I enjoy working on the farm. It is hard work but relaxing at the same time. The farm is coming alone nicely. Here are some pictures from the last few weeks

We had a good time as a family on the farm planting fruit and nut bearing trees. We planted fruit and nut bearing trees and bushes.

We were able to plant 41 trees and 15 bushes including

Trees (Fruit)
Apricot
Mulberry
Nectarine
PawPaw
Peach
Asian Pear
Kieffer Pear
Pecan
Plum
Plumcot

Trees (Nut)
Black Walnut
Chestnut

Bushes (Fruit)Blueberry
Elderberry
Goji Berry

Medicinal
Comfrey

The comfrey is planted with trees and bushes as a living mulch and as a medicinal.

It was so nice that it was a family effort with Connie and JonnyLee.

ThanksRob K for the walnut trees and the use of his autocross car a few weeks ago (that was fun and we didn’t die)
Rabbit Ridge in Coats, NC for the fruit trees.
Permapastures Farm in WNC for the comfrey

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We were blessed to have the opportunity to help out with the recovery in Hot Springs, NC. The amount of damage was hard to see, but the local businesses are working hard to get back up and running. It is going to take a while.

I think the attitude was best expressed by the sign in the widow of Gentry Hardware

Here are some pictures of the damage from the hurricane

We had a great time camping on Troublesome Gap with friends! Thanks to everyone for joining us and helping out.

One morning we were treated to a valley full of fog, where the tops of the mountains looked like islands, simply amazing

Some of the sunrises were amazing

It was a wonderful weekend

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We had a great time participating in the autocross at the NC Car facility.

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We had the privilege of going to help with the recovery for a few days. The damage is hard to describe. One of the major problems is that the power and data infrastructure can’t be repair because major swathes of power lines and power poles are just gone. Power poles snaped in half. Cars wrapped around trees. We were working in an area where power may not be restored for 6-9 months. Thanks so much for everyone in our crew and the many people coming to help out and sending supplies. Here are some pictures

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Simply Us Farm is a local farm that my wife and I run. One of the projects for this year is to develop gift boxes for Christmas. I wanted to share some of the thinking behind the process of designing the gift boxes. Usually my blog entries focus on the design sides of new product develpment, but this is a journey into product management.

Background

Local businesses often struggle to market and sell products. This is driven by several issues including

not having a fully developed sales channel – wholesale, retail and online
smaller number of items in their catalog
catalog items are often very hyper focused on what the small business is passionate about

This is especially true for small farms. Simply Us Farms is young farm in NC adding new production every year. The farm specializes in uncommon fruits and berries with high nutritional value and high anti-oxident content.

The challenge for this holiday season is to develop a gift basket. Simply Us Farms produces honey from the farm and from Troublesome Gap. One option is to team up with other local producers to create a specialty gift basket filled with local goods and the honey from the Simply Us Farm.

Sources of Inspiration

Dan the Sausage Man is a company that produces a well thought out line of gift baskets. They also have a great origin story that they effectively share. Here is the story from their website.

They provide a variety of gift baskets that vary with the seaon and a different price points.

The internet also provides lots of examples of gift baskets that feature or include honey.

Goal

Provide a great gift that will be appreciated by the person receiving it. We want to create an special experience for the person who puts the contents of the gift basket to use.

Basket Themes

We want to help the basket user create a special culinary experience. This could be categorized several different ways. One way is to associate the experience with snack or meal. Here are some options

pre-breakfast (such as morning coffee)
breakfast
brunch
lunch
dinner
snack

Other opportunities is to associate the gift with an event include

picnic
thank you (professional or personal)
family or personal tradition
specific holiday (religious, cultural or social – examples: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween)
birthday or other personal milestone (maybe a 50th anniversary, college graduation, or baby shower)
wedding present
corporate / organizational gift, thank you or award

Packaging

Because these are limited runs, the packaging needs to be something that is easy to decorate and off the shelf. We can print labels to designate the package as a Simply Us Farm gift box. Decoration can also show which version of the gift box is in packaging after it is closed up. The filler material and the box should be easily recyclable. Possibly a crinkle paper. It would be nice to have a single box that held the 3 smallest configurations, just to keep down on the number of boxes to purchase.

What to Put in the Baskets

Simply Us Farm has two types of honey available (farm honey / Bennett, NC & mountain honey / Troublesome Gap, NC). We can pour that honey into different size jars. Currently we have

1/2 lb
1 lb
sample size

It would be great if the gift box / basket could be filled with items from local farms and vendors. Here are possible companion products from a brainstorming session

honey dipping utensils
coffee (maybe with a coffee stirrer)
sauces (maybe bbq or some other sauce for a process that can involve honey)
sourkraut or other fermented food
teas
table cloth or other items to set a scene
meat product (cured ham, sausage or sliced)
crackers
cheese
jelly or jam (including fig)
honey from another farm with a different taste
recipes or cookbook
food mix
juice (maybe grape, elderberry, or other)
mug with a relevant graphic
medicinals (locally sourced)
balloons for a birthday or other party
pumpkin something for fall
placemats for the table with a seasonal color scheme
locally made pottery or mugs
locally made candles (maybe with a seasonal scent)

Themes

We also wanted to think about how we could build gift box around a them. The theme helps build an emotional connection with the gift giver and receiver. Turning it from a box with food items into an experience.

Morning coffee and honey
Christmas coffee and honey – maybe adding a pine or other seasonal smell
Fall grilling season (mild)
Fall grilling season (hot)
Tailgaiting
Snowy Day
Fall set – maybeadd something pumpkin or wool placemats with a fall color scheme
Health theme (maybe with medicinals or a medicinal tea)

Pricing

After doing a survey on the internet, here are our initial cost targets for pricing.

Option 1 – $54.95
Option 2 – $59.95
Option 3 – $64.95
Option 4 – $149.95

Once we put sample baskets together then we can take pictures and test market the combinations on the website and with targeted emails. That will help determine if the gift basket is desirable and if they will sell.

Next Steps

We have started working with local farms to identify items that can go in the baskets. Then we’ll need to create specifc basket configurations. We’ll share the results as we go. The best wasy to follow along are to join the email list and check back on the blog.

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The damage in WNC is horrible. We have family we can’t contact. If you need to check on family, here is a tool that allows you to see which roads are blocked.

https://drivenc.gov

You can also use google maps to select a route. The DriveNC site is more pessimistic than the google maps. When I trying to work out a route to check on family that we can’t reach. The DriveNC site shows roads blocked that google maps doesn’t. The damage up there was horrible. Carefully consider the situation before travelling to the area.

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Starting a farm has been quite an experience.

Jack Spirko often contends on his podcast that answers can be found in the forest. I’m thinking that most answers can be found in the forest and farm because we already know the answer most of the time. We just need to face to up the answer we already know and looking at the beauty around us help us to face those answers. Or sometimes we just need to something to help us focus so we can put the pieces together and arrive at an answer. Other times there is inspiration that we can find in the beauty and grand design of nature around us.

Crinum lily in bloomMany times I find that while I’m working on something on the farm, I’m learning about how to be a better farmer but also gaining a deeper understanding of life and myself. Hard work is good way to push out the some of the mental clutter. Getting that mental clutter out of the way helps me to think through any challenges or questions. Often I find that I get to the end of the day and the work is done and I’ve figured out answers to challenges that have nothing to do with the farm.

During the day at work and home, there are a lot of things competing for our attention. Getting outside and working filters out that digital noise and info, giving a very important digital detox. The act of labor and the concentration on the task at hand helps deepen the effects of the digital detox. These moments of digital detox peel away the layers of mental clutter and leaves me prepared to enjoy life and remember what is truly important.

I hope you have a great week!

Our camping site in the back field is coming along nicely

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We had the opportunity to spend the weekend at Troublesome Gap. It was nice to get away and also nice to enjoy camping on a campsite that I had the opportunity to design. The campsite has 100% positive reviews on HipCamp going back to 2022. This has been a fun project that guests enjoy tremendously. Reading the positive reviews and emails from guests is very enjoyable. We really wanted this to be an wonderful place to tent camp, glamp and overland

How to spend the weekend camping on Troublesome Gap

https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US/land/north-carolina-troublesome-gap-camping-3xryh1vk/

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Sometimes the moment is just enough. I am a blessed man.

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While camping, one thing you’ll end up developing are traditions. Some are big, some are gigantic, some are small, but all are valuable.

How to build traditions.

Over time, enjoyable repeated activities can grow into traditions. Or, traditions can happen by accident. Something may work well once, so you repeat it. By the tenth time you realize you have a tradition. Keep in mind that when you do something that is comfortable and enjoyable, you’ll keep doing it. You may find that it is important to your family to go camping on a certain date or a particular place because it brings back special memories and there is an expectation that you’re going to make more good memories—that’s a tradition.

Four wheeling, camping and smilingRepetition builds traditions.

I’ll give you an easy example. There’s a restaurant in Winston-Salem, TJ’s Deli, that Connie and I tend to stop at when we’re headed for the mountains because it’s on our way. They have awesome, homemade sandwiches and to-die-for fried mushrooms. Now, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a fancy place, more like a hole-in-the-wall, but the draw is the food and the tradition. We order the same meal every time, a gigantic sandwich and fried mushrooms on the side—I always save some of the mushrooms for the remaining drive. Even when we travel with friends, we stop there. Every time.

Is having a meal partway to your destination part of camping? No, but it can be part of the entire camping experience. When we head west to camp, we usually work our departure around stopping at TJ’s Deli for a meal, which we both look forward to. The detour helps break up the trip and I think the tradition is nifty.

Another tradition we have is camping at Troublesome Gap every Memorial Day weekend. We are so predictable that friends call to ask if we are going this year. Those calls made me realize traditions can even spark a camping interest with friends.

Tradition looks different to different people.

You may never go to the same restaurant twice, but you may have a tradition of stopping at some restaurant on your way to the camping site. You may never camp at the same location, but you may set your supplies up in the same order every time. Or you’ll always be sure to have a campfire. Or roast marshmallows.

You could lean towards more open spaces because you like to throw your daughter up in the air in the middle of a grassy field. Or perhaps you like to take a morning walk right as the sun is beginning to rise and dew still licks the grass blades. Maybe one of your kids is an early riser who likes to get up with you and help build the morning fire, which is a teachable moment by the way.

Priceless moments.

You guessed it, when a tradition is created, most likely a priceless moment will as well. Look for those traditions, spur them along, and allow them to happen. Some occur organically. Some we purposefully build. You can’t force them, but you can encourage and grow and build them.

Keep up with traditions.

When camping with others, they’re watching. So if you always have a ham sandwich with onions the second day for lunch or you always have s’mores the first night over a roaring campfire, then your family may be disappointed when the activity doesn’t happen. Usually these traditions are special camping experiences, not something you normally do at home. Some traditions are hard and fast, and some of them aren’t. You’ll just have to work that out depending on your family.

Bonding over food cooked at the campsiteAnyone can start a tradition.

