Guest Article by NRP & Blue, July 13, 2021.

Well I’m just sitting here thinking and sort of talking to Ole Blue about everything and nothing; he seems to understand me, so not all bad I guess.

So, I just wanted to take one Article and just Ramble on a bit about, well, just about anything that happened to pop into this little brain I have here without getting all too serious on ya all, and start showing y’all a bunch of pictures of empty shelves and preaching on “You better get Prepared”, stock your Pantry, and all that stuff. So in no particular order or sense to my thinking here we go into the abyss.

Life is good here on Lightning Point for sure:

Got me a GREAT Ole Dog that is as loyal and gentle as one could ever hope for. I’ve had Ole Blue for 9 years now, got him as a Pup at 49 days old, everything says to get your Dog at 49 days old, something about making a better Bond for life or some hog-wash like that, but He sure has made my life more complete for sure. AND I have to admit he’s almost as stubborn as I am HAHAHA

Just took a look see out the windows looking over the Valley behind the house, looks like a LOT of moisture in the air (or maybe that’s smoke from a fire????), and I saw on the Weather the Monsoons may be FINALLY hitting, meaning some Rain is coming and my Favorite part —- Thunderstorms and Lightening, that was Sarcasm BTW, I literally HATE Lightening, I know what it can do. Also maybe it will start cooling off some, these 100+ temp days are starting to get to me, and Blue is worn out from panting all the time.

Anyways, got both Dehydrators a going with some Onions in one, the second has a batch of Apricots in it, got them from a Lady I Barter with, I give her a LOT of vegetables from my Garden, she gives me Fresh Milk, Homemade Yogurt and this week she tossed in 10 gallons (two 5 gallon buckets FULL) of ripe Apricots. Do you have ANY idea how many Apricots are in 10 gallons??? A LOTTTT!!!!, so will be drying them for a few days for sure. BTW, yes I Barter a LOT of things, Eggs, Milk, Garden Stuff, did some Carpentry Work for some work on my Truck a few weeks ago. Heck I even traded two loads of Firewood for 25 pounds of some of the best Hamburger you have ever eaten, was from his own Grass Fed Steer. Funny thing is, now he wants to give me a few Cedar Trees that he took down and just haul off the wood…. Go Figure LOL

So anyways, did a Smoked Chicken yesterday, OMG was it good, I have one of those Master-Built Electric Smokers, thing is FANTASTIC! I toss in a Frozen Chicken (less the wrapping of course) and set the temp at 225, timer for 9 hours and walk away, at 2 hours I add the Wood for the Smoke and that’s it. SO what’s the point? Well I will get at least 4 meals after Blue gets all the Skin and waste from de-boning it. God that Dog eats well… Hummm. Chicken cost about $5-$6 and a little time cooking it, there ya go, makings of a GREAT meal for less than $2 for the main course, grab some fresh Vegetables from the Garden, and poof, a Meal.

Ya know, I should be cleaning the House rather than sitting here typing; now I feel like I should put this on Pause.
Well that did not go so well HAHAHA. Moved my butt over to the couch and just sat there thinking about stuff.

You know, we live in one of the best Countries in the world, if you’re willing to work a little and do your part, there seems there is nothing one cannot accomplish if you really want to put your mind to it. I remember back to the stories my Parents would tell about the Depression, and the “War” to end all wars. They worked their asses off, they raised 3 hard headed boys in a time when you could do something for someone and they would actually be thankful. A Handshake would be a contract, and you would NEVER think of cheating ANYONE, period. My question, what the heck happened to the America I grew up in? UGHHHHHH Now I sit here writing Articles to try to help others to survive this ever changing and screwed up Country/World. And I honestly believe we are on the cusp of total failure in our efforts to provide a “Better World for our Children” as the saying goes. What the hell happened?

BTW, I don’t know about you, but I had a FANTASTIC 4th of July, and I fly my Flag every single day with Pride and God help the SOB that thinks they can come to my home and tell me I can’t ……..

Ok, OK, enough of this rambling on about stuff you probably don’t really want to hear from me anyways LOLOL

Let’s talk about starting at the beginning, the very very beginning, of Preparing for the future, and I mean for a future that May or May-not happen. I have talked about the food shortages and how to start filling your Deep Pantry, I have asked you to start a “Plan” on what you would do If/When TSHTF.
So I would like to ask you one simple question, and then I’m going to start next week laying out how I did my Pantry, how I have set myself up a little better If/When, what I would do if the Lights went out for a month.

I can’t tell you exactly what to do, everyone is different and has different needs, BUT I can tell you what I have done to “Prepare” for troubled times. And yes I will admit I Pray like heck (even though I am Buddhist) every day that I don’t need my Deep Pantry, that I don’t need the Skills I have learned to “make it through” hard times, the Mindset of living a lifetime learning from my Parents and Grandparents about what they DID live through. I will try to explain why I do and did what got me to this point whereas Ole Blue and I can actually live a very comfortable life and yet know if everything does go to “Hell in a Hand Basket” we will most likely be “OK”.

Ok, the question I would ask you:

“Are you willing to become one of those “Crazy Preppers” to provide and protect your Family?”

BTW, that’s not an easy question to answer, you might want to think on that for awhile.