Opportunity Knocks

Have you ever been presented with an opportunity that you knew was a good idea? Even though you knew it was a good idea, did you still experience fear? Fear is a powerful and persistent thing for many people. For some fear can be paralyzing. For the most part I consider fear to be an enemy of progress and growth.

Are there times that fear is necessary?  Fear throws all of your senses into overdrive. If you see a car heading straight for you, fear can quicken your reaction time. In acute unexpected situations fear can be beneficial, but in my opinion that is about it. We are going to talk about a couple of opportunities that my family have and cover one of the ways I help make a decision when it seems tough.

I am not saying you should take every opportunity, even if it is a good one, it might not be good for you. I am saying that you should never make a decision based on fear unless an immediate action is required i.e. getting out of the way of a speeding car.

Opportunities do not have to be business or money related. I have had the opportunity to get 2 bushels of apples for free. Big opportunity.

Opportunities are all around us. Some are in your face and some you have to search for.

My family has two opportunities that have recently started to materialize. First, my wife has registered to become a CPR instructor. Second, my dad has been presented with the opportunity to grow pork for a regional restaurant chain.

Both of these opportunities have initial up front costs. Both have the ability to choose their own paycheck. Both have major responsibility and benefits.

CPR Instructor

My wife has talked about becoming a CPR Instructor since she was in the respiratory program in college. There is a little fear involved. In order to become an instructor you have to take an online course and find somewhere that has an instructor course. You cannot take the instructor course until after you have completed the online portion.

Once you have completed both the online training and the instructor class an instructor must watch you teach a course. This is the part that my wife is most concerned about. Sometimes she gets stage fright. I know she will do well. 

We will be buying a set of CPR mannequins and printing my wife some business cards. Once everything is complete my wife can start scheduling classes. She will be reaching out to people who have not been properly served.

I am so excited for her. I know she will be 

great. Look for more details coming soon.

The Pork Business

My dad has been working toward self reliance for a couple of years. He has been doing the truck farm thing and has done well, but it is a lot of work and not a big return. He never complained, but with the changing regulations he has found it more difficult.

How he landed the opportunity to produce pork for a growing restaurant chain, I don't know. What I do know is he is only going to use a portion of his land and the restaurant wants 10 hogs a month.

This will provide my dad with a much needed income stream while still allowing him flexibility to work toward a more self sustainable life. It is a big deal.

Evaluating an Opportunity

How have you evaluated an opportunity? Do you write out checklists, pros and cons, or just go with your gut feelings? Unless you just go with your gut feeling, in some way you think about the advantages and disadvantages of an opportunity. Some advantages as well as some disadvantages are more important than others. You cannot just make a list of pros and cons, count the number of items in each list and come up with an answer. A simple list doesn't take into consideration the gravity of each individual pro and con.

If you are looking into buying a new piece of property, there may be one or two things that if a property does not have them, even if the property is perfect in every other way you will pass on the purchase. Things that are that important are called deal breakers. They "weigh" more to you than all of the other things combined. This concept is called a weighted average.

Here is an example. We are going to look at the possibility of me starting wilderness survival classes. Something I have seriously thought about doing for some time. For this example I am going to rate each pro on a 10 point scale. 10 being critically important and 1 being a consideration, but not very important. Ready?

Pros: 

• Being my own boss again (8)
• Being able to work outside (7)
• Teaching something I love (10)
• The ability to set my own schedule (9)
• My children could participate if they chose (6)
• I could decide how much I wanted to earn and work toward that goal (4)
• Build local respect (4)
• Networking with people interested in the same type things as I (5)
• I will need an apprentice (5)

I could go on, but you get the point.

Cons:

• Liability insurance (9)
• Having to deal with difficult students (8)
• Working with a state run park (6)
• Communication challenges due to weather (4)
• Cost of equipment (6)
• Cost of operation (6)
• Dealing with state and local regulations (8)
• Being away from my family if they choose not to participate (7)
• I will need an apprentice (4)
• Dealing with attorneys for solid waiver. (7)
• Dealing with allergies of others (3)

Okay just looking at these two lists, to me it looks like it is almost dead even. But is it really? I have not done the math a head of time so we will find out together. There are 9 pros and 11 cons. If we simply count the pros versus cons, I will not look into teaching any farther. But is that wise?

Now to the math. If I add the ratings of the pros together the sum is 58 and the sum of the ratings of the cons is 68. Only 10 apart. If I stop there it looks like the math tells me not to teach these classes. However, if we take into consideration their weight it looks a little different. 58 divided by 9 gives us 6.44 and 69 divided by 11 gives us 6.18. Wow, that is pretty close, but by the math I should consider offering these classes. The difference of 0.33 or one third of a basis point is statistically significant. 

The numbers above may change as I do more research, but the fact that the pros have the upper hand in intensity has encouraged me to do just that. If the cons would have had the majority after the math that idea would have had to set for a while. 

Do I do this for every decision? Heck no! Somethings I just look and decide, others I consider more intently. I want you to have additional tools to help you decide when opportunities come your way. There are lots of different ways to weigh a decision.

