Apocalyptic Homesteading (Day 37-38)
Hello Everyone!
A brief introduction: Hi I am Jacob.
TL;DR: There is no tl;dr because you should have more patience and attention span than a gnat on a high wind.
Apocalyptic Homesteading Day 37-38!
A Storm Blows In, Hunkering Down, Winter's Mental Challenges & A Happy Holiday
It is a bit late in the morning but I should probably try to get something written before my inclination to do so begins to fade with the rising sun. It is however a very windy and chilly morning so I am not planning on working outdoors or anything so honestly I should just take my time and spell out my ponderous thoughts. Even though the wind is gusting (and there is frosty ice covering everything outdoors) if this is the worst that this region has as far as winter weather goes then it is not that bad at all. With all the wind the tent is a little more difficult to keep warm but all things considered that just amounts to me running the propane heater a little more than usual and not going in and out of the tent as much as I normally do to help keep the warm air trapped inside.
The day was a total washout because it poured rain from the wee hours of the morning until a little after dark and although at times it was really coming down 'in buckets' it was mostly just a steady consistent downpour that made doing anything outdoors an absolute no go! I did not mind it all that much really because I needed a day off after all my recent exertions and although I wound up playing my favorite video game a good bit I also took so many naps that I lost track of them after the third or fourth one. It was after all perfect napping weather and nothing shy of an emergency was going to jostle me from the tent where I was all cozy and warm with the dogs.
There is something about a raging storm going on and the only separation being an eighth of an inch layer of canvas acting as a barrier to it... that made me feel all the more appreciative of said eighth of an inch layer of canvas and I spent a good portion of my day just feeling grateful for not just the tent but the entire base camp as well as the hospitality and thoughtfulness of the folks here that made it all possible. Mild winters or not camping during the winter is generally a grueling affair. Hell, just storing (and keeping up with) all the layers of clothes that I need for going outdoors is a task in and of itself not to mention the amount of space the small mountain of clothes takes up indoors. Like I have said numerous times before though... having sufficient clothing and gear like chapstick, gloves, bandannas, warm hats and so forth is pretty essential to ease most of the challenges that cold weather presents but the real challenges are always the mental ones. The thing is that if I can meet those mental challenges with being at least physically prepared (so as not to induce more discomfort or injuries) then it is just a matter of avoiding listening to too much of my own bullshit and stemming off negative thought patterns and supplanting them with ones that will serve me better in the long run which pretty much just amounts to keeping things pragmatic and not losing sight of my sense of humor.
I guess that what I am getting at there is that to keep a healthy perspective on things I often do not mind listening to my more 'negative' thought patterns because they are just as valid as my more healthy minded ones but to indulge in them overly much just seems like it never leads anywhere good which could also be said about those more 'healthy' ones... so somewhere between the two is more where I am aiming for because really to ignore one (the other, or both) just seems like a recipe for calamity or what I now think of as predictable surprises! Of late I have been telling/reminding myself a lot to 'not breathe anxiety into the world' and although that one has served me well I should probably update it to being 'do not breathe anxiety into myself nor the world' which words it out much more accurately as far as the original meaning behind the saying goes.
Anyway, I started writing this during the morning and never finished it nor got it edited and while it is after all a holiday and I have taken the day off entirely... I wanted to wrap this post up so that it was not nagging at me. Today (now Day 38) was super mellow and all that I really did was turn the water system back on, play my favorite video game, play with the dogs, eat a bunch of fruit and drink a bunch of eggnog and coffee. It is worth noting that I did not mix those last two things together because having done that in the past I have found that between the thick consistency of both that they form quite the 'sludge' in my cup and although tasty it is just too damn thick and winds up having the consistency of a smoothie!
All that jazz aside, I have pretty much just been in 'hunker down' mode since the bad weather moved into the area and although I did do some prep work (like filling a five gallon jug with water in case the grid goes down) I did not have to do nearly as much as when I was in the mountains and had to prep for snow and ice accumulation. I did secure my solar panels by tying them to a tree with some rope and I also put everything that could get blown around by the strong winds in the storage tent but really high winds was the worst of what the storm had to offer aside from a bunch of rain.
Well, I should get to winding this all down and get it all edited and posted. One thing that I did today that was kind of fun was while it was super sunny outside I went over to the new shelter site and took a bunch of pictures of the area and some of the views that the area has of the surrounding woods. Hopefully some of the pictures came out well and I can include them in this post. I hope that everyone is doing well and has a wonderful holiday.
More about me: I have been doing property caretaking (land stewardship) for many years (decades) and live a rather simple life with my dogs doing what most folks would consider to be an 'alternative minimalist lifestyle' but what I often just think of as a low-impact lifestyle where I get to homestead and spend the majority of my time alone with my dogs in the woods doing projects in the warmer months and taking some downtime during the colder months.
Nearly four years ago I began sharing the adventures (misadventures) of my life via writing, videos, pictures and the occasional podcasts and although my intention was to simply share my life with some friends it undoubtedly grew into much more than that over the years and now I find myself doing what equates to a full-time job just 'sharing my life' which is not even all that glamorous or anything but hey folks seem to enjoy it so I just keep doing it!
The way that I look at it is that I give it all my best each day and while some stuff I write is better than others I think that for the most part I do a pretty good job at doing what I am doing which is simply 'sharing my life' as candidly as I possibly can and whatever folks get (or do not get) from it there is always the satisfaction of me doing what I set out to do... which is to simply share my life.
https://peakd.com/c/hive-114308/created
https://peakd.com/hive/@jacobpeacock/hive-survival-guide-sixth-edition
Looks like like things are coming along nicely!
Mornings are tough in the winter for sure! If you can actually get out bed I find the rest just follows!
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 135/150) Liquid rewards.
Indeed!