I have to confess, I don’t normally think of the Salvation Army as one of my top prepping stores. I’ve shopped for prepping equipment and supplies at a lot of different places through the years. Even so, I’d kind of forgotten about the Salvation Army, until my wife sent me there looking for a vintage pole lamp. Since I was in the store anyway, I took the opportunity to look around and see what sorts of things I could find that would be useful for prepping.
One of the keys to shopping in a place like this is to think outside the box. You’ve got to think about the form of the item you’re looking at, not just its original function. While it might be useful for that original function, there might also be other ways in which you can use the item. Just as long as it does the job, who cares if it looks tacticool? Isn’t it better if it doesn’t?
On this trip, most of what I found would be used for its original purpose; but that’s not true of everything. There were a few items I saw, which caught my eye for how they could be repurposed. But there were also items I expected to see, mostly because I’ve bought them at Salvation Army before, yet were AWOL this trip. This just shows that you can never be sure what you’ll find at a trip to the Salvation Army Thrift Store.
Fishing Rods
I found some fishing rods hiding off in a corner of the store, in a place I didn’t expect to. This made me think that someone had stashed them there, as if they didn’t want others to find them. What made it even more suspicious was that there wasn’t any price on them. So I suppose it could have been a worker who placed them there, hoping to buy the batch themselves.
Nevertheless, I found them; reminding me, yet again, that fishing is the most reliable method of harvesting food from nature. So there’s no such thing as having too many fishing rods. They will always be useful in a survival situation.
Blankets
When the power goes out, one of the problems we’re all going to face is keeping our homes warm. At least, that’s a problem we’re going to face in the wintertime. Without the central heating we’re all used to, this is going to be a challenge, especially if the house doesn’t have a fireplace.
One of the many answers to that is to pile as many blankets on the beds as possible and share body heat. With enough blankets piled up, you can stay warm, even without that heat running.
Books
We’re used to learning anything we need to know off the internet these days, but what will we do when there’s no internet to go to? As long as there are books around, we should be okay.
Almost everything that mankind has discovered in the last several hundred years is written in a book somewhere, if you can just find the book.
This particular shelf of books was filled with do-it-yourself books and cookbooks. There were even a couple of cookbooks for those with diabetes and other serious medical conditions. Those looked useful, like something that might even save a life.
Then I spotted this fascinating set of children’s books. Keeping our children busy and happy is going to be a challenge in any post-disaster world. I think this set of “ChildCraft” books would have a real use in such a time, giving our children something to do and teaching them at the same time.
Bow
I was a bit surprised when I found this compound hunting bow hanging on the wall.
It’s a bit old and looks like it could use some restringing; but I can’t see any reason it wouldn’t work.
It would need a sight and the quiver is missing some pieces.
But all the major components of the bow are still there. with a little bit of work, someone could have themselves a nice survival bow here, both for hunting and for survival self-defense.
Gun Cabinet
Speaking of weapons, they had a nice gun cabinet, AKA “arsenal” just sitting there, waiting for some hunter or prepper to come along.
This one will hold nine long guns, with space for ammo in the drawer below. While it didn’t have any sort of lock to keep the kiddies out, that wouldn’t be all that hard of a problem to fix.
While a lot of people prefer a gun safe these days, gun cabinets were the main method of storing long guns for many years.
I still have friends who keep their collections (arsenals) on display, in cabinets, whether just to show them off or to scare criminals away.
Related: How And Where To Store Ammo
And Gun Cases
Of course, if you don’t want to keep your guns in a cabinet, you’re still going to need someplace to store them. How about this nice gun case?
They actually had several of these nice, hard-shell cases; including a couple of brand-new, top brand ones.
I could tell that they knew what they were by the prices on them too, although they were still much cheaper than buying them new in the sporting goods stores.
Canning Jars
This was one that I was expecting to find and I was actually surprised how few I found.
Even so, I did find some canning jars at my local Salvation Army. Considering that more and more preppers are growing their own food and preserving it, this was like finding gold.
I don’t know about you, but I never pay full-price for canning jars.
Rather, I always buy them second-hand, unless the glass gets cracked or chipped, there’s really nothing that can go wrong with them, so buying them second-hand saves the money I would otherwise spend on them, so that I can use it for other things. I just keep my eyes open and buy them when I can.
Related: Canning Amish Poor Man’s Steak
Luggage
When most of us think about a bug out bag, we think about a backpack. That’s usually the best option. But that doesn’t mean that it’s the only option or that we should limit out thinking.
This suitcase looked to be rugged and it had wheels. It would make a great bug out bag as well, and since it doesn’t have that “tacticool” look to it, it would be much more stealthy than a military-style backpack with MOLLE straps on it.
The other thing to consider is that if you’re bugging out in a vehicle, you’re going to be taking more than just your bug out bag anyway. In that case, the other bags will probably be suitcases of some sort. So you want to make sure you have enough to fill your vehicle and to carry whatever you’re going to be bringing with you.
A Jogging Stroller
Speaking of bugging out, this jogging stroller really caught my eye. If you have small children and are bugging out on foot, you’re really going to need something like this.
But even if you don’t have small children, this stroller could easily be modified for carrying bags, suitcases, and just about anything you could imagine. Why, I can even see a perfect spot for putting a saddle-type sheathe for a long gun on it.
This is a perfect example of repurposing. Here we have something that’s designed to haul stuff, while not hindering the person pushing it along. While it is designed specifically with children in mind; the basic configuration is readily altered for use with a wide variety of other things. Just removing the canopy alone will make it possible to haul your bug out bag and a couple of other duffels, with no further modifications.
And Clothes
The one thing we all know we can find at any Salvation Army Thrift Store is clothing. What does that have to do with prepping? Well, even if you have enough clothing for yourself, I doubt you have enough for your kids. Kids grow, which means that the clothing they go into the disaster with are only going to fit them for a few months, maybe a year at the most.
One of the things we all need to add to our preps, but few do, is oversize clothing for our children. Most kids go up roughly a size a year. But we only have the size they’re wearing now. In addition, it would be a good idea to have some boxes in the attic or basement, filled with all the clothes they’ll need for the next few years. Sort it by size, one size per box, so that all you have to do is pull out the next box, when they are ready for it.
My wife did this, when our children were smaller. She would always keep her eyes open for kids clothing at the Salvation Army and garage sales. When she found something she liked, she’d buy it and add it to the appropriate sized box in the attic. That way, we always had a couple of years worth of clothing ready for when our children needed it.
Such a move not only helps with prepping, but it can save you a bundle. If you’re buying new clothing for your kids every time they grow, you’ll spend a bundle. We didn’t, because she had bought it when she could get it cheap.
Speaking of clothing, the same wife who did such a great job of stockpiling clothing for our kids, wouldn’t buy herself a pair of hiking boots. That’s just not her style, so spending $100 or so on a pair of boots that she didn’t even like just didn’t work for her. But I was able to find her some at the Salvation Army, at a price she was willing to pay.
If you’re going to bug out, you’re going to need hiking boots. Don’t try doing it with just tennis shoes; they don’t give your feet or your ankles the support they need. Hiking boots are much more rugged, making them ideal for a bug out.
You may also like:
25 Powerless Appliances for Your Homestead Kitchen
Cheap and Easy to Build Root Cellar in Your Own Back Yard (Video)
18 Vintage Homesteading Tools to Search for at Garage Sales
Luggage is always a great buy. At a Salvation Army in Florida, we bought a full size suitcase for $5. It was in excellent condition. I just used Lysol wipes to make sure all was clean. We needed a suitcase for a one way trip & saw no reason to buy brand new luggage. When we got to our destination, we didn’t need it anymore, so donated it to the Salvation Army. A win win for all. PS. The suitcase was some designer brand even!
Where was this store? Never seen gun cases or bows in Georgia stores. But the other items are generally plentiful.
just don’t forget to really look for bed bugs
I NEVER see gun anything in any thrift stores in my area of Massachusetts, but given the anti-gun culture around here, it’s hardly a surprise.
Other items I have seen have been:
A clam steamer with a spigot at the bottom that would be dandy for heating hot water on your wood stove.
Tarps
Knives, kitchen
Wheel barrow
Tools of all kinds
Sewing machines – If you are lucky enough to find a treadle sewing machine at a good price, grab it! Practically indestructible, these can even sew leather.
Cobbler’s shoe forms.
Storage containers.
Sheets, which can be used for the fabric, threshing grain, bandages.
Oil lamps.
Candles and candleholders.
Boxes of random hardware.
Rope and twine.
All kinds of sewing and knitting supplies, including how to books and patterns.
Just a caveat, though. Please check over anything you buy to make sure it’s functional and bug free. There is an epidemic of bedbugs in the US now, and most thrift stores have an all sales final policy.
