Day 1
I watched the moon rise over a dark and silent land for the first time in my life. Today the power went out, not just on my street or in my town, but everywhere. The only way I knew this to be truth was due to my trust in an old man, an old man who got off his amatuer radio and told me that it was happening everywhere. As I sat there overlooking the valley I wondered how many had died so far, and how many would in the not so distant future.
I am what some call a survivalist, I keep food, water, fuel, ammunition for my few firearms and a little bit of silver stockpiled, I hold no ill will towards the government that no longer matters, they began a war, not a war with guns, bombs and blood, but a cyber-war. They took on an elite group of computer hackers, outlawed them, called them terrorists and began hunting them like animals, in my opinion, they got what they deserved.
It's dark now, and I'm headed for home, my eyes accustomed to the lack of light, my feet used to the trails I walk. It's only a short distance to my small studio house situated above town, and I walk the trail in long, even strides, my feet have trodden here before, though under different circumstances. My bed awaits me.
Day 2
How odd it is to wake up with no alarm, it isn't yet daylight, but my percolator is on the coals of my small fire, and the smell of coffee permeates the air around me. I sit on my deck and stare around at the beauty, there is no sound but the wild, no smell but the fresh mountain breeze and the pleasant aroma of coffee. My garden stretches out in front of me, how will I water it now that there is no more power to feed the faucets? I am glad my rain barrels are full, maybe I will get lucky and find more to add to those few that I have.
What course of action should I take? What will come in the future? I don't know the answers to these questions, but I have the will to survive, I have the means as well. My garden is lush and green, my chickens have made my breakfast, and the rabbits in the hutch will soon be ready for slaughter. Now, I clean my guns, I think that some will come that would take from me what is mine when they realize they've used what they had and there is no more to be found.
With a bellyful of coffee and fried eggs I begin to think, how can I stay here? What can I do to make it here? I have only four rain barrels, no more than 200 gallons in total, but there is a stream down the road about a quarter mile, and my little diesel pickup has fuel, but I have no place to put the water if I get it. I decide then, I will go to town, search for what I may need, and bring back what I can.
I'm in luck! I have found dozens of old plastic totes, they were used to store liquid fertilizer in and they were free for the taking! Each of these totes are 250 gallons, with a footprint of about four feet square. My little Chevy LUV will get a workout in the morning, as I intend to salvage as many as possible, until then, I will make my dinner and be happy about what I've found.
Tonight I eat some of the meat from last year's deer, my chest freezer still works, because my home has many alternative energy sources. My solar panels now reside on my roof, my two wind generators are now mounted on guyed poles, and they all feed their energy to my battery bank. I cook now over a fire, I don't want to use my propane stocks unless I have to, and I am perfectly able to cook my meals over the fire. So tonight I cook pancakes and deer steak, an odd combination, I know, but it goes well with the strawberry freezer jam and sweet tea.
Day 3
Coffee and eggs for breakfast, along with a small pile of pancakes and strawberry jam, I have a busy day ahead of me. I look at the pickup and the trailer, hoping I can fit at least 2 large water totes on the truck and another 2 on the trailer, I would like to make at least three trips, and hopefully get the best of the containers.
I decided to stop at the grocery store and was amazed at what I found, the windows lay shattered upon the concrete in front of the store, what looks to be blood on the sidewalks. Society has collapsed, and I missed the show. I keep heading down the road, it seems odd that there are so few vehicles out and about, I wonder how many are already out of fuel. It takes me little time to make it to the chemical company, when I get there I see an even dozen of the large liquid totes stacked outside the gates, my buddy must have picked out the best for me and stacked them there for me to pickup, knowing he may not be coming to work today.
It takes me three trips to get them all home, but I have now, and the hard work is now beginning. Each of these totes has a fill cap on top and a 2" pipe thread on the bottom, inside of a few were the hoses used to fill and empty them, so I can link them together. With luck I may have them done by nightfall.
I've completed my plan, each corner of my small home has three of the water totes and a water barrel hooked to the gutters, none have been filled, but it is overcast this afternoon and we may get some rain, it would be welcomed. It's late now, and I'm tired, not tired like I've been at work all day, but tired like I've done so much manual labor that I can barely hold my head up as I prepare my dinner of smoked trout and cornbread with honey. The trout is simple to prepare, I open the pint jar and extract the sweet, oily chunks, the corn bread is more difficult, but it's cooking in the dutch oven now and will be done soon.
