Monday, October 27, 2014

Preparedness


Fall is the best time of year for sky-watching. What a start to the day!

Yesterday I put up another seven quarts of applesauce, then we unloaded the two cords of oak Rick and Brian cut and brought home recently. Our woodshed is full, so Rick built a pallet platform to keep it all together and off the ground. We don't need it for this winter, but it is as good as money in the bank for later.

Some poor squirrel lost the "money in the bank" s/he stashed, though. Look at all the acorns in the wood!

A couple weeks ago, representatives from the American Red Cross gave a presentation on disaster preparedness at our church. I'm glad I attended; my knowledge was reinforced, refreshed, revamped, and amped up. We are more prepared than most for disasters by virtue of our lifestyle, but I need to put together what we have in a "go pack."

Although house fires are by far the most common "disaster," when someone says that word around here they are usually talking about  The Big One, a massive earthquake from a shifting of the Cascadia subduction zone. (I encourage you to follow the link; the Cascadia fault, and its history, are fairly recent discoveries.) Personally, I'm not sure it's possible to be prepared for a disaster of that magnitude, but neither do I think we should stick our heads in the sand and our fingers in our ears. My biggest concern is having enough water on hand for all the critters that depend on us in the event of an extended power outage/infrastructure failure. I've long dreamed of having a man-powered system – like a stationary bicycle device under a simple shed roof – to run our well pump. We do have a generator, but that would help us only as long as we had fuel. Things to think about, but not to stress over.



Thankful for my Father at . . .



8 comments:

2halves said...

I would bet that lost acorn stash is that of an Acorn Woodpecker instead of a squirrel! It's a small amount, they won't miss it!

Pia

Michelle said...

Thank-you, Pia! I wondered if it could be the work of a woodpecker, but had never heard of the acorn woodpecker before this.

Florida Farm Girl said...

Looks like those acorns were stashed by a woodpecker rather than a squirrel. You have different woodies out there than we have, so I couldn't say which one.

Tombstone Livestock said...

That was my first thought too, a squirrel would stands them in a hollow big enough to get into, however I don't believe they would be beyond stealing from the woodpeckers

Michelle said...

Yep, FFG;see Pia's comment.

Haha, Audrey; you're probably correct about thieving squirrels!

Susan said...

Looks like everyone (woodpeckers and squirrels included) is getting ready for winter. Having a go pack is a great idea. Thanks for the link - I should put that on my to-do list for winter, as you never know...

C-ingspots said...

Amen Michelle...we occasionally think about it, try to be as prepared as we can be, but never worry about it. Water is our main concern too. That picture is gorgeous!! That one needs to be enlarged and framed...then given to me as a Christmas gift. :)

Amanda said...

The way those acorns are each tucked into their own hole look the work of the Acorn Woodpecker. Their communal pantries are very distinctive. They're a west coast species, and if I've got you sited correctly, you're on the eastern edge of their range. You can find out more on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's web site.