At the Pond!


Well, we have finlly moved completely onto the farm as the Park Model RV is now sitting up near the barn and just waiting to be placed in tis final location. Because of the rain, we are having to await a professional mover to park and block it farther into the trees.

While you cannot tell too much from this photo, the pond itself has flooded over the dam and well into the front yard. As our location received over 4 inches of rain from one storm alone. This is so different from last year with the exceptional drought.

Here is how the water looked when we first settled here and it has been a joy for all of us. The biggest change has been the size and number of fish in the waters surrounding it. We stocked two years ago with some 3-4 inch bluegills etc and catfish. They are now somewhat monsterous as noone has tried to really catch any so far. We know the Grass Carp are huge as we see their top fins running over 4 inches out of the water. The albino (white) catfish run from 18 inches to nearly 2 feet in length! Not bad for a 1/2 acre pond! And all of the fish have been spawning as we can see the fry all along the shallows. Awesome!

Communication Ideas

We live in a world criss-crossed by countless waves of energy, from cell phone microwaves, AM/FM radio stations, gigahertz satellite signals for phone/internet usage and tons of others. But as so many found after Hurricanem Sandy and the Moore, OK EF5 tornado, the cell towers and hardline connections to the outside world can disappear in a heatbeat. Thus leaving everyone shaking dead cell phones and wondering where to turn. One option is the use of ham radio relays that pop up within hours of a disaster and can be used for "health and welfare" message traffic as time permits. But in the beginning, they will be busy with emergency traffic for shelters and the movement of vital supply requests. But even today it is possible to buy a number of different base/mobile/handheld radios that don't need a license and they can reach outside the disaster area. I'm talking about CB radios like truckers use and that REACT members use during their operations to assist others in need. Also there are handheld or HTs that can be found in Wamart and countless sporting goods store, the Family Radio Service (FRS) which can reach across neighborhoods and short distances of up to 5 miles. Some contain multiple radio channels to cover a wide range of services to include GMRS and MURS what may require a simple license but which add power and range to the system. Stepping up again to ham radio, a simple test can allow you to use VHF and UHF freqs on up into the gigahertz range. One thing this does is allow users to recieve and send digtal messages using APRS and Echolink for voice messages into distant radio repeaters across the world. Some HTs have this ability already built into them and can allow anyone to reach out anywhere.

My whole point of all this is to talk about "Earl." Who or what is Earl? Well,  Earl is a thing, not a person and it has a number of features that seem ideal for people to have for everything Mother Nature can throw at us. It is similar to an early Kindle or Ipad yet has some awesome abilities as it can use hundreds of Android Apps! It has a built in GPS tracker , weather station w sensors, built-in solar charging, Bluetooth 4.0, weather proof, AM/FM/SW/LW radio receiver, and well as a built-in FRS/GMRS/MURS analog and digtal two-way radio system!

So, with all these features it should be selling soon to outdoors lovers everywhere and should be high on the list for future emergency/disaster survivors! Until June 9th, 2013 you can save 30% by senting in $249.

www.meetearl.com

In case you are wondering, I am getting nothing out of this, I just love the idea and wanted to let people know!! My money is going down on Friday!!

At the Pond!

Yesterday I recieved some good news and it had nothing to do with me! I had joined a group called "Americans Networking To Survive or A.N.T.S." which is a group of preppers who are volunteering to assist other preppers in an emergency or disaster. The organization was formed because preppers are always in an outreach mindset and ready to help other preppers, who through no fault of their own, are in need. Yes, they could help everyone else too if they are able, but that is not the point in my opinion. FEMA and local governments help everyone already with our money, but you will not normally see preppers in the bread line. Bacause they have spent their own time and money to stockpile, prepare, and survive. But what if you are many miles from home and the Sun pops an EMP and their car dies, everyone's car dies! Who will help them now? History has shown countless time that no one will help them, millions of people are going to die hard and fast. But if they knew that a colony of ANTS was in the area they could walk to a known location and leave a message asking for help. The colony checks the message drop and sents out ANT members to bring their fellow ANTS home. It may even be possible for a type of underground railroad to assist these people in getting to their own retreat location.

