Newest Family Member

Princess Ruby Jean Cher Saint Clare

I have been wanting a bigger dog that I can take with me on hikes and that I don’t have to worry quite so much about. Axel and Conway are great dogs but frankly not the most practical animals ever breed. So a couple of weeks back I had the opportunity to adopt a little pit bull pup and after meeting the parents and owners decided to add little Ruby to our family.

Naming a dog is as important as picking the animal. I am very quirky about my dogs names and really enjoy the naming process. Most important thing is that the name is short and unique you don’t want your dogs getting confused by near sounding names like Ruby and Rex. So any way here is how I came up with the name for Ruby.

Princess - Because she is just a little princess

Ruby Jean - I picture myself standing on the front porch in my underwear holding a can of Pabst yelling "Ruby Jean get your ass in this house" or "Ruby Jean let go of that mans neck" or “Ruby Jean I raised you better than that”.

Cher - Well ok I just love Cher…don’t judge me

Saint Clare - Saint Clare is the patron saint of good weather and television both of which I like. As a matter of fact I was at my partner’s house a couple of weekends back watching TV and Ruby was sitting next to me on the floor completely focused on the box.

We didn’t have the usual break in time for a puppy. Both Axel and Conway were very shy when they were first brought home but not Ruby she dove in head first playing and rolling she was not reserved in any way.

The real funny thing was watching how the boys react. When I brought her home they loved it “yea a new toy” lots of playing and tired dogs. But then they quickly grew tired of her sharp teeth and razor like claws and simply jumped up on the back of the couch to avoid her…waiting for Ruby to leave. When they realized that she wasn’t going they started to teach her manners.

Axel , the oldest, would lay on the floor with a bone. Ruby would jump in and try to take the bone at which time Axel would growl at her or snap at her if she actually got her teeth on it. When she lay still beside him he would give her the bone. I was kind of impressed. Both dogs have worked on her socialization and appropriate puppy play. Axel is teaching Ruby how to nap in sun in the picture.

As the boys work with Ruby I am seriously considering rename her to Ruby Jean the Poop Machine.

A Woman Screams

I woke up Saturday night to a womans scream. It was around 2 in the morning and I was sound asleep with the dogs. A high pitched scream jolted us awake. Most of the windows were open and the evening was very warm. The scream appeared to come from the hill right outside the bedroom window.

I jumped out of bed thinking it was my neighbor but quickly decided it was a coyote...a high pitched coyote. The dogs stayed in bed growling which was strange. I grabbed the flashlight and went out on the front porch. I really like to listen to the coyotes...they all have slightly different voices. Since the neighbor now has chickens they have been coming fairly close to the houses.

Anyway as soon as I got out on the porch it screamed again this time from behind the cabin on the ridge. It wasn't a yelping but a single long high pitched scream. It gave me the chills. As I opened the door to go inside it gave out one more scream. I turned on some lights and made some noise and didn't hear the animal again. The dogs were still in the bed growling.

Sunday at my neighbors get together I was telling a friend about the "coyote" and its strange scream. He informed me that the scream was most likely a mountain lion and that I needed to be careful with the dogs. I have seen mountain lion tracks several times and once spotted a big cat walking down the neighbors driveway.

So I am going to take a few precautions like making sure the doors are bolted so they can't be pushed open and that the lower windows are closed up when I am not here. Plus when I walk the dogs I always carry the bear mace with me...very effective that bear mace.

Night noises are really a strange thing. Living in the city I could have gunshots right outside the house and it wouldn't bother me in the least. For that matter a woman screaming would only get a mild reaction from me. I would roll over and go right back to sleep. When you remove the background noise of society a wonderful eerie stillness is left. Every noise in that stillness is amplified and although 99% of the sounds are benign your filter still needs to adjust to the newness of the experience.

Don't Mace The Mice

Let me say that mice are not cute little critters, they are dirty destructive rodents that should be eliminated. At first I thought of them as furry little jokers and would simply remove them outside with a shovel but not kill them. Now I smack them with that same shovel and fling their dirty little bodies out on the road for the coyotes to eat.

What changed my perception? Well they eat everything and crap everywhere. The boys food bowl is about 3 inches deep by 8 inches round. I would fill it full and they eat what they want but the bowl started being empty every morning. Those awful mice where carrying off the entire bowl worth of food every night storing it under the cabinets. The dogs chew bones and several stuffed animals that frankly were way to big to get under the cabinets where also stored away. Magic mice perhaps.