Sometimes you’ll do the most obscure activity with your kids, maybe throwing knives into an old stump or forging your own path in the woods. It may not make an impact on you, but your child doesn’t forget and wants to do the same activity the next time you go camping. It’s usually the simplest things.

Perhaps you take your family on a spectacular hike and see breathtaking scenery, but the thing your kids remember from their day is the mound of soil behind the apple tree they created dirt castles from. Whenever you get the chance to interact with your children, do so. Even if it’s making dirt castles under a canopy of low-lying tree limbs. Those are the moments to grab and revel in.

If you are single and reading this book, then you can still build great traditions while camping with friends or family, or going on a solo trip. If you are divorced or widowed, a camping trip could be just the thing you need to get out of your day-to-day rut and create wonderful new experiences. While I’m spending a lot of time talking about family camping, there are still many ways to enjoy a trip while single, divorced, or widowed.

Be flexible.

If you’re into schedules, that’s great. But keep in mind, if someone in the family is enjoying an activity, put that hike off for an hour. If there’s rain in the forecast, consider doing an activity closer to the campsite. Agendas don’t matter, the memories and time together does.

Memories that last a lifetimeStories grow over time.

Kids remember events. Some of those stories grow like fish that you caught. You know the story of an angler who catches a twelve inch fish and by the time he tells the story about six times, its two feet long. Well, sometimes memories are that way too. Sometimes they’re precise; other timess they’re not even close. But, what matters is the memory.

I’ll give you an example that’s not camping related. When one of my daughters was in elementary school, I began going to school and having lunch with her once a week. Kids won’t be young forever, in fact there may come a time when they don’t want to spend much time with you. Anticipating this, I made a point of making that weekly meal a priority. A number of years into this tradition, my daughter noted I’d been coming to have lunch with her every week since whatever grade. She enjoyed it, I enjoyed it, and so it remained a tradition, a thing between just the two of us. She valued the time I carved out for us. Over the years when she’d tell the story, she’d share we’d been lunching together longer than we actually had. Should I correct her? No. Am I trying to encourage her to be inaccurate? No. I guess the thing is it pleased her that we had lunch together once a week. And so, it was a big deal that became a bigger and bigger part of her life. And her nailing down exactly when we started doing it really didn’t matter. What mattered was how appreciative she was because we were making lifelong memories.

Interests change.

Your kid’s interests will change over the years. Be flexible. Something that is important to him this year may be boring four years from now. This means your camping trips may change. The important thing is to give your kids attention, relate to them, and listen to what they want.

At some point you or your kids will look back and be thankful you hiked every waterfall trail in North Carolina, or made s’mores every night around the camp fire, or took the time to find a thick enough branch to make a walking stick the first night of each trip. Those were traditions and you enjoyed yourselves and made memories. But, there may come a day when your kids decide they’d rather spend time with their friends and that’s okay. You need to roll with it. You’ve spent years developing a set of experiences and memories that you can share and remember forever.

Continually ask questions and listen to see what the people in your family want to do this year and next. If we can be flexible and go with the flow as interests and needs change, then we have the chance of keeping the tradition of camping alive and the opportunity for creating more memories. In fact, a lifetime of them.

Also keep in mind that your interests and capabilities change. Maybe you used to be able to hike ten miles a day when you were younger, but now perhaps four is your max. Or maybe you used to hike only difficult trails, but you’ve learned that moderate means success. On the other hand, if you want to push yourself then take a long hike. Maybe you used to hike moderate trails, but after hiking a challenging trail you realized you have the capability to hike longer and more difficult trails, so push yourself and revel in that accomplishment. If you are camping solo, then this may be a good time to enjoy the fruits of your physical fitness efforts with a long challenging hike. Alternatively, taking your athletic, teenage kids, on a difficult hike may be something they really enjoy. Just keep your capabilities and stamina in mind so everyone, including you, can enjoy the physical challenge.

Quality time.

Whether it is a yearly guy’s trip, or a monthly trip with young kids, or maybe a romantic getaway with your wife, the important thing is to be free from distractions and spend quality time with loved ones. If you have more than one child, each parent should try to spend concentrated time with individual kids. You may find your children consider this quality time a tradition. Now, note that tradition for traditions sake is worthless, unless you are accomplishing something important.

Traditions are usually simple.

Many times traditions aren’t bound up in spending some ridiculous amount of money, but are instead simple. It may be somewhere you ate, and spent the majority of the meal laughing. It may be playing in the mud behind the apple tree. It may be hiking a specific trail that you’ve hiked every year for twenty years.

For example, if your wife or child is asking to go on a particular hike again, you need to figure out if they want to go on a general hike or a specific trail and for what reason. What do they really want? What’s important to them? Ask questions and dig. Because they may be looking for the smiles, laughter, and love they felt on a past hike. Maybe it was just you and them on that trail. Perhaps Mom wasn’t there, or maybe Dad wasn’t there, and was just the two of y’all. That’s the moment you’ll realize there is a new tradition of going on this hike, perhaps just the two of you. And it’ll be a special time. Then you make your plans based on this information and how you can make it work.

Don’t try to please everyone.

Depending on the age of your children and how many you have, satisfying only one for the next ten minutes might be your only option. Sometimes everybody’s in tune and sometimes they’re not. In those challenging moments, you may want to break up your group. If you have two children with two totally different interests at the moment, maybe Mom goes with one child and Dad with the other. Breaking that up gives you the opportunity to pursue those varied interests. And there again, build those great memories. But, maybe you have a situation where everybody wants to do something together. You can figure it out even if it’s not always easy.

Plan, but don’t plan.

One tip I suggest is make a list of activities available for your location. If you don’t plan, but instead wait until the last second, generally whatever you wanted to do won’t happen. Say there’s a national forest right down the road; maybe you pack into the car and go there to experience the wonder of it all. Perhaps there’s a body of water close by so you get into a canoe or a row boat or a paddle boat. That can be fun as well. Keep in mind though, you may have camping trips where what everybody wants to do is sit by the fire and relax. And all of a sudden, it may explode into a hiking trip, and then they go back to sitting by the fire. So, planning is great, but also be flexible and see what happens. But, don’t forget the simple things like running around in the woods to just explore. You can also make a game of the mundane activities that it takes to put together a campsite—like, accumulating stones to edge the fire or gathering kindling and firewood. My point is to make time for organized hikes or rafting trips, but leave gaps available for exploration and inspired play time. Sometimes the simplest and least expensive things are what we remember.

Always keep budget in mind.

I have found it’s not the amount of money you spend; it’s the fun, fellowship, and relationship building. Keep in mind, if you spend money on something and it stresses you out, everyone will pick up on the stress and fun diminishes. Perhaps you can do something that costs close to nothing and still enjoy yourselves. I have found the best trips right-size your activities with your budget, your physical capabilities, and everyone’s expectations.

In the process of talking with folks about this book, I’m not surprised to hear they have such fond memories of camping as a child. I hope you can find your own traditions, and develop those priceless moments everybody will cherish for a lifetime.

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Every year we do a farm tour on Simply Us Farm. This is a great chance to meet the farmers and see the farm. We’ll show you our work in progress and talk about how we do regenerative farming.

Farm tour includes

– detailed tour (family friendly)
– 1/2 lb of honey from our remote mountain location of Troublesome Gap, NC

What to Bring

Just bring yourself and your family and comfortable shoes. We plan to walk on grassy fields and uneven ground.

We are Dirt Farmers and Pesticide / Insecticide Free

If we grow good dirt, then plants will grow and produce abundantly. We use a minimum of organic fertlizers. We avoid the use of synthetic fertilizers. We also don’t use any pesticides or insecticides. We do use natural amendments like woodchips, hay (pesticide / herbicide free) and feather meal.

Diversity of Plants and Trees on the Farm

Let us introduce you to some of the variety of plants, bushes and trees on the farm including

Row Crops
– garlic and onions
– potatoes
– moringa

Fruit Bearing Trees
– mulberry
– hazel
– black walnut
– figs
– olive
– persimmon
– paw paw

Fruit Bearing Bushes
– blueberry
– goji berry
– elderberry
– blackberry

Specialty
– native cactus (edible / nopales)
– comfrey
– honey bees

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Remember the Meme on Pinterest that I talked about in the first chapter? It showed a Prius at the top of the image, and at the bottom a Jeep in the desert sitting on the crest of a hill, in front of a sunset. A guy and his kids are in the Jeep enjoying the sun setting in this majestic place. The closing message of the meme said, “Your kids will never, ever remember you getting fifty-five miles per gallon. However, they will remember the night you watched the sun set over the mountains.” Let’s talk about some camping basics today.

Check out my books on camping

Why go camping today?

Because there will never be another today. In the Prius Meme, the point is that things don’t matter, experiences matter. Perhaps you can make a daily drive fun with some singing or frivolity. Or perhaps ride to the top of a mountain to watch a sunset. Those are the priceless moments to chase after. I encourage you to get out and enjoy life. Not everything has to be constrained, and I think in many ways that’s what camping is all about.

Don’t allow challenges to get in the way.

When you consider camping, there can be challenges: you might get rained on, it could be extremely hot or cold, the bugs might be extra annoying, dry kindling may be hard to find, etc. But, at the end of the day, the goal is to build memories. There are only so many opportunities to go camping with your children or your spouse or even take a solo trip. Right now it seems as though you have all the time in the world, but you really don’t. Your kids will be in college or active in other things before you know it. So grab those moments while you can.

The experience matters, not the stuff.

Someone who had a very nice late-model sedan asked about my Jeep. He indicated that if only he had an off-road vehicle, he would try camping. Why go camping if you can’t go trail-riding, he said. That’s the wrong attitude. True, driving on thirty-five inch tires with a four inch lift and a bunch of modified stuff is great. It’s nice when you’re riding around on a spring day with no top and you’ve got no doors. But you can still create those priceless memories by rolling down your windows and opening your moon roof.

Persevere.

The trick with camping is that you can find yourself in a rugged situation, for example it might rain the whole weekend leaving you nothing to do but play cards in the tent, or after rain from the first night all the kindling is wet and you can’t start a fire, maybe an animal got into your food supply and now you have nothing to eat. It doesn’t matter what happens, the secret is in how you handle the situation.

Don’t give up, persevere. Sometimes camping makes no apologies. Your skills might be tested, but I am going to promise you that you will still have opportunities, even on those off weekends, of making solid memories. You might be sitting around the campfire or hiking or hearing the coyotes howl or watching the sun set or building a fire with your child—those priceless moments can’t be bought so grab a hold of them.

Keep a look-out for memories of a lifetime.

Keep your outlook fun and positive because you can’t predict when memories will be created. But trust me, your kids will remember and they’ll tell their children about these special times one day. Just put yourself in a good situation to have those moments. They may occur in your Prius getting forty-five miles per gallon because of the song you sang. Or perhaps when you’re sitting on top of the mountain and out of your element as you watch in fear as a bear ambles by. Be available and put yourself in situations to achieve those priceless moments.

Coming up, we’re going to look at convenient, low-cost, low-pain, and low-suffering ways to be in a good situation to discover joy. By attaining that joy, you get those memories that will live on because you taught the next generation skills. And one day, your kids will not only pass along the skills to their children but will share their childhood priceless moments around a roaring campfire.