When a massive EF5 tornado struck Moore, OK., there were two ANTS known to be living there. So started a story of courage and determination as other members used everything available from outside the disaster to locate them. One missing ANT later checked in as ok and they in turn started searching for the other one. Dropping by the message drop location, asking around, and doing everything they could do in this terrible aftermath of destruction. Finally messages were left with family and friends and the missing member finally checked in, alive and safe!! Thank God, everyone's prayers were answered.

We sometimes forget that life can pull the ground from under for feet and literally leave you hanging by your fingertips. Moore, OK was just such a time and it was through hard work, giving of themaselves for others, that this time there ws cause for rejoycing. And knowning now that if some disastewr happens to our part of the country, that others will automatically begin to do a health and welfare check until all resources available have been tried.

Americans Networking to Survive (A.N.T.S.) join up!

http://www.americansnetworkingtosurvive.org/


 

At the Pond!

   I had talked about our perrmant move to the farm for our Park Model RV and I thought I would add a few phiotos to show where we are going to park it. The site is a nice cleared area by the barn and it is looking "park-like" after mowing the grass.



                                                                Looking East

 

 

South side lookuing West

 

 

Near Barn looking West

 

 

The grassy areas cover stumps that still need to be removed and the potholes waiting to be filled in. As time goes by the barn roof will be covered in solar panels as the Howell-Oregon electric company refuses to run lines to our area even with us bordering the county road...no profit in it!! We will install the wind generator and the battery bank by the pole barn to aid in power storage.

 

 



At The Pond!

Well, we are now gearing up to complete our move to the farm as we are going to have a tow company move our Park Model RV up by the barn. We have a beautiful location with shade trees and grass where we have much more room to grow. While we will be boondocking (i.e. no hookups) we can supply solar/battery power for most of the day and generator power for serious AC and for the freezer. And we have a cistern for water, which is very commons around here becuse of the rock base only inches below the surface that makes wells very costly.

We also were able to complete our battery bank "after" surviving a $900 car repair bill which left us weighing food over power..power won. So we now have 16 Trojan T-105 six volt and 2 Trojan T-1260 twelve volt to give us tons of lights and this is set up for 24 volts DC to our small invertor. Future upgrades will include adding two 100 Watt panel per month for the next year so that we will have over 2400 watts + 420 Watts for the current buildings. We are lucky in that we have a golf cart sales and repair shop in West Plains, MO who sells used Trojan T-105s for $30 ($20 with a core) and T-1260s for $40 ($30 with a core). Buying and moviung over 700 pounds of batteries was fun!! Fran's poor back as she got them out of the truck!



                                     Naturepower 400 Watt Wind Generator

At the Pond!

Well the health issues and rainy skies have finally passerd and we are once again enjoying life around the pond. And the dogs are impossible to keep out of the water so we just let them go!

Here is Audie and Lola running and playing in the park-like environment we have created here in the Ozarks. And except for being bedridden for two weeks with a severe blood clot in my right leg, the living here on the pond has been wonderful. Just this morning I watched two smooth shelled turtles enjoying the warm sunshine we are having today. As it is already 77 degreess down here in Missourio and it beats having to shovel snow back in Minnesota. We truely bneliueve that nearly everyone we meet here is from Minnesota as it looks and feels just like southern Minnesota around the Rochester area. Only the rocky soil gives it away as we can only raise a garden in raised beds and tubs. Still you cannot beat it!

The only down side is the snakes as Fran had a wide gleam in her eye last week when she ran over a 3 foot Cottonmouth snake that was crossing the road. Fran shot 5 of them last year alone and we fear the puppies may get bitten at any time. So we normally have handy or carry a handgun with us at all times. Its a small price to pay for heaven.

Questions and Answers

It is a great day today with light winds and 73 degrees with the sun finally shining after nearly a week of snow and rain. But I am happy to report that I am running everything off stored solar power from my twin 220 Watt 24 Volt solar panels that feed into storage batteries. Even my ham radios are powered by batteries and solar so we can reach out without burning a drop of gasoline. We are due to pick up additional batteries tomorrow to help run lights and refrigerator after dark. But we o hope to get a utility power pole put in so that we can move our Park Model RV onto the upper meadow by the barn. So we are busy busy bees right now.

Questions and Answers

Just when we thought that Spring was finally here we awoke to 9 inches of powdery snow. But instead of dreading the clean up, the retreat was transformed in a winter wonderland for the dogs and us. Everything took on a aspect of a mountainous villa as heavy flakes of snow draped the trees and grounds.