The dogs like chasing them and Conway patrols every night starting around sundown. He darts from spot to spot cornering them when he finds them. A quick bark alerts Axel who jumps in to help, Axel is more of a supervisor leaving the hard work to Conway. I grab the shovel and pull the dogs back. The mouse is usually cowering under the sofa or behind the trashcan. A quick smack dispatches them. We are slowly reducing their numbers to a more manageable amount.

Traps didn't work they just took the food leaving the trap unsprung. Those little tent sticky traps were apparently a challenge...they chewed a hole through the side and removed the food. Can't use poisons with the dogs but did try a unique approach one evening.

I was getting tired of hearing them scurrying about so arrogantly. I thought that if I could get them out of their little nest I could smack them with the shovel killing off several at once. So I took my bear mace and planned to spray just a tiny squirt under the cabinets making the evil rodents run out where I could quickly dispatch them.

THIS WAS A VERY BAD PLAN

Needless to say the mice didn't scurry but I filled the house with bear mace causing the dogs and I to scurry. Bear mace works by the way and doesn't come off. I was dipping myself and the dogs in the tub out back which only makes it worse. Apparently you have to use milk to neutralize the oil based spray...ironically it was the mice eating into my only box of powered milk the night before that started me on this very bad path. I took the brunt of the spray the dogs only picking up a small amount...the dipping in the tub pissed them off much more than the spray.

So I have decided that as long as the mice keep their numbers in check through common sense family planning and as long as the boys enjoy chasing them I will live with the mice. Oh they also have to stay out of the bed...that's a deal breaker.

The Bed Is Bouncing

On a few occasions I have been awoken in the early morning hours by a low noise that can best be described as a diesel truck idling outside the house the noise has been accompanied by a gentle pulsing that you can actually feel in the bed and even standing in the middle of the house. I have heard this noise probably five times usually around three in the morning. The dogs can also hear the noise and twice they woke me with their growling.

Last night about one in the morning I woke up to the bed pulsing and I heard the low hum of the big truck the dogs were both awake and growling. I got up and went out on the front porch and could still hear and feel the phenomenon. It was a calm clear night and the noise seemed to come from everywhere. I pulled on my boots, grabbed a flashlight and went up on the ridge to see if maybe there was a truck idling on the other side of the hill. Found nothing but the coyotes were going crazy yelping. Could still hear and feel the rhythmic pulse.

I am currently using the backup inverter and I shut if off when I go to bed so there is nothing powered in the house that can vibrate. It is not a helicopter or C130 cargo plane. Both of these frequently fly over very low transporting between Los Alamos and Colorado Springs usually at night. They also wake me up. I have heard it on windy nights but last night it was calm.

As best as I can tell this is the Taos Hum which is a world wide phenomenon that manifests itself as a low throbbing noise in very quiet parts of the world. I have talked with a few neighbors they and their animals also experience the “hum” usually around three in the morning.

It’s not really annoying just kind of weird.

Bear Ridge Update

I have been living full time at Bear Ridge for almost three months. The experience has been close to what I expected. The budget is relatively intact, the house is holding up and summer project are moving forward. I was taking a long break from the internet while I settled in; I needed that separation from my old life to move forward with the new.

I do not consider myself a hardcore survivalist. I am a sustainist; I seek a sustainable existence removed from the trappings of consumer society. I do not want to wall myself off in a bunker, I enjoy my neighbors and actually get pleasure working with them and exchanging ideas. Frankly is it the only way to move forward as a person and as a society.

Here are some of the issues and items I have come across in the past few months.

Injuries are dangerous – Be very careful you are on your own. I had been here for about a month and was working in the sun room. Standing on a ladder drilling holes above my head I fell off the step and dropped the drill. The bit spun into my stomach taking a 3 inch long by ¼ inch wide strip out of my belly. It didn’t cut it but dug out a channel. Anyway this was simply the first of many cuts and punctures I have experienced since living here. Understand you body and be able to deal with these issues.

Plan for trash – There are many homestead sites where you can either burn or bury trash but that is not possible here. The plan was to take the trash away one truckload at a time to the local dump but as the pile grew this became less workable. I finally broke down and rented a 30 cubic yard dumpster. I very nearly filled it with construction refuse, brush and plain trash. No way could I have hauled off all the refuse. Plan your trash removal strategy before hand.

Boredom kills - This has been a big problem. You will be bored. Videos, books and online chats all help deal with the boor monster. I actually took a part time job because of boredom. I now work a couple of days each week for twenty hours. This money is stuck in the well fund. Greatly helps break up the week.