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Check out my books on camping

There are many different levels of engagement when you’re camping. Anywhere between an epic adventure like Man vs. Wild or perhaps one where more creature comforts are brought from home. Either is fine as long as you can physically pull it off and afford it. The goal is to have a good time and enjoy your time. For me, I like to camp with a tent, I’m not an RV guy. I don’t mind taking a shower on the side of the mountain or backpacking in. Sometimes the best way to really see and experience a location is to backpack to the camping site. But, say my wife joins me, she prefers a larger tent, more organization, more creature comforts. If Connie’s coming, then what we bring changes and where we stay may change. For both of us to have an enjoyable time, compromises need to happen. Let’s talk about some different options.

Live off the land for a weekend.

One option would be to head out into the woods with a knife, some tinder, flint and steel, a waterproof jacket, and a wool blanket. The idea is to live off the land for a weekend. If you’ve got the skills to do it and you enjoy that level of difficulty, go and have fun! There are certainly people that thrive on this primitive I’m-gonna-figure-out-as-I-go-build-me-a-lean-to-in-the-woods-and-feel-close-to-nature type of thing. However, keep in mind your skills and your traveling companions. For example, if you are taking your five-year-old daughter and wife who have never been camping, it would be wise to rethink the details otherwise the trip will end quickly. And, the ride home will be the squirmy kind of uncomfortable.

Purchase an expensive RV for camping.

Another option is to head to your local RV store and buy a half-million dollar motor-home, don’t forget your checkbook. Now, you’re probably laughing and about to fall off the couch right now as most people don’t have that kind of money to invest in a hobby. Or perhaps you have the type of disposable income to make this dream come true. With an RV, you could spend a year driving around the United States. If so, enjoy yourselves and send me a postcard.

But honestly, most of us don’t have the means to pay for a million dollar motor home. So as we look at other forms of camping, be aware of what you can afford. If you want to participate in the RV lifestyle but don’t want to buy one, then consider renting one for your trip.

Camping shouldn’t involve stress over money.

Because stressing over money doesn’t equal fun, keep the scope of your camping trip and equipment in-line with your income. If you have to save for a hundred-dollar tent, instead buy the fifty-dollar option and choose the contingency of camping close to home in case a catastrophe happens so you can head home easily. People can enjoy different levels of camping, regardless of their financial ability. Also, consider borrowing supplies from family, friends, or neighbors. Once you decide you want to invest in pieces, you’ll know better what works for you.

Survivor Man versus backpacking.

These are two extremes. One is to hike the Appalachian Trail maybe something similar to doing the Survivor Man thing for five to seven months. For that epic trip, you’ll need to delve into other books to succeed. For this book, let’s talk about backpacking. That means you have what you need on your back, and you’re going some distance. It may be the whole length of the Appalachian Trail; but more likely it’s something like four miles through your local woods.

With backpacking, everyone will bring what they need for the jaunt in their pack. The goal is to have a lightweight and comfortable backpack and equipment that doesn’t weigh much. Consider eating dehydrated food as it is light. If you don’t take these suggestions into consideration you’ll end up hauling a fifty-pound pack instead of a twenty pound one for miles and miles. Trust me, the weight on your back will make a difference with each step. Backpacking isn’t for everyone and may be difficult to pull off with your family in tow, especially if this is the first camping trip.

Car-camping.

This is pretty simple. All the things you need are in your car and you drive to the campsite. You unload a popup shelter or tent and a sleeping bag. You might have kitchen items to cook by the fire or you may choose to eat at local restaurants. Whether you build a fire or not, you’re experiencing the version of camping that works for you, so embrace it. I highly recommend this for your first outing, especially if you have a family.

Supplies for backpacking versus car camping.

Personally, I think there’s a good chance you will enjoy the outdoors. Which means that eventually you will end up with two setups—one for backpacking and the other for car camping. Backpacking provisions need to be ultra-light, whereas supplies for car camping can be bulky and perhaps less expensive.

Advancing further.

You’ve got to right-size your trip with what your family wants so that camping is a successful experience. You may need to take several simple car-camping trips before progressing further. Or, your group may be content with this simplest kind of adventure. But, maybe it grows into more. Perhaps add a campfire to the next trip, or cooking over the open flame, or a longer more involved hike. The trick is that if it’s a family thing, go slow and let everybody ask for more so they don’t feel forced. I have found the biggest objection about camping is that people don’t want to get out of their comfort zone.

Car glamping.

Which means bringing every creature comfort from home. There are different levels of glamping. Honestly, sometimes I feel like I glamp when we go to our place in the mountains because of the luxury items we haul with us. The over-the-top items we could bring are a super-big tent, which we’ll talk about later, a flat screen, an Xbox, a generator, maybe some gilded throw pillows. I’m sure you’ve heard of the glamping sites where you can go live in a tent that’s a lot like your house. They can even have air-conditioning!

Economy glamping.

Connie and I go “economy glamping.” We bring a ten by twenty feet tent. My choice would be much smaller, but it’s all about compromise. I want her with me and happy, so we’ve figured out what each party needs to feel comfortable for a weekend. That includes an inflatable mattress. We don’t wear shoes in the tent, which keeps it much cleaner. There is a small area designated for shoes and dirty clothing. We also have a cozy spot to sit down. These are things we do to make the clean up easier and the space more comfortable. Given these conditions, Connie will gladly come camping with me.

With a big tent, you have room for an air-mattress. In fact, a big tent will usually allow everyone to sleep under the same roof, which goes a long way to a good night’s slumber for all. The more comfortable you can make camping for your loved ones, the better the chance that your kids will want to have epic, hard-core adventures in the future.

Camping without camping, is it possible?

What works for your family? You can always stay in a hotel or a bed-and-breakfast that’s close by to your activities and then do day trips. I’ll argue that you’re not camping per se, but those day hikes and discovering waterfalls, will still get you outdoors. It will allow you to spend quality time with loved ones and set yourself up for those priceless moments with your family. If staying in a hotel and having day time adventures works, then do it!

What will work for you?

As you can see, there is a vast range of options for camping. Are you an RV kind of guy where you plug in at a campsite with power and air-conditioning and running water? Perhaps it’s going to be something simple, where you have a tent and minimal equipment and eat at restaurants. Or maybe you’ll go for something in between. There’s no wrong answer as long as you’re getting everyone outdoors and create those family memories.

What are my goals and intentions?

As you can see, the camping experience can span quite a range from a tent and a sleeping bag, to many of the creature comforts of home. Ask yourself:

Where’s your comfort zone?
What do you want to accomplish?
How much effort do you want to exert?
How much do you want to spend?
How much time do you want to be at the site?

Getting everyone together to create memories.

The goal is you want to get your family outdoors and allow everybody to have a great time. Depending on if you choose an RV, a pop-up, or a tent, may or may not affect whether or not you have that priceless moment. I think with an RV you’re a little more separated from things. But people have different comfort zones. If the only way you can get your people to camp is to rent a pop-up or an RV for the weekend, then do what you need to do. You’re achieving some of your goal, everybody’s having a great time, and you’re creating family memories, which make it all worth it.

Don’t feel pressure if camping is new to you.

There’s no pressure to be Mr. Outdoors. Because if you’re the kind of person who has never been in the wilderness before, no one would expect you to build a fire with flint and steel and some cotton you pulled out of your pocket. Feel free to use matches. Keep it simple when you build your first fire, and maybe even your tenth. Later on we’ll talk about some of these other skills. But, my goal here is to give perspective on your different options.

Most of my camping experiences revolve around family trips or Boy Scouts. As a result this book really focuses on family camping. However, the same principles, skills, and knowledge apply to a single person or family. Maybe you are a single man or woman who wants to experience camping for the first time. You could be a widow or widower, or newly divorced. There are many people in lots of different situations that head out to enjoy camping. This book spends a lot of time talking about family interactions and considerations, but the skills and knowledge apply to a variety of life circumstances. If you don’t want to go by yourself, then consider joining an outing club. It’s a great way to go with a group and enjoy the camping experience.

Build up your skill set.

You may need new outdoors skills. Or perhaps it’s time to teach those techniques to your kids or spouse. You never know when you need to build a fire. Your car may break down in a place that has no cell service and the only thing to keep you alive overnight is to build a fire. Does this happen to everybody? No. But, the simple ability of building a fire could be a lifesaver. One reason to continue to camp regularly is to keep our skill set sharpened. This gives peace of mind and boosts confidence. Learning outdoor knowledge improves self-reliance that translates to other areas of life. These regular camping trips build a happier, well-adjusted, better-prepared-for-life family member who is more available to partake in those priceless moments.

It’s not a question of how rugged someone is. The question is what they want. Some people at different points in their lives simply don’t want to spend the weekend working hard outside doing camping stuff. Sometimes you want the fun component and not the work part. So instead of a tent and open flame cooking, they might choose an RV and restaurant food. Or perhaps they’d rather do something at home that weekend.

Compromise.

There are trips when Connie doesn’t come because I am hunting and I’m fine with that. Sometimes it’s nice to be on a solo trip, or a trip with the guys. It’s an opportunity to go with a smaller tent and do different activities. The point is to keep the perspective that there are a lot of ways to get a win out of camping—backpacking, economy glamping, hunting backpacking are just three. They all have their pluses.

First trip could be a solo one.

If you are unsure about camping for the first time with the entire family, then consider just going solo, or with your spouse. Then bring the kids on the next trip Camping can be enjoyed in lots of different scenarios from the whole family going, or individuals without children going solo (or with a group), or situations where only one parent takes the kids.

The key is to figure out what works for you, at this time in your life, with whoever is going camping with you. Don’t feel pressured to be Mr. REI, because that won’t make you happy and it isn’t what your loved ones are looking for. Kids are seeking quality time spent with Mom and Dad. Your spouse is looking for the same thing. Leave your pride and ego at home. Camping is about those priceless moments.

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A local church wants to develop a community of men through events that resonate with the community and meet the needs of local men and also men within the church. After some mens events that really didn’t gain traction in the church, the next step was conduct a brainstorming session and solicit ideas from men in the church.

Step 1 – Define the challenge to solveThe event was driven by the main challenge question

How might we build a community that engages men?

The group also considered these specific questions

1) What type of activities help build that community?
2) What activities engage men and build community?
3) What are men missing in daily life in our area and group?

Step 2 – Idea Buckets The idea buckets help give participants an idea of the possible scope of ideas (while not limiting the scope). Creating a mindmap is a great way to quickly create a framework of buckets. Here are the buckets for this session

Step 3 – BrainwritingThe group spent the next 20 minutes doing brainwriting. We separated and individually wrote down ideas on sticky notes. At the end of the 20 minutes we came together as a group and posted the sticky notes on the wall. Then each participant shared a brief explanation of the ideas generated with the group.

Step 4 – Time to BrainstormThe brainwriting time helped everyone move into a creative frame of mind without the pressures of having to generate ideas in front of the group. Now, it is time to generate ideas on the fly with the group and capture them on sticky notes.

