Country Living With Emma

Ella and her husband take up ranch life.

With all the chaos going on around us, what can we do right now?

Automating garden tasks is a game-changer. Last week, I highlighted irrigation timers. This week, I want to discuss a great hose option to go with the timer.

Sprinkler Hose

All the disruptions in the world are having an adverse affect of the supply chain. No matter the cause, ordinary people end up bearing the consequences. This is a good time for us to be thinking about putting a few things back while we can still get them.

Provident Prepper

We Baby Boomers remember the original energy crisis when gas was rationed based on your license plate.

Ella and her neighbors at the camp have an encounter with Comanches.

The blog, Prep School Daily, is a great resource for preparedness. Here are some articles detailing the benefits of gardening.

Cognitive Benefits
Psychological Benefits
Physiology Benefits

Automating garden tasks like watering is a huge help. Here is a link to an irrigation timer that can really help.

Irrigation Timer

People and merch watching at Walmart can be very educational. You can learn a lot about the society in an area by what goes on at Walmart.

Ella, like Louvenia, married a Texas Ranger and lived in the Ranger camps. However, she and her husband went on to other adventures, including buffalo hunting!

Tuesday morning our low was 25° F! That's chilly for us in Winter, much less Spring! The ability to cover and protect new plants in the garden is important. Here's a link to the garden clips I use:

Garden Clips

This is the time to learn gardening. It can be as cheap or as expensive as you choose. There is loads of free information on gardening online and available from your county extension office. Take advantage of it! Plus, a Scottish study found that gardening decreases our risk of developing dementia by 35%!

Get outside and grow something!

We finish up Lou's adventures with the Texas Rangers.

Today is the 52nd anniversary of a day that fundamentally changed my life. I was 17 years old. "New normal" wasn't a thing then, but that's exactly what happened.

We will finish up talking about various textile skills that were handy during wartime. 

Tool of the Week:

Needle Puller
Aunt Becky

How did our ancestors produce textile during times when supply chains were interrupted by war?

Developing a can-do attitude and mindset is free, but is invaluable in challenging circumstances.

Prepper Princess YouTube Channel

The Rangers go to Laredo and Louvenia goes to San Antonio. 

The soldiers at Fort McKavett were paid less than $15 per month which would be less than $500 in today's dollar. The Rangers were making about $1300.

Prep School Daily

This episode is all over the place, but mostly it's about how we are more likely to experience a personal SHTF than a societal one.

2 days without water due to the pressure switch on the well going out. The tool of the week, the battery-powered siphon pump, was a big help for transferring water from one container to another.

We're starting Frugal Fridays with knitting and crocheting. There are many sources for yarn, and even needles and hooks. Look for supplies in garage sales, estate sales, and even thrift stores. However, check the prices against the prices at Walmart and Hobby Lobby. Some people think very highly of their used stuff!

Here is a link to the dishcloth I like to knit. The cost of terrycloth dishcloths at Walmart is about $1.50 each. Unless you find a great deal on yarn, the knitted variety will cost at least that much, but the quality is not even in question.

I'm this episode, Louvenia takes her chances with the Indians and moves to Ranger camp at Menard.

Homesteading is hard work. What happens when we get old and can't do what we used to do?

One tool I use a lot is a vacuum sealer for food going in the freezer. It greatly increases the shelf life. Here's the one I currently use:

Nesco Vacuum Sealer

I attended a funeral for a friend's mom this weekend. She was a strong Texas woman, respected and admired by all who knew her. What will people remember about us when we're gone?

There is so much more knowledge now than there was in the 19th century. We can leverage modern skills to make life in a grid-down situation easier.

Louvenia shares her experiences as the wife of a Texas Ranger on the frontier in the 1870s.

Some skills have gone by the wayside, but would be helpful in a long-term grid-down world. Here is a link to a blog with what looks like pretty good instructions on specific hand sewing skills:

Essential Stitches

Gardening is made easier with specific tools. The warren hoe is a good example.

Some skills are valuable no matter the conditions we live in. Problem-solving, navigation, and negotiation will serve you well in all situations.

We finish up Fannie's story with Indian raids and religion.

When we discuss "having skills", what exactly does that mean? Are we just talking about old traditional skills, or does that include modern day skills?

A gardening journal can be a really valuable tool. Use it to track how your garden is performing over the years, and you can learn a lot about what works and what doesn't.

Gardening Log Book and Planner

Onions are planted and settling into the raised beds. What is you have never gardened before, or you live in a new place where you have never gardened? This episode discusses where you should start.

It's time to get our hands on the dirt!

Fannie recounts a couple of Indian attacks that affected her family directly.

I cover a multitude of topics in this episode, including the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, Quilts of Valor, and why living a life of preparedness and self-reliance involves making choices in how we spend our time and our financial resources.

If you are interested in participating in the Quilts of Valor program, here is a link to their website.

Quilts of Valor

Some things don't need much power, but keeping them running or charged up is important. A small power station is relatively inexpensive and can be very handy in a pinch. It won't keep you warm, but it could keep you connected to the outside world.

Jackery Power Station

Over 130 people, so far, have died as a result of Winter Storm Fern. Can we do anything to mitigate that going forward?

This episode references a recent Cajun Navy Facebook post about the current winter storm and the vulnerability of senior adults during disasters.