Opportunities are all around you. Get out there and find one or more that will help you achieve your...

Rural Dreams and Homestead Wishes.

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Getting Prepared for Beginners #15 Skill Development (Home)

Special thanks to Brenda Barnes, Kathi Rodgers, and
Quinton Wojciechowski for providing photos for this post.

You may be thinking "Why is skill development important for a short term emergency?"  I actually hope you are not thinking that. If you are, just remember you will be asking help from people who are in the middle of the same emergency. I have been a member of a volunteer fire department. When the call comes out you really want to answer. But if something is going on at your house that needs your attention, you are not going to go. This is not being a poor first responder, this is being a responsible father or husband or mother or wife. You cannot expect someone to come to your aid if doing so will endanger themselves, their families, or their property.

Skill development is something you want to do in advance. You do not want to have to learn to run a chainsaw when the tree is already on your house. I know this seems like an extreme example, but it's not and you get the point.

So what skills should you learn? Oh I am so glad you asked.

First Aid and CPR

There is a valid argument to be made for every parent to know CPR. I am not going to cover this in depth. My wife is much more qualified than I and will be writing a full post in the near future. I am just going to share a story.

My grandfather was the fire chief at the local volunteer fire department. As a result every member of my family had a role in the department. My aunt and uncle were rapid responders. A rapid responder is kinda like a medic or advanced first aid person.

I don't remember how old I was but I do remember it was Father's Day. A call went out about a heart attack. We were all at my grandparents' and the address was only a couple miles away. We took off. When we arrived at the home a man was laying in the front yard. My aunt and uncle started CPR.  His adult children were standing around as my family tried to save their dad's life. He didn't make it. At the time I thought it awesome that these people needed my family to try to save theirs. Now I realize that if they had started CPR sooner they might have been able to save his life. Yes CPR IS VERY important.

If you would like to find out where you can become CPR certified you can search for classes HERE.

Building 

These skills are not as glamorous as first aid skills but are just as important and to be honest more likely to be needed.

Skills that at least one if not two people in your family should have include:

• Being able to shut off the utilities
• Being able to tarp a roof to prevent leaking and further damage to your home.
• Being able to board up windows.

We will cover each of these topics.

Electricity. You should at least know how to shut off the power. Depending on your service box you could have two different ways to shut off your power. The most common way to shut off the power is at the breaker box.

Inside the box you will see a large breaker. It will be by itself. Just switch it to off. That is it. Now doing this shuts off the power to the entire house. You can also shut off the power to certain sections of your house. Hopefully your breaker box is labeled. If it is you can just choose which circuits to shut off. If it is not labeled, no problem you can label it yourself.

If you have an older home you may have a fuse box instead of a breaker box. That is not really a problem. The concept is still the same. There will be a large double fuse by itself, either above or below it will be rows of small round fuses. The large fuse will have a handle on it. You will need to pull this fuse out in order to shut off the power to your entire home. To shut off power to individual circuits you will need to unscrew one of the smaller (normally glass) fuses. Just like in a breaker box each circuit should be labeled.

Reasons you might need to turn off the power include: Doing any work that involves an electric circuit. Damage to your home that might cause a short (one room damaged). Flooding of your home or a really bad leak (roof damage).

Water. Shutting off the water is pretty simple. You will have a water meter between your home and the main line. This will not apply if you are on well water or live in an apartment. If you are on well water I hope you are familiar with your system. If you are in an apartment there should be a maintenance person who is charged with this duty.

Your meter will be in a concrete or rubber box. Inside that box you will see the meter. The shutoff will be on the street side of that meter. It normally only takes a quarter turn clockwise to shut off the water. This cuts the water to the entire house. It is a good idea to have shutoff valves in every bathroom and each sink.

Here is the meter tool I mentioned in the video.

Natural Gas or Propane. If your home uses natural gas or propane every member of your family that is old enough to do so, should know how to shut off the gas. If your home is damaged this knowledge could keep a bad situation from turning into a true catastrophe. If something has happened which has caused a gas leak, the slightest spark could be devastating.

Shutting off the gas to your home is just as simple as shutting off the other utilities. Just a turn of a knob. If you do not think about it ahead of time you probably won't think about it when you need to. Being able to shut off gas lines is very important.

Most gas companies and even modern gas appliances have safety features that make gas leaks less likely, but this knowledge could be the difference between a bad situation and a total loss.

Boarding up Windows

By now you know me. I am not talking about protecting your home from zombies. I believe it is much more likely for a tree to knock a window out of your house. Once you remove the tree you will need to do something about that window. If you are rural and it is not during the blazing hot summer or hard cold winter you may be able to get away with just using plastic to prevent critters and weather from getting in your home. If you live in an area where looting is a possibility you will need to do something more substantial. Enter boarding up your windows.

There are several ways to board your windows.

The most common way is take boards or plywood and nail it up. Easy right? Also fairly easy to tear down if you have a pry bar.

There is another more secure way to board up a window, but it takes advanced planning and at least two people. Here are the steps and supplies needed. 

