Sunday, May 3, 2015

Sunday Reading - Never Thought I Would be Saying This

Here it is only May 3rd and I am almost finished with all my planting for the year. I still have my paltry 10 Tomato plants to put in the ground, a raised bed of Sweet Potatoes and the Buckwheat to broadcast in the almost empty garden.

I never remember having such a small garden before. I didn't even plant any Lemon Cucumbers or Tobacco this year either. No Bush beans, no Green beans, no Corn. I only used about 10% of my approximately half acre garden area and I turned all the raised beds but two over to the wife. The last part is like old Mother Russia allowing the peasants to increase their personal planting plots. Once it's done getting those beds back maybe next to impossible without some form of martial law and violence.

My three point carryall got a little workout yesterday. Finally being used for what it was specifically designed and built for....



carrying bee keeping stuff. I added an extra honey super to the top of three of the hayfield hives yesterday. The first surplus supers were already filling up with honey although there is some brood in the top supers yet. Another week or three and the queens should be moved back down and the brood replaced with capped honey. I am guesstimating I should get a fairly decent late Spring pull about the first week of June this year if the rains start back up. If it stays dry that might be delayed though.

This dry week has been a Godsend for getting caught up however. All my spring inspections and bee hive adjustments are caught up. I am now looking at putting up at least two more hive stands and moving three of the five Garden hives away from the house and tomorrow I should have almost the entire afternoon to devote to stage two of the fencing project.

I actually started the initial tear down of the old electric fence this evening.

Things are moving right along. Why at this rate I might even get more than six hours of sleep some night soon.

Besides the dry streak we been getting though another reason I have been able to get on top of things is work has dropped off to absolutely nothing. I mean scary nothing that is going to require a bit of belt tightening now. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the latest round of doom and gloom figures of reduced consumer spending and falling credit and GDP numbers is not an exaggeration. It has really torn my cash flow a new one over the last two months.

Last year at this time I was averaging three trips a week and this year I made three trips the entire month of April. Auto sales have dropped to nothing in the heartland let me tell you.

Another sign came directly from one of my honey customers. They happen to own a large tract of land up in South Dakota that has a number of wells pumping on it. They were in a small state of panic because their usual payday in the form of a check from whatever oil company is pumping off their place has stopped for the second month in a row.

Something is brewing out there my friends. Might be a good idea to up your preps and get those last few items or projects you been wanting to finish up or acquire done. We maybe seeing the first glimpse of a financial and economic reset coming soon.

Traffic is dead and stores are empty. Reports are showing some 6000 stores are set to close this year or next. The consumer is being tapped out just like many have been predicting for 2015. Best to stay on top of it.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!!





14 comments:

  1. Our local feminist morning news just told me how the economy is wonderful, restaurant sales have bounced back due to lowering prices and people are saving more money now than ever. Great Great Great and to top it all off we don't have any negative stories on how the government is doing bad stuff like back when Bush was president. Then I read your blog and had to hear the truth which means I have to go work in the garden and keep prepping. Damn the world was all roses and lolly pops for a couple of minutes, if only I was one of the low information crowd and ignore bad things.
    It may dry enough today to mow the weeds in the garden again, that is how far behind I am but I do have everything ready to plant. Our work hours got cut by 7 hours next week so the good thing is that I will have more time to put into garden and wood cutting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sf - Wood cutting. OMG I am slapping my forehead I have got to get out there and cut more wood and get more posts too.... OMG I am going to collapse into a fit.

      Delete
  2. NPR is spouting glowing economic reports as well, always referring to "The Recession" in past tense. It all depends on how one juggles the numbers!

    Dan says a lot of the retail distribution centers he delivers to are really tightening security. They're putting up Fort Knox type barriers, even taking personal information from delivery drivers before letting them in. They're certainly preparing for something.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dan, via you, has just provided one of the better pieces of info I've seen in a while. It corroborates a piece I saw last week on one of the more "fear mongering" web sites.

      Delete
    2. Here's the article. I'm not saying that Dan's info verifies all the claims made in this story, but it does lend credence to the fact that stores are fortifying their stores in various ways.

      http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2015/04/30/closed-walmarts-to-be-guerilla-warfare-staging-areas-in-response-to-invasion/

      Delete
    3. Leigh - Ya right now NPR is just the government mouthpiece, they will be until a Republican get's into the Presidency which may never happen again anyway.

      I noticed traveling today that almost all the traffic were medium sized work trucks and a lot of government trucks. Repairs seem to be the new craze I guess.

      Delete
  3. As long as the Fed can keep pumping "play money" into the economy and the MSM will keep pimping out good news everybody will remain calm. I KNOW a stock market crash is coming, it is just a matter of when. When that happens, even the low information voter won't be able to ignore the truth. We are rapidly circling the bowl right now and soon you will hear the big WHOOSH. This economy is a long stack of dominos and once it starts to tip, there will be no stopping it until we hit bottom.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SD - Eventually the world will lose faith in the Fed and the US debt. The Femocrats are collecting more and more taxes each year and the toll is showing as well.

      When it does hit it's going to be ugly I think.

      Delete
  4. I have started making a listing of things I want/need, both to give myself goals to shoot for as well as to measure how much list price is versus how much I actually pay. I am in a tech heavy environment - when the tech market goes like in 1999-2000, there will be a lot of sudden angst here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TB - YA. When the market does crash it is going to be felt everywhere. Especially retirement funds I think.

      Delete
  5. PP,

    Stores are not carrying the extra stock loads as in the past. Shelves when emptied are not stocked as fast. I've noticed aisles aren't jammed together to allow for special display items in grocery stores. Changes are present, and more changes are predicted. I know prepping provides comfort and security for most.

    Even though you've only used 10 percent of your garden, you have some seeds/plants planted, and stored food for your family. They're times when other things like fence,bee's and animals become the priority. If you didn't have seeds/seedlings planted and food stored, I would worry. Both you and I know without preparations families won't withstand a collapse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sandy - The Bean experiment is what really kicked me into gear. I couldn't let that go and since I needed the space for at least two trellis for that I thought why not put in a few things. I most chose the stuff I know the bees like but I can't live without fresh Maters either :)

      Delete
  6. I have entered the prepping game late unfortunately, but I know it is coming to a collapse soon. I am trying to prep, I hope it waits a little...like Sandy said stores have been so cutting back. And you notice gas is on the rise again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LW - Ya stores have been cutting back although some are giving out some good deals now and then too.

      Good for you on prepping!!!! I think you still have some time too, it's a slow grind so it allows preppers to catch up.

      Delete

Leave a comment. We like comments. Sometimes we have even been known to feed Trolls.