A Study in Gray and White

 

 

 

Bailey anmd Lola Enjoy the Snow

 

 



We sometimes forget the beauty in nature as we rush by in our cars with our eyes glued to the road ahead.. Or too busy talking on the phone or just sitting on the couch and watching TV. We forget to look out the window at what is going on about us and we miss the wonder of a snowfall in March

 

 

Bailey and Lola sharing a warm lap with the cat.



 



 

Questions and Answers

Each day we are faced with new problems and new situations that test our resolve. I had one of those happen today in Wal-Mart. I was using one of the last working electric carts when I wanted to go look at the videos but a couple and their son were blocking the lane. I waited and waited some more until I said "excuse me...excuse me" and the son moved out of the way. I moved by and told the son, thank you..and then softer, "thank you" as the son did what a good and decent person would do. But, unknown to me, the man said something under his breathe.."then stand up and walk around.." I was lucky, I didn't hear it.but Fran did. She said, "that was just rude. Is that how you treat a veteran?"

I did hear that remark and I asked Fran was happened. But, knowing me as well as she does, she refused to repeat it. Only well away from that couple did she say what she had heard. Later while she was pumping gas into the truck did it really hit me. My eyes filled with tears as the physical hardships I live with every damn day just slapped me right in the face. I feel NOTHING from my hips down. I struggle to stand and just grab whatever I can so as not to fall down..hard. I would do ANYTHING to feel my legs again. I would anything to not feel the brutal phatom pain that leaves me breathless. Every day, every day for weeks and months without end.


That person was like a knife into my soul and makes life slightly less bright.

Questions and Answers

The new book Darkness Reigns has been removed to free up screen space and will be placed as a file download instead. Now that spring is only weeks away we are seriously gearing up for the final move to the farm. Starting next week we will be first be spending the day there and temperatures permitting, the night as well. We have a number of plans that will be starting as soon as the ground warms up. Also, we will be breaking new ground by starting a small aquaponics ie fish and veggies in a combined setup. By using salvaged 275 gallon totes or tanks we can raise fresh fish in the tank we then pump the same water through plant beds above. In addition, we will add more depth to our raised bed and water them using solar powered 12 V water pumps to pump water from the pond. No more 5 gallon buckets!!!!!!!! This will also be used to water the fruit trees and berry bushes that are currently in containers.

So, we are finally going to be living our dream!

Questions and Answers  Now that the election is over I'll consider what the future of our country and our own lives will be in the coming years. One thing we must consider is the possible economic cliff facing 2013 – that as our economy falls to the wayside and life as we know it changes forever. Because of this each of us need to consider what we can do to face the future with the strongest possible resources that we could generate on a limited budget. As the price of food is skyrocketing on a daily basis, the time is now to stockpiled as much long-term stores as we can while considering all options for the creation of new resources to include heirloom seeds as a way to stretch a limited budget. Heirloom seeds are ones that are from a plant that has not been genetically altered or made a hybrid and as such the seeds can be harvested and used to create a new generation of plants. Hybrid seeds are ones that have been genetically altered to produce a much greater return but because of alterations they are not liable after the first year and decrease time after time until nothing returns from planting.  When we consider the need for future generations of plants and animals we must consider the long-term goals of resources needed to support such generation in regard to animal feed and fertilizer and maximizing production. In addition we must consider the power generation, water, and possible you'll supplies will include wood gas generation is a way of supporting transportation and power generation. To support these goals, I will describe the establishment of wind generation, solar panels, and storing?sterilization of water supplies for human use. By acquiring these systems on a budget I can show you that it is possible to be energy independent while enjoying a comfortable lifestyle.

Questions and Answers   Life can be a handful at times and that sure discribes my life for the last year. First was heart issues a year ago that saw 5 stints in my heart. Then because of issues with my left hand turning blue, I was iformed that I may have Polycythemia Vera which is a rare and serious blood disorder that causes too many red blood celss to be formed. This slows the amount oxgen from getting to the cells as the blood is way too thick.. After weeks of blood draws and injections of clot busters in my poor stomach, I am doing better considering that I did not expect to survive my trip to see my grandkids in Texas last month. It was that bad so any change is a good change. I'm still hre so God sure loves me this I know!

