Survivalist

29 Oct By 4 Comments

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Every time I hear that a Big Storm is coming our way, my survivalist hackles get all ruffled up. What? A Big Storm? I can handle that. As long as a tree doesn’t fall on my house.

Today, as the wind and rain picked up, I channeled Laura Ingalls. Well, my version of Laura Ingalls.

I put up essential vittles in case we lose power. I cooked beef bourguignon, a pumpkin pie, homemade whipped cream, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, and hard-boiled 6 eggs. That, in addition to the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (almost a breakfast food!) I made the other day when I heard there might be a Big Storm.

I checked in with the townsfolk as I gathered supplies. A guy who showed up at the same stores I did, fruitlessly searching for “D” batteries became my shopping buddy. We shared information about which stores were sold out and where we were headed next. The check-out gal at the grocery store and I chatted about making sure we had enough toilet paper for the Big Storm. This is something I do not normally discuss with strangers, but a Big Storm just seems to bring people closer.

And, I secured the premises by putting the patio furniture and lacrosse nets in the garage and making sure the animals were fed and watered and safe for the night. I am pretty sure the chicken coop will stay put, now that it is secured to the ground.

I am so glad I don’t have to prepare for a Big Storm everyday. It is exhausting being a survivalist. Going to bed now and will try to enjoy the sound of the rain and wind in the trees and channel my inner Scarlet O’Hara and not worry about tomorrow. Fiddle-dee-dee.

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Hugging The Chickens

12 Mar By Leave a Comment

I know it is going to be Spring any day now, because my chickens have started laying again.  They stop laying during the shorter days during winter.  It is  a time for them to regroup and renew, and moult, and grow new feathers.    If you are interested in having your own flock of chickens, now is the time to order chicks so they will be ready for life in the great outdoors by winter.  This is the story of how I got interested in keeping chickens…  I have always wondered how I would do if I were put out in the middle of Montana one Spring and told to “get cracking setting up a homestead and growing food, cuz winter is a comin’ before you know it.”  I presume this would be told to me by a crusty old neighbor (who lives a day’s walk away) while he looked me up and down with a doubtful look on his face.

I also went to a very “well-integrated” high school and frequently wondered how I would do if I were ever in a real fight.  Unfortunately, I never inspired this level of ire from Lady Virgo or Daddy Crackerjack, so I still don’t know how I would do.  These are the sorts of things you can only know when you are in the real situation and I guess I am lucky I don’t know yet.  But still, I do wonder… In the meantime, I am feeding my interest in survival by dabbling in the art of preparedness.  (Which at this point means I have moved the bandaids and antibiotic ointment to the downstairs medicine cabinet, thought about getting rain barrels and have several extra boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios in the basement.)  The Mormons are a really great resource for information about food storage and I have even ordered some of their materials online.  I know these materials are meant to draw me into the fold and make me want to be a Mormon, but I have no intention of joining their church.  I have  struggled mightily thought about it a little and have decided that stealing free information from the Mormons is okay. One of the ways I am pretending to be a survivalist in my comfy little suburban town (it is sort of like Mayberry here) is that I have chickens.  I ordered them last June from www.mypetchicken.com andthey arrived in the mail!

They were so cute – and ALIVE – it was a miracle!!!  I ordered 4 because I thought some might not make the trip, but they all did.  This is when my son began hugging the chickens.

the dog wanted to EAT the chickens, not hug them

For a while, they lived in a big plastic box where they regularly pooped in their food and water.

So now, our chickens named Mr. Fluffypants, Iguana, Priscilla and Paco, have their very own place to call home and poop in their water and food - AND stay safe from the dog, who still stalks them.  It seems the dog has survival fantasies of her own.

my son sees nothing wrong with the name, Mr. Fluffypants, for a girl chicken

And just a few weeks ago, we had our first EGG!!!!!  There it was, just sitting on the ground.  Amazing!  The girls are really getting the hang of it now and we get 3-4 eggs a day.  At first it was a little weird thinking about eating their “young,” but we have gotten over that.  And I can pretend that if there is sudden shortage of food, I will be able to feed my kids (and neighbors of course!), just like a real survivalist!

hugging the chickens!
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