Wood and Propane - I am using about ¾ of a cord or wood each month and the house is staying very very warm. I am using about 80 pounds of propane each month, it is way too much. I only heat with gas when waiting for wood stove to warm up. The water heater is not really efficient; it is an on demand, but still uses a lot of gas. I am now changing that up heating water with sun and on wood stove then using a bucket sprinkler for showering.

Mice are fun – I hate the mice but the boys love them. They spend hours every evening chasing and cornering the mice who have taken up house here in the cabin. The boys love it plus I don’t have to use poisons or mouse traps to catch the beasts.

Shit Freezes – Composting buckets freeze if they are not quickly added to the compost pile. This is really a pain if you only have a few buckets to rotate through the bathroom.

Pee Stinks – I usually will pee off the front porch. If you pee in the same spot that spot quickly becomes stinky. Beware!!!

I will try to post a couple of times every week but you should check me out on twitter where I kick out quick simple thoughts and observations daily.

http://www.twitter.com/BigBearCO

Always remember that the government still possesses a massive surveillance mechanism whose sights are being set on the counter culture survivalist movement.

Globalization Is The Enemy

Globalization is the enemy. Make no mistake it does not matter if Obama or McCain is the president. It does not matter which party is in control. The economic demise America is experiencing is an engineered transfer of wealth whose end is the destruction of the middle classes in every country on the planet and the installation of one all powerful world government.

The lie the globalists used was that by increasing the number of middle class workers in developing nations America would find new markets for their products. Honestly this might have worked unfortunately the corporations maintained their third world laborers in slave labor conditions and pocketed the profits. So rather than equalizing wages around the globe money flowed from the American citizens to the globalists bank accounts.

When corporations, with our governments blessing, started sending our manufacturing jobs to countries that utilize slave labor it was over for America. Logically we were never meant to compete, it was not possible. Our manufacturing jobs were sent to China. A technology bubble was created to placate the upset masses. These replacement jobs were then shipped to India after we developed the systems.

To dampen the American workers loss we were given cheap credit and a booming housing market. All middle class jobs were being shipped overseas at the same time home prices were skyrocketing…did this really make any sense to anyone. All those displaced workers took up employment in the housing industries. Everyone made huge money and no one noticed the strip-mining of our most valuable resource…our jobs.

The wonderful housing bubble also allowed for the entrapment of the remaining American middle class workers in “debt slavery”. Through declining wages, cleaver legislation and the “American Dream” the globalists thought that Americans would simply work themselves to death in an ever decreasing jobs market trapped in their overpriced homes.

This did not happen. As the American workers started sensibly abandoning their upside down mortgages en mass the global elite demanded payout from our government. The banks were given literally trillions in tax payer dollars under the guise of stimulating lending and restarting the massive consumption engine that is America. Instead the loan industry hoarded the money investing in things like toll roads, private prisons and security agencies. All of this legislatively hidden from the American public!

While all this was going on the worlds governments were instituting policies and procedures to combat “terrorism”. The big, bad war on terror is nothing more than a smoke screen that allows the corporate/government complex to install public control mechanisms in an unmolested and patriotic manner. So when it does fall apart in the “developed” nations and the people figure out they have been screwed over it will be easy to maintain control. This is where we are at today.

Tomorrow or Monday Congress will pass a trillion dollar stimulus bill to create jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. It will not work…the stimulus bill will not restart our consumption economy…but that not its real purpose. Our globalist masters will need good roads to fully strip our land and enslave the indebted American public. We still have the largest most productive farmlands in the world and they will need good workers to till and plant.

Don’t worry about the trillion dollars added to our national debt…the republic is dead.

Now I am gonna have a beer and watch another episode of buffy. Tomorrow I will tell you about my tractor.

Today

The sun is going down. Usually by this time of day I am packing up to leave for home. Most weekends were spent rushing around trying to get done the absolute necessary projects before I head back to the springs. It’s an odd feeling to know this is no longer necessary. I still get up and make my list of daily chores but there is no sense of urgency in the activities. I like it.

God knows there are still tons to do here but the place is livable and frankly quite comfortable. I have spent the past couple of days putting away and organizing my new life. Not nearly enough storage…I will work on that. Today it was in the 60’s and I enjoyed it cleaning the backyard and soaking up the sun. Several old piles of sheetrock had melted and needed disposal. Brought in the wood and watered the plants.

The house is staying between 70 and 90 degrees, almost to hot but it feels good. The fire is dead by nine in the morning when the sun takes over the heating duties. Today I had to open a window. Between five and six in the evening I start up the woodstove and it runs through the night. Right now I have a pot of chicken noodle soup with some spam cooking on the woodstove. Had some unburnt pancakes for breakfast…that was a treat and beef ramen for lunch. All Good.