Step 5 – Vote and ExpandAt the end of the session, each participant had 3 votes to allocate to any of the ideas. The votes could all be on one idea or on multiple ideas.

Then it was time for the group to expand on the top ideas and capture those concepts.

We came up with a lot a great results. These are the raw ideas without refinement.

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So, you’ve almost decided to go camping; but you’re wondering what you can expect. Will there be stress or relaxation? You may experience physical pain from usually unused muscles, or perhaps the benefits will outweigh the perceived negatives. This is a good thought process to have.

Properly planned camping trips can cause relaxation.

Planned properly, camping can be relaxing. But, beware of the potential physical exhaustion which can occur with ill-informed choices. Depending on decisions like where you go, how you camp, the length of your stay, and what you bring, relaxation may only be a longed-for dream. But there is hope, so keep on reading and I’ll help you design a successful camping trip.

Improve attitude.

Often times, getting out of your current environment and replacing your daily concerns with activities like building a fire, sleeping in a sleeping bag, or making s’mores over a campfire can help to push out your usual concerns and allow you to relax in the comfort of simplicity. You get a fresh perspective on life and family that you wouldn’t normally get in the day-to-day grind. The campsite is there waiting for you. You just have to take the hardest step of all and walk out your front door and get in the car to head out for an adventure you won’t regret.

Personally, I feel at home in the mountains. I love being there with the views and the hikes and the trees. The people and music are great. There are so many awesome things to see and do there. Find your passion by going out and experiencing the world. You can experience it slow, in a tent or on foot. You’ll see views from your campsite and on your hikes that you’ll totally miss through your car window or on your TV. Just go and enjoy the journey.

A new normal provides instant gratification.

When we get away and into a different context, our brain can back-out of the humdrum or stress of day-to-day life. While camping you are in a temporary new routine, which can be a nice health adjustment for your mind. Mentally we push out concerns from the old normal and replace them with immediate activities. This process allows instant gratification by being out of your ordinary circumstance.

Exercise benefit.

When you camp, you’re not performing your normal activities so your body adapts to what you ask of it. We fall into ruts by repetitively doing the same physical exercises. Conversely, there are times we do nothing. While camping, you’re throwing new actions at your body and those new endeavors keep you in motion much of the time, they also challenge your body and spirit. That is a good thing. You may be tired at the end of the day, but you’ve recharged your mind and body in a beneficial way that will positively impact you for days or weeks to come after you get back home.

In daily life, you may attempt to minimize your motion. We tend curtail the number of steps while cooking a meal or travel to our job with the shortest route, or in our office most of us sit around typing on a computer. While camping, we’re in a position where we can be constantly moving which forces our bodies to adjust. What that means is that we’re burning energy on creative work which I think is very enjoyable and rewarding.

No interruptions allow for deep conversations.

Possibly, the most wonderful thing about camping is the one-on-one time spent with loved ones without the normal of interruptions of daily life. When at home or at work, many things demand our attention. But, when camping, it’s a totally different situation. Diverse issues vie for our concentration. Cell coverage may be non-existent or limited. Because of this, there’s a good chance you’re going to have conversations at a level you probably didn’t otherwise. At home you can turn on the TV or pick up your phone or login to your computer to check email. When camping, you may not even have a cell signal. Sitting around the campfire with laughter filling the air and joy in your hearts, that’s the goal.

You will want to plan ahead for how to handle electronic usage at the campsite. Today’s kids are often addicted or borderline addicted to constant contact through a smart phone. If you totally take them away, that may create frustrations that will keep your children from enjoying the trip. It may be that no electronics use is too much to ask, that may seem like punishment. Look beyond the whining and moaning and complaining and figure out a win-win situation that works for your family. Your kids win because they are looking up from their phone long enough to enjoy the outdoors. So if completely taking away the phones is going to really be an impediment to them savoring the weekend, then allow your kids to use them a couple of hours a day. Another option is to not let them recharge electronics. When the battery dies, then your phone usage ends for the weekend. This is a great way to teach them how to budget a resource. Whatever you do, let your children know a set of clear rules. Camping is a new situation for everyone and if letting you kids have their phones for a few minutes makes them more receptive to camping, then maybe that is a good plan.

Seek out priceless moments.

One of the things I crave and look forward to when camping are priceless moments. You may be alone and look out across the valley to see the opposite mountain or you may take in a deep breath and enjoy the rare view. It may just be you because you’re the first one up in the morning and you’re enjoying the quiet and the beauty. Or perhaps someone you love laughs which makes you revel in joy. Possibly you’re the one laughing. Maybe everyone is laughing around the campfire.

Camping is one of the greatest ways to generate these special times. In later chapters we’ll talk about the ways you can set yourself up for success or failure. If you let them, you will find priceless moments camping. Then you will have memories and stories that you and your kids will cherish for years to come.

I saw a meme on Pinterest that had a Prius at the top of the image, and at the bottom a Jeep in the desert sitting on the crest of a hill, in front of a sunset. A guy and his kids are in the Jeep enjoying the sun setting in this majestic place. The closing message of the meme said, “Your kids will never, ever remember you getting fifty-five miles per gallon. However, they will remember the night you watched the sun set over the mountains.”

Be receptive to what will be beautiful memories.

One way to generate your own memories is through camping. My goal in this book is to lead you through how to discover them. When you are well prepared, have knowledge and training and proper equipment, then, you’ve put some of the adversity behind you and you’re in a good situation for those priceless moments to occur. The all you have to do is be receptive to catch them and revel in them.

Knowledge is power and weighs nothing. You can take this knowledge and couple it with a list of skills for your trip. It is that simple! As you’re camping, you’re not worried about a sleeping bag getting wet; you’re enjoying the memories created with your loved ones.

So, let’s get started! I’d be honored if you’d let me share what I’ve learned and some of my many camping experiences. My hope is this book will enrich your camping trips and help you find those priceless moments.

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We have honey ready to ship or for local pickup. We are so excited. This honey is raw and from our farm. This is the first time we’ve ever had honey for sale. Contact us for local pick up or visit here for honey shipped to your door.

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It was nice to have a weekend where we just enjoyed camping on the farm, without working. The grilled creation was cooked over the fire in the black cast iron cookers. The shell was made of corn dog roll with hot dogs, chili and onions inside. Tasty!

The Mayapples are growing. We never get any of the fruit because the critters always beat us to it.

You can camp on the farm too, just visit

https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US/land/north-carolina-simply-us-farm-and-camping-retreat-zwjhp868

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Join me as I share my class project in this podcast.

First we created a challenge. The challenge guides the project.

How might we create experiences and farm products for potential customers that appeal to their desire for healthy foods from local farms who create nutrient rich goods with sustainable practices?

One really important thought

It is important to note that this class wasn’t about marketing to the customer or confirming a pre-existing solution will sell. Instead we focused on understanding the customer, developing empathy and most important – inspired by the customer.

Here are some of my insights from the project

1) Better food oriented customers want something that can be integrated into their lifestyle, which requires a convenient location for regular and ongoing touch points or purchases. Since the farm is in a remote location, I called this the tyranny of distance“

A remote location is ok for less frequent interactions or purchases where the interaction becomes a day trip, especially with family, a common understanding is the concept of the roadside vegetable stand. How the buying and interaction patterns with the farm and customers are really part of a pattern of life for the customer.

2) Better food oriented customers are looking for more healthy options, but may not be able to articulate or even realize all of the options they want or might want

3) The concept of rent-a-tree / rent-a-bush isn’t something most of the people we interacted with understand or are used to as a service. There were several concerns about risks associated with just having the production of one plant and what happens if someone picks off the wrong plant (intentionally or accidentally).

4) Many people seeking out healthier foods also want a deeper connection with the farm where their food is grown. This connection gives them confidence that there food is raised in a smart way that results in healthier food for them. The desire to have these roots is important to many customers. Something as simple as watching smiling customers interact with farmers at the farmers market highlights that desire for a deeper connection that results in a healthier food and lifestyle choices.

What was surprising, challenging, or easy about the process of crafting insights?

Having a consistent and structured approach that keeps digging in to ask why, reveals a lot about how the customer thinks. The process of asking why, why, why, why, why is quicker at revealing results than I thought it would be. The process of asking 5 whys revealed answers that sometimes surprised the wonderful people that I interacted with during the project.

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I just finished the Insights for Innnovation Class. This a wonderful class. We concentrated on observing, interviewing and developing customer insights. Walk with me though the podcast as I share what I learned.

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This has been a busy week on the farm. We try to give a semi-annual update that talks about what is going on at the farm in detail. We’ve also been working this week on our potatoes, developing the back field and planting a few ornamental plants.

I had a few days on the farm this week to ponder the future plans for the farm. I’m taking a class with IDEO on Insights for Innovation. The class project revolves around the farm so it was good having time to ponder the future plans for the farm while working in the field.

Here are some pictures from this week

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I’m taking a class called “Insights for Innovation” with IDEO. Part of that class is doing interviews for developing empathy and better understanding customers. Niti was the perfect person to interview to better understand the farm-to-fork community. I learned a lot in the interview and hope you do too.

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The work on the emergency communications plan is moving forward. Our plan covers two main contingencies:

team is deployed to an emergency site
team is not deployed but there is an emergency

One of our team goals is put ourselves in a position where we can help the broader community during a wider emergency, such as a grid down situation after a hurricane or power station sabotage (like the next county over went through in 2022).

This plan is a step towards achieving those goals. Later phases of plan development should help address the communications divide between the CERT team and the greater community. These later phases should also incorporate some of the great ideas that were generated in the brainstorming / brainwriting work.

The rough draft of the plan is below. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Lee-County-CERT-Comm-Plan_2023-03-18DownloadLee County CERT Team – Communications PlanRough Draft – dated 2023-03-18Deployed CommsAt time of muster, team members will be assigned to a group and a backup group based on available communications tools and radios.

At time of muster, team members will also be assigned a cell phone number for a command staff member, where they can confirm the communication channel they should be using. This communication should occur via text message. This cell number can also be used to short messages between command staff, as needed. Primary communication method is radio communication.

