Random Thoughts on a Thursday

"The preacher man says it's the end of time

And the Mississippi River, she's a-goin' dry

The interest is up and the stock market's down

And you only get mugged if you go downtown"

That's the opening lyrics to "Country Boy Can Survive" by Hank Williams Jr.  I've been thinking about that song a lot while driving, trying to digest bad economic news, rising consumer pricing, and a severe erosion in the purchasing power of the monopoly money in our wallets.  Somehow we've gotten ourselves beholden to Big Politicians, Big Bankers, and Global Puppetmasters that pull all the strings.  I'd like to just ignore it, but it greatly affects everyone, especially if you find yourself on a fixed income.

But, you know, the Lord's in control.  There's an old hymn that has lyrics that are much more optimistic than 'Ol Hank's song.  It goes like this:

Many things about tomorrow,

I don't seem to understand;

But I know who holds tomorrow,

And I know who holds my hand.

God's given us sound minds and I believe we're to use them.  They're saying that food shortages, or at least even more increases in food prices, are on the horizon.  Might be a good idea to put a few things in the pantry.  We've got eggs!  We eat a LOT of eggs in our house.  But we're in the dog days of summer and the egg production has plummeted like the value of 401-k's.  This was all we collected from the hen house (and all their other hiding places) yesterday.  Slim pickin's, indeed!

Tricia has been dry canning rice and also beans in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour.  If you do it right, it'll be good for 20 - 25 years stored like that.  It kills any bugs and/or eggs in the rice and beans.

One thing we WON'T have in a food shortage is milk.  Yep, we dried off both of our milk cows.  We have been milking for a year and four months straight.  It is time for a break - for both us AND the cows.  Our plan is to bring both milk cows to be re-bred and then in late fall, we'll bring both of our heifers to be bred for the first time.  So we'll be without milk for almost a year!

The milking stalls are lonely and it is quiet in the barn now in the mornings!  It gets so hot in the summer milking in there, even with the fans blowing.

One thing that we'll save money on is dairy cow feed!  When the cows aren't producing milk, we let them just eat the grass in the pasture.  The sweet feed in our feed room is gonna really last now.  The local feed store is going to miss us!

We'll just have to remind ourselves that God is in control.  We should pray and we should take action by preparing and planning and planting.

A Little Food Security

Last night as I was about to log in to journal, I couldn't get any WiFi.  The wifey told me that she was receiving texts from our Service Provider that internet service was out for maintenance.  Hmmm... This happens from time to time.  It always makes me cognizant of how interconnected we are and how important communication is.  Anyway, I decided to try again tonight, and voila!  We are live again.  

I promised a post on the thought that a lot of people are having.  What is going on in our world?  Due to my faith, I won't be fearful.  I won't worry.  I won't be anxious about things I have no control over.  I don't think things are falling apart.  I think things are falling in place.  I'm very interested in Bible Prophecy, and I believe that we're seeing things happen in fulfillment of prophecy day by day.  

My brother-in-law shared the following with me:

Commodity price changes over the last year:
Heating Oil    +90%

WTI Crude    +80%

Brent Crude    +79%

Coffee            +73%

Gasoline        +70%  (ha ha, this one has changed since this list was put together)

Aluminum    +70%

Nat. Gas        +69%

Wheat            +59%

Corn                +35%

Cotton            +34%

Lumber           +34%

Soybeans        +18%

Sugar              +15%

Copper            +13%

Gold                +12%

CPI                  +7.5%

We are truly seeing rising prices like we've not seen in our lifetimes.  With energy costs at record levels, increased costs of production and freight will trickle down to us in the form of higher pricing for everything.  While it will be difficult for everyone, my wife and I discussed the plight of elderly folks who live on a fixed income.  They will be in a pinch.  Fertilizer is in very short supply and will certainly reduce yields, resulting in diminished supply of food.  I'm a practical person for the most part.  When things like this happen, I ask: "What can I do?"  Are you like that?

Well, here's what I'm doing.  First, I'm praying.  Hard.  For a long time now, our country has shaken their collective fists at God.  We've reveled in sin, calling good evil and evil good.  We've indulged in every form of bad behavior imaginable.  Rebellion always leads to God's judgment.  If this is the case, I pray that God opens hearts to His Grace and Truth, and we repent.  I also pray for strength to make it through the upcoming storms that are sure to come.  He is faithful and He will provide.

Next, I am planting.  I am prepared to put in more crops this year than ever. I am planting more protein - peas and beans, and fillers like potatoes.  I planted more than I've ever planted before this year.  About a quarter of them are popping out of the ground with more to follow.  Here's a healthy Irish Potato sprout right here:

I've also been toying with the thought of working up more land in the yard to plant.  Everything grown in the garden reduces your dependence on the grocery store.  I often think about Victory Gardens planted during WWII.  Here's what wiki says about them:

They were used along with Rationing Stamps and Cards to reduce pressure on the public food supply. Besides indirectly aiding the war effort, these gardens were also considered a civil "morale booster" in that gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution of labor and rewarded by the produce grown. This made victory gardens a part of daily life on the home front.

Even though I pray we will NOT be involved in a war, planting a garden still provides the benefits spoken of.  Gardening is such a hopeful endeavor.  As you see the young plants grow, you enjoy seeing the development and look forward to the delicious fruits of your labors. 

I will be the first to admit that I sometimes get so excited about gardening that I 'jump the gun.'  Below you can see the many onions that are growing.  They are very healthy.  Just to the left of them, you can see two rows of ten tomatoes I've planted with another three rows planned.  I stopped because I checked the weather forecast and see that we're expecting temps in the upper 20's this Sunday.  I'll have to wrap and cover the tomatoes so they won't be lost!

On the positive side, you can see our composting project and how it is progressing.  You can see the rich, dark compost I've layered around the onions and tomatoes.  As they grow, I'll put a 2 - 4 inch layer of wood chips on top.  

Finally, to make room for planting the spring crops, we'll need to harvest the existing ones.  Tricia is sitting beside a row of Bull's Blood Beets that will be maturing and ready for harvest shortly.

Once the cold weather this weekend passes, we'll be planting in earnest.  I had an old preacher that had a quote he would repeat time after time.  He was raised during the Great Depression.  He told the congregation that they had a big family and times were hard, but they grew what they ate and never went hungry.  He said they had great variety in their meals.  He said, "One day we'd eat rice and beans.  The next we'd eat beans and rice!"