Bill O’Reily just said I have to worry about getting machine gunned by the Mexican drug lords. It’s not just scare mongering, he knows, we should have elected him president he has pretty hair. Tricky Dick Cheney said we are now at risk of a terrorist attack because of the Obama Presidency. We should listen seeing that he planned the last one. It might make me a pinhead (ala o’reily) but I don’t really care about that stuff now.

All that worry just shut down when I moved here.

I am gonna eat my soup, take a walk, watch some Buffy then go to bed.

Just kidding about O’Reily he’s a dirty tool. I am starting to enjoy having a President who can actually speak and think.

Seeds Ordered

After some research I have ordered the seeds for this years crops from a reputable seed trust out of Idaho that specializes in mountain growing. Since the "farm" is at roughly 8700 feet I needed high altitude seed varieties that do well in cooler climates with shorter growing seasons. They also had to be non-hybrid (heritage) seeds from organic distributors. I chose High Altitude Gardens, they have seeds from around the world for the coldest climates and shortest seasons.

Here is the garden

BEANS, POLE - Northeaster
BEANS, BUSH - Montana Green
PEAS - Montana Marvel
PEAS, SNAP - Sugarsnap
CORN, SWEET - Extra Early Bantam
PEPPERS, BELL - Early Mountain Wonder
RADISH, French Breakfast
CARROTS - Kuroda Chanteney
CARROTS - Kinko 6

TOMATO, EARLY - Sub-arctic Plenty
TOMATO, RUSSIAN - Odessa
TOMATO, SIBERIAN - Moscow
TOMATO, SIBERIAN - Red Siberian
TOMATO, PASTE - Mt. Roma
TOMATO, CHERRY - Whippersnapper Cherry

MELON - Minnesota Midget Cantelope
MELON - Sugar Baby Watermelon

LETTUCE, GREEN LEAF - Black Seeded Simpson
LETTUCE, BUTTERHEAD - Buttercrunch Bibb

SUNFLOWER, WILD - Helianthus annus

I am still researching the onions, potatoes and cucumbers but should have varieties and vendors selected soon.

Congress Considers Bear Ridge Proposal

On December 2nd 2008 the Bear Ridge Project proposed a "Common Sense Automaker Bailout" that revolved around giving vouchers to American citizens to purchase new fuel efficient vehicles in an effort to jump start the economy. Now it appears that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif is pushing my proposal.

Congress considers ‘cash for clunkers’ proposal
Owners of old gas hogs would get $4,500 to have them taken off the road

Congress is mulling a proposal to pay people to get rid of those old gas guzzlers sitting in their driveways.

Under legislation introduced Wednesday in both the House and Senate and called the "Cash for Clunkers" program, drivers could get vouchers of up to $4,500 when they turn in their old fuel-inefficient vehicles for scrapping and buy vehicles that get good gas mileage.

People could also turn in their old cars for vouchers that could be used to ride public buses and trains.

The bill, said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., "would be an important part of helping getting America's struggling automobile industry back on its feet, and help consumers who are concerned about covering the cost of buying a more fuel-efficient vehicle."

Taking gas guzzlers off the road, added Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a co-sponsor, "would reduce our dependence on foreign oil, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and stimulate the economy."

The proposal will only work if it creates American manufacturing jobs. If I get called before Congress to testify will I have to buy new pants?

GM had a great electric car in the 90's. It was killed off by oil and car lobbies. This is a documentary that explains what happened...Who Killed The Electric Car?

2009 Garden Start

I have started working on the 2009 garden. Here is what I am planning taking into consideration the short growing season and less then fertile soil. I have most of the seeds but still need to pick up a few high altitude varieties. Everything will be planted directly in the ground or in raised beds depending on soil conditions. The growing season is from roughly June 1st through mid September, hopefully I can extend it with small hothouses.

Pole Bean
Peas

Carrots
Onions

Cantaloupe (maybe)
Watermelon (maybe)

Tomatoes (containers)
Peppers
Potatoes
Radishes

Lettuce (late season)

Sunflowers (grow wild)
Mushrooms (maybe)

Night Vision Update

If you are looking to keep track of the crazy neighbor down the road the EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles might not be your best investment. On the other hand if you are out to keep the Chupacabras from eating the chickens and molesting the dogs they will work fine.

Took a hike late Saturday night with the goggles just to see how well they preformed on the move. Long story short it was bad. The full moon really sharpened the surroundings on low power but the narrow field vision made walking difficult. The limitations actually heightened my paranoia, you just don't know what is in your peripheral.