It's dark out now, I've warmed this morning's coffee up and am enjoying it greatly. I've heard nothing over the weather radio or the CB so far, so I assume the government hasn't been able to regroup yet. Twice tonight I've seen headlights go up and down my rural dirt road, hungry and in search of game, no doubt, I've noticed my deer have stayed close lately.
Day 4
I'm tiring of eggs every day, so this morning is fried onions and potatoes with sweet tea, I need to conserve what little coffee I have, as I will dearly miss it when it's gone. My deer are back, feeding complacently in the clover field behind my orchard, two doves coo from the trees behind me. Today I'll be spending my time transporting water from the creek down the road to my new water system, hope we get rain tonight, by the looks of the clouds it's a possibility.
Man! You have no idea how much it sucks moving 2,000 gallons of water via 5-gallon bucket and 55-gallon drum! I'm a whooped pup and it's only 3 p.m. I sniped a pair of doves with my pellet gun while I was filling my barrels at the creek, so nature has provided me with dinner! I'm now sitting here contemplating what it may be like in town and smelling the aroma of barbequed dove, life is good.
I spent the remainder of the day working my garden, turning a few more square yards of soil to plant, as it's still early enough that I can put in some late harvest potatoes and such. By the time I'm hungry again my garden is larger by 200 square feet, and planted in potatoes and carrots. I'm beat.
Dinner was a venison steak out of the freezer and a baked potatoe, simple but filling. I've decided to drag my still out of the storage shed and, since it's just about time for cherry harvest, I think I'm going to make up a batch of cherry liqour, some 'shine at least, and probably some brandy over the next couple months. It takes some time to make good brandy, but it's worth it when you crack open a quart jar full of the finished product!
Man! I didn't realize I had as much stuff as I do! In getting the still out of the storage shed, I found four 1,000 round cans of 7.62X39 I forgot I had, and a huge box of reloading supplies I'd misplaced a couple years ago, as well as about 20 50-round boxes of .22lr. I got all the ammo put up where it belongs and got the still situated in it's new home on my deck. I'll be checking out the orchard down the road a ways in the morning to see if I can swap some food for cherries, as I think it's gotten to that point from what I've heard over the two meter.
I watched the moon rise over a dark and silent land for the first time in my life. Today the power went out, not just on my street or in my town, but everywhere. The only way I knew this to be truth was due to my trust in an old man, an old man who got off his amatuer radio and told me that it was happening everywhere. As I sat there overlooking the valley I wondered how many had died so far, and how many would in the not so distant future.
I am what some call a survivalist, I keep food, water, fuel, ammunition for my few firearms and a little bit of silver stockpiled, I hold no ill will towards the government that no longer matters, they began a war, not a war with guns, bombs and blood, but a cyber-war. They took on an elite group of computer hackers, outlawed them, called them terrorists and began hunting them like animals, in my opinion, they got what they deserved.
It's dark now, and I'm headed for home, my eyes accustomed to the lack of light, my feet used to the trails I walk. It's only a short distance to my small studio house situated above town, and I walk the trail in long, even strides, my feet have trodden here before, though under different circumstances. My bed awaits me.
Day 2
How odd it is to wake up with no alarm, it isn't yet daylight, but my percolator is on the coals of my small fire, and the smell of coffee permeates the air around me. I sit on my deck and stare around at the beauty, there is no sound but the wild, no smell but the fresh mountain breeze and the pleasant aroma of coffee. My garden stretches out in front of me, how will I water it now that there is no more power to feed the faucets? I am glad my rain barrels are full, maybe I will get lucky and find more to add to those few that I have.
What course of action should I take? What will come in the future? I don't know the answers to these questions, but I have the will to survive, I have the means as well. My garden is lush and green, my chickens have made my breakfast, and the rabbits in the hutch will soon be ready for slaughter. Now, I clean my guns, I think that some will come that would take from me what is mine when they realize they've used what they had and there is no more to be found.
With a bellyful of coffee and fried eggs I begin to think, how can I stay here? What can I do to make it here? I have only four rain barrels, no more than 200 gallons in total, but there is a stream down the road about a quarter mile, and my little diesel pickup has fuel, but I have no place to put the water if I get it. I decide then, I will go to town, search for what I may need, and bring back what I can.