Diamatatous (spelling) earth kills bedbugs. Put item in a bag and shake some earth on it. Close bag and wait a couple weeks. Dead!!!
I kinda hate to say it and it will probably be deleted but let’s be real people. In light of who and what is coming across the southern border unvetted and unchecked I am not at all surprised that the prevalence of bed bugs is on the rise. When purchasing used items of any kind it would be a good idea to bear in mind ease of cleaning and sanitizing and delousing of such items.
Be very careful when buying suitcases and clothes at thrift stores. Bedbugs are on the rise. I had them a couple of years ago and was a very traumatic experience! I’m not sure if we got them from the thrift store or my son brought back from a recent trip. The exterminator told us that they are on planes, subways and even movie theaters…just not hotels..,eek
Most likely they were picked up on the trip. Airplane seats and hotel rooms are notorious spots for them. I spoke to an entomologist once who says when she stays in a hotel she leaves her suitcase in the bathtub and hangs her clothes up in there too. Any soft furnishings in a hotel – not just the bed – are a risk.
Sorry, they THRIVE in Hotels! Thats why (among other reasons) I NEVER sleep in hotel/motel beds. I bring my own either silk or wool bed bag: like a sleeping bag only much smaller to pack easily. and my own pillow. Just to chancy IMO/
Yeah, not much chance of finding anything “gun related “ in any second hand/thrift store here in Massachusetts
Goodwill also has the same stuff. Then there are the Habitat for Humanity stores. the Habitat stores get items donated so they are sold below the retail or market price. You can get windows to build your self a hot house to grow plants or get tools on the cheap…..Buy concrete blocks and build your self a root cellar or bomb shelter. IF you can get your hands on insulation cheap, check out your house. You can probably add insulation to your house and save money now…for heat and a/c and of course it will take less energy after SHTF to cool and or heat your house if you have max insulation. Passive houses use just 10% of the energy that standard built houses use. I don’t think you can turn your standard built house to a Passive house from the Habitat store but if you increase your house insulation you will be saving a ton of money on heat and a/c now and after shtf….I have noticed a lot of cast iron pots and frying panes at Goodwill. These cost a fortune to buy new and you can get them cheap. The cast iron cookware is great for cooking over a camp fire…again for shtf times…
Any “thrift” shop may have useful prepper items. I don’t know if the Salvation Army thrift shops are actually run by the Salvation Army or by some private enterprise who contributes a percentage of the “profits” to the charity.
If the S.A. actually runs the shops and gets to keep the net income in total, then I would rather shop there than at any of the other “thrift” shops that are commercial enterprises with a charitable front.
I totally agree.Most of our local thrift stores are Goodwill. I would rather support Salvation Army, but none of their stores are local.
Hey left coast chuck, are you stocking up on ammo before July 1? Further gun control is about to be implemented. Sure makes reloading look a lot more appealing. Just wondering your thoughts. Thanks and God bless
July 1st? What happens then ?
Raven, California is requiring a back ground check every time someone purchases ammo. If the person is not in their system they pay 19 bucks to be added and it may take up to ten days to be approved. Each back ground check costs a dollar. So they now have a system to track every bullet purchase made in the state and who bought them and which caliber. Ammo can no longer be delivered to your home has to go to ffa dealer. Way to go California. Gun control
they are actually ran by Salvation Army.
Wrap your firearms up in those extra blankets. If you want to make it waterproof, cover with a large plastic trash bag.
Be careful in using blankets for wrapping firearms in. Many fabrics will actually draw moisture into it and you may end up with a useless hunk of rust. Being a gunsmith I have seen this often.
I’ll second this. If you’re going to wrap guns, wrap them in something waterproof. That gives any moisture a chance to evaporate and find its way away from the gun. Using a blanket or anything else absorbent is just asking for rust problems.
My Dad and his brother stored away some WWII era rifles and pistols. They were well greased then wrapped in oilcloth. When they sold then in the 1970s they looked like brand new after the excess grease was wiped off.
What is the best material to wrap a gun in ?
The Sally! My go-to for…It’s the only store I like to shop at. Mind clothes. I bought a new hat (brand new) last spring, and it had head lice in it. But, canners, cast iron, Irish silver (silver plated brass or copper, all of which kills bacteria, viral infections, and fungal infections), and a lot more. Only thing, every time I see a canning jar, they want more for it than WalMart for new,. We pay about 86c per Ball jar at WalMart. niio
A good reminder to be on the lookout for useful stuff.
I have found tents, sleeping bags, wool blankets, lots of candles and things like Food Saver vacuum packers and camping gear, camp stoves and lights. And nylon GI duffel bags.
I always take any cloth item to the laundry mat and run them through 2 drying cycles so they get good and hot to kill the bed bugs BEFORE I wash them. Drying items after you wash them may not get them hot enough to kill bed bugs and since the items are dry already this will not cause wool blankets and wool items to shrink. I have the wool blankets and wool items dry cleaned and tell them there might be bed bugs
Cedarcide is lethal to bedbugs, and most other creepy crawlers too. The U.S. Army commissioned a scientist, Dr Ben, to formulate an incecticide against sand fleas for our troops in Iraq. Cedarcide is 100% natural, made from Texas cedar oil. https://www.cedarcide.com/product/cedarcide-original-biting-insect-spray/
The last oil lamp I saw was $35. That is more than I can afford right now. My little 2 burner propane camp stove was in the things that were stolen last year. I had a new toilet seat for a 5 gal. bucket. And more. I’m going to work on replacing those things from new or used sources as I’m able. For most of it, used is just find.
I would still like to find a cross bow. More arrows would be good. I shoot arrows from my” wrist rocket”(brand) slingshot. Fair distance and good penetration in a bale of straw. Its an interesting option.
It’s beginning to cool this evening. I’ll go work with a hoe and spade-to break up dirt clumps and create a plantable area. Neighbor used our backhoe to break up the area for me. It been laying unused for 13 years and is hard! Good clay content would make building code legal Adobe building bricks. I break it up then work in dropping from the rabbits, old manure from the chicken pen, piles of last falls leaves and create a planting bed that is ready to use. Its about 12×20. Hard clods have to be broken up then work in the good stuff so it will be a productive garden. I get tired quickly but I’ll finish as soon as possible and start transplanting my plants from the home and plant seed for quicker things. I love to garden. I’ll water berries and trees again tomorrow. I see. Bits of green on one of the cherries we planted this week. Every leaf is exciting.
Wish I had that backhoe. I could only go 3′ deep to bury wood and so on before hitting sandstone, but, a week’s worth of work done in a few hours. But, I like the work, as well. Be happy when I can start a new trench, this one to be used for water storage. And, that wristrocket, hm, I was planting tomatillo seeds in flats out back and by the time I was done, doves and thrashers were sitting on the powerline, watching. Nah, emergency food source 🙂 I have to put old window screens over the flats till the seedlings are up and getting true leaves.
Got blooms on the kumquat, but the pear and peach lost their leaves to the devil winds. I should have used some logic and waited till the monsoons to buy them. Got a new fig to set out, an everbearing. And, a friend’s neighbor has some Canyon palms for me, if i want them. The fruit isn’t the best, but you don’t have to water them, either. The goji is in the ground and looks good. What the garden needs next is more mesquite for shade and fertility. Some study said a mesquite can put as much as 63# of actual nitrogen in the soil each year. The old ones would plant as much as they could under them because they kept off the sun and fed the annuals.
And, got to git. It’s going on 6 and I need to see if anything is still wilted east of the bathhouse, where there’s a lot of shade in the afternoon. niio!
A swimming pool “noodle” is a great toilet seat for buckets. just cut to fit
I worked breaking up more dirt clods with a shovel. Slow work but not too hard. Mostly it had the spot where the bone was cut and put together with a bar and 7 screws… Aching. The jarring gets to it. Still I figure some work has to be good for it. I’ll soon be ready for planting. Still going to need two more areas chopped with the backhoe. It sure is a help.
Friday I’ll take my neighbor.. Actually he will drive to the city and I’ll pay for glasses for both of us. They are on sale so its a good buy. Both of us will cost less than my last glasses did nearly 10 years a go. I’m really needing new ones.
Wal-Mart was clearing out part of the garden plants this evening. I bought almost 3 dozed peaches n cream corn plants that are about 12″ tall. I’ve never bought corn like that before. They were cheap so I’ll try them. I like peaches and cream. It yellow and white sweet corn. If I clear enough area I may try my quick heirloom corn. It averages 55 to 60 days to harvest. With monsoons starting soon that might make it. I’m anxious to get the garden planted. I also got heirloom Cherokee tomatoes and a few herbs. I love gardening. If I weren’t pastoring I’d live in the garden a while every day. I wish it could go on year around.