1. Cut treated plywood to at least 4 inches larger than window opening.
2. Cut a 2X4 at least 6 inches longer than the window is wide on the inside of the house.
3. Open window wide open and figure out where to drill a hole as close to the center of the plywood as possible. Hole will need to be about 3/8 of an inch.
4. Also drill a 3/8 hole in the center of the 2X4
5. You will need a 12 inch piece of all thread 2 nuts and 2 fender washers for each window.
6. One person holds the plywood in place and feeds the all thread through the hole with a fender washer and nut already started.
7. The person on the inside makes sure the all thread goes through the hole on the 2X4 places the washer on the all thread and then tightens the nut. 

I pulled this picture from Amazon, but you should be able to find this locally.

This will hold the plywood in place and will protect against most of the elements, but it is still not "zombie proof". It could be made so, but that would require tack welding, a cotter key and a drill press. If someone really wanted to get in all they would need would be a wrench, but if you had a tree come through a window, this would be the best way to keep the elements out of your home.

Tarping a Roof

Like so many things there is a couple of right ways and a ton of wrong ways to tarp a roof. The reason you would need to tarp a roof could be as simple as a few shingles have blown off and you are trying to prevent leaking that might occur or a whole section of shingles are missing and leaking will occur. Of course there is always the scenario where not only are shingles missing, but some of the decking of your roof is also gone. In the last two situations tarping your roof is a necessity. 

I know you could always call a carpenter or repair person, but remember when you need them in situations like this several others are calling them as well. You could be way down on the list. The longer you wait to put into place preventative measures the greater the likely damage to your home.

If done incorrectly tarping your roof can actually increase the damage caused. When you put a tarp on your roof you are trying to keep moisture from getting to your decking. If the tarp allows moisture to get to the decking it also interferes with your decking's ability to dry out. 

If at all possible the tarp should go across the ridge line of your roof. This helps prevent water from just running under the tarp. If you cannot have the tarp cross the ridge line of your roof you should use either a 1x2 or furring strip the hold the tarp as tight as possible then caulk the upper edge and the edge that is the direction where most of your weather comes from. Around here our strongest storms tend to come from the southwest. Ensure the tarp is as tight as possible and use either 1x2 or furring strips around the whole perimeter. The pictures below are of a tarp job done well.

Special thanks to Brenda Barnes for these photos.

Storm damage can happen to anyone at any time. Knowing these basic skills will help you protect your family and property.

I wish you all Rural Dreams and Homestead Wishes

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More Posts in this series:

#1 Why Prepare

#2 The Preparedness Mindset

#3 Priorities List

#4 Getting to My Family

#5 The Backpack

#6 Food Storage

#7 Basic Energy

#8 Water
#9 Security
#10 Medical
#11 Travel and Communications
#12 Fuel Storage
#13 Keep It Quiet aka OPSEC
#14 Building Community and Helping Others
#15 Skill Development (Home)
#16 Don't Fear the Reaper

#17 A Case for Long-Term Preparedness

Affiliate Link Disclosure: The post contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation for links, endorsements, testimonials, or recommendations for any products mentioned on this blog. Any time you use one of our links for Amazon, if you purchase something The Rural Economist receives a small commission and it doesn't cost you any more. Even if you do not purchase the items I list. In this way you will help support us trying to teach people about self reliance and homesteading. Thanks for your consideration.

Wild Edibles #1 Wood Sorrel

Disclaimer: Some wild plants are not only edible but delicious. Other wild plants will kill you if you eat them. Be absolutely certain what a plant is before you eat it.

There is a short video at the bottom to help you identify wood sorrel.

Wood Sorrel also known as sourgrass has been eaten by Native Americans for hundreds if not thousands of years. Wood sorrel can be used for culinary as well as medicinal applications

Identification

Wood sorrel is characterized by heart shaped leaves, banana shaped seed pods. This plant has small yellow or white flowers. I have read they can also be pink. Wood sorrel grows to a maximum height of 15 inches. I have never seen it over 8 inches tall. 

One great thing about wood sorrel is there are no toxic look alikes. The plant most commonly mistakes for wood sorrel is clover and guess what not only is it nontoxic, it is edible also. Look for a post on it in the near future. Below are some photos to help you identify wood sorrel.

Heart shaped leaves, small yellow flower

Woody stem

Banana shaped seed pod

Culinary

Wood sorrel is high in vitamin C and has a slight to medium sore flavor. The flavor is very citrus like and close to that of a lemon. Has been used to help quench thirst and can be used to make tea.

This plant can be eaten fresh either alone or in a salad and goes great with fish especially if cooking on a campfire. There is very little information about using wood sorrel in cooking.

Medicinal

Wood sorrel has been used to treat mouth sores, upset stomach, fever, scurvy, to slow and/or stop bleeding and has even been used as an aphrodisiac. Some of these thoughts have been tested by modern medicine with mixed results. Either way this is a great plant to know.

Caution

This plant contains oxalic acid. Oxalic acid in large amounts is slightly toxic and can interfere with the bodies ability to absorb certain minerals, primarily calcium. Some people could be allergic to wood sorrel. Anyone who suffers from kidney problems, rheumatic disorders, or gout should not eat wood sorrel.