Now, the EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles did preform really well watching a stationary target. For monitoring a hen house, shed or trail from a single point they work great. You are able to focus on a small area and your peripheral does not really play into it although you should always be mindful of what is around you.

So take it for what it is worth. The EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles are a cheap alternative to high dollar night vision rigs.

Night Vision

Being a city boy by heart one of the strangest experiences for me is the absolute darkness you find when the sun goes down in the valley. Even in rural America you have the pole light attached to the side of the barn or the ambient glow from a nearby town, there is always some light. Not at the cabin, occasionally four distant lights make dots by the lake roughly six miles away, otherwise complete blackness. Great star viewing but there is the uneasiness of the unknown in the shadows.

I have grown accustom to the singing coyotes and foraging deer that come out after sunset and the occasional thud against the cabin wall no longer gets me out of bed at night. Still you always wounder what is out there...you want to see.

A few years ago I bought this night vision monocular from Harbor Freight for about a hundred bucks. It was fun but horrible quality and had focal problems. Difficult to steady, more of a toy than a true survival tool. Anyway it was stolen during the breaking last year.

I was doing some research on night vision technologies the other day cause I really want to replace the monocular before I move down. I wanted goggles...very expensive. The more I looked the more a certain model kept popping up. These were not high end military night vision goggles as a matter of fact they are a toy...but everyone loved them.

EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles are a kids toy but they actually work really well...and you can see clearly in the dark. They have two setting low, which uses passive infrared technology to give a decent night image and high that uses a set of infrared lights to illuminate out fifty plus feet. Honestly just like daylight great quality picture.

$58 On Clearance!

Only one eye has a monitor so they are not true binocular vision but they strap to your head leaving the hands free. The field of vision is somewhat limited but the picture is crystal clear, in focus and static free. Very bright, very sharp image. If you are looking for a cheap night vision rig this works. Saturday night I will try it out on a hike and let you know.

Happy New Year

The big move is still on for January but not the first. My contract was extended for a few more weeks and seeing how I won't be working in corporate America for a paycheck any longer it seemed prudent to suck up as much cash as possible. So I am pushing the date out to the second or third week of January. This is unfortunate seeing that I am crawling the walls but really it is the right thing to do.

December was a relatively productive month. Got the insulated floor installed and wood stove reconfigured to produce more heat with a longer burn. Basically I built a damper and changed out the first couple of chimney pipe sections with black pipe. Huge difference especially with the insulated floor. My new (old) wood stove has some cracks around the door so I will need figure out how to fix or relegate the beast to trash burning duties. The partner finished up the compost bin.

We are heading down this weekend to switch out the super insulated sunroom windows with the uninsulated picture windows on the front of the cabin. They are all the same size. The window I picked up on clearance for the sunroom are great with a good low-e coating sadly they are so good at insulating no heat gets in from the sun. So we swap them, big job but necessary.

I was also flirting with the idea of purchasing another piece of land out on the valley floor. They are flat and covered with sagebrush, pretty much just junk land...views are great but no trees. The old boy I bought my land from was selling the 5 acre lots for $2800. Prefect for building EarthShips which I am interested in but frankly don't have the time yet. Maybe next year I will do some more research on it and let you know.

Take care everyone and Happy New Year

Common Sense Automaker Bailout

This automaker retooling proposal is based on the currently allocated $25 billion bailout already promised to the American automotive industry.

Give the big three automakers $3 billion each for retooling American plants to produce efficient electric cars priced under $15,000. With an additional $1 billion awarded to the first automaker producing the new vehicle. No outsourcing all work and parts done at American plants creating new jobs.

The remaining $15 billion will be used to give a $15,000 coupon to anyone wanting to buy a new electric car or small truck. This will afford the people economical small vehicles. If you want a nicer electric car go to the bank and borrow for the rest of the money. The car coupon is your down payment.

$15 billion is enough for 1,000,000 car coupons. The coupons can only be used on American made electric cars or trucks. Weighted treatment goes to lower income individuals in urban and rural areas. Small cars will alleviate the problems caused by shrinking mass transportation systems and heavy pollution caused by auto exhaust. The coupons will be awarded over the course of 4 years from the beginning of production. Coupons must be redeemed within 2 month or are forfeit.

This method will guarantee that our tax dollars are not sent to upgrade plants in Brazil and Mexico. Everyone wins, we greatly reduce our dependence on foreign oil, replace old gas guzzling monsters with clean electric cars, create possibly millions of new clean industry jobs and jump to the technological front of the alternative energy industry wave.

Compared to the massive banking bailout this modest proposal will actually work towards an economic rebound by creating good middle class jobs and off industry opportunities.