Teams Communications

Priority 1 (Group 1) — Zello Channel – “Lee County Emergency Response Team”

Priority 2 (Group 2) – HAM Radio using the KB4HG repeater – 441.9500 / +5 MHz / 136.5 Tone

Priority 3 (Group 3) – MURS channel #3 (151.94 MHz)

Priority 4 (Group 4) – GMRS / FRS channel #15 (462.55 MHz) [Note: limited FRS range]

Priority 5 (Group 5) – CB channel #22

(Backup) Priority 1 – No backup, go to other group

(Backup) Priority 2 (Group 2) – HAM Radio using the NC4ML – 147.240 / +5 MHz / 91.5

(Backup) Priority 3 (Group 3) – MURS channel #5 (154.60 MHz)

(Backup) Priority 4 (Group 4) – GMRS / FRS channel #17 – 462.60 MHz [Note: limited FRS range]

(Backup) Priority 5 (Group 5) – CB channel #24

Note: Group 2 – If both HAM repeaters are not available, switch to Simplex 146.58 FM

Command CommunicationsPriority 1 (Group C1) — Zello Channel – “Lee County Emergency Response Team – Command”
Priority 2 (Group C2) – HAM Radio using Simplex 144.400

Priority 3 (Group C3) – MURS channel #2 (151.88 MHz)

Priority 4 (Group C4) – GMRS / FRS channel #19 (462.65 MHz) [Note: limited FRS range]

Priority 5 (Group C5) – CB channel #21

(Backup) Priority 1 – Use command text message number to ask which alternate group to use

(Backup) Priority 2 (Group 2) – HAM Radio using Simplex 144.800

(Backup) Priority 3 (Group 3) – MURS channel #4 (154.57 MHz)

(Backup) Priority 4 (Group 4) – GMRS / FRS channel #21 (462.70 MHz_ [Note: limited FRS range]

(Backup) Priority 5 (Group 5) – CB channel #23

Non-deployed Comms [used during emergency situation where CERT team isn’t deployed]Use the following communications channels on the schedule below with a wilderness protocol (seeking to minimize power use in case the grid is down):

text message to designated contact
Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 (Carolina Trace local area), Group C1, Group C2
other groups activated in an extended emergency to provide greater footprint in community

Note: number of groups is minimized to reduce the amount of time the command staff has to communicate with team members.

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Here are the ideas that we generated. There are over 140 ideas. Hopefully these give you a head start on developing your plan.

| Idea | Bucket | | Work with local AM / FM stations to get message out. (Highly rated idea by group) | Beacon / One Way Comms | | Create AM / FM bandit stations for a hyper local reach (added after the session) | Beacon / One Way Comms | | MESH Network | Beacon / One Way Comms | | SPOT/Garmin Beacons | Beacon / One Way Comms | | Tell citizens to turn on AM or FM radio to a preplanned channel / frequency | Beacon / One Way Comms | | Use air raid sirens to get citizens to check for info | Beacon / One Way Comms | | Add org chart to plan | CERT Team | | Add rotation plan to comm plan | CERT Team | | cache radios for use in emergency | CERT Team | | comm plan “jobs to be done” list | CERT Team | | consider situation where CERT is used as helpers instead of standalone group | CERT Team | | create comms map for each band for Lee county | CERT Team | | create form for passing messages (needs / requests / news) via voice | CERT Team | | Create member capabilities list (skills, interests, experience and equipment) | CERT Team | | create trailer with telescopic mast and battery / solar to use a temporary repeater | CERT Team | | develop online repository for standard forms | CERT Team | | Forms list for comm plan, use ICS forms (ics-214, 201, 205, 205A, 213, 214, 217, 221, 211,222) | CERT Team | | get more CERT members to take ham test so they can help with Lee county EOC | CERT Team | | Go bag plan for comm plan | CERT Team | | have (email / voice / phone) contact in comm plan for tech support / comm plan questions | CERT Team | | look at our plan using interoperability continuum from ICS | CERT Team | | should different message types be transferred on different frequencies | CERT Team | | use for ICS 221 after demobilization | CERT Team | | use form 213 for message taking / delivery / resource requests | CERT Team | | use form 309 to document interactions | CERT Team | | use issue tracking software (online?) to track requests | CERT Team | | Take a look at the Lee County Emergency Communication plan and report (Highly rated idea by group) | Communication between CERT and local community | | Develop a communication plan and network of people (chainsaw brigade) that allows us to direct a chainsaw network that clears trees off the road after a weather event. This helps clear the roads quickly so first responders can reach people in need. This network would need to work with various parties to identify locations of blocked roads then send out requests for network members to go clear those roads (Highly rated idea by group) | Communication between CERT and local community | | Develop ways to communicate with Lee County EOC (Highly rated idea by group) | Communication between CERT and local community | | Use community centers as a shelter, muster point, comm point or cache point (Highly rated idea by group) | Communication between CERT and local community | | add HOA layer to comm plan | Communication between CERT and local community | | add relationships layer to comm plan | Communication between CERT and local community | | better integration of Lee County Emergency MGMT | Communication between CERT and local community | | CB | Communication between CERT and local community | | create contact list for Lee County and Sanford emergency mgmt and EOC | Communication between CERT and local community | | create list of emergency contacts across county (public / CERT / private) | Communication between CERT and local community | | create list of how to reach EOCs for areas outside of the county | Communication between CERT and local community | | create list of lee county / sanford and adjoining city / county /agency frequencies | Communication between CERT and local community | | Degraded Power Grid – If cell is up, utilize cell – HAMs will likely conduct accountability via COMM nets – GMRS for short distance non-HAM comms | Communication between CERT and local community | | Determine muster points for CERT to meet and exchange info face-to-face in bad weather. Alternate communication path for those who don’t go out | Communication between CERT and local community | | Develop CERT teams across county, possibly using fire station coverage map to drive CERT team AO | Communication between CERT and local community | | Develop community network around volunteer fire departments | Communication between CERT and local community | | Develop list of areas where CERT under serves the community and determine if there are areas that could benefit the most from a local CERT team | Communication between CERT and local community | | Do welfare checks on people with mobility or other health issues (esp during an emergency) | Communication between CERT and local community | | Hand-held walkie talkies | Communication between CERT and local community | | How can we fill in gaps with the Lee County Emergency Communication plan? | Communication between CERT and local community | | How do we communicate with citizens in economically distressed areas? | Communication between CERT and local community | | If teams are dispersed, it becomes more troublesome. Best scenario is to have multiple methods of communication lying within CERT EOC to serve as broadcast beacons, i.e. multiple HAM radios programmed to different frequencies, if issues arise on one frequency, you swap to another frequency and periodically blast net messages on degraded frequency indicating the swap to the secondary frequency. | Communication between CERT and local community | | Interface with Lee County Emergency Management | Communication between CERT and local community | | share a version of the com plan with local groups (church, prepper, community, etc) | Communication between CERT and local community | | use fire stations as a gathering / communications point | Communication between CERT and local community | | Use map of fire station map to understand community relations | Communication between CERT and local community | | use microwave or other rf connections to fire stations | Communication between CERT and local community | | VIPER (if able to utilize) | Communication between CERT and local community | | Within Trace this should be fairly easy and facilitated via CERT runners within our respective communities. Individuals that are CERT members could be arranged into “teams,” with those teams being broken up into respective HOA groups. One CERT member, preferably a HAM, could operate as a base station and send the runners out into their respective HOAs and conduct welfare checks on residents and report back to base station. | Communication between CERT and local community | | work with nextdoor.com as a broad communications tool | Communication between CERT and local community | | Zello | Communication between CERT and local community | | Hold ham crams in churches or other groups or HOAs (Highly rated idea by group) | Deployed Communication | | Engage local HOAs and help them develop networks or CERT teams and then fold that into our CERT network (Highly rated idea by group) | Deployed Communication | | ATAK network (transported over MESH network) | Deployed Communication | | Can we get an affinity group to help develop a communication network (providing people, location or funds)? Could be someone like the Sanford Business League. Also, local business could work with us to help them and their employees be prepared both at work and at home. | Deployed Communication | | GMRS, MURS, CB (short distance comms) | Deployed Communication | | HAM (for those licensed) | Deployed Communication | | Have one person that takes notes for the deployed teams to track activities and have a way to share them. Could those notes show up online and realtime? Could be someone that doesn’t have their ham license or is without radio experience | Deployed Communication | | Hold exercises that include these ham / radio operators so CERT can practice communicating to their group through them | Deployed Communication | | How many community groups, organziations (including HOAs) have ham operators? Can we form a group of those ham operators, so the operators can interface with the groups they are members of, becoming a force multiplier. Have those operators train together. Also consider other means of communication such as GMRS, meshtaastic, cb, etc. or means we haven’t considered yet. Maybe even have social events for those operators. Train together and with CERT and develop those relationships. | Deployed Communication | | Map social network – including affinity groups, churches, business, civic groups, government. Maybe develop a list of group sites like on facebook, nextdoor, etc. | Deployed Communication | | MESH network (Meshtastic devices, etc) | Deployed Communication | | Place meshtastic nodes or equipment caches at locations where the community groups meet (groups that have ham operators that are part of the network). | Deployed Communication | | Zello | Deployed Communication | | Use DMR repeater in Lee County (Highly rated idea by group) | Digital Comms | | create form for passing messages (needs / requests / news) via winmail | Digital Comms | | DMRs (Digital Radios) | Digital Comms | | MESH network | Digital Comms | | Software defined radios | Digital Comms | | Use group.me app for group text messages | Digital Comms | | Communicate through grocery stores, home depot, gas stations and other places people go in an emergency to get supplies (Highly rated idea by group) | Gathering Points | | Consider parks and schools as possible gathering points | Gathering Points | | Develop a PACE plan for the gathering points | Gathering Points | | Incentivize groups to communicate with us. Maybe find a local company(s) to help fund some of these activities and partner with us. Also work with churches and other local groups | Gathering Points | | Look for organic gathering points as a place to get the message out. Maybe Walmart or Lowe’s Home Improvement | Gathering Points | | Use gathering points to disseminate information to community | Gathering Points | | Use a balloon or kite to hold meshtastic node at an elevation, check for coverage and consider competing interference in the LoRa band (Highly rated idea by group) | Grid Down | | A MESH network that is properly constructed (Solar power, hardened) and is adequately distributed across the county should be able to provide this “beacon” and be accessible to everyone in the community as long as you have a device to enter into the network itself. Obviously this has limitation as you need to have the device and have it properly configured. | Grid Down | | Develop type of even list – nuclear, hurricane, etc and try to consider a lot of possible events | Grid Down | | Have someone monitoring the situation so a runner can be dispatched (walking or driving). This way we can reach people in a hyper local area and manage emergency requests even if the person needing help can’t directly communicate with us. Use this to communicate with and help people in an area where people can’t actually leave home or the local area. | Grid Down | | I believe this is likely the most difficult situation to rectify until we answer some of our other questions. Obviously the most fool-proof way of communicating during a grid down situation is by runners between CERT members, with a HAM CERT member acting as a control station for people to check in with. Once we flesh out some other methods of communication that are more fail-tolerant, we can utilize those. | Grid Down | | Iridium (Cost prohibitive but will function as long as you have battery in the phone and SAT Uplink) | Grid Down | | Runners/Foot Mobile | Grid Down | | use radio propagation software to determine expected coverage | Grid Down | | Use Rattlegram as a beacon (maybe on HAM, CB, GMRS, MURS?) | Grid Down | | use solar powered repeaters (ham / grms / meshtastic?) | Grid Down | | Use support nets in comm plan | Grid Down | | Connect APRS to satellite for messaging and locations | Ham comms | | connect to state Winlink Service (shares) | Ham comms | | create an adhoc winlink server for CERT group / remote message server / rms relay software | Ham comms | | determine coverage of repeaters and other comm sources in plan | Ham comms | | determine how long lee county and moore county repeaters stay up when grid is down | Ham comms | | Hold schedule update (radio show like) at specific times and dates / intervals during an emergency, i.e. a form of wilderness protocol. This minimizes power usage during a grid down situation | Ham comms | | Hold schedule update (radio show like) from drone that carries up an antenna at specific times and dates / intervals during an emergency, i.e. a form of wilderness protocol. This minimizes power usage during a grid down situation | Ham comms | | Use APRS for texting | Ham comms | | Use APRS to locate a victim or track team member locations | Ham comms | | Use balloon or drone to launch | Ham comms | | use field situation report to apprise state EOC of status (nceoc.ncdps.gov), maybe through winlink | Ham comms | | use national calling frequency 146.52 or 446.0 from page 46 of the Auxfog | Ham comms | | use winlink to transfer info among CERT members, how can we do that with and without an internet connection | Ham comms | | ADS-B (Aircraft Tracking) | Improving situational awareness | | ATAK (General SA collation tool) | Improving situational awareness | | Better understand why people don’t prepare ahead of time so we can help people understand why it is important to be prepared, or somehow encourage them to prepare | Improving situational awareness | | Downlinked NOAA data (WX tools) | Improving situational awareness | | Have someone continually monitor what’s going on. Have someone able to communicate immediately if someone else needs help. | Improving situational awareness | | Know any communication alternatives, so you can change what you are doing and still be able to communicate | Improving situational awareness | | Signals Plan/PACE Plan | Improving situational awareness | | Understand that we can only help people prepare that will help themselves. We can old help so much and have to be ready to deal with unprepared neighbors in an emergency situation | Improving situational awareness | | Attach Meshtastic to HF to reach Internet via Gateway. Use remote HF transceiver for access (Highly rated idea by group) | Non-Ham Comms | | ATAK | Non-Ham Comms | | Attach Meshtastic to internet at far distributed points | Non-Ham Comms | | Cache Baofengs at different locations across the county | Non-Ham Comms | | can we runwinlink over gmrs or cb? | non-Ham Comms | | CB | Non-Ham Comms | | Cell network, Zello | Non-Ham Comms | | Create list of existing tower sites with existing and unused feed lines | Non-Ham Comms | | Create list of tower or other sites where we could put repeaters (meshtastic, GMRS or other) | Non-Ham Comms | | Full Power grid/All services – This is likely a pre-call out function – Utilize cell, email and prep for no-grid possibility. | Non-Ham Comms | | GMRS, MURS | Non-Ham Comms | | Hand-held Walkie Talkies | Non-Ham Comms | | If a robust and fail-tolerant Mesh network is developed, you can utilize that for message traffic and indicate to deployed teams the changes required. | Non-Ham Comms | | If cell services are operational/slightly degraded, you can still utilize those as a means of broadcasting changes as well. | Non-Ham Comms | | If grid is still up, cell network is likely the best option and is likely the easiest option for most members as well. If deployed and in a grid down situation, that is when our MESH/ATAK network would likely provide the easiest geolocated SA tool for status. HAM and GMRS radios can also be utilized for this function as well. | Non-Ham Comms | | If we have an emplaced CERT EOC, it is likely that team members will be co-located at some point during deployment. This would assume that word of mouth would be the primary method of change management for commo methods. | Non-Ham Comms | | look at Cert team in Cary’s plan for GMRS usage (contact Virginia Enzor for info) | Non-Ham Comms | | No Power Grid/Initial — Runners within Trace (if movement is safe)//Need strip maps for non-Trace CERT members – HAMs that have back-up power serve as beacons for runners for accountability | Non-Ham Comms | | Outside of Trace this may become more difficult. Strip maps of all non-Trace CERT members should be developed and located within the CERT administrative documents. This would facilitate accountability to send runners from Trace CERT to non-Trace CERT members. Lee County governmental organizations, Emergency Management, would also play a role in this. We should understand their game plan for an actual call-out and develop a link-up protocol with them. This would provide them extra manpower via CERT members and would facilitate the flow of information. | Non-Ham Comms | | Place meshtastic nodes at local stores, churches and other organizations | Non-Ham Comms | | Provide data to host (tower or building site) as a thank you for hosting our equipment | Non-Ham Comms | | Put repeaters / Meshtastic nodes at Lee County Emergency Mgmt site | Non-Ham Comms | | Put repeaters / Meshtastic nodes on church buildings | Non-Ham Comms | | Put repeaters / Meshtastic nodes on Duke Power sites | Non-Ham Comms | | Put repeaters / Meshtastic nodes on water towers | Non-Ham Comms | | Stand up a solar GMRS repeater | Non-Ham Comms | | Stand up GMRS repeater in Lee County | Non-Ham Comms | | The easiest way to improve SA is to ensure that we have multiple, easy methods of communication between team members. Obviously some members will have more experience and have preferences on which communication method to prefer and that’s ok. We need to develop a solid signals plan that lays out what we do in particular situations, develop a PACE (Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency) plan for various instances. | Non-Ham Comms | | This assumes that we have in-roads with the local emergency management here in Lee County during the emergency. It is imperative that we wargame the scenario with local EM reps to ensure we are all on the same page in the event a large scale disaster happens. This would likely include what methods of communication they will be utilizing, disaster response plans and basic link-up procedures. | Non-Ham Comms | | Use GMRS repeater that is already running in Harnett County | Non-Ham Comms | | Use SDR dongle with loop antenna and android device to allow listening to a CERT status update on HF (or other frequency). Create a standard design with tutorials to make it easily accessible to as many people in the county as possible (CERT members and everyone else). Create youtube video to explain how to setup and use | Non-Ham Comms | | Develop SOPs for emergency communication roles, actions, responsibilities, etc. (Highly rated idea by group) | SOPs |