I hope you find this series interesting and informative. May you always be working toward your own

Rural Dreams and Homestead Wishes

You can subscribe to The Rural Economist by email by simply filling out the form at the top right of the page. Your information will never be sold or given to anyone else. You can like The Rural Economist on Facebook follow on The Rural Economist on Gplus. Or you can even follow The Rural Economist on Pintrest. You can also subscribe to The Rural Economist Youtube Channel.

Getting Prepared for Beginners #5 The Backpack

Some people call it a Bug Out Bag (BOB), some call it a Get Home Bag. I just call it my backpack. Everyone has a different idea of what should be in this pack. I am going to cover what I have in my pack and a few pre made packs. I will discuss the benefits if both and why I think mine is best for me.

First, I must tell you what my backpack is not. It is not a 72 hour kit. As I said in the last post if I had to walk completely from work it would take me 10 hours. So my backpack is basically a 36 hour kit at most. With enough tools that can be used to last longer if needed.

What I Have in My Backpack

I keep a change of clothes, Two 20 oz bottles of water, snacks, a headlamp, matches, a lighter, a few tools, and some basic first aide supplies. I will go over everything I have in my backpack and everything I want to add. I will provide links for everything I can.

A change of clothes.

In the summer I keep 2 pairs of socks, a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, and a t-shirt. In the winter I keep jeans, insulated socks, thermal shirt, flannel shirt and thermal pants. There is a short transitional period where I am changing over from season to season. You will have to determine what mix of clothing is best for your pack. Cost to you other than the backpack: $0.00.

Reason for the change of clothes is simple. Sometimes you just need them. These are not just for emergencies. I have had my pants rip before. Instead of having to go home from work or go buy something at the store, all I have to do is grab my backpack.

Snacks

The snacks that I have in my pack are always changing. Why? Because I eat them. I am not opposed to someone buying a MRE or two just to keep in their pack. I am also not saying that I might not do the same at some point, but right now it is not a priority.

Normal snacks that show up in my pack include, spam and crackers, granola bars, crackers and peanut butter, fruit cocktail, and snack cakes. Again my snacks are always changing because I eat them. This helps make sure everything is fresh. Consider it rotating stock.

FYI most good quality multitools have a can opener on them so don't shy away from canned goods for your pack.

Tools

There are a few tools that I consistently keep with or in my pack. I will go over each and why it is included.

Multitool

I use a multitool everyday. I am not kidding- everyday. I have used my tool when working with my beehives. I use my tool on the job almost daily. I used it today in fact. I have used it around the house to do minor repairs. If I am out and about, I have a multitool with me. Some of the more expensive tools are really nice, but if you are wanting to balance price with quality, the one above is very affordable and really good quality. If you are just going to keep it in your pack it is a great deal.

A folding pruning saw

If I need to start a fire or if a small tree falls across the road on my way home, I am ready. I have tried a couple of the pocket chainsaws and I just did not like the two that I tried. I am sure that there are some out there that are really good. I just haven't run across those yet.

Magnesium Fire Starter

Now I will be honest, I carry matches, a lighter, and a magnesium fire starter. The fire startertakes a little practice, but with that practice it is a consistent fire starter even when matches fail. The reason is you make a small pile of magnesium shavings, which when ignited burn very hot. I just like having it with me. 

Fixed Blade Knife

This is the one place where I would encourage you to spend a little extra money. A fixed blade knife is not the place where you want to go cheap. Believe me, I have tried the cheap knives and there is a reason they are so cheap. However, I still do not suggest people spend a ton of money. Again balance is the key here. Get as high a quality as you can for the price. 

There are thousands of uses for a fixed blade knife and in my opinion they are one of the most important tools you can own.

Compact Fishing Kit

These are fairly easy to build on your own. An Altoids can works great for this purpose. I may cover making one in the near future. If you would like me to cover this let me know.

Rope

At least 25 foot. I would not go over 100 foot and I would not go a very large diameter. Hundreds of uses including but not limited to building a shelter, securing food supplies where critters cannot get to them, and just tying things up.

Head Lamp

Boosting off a car, changing a flat, or really anything else at night. Use mine on a weekly basis.

Emergency Blanket

Again, bunches of uses. Keeping you warm. Emergency shelter. Catching water. Using it as a carry bag. The picture above is a link to The Ready Store where you can buy 1 for $1.49, but you can pick up a  Emergency Mylar Blankets - 84" x 52" (4 Pack) for $5.19.

Basic First Aide

Once again I built my own first aid kit. My kit contains allergy pills, aspirin, ibuprofen, alcohol prep pads, hydrocortisone cream, basic bandages and vet wrap. I am going to cover the uses for vet wrap because I think the others are fairly self- explanatory. Vet wrap can be used as gauze bandage or even as just a wrap. About 6 months ago someone sprained their wrist at work. It wasn't bad, but their wrist needed a little extra support. I went to my backpack and pulled out the vet wrap. It is self-adhesive so it works easily as an ace bandage. You can look at several premade first aid kits HERE.