GM had a great electric car in the 90's. It was killed off by oil and car lobbies. This is a documentary that explains what happened...Who Killed The Electric Car?

Bear Ridge Project Update

The Bear Ridge Project is my journey to move from a consumer driven life style to a self sustaining off grid existence.

I will be moving to Bear Ridge permanently on January 1st 2009. The original plan was to be at the cabin full time by June 1st. Obviously this did not happen. Money and time were not on my side but things are now happening as planned and the cabin and I are nearly ready. To be honest I could have moved in June but life would have been terrible rough.

I didn't have the proper heat or power in place or any protected growing facilities for indoor crops. The power system was weak and the foundation unstable. I now have a big wood stove for primary heating of the house and water and have standardized on propane for backup. I decided on an Eccotemp L10 on demand water heater and a Mr Heater Big Buddy unit for backup heat. Both work great at my altitude and have no problem staying lit. The stove and backup generator also run on propane.

The power system has grown from the small portable two battery unit with a 230 Amp/hour capacity to a much larger array sized at 1600 Amp/hours. They are charged by six 130 watt solar panels which replaced the small 45 watt 3 panel array. A small 3500 watt propane generator is used for backup. I may still add a couple more 130 watt panels before the first.

The big sun room will be finished this weekend and the greenhouse portion of the project hopefully done next. A shed with large south side greenhouse will be built in December weather permitting doubling the growing space. I plan on starting my winter tomatoes around the first of December so they can be moved to their final home after the first. The goal is to be able to survive and thrive on around $100 per month. So the produce is very important.

January is not the ideal month to move but hey you have to get through it anyway might as well start off with the worst. I am very excited and will keep you informed.

Strange Events

No, I am not going to be speaking about alien abductions. Yes, there were unexplained disappearances and mysterious lights in the sky but it was most certainly not an alien abduction. Indeed, the San Luis Valley does have a problem with missing persons, secret bases, unworldly creatures and strange flying craft but this is not about alien abductions. That being said...

I arrived at the cabin around 6 pm on Thursday October 2nd. I had planned to spend several days down there working on the sun room and fixing some foundation issues. This was also a bug out simulation...I was worried about the possible declaration of martial law if the bail out did not pass. So I scheduled off a few days to wait it out.

Within a few minutes of arriving my closest neighbor Mary dropped by to inform me that Hank, our neighbor down the road who is also building a cabin, was missing and had not been seen since around 9 that morning. I could see Hank's van sitting in front of his place. Hank is a gentleman in his upper 70's who had suffered a recent stroke and has heart problems. It was our opinion that he probably suffered another stroke, wandered off and passed out in the sage brush or nearby woods.

I got the power going at the house, put the dogs up and headed over to join a small group of neighbors and family friends searching the immediate area for Hank. It was about 6:30 pm at this time. We all wandered through the sage and around the house looking. It got dark and sometime between 7:30 and 8:00 pm two sheriff's deputies came out I think they had their lights on. They joined in the search, looked through the van and ask us when we had last seen him.

The deputies asked about our other neighbor who lived a little further up the road. It dawned on us that Bob was not around. The deputies ran up to Bob's place sometime between 8:30 and 9:00 pm to see if he knew anything. Bob was also missing so everyone assumed that the two had gone off to look at the Aspens turning or something. The deputies said that if Hank had not shown up by Friday morning they would bring in a search and rescue team.

So Friday comes and still no Hank. The deputies showed back up around noon followed by the search and rescue (SAR) team. The SAR team brought ATV's, horses and may people going through the brush on foot. The searched for several hours and finished up around 4:30 pm. I drove over to speak with the deputies about 5 pm assuming that they had found him. When I got over there they were bagging the contents of the van.

They told me that Hank would show up and that this kind of thing was common. It was strange that they were bagging stuff from the van. The deputies stayed by the van until dark when another car showed up to relieve them. I looked through the binoculars and noticed that they had taped off the van and house with yellow tape. Very odd if they were sure Hank was coming back.

Around 1:30 am on Saturday I heard an engine revving jumped up and looked out the window. The deputies were driving up along the ridge behind Hanks house through the sage with all the searchlights on, one deputy driving the other out walking next to their cruiser. They were searching for someone. After 30 minutes or so they left, 10 minutes later I heard someone yelling couldn't make out what they were saying. I guess the deputies were waiting just down the road because they came roaring back in with spot lights on looking again. Unnerving.

Saturday morning brought a different SAR team which did an arm linked search of the surrounding area...they found nothing. Saturday evening Mary and I met with a deputy to find out if we needed to worry about our safety. We wanted to know if there was a killer running lose...he would not answer. I slept with my pistol under the pillow and rifle next to the bed that night.