I need to get the walapini dug. Then I can garden more of the year. In winter it may be limited to mostly cool weather plantings but I have grow lights. And if I build a mud rocket stove it cold weather won’t matter.
The materials my husband’s Dr sent home for me shows he’s clearly well into stage 6 of 7 into Alheimers. I’m not surprised but I guess I didn’t want to know that just yet. He also wanted me to get in touch with the Alzheimer’s association. I’ll think about it.
I stopped at the local flea market Friday. I bought another short handles shovel that my husband wanted. Pd $5. Husband surprised me…. Planting fruit trees he helped fill in the holes. Digging is really beyond him but shoveling some dirt worked just fine. He wants to help me but most things are beyond his abilities now.
I bought another old sewing machine. Its old enough to use the same parts as a treadle machine. It’s still in the cardboard box it would have originally been sold in. I may see if I can make a wooden stand and treadle for it. I have a lot of leather so a loop like the other treadels use is no problem. A great grandfather had a whole wood shop running off a single engine running pullies and bands to operate many different tools. A single sewing machine should be doable. My first sewing machine was operated by a hand crank. I don’t recommend that but it did work.
I cleaned up our ice chest this afternoon. I wasn’t able to get ice when needed so it was pretty bad. I dumped everything and scrubbed it well. Then we went to town for ice, milk, butter, plane yogurt, frozen fruit, a lb of ground beef, sliced cheese and ice cream. The ice cream was desert when we got home. What we left went to our neighbor. I can’t keep it without having power. The adults will finish it up after the grand kids all head to bed.
The plants for the garden are doing really well out under the ancient apricot tree. The window screens may get put to use drying some for future use.
We’re praying for him and you. As for me, got to stop smoking, I guess. From observation, I seem to be allergic to the hemp papers, and the bleached one are bad, always. Yes, I’d go to the Alzheimer Association because they can help. Donno how much, but even a little is good. I understand not wanting to get anyone outside involved. We can’t really trust anyone, anymore. But, that he tries is a good sign. He’s fighting it.
After my ankle got broken, I let the doc talk me into putting in metal. Nothing but trouble from it. So bad, they took it out. The ankle is close to normal, usually, but hiking is out of the question. My sister broke her right arm right after getting the cast of her left one. Her stepson and his mother are self-styled witches (not Wicca) and they live with her bisexual boyfriend, who does root work. They live down in the Southeast, and when SHFT hits, the coasts are, as said, toast.
Wah, but I wish I had that backhoe 🙂 the compost pit and water storage holes still need to be done, and capped. I could finish the yard/garden front and back, as well. There’s a lot of high carbon stuff around, brush and dead trees, and that holds moisture well, feeding the plants.
At that price, if you can, get an extra pair of glasses. I get mine at the VA, thank God. Mention Penna VA and they all know about Penna…Oh, yeah, THAT place 🙂
Bicolor sweet corn has been a staple at farm markets. High sugar, and if dried, makes a tasty cornmeal. I bought 6-shooter seeds from Victory. Good sweetcorn, non-hybrid, and up to 6 ears per stalk. I never rised it in AZ, but the seedlings look healthy, despite hungry birds 🙂
You reminded me, again, I need to get a treadle sewing machine. A good wringer washer would be cool to have, as well. When each of us turned 5, we were taught how to wash our own clothes in one. The automatics are fine, but it always seems something is wrong. Yeah, nostalgia, maybe. But, much better than that home-made washboard we had to use if we messed up the laundry 🙂
Do you clarify your butter? Some folks whip some yogurt in it, and that helps preserve it. Mold is usually only the same crud found in blue cheese. Clarified, it should keep for months, if not years. The stepdaughter always does that when she can afford butter. Right now, she’s in rough shape. She needs to get back to NYC and to the kosher/halal stores and an all-organic diet. That saved her before. It will most folks who are ill.
The last of the blackeyed peas are in, Yori Cauhui, a yardlong bean. The Yoeme beans are slowly stretching up to the poles and in bloom, though they get no irrigation. The kumquat, put in this spring, is in bloom. I do not know if I should take off the blooms. It’s pretty new to allow it to bloom. Pretty much everything is waiting for the monsoons. There’s still a lot of space in the beds with nothing planted because I did not have it to do the work. And, as well, I was watering some flats the other day. A bird on the powerlines started to chirp. Next thing I know a mixed flock was there, watching me. A few old window screens went over the flats and weighed down with a rake. Later, when I went out, no birds, but droppings were all over the screens. When the rice grass is planted, I need to get sun screen to cover it or they’ll tear out the seedlings. They pulled a lot of I’toli onions I set out. I had to replant them a few times.
The garlic was crappy. Small rounds, but no good bulbs. The company sent the wrong garlic. I want Ajo Rojo Creole, which is bred for the tropics and got something akin to striped Russian, which has to have cold weather to form. I never saw such poor garlic in my life, and we used to raise it for the garden market. Yong Farms, in AZ, sells mostly Creole and Sonora, both good garlics. Rojo, though, is a medicinal. The elephant garlic got where the striped came from is not too swift, either, but the tops are like wild garlic, hot and spicy.
The Lord watch over you and bless you both. Walk in beauty.
I only clarify butter sometimes. Depends on how much butter I have to deal with. I usually buy a pound and it lasts a month or more. I do like clarified butter for cooking.
Yes I suppose the Alzheimer’s association could help but I hate getting anyone involved.
I hope to get my new glasses tomorrow. I’m really needing them. If they are good I’ll either order another pair or I’ll order some cheap ones online from that prescription.
Yes he fights the Alzheimer’s. Today was a really tough day but he helped pull hoses at dark to water the trees I planted a few days ago. I’d broke clods and started lining up the first path and a wide row. Then started on the next wide row. Just over half lined up and breaking clods. A long way to go. Legs ache deep and feet are about unbearable. That seems to go along with hard work.
My old friend who was my lawyer in years past saw Bills condition over a year ago. He set up power of attorney while Bill was still able to sign and plane ahead. I have financial and health care and all business power now. I hate being in that position. The new neurology Dr is very glad I have the ability to make decisiins for us. I wish I didnt have to do that.
Diane is working hard to earn some extra money so she can go help her son clean up his grandmothers ranch. I asked them to watch for the old wedding papers. Hubs is needing some of that stuff for his old union.
Sitting here relaxing. Just ate salads I had in the ice chest and we each had a slice if lemon glazed butter cake. Falling asleep. Kittens are enjoying the place. They are almost at the end of nursing. And they have the run of the place investigating everything.
I love the yard-long beans. Usually grow some for stirfrying.
Today were getting smoke from the Arizona fires. It was so dark after sunset that it looked like a dark thick bunch of clouds.. Just all smoke moving in. It was thick in the afternoon and visability was poor. They are warning folks to stay inside.
Ill take my night pills but I don’t think I’ll need a pain pill… Just hit the bed and be out. Goodnight.
OK, I’ll hush. You’ll do as you see the need. I’m not there so have no right to make a fool of myself!
You’re like me, a pound a month of butter is plenty. My parents were cattlemen and dairy was a major thing. Like Elizabeth McDonald in the Egg and I, “What? Only 2 eggs in the recipe? Bah, three, maybe four!” We made butter daily and ate much of it every day. I like yogurt to season the butter. It makes the butter taste like homemade.
the peach decided to produce a leaf, meaning the devil winds didn’t kill it. Now for the pear and grape vines. The new fig (everbearing) is sort of thinking about it, I guess. I put on a new leaf and there’s no sign of drought in it. Might be, I hope, it’ll produce a mess of figs this year yet. that was the one fruit folks would get the rock salt out if they saw you raiding their garden.
Ah, that lemon glaze sounds tasty. I make peanut butter apple sauce the other day and most is still in the fridge. But then, it’s for pancakes or pie, and I’m not in the mood for cooking now. Yesterday the surgeon who said the heart is great, healthy as a much younger man’s, said the aorta is still closing. so, back to the VA in late August for a new aorta placement. Still, like I told the family about coming home to Arizona, I’d rather have my ashes flushed down the tubes in a public restroom than have to live in as liberal a state as Penna. You only joke about the serious stuff. I think it’s a rule on the rez 🙂
Wow, I’d love to have a ranch! I miss working cattle. Even the poultry were fun in their own way. Pappy said, “Never get between Nana (grandmother) and a rooster when she has a hatchet in hand. you might wind up part of the chicken and dumplings!”