Water

Like I said I keep two 20 oz bottles of water with my pack. DIY of course. I use two soda bottles that I rinsed out well and filled with water. The reason I do not use the stainless steel bottles is they tend to get canteen funk. If you have ever been in the service or if you hike a lot you know what I mean. It is a bad taste. Using the plastic bottles, drinking the contents and refilling it never develops that bad flavor.

A word of caution for the ladies. There have been studies that link drinking water from plastic containers that have gotten hot with some types of cancer.

I have covered most of the basics. If you will do this you will have a better chance of getting home if you have to "hoof it". You can customize your pack to yourself. If you live 60 miles from where you work you will want a full 72 hour kit. If you only live 10 miles from where you work you may not need as much in your pack as I have in mine.

As promised here is a link to several backpacks that you can build on yourself and here is a link to several premade survival kits.

I hope you never have to use any of the things we cover here, but I would rather you have them and not need them than need them and not have them. I wish you all 

Rural Dreams and Homestead Wishes

You can subscribe to The Rural Economist by email by simply filling out the form at the top right of the page. Your information will never be sold or given to anyone else. You can like The Rural Economist on Facebook follow on The Rural Economist on Gplus. Or you can even follow The Rural Economist on Pintrest. If you do the Facebook thing I have a poll going on right now and I would really love to have your input.

Other posts in this series:
More Posts in this series:

#1 Why Prepare

#2 The Preparedness Mindset

#3 Priorities List

#4 Getting to My Family

#5 The Backpack

#6 Food Storage

#7 Basic Energy

#8 Water
#9 Security
#10 Medical
#11 Travel and Communications
#12 Fuel Storage
#13 Keep It Quiet aka OPSEC
#14 Building Community and Helping Others
#15 Skill Development (Home)
#16 Don't Fear the Reaper

#17 A Case for Long-Term Preparedness

Affiliate Link Disclosure: The post contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation for links, endorsements, testimonials, or recommendations for any products mentioned on this blog.

Getting Prepared for Beginners Series #3 Priorities

Thus far we have discussed the most common reasons to get prepared and the frame of mind that is needed to start preparing. This week we will begin forming your priorities list either in your mind or on paper. 

There are at least two lists that I want you to think about. List one is which emergencies you are statistically more likely to face. Here in Alabama the most common emergencies are tornadoes, snow/ice storms, power outages, drought, and even hurricanes. These are just the things that are naturally occurring. Personal emergencies can include job loss, sickness, injury, or death in the family.

A priorities list whether mental or written will help give you devise an action plan. The plan will be to take simple steps to getting yourself and your family more prepared. You have already taken two important steps if you have been following along. You realize that there are reasons you should be getting more prepared and you have at least started working on a survival mindset.

Now I hope you have started thinking about the most likely emergencies that you could face. When I first started writing this post, we were under a tornado watch. The watch turned into a warning and I actually wrote part of the article while in the local tornado shelters. Due to some technical difficulties the original article was lost. That is the reason that the post is going out a little late.

General Priorities list

I would like to take a moment and introduce you to the rule of three.

In a dire situation you can survive three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food.

I know that there are extenuating circumstances that will change the above statement, and that each person will be a little different, but the point is still valid. These are the basic things you need to stay alive. I also believe that if you cannot breathe, instincts will take over and try to rectify the situation. 

Water, shelter, food, security, and transportation are needs that require thought. We all know that we need water, food, and shelter but security is one thing that a lot of people never think about. The reason that so many people never even consider security is because as long as nothing Bad ever happens a person can live a very long time and never have to worry about security.

I am also not going to go into shelter because if you are reading this you most likely have shelter.

My Priorities

My priorities will line up a little differently.

1. Getting to my family. Depending on what happens and when. I may need to either make it back home, meet at a pre decided location, or go to where my family members are. I tend to be the one who stays calm no matter what is happening. My wife might argue too calm. My First objective is to get to my family alive and well and to make sure they are alive and well also.
2. Food. I know according to the list above that water should be first. Let me explain to you why it is not first for me. First, where we are there are water towers so even if the power is off and for some reason the backup generators are down, there will still be several days of water. We also have a well on our little homestead, I can make a way to get water.
3. Basic Energy. Basic energy can be anything from flashlights to a whole house generator. But if you are like I am you don't have $10,000 to drop on an emergency system. Right now for us our backup energy consists of a propane camping stove, charcoal grill and charcoal, battery powered lanterns, flashlights, and oil lanterns. I am sure I have left something out.
4. Water. You must have water to survive. Plain and simple.
5. Security. I must be able to keep my family and our property safe.
6. Transportation. I know that transportation is covered some in Getting to my Family, but we also live an hour outside of a major metropolitan area. If things get real bad I want us to have a way to get out of here with everything we need.

I know I haven't covered any of these topics in depth, but over the next several weeks we will. 