On Sunday they brought in a dog team and several "specialist" searchers, not sure what their specialty was but they were strange. No hits, nothing. Hanks extended family had started to arrive and were wandering the hills surrounding the area. Through the night there where many cars and people showing up over at Hanks. My guess is that as family members showed up in town the first thing they wanted to do was go searching. So the evening was filled with flashlights and people yelling.

Hank had left the house on that Thursday morning wearing a gray hooded sweat shirt and faded jeans. Unfortunately his wardrobe choice matches the sage brush that covers the ground out here. He could be lying five feet from you in the bushes and you wouldn't notice him.

No one was searching for Bob although there were several stories circulating about his whereabouts. He had posted a comment on his blog from home on Thursday night at 7:30 pm, about the time the deputies drove by, regarding a camera he purchased. The camera was to be delivered Monday and he was excited. By 9 pm when the deputies stopped by he had vanished. The final story given by his mother was that he had decided to leave everything and go live with his ex-wife in Texas. Bob self-built a wonderful off grid cabin, had a horse and other livestock but gave all that up on a whim to go live with an ex-wife.

Hank's family was allowed to take his van back to town on Monday. I visited with one of his nephews Monday afternoon. He told me they suspected foul play. He thought that "someone" forced Hank into a vehicle, took him somewhere and killed him. There was no blood or signs of a struggle at the site and strangers just don't happen down these rural roads.

It has been almost a month now. Hank and Bob are both still missing without a trace. In the week before they went missing a body was found burning in a barrel placed in the middle of the road one county over and another body was found laying across a country road on the south face of Mt Blanca in the northern part of this county. Violence is everywhere, moving out of a city will not remove you from it's presence.

Hank and Bob both went missing on the same day, it could be a coincidence or foul play the question hangs and we may never know.

...of course it is possible that they were both abducted by aliens!

The names of the neighbors have been changed to protect the families privacy.

Knock at the Door

The government maintains a list of citizens it views as a threat. These individuals are slated for roundup and detention at the onset of Marshall Law or a national emergency. What would you do if your partner or child was on this list? How would you warn them not to come home if the police came by to pick them up? How would the detainment of this family member impact your ability to survive?

About a month and a half ago I went home to walk the boys at lunch. At around 12:30 there was a loud knock on the door. Now being your average freedom loving anti-social paranoid Libertarian dog lover I decided to ignore it assuming it was someone pedaling candy bars or Jesus. The dogs were of course going crazy. I walked into the living room and peeked out the curtains to see who the offending intruder was. Thinking Jehovah Witnesses I was surprised to see two men in black tactical gear with Sheriffs Department embossed on there back leaving my building.

Instantly a knot formed in the pit of my stomach and I broke out in goose bumps. As the two walked to their unmarked car parked halfway up the block I tried to come up with a reason for them to be here. No tickets, no lawsuits...nothing. There was no reason for the sheriff's department to come knocking at my door. My bodies response to this visit was way out of line for someone who had committed no crime...or anything.

As I calmed down and shook off my desire to bug out to the cabin the reason settled in.

The idea that I could be captured and disappear without any trace really upset me. Under normal circumstances I would get a jail house call and could request a lawyer. But today's police state is not normal. My blog entries and comments I have posted could easily label me an enemy combatant if not a terrorist. For that matter anyone who expresses political or social views in public forums could be a target.

I shook it off and went back to work. But for the next few day I kept the curtains and windows closed worried that the black shirts would be back for me. I forgot about it.

About two weeks later Ryan and I walked down to get ice cream. It was around 9 pm, just after dark. A half a block from the house we saw two sheriff's deputies get out of there car and walk towards our place. Ryan spotted them first and nudged me about the time I saw them. We casually turned up the side street and walked a block to the park. Why we did this I do not know, again neither of us had done anything wrong but we both are very vocal about our political views.

We sat in the park for about 10 minutes and Ryan decided to go confront the officers. "I have done nothing wrong I don't have anything to worry about" he said. I on the other hand was trying to figure out how to get the dogs and fifteen buckets of food out of the back of the house and into the truck without being seen. Plus I was cussing myself for not having everything I needed already packed in the truck and ready to go.

We decided that he would go confront the officers and I would wait ten minutes then follow. If it was all clear he would turn off the back porch light. If the light was still on I would assume he was detained and get hold of a lawyer. Granted it sounds extreme and paranoid but we do live in a police state where it is legal to remove and indefinitely detain citizens...their rights being stripped at the whim of an out of control executive. Plus this is Colorado Springs, a city with a brutal police force which does not tolerate political dissent.