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We gathered as group at the training room in the local fire station. This was great venue with whiteboards and plenty of room to spread out.

Great team contributions1. Introduction * Participants – everyone introduced themselves * Plan for the morning * Go through the rules for brainstorming + Capture ideas as we go + No analysis or critiquing idea, instead just let the ideas flow. It is good to build on ideas * Looked at the buckets and challenge / specific questions 2. Review the brainwriting results – quickly went through all of the brainwriting ideas 3. Brainstorming session – after the first idea went out, this group really took off with ideas. We posted stickies with written ideas on the white board and grouped them by bucket. 4. Analysis – we ended the brainstorming session. The next steps: * Everyone voted on their favorite ideas, working to identify ideas that we should explore * Talked about the highest priority ideas and looked for themes (ideas that grouped together around a common theme) 5. Identified next steps and concluded the meeting

An enthusiastic group that really wants to find better ways to help out in the community during an emergency really made this morning a joy.

Here are some images of the ideas on the white board.

Results

Between the brainwriting and the brainstorming, the team generated over 140 ideas! Many of the ideas were very high quality. There is lots of interest in pursuing those ideas in the wild and turning them into actionable plans.

Thanks to everyone who participated.

We’ll publish detailed results in a separate blog post, or 2 or 3, where we can look at them in detail. The ideas and the themes we discovered are all helpful.

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The next step in developing our CERT Emergency Communications plan is the brainwriting challenge for team members.

Let us talk about brainwriting and how to do itChallenge Question

How do we create a workable plan that allows the CERT team to communicate within the team, with local authorities and the community in an emergency

Specific Questions

How do we communicate with all CERT members (Ham and non-Ham) during a deployment?
If we have an issue with one communication path how do we let everyone know that we need to switch to another method (maybe another channel, repeater, app or method all together)?
How does the CERT team communicate with the community during a grid down situation?
How does the CERT team communicate between members (HAM and non-HAM) during a grid down situation?
What would a one way communication / “beacon” do and how could it be accessible by hams, non-hams and the general community in an emergency?

Buckets

Deployed Communication
Communication between CERT and the community
Ham Comms
Non-Ham Comms
Grid Down
Beacon / One Way Comms
Digital Comms

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Click on the play button to listenOur local CERT team is working on a communications plan to cover 2 very different situations:

deployed in an emergency
not deployed, most likely in a longer term emergency or a grid down situation

CERT means Community Emergency Response Team. There are CERT teams across the United States.

We are going to document our work so others can leverage our work and make developing a communications plan easier for other groups. We hope to use standard innovation tools to use the knowledge within our local community. These tools include:

– brainwriting
– brainstorming

Our approach, ideas, and research can help you develop a plan for your local community or other group. Maybe even your family emergency communications plan. We are looking at incorporating the communications elements that we have available to our members:

CB radio
MURS, GMRS, and FRS radios
Ham frequencies, repeaters and digital technologies
Internet options such as Zello
Other options we haven’t even thought of yet
LoRa Meshtastic

Join us on the journey. Just listen to the podcast to follow along!

Thanks
Montie
KO4NQF

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Yes, the answer is yes. Join me as I give you an inside look into my creative process as a mechanical engineer / industrial designer in a New Product Development (NPD group).

Click to listen

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Camping is a great way to get outdoors and take a break from the digital clutter. Consider a digital detox and reap the benefits.

I want to help you achieve that goal of taking your family camping. You can read the first of my camping series of books:

www.montie.com/book

This book helps families (or individuals) make that first foray into the woods and actually enjoy it. I share what I’ve learned in a lifetime of outdoor adventures. The book is not about extreme camping or anything crazy. I just talk about practical skills, knowledge and how not to spend a fortune on equipment on our way to a great weekend with the family.

If you want to see my handiwork and the campsite that I designed, checkout

Camp at Troublesome Gap

camping

campinglife

campinggear

digitaldetox

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There are lots of great crops to grow in the winter. The best part is that there is much less weeding in the winter!

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Come join us for a day of learning about homesteading and farming! Event Schedule Friday Night The event on-site camping at the farm (spaces limited) on Friday night. Schedule | Friday 5:00 – Check In at the farm Saturday Lets share and learn about how to be more self-reliant by raising more of our own … Continue reading "Homestead Experience – Fall Edition – 3 Weeks Away!"

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This podcast was recorded in the car and there was more road noise than I wanted, but these are some important thoughts, please bear with me. Lets talk about how rising food prices can lead to reduced food production. Also why the return on investment for buying a freezer full of beef might be better … Continue reading "Unexpected Consequences of Food Inflation"

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Sounds crazy, but it you were a tyrant, how could you get control of a nation. How to lose control of your life and liberty create a food shortage or make food so expensive people can’t afford it give it some time, let the prices rise tell the people that the shortage has a solution, … Continue reading "Grow Your Own Food – Protect Your Community from Tyrants"

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Some days are easier than others. Being flexible helps turn a frustrating day into a productive and happy one! The zero turn is fixed and the garlic bed is weeded and hay put down around the garlic. The blackberries are starting to fruit!