Questions and Answers

Sometimes life can be a bear and sometimes it even drops a house on you just when you thought the tornado was over. That has been the case with my wife, Fran, and I as we fought tooth and nail to recover from some severe lung infections. We don't know where this stuff came from but it was a great example of an H1N1 superbug (not really) that nailed us both in the ears with very high fevers over 103 degrees for poor Fran, bad sinus, lungs, and severe pneumonia in both lungs for me that caused me to lose 15 pounds and countless hours of sleep from coughing. So this site is wayyyyy behind!

There has been some good news as it finally started to rain again after going for weeks without a drop and our poor fish pond has lost over 4 feet in depth...not sure how many gallons that is for a 3/4 acre pond!! Thousands for sure!! But it drove us to finally start feeding the fish with floating pellets that the fish just love!! As they look like some kind of feeding fenzy as the catfish, white catfish (yes, 6 pure white catfish), large mouth bass, carp and others sweep through the floating food pile to tank up each day. As soon as we return tomorrow I plan to get some video and post it here so you can see it as it is really neat to watch. And some of the fish are BIG and weigh several pounds so we are already planning a big fishing contest/fish fry later this year for our friends and neighbors.

Because I broke my laptop last month (again, don't ask) I had to move my old desktop to the cabin so I could work out there better on my coursework. Bad part is I cannot get updates to the blog on that system for some dumb reason and I'm just doing updates as I can on other machines until I get a good laptop prior to heading for Minnesota the middle of July. I start one of the doctoral residencies then and I will need to access wifi etc while at the University of Minnesota. I am not looking forward to the traffic up there at all but I will be able to meet alot of other clinical psychologists who will be there too. Many are also in my two current classes as well and that is pretty cool to think about.


RIP

July 2012
Virginia (Franck) Bartel
Sweetest aunt in the world
You will be dearly missed

Questions and Answers

Sorry this has not been up dated for awhile but May has seen some ups and downs. My nice shiny new laptop was destroyed by accident and I've had to spend alot of time at the RV so I could finish my current school quarter (4.0 GPA!!!!!) so I have been working hard on that. Then we ended up potting our friut trees in large contianers as the ground is nothing but gravel with big pieces!

Fran has been working on her shooting skills as she has killed 4 cottonmouths so far at the pond. Talk about watching your step!! I had one tree me on my ATV awhile back but it is fish food now with one possible dead too. Today brought the 4 little dogs over so she could take a shower and clean up alittle and she told me we have at least three monster large mouth bass cruising the shoals for smaller fish as the water level is really getting low. No rain that counted for weeks now. Those Bass are starting to make my mouth water that is for sure!

The other reason this is behind as the wife and I have both been deathly ill and it has really been bad for Fran as she had it worst and still had to care for the dogs, cats, and me too. At one point her fever was 103 degrees and not going down. The stuff dives right to both lungs and infects both ears which causes high fevers and you are constantly coughing abd choking. No fun.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day!

Questions and Answers

After some rain over the weekend we are back to outstanding weather with temps in the 70's every day and clear sunny skies to really get the tree growing. We had to go slow this week as my legs are getting pretty bad and I fell once already. But, we schedule what we plan to get done for that day and everything after that is a bonus. Today we filled the four raised beds in the gardsen across the pond and we plant most of the beds tomorrow so we will still have fresh veggies for this summer and we already have peaches, necterines, sweet cherries, and blue/black berries growing on our fruit trees and bushes. I cannot wait to taste them later this year.

We also had some new neighbors (human this time!) stop by today and we stop by their place just up the private road from us. Its alittle sad as they had a fire burn them out not long ago and they are living in tents without a strong roof over them. So we hope to help them out as best we can to get them on their feet. The little girl is as cute as a button and very friend so her and Fran got along fine! It will be nice to have more neighbors out here in the boonies!

I have pictures to post coming up! Here is a new family member, his name is Audie Murphy and he is a Min Pin that we took in from the local shelter. Audie and I are the best of buds and he was hunting tiny frogs next to the pond in this photo.

Questions and Answers

The weather here has been beautiful and sunny for nearly a week so the wife and I have been busy buying garden soil, fruit trees, and building the raised beds for the veggies that we hope to get planted thisa weeken or so. It is still awesome to walk ovder the dam and come within inches of the beaver as he suns himself on the shore. And we get a big kick out of the loud "pop-splash" sound of the beaver issuing his warning using his tail. But he is also pretty laid back as the dogs don't seem to bvug him too much.