I hope this series makes it easier for you to have:
Rural Dreams and Homestead Wishes

You can subscribe to The Rural Economist by email by simply filling out the form at the top right of the page. Your information will never be sold or given to anyone else. You can like The Rural Economist on Facebook follow on The Rural Economist on Gplus. Or you can even follow The Rural Economist on Pintrest. If you do the Facebook thing I have a poll going on right now and I would really love to have your input.

Other posts in this series:
More Posts in this series:

#1 Why Prepare

#2 The Preparedness Mindset

#3 Priorities List

#4 Getting to My Family

#5 The Backpack

#6 Food Storage

#7 Basic Energy

#8 Water
#9 Security
#10 Medical
#11 Travel and Communications
#12 Fuel Storage
#13 Keep It Quiet aka OPSEC
#14 Building Community and Helping Others
#15 Skill Development (Home)
#16 Don't Fear the Reaper

#17 A Case for Long-Term Preparedness

Saying Good Bye To A True Homestead Hero

Disclaimer: I am not really even sure how to start this post but I feel sure if you will stick with me it will be worth your time.

How do you say goodbye to a Hero? How about a Mentor? Teacher? Adviser? Spiritual Leader? Friend? Family member? Now that you have all of that rolling through your mind, imagine saying goodbye to a person who was all of those. April 10th,2014 I said goodbye to my grandfather. Had he have lived till June he would have been 89 years young. He was the toughest and hardest working man I have ever known. He is a very big reason for me being the way I am.

Granddad was born in 1925, remembered The Great Depression ,and served during World War II. He knew more about farming, gardening, homestead livestock, hunting, fishing, foraging, and wild herbs than anyone I have ever had the privilege to meet in person. He could work with wood or metal and get done what he wanted doing.

This is not going to be just a eulogy so hang in there.

I don't remember how old I was the first time my granddad took me to dig ginseng. We walked all over the mountains around home and it seemed that he knew every single plant and whether it could be used for something or not. I have learned a lot of things from books and blog posts, but nothing compares to having a person standing right there showing you and answering your questions. Herbs that I remember us talking about include: ginseng, arrow root, lambs quarter, burdock, plantain (he called it something else but I cannot remember what), Indian turnip, Queen Ann's Lace, and Elder berry. I am sure there are countless more.

Ginseng

The first time  Granddad made elder berry juice he wanted me to taste it. Of, course I did. I knew he would never do anything that would hurt me. It tasted like a mix of blueberry juice and Vick's 44 D. Nasty. He just sort of laughed and said "tough isn't it".

He taught me about edible plants. Hickory nuts (taste just like walnuts), persimmons (don't eat them till they are completely ripe), cattails, and even something we call sour grass (also known as wood sorrel).

Sour Grass (Wood Sorrel)

When I was 12 he hired me one summer to help tear down a house that a man had given him. We took all the materials that were usable and built another house that he rented out for years till he sold it. I helped him work on tractors and countless other projects. Many of the skills I have today were either learned or improved by helping this man.

My grandfather was one of the best shots with a firearm I have ever seen. I don't think I ever saw him miss. Between him and my dad ,they helped me become a pretty good shot myself. One year we were dove hunting and it was near the end of the day. We had all grouped back together and were talking and taking turns with the birds that would come by before we headed home to clean them. When it was my turn, I took careful aim and said "Bye- bye birdie ",before I pulled the trigger. The bird fell. My grandfather smiled and said "The boy is becoming a good shot".

He would tell stories about his life during the Depression. His father, my great grandfather, made his living hand hewing railroad cross ties, cutting dye wood, cutting hair, and of course farming. One year was not very good to the Carter family and my great grandfather told all the kids that Santa wouldn't be coming that year. They just did not have the money for anything extra. A man who owned a general store several miles away that my Pa Pa Carter traded with came by Christmas Eve after dark and left all of the kids an orange and  a nickel's worth of rock candy they were able to split. Nearly every time after telling that story he would say "Hard times will come again and you had better be ready to do everything you can yourself". He did not tell that story to prove how hard he had had it. He told it to warn us how hard things could get again. 

Rock Candy

 If my grandfather had not been the way he was and taught us all the things he did, I probably would have never started The Rural Economist. My dad and aunt have started a farm that sells produce, honey, eggs, jellies, and jams. They are looking to expand. There is no way to know how many people he has taught about being self reliant. So you see, simply by your reading this, one man's life continues to touch others and lead others to a simpler more sustainable way of life. That is the best tribute I could ever offer.

In the end he told me he was proud of me and that I had become a real man. I, my dad, my cousin Dusty, and nearly every member of the family was able to tell him goodbye. Only my dad was in the room when he passed.We were trying to get some rest in the waiting room. Even though it is hard to have him gone, I am blessed indeed to have had the time that I did have with him. 

Granddad, you helped teach me about homesteading, about preparedness, and about life. I will do everything I can to keep your lessons alive. I love you Granddad.

To my dad. Hopefully, between the two of us, we have most of the knowledge that granddad had. I know you will help me spread this wisdom.

Now for the challenge. This is not just a memorial. I want each and everyone of you to learn everything you can and teach anyone you can. In this way, we can take the lessons my granddad taught me and make them exponential. I told him once I was going to make him famous. Let us make him one of the catalysts to make the world a better place.