And, got a letter from my wayward son. He’s very down on his mother, and I can’t blame him. He hasn’t allowed her to contact him since he was incarcerated. He said all she did was sit around. He moved out of the room he had to share with her after she got them kicked out by his battle buddy, and then he walked out with a woman. When he visited, the room stank. she cleaned nothing, washed and cooked nothing, but ate takeout and he and this woman cleaned for her. He gave her a line about things. She lost that place and had to go to a shelter. I still say, the bughouse is the best place for her. She needs help and refuses t allow anyone to help her except as a servant. The kid is better off now than when free. If he gets out he might come here. I could use a hand, and he’s great about most things. Weapons? He was expert in everything Army gave him. If he didn’t understand the weapon, he studied it till he could take it apart blindfolded and put it back together. Even when they mixed up all the parts, he still managed it. niio
The new trees mostly look like dead sticks. The mulberry is putting out a lot of new leaves and a couple of the cherries have some new green. I’m anxious to see more green leaves.
Stopping smoking. I’ll keep that in prayer. No picknick. I was smoking 5 pks a day chain smoking! I decided I didn’t want my kids to start smoking. Quit cold turkey. The longer you make it the easier it gets. That was 1973. I guess it paid off.. Just one started smoking.
Arizona fires have been sending clouds of smoke over here. Miserable off and on for days. I woke up to enough today that my chest was whistling with every breath. So I stayed in all day.
Eyes are burning. Heading to bed.
Smoke inhalation even small amounts can be bad. in the old days, smithing was considered a worse job than mining. While the smith always used an open shop, he still breathed enough smoke in it would wreck his heart.
I’m glad you stopped smoking! I don’t follow tobacco is the devil’s weed (see: CDC and other terrorist gov organizations 🙂 but the bleached paper is very bad, and tobacco was not meant to be inhaled. A study from the 60s (maybe 50s, cannot recall anymore) showed that simply by preventing use of bleached paper, most people wouldn’t start, and many who do smoke would quit. thank you for praying about it.
The step daughter quit when carrying her first, and had a lot of trouble with him. The next two, she was in NYC, the doctor at Maimonides Hospital told her not to quit. It would be better to keep smoking because quitting would be traumatic and most of the hype about it is just that. the oldest has a lot of health issues (her doctor in Hazleton, PA, was stealing her meds and kept her and a lot of other women pregnant for weeks longer than they should have been). The younger two, both born in Maimonides, are fine. None of them smoke except an occasional one in a ceremony. Same with most of mine, but it was rare, then, the women smoked.
The peach has one new leaf on it. The rest burned off in the devil winds. Nothing left on the pear, but the kumquat is in bloom. When doing laundry the other day, the hose was run out to soak the plum. It looks good, now. The turnips going to seed take too much water (the bushes are bigger than the plum 🙂 from the tree. The new fig is pushing leaves and as it is an everbearing, might make fruit this summer. The lemon should start to grow again with the rains. And, we’re expecting rain this week. Only a chance of showers, but most folks are happy. A blessing in the desert. May the female rains come to us all, soon. niio
The bit of yogurt might be good in the butter. After all when I made butter we had buttermilk. Not too different.
This week I almost wish I were making biodiesel. The tractor could run on it. There is a restaurant owner that offers about 100 gallons of used vegetable oil several times a year. That or figure out a slow drip system for the oil to burn in an old fireplace insert I was given. It could warm the big shop building. I noticed he was giving away more a couple of days ago.
I didn’t get out to break up dirt clods today. Too much smoke from Arizona fires. I woke up in that thick smoke and my breath whistling in my chest. So I stayed busy inside. I put together a big metal shelf and set in front of one side of the kitchen windows. An old set sits in front of the other side of the windows. I put all my house plants on them. A hugh geranium is blooming with big clumps of pink flowers. My 8 orchids are there. They seem realy happy there they rebloom several times a year there. The ones blooming right now have several stems of flowers. It sort of looks like a Greenhouse. I have herbs there also. The basil is doing extraordinarily well. One pot is 3 feet tall and blooming. Usually I keep it trimmed short and make it branch out more.
My neighbors here live rent free in an old trailer on my property. He lost his printing business almost two years ago. He does a lot of work here. He’s fed all my chickens, ducks, and rabbits since I injured my knee. His wife has kept up the pottery supply business and firing. He pours the greenware they sell. Today he put a radio in the old yellow cab I drive. It will be nice to have a radio when I’m driving. He also found where the roof was leaking where the old signage was taken off. Patched that and got the last traces of words off the sides. It sure looks better. Next week he’ll be breaking ground for my raspberries. He’s been a big help. They are making enough selling pottery supplies on the reservation to get by. He and I didn’t get the glasses. We had to make appointments so it’s July 1st.
I bought 2 cords for microphones and a long cord to join the speakers to the amplifiers. And I found a mike holder for a condenser mic. All used but checked with 30 day warantees. I’m hoping to eventually have a Bible study group and perhaps a worship music group. In the things I haven’t unpacked I have a base guitar, an ok electric guitar, a stage piano, and more. I only play the piano. I have a brain, base amplifier, stereo amp for a digital piano, a special vocals amp, and tall speakers. Most of it was from the church here and the family singing group. I have what would be a tiny recording studio. The condenser Mic is for that. It takes a special holder. New they are $50 and up. The used one was $15 and looks like new.
I found a few more gardening tools free from someone moving. I just keep watching Craigslist. I’m figuring on a few trips with the truck and flatbed trailer. I’m wanting pallets for the new chicken pen and a fence for my little dog. Pallets make quick work of it. Get em up then staple on the wire.
I’m hoping to find something to make a clothes line here in the backyard. The other shared lines are staying full since my friends have taken in 5 grand kids and a new great grandson. I’ve been using an old wooden folding rack in the livingtoom. After all these years it still works great if I can keep the kittens out of the laundry.
Yeah, like 13 fires here, now. The closest to me is Bylas, up on San Carlos. NM has some major ones they’re fighting, Elk, Azerbachi, Lone Mountain, Pine Lodge, and Gurule. A lot of the fires are preventative fires and closely watched to get rid of the dead growth and not destroy forests and pastures. 20 years of drought, and too much died back or died off. I was told back in 2000 that the fires were so bad in NE NM it killed the roots of the plants. Too much cedar, allowed to grow too thick on the grasslands. Now they have arroyos were there were none, before.
Someone dumped a lot of trash in the wash that runs along the east side of town. They burned it, but thankfully, none of the brush caught fire. If folks in this part of town ever find out who-dun-it, he’s in for the beating of his life. Rule No. 1: You do not bug the old folks! 🙂 Granny got a cane and knows were to use it on foolish men.
You neighbor is a man and pays his way. Sound like good folks, like family.
I’m not much on flowers. There’s a geranium in the one planter that survived winter, and some dragon-somethings there. The majority of herbs are there, as well. Rosemary, thyme, and some other things. A lot of silverleaf nightshade comes up. I keep it cut back, subsoil, so the roots make humus and the tops make mulch. That’s the best thing to do with weeks. Each time it’s cut off, most of the roots die back and decay. Eventually, it’s exhaust the roots and die on its own. Oh, yeah, and wild tobacco is up all over! Some is starting to bloom even in the heat. The ripe leaves need picking, but there’s too much else to do and I get tired too easily.
It’s been so many years since I traveled with a band (roadie) I would need a map to show what goes where 🙂 I need to start shopping in good will and the other places in Tucson. But, as said, I tire too easily.
Forget keeping kittens out of the laundry. Life is an adventure and anything that moves is prey 🙂 niio
Lol. Kittens are into everything. They think the little things on the folding rack are there just for their entertainment.
Smoky but not as bad this afternoon. Heading out to work on the dirt clods again. Need to water the plants out under the apricot tree. They are doing great in the shade there but I’m anxious to get them planted soon.
Yes neighbors are friends from most of the 42 years I’ve been in NM. Hard working couple. Both native. About the same age as my older kids. Members of the rez nearest to where I live. Glad to have them near.
Well work time will get away if I don’t head out now. Heading toward sunset and beginning to cool.
Yes with an aorta problem I’m not surprised you tire quickly. Praying that repair goes well.
My military vet daughter in law had an aorta tear months ago. Son recognised the heart attack it caused and shared his nitro cream with her. Dr credited it in helping save her life. Repaired and able to be back at desk work in the VA hospital where she’s employees. She returned the favor when my son was dying and she called 911 quickly. He flatlined in the ambulance. He’s now doing fairly well. She still tires but is doing better that expected. Dr though she’d be an invalid. I’m not settling for that for either of them.
I spent almost 5 hours on the interstate yesterday because of a big accident. I haven’t heard what happened but the one 18 wheeler I got a good look at had lost most of the front of the tractor. Too dark to see the other vehicles very well. I’d planned to get home with some groceries and a bag of ice then work a while. I just put away groceries, fried some potatoes with bell peppers and onions and a large hamburgers patty for each of us. Then watched world news. Glad for the extension cord so Hubs can watch a bit of tv now. It helps him unwind. He gets frustrated wanting to help me and not getting much done.
