Thursday, March 29, 2012

Thursday, the 29th day of March, 2012

On the big dance, the Gators lost to Louisville! One of my son-in-laws is from Louisville and went to UF for his MBA and became a Gator… I wonder how he dealt with that one! By the way, with the Gators losing, I really don’t care anymore!

So, on the issue of preparing for an unforeseen event in which one of the main ‘comforts’ we’ve come to rely on is no longer available (i.e. power), here is what’s happened since I last wrote about it… Our closest neighbors came by to have some popcorn and watch two of the most recent episodes of the Discovery channel “Doomsday Preppers” that I had recorded… There were several levels of interest (or lack of it, I may say) but there was some discussion… Some of our neighbors, about 1.2 miles away, have been gardening and canning all their lives; and he is an avid and veteran hunter; so, they are way out in front in the continuum of being prepared. Some other neighbors (about 5 miles away) have a pool with 13,000 gallons of water, and they say we can share (imaging carrying 5-gallon buckets of water on a bicycle on hilly terrain). Based on what I’ve seen, heard and read, I prepared and distributed a list of must have items. They encompass food, food procurement and preparation, clean water procurement and storage, shelter, communications, transportation, defense, etc. Waiting for feedback… On the other hand, my wife shows little or no interest at all on the subject; she says that, if we get to be without power for more than two days, we would saddle up and go to Florida with our kids… I think I am doomed!

Started garden works! I’m determined that, this year, I will get something out of the ground, even if it is stones or worms! On Sunday I dumped soil into the pen, used a hoe to mix it with what was there already (was dying on Monday) and then put a little fence on one of the sides to eventually help the tomatoes… I still have some ways to go; stopped the other day by the Sullivan Supply store and Mr. Sullivan says he will have top soil next week. He said that, with top soil and some fertilizer, ‘even a walking stick will bloom’. I hope he’s right about having top soil; but, if I don’t get it, I will work with what I have (red acidic clay; oh well)…

Lawn mowing began in earnest… Had our second pass in the back this past weekend and then we moved to the middle and front… Before we were able to mow, we had to walk the whole yard, step by step, picking up debris that came out of I-don’t-know-where and accumulated in such a way that, if we did not do the walk through and picked it up, we would certainly lose another mower… So, we mowed the back, mowed the very front and then cleaned the middle, mowed it and then I trimmed it (many trees are hidden by the sage grass so I have to trim around them…)

Heard last night that, because we had a very mild winter, we may be looking at a very mild summer… That would be very welcome! And that’s all for now…

Now, food for thought:

The deed is everything, the glory is naught.” – Goethe

Stay humble, my friends…

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