For another article featuring my granddad. A Family Tradition of Sustainability
You can also read the tribute written by my wife God Gave Me a Carter

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The Urban Chicken a Review and a Giveaway

Hello everyone. I am really excited because on November 11th The Rural Economist will be celebrating its one year anniversary. We posted a few things before that time, but that is when I really got serious about sharing my projects, thoughts, successes, and failures. I am also excited because we will be offering our first giveaway. Heather at thehomesteadinghippy.com did an excellent job of putting together a very good book for someone who is thinking about getting chickens for the first time. 

Heather covers different laying breeds and the most popular meat chicken breed. She covers both chicken coops and chicken tractors with the pros and cons of each. She shows pictures of a chicken run that she made out of pvc (which makes me proud that I was not the only person who made their chicken housing out of that stuff).

Heather includes a recipe for homemade chicken feed and talks about the benefits of giving the chickens a chance to free range at least part of the day to help reduce feed costs. I really like being able to move my chickens around, though I will admit it has been a while since I have done so.

The chapter that impressed me the most was the chapter on How to Cut Up Your Chicken. Heather has included a step by step with very good quality photos. If you will follow Heather's instructions you will be cutting up your frying chickens like a pro in no time. (Do not get frustrated if the first couple of times does not turn out so well, that is normal.) 

Heather covers preserving your meat birds as well. She goes over the basics of freezing and canning the meat. She also includes several recipes.  Heather did an excellent job. This ebook is worth several times more than the $3.99 that she charges.

Now for the best part. Heather has given me permission to give away three copies of this eBook for The Rural Economist anniversary. There are three ways to have the opportunity to win this eBook. (1) Follow this blog by clicking the Join This Site button and leave a comment on this post. (2) Follow The Rural Economist on Facebook by clicking HERE. Then find the post about this eBook being given away and post my tagline. It is easy to figure out here is a hint it will be in italics. This eBook is a great recourse to help you....

Keep It Rural

Remember these ebooks will be given away by random draw on November 11th. I will announce the winners both on Facebook and here.

There is a contest running between homestead bloggers. If you like The Rural Economist you can vote for us here. Just find The Rural Economist and click "like" Thanks.

Choosing The Chainsaw For You

Another name for Fall could be chainsaw season. It does not matter if you cut wood as a primary or backup heating source or prune trees or shrubs. Just being ready to deal with fallen branches or trees- a chainsaw makes a lot of jobs easier. 

This brings me to my topic of which chainsaw should you own. I have helped people choose a chainsaw many many times. When I have helped these people I see two distinct groups. Group one are the people who want the biggest, most powerful chainsaw they can afford. Group two are the people who want the smallest, cheapest chainsaw they can get. Which one is right? Would you be surprised if I said neither? I didn't think you would.

Before you decide on which chainsaw to buy figure out what kind of work you will really do with it. I use my chainsaw a couple of times a week. We use wood as a secondary and backup heating source. We have a solid chord and a half of wood waiting on cold weather. I am of the opinion that wood heat is going to grow in popularity in years to come and I am not alone. As other energy resources continue to get more expensive people are going to return to wood, in fact there are tax credits available for those who use "approved" wood stoves. Wood heating is a personal choice and I am not trying to talk you into wood heat, but if you are thinking about it that will be a factor into what type and size of chainsaw you need.

There are lots of choices. Several name brands and multiple sizes of each name brand. The first chainsaw I ever operated was a Homelite with a 6 inch bar. It was my first job to cut off small limbs after the tree had been fallen. As I got a little older I was allowed to run my dads McCulloch. It had a 20 inch bar and was very heavy. I used to own a Homelite with an 18 inch bar, but I lost it in the April 27th tornadoes (actually I was told that it was looted before I got to my business where I had it stored). I have also run a Sthil and a Husqvarna and currently own a Poulan, and they have all done their jobs well. So I believe as long as you take care of your chainsaw, name brand is a matter of preference.

This is the chainsaw I currently own.

All of the affordable chainsaws have 2 stroke engines. This means you must mix 2 cycle oil with the gas. Depending on brand and age of your saw, your saw may require 32:1, 40:1, or even 50:1 gas to oil ratio. Be sure and read your manual to get the mixture right. If you do not mix the oil with the gas your saw will not last long and you will burn up your saw. If at all possible find a place that sells 100% gasoline. Most older chainsaws are not designed to run on ethanol blends. Ethanol greatly reduces the lifetime of your saw. You will also need to make sure to have bar and chain oil.

If you use wood as a heating source and are planning on cutting all or even most of your own wood, I would say a 16 inch bar is the smallest size I would consider and is the size that I own and use very often. The reason I like this size is it is very maneuverable, not very heavy, powerful enough to do everything I need to do, and I can cut almost any tree that I want with very few exceptions. I wouldn't mind having an 18 inch bar, but for me it was not worth the extra cost.