We put up our big 20 foot by 10 foot portable building next to the dog kennel and we plan to use it for a storage/workshop for now. With the big generator running just up the hill we have all the power we could want and are already looking into wiring up the cabins for a power.

To say that we are busy is somewhat of an understatement as thew wife and I are both suffering from thje amount of work we have completed so far. And we are praying for rain as the pond is down nearly two feet since the last one and we have planned on using pond water to water the garden. Lacking that we would have to bring in water and install a large water tank. Fingers crossed!

Questions and Answers

We sometimes forget how close to nature we really are until they show up right in your front yard. We had been hearing splashes in the fish pond for a few days but we thought it was the big bull frog so imagine our surprise when we photographed this little guy yesterday!

Meet the Beav!!!

Sprucing up before Dinner!!

Taking in some rays before lunch!



So we see that nature finds a way to survive as the nearest body of water is miles away from here and we have no plans on trying to move this one. So just call them the BEAV!!!



Questions and Answers

Sorry I have not updated this for awhile. My desktop has "issues" and I had left my laptop at the ranch but I'm here now and I can get caught up over the next few days. The weather here has been beautiful today with clear skies and about 75 degrees with a light wind. This has made the dogs happy as they played in the fish pond for a few hours and then crashed in the kennel to rest up for doing at all over again tomorrow!! I have a new lap puppy named Audie Murphy and he is part Min Pin so he is even smaller than Mojo which make him just prefect for crashing on my lap when I watch TV and such. He really loves playing with the big dogs but we worry he may get hurt as he is so tiny but just try to stop him!!

Our neighbor brush hogged (mowed) most of our available open meadow and tree line to clean the place up and to help keep down the tall grass and weeds from being a fire danger. Today I found a new spring in the meadow which may help us to water the fruit trees we will be planting next week. We are looking at peaches, apples, sweet cherries, black cherries, pawapaws, necrerines(?), blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, gooseberries, and raspberries! We may not see any this year but we should be really set next year for fruit, jam, and canning them all. Gee, my own peach trees!!

It was really neat to see turtles in the fish pond today but I hope they are not eating all of my fish! But, it should be alright as I stocked the pond pretty good last fall and I hope to do so again this month or so. I will also check on getting a few rabbits and laying hens to add to the daily menu as I have tons of room to expand after I get used to raising just a few to start. Oh well, the generator is running so I am getting ready to fire up some chili and rest up for the rest of the day!  Cheers!

Questions and Answers

Lots of changes and lots of updates as spring is coming early here in the Missouri Ozarks. Some of the changes came within the last week as I had a 500 gallon propane tank installed and two propanes heaters added to our two cabins so we now have heat!! I also was able to get my big Ford Excusion in the shop for some much needed TLC so I have wheels again! And with the weather being so nice (we hit 80 degrees a few days ago) and with the addition of a industrial 9000 Watt generator, I am now living full time in the main cabin. Right now I can look out my window and see bright red cardinals flying from tree to tree as the annual dance has started here and many other birds are starting to come through on the flyway. So we should see some really good sights ths year!!

The dogs have also been enjoying their time on the ranch as they run and chase each other around the big pond. And I've started to break out my fishing gear as I've seen some big shapes moving around in there. I mean, what more could a poerson wish for!!

I've also feeling alot better as I was very ill for a long time after New Year's and my doctor put me on oxygen 12 hours a day so things got interestingn there for awhile. but I feel great right now and my heart is feeling better than it has in months. But its a bear for my legs as they are shutting down fairly quickly now and I'm trying to do as much as possible before I'm back into the "chair".

But god it is so nice to be here and alive to enjoy it!!

Questions and Answers

Well, I have pretty much finished my classes for this quarter and I can take some time off to work on the farm now that the weather is getting so nice. The wife informed me that the notice on ordering chicks and fish for this spring will be coming up soon for a March delivery. So, I need to start buying lumber, wire, and other things so they will be there for my building projects. Hopefully everything will be drier than last spring as we really got flooding on the access roads to our place. And I am alittle concerned on the amount of water in my ponds already as the big pond will overrun the dam at a certain point and I don't want it to cut the dam. Busy...busy...busy!!