Anyway, the storm troopers were gone, the light was off, all was well and they have not been back since.

When the ICE agents pick up your spouse or child what plans do you have in place to deal with the loss. ICE is running full scale practice drills right now on illegal immigrants and drug dealers. They coordinate with local and state authorities creating a quickly deployed dragnet capturing the target people and anyone else who happens to be nearby.

There is an assumption that entire families will be detained but I suggest that this will not be the case. The mass arrests currently preformed by ICE seize and detain the targeted individual leaving the family and many times just the children remaining to fend for themselves. What happens when your spouse or children come home to an empty house not even realizing you have been incarcerated?

What plans have you made for this very likely capture and detainment scenario.


***I picked this up over at Survivalist News this morning...it makes my point

According to a senior government official…”There exists a database of Americans, who, often for the slightest and most trivial reason, are considered unfriendly, and who, in a time of panic, might be incarcerated. The database can identify and locate perceived ‘enemies of the state’ almost instantaneously.” … One knowledgeable source claims that 8 million Americans are now listed in Main Core as potentially suspect. In the event of a national emergency, these people could be subject to everything from heightened surveillance and tracking to direct questioning and possibly even detention.

Down Side

Last weekend I showed the great view from my retreat cabin. Here is the down side to self building.

A couple of weeks back we had a big wind storm come through. It tore up a section of roofing. I tried to fix it but obviously did not do the job right. So today when the storms came it poured in right onto the couch. But hey that life.

Tomorrow I am will talk to the local roofing distributer and get a quote on a metal roof. It will cost more but hopefully the rain will stay outside.

Stay Dry

Instant Coffee

Instant Coffee is the most rancid substance on the face of the earth.

I got up this morning and could not find my coffee pot, there was plenty of coffee but the pot was no where to be found. My guess is that I left it at the house but can not be sure until I check. Usually I get up and fix a pot of coffee on the wood or propane stove. It is strong, black and full of grounds...I am not a great coffee maker but it is decent and gets me going in the morning . But today was different.

As I sat here pondering how I was going to get the dried coffee into a liquid and then into my body I remembered that I had stashed some instant coffee in one of my survival boxes. So I rooted around until I found the little red jar.

I read the instructions then getting irritated by not have any coffee yet just dumped a bunch into the bottom of the cup. Boiled some water, stirred it in and presto instant coffee. Pleased with myself I took my wonderful cup of morning delight out onto the deck to sip casually in the sun.

Raising the mug to my lips I took the first sip of my creation. It was the most horrid tasting substance to ever enter my mouth...and that is saying alot. But like a true addict I choked down the foul black brew. I sit here now fully awake and charged for the day but still have that nasty taste in my mouth as a reminder to make sure I have all my supplies when leaving for my retreat.

Shaving on a Budget

How will I shave in the post collapse world. Money will be tight or non existent and what is had should be spent on items that keep you alive. But common things like grooming are necessary and give you a feeling for normalcy. Is shaving a necessity or a luxury.

I shave my head so purchasing decent razors is now a necessity but a four pack of Gillette Fusion blades run about $14 bucks. This makes them a luxury. I hate cheap two blade disposables and can only get a couple of shaves out of them before they dull. Plus at the rate I go through them they quickly become just as expensive as the Fusion's.

I have thought about purchasing a straight razor and with practice could probably use it to shave my face. Unfortunately there are several divots and troughs in my head which makes shaving even with nice razor difficult, it could be outright deadly with the straight razor.

I could just let it grow out...but I like it really short and have gotten used to it shaved. If I let it run wild I would have to wash it and deal with combing and such...possibly a pony tail.

But I have a solution!

Save a bundle on razor blades with the ingenious new razor sharpener, Save A Blade™.

Save A Blade´s patented Micro Honing technology sharpens old, dull blades to like-new condition saving you hundreds of dollars every year and it works on all types of razors.

Get up to 200 smooth shaves from a single blade.

The Gillette Fusion blades are horrible expensive but they shave great, especially when you are shaving your entire head several times a week. I could get about 2 weeks out of one blade if lucky. I started using the Save A Blade and can now get roughly 2 months out of one blade. Granted this is not the 200 smooth shaves they advertise but it has saved me a good deal of money. The only problem is the lubrication strip wears completely off, but I can deal with that.

An 8 pack of blades should last me about 16 months. I picked up the Save A Blade at Walgreen's for about $10.

Or I could just get come clippers and keep it burred down and forget about razors all together.

Buy the way I am not selling this thing just letting you know my experience with it.