Ready or not...

Snow is back on the forecast for today and again for later in the week.  The sky gave warning this morning.  Now the radar shows it about 45 min away.  So I spent the morning stacking the last of
the firewood on the porch so we would be ready. Preparedness is a constant theme in our life here at the Roost.  We work on it all the time, and I still feel like we fall short in many areas.

We have a good friend who lives in Cape Town SA.  Recently she has been exploring relocating back to the States to escape the building crisis there.  It has made me think a lot about the critical systems we depend on and how many of them we never give thought to.  Most of them are operated outside our control, and can fail suddenly and catastrophically.  If we wait until these systems fail to start building our own resilience it will be too late.  For our friend relocating is difficult, but it is an option.  When the SHTF relocating will probably not work for most people.  For my prepper friends obsessing over their bug-out bags, where are you going to go?  If things are so bad you need to leave, they probably aren't any better anywhere you can get on foot.

So, we plan to stay.  But preparation is a long road and we are just starting.  Food, Water, Energy, Shelter, are key.  We have a start on some of these things here, but a long way to go.  How about you?  Its something to think about.  For now, I'm watching the storm roll in and feeling pretty good

 knowing the firewood is all stacked under cover, the pantry is full of food, and there is some water in the cistern.  Not perfect, but it will get me through the day.

A gentle reminder

The water was off this morning.  Not a pleasant way to start the day.  The town is fixing the fire hydrants along our road and had to turn off the water.  I'm sure people were notified, but we are the last house on the system and not really in the town, so we missed the notification.

Fortunately we had some water stored (a couple of gallons per person) so we could drink, brush teeth, and take care of some basic needs.  We also have a 50 gallon rain barrel that is full from the recient storms so we can get by for a few days.

For me it was a reminder of just how dependent we are on systems we have no control over, and how suddenly those systems can fail.  I'm not a big believer in massive amounts of storage for preparedness.  Except for short, sudden emergency you can store enough of anything to survive for long.  Adopting a way of living that is locally sustainable is more important.  That said, it is also VERY important to have some essentials stored to get you through emergency situations.  Water is one of those essentials, and you should have a few days worth for each person. 

How are you set for water in the short term, and in the long term?