Came in from nearest town a couple of hours ago. Family moving gave us 4 real wool blankets. I’ll rewash them and put away ’till Fall. I like a blanket or two in each vehicle for winter. I guess that’s my prep for the day.
We’ve been nice short showers for three days now. No mud in the garden where I’ve been breaking up close. But cooler evenings to work.
I had to wipe my phone clean and go back to factory setting. I tried twice with less so I’d save my contcts and programs I’ve added. Now I get the joy of reetering every contact and getting my main email back online. I’m using an alternate right now.
What a pain!
Do you keep your contacts and numbers in a file on the computer? You might be able to email them to yourself and add them back in the phone. I tried to get a hold of a nephew and the stepdaughter, both are computer programmers. Donno when they’ll answer. Sunday is a tough one to get anyone.
We got a few sprinkles. It felt good, but not even enough to cause a trickle off the roof. It’ll come.
years back I was told to let the clods alone. They hold wind off of seedlings and act like a mulch. I don’t, but most all that gets planted is seedlings, not seeds. I go out with a pack of seeds and I have an audience of doves and thrashers 🙂 the adobe now flows around the rake, thanks to coffee grounds. Planted more moringia seeds and chiltepins. The chimoyo has to be started so they’re fair sized when the rains start. and, that’s true for a lot of things.
the surgeon said with the replacement, i should be back to normal in a month. Hope so. The yori cauhui cowpeas as thriving and will need poles, soon. Plenty of river cane down in the wash, but that’s not a healthy place to be once the rains start. 🙂 You rule! niio
I have all my phone numbers in a notebook … But hubs has picked it up and set it “someplace” and I haven’t been able to find it. I’m still hopefull.
I still have messenger and family members and some friends have already responded with phone numbers. I have some but not back in contacts yet. It’s a start.
A month recovery sounds good. Keeping that in prayer.
We’ve had some sprinkles over the last three days. Just enough to make mud dots on windows and almost settle the dust. More due this week.
I’m not going to plant much seed unless it’s quick growing things. I have a pretty good variety of seedlings to plant. Jalapenos and some tomatoes are already blooming and setting. Need to get them planted quickly.
Doves and crows watch every seed…. Hugh cottonwood on the property line is a crow roosting place.
I’ll plant Swiss chard, beets, radishes and lettuce seeds. Maybe a few more but mostly seedlings.
Just watched the photos of Kim and Moon.. North and South Korea meeting in the Peace House with Trump in the DMZ. Trump did step into North Korea. Trumps last meeting with NK leadership Trump walked out. Trump just announcing the development of teams and talks. Interesting anyway.
At church this morning friends brought me some young chili plants they started then decided they didn’t have time for a garden. I’ll plant those and some flower plants other friends gave me. I’ll plant them around the edges to draw butterflies and bees. Some of the tomatoes are being planted in 5 gallon red buckets from Wal-Mart.that will let me bring them inside before winter. I hope the walipini will be dug before then. They could winter there.
Tomorrow is my appointment to get my eyes checked and new glasses made. My current glasses are almost 10 years old and it’s getting hard to read with them.
Today as I was getting to the town where I pastor the car started cutting out a bit. Checked it after church. Alternator stopped working 100 miles from home. Went to the only garage open on Sunday. They were going to get the alternator delivered tomorrow and guestimated $400 parts and labor. A friend from church took me into the larger city 45 minutes away. I got the alternator at commercial cost with a deep discount from the manager. The shop put it together while I took my friends out to KFC for lunch. They charged $125. So when I turn in the core tomorrow the total will be $254. Plus a bit over $20 for lunch for four of us and $20 for gas. And I was home well before dark. I knew it was going, but glad I didn’t get stuck on the side of a road.
I have a lot of lemon balm I started from seed. I shared some but still have plenty forme. I’ll plant it in a halfburried storage container. It spreads like any mint if not contined. Someone didn’t plant the asperigus. Roots they bought. They handed them to me two days ago. I’ll plant them with my older established plot. They are growing skinny little shoots. Young and healthy.
The mulberry tree we planted is getting lots of healthy leaves. The rest of the fruit trees look pretty bare and lifeless. I’ll keep watering and caring for them.
I need to thin the apples on my old apple tree. It is set thick with fruit. They are about 1″ across r ight now. Way too many fruits for the tree to mature that many. They will stay small if I don’t thin. If I thin them this week they are a good size to make a sweet sour cinnamon pickle. Qthey are wonderful done that way served with fried potatoes and pork chops. Usually I do that to crabapples.
The wild plums are set thick on the more mature trees and thin on the younger ones in the thicket. Looks lol I’ll be make a batch or two of jelly. No apricots this year. Just a fewwold cherry on the young trees. Mature trees both died 2 years ago. This fall I want to move most of those young trees. I’ll start a thicket near the front property line.
I talked to the contractor that originally made and sold my solar array. Winds destroyed it. Insurance just paid a small percentage toward the repair. I asked for it to be redesigned and built with increased battery capacity. It increased the cost but will be far more practicle. I paid half two weeks ago with balance due on delivery. Tentatively it will come back Wednesday. It’s taken a long time earning the money. Power has been gone since October. It sure is unhandy but it’s been ok. Its coming back with 5K battery back up. I’m a low electricity user so that should be generous. The old set up was 3 days of power. The reconfiguration puts the panels down to ground mounted and adds more battery backup. The panels were mounted up high. Winds turned it into a kite them slammed if down forward so 2 of the 4 panels were destroyed. The 4″ pipe stand welds all broke. It was a mess. I asked for the changes knowing it would cost more but I believe it will be more responsive to our needs and lowering the panels will make it more stable.
You’re having too much fun again (means it’s not boring). I know the feeling, ouch. You’ll find the book.
Crows or ravens? Ravens will eat crow eggs and fledglings, as well as small snakes. When working as security on a junkyard, just before sundown I saw a raven trying to carry off a rat. It was too heavy for the rat and when she would sink close to ground level, the rat would struggle to get away. She flapped high and the rat curled up like it was praying. They do say the devil hates high places. Come late July and August, I see a lot of ravens in rocky places, hunting vipers.
It’s too warm here for asparagus, but I’s like to try some varieties they raise in Hawaii. No radishes here till September, if then. It’s too hot right now and they’d only go to seed. There are still turnips and beets in the garden, but were in too long. They can winter over and make seed next spring. There’s still three main beds and some smaller ones that have nothing in them. Lots of tomato seedlings are coming up, though, and more chilis. I still need to take a hike into the wash to cut river cane for poles.
Frost may not come to us here till November. Even then, I should get chimoyo chilis. Tough plants. They ike cool weather. The ones I used the aloe on are all in bloom. Every seedling put out that got some looks good, despite the 100+F heat and wind. No problem with birds or anything preying on them. This isn’t food aloe, but thorny wild types. The whole leaf is chopped up, which makes it toxic for anything to eat it.
I was raised on wild greens and so on. Mom and Dad never sprayed a thicker of poison ivy/oak because the deer loved it more than our clover hay. Same with turkeys and quail on the berries. Very high protein. All of us were badly allergic to it on Mom’s side, so when Dad came home with a deer, he washed his clothes in an oil soap (wringer washers, yo!) and rinsed them in hot water from the heater on the back of the kitchen range. A cousin asked me how Dad kept deer out of the fields. I told him, we limed the woods. That males the poison ivy grow well, and the deer prefer that. The cousin used to lose as much as a third of his clover every summer. Deer would dig out the roots, as well as the tops. City people who owned homes down the creek from his farm wondered why they couldn’t see a lot of deer in his fields. They tried to accuse him of poaching (nope, this was PA, and it’s legal to shoot animals destroying your property). Some of these wildlife lovers began to complain that poison ivy was taking over their picnic areas along the creek. Nature does work in mysterious ways 🙂
The women used to cook apple thinnings for the pectin. One cousin still does that, but she has an old Lodi or golden Delicious in her yard. They have to be picked while still on the green side to have any flavor. Ripe, they make good sauce, but then she has to add lemon juice to can it. She got carpenter ants in the trunk, in a hollow spot. I think she sprinkled borateam plus around the root zone (one teaspoon in a gallon of water for a couple of mature trees). No more heart rot in the fruit and the ants were gone the next spring.
Have you ever buried acorns? Even from a black oak, after weathering underground for a few months, the tannin is gone. It wrecks the burlap sack, being buried, but works. They have to be timed, and used just as they sprout but are sweet tasting. We did that with fartichokes, too.