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Lets take a walk around the farm and see what is growing! One of the topics that comes up in the video is the concept of imposing my will on the farm. Planning for the growing season requires creating a calendar of when to do what. Different crops need to go in at different times … Continue reading "Gemba Walk after Mowing"

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Our food forest is starting to grow with the warmer weather. Here are some pictures

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This year has been a challenging year when it comes to supply chain issues and inflation. The rising price of gas and food has impacted all of us at some level. People with the least disposable income getting hurt the worst. At some point, rising food prices will lead to political instability and riots. Rising … Continue reading "Why You Probably Aren’t Planting a Garden / You Can Farm"

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The last two days have been a blur. We have been busy. Even with 4 people on the farm working hard, we still have more stuff to do before everything is been planted. We are on still on a rapid learning curve as we work hard. The garden area in the pictures below was pasture … Continue reading "Planting Time"

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It is the time of year where you never know if it is going to be an 80 degree day or a 40 degree day. We are still getting ready to start planting our summer garden. This was also the first time I mowed the grass for the season. More and more plants are starting … Continue reading "Almost Time to Plant"

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The Mayapples are up and thriving. We noticed the fruit starting to form. We are hoping to try the fruit this year, assuming we can beat the deer and raccoons from eating it first. Weed Control with Silage Tarps We put down silage tarps earlier in the winter. The goal is to help with weed … Continue reading "Meanwhile on the farm, mayapples and the preparations continue.."

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The weather on Saturday was kinda crazy. It started out fairly warm and then just kept getting colder. Sometimes You Can’t Do What You Plan We had planned to plant beets, peas and radish. The plan was to pull back the tarps and build beds to plant in. The silage tarp has been down for … Continue reading "Getting Ready for Spring – Putting Down Hay and Weedblocker"

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What a busy few days. When it comes to homesteading there is always a lot to learn and share. We worked on the following: installed an anti-deer fence installed 15 elderberry plants with a biodegradable mat around them with hay on top planted 7 fig and 2 peach trees planted a lantana in the pollinator … Continue reading "2022 Spring Homestead Experience"

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Getting a farm up and going has been a big project. Sometimes it seems like the world has gone crazy, but on the farm there is a peace and serenity. We’re getting ready for growing season and the plants don’t care about politics or ideology, they just want great soil, rain and sunshine. So after … Continue reading "New Tractor, Putting Up Blackberry Trellis and A-Frames"

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Let’s start off with what is a Hugelkultur mound. Here is a great video that explains Hugelkultur

Our First Hugelkultur Mound Hugelkultur mound in the garden at our house We built our first hugelkultur mound in our garden at home. The mound is about 35 feet long and used trees that we had cleared on the back of the property. It has worked great for growing squash. We use drip watering to keep the plants watered. We have noticed that the hugel mound requires more water than the conventional garden areas. I expect that to reverse as the logs in the hugelkultur mound (about 1-2 years since the trees were cut) decompose.

The Hugelkultur Mound at the Farm My original goal with to build at least 2 large hugelkultur mounds on our hobby farm property. We had a great growing experience with the hugelkultur mound at our house, so why not try it on a larger scale.

When we put in the driveway, there were two problems what we were able to turn into opportunities. The first is what to do with the top soil that was removed before the membrane and gravel can go down. We also had to decide out what to do with the tree trunks and limbs from the trees that were cut down to build the driveway.

Perfect Opportunity There was never going to be a better time to build the first hugelkultur mound on the new property. So we used the logs, limbs and top soil to build the first one. The mound ended up being 85 feet long, 30 feet wide and about 8 feet tall.

The hugelkultur mound starting to come alive We installed drip irrigation and planted winter squash, watermelons, pumpkins and cantelopes. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of winter squash and pumpkins.

Getting Ready for the Growing Season One of the tasks for Saturday was to cover the entire mound with a 35 x 100 foot silage cover. Of course it wasn’t windy until after we started spreading the silage cover. Do you remember going out into the parking lot in elementary school where your class surrounded a parachute? This felt pretty similar with the wind getting under the tarp.

Chasing the bubble where the wind got under the tarp The wind did not make this any easier. But we were making progress You can see the bumps where the wind kept getting under the tarp as we were getting it in place and held down.

Much better Once the tarp was in place, we’ll leave it there until just before we plant at the end of April as way to suppress any weeds.

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Let’s start off with what is a Hugelkultur mound. Here is a great video that explains Hugelkultur Our First Hugelkultur Mound We built our first hugelkultur mound in our garden at home. The mound is about 35 feet long and used trees that we had cleared on the back of the property. It has worked … Continue reading "Covering the HugelKultur Mound"

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Why – Cost of Food is Increasing, Availability is Decreasing https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-10/price-shock-at-the-meat-counter-worsens-u-s-inflation-jitters – as an example beef is up 20% this year I’ve seen numbers from 6 to 20% for other sectors of the food supply. Lets do the math. Here is one analysis: $1 product in 2020 became a $1.20 product in 2021 (using 20% … Continue reading "Shopping List – Main Items that you need to preserve food"

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Why – Cost of Food is Increasing, Availability is Decreasing

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-10/price-shock-at-the-meat-counter-worsens-u-s-inflation-jitters – as an example beef is up 20% this year

I’ve seen numbers from 6 to 20% for other sectors of the food supply.

Lets do the math. Here is one analysis:

$1 product in 2020 became a $1.20 product in 2021 (using 20% inflation) – i.e. your overall grocery bill went up 20% from 2020
becomes a $1.44 product in 2022 (using 20% inflation) – i.e. your overall grocery bill went up 44% from 2020
becomes a $1.728 product in 2023 (using 20% inflation) – i.e. your overall grocery bill went up 73% from 2020
becomes a $2.07 product in 2024 (using 20% inflation) – – i.e. your overall grocery bill went up 100.1% from 2020 (doubled in 3 years)

Maybe groceries prices will stabilize and maybe the supply chain issues will resolve themselves. I doubt it, but I obviously can’t predict the future. I can learn from history. The American empire is in decline and we have a few long decades ahead.

Thinking About The 2022 Growing Season

Looking forward to growing season, you can break the challenges down into 2 broad areas:

1) raising a surplus of food (planting, maintaining, harvesting)
2) preserving the food

One of the challenges in dealing with fresh food is preserving it in a timely basis. When veggies are ripe they have to be picked, maintained in a cool environment and then preserved within a few days. This is common knowledge, but as we’ve gotten better at gardening and preserved food, it becomes clearer how difficult and how much work it is to make that work within the time constraints.

Lets take a look at the steps to preserve food:

1) prep the food – wash, clean and cut it up into what ever sizes are needed, blanche or cook (if needed). This part of the process is the most labor intensive and has to be done soon after the items are picked (time sensitive). After this is done, many items can be frozen until it is time to can or preserve them. This is also the step the requires the least amount of equipment (at least until we run out of freezer space).

2) preserve the food – water bath can, pressure can, dehydrate, freeze dry, freeze, etc.

3) post process – for dehydrating this would mean putting it in jars with oxygen absorbers and evacuating the jar, for canning you let the jars sit and cool before putting them up for storage (the easy part)

Items to Consider Buying for Preserving Food this Year

I realize each one of you has different space limitations and budgets, but here is a list of items that you will keep and use for decades, some for the rest of your life. I’m not trying to push you into doing anything, just giving you information and encouraging you to use your own judgement to do what ever it is that you need to do.

If grocery prices continue to rise, then there will be a rapid increase in people gardening (or trying to garden) and a subsequent rise in people trying to purchase these items below. There was a period last year were you just couldn’t get jars, and if you could find them online then the prices were really high, even for off brand jars.

Also look at being able to preserve your food as a way to save money, especially as food prices go up. If you have trouble paying the bills now, could you live with your food prices doubling? Now is your chance to do something about it. Buy food when it is less expensive and plentiful (i.e. during the harvest) and save it for later.

General Things Needed

Freezer – no matter how you preserve your food, a freezer is important. It allows you to prep food and freeze it until you can get it preserved. Freezing is also a great way to store food.

I’ll break down the overall things you’ll need for each method of food preservation.

Canning

1 quart wide mouth Mason jars (either Mason or Ball or Kerr [least prerred], avoiding off brand jars) – maybe 100-200 jars, they last forever as long as they aren’t damaged, just buy a few every week, get the regular mouth if you can’t get wide mouth
Lids and rings for the jars (brand name is preferred). You can also get resuable lids from Tattler (http://reusablecanninglids.com/)
Pressure canner (used for everything from squash to potatoes to meat – bigger is much better, measure your stove to make sure it fits – one that doesn’t require a seal is best). Some stoves won’t work with or support the weight of a canner. If this is the case at your home, you may have to can outdoors using a propane stove or cooker.

https://www.lehmans.com/product/41-12-qt-high-quality-pressure-canner/

Pot for water bath canning (high acidity things like tomatoes and pickles)

https://www.lehmans.com/product/black-enamelware-canner-215-qt/ – bigger is better, just measure your stove to make sure it fits

https://www.lehmans.com/product/enamelware-21-12-qt-canner-with-5-piece-tool-set/ – this one comes with jar grippers and funnels

Dehydrating

One quart wide mouth mason jars (either Mason or Ball, avoiding off brand jars) – maybe 100-200 jars, they last forever as long as they aren’t damaged, just buy a few every week, get the regular mouth if you can’t get wide mouth. Look for them in your grocery store and buy a dozen every week, along with lids and rings
Lids and rings for the jars (brand name is preferred). You can also get resuable lids from Tattler (http://reusablecanninglids.com/)
1 or 2 dehydrators – during peak harvest having more than one is a win

https://excaliburdehydrator.com/ – gets good reviews
https://www.nesco.com/product/fd-80-snackmaster-square-food-dehydrator/ – we have this one with 9 trays

Foodsaver – https://www.foodsaver.com/food-vacuum-sealers/countertop-vacuum-sealers/ – just make sure it has the jar sealer that fits normal and widemouth jars. This is an item i wouldn’t buy used unless you are very sure it hasn’t been used much and is fairly new. You’ll use this to seal jars after dehydrating the food.
Mylar bags – Maybe a bag similar to Impak CTN08MFS12L – https://www.impakcorporation.com/flexible_packaging/mylar-bag/medium-pouches/CTN08MFS12L
Oxygen absorbers – Impak SF300CS1500 – https://www.impakcorporation.com/oxygen_absorbers/packets/SF300CS1500

Freeze Drying

Freeze dryer – https://harvestright.com/
Foodsaver – https://www.foodsaver.com/food-vacuum-sealers/countertop-vacuum-sealers/ – just make sure it has the jar sealer that fits normal and widemouth jars. This is an item i wouldn’t buy used unless you are very sure it hasn’t been used much and is fairly new. You’ll use this to seal jars after dehydrating the food.
Mylar bags – Maybe a bag similar to Impak CTN08MFS12L – https://www.impakcorporation.com/flexible_packaging/mylar-bag/medium-pouches/CTN08MFS12L
Oxygen absorbers – Impak SF300CS1500 – https://www.impakcorporation.com/oxygen_absorbers/packets/SF300CS1500
One quart wide mouth mason jars (either Mason or Ball, avoiding off brand jars) – maybe 100-200 jars, they last forever as long as they aren’t damaged, just buy a few every week, get the regular mouth if you can’t get wide mouth. Look for them in your grocery store and buy a dozen every week, along with lids and rings
Lids and rings for the jars (brand name is preferred). You can also get resuable lids from Tattler (http://reusablecanninglids.com/)

NOTE: You maybe be able to find many of these things used, canners and jars. As long as jars aren’t chipped or broken they last forever. Often when someone stops canning they will give away their jars and pressure canners. If the pressure canner uses a gasket, you may be able to purchase a new one if the old one is unavailable or damaged.

