The first time there was still one type of coliform bacteria in it, so we treated it again. The second time it came out clean. We've been watering the garden in two hour intervals about three times a week. When we started using the pump, we measured the production which is about three gallons a minute. This was one of the first things that came to my mind when we read that quote.

Frank's next step will to be to install solar panels on top of the greenhouse which he has already configured, installed onto a framework and wired together. These panels will connect with a battery bank which is already installed in the greenhouse with a charge controller, and will be used to run the well pump. He is just waiting for cooler temperatures and some help. It won't be long. We have some ideas running around in our heads about pressure tanks and plumbing the well into the house, but that is down the list quite a ways and may or may not materialize.
 

Next. Food. We have been canning more tomatoes and tomato sauce to replenish the stock. We canned instead of froze our winter squash. Today we finished grinding the remaining beef in the freezer. A few days ago some of it went to making and canning 14 quarts of chili.

We have plenty of cowpeas on the shelf, so this patch will be picked, left whole in the pod, and dried in the greenhouse. This will be some of our winter animal feed. It will be interesting to see how well it keeps and how well the animals like them. The goats love fresh pods, with or without the peas. The chickens like the fresh or dried peas, but not the pods.

Several of you have asked about the amaranth experiment. The spring planted crop is still producing even after four cuttings. I have learned to let the heads turn an almost rusty, golden, brown to make sure they are ripe to pick. The heads dry in the greenhouse, then I remove the seeds, winnow the chaff and save the stems and chaff for the goats, which they are eating quite well. They like it.
 

The summer planted amaranth crop has not done well at all. They grew very slowly, then started falling over. Turns out the pigweed weevil loves amaranth stems. Amaranth and pigweed are in the same family and wild amaranth, which is called pigweed, grows here quite well. All over the garden, in

fact. It's just that I didn't know what it was until this year when I grew amaranth and right beside it was this weed that had leaves exactly the same. Interesting, the learning opportunities that come along. Well, after the weevils came the cabbage moths, or I think that's what they were.

Many of the plant's growing heads became covered with sticky webs, small worms and black clots of eggs. I picked these heads off and fed them to the chickens. This batch of amaranth is just now starting to show seed heads even though some of them are much taller and thicker stemmed than the spring crop. They won't have time to mature before frost. We plan to pull these plants and hang them whole to dry for winter animal feed. We'll see how that goes.
 

Amaranth seed heads drying in the greenhouse

Wheat on the left, amaranth on the right

The amaranth seed we have been able to harvest is going into our bread. We tried the seed whole a few times, then started grinding it with the KitchenAid grinder on the finest setting, otherwise the grains are so small they fall right through the grinder. I like the additional nutrition this adds to our bread. We have not tried eating any of the greens even though we have read that they are edible in both salads and cooked as greens. Maybe next year. 

Our focus has been on increasing the food supply for our animals and ourselves. We consider our goats and chickens to be an important part of our food supply. Our garden has now become not only our food supply, but some of theirs as well. Since writing this article and running across the Ice Age Farmer, we feel it is wise to grow or store as much food as is practicable. The Ice Age Farmer had a couple of interesting videos out yesterday about cooler temperatures affecting crops this year due to the solar minimum and about some scientists saying we will have to rely on cannibalism for protein in our diet to help with global warming. Folks there are some very strange things going on with food and food control. Some people have some very perverted, dangerous ideas they are actually presenting to the public, not in some dark, back room. The more we can rely on ourselves and what is on our shelves, the better off we will be.

Wouldn't it be great to be wrong? Wouldn't it be fun to sit back and watch trash stuff on television and eat ice cream out of the carton (as long as someone

hadn't licked all over it and put it back on the shelf in the store)? Wouldn't it be grand to be clueless, hopeless and caught totally unaware when there are no more cell phone signals, television signals, talking boxes that can answer every question you ever had, a myriad of devices that can watch, track and record your every sound and move, in every room in your house, even in your bedroom? Wouldn't it be great to know that there will always be food on the store shelves, gasoline for your car, Amazon delivery right to your front door and free stuff from the government? Wouldn't it be great to have friends to count on in the event of a collapse that wouldn't come and kill you for your stuff because they were the grasshoppers while you were the ant? 

Wouldn't it?

What would we do if we knew that our country had already moved beyond the point of no return? We have been doing it most of our adult lives. Preparing. Learning. Practicing. It's why we became reserve police officers before Y2K, became EMTs in remote Alaska, lived on a homestead where financial resources were focused on creating a sustainable life, learning what grows here, and how to care for animals that will help feed us. And now we've been drawn to this place, this world of the internet to share with those that might listen and that will teach us in return. Every last thing we can learn, practice and practice some more, will help us in this journey as we all fall off the cliff of civility and normality. Stay safe.

Until next time - Fern