As I said, you’re a handy person to have around. People are racing around prepping for the future, but we grew up that way. For us, it’s the way of life. niio
The river cane sure could be a handy thing. Here I use old dry elm branches. Burry some in new planting areas, make supports for climbing plants, even medium height fences. I burn some for winter heat and run a lot of the smaller stuff through my chipper so I can burn them like I do wood pellets. Some times I burn the branches down to hot coals then cook over then. I don’t like the flavor of elm smoke on meats. When it reaches the stage of hot coals they are ok and don’t impart a bad flavor.
The nopal cactus has mostly finished blooming it’s delicate yellow flowers. The cholla we have here are in full bloom now. Brilliant magenta (red purple) flowers so numerous they look like a fire cloud. Horrible plants but beautiful flowers and later another edible little yellow fruit. The spines are so wicked I haven’t tried eating them but the flowers are beautiful.
Well heading to the city tomorrow afternoon for eye exam and glasses. We’ll probably head in a couple of hours early just in case we find free pallets. Several planned projects could go faster with a lot of pallets. That or see what’s on Craigslist free stuff. Sometimes it’s pretty interesting.
Walk in blessings.
.
Elm wood stinks, yes, but it’s a great bee tree. Goats like the leaves and twigs, and deer eat the seedlings.
When the people picked nopal fruit, they used wooden tongs and a flat basket. If the birds don’t hollow them out, this year, I’m juicing them for fruit leather. The grill takes care of the thorns. Green, they taste like tomatoes. No blooms on the barrel cactus yet, but I never cared for them. Bland and seedy. The cholla bloomed like crazy this year, but I missed taking buds. The javalinas will be around soon for the fruit. Just a gentle woodlands critter, tucks, bad attitude and all.
I saw several places in Tuscon on Craigs list giving away pallets. They do come in handy.
Hope the glasses are good. I don’t like going for now ones. They always insist on giving me stronger lenses, which I do not need. Be blessed. You’re a strong person and the Lord adds to that. Niio.
Lol. Yes tongs when picking the tunas. I burn off the thorns over wood or gas flames. I used to make lots of different pureed fruits into fruit leather. Haven’t done that for a while. Should. It keeps well and makes a handy snack.
When I can apples I save cores and peelings to cook down for pectin. If I think about it I save all that in the freezer and cook it when there is a lot saved up. It isn’t half bad to just use for jelly. Its sweet and has good apple flavor just cooked and strained then cooked down thicker.
All the oaks we have here are trees that get 12-15 ft tall. Acorns are small. I really like the acorns that are big. They get sweet and loose tannin after a few rains. We always soaked acorns along running water if possible. It did a good job of getting them ready to eat. I usually cracked them into chunks to aid the process along a bit. Then cook as desired.
I hate getting new glasses. That’s why it been nearly 10 years since the last ones. Becomming a necessity. Getting hard to read.
Leave in 45 minutes. Have craigslist stuff to go collect. 🙂 Free cabinets and workable for a shed. Look for pallets at a few usual places. May see about a torn down porch. Costs a bit but good 2×6 lumber 12 ft long and some strong round posts. Sure wouldn’t go to waste. I’ll decide on those after we check on free pallets. Those 2x6s would make a good roof over a dug out root cellar. Safe to walk on too.
I haven’t seen any poison oak right here close. Suits me. I’m not fond of it. More elk that deer in area.
Yup. Life doesn’t get boating….
Lol. Auto spell should be outlawed.
Boring. I always told kid who declared they were bored… I can cure that. 🙂
These are all very good ideas, just remember that if the SHTF for extended periods, it would not be a terrible idea to learn how to tan the hides of your food animals to be made into clothing (ie. buckskin). another of the Lost Ways
Buckskin/rawhide. Salt the hide, roll it up and put it up under shelter where rodents can get at it. After a few weeks, check to see if the hair is loose. If it is, stretch it and scrape both sides. That’s rawhide. (Excuse me for sounding curt, I’m worn out 🙂 Other way is stretch the hide. scrape the flesh side and hang it up to dry. Either way, it has to be worked over a rounded post to soften. Common custom was to smoke the skin to keep insects from eating it, but be warned, no matter what, the dog will drool over it 🙂 niio
I’ve brain tanned deer hides and rabbitskins. Deer that way are soft and nice to sew into clothing or decorate with hand done veadwork. Lots of work brain tanning! Egg or brain tanned rabbit keeps skin soft and nice.
Today I picked up one of the new glasses I ordered yesterday.. Savers is in the same parking lot. Saw a lady donating some nice older bows. Got them priced right away. I bought two Bear fiberglass bows with my senior discount for $45. If the other two bows aren’t sold by Sunday I’ll get a better price on them. The heavy old wood bow sells for $400 used.they put $49 on it. Just a tiny bit more than I had after getting the glasses ordered. I’ll call the manager Sunday.
Last evening when I picked up the work table and cabinets I’d found on Craigslist the lady also gave me a pegboard and pegs, a small tool rack, a new looking 6′ aluminum ladder, unopened 5 gal golden tan interior semi gloss paint, a beautifulfly rod in an aluminum tube. And more.. She filled the bed of my pickup. All useable stuff. Then gave me a hug. She’d just given away her cat she’s had for 5 years and couldn’t move it with her. There was a new sump pump in the sealed box and a nice palm sander. Quite a surprise to get all that.
We also came in with 5 regular pallets and 8 with nice plywood smooth topside. I picked up one heavy cardboard box with an attached pallet bottom. I figure I will use that one for wood chips when I’m cleaning up a pile of branches.
I pick up the soft material used to protect mirrors shipped to a glass business. It has a nice groove in one side that just nicely fits on the trim of a 5 gallon bucket with a trash can liner in it. It made a nice toilet when we were moving before we had running water. I keep a few of those shipping edges in a shed with a new bucket .. Just in case there is another need.
You are blessed. Hope the glasses are good. I hate to get new. They never fit right and just when you get used to them, you need new ones, it seems.
If you have prairie rats around, burrows make a great place to lose the night soil. It adds organic matter deep in the soil (out of sight, out of smell) and give the prairie rats good reason to vacate. Of course, they might complain to the SPCA, but I doubt they speak English 🙂 niio
I used to do a lot of beading. I liked the brain tanned deer hides best to work on. Scrape all flesh and fat from hide, wet, wait, when hair loosens scrape, work warm old or new brains into hide stretch on a lashed frame and work brains in well with a smooth stick(baseball bat ideal), keep working and pulling lashing tighter. Wet and keep rubbing with that smooth stick. After that’s been done, till it nearly looks like soft suede on both sides and it’s dry… Can be a few days.. Take out of the frame and work over a smooth post or even a wooden chair back till it’s really soft and smooth.
It will be easy to hand sew or do beading on it. Chemical tanned leather may feel soft but is still hard to sew by hand or do beadwork on.
Done this way the hide will be nearly white. Can be smoked if desired to add richer color. Common old way was to make a tube sewn shut using the edge holes where it was lashed to the stretcher drying frame. Using 3-4 poles up through the tube to hold it up right but do close the top. Then build a tiny Smokey fire below the hide and let it soak in the smoke till it reaches the desired coloring. This will be as soft as warm butter and easy to sew with a needle and thread or a standard sewing machine. This is clothing tanned.
Raw hide makes good soles for desert mocasins, good drum heads, good lashings that will draw tight if put on damp then dried. Its tough and lasts well if kept dry. The soft tanned leather is more common as moccasins for eastern woodlands and heavily beaded beautiful ceremonial worn moccasins.
Rabbit hides can be scraped and washed. Dry on a frame with lashing to keep the skin tight as it Drys and you work in brains or raw eggs. Lots of rubbing but not too hard as it softens because you don’t want to tear the hide. When you are pretty well done rub the hide over a smooth post end to work it soft. Once the brains or egg is worked into the hide, wash it and continue to work it as it dries. That will keep it soft. Sew together like a quilt for a blanket. Line leather gloves. Make an old fashioned muff to keep hands warm in. Trim hats and mitten cuffs with fur. Enjoy.
Hair on Hides sold by trappers were most often nailed on a tight board or onto a flat board surface and let it dry. Remove the board and stack or tie in bundles to deliver to buyers.
When I make arrows I like thin damp strips of raw hide to lash on the arrowhead. It dries strong and hard.
Since my second hand store purchase today was 2 bows I’ll get to work on a few arrows again. Haven’t done that in quite a while.
Agree Red.. Dogs will love chewing on any of these hides. Kinda like puppies and your best leather shoes.
I can’t bead worth a durn. Too clumsy, I guess, but one sister-in-law will sit down in the evening and create art. Every once in a while, I would come across a porcupine on the road and skinned it for a son-in-law or the sister-in-law. You’d think I was giving them cloth of gold.
