Been stuck inside today due to the constant rain for the most part. I did go out and check and my rain gauge has overflowed. I think it goes up to 5 inches for whatever that's worth. On the plus side one of the old Boxelder trees I have in the front yard that had an dead branch in it I wanted to remove but was too high to reach with my polesaw is now on the ground. The odd angle it was at also kept me from cutting that tree down because it was going to take out my little Redbud tree next to it. The storm has effectively taken care of those problems for me with a well directed wind.
Hey there is a bright side to everything :)
On the downside the rain has kept me from finishing up my October honey pull so now I am going to have to do it in two batches which means twice the cleanup... I really dislike the cleanup part.
Clouds, rain and silver linings have pretty much dominated my mood this morning. As I read headlines about more disease being imported into the country, including the inevitable Ebola now making the news, the riots in Hong Kong or the financial woes of smaller Nations all across the globe. I realize one thing.
It means we are winning. Just like I predicted we would years ago.
Oh don't get me wrong Rural America is still besieged, we haven't won yet and I am sure the Big City Femocrat Socialist Multi-Culter Progressives are going to fight for years to come but they are slowly losing their teeth. The tide has turned. I was worried for a while that it was only a temporary thing but after almost six years of watching this decline from the edges I am now convinced the overall trend many predicted is here and here to stay.
The One World supporters are losing this fight. They celebrated such great success in their day but never realized they were setting the stage for their own failure. They managed to connect their lines and spread their controlling tendrils all over the world but in doing so connected the problems that were once isolated as well. Ultimately that was their undoing and all we are seeing is simply the signs of that undoing manifesting itself.
We who have been fighting it can live in fear of the symptoms or realize they are just another part of the fight that must be endured. We must adapt to the new normal to ultimately get the freedom we want.
I can certainly tell you my lifestyle has changed. I now must carefully watch and measure my use of resources. All of them. Running into town is no longer an option so I must coordinate when I do so and mark as many checks of needed items off as possible per trip. I no longer have the option of picking between four different gas stations, some of which were opened 24 hours, but now must coordinate when I fill up with the one that remains so I always know I have enough.
Yet there are silver linings to these changes.
I no longer spend a few hours each week picking up trash along my property line before I can mow. Litter is almost a thing of the past now. We haven't had one instance of mass mailbox destruction along our rural road in well over a year now either. One full Summer where the boxes stayed up, let me tell you that's progress. The nearest little town to us that I have to pass through to get anywhere hasn't been able to continuously mount their speed trap set up for over a year as well. The town after that which is a bit larger has cut their bloated police force a bit, stopped their constant speed traps and is now complaining about wanting to get of their surplus Humvee.
I haven't seen a county inspector SUV, Conservation Department truck or Deputy Sheriff patrol car out this way in well over a year and haven't missed em one bit. I think I mentioned before that my neighbor down the road moved about 50 head of cattle down the paved road with his four wheeler. I assure you five years ago he wouldn't have dared because he would have been fined for it.
The fight isn't over by a long shot but the cracks keep appearing and as horrible as some of them are always keep in mind it's just more signs of the decline and we are going to have to get through them to win. These things weaken our enemies more than us.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!
Its at the point where the Liberal idiots have scared so many folks back into the mega cities, that they have been able to jack up rents and mortgages alike. They figure those of us who remain out in the sticks will be forced back due to the EPA scare tactics over water and land grabs. They fail to realize that the true American Patriots are out in the woods waiting prepared to fight.
ReplyDeleteRob - Yes I believe that was the plan for many of them but a plan that could only be possible with debt and oil. As one declines the other dried up and they just don't have it in the amounts they need any longer so their grasp begins to fail at the edges.... to begin with.
DeleteI am waiting on walmart to start closing some stores, that will be a major sign.
ReplyDeleteSf - I am surprised they haven't already. Them and Mc D's have been losing revenue. You're right though that will be a sign to look for.
DeleteHonestly, I have mixed emotions about the whole collapse. On one hand, it will be some terrible suffering by millions of people. On the other, it needs to be done. I guess sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
ReplyDeleteK - I am at the age now, or getting there, that I doubt I will survive it but to me prepping isn't about me any more. I just want to see my Boy and by extension all those boys like me to have a fair shot. Something I never had. It might mean there will be less of everything overall but a reset is needed. To go along with things as I see it now is selling out those it is my traditional right and responsibility to look out for. I don't want to control anyone but I want them to have a level playing field if I could cheer for that in anyway but a reset I would be all over it.
DeleteI had originally wrote "reset" too, but changed it because I want it to be something different. A hard reboot (for the techy minded) to a Constitutional government.
DeleteK - I can agree with that. Many people seem to think when a republic collapses it becomes a dictatorship but we have never seen a Constitutional Republic collapse before and I think that changes the population dynamics enough that even after it fails financially the people will never accept a dictatorship.
DeleteI hope I am right :)
Easier Cleanup:
ReplyDeleteBe sure to do a good job decapping the frames and cleaning them quickly with your hot knife before extracting. That eliminates most of the large chunks of wax.
Use an old credit card, hotel key card or similar small piece of hard plastic and a bit of cool water when cleaning the extractor reel and barrel. The cool water helps the wax break off the metal easily and the card is easy to wipe clean. After the wax is off, a bit of soap and hot water takes all the honey out and the extractor is clean.
I do the same for the decapping tank. The exception is that I will put the decapping tank grate and the filters on the lawn and pour hot water over them to melt the wax off in a hurry before washing them.
If you have a boiler and tank to take care of your cows, you could run a hose to a clean area and just hose everything out with the boiling hot water and a touch of soap. Most of us don't have a boiler though.
Also, I use disposable gloves to keep my hands clean during the entire extracting process from start to in the holding bucket before bottling. They are inexpensive and easy to change out.
Dave
Dan - I usually run the tank and extractor down to the local car wash and put it on rinse until the really hot water kicks in. So far seems to melt all the waxy bits off just fine. I also use a small windshield scraper on the few hard bits that won't come off. I just hate the cleanup to be honest. Looks like the warmer weather is suppose to come back next week so I can finish harvesting then I guess.
DeleteOh ya and I use disposable gloves like crazy. Especially when I am squeezing out the cappings. Not always for the cutting. Been using a heated knife too which I am really liking.