Our Uncertain World

                              
   Does anyone still listen to regular news any more? If you do you either hear all kinds of rosey things like things are getting better ! The shots are out and everyone is going to be safe and well! Then there is the yes things are good but WATCH OUT a different version is coming back and it's even worse!
   If you listen to alternative news you hear about 20 countries are halting things because of blood clots. Then you hear other things about a lot of people in the front lines that are refusing to take anything. There are all kinds of people not making it either minutes and hours or just within days of "doing their duty". Personally I have talked to quite a few people from just regular folks to doctors and nurses and people at the bank and every one of them say they have not had any problems other than maybe a little sore arm. Well at least so far. I'm waiting to see how things work out for the folks within the next 6 months or if the "new virus" kicks their tail because they did their duty.
    We can't stick our head in the sand because oh! We might get sick. Some folks have done their duty and feel like they are "safe". They talk about the science behind it all and even though the science also talks about the high odds of doing good if you do get it unless your over a certain age or have health issues.
   We don't know what is going to happen next. Our new normal is uncertainty, fear, wonder how to pay bills, if you will have food to eat and that is when the stores are open and food on the shelves! When the newest biggest bug is going to be turned loose on us. What are they going to do next time? Shut down our food supply again? Just limit what is available and who can work and who has to go begging for whatever it takes to make it through till things get better?
     How many of us are just saying we can do this. Just be patient it's getting better see? How many of us feel hopeless. Wondering how you can do it and if you can depend on anyone other than yourself of immediate family.
     I guess it gets down to now days like a dangerous sporting event. The best defense is a good offense. ( Is that the way it goes? I'm not a sports person.) 
    What can we do when the politics of our country doesn't seem to be making things better and sometimes worse? Inflation is what is supposed to be hitting us next. Partly due to some kind of oil pipeline being canceled I think I heard. That means everything we need and use every day will start climbing in price. How the ~~!@# can you do that when you can't afford what you have to have now?!!
    I have been doing some thinking about that. I found some kind of gadget online that can figure out just how much most families need for a whole year. Isn't that what the Mormons do? Have a large amount of food stored just for times like now? Anyway .... I am going to be printing some stuff on the blog for families to know how much they may use in a year. Yes not all families will use that much or the same things but it gives a person guidance. I didn't put numbers in for children because I figured if I do Adults only that should take care of the kids. That is unless you have a teenage boy that can eat a whole barn food of chow! LOL
    The first one I am putting out will be basic info for a person to chew on. I hope some of this info will either get a person thinking or what would be wonderful is to let it be the start of a person teaching others. Many of the people I personally know are aware of these things. Every now and then I run into someone that wants to know more but doesn't know where to start or maybe they just need a little info on how to store food in buckets or about canning using a pressure canner. I don't know all those answers BUT part of the purpose of this is to get folks to communicate and work together teaching and learning.
    Learning groups could be with other family members, the person you know at school that gardens and can's all the time you can help them and learn how to do things. It can be churches with knowledgeable people saying I know how to can, dry food, use storage buckets or bags anyone wants to learn this meet me here at a certain time. Maybe the church has a kitchen or room you can use if you don't want folks in your home now days. 
   When you look at the numbers for just a family it doesn't look too hard. When you start getting up into the 25, 100, 1000 numbers for families or church groups or even a small town like 3000 people don't be intimidated.
    I got to looking at a lot of the foods and they can be grown in most places of the country. You get some folks with some farming equipment out there going and you can actually feed a town of 3000 people! It doesn't even have to be a farmer. If you get enough folks growing tomatoes or cucumbers or potatoes in a large back yard even it's amazing how many folks can eat.
    You can have your own connections and sell or trade goods with folks. If every small town had a good butcher processing place, a good farmers market, a commercial kitchen with trained folks to turn out safe canned goods ( or at least learn how) from jelly to green beans. Even some kind of small mill just big enough to process wheat into flour.... that town wouldn't have to be so concerned about if wally world has food on the shelves. Worried about the powers that be messing everything up again or even worse....? No problem if small towns were able to provide most of their own stuff.
    Bonus thing is providing the towns own food supply would also provide a lot of jobs for out of work people! It can be done. Just folks have to get together and figure it out. Spring is here... time to plant gardens and have extra to sell or share with folks in need.
    Contact your ag people for your county. All kinds of grants out there for greenhouses and especially if your of a color other than white skin you can probably get a good start into something to provide your family and community with year round foods.
    ( Oh yes, maybe the government is all worried about skin colors before they will help you but I don't care what your skin color is. I will teach, buy or sell or give you food if needed if your good folks.)

Love
Ranchmama
The blog is hard to copy from I think. I tried and it didn't work. If anyone wants a copy of some of this info coming out I will happily email you a copy for you to print or share with a group.