We weren’t allowed to work furs, only the women, but cattle hides and deer, yes. Rawhide is great stuff. Looks good and to preserve it, it was hung in the smokehouse. Acid in the smoke will last for quite a while, even in wet areas. Wear any of it and it still sagged badly.
When we get the next place, a methane digesters is going in. Waste water from dewatered gas is about 10% acid, and that’s just right for fast acid tanning. All the rest, the post and so on, come right after. I don’t care for chromium tanning because scraps take forever to decay and aren’t good in the garden.
Yeah, the stepson had a black lab we called Termite. He’d eat anything. Chew on concrete (till I started giving him ham bones and beef knuckles), wood. He ate my flute,the rat. Lacewood, handmade for me. He used to get mad at the ex because she wouldn’t let him out when he needed to go (probably to get rid of all those splinters) and would soak down the seat of her favorite chair.
Prairie rats are vital to the ecology. Nothing fattens hawks and rattlers a they do. See? Even rattlers are important. 🙂
Years ago, the Colorado F-‘n-G stopped someone from tilling and renovating a pasture because of the the ‘rats. I was working on a ranch near Elizabeth, but after that, all the feed stores around the east slope ran out of ‘rat bait. Poor, hungry li’l rattlers… 🙂
niio
Lol Red. SPCA can come check any rat holes. That would be interesting. Even worth a good laugh.
Prairie rats have terrible attitudes. I’d love to see SPCA digging them out for interviews. 🙂
The first pair of glasses are good. Dr ordered either tinted lenses or photo grays. I went cheap and ordered a light tint on the ones yet to come and I ordered a purple tint on the everyday glasses that have already come. I held colored lenses under the chosen Frame and decided on the darkest purple they can make. They look like sunglasses and really comfortable. My eyes are a bit light sensitive so I need some protection. The tint helps.
Dr was surprised how little my eyes have changed in 10 years. Not a real big change. Distance almost unchanged. Some change for reading- bifocals since I was mid 30s.
Without glasses I live in a blurry world.
I saw a green leaf on a peach tree last night when watering trees just before dark. The rest still look pretty barren.
Mom started me beading when I was around 4. I really didn’t do much till about 9. Played with beads but it took a while to be any good. I made myself rings and baretts while learning. Grandma did beautiful bead stringing. I tried it all. I did a lot of rosetts for necklaces. Not much on clothing anymore but I still do necklaces and earrings. Most are gifts. I wear little jewelry. I liked bead weaving or peyote stitch on rope. Younger I did a lot of beading on clothing in the years before I needed glasses so much.
Neighbor and his wife brought us plates of food this evening. A lovely surprise. They had a big cookout. They don’t drink. Hubs like a beer now and then. They brought us 2 beers. I put then in the ice chest while we started eating. Enjoyed them while watching fireworks from the Indian casino near here. We just grabbed chairs and sat out in the evening cool to watch.
Back to work on garden tomorrow. I’ve hunted and found 150 ft of soaker hose and multiple faucet setups. I’ll cut 100 ft of soaker hoses into 4 parts and put together the ends and assorted faucets . The rest can come soon. Then I’ll get the plants into that end of the garden. The other 50 ft is ready to hook up
Watching news of southern California earthquake. Doesn’t make me miss that place at all.
LCC hope your unscathed.
I’ve been in several California earthquakes. One is more than enough..
I’m happy no not bead. It’s an art, but one that missed my clumsy fingers. Leather is different. I used to braid rosettes for saddles and so on, and added some to mine when I was working cattle. Braided quirts and lareats, and fret work for hats. I doubt I could, now.
I’ve been thru two earthquakes, one in Ohio, a very small rattle, and one in Pennsylvania. The Penna fault we lived near is the Susquehanna River, east branch. Guess where they put the nuclear plant. We had a lunatic cat called Psycho Susie, Red, yellow, gray, black and other things I’d rather not think of. If anyone came in the house, she was worse than any dog for snarling and attacking. She had one phobia, the great outdoors. One day she walked out the kitchen door and refused to come in. She stayed out there, in the back, in the brush. A few days later, I went to a day labor place and they were paying well for men to come in and repair a cracked concrete wall. A cousin who worked there refused to let me go. A wall at the nuclear plant had cracked and the men had to mix concrete by hand, no metal, wear work suits over their clothes,rubber boots, head rags, and all. I still have no idea what part of the plant they were in, but over the years all of them developed one cancer or another. Everything was kept quiet. When I asked the ex’s ex, a reporter, he told me to shut up or I could get in trouble. this from a man who made his money by blackmailing politicians. And they wonder why I wanted to come home to Arizona so bad, wow.
Glad you had a good 4th, and I hope LCC survived another Kali adventure in style. niio
That would be very bizarre
And it’s something that wouldn’t be covered up.
Penna is a bizarre state. For almost a decade, two juvie court judges were selling teens and preteens across half the country to juvie halls. Kidz for Kash (the feds pay 16,000 to 35,000 to any pen when a prisoner is transferred). 9,000 people starved to death in Mexico in the 90s, thanks to Monsanto and the PRI (sister party to the DNC). No one knows about it but a small group outside of Mexico. the news media was told to chill, it’s only injuns. There are half-a-million slaves in the US, alone, and most of them were brought over the border from Mexico. How many understand the price of a slave today is far less than it was when legal? Why do you think the neolibs need an open border? Mexico has about 6 million slaves. I lost friends to slave dealers here in AZ. Men shot down for trying to help people be free. Mexico used to make raids–the military–across the border and kidnap ‘enemies of the state (of Mexico)’ and the neolibs ignored it. If you like bizarre, just watch what the neolibs are up to now. Human flesh to them is the cheapest meat on the market.
Red… There always seem to be a few young atractive native gals that permenantly disappear from one reservation or the other here. Always wonder….pretty sure but nothing and no one ever found.
When I was 14 I was in town with other teens and adults. Older man kept asking the guys if my curves were all real. Lol, all they could do is guess. Scared me so I headed closer to the adults of the group. Turns out he offered one of the guys several thousand dollars to help him make me disappear. Glad the kid got scared. I’ve always wondered how many girls are sold out by someone they know. Then the kids involved are too scared to talk and since it’s strangers involved, how do you find anyone?
I once asked a black female pimp how she always had the prettiest white girls working for her. She laughed. They get uppity or run from the men so I buy them cheap. I make them stay in line or they get sold to some other country. When they get close to thirty I sell them to Mexico. Quick easy money. You want in on it? That was before I got away from the first husband so I saw plenty.
I couldn’t imagine owning anyone. That gave me nighmares.
Glad your friends were real men but sad they are gone. Sad watching politicians and super rich being accused of those things and nothing’s has ever happened to them for most of their lives. Sadder yet for those being bought and sold.
All we’re allowed to do is tell the police. Most cops are good people and care. But, you saw what happened to the ICE agents. They have to take a lot on themselves, and when neolibs run things, they’re ignored. I know what happened to you, what you felt. Someone tried that when I was a preteen. Frisco is losing the blacks and African Americans. Their kids disappear and when found, if found, have been tortured and killed. As I said before, three preschoolers were found in Penna who had been tortured to death and so mutilated no one could tell if they were boys or girls. When DNA showed them to be Native American, probably (most likely) from C. America, the case was shelved. That’s our future under neolibs. That’s why I talk about the Hunger Games. Give them an inch, they want a mile. Harry Reid was told by his church to cool it on gay rights. The more rights they get, the more they destroy each other. They refuse to police themselves, but are learning, as the African Americans are learning–but look at any conservative who talks against the houseboys. Post SHFT, no amount of money will protect anyone. No precious metals, nada. niio
The new trees mostly still look like dead sticks. Three now have one tiny green leaf. The mulberry and one of the elderberrys have good green growth.
My second pr of glasses is ready. Need to pick them up tomorrow along with a folding metal picknick table cheap from craigslist.
Today we have power!!!!! YEAH!!! my solar array was destroyed by winds last Fall. I asked for it to be reconfigured and add to both solar pannels and battery when it was being repaired. I raised and saved money till I could pay cash and they had to get an engineer to sign off on it. I paid half 2 weeks ago and the rest today when they installed the new set up. Now when we can do something about the front steps I can finally have a refrigerator. 🙂
Nearly 11 months without power was quite trying with my husband not understanding why we had no power and thinking he could just go hook us up. ( He’s a retired electrician.) Really he can’t hook up anything. It just confuses him.