If you are only going to use a chainsaw for the occasional dropped limb or for pruning of a few fruit trees I know a lot of people who have chosen a battery powered chainsaw and are quite happy with the results. These are small, very light, and have a limited time of operation, but are very maneuverable and easy to operate. Note: You will still need bar and chain oil. Of the people that I know the most popular battery powered chainsaws is made by Black & Decker, pictured below.

The most popular battery powered chainsaw around here.

Another option for very small properties and small jobs are the electric plug-in chainsaws. These are very light, but you are "tied" to the cord so there is not as much flexibility. Most still need bar and chain oil. I only know a few people that have this type of chainsaw, but in their situation most are happy with their choice.

A chainsaw can be a very dangerous tool. I am not going to cover safety because there are hundreds of videos on youtube.com on the subject. If you have never operated a chainsaw before, please read the manual and learn about the safe operation of this tool.

Many times you can find good quality used chainsaws in the local classifieds, craig's list, or fairly often at a local pawn shop. Being frugal is always a good idea.

The more you can do for yourself the better off you are. Always Remember to.....

Keep It Rural

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DIY or DIFM?

Are you a Do It Yourself person or a Do It For Me? Most people are a mixture of both. I know I am. I am very dominate DIY, but I am very willing to admit when I need to become a DIFM. There is nothing wrong with paying someone else to do something for you if you do not have the time or expertise to get the job done. If you are anything like me you have several projects going at the same time. Plus you have several more waiting to be put in the line up. How do you determine which ones to do yourself and which ones, if any, to hire out? We are going to take a look at how an asset manager would consult a business on which projects to subcontract and which to do in house.

First things first. We must prioritize our projects. There may be projects that seem critical, but may not be important. I know that sounds confusing so I will explain. There are things that instantly grab your attention, they almost scream at you "I need to be done!!". But does it really need to be done? Some things that are urgent are not important. If some children have rolled your yard (thrown toilet paper into every tree) you are not going to be able to ignore the fact that there are streamers of Charmin everywhere. Most people are going to want to clean it up immediately, it is urgent to clean that mess up, but is it really important? If you were to leave the toilet paper up there for a few days would it damage the trees or the yard? No. Does leaving the paper out there create a health risk? No. So is it really important? No, it really isn't, but it is urgent. (My wife after reading this said "But we would have to clean up the toilet paper right away."

If we take this lesson and apply it full scale things that are urgent and important will be done first. Things that are important will be done second and things that are just urgent will be done third or later. I was first introduced to this concept in a book by Stephen Covey 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This book was the first time I had heard this concept explained in such a way. This was an incredible observation and I can tell you when I practice this things work out better. People sometimes get upset because what they see as urgent gets put off, but the result are incredible.

After we have prioritized out projects and determined which ones are important and urgent, which ones are important but not urgent and which ones are urgent but not important we have a clearer picture of what needs to be done and in what order.

Many times I will hire help to complete a project rather than hire someone to do the job for me. There are a couple of reasons I would rather hire assistance. (1) I can make sure that the project is done exactly the way I want it to be done. If the project is something I know a lot about I can hire someone with little or no experience and save some money as well as help teach someone how to do things. (2) If it is a project that I do not know a lot about I can hire someone who has more experience that I do and I will learn from them. I love to learn from someone who really knows what they are doing. When I can get an expert to help work with me on one of my projects I not only get the project done I gain knowledge.

Here are the reasons that I would advise hiring a project done:

1. A contractor can do a superior job
2. The job can be completed more quickly
3. The job can be completed more cost effectively 
4. Hiring a contractor frees you to do something else or even work on another project.

Now for my words of warning. I would never advise someone to hire a project done if they need to borrow money to complete the project. If you would have to borrow money I would advise to either wait on the project till you can save up the money to pay cash for the project or do it yourself a little at a time. I do not like debt. 

I would never let a contractor work on a project of mine unless I am certain that they have a full understanding of what I want done, what time table I expect and can communicate back to me what I want. Several years ago I hired a gentleman to do some excavation work for me. We sat down and talked out everything that I wanted done. I drew out a map of how and where I wanted everything. This project included putting in a drive and building up a raised flat surface as well a preparing a building pad. The day the excavation was supposed to start I worked all morning and was expecting to see some progress as soon as I arrived after work. Nothing. I was late when I got in so I thought I would give them a day or two to get with me. The next day the equipment was there but no work was done. The third day I could tell a little earth had been moved, but I needed this part done before I could get anyone else on the site. I called the operator and several times and did not get in touch with him. After a week of gradual progress on my site I took a day off of work to be able to see what was going on. 

The guy I hired finally showed up to start work at around 10 am. He worked for about an hour and a half and left. About two hours later he came back and worked for about an hour. He was getting ready to leave when I walked up on him. I do not remember the excuses he gave me, but he no longer worked for me. I hired another man to do the work who charged more per hour, but was finished with everything in three days.

The moral to the story is do your homework. Know what you want done and be able to communicate the scope of the project to a prospective contractor. Ask around for a recommendation for a contractor and above all else watch your contractor as closely as you can. 

Think big, plan well, pay your bills, and work hard. Above all .....

Keep It Rural

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By Gregg Carter