I'm in luck! I have found dozens of old plastic totes, they were used to store liquid fertilizer in and they were free for the taking! Each of these totes are 250 gallons, with a footprint of about four feet square. My little Chevy LUV will get a workout in the morning, as I intend to salvage as many as possible, until then, I will make my dinner and be happy about what I've found.
Tonight I eat some of the meat from last year's deer, my chest freezer still works, because my home has many alternative energy sources. My solar panels now reside on my roof, my two wind generators are now mounted on guyed poles, and they all feed their energy to my battery bank. I cook now over a fire, I don't want to use my propane stocks unless I have to, and I am perfectly able to cook my meals over the fire. So tonight I cook pancakes and deer steak, an odd combination, I know, but it goes well with the strawberry freezer jam and sweet tea.
Day 3
Coffee and eggs for breakfast, along with a small pile of pancakes and strawberry jam, I have a busy day ahead of me. I look at the pickup and the trailer, hoping I can fit at least 2 large water totes on the truck and another 2 on the trailer, I would like to make at least three trips, and hopefully get the best of the containers.
I decided to stop at the grocery store and was amazed at what I found, the windows lay shattered upon the concrete in front of the store, what looks to be blood on the sidewalks. Society has collapsed, and I missed the show. I keep heading down the road, it seems odd that there are so few vehicles out and about, I wonder how many are already out of fuel. It takes me little time to make it to the chemical company, when I get there I see an even dozen of the large liquid totes stacked outside the gates, my buddy must have picked out the best for me and stacked them there for me to pickup, knowing he may not be coming to work today.
It takes me three trips to get them all home, but I have now, and the hard work is now beginning. Each of these totes has a fill cap on top and a 2" pipe thread on the bottom, inside of a few were the hoses used to fill and empty them, so I can link them together. With luck I may have them done by nightfall.
I've completed my plan, each corner of my small home has three of the water totes and a water barrel hooked to the gutters, none have been filled, but it is overcast this afternoon and we may get some rain, it would be welcomed. It's late now, and I'm tired, not tired like I've been at work all day, but tired like I've done so much manual labor that I can barely hold my head up as I prepare my dinner of smoked trout and cornbread with honey. The trout is simple to prepare, I open the pint jar and extract the sweet, oily chunks, the corn bread is more difficult, but it's cooking in the dutch oven now and will be done soon.
It's dark out now, I've warmed this morning's coffee up and am enjoying it greatly. I've heard nothing over the weather radio or the CB so far, so I assume the government hasn't been able to regroup yet. Twice tonight I've seen headlights go up and down my rural dirt road, hungry and in search of game, no doubt, I've noticed my deer have stayed close lately.
Day 4
I'm tiring of eggs every day, so this morning is fried onions and potatoes with sweet tea, I need to conserve what little coffee I have, as I will dearly miss it when it's gone. My deer are back, feeding complacently in the clover field behind my orchard, two doves coo from the trees behind me. Today I'll be spending my time transporting water from the creek down the road to my new water system, hope we get rain tonight, by the looks of the clouds it's a possibility.
Man! You have no idea how much it sucks moving 2,000 gallons of water via 5-gallon bucket and 55-gallon drum! I'm a whooped pup and it's only 3 p.m. I sniped a pair of doves with my pellet gun while I was filling my barrels at the creek, so nature has provided me with dinner! I'm now sitting here contemplating what it may be like in town and smelling the aroma of barbequed dove, life is good.
I spent the remainder of the day working my garden, turning a few more square yards of soil to plant, as it's still early enough that I can put in some late harvest potatoes and such. By the time I'm hungry again my garden is larger by 200 square feet, and planted in potatoes and carrots. I'm beat.
Dinner was a venison steak out of the freezer and a baked potatoe, simple but filling. I've decided to drag my still out of the storage shed and, since it's just about time for cherry harvest, I think I'm going to make up a batch of cherry liqour, some 'shine at least, and probably some brandy over the next couple months. It takes some time to make good brandy, but it's worth it when you crack open a quart jar full of the finished product!
Man! I didn't realize I had as much stuff as I do! In getting the still out of the storage shed, I found four 1,000 round cans of 7.62X39 I forgot I had, and a huge box of reloading supplies I'd misplaced a couple years ago, as well as about 20 50-round boxes of .22lr. I got all the ammo put up where it belongs and got the still situated in it's new home on my deck. I'll be checking out the orchard down the road a ways in the morning to see if I can swap some food for cherries, as I think it's gotten to that point from what I've heard over the two meter.