He really enjoyed watching the whole set up being installed today. I now have 1800w of panels and a big, heavy, Iron Edison 100 ah battery. The charge controller/inverter is in a metal cabinet with the battery. There is a 110v plug in on the side in case I need power outside. Ceiling lights and ceiling fan are almost shocking to see turned on. Its been so long without power It seems unreal still yet. Tomorrow I’ll plug in the tv and washing machine and I can retire my buckets. It really seems strange to be turning on lights with the flick of a switch. I guess my next important project will be a low fence for protection and to make the low mounted panels more visable to anyone driving near the set up. It’s all a totally new set up except the charge controller/inverter and battery cabinet are original. The new battery weighs 100 lb. Glad I didn’t have to carry it from the bed of the truck to the battery box by the panels.
Hoorah! We had electric in the kitchen and used oil lamps in the rest of the house. When Dad renovated the kitchen (the house was close to 300 years old then) he ran lines to the living room and bought that old TV. I still hate that thing because we used to play games and listen to the radio. We were a family. TV still bored the heck out of me.
the new peach tree pushes a leaf or two, then the wind kills it. The pear gave up, but I hope it comes back. Still no rain here. No chilis or tomatoes, but I got the jojoba planted, and some more chia. Beans look good! Yori cahue and white tepary in the two planters out front. More ‘purty flowers’ for the neighbors to admire, while I’m picking beans 🙂 Black ants are in the west planter, and no doubt stole some of the beans, but there’s not a lot left since I dosed them with borax and sugar. Did it today with corn flower. Next week, if I have to, more sugar-borax. Most of the foragers from both nests are the big ants, the old ones that usually guard the nest. the younger generation, which does the foraging, seems to have been disappeared. No sign of the red ants, either, and the horned toads are all over, hunting. I hope. It’s cool to start seeds in the house to transplant outside, but get monotonous with a big garden. Maize and beans should be direct sowed, to put down a tap root. More maringia came up, which means I won’t have to take cuttings next year. The brown turkey fig had some leaves turning brown, so no more watering it for a week, and then some sulfur to kill back root rot, if that is the problem. The new everbearing fig keeps pushing a few new leaves and might give a fig (no pun intended 🙂 by fall. niio
I like the picknick table from Craigslist. Also found 7 bundles of shingles for $60. That will go on the church roof here. Winds have torn up the the roof pretty bad.
We stopped at a secondhand store. I found a pile of interesting books. I’m a bookworm! And I found a few nice items. Best is probably a new looking folding table I can use for church dinners or when cooking in my yard. No clothing. I probably have enough for a lifetime.
I enjoy cooking outside or working on the land. I miss being able to build things right now. I’ve been using tools some but it’s still hard since the surgery on my hand, wrist, and arm. Where the bar and screws are is pretty uncomfortable and somewhat weak.
Neighbors teen grand daughter daughter and teen grandsons girlfriend are both learning to cook. I found some really good scratch cooking cookbooks. I’ll pass them on tomorrow. The cookbooks the girls have been finding all are based on mixes.
Boy can that kid make good frybread! Glad she wants to learn to really cook.
I like the new glasses I picked up today. I usually hate getting new glasses. These are really clear and fit confortably. Surprising with bifocals. Reading isn’t sort of fuzzy now and I like that.
I found a pressure tank stored away in the shop building. Neighbor is going to check it out. We need one at the main well we use. It would save a lot of continual pumping if it’s useable. I can hope. :).
I’ll work on the soaker hoses tomorrow. Too much going on so they aren’t cut yet. I have a whole kit to use on the 100 ft hose. I’ll set it up for 4 long rows. The 50 ft piece is already ready to use.
I have 2, 100 w solar panels, 2, 150 w panels, and 1, 280 w panel, a charge controller, 2 , 50 ah 12v batteries, and 2 larger inverters. Collecting stuff for the 2nd well, and power for sheds and shops. I’ll have fun figuring out all the odds and ends and deciding what more is needed. The other project I want to put together is rain gutters on our mobile home and the sheds. Rain water can’t be beat on the garden. I have 4, 55 gallon plastic food grade barrels( Craigslist gold) but its the gutter I still need. We had some rain while I was gone Sunday. Just settled the dust. I’d set 4 storage containers and a plastic wagon along the home drip line. Each one was about 3 inches deep in rain water. I poured it together into one container. I’ve been watering with it using a big plastic cup. Plants have really perked up.
Hope your tree gives a fig by fall. 🙂
The green apples on my old tree are about half dollar size now. I’m thinning them in the morning. They will be good sweet sour pickled with meat on the grill and fried potatoes. That will let the rest get some size. They are set way too thick now.
I’m hoping to see green on the second elderberry plant. I haven’t had elderberrys since I lived on Round Valley Reservation back in the mid 1970s.
I’m anxious to see green on the rest of the trees we set out. Hope your do well.
Red. A question on the moringa trees. Would they do ok kept trimmed to size in a greenhouse? I know we get too cold for growing them outside.
Yes! But, you have mulberries and cottonwood, which are edible. According to herbalists, tho, moringa is a panacea for good health. this is from Kansas https://treesforlife.org/our-work/our-initiatives/moringa/faq/growing-moringa/will-the-moringa-tree-grow-in-my-area They keep theirs inside in winter.
According to this, even my area Zone 9A, can be iffy. I’ll pot one up, just in case, and bring it in. http://gardenoracle.com/images/moringa-oleifera.html
Other sites, in the tropics, say it makes a very nice flowering and edible hedge. It likes it very warm-hot, and on the dry side. niio
I use cottonwood leaf buds in early spring added to sweet almond oil. Sit a few weeks or months. Great on skin, healing, and all that is lost are leaves that don’t get formed….
I suppose cottonwood may have edible parts. Haven’t tried that. Love mulberry and mulberry leaf tea. I have a hugh cotton wood in my backyard. Rio Grande cottonwood are beautiful big longlived trees. Only problem with them is big older branches are brittle and break easily. Branches can be big enough to be trees. Sure could wipe out a vehicle or damage a house.
The leaf buds are used when not more than a bump on a stem.
My tree turns a brilliant golden yellow in fall. Its so big it makes the yard glow.
I have young cottonwood leaves in olive oil sitting out in the sun. I tried some on the injured knee. It helped a bit but I think another week or two will be better. It does help when rubbed into bruises or achy joints. Its almost 4 weeks old. Six weeks is usually better.
Found homes for two more half grown cats yesterday. New kittens are 12 days old, eyes open and starting to explore. I found a new born kitten under the front steps two days ago. No sign of a mama cat around so I put that kitten with the ones inside. The mama cat accepted it so its doing fine. It sure looks tiny compared to the others.
The garden is finally starting to produce. There have been two pickings of yellow squash. I see radishes we can start eating and the first handful of green beans could be picked this week. I may just add them to spot of soup. The herbs are ready to cut and dry while more regrows. I think I’ll start drying mint as well. It’s somewhat cooler now- upper eightys- so the tomatoes are setting better. There should be cucumbers to pick soon. The new strawberry plants died down in the heat but I see new green growth in the heart of nearly everyone. I picked up three more artichoke plants. They will be planted this evening. The other three are looking good. My neighbors pickle artichoke hearts. I like them fresh, just boiled a few minutes and eat the edible parts with mayo. The asparagus will be old enough to harvest next spring.
I’m starting more apple seeds. These will winter in the home. The early ones are already planted out. In nature they grow where they sprout in spring. Plant fall seed and leave them. I like both seed direct and sprouted for next years plating. I’m starting white peaches also. Glad for the wire shelves I picked up recently. Nice in front of the big kitchen windows.
I’m picking up the pieces after a week in the hospital. A neighbor watched the dog, and sprayed down the garden where it needed it. A lot of seedlings dried up, it’s still over 100 each day, but by and large, the garden is doing very well. Be getting eggplant soon, and so on. Dozens of sweet potatoes came up with the monsoons, place they had been planted last year. I’m done transplanting them. Only one bad, no tomato plants survived. I don’t get it. Last year, I started 2 packs and was giving plants away. this year, 3 packs and no plants at all. Well, that’s gardening. At least the ants are gone. 🙂
I have checked out stores in several states. In Montana Wyoming & even Eastern Oregon leather clothes were plentiful. Sheepskin jerkins, leather clutch purses were available & great for holding wood gouges. They also served ad raw materials to make pouches for the old slings. Marbles & steel ball bearings make good ammunition for my children to learn that skill. They could propel 3/4″ through the gap between a helmeted football player I the helmet. Just like David v Goliath. David selected 5 smooth stones.
Salvation Army, Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, all are great for finding prepping supplies. Also good: Military Surplus, Antique Stores (These don’t always have antique prices, if you go to local ones… or smaller towns)
Just be aware that none of these businesses clean anything. Clothes are hung as received. Same with all household appliances and furniture. (There MAY be local laws concerning beds with regard to having to sanitize those…)