Most grocery stores will have a limited supply of canning jars, just pick them up as they are available.

Use Your Judgment

Use your judgement and do what you can afford. I’m not suggesting in any way that you go in debt for these things. I am strongly suggesting that you buy jars / lids / rings and a dehydrator at a minimum. If you have the budget, then a freeze dryer would be an great investment. Freeze drying is the easiest process to do. Use your judgement. Hopefully that example inspires you to prosper in what could be a difficult few years.

audaces fortuna iuvat – fortune favors the bold

Parting thought – These links just products that I feel strongly enough to recommend. I have no relationship with any of these companies, other than being a customer.

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My wife and I have this love / hate relationship dynamic with horseradish. We only eat a small amount of it, but we have several family members and friends that really like it. We mostly use it in Connie’s homemade cocktail sauce or on roast beef. Here is a chart showing the pros/cons with horseradish. This should help you decide if you want to grow it. My suggestion is to give it a try, just grow it in an area where you can mow around it to keep it contained where you want it. It will outgrow many garden plants, including asparagus – sorry Connie.

One strategy is to have enough plants that you can harvest about every 3 months. That way you can always have fresh horseradish on hand. The spring and summer harvests may not be as strong as the fall harvest but fresh still wins.

| Pros | Cons | | Easy to Grow | Can be mildly invasive, best to grow it somewhere that you can mow around (easiest way to contain it, in my opinion) | | Roots did deep in the soil, which is good to breakup soil | It can be invasive, so you need to make sure it doesn’t spread into unwanted parts of the garden | | Very hardy | If it spreads into an unwanted area that you can’t mow then you have to week that area to control it | | Deep roots help breakup soils to a depth of 1-2 feet | Have to dig deeply to remove the roots for processing. Takes time to eliminate from an area because of the roots you miss when digging the plant up to process | | Tastes great in cocktail sauce or on roast beef. Stores about 3 months (refrigerated). Very easy to grow and you can dig it up any time to make more horseradish sauce | Limited uses. No way to preserve long term after processing (if there is, please let me know) | | Easy to process | Can be time consuming to peel smaller roots | | Medicinal uses | None | | Can be harvested any time in the season | Best if harvested late in the season for best flavor, but not a requirement. Look for yellow leaves, usually after first frost. | | Limited storage life after processing | Easy to store in the refrigerator | | Plant pulls minerals from deep soil | None | | Leaves are mineral laden and make great compost, just leave them where they fall | None | | Leaves are great supplement for chickens – https://tinyurl.com/2p85yuuz | None |

Processing Horseradish Step 1 – Wash roots and peel

I washed them outside first (they can be pretty dirty). Then wash them again in the sink. Make sure to remove any dark veins. Use safety glasses and good ventilation to protect your eyes.

Horseradish roots cleaned and ready Step 2 – Chop the roots up so they fit in the food processor

Step 3 – Pulse in food processor until finely chopped but not mushy.

Wait at least 2 minutes before adding the vinegar. The longer you wait the hotter the horseradish will get.

Chopping it up in the food processor Step 4 – Take one lb of horseradish and add 1/2 cup of white vinegar and 1 cup of cold water. Add approximately 1 teaspoon of kosher salt (adjust to your taste preference

Ready to pour into jars Step 5 – Pour into jars – we use smaller jars because most of the time the amount of horseradish used is fairly small. These are great Christmas presents.

Filling the jars Ready to go in the refrigerator Enjoy!

Note – we’ve had limited success vacuum sealing the jars. I suspect that we would need to do the vacuum sealing process fairly slowly to avoid making a mess.

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CSAs (community supported agriculture) are a great way to source more of your food locally. There are several websites that provide listings of local farms that provide a CSA product. LocalHarvest.org is a good example of a website that can connect you with a local CSA.

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Lets take a few minutes and talk about how to improve your food security and your food supply foot print. You don’t have to be completely reliant upon the grocery store. Lets talk about some ways to improve your food security. CSAs (community supported agriculture) are a great way to source more of your food … Continue reading "Improve Your Food Security"

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Lets walk through and take a look at every campsite in the Family Camping area. If you are trying to figure out which site to select. This might be a good start. I also take you down the connector trail from the camping area to the picnic area and lake. This isn’t an exciting video at all, but if you are planning to camp at Millpond State Park then it should help you select a site. It really is a nice place to camp with campsites that are a nice distance from each other. Enjoy!

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Lets walk through and take a look at every campsite in the Family Camping area. If you are trying to figure out which site to select. This might be a good start. I also take you down the connector trail from the camping area to the picnic area and lake. This isn’t an exciting video … Continue reading "Millpond State Park, NC – Tour of the Family Camping Area"

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Lets talk about how self-censorship and censorship in general drives societal failure. I am walking from the cypress swamp back to the Family Camping area while making this podcast. Walk with me and check out the trail while we talk about about self-censorship and community censorship and how that can destroy a society and country.

This is a great place to camp – https://www.ncparks.gov/merchants-millpond-state-park/home. I’ll post pictures in the next blog entry.

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Should you take it? Or run away?

Ivermectin Toxic or Not? Here is some great info that you may not see too many places. Do some research and then you make the decision for yourself. Chris Maretenson has a great series of videos on Covid-19 (going back to early 2020). Below is his expert analysis of studies that evaluate the safety of Ivermectin:

How Does it Work Dr. Mobeen Syed has done a series of videos on how Ivermectin works. Here is a straightforward description of how Ivermectin can help protect you against and help your body fight COVID-19.

Does It Really Work? With all the negative media coverage, it is reasonable to ask “does it really work” or is it just for deworming horses. Dr. Pierre Kory was called to testify before a Senate committee. Click below to hear what he had to say.

How to Get a Prescription for Ivermectin If you think you want to take Ivermectin as preventative or a treatment, then check out the FLCC Alliance They can guide you to a doctor in your state. This doctor can set up a teleconference with you to help you determine if Ivermectin is an appropriate preventative or treatment.

https://covid19criticalcare.com/ivermectin-in-covid-19/ Exercise Your Judgement I’m a big believer in people. I think that you should do the research and decide for yourself. You have good judgement. Go use it. Don’t let me or some mob on Twitter or the media tell you how to think. You can decide for yourself. It may not be easy or you may be criticized but your health is important.

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One great way to save money, it is not that difficult

Last year we started mixing our own chicken food. The journey towards making our own food started with researching how others make their own DIY chicken feed. I was able to narrow it down to three main criteria for the food:

price
protein content
nutritional supplements

Cost

It is much less expensive to make your own food. It takes some work and you have to store the grains for up to a year. However, you are also less reliant on the supply chain getting food to your local feed store. This also helps insulate you from the cost increases that we have seen several times on feed this year.

Nutritional Supplement

Fertrell makes a product called Poultry Nutri-Balancer. We used the nutri-balancer to help add in any nutrients that are missing in the grain mix that we feed our birds.

Calculating Protein in Food

The good news is that amount of protein in the common grains used in chicken food is well established and easy to find

| GRAIN | % Protein by Weight | | Wheat | 15 | | Corn | 9 | | Oats | 13 | | Soybean Meal | 44 | | Sunflower Seed | 20-44 |

Spreadsheet to Make It Easier

I’ve had several requests for the spreadsheet that I made to develop my own recipe for our chicken feed. They spreadsheet helps you to

estimate the amount of food needed for a year
come up with a recipe that provides the correct amount of protein and nutritional supplements

Just click on the image of the spreadsheet below to download. Please send email me if you find a mistake or have a suggestion for improving the spreadsheet.

Click on the picture to download spreadsheet Please note that different sunflower varieties have different levels of protein. It is also important that you don’t feed raw soybeans to your birds. Instead use soybeans that are roasted and ground up into meal.

One Consideration with Using Soy Beans

Phytoestrogens are present in soy beans. Phytoestrogens can trick the body into believing that they are actually estrogen. Phytoestrogens are passed through the chickens into the person consuming the eggs and meat from the chicken. The impact on us as people is not really well known. One way to avoid any issues is use sunflower seeds instead of soy beans.

Note

We don’t have a relationship with Fertrell other than as a paying customer. We just happen to use the their product in our feed.

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Why You Need a Spare Parts Kit and Lots of Trays

Freeze drying is a great way to preserve food. It is much easier than pressure canning while preserving more of the food value. A pressure canner is very simple and pretty much just requires heat and water to operate. Freeze dryers are automated and allow you to do other things while the freeze drying process is running.

Freeze dryers require reliable power (its a long process – 1-3 days) and a functioning freeze dryer. The “functioning freeze dryer” part may sound silly to say, but I mention this because a freeze dryer is a complex piece of equipment. A freeze dryer is very similar to to the heat pump that heats and cools your house plus a vacuum pump.

If your freeze dryer has a mechanical or electrical failure then you could be left in a situation where you are unable to process your harvest until after it is repaired.

Here is my experience with Harvest Right tech support.

Day 1 – Saturday – freeze drying quits and screen goes black. I login to Harvest Right website and create a tech support / trouble ticket
Day 3 – Monday – Receive email from Harvest Right and set up tech support call on Thursday
Day 6 – Thursday – Tech support call with Harvest Right to troubleshoot problem. Thankfully there is a workaround. There was a $45 charge for the tech support call
Day 14 – Parts ship from Harvest Right. Note it took 6 business days for the parts to ship
Day 20 – Parts scheduled to arrive

The tech support lady was knowledgeable and diagnosed the problem quickly. Thankfully there was a work around. Otherwise the freeze dryer would have been down for 20+ days.

What to Do When Your Freeze Dryer Breaks Down There are several options to get through this period until you can repair your freeze dryer.

Option #1 – continue to fill trays and stack those trays in your freezer while you wait for replacement parts to arrive from Harvest Right.

Extra Trays – https://harvestright.com/product/freeze-dryer-trays/

Stackers – https://www.freezedryingsupplies.com/collections/all-products/products/copy-of-freeze-dryer-tray-stackers-works-on-all-sizes

Both extra trays and stackers are purchases the will help you make the most of your freeze drying in regular times. When your garden is really producing or when local produce is plentiful, consider having a 5-6 sets of trays and some freezer space. That will help you deal with surges in available food.

Option #2 – keep spare parts on hand so you can repair the freeze dryer without having to wait for a tech support call and shipment of spare parts from Harvest Right

Option #3 – come up with a workaround to get the freeze dryer back up and running. Harvest Right was great about helping with this

Prevention / Recovery Having spare parts on hand is a great insurance policy. The tech support lady at Harvest Right took time to help create list of spare parts. These are parts that are often replaced. There is no way to guarantee that the spare parts will be the ones that are needed if there is a breakdown in the future, but it is good insurance to have these. Also, parts like the door gasket and vacuum hose o-ring will eventually need to be replaced.

Here are some commonly replaced spare parts

Spare Parts Kit – Medium Harvest Right Freeze Dryer – 2020 Model

| Harvest Right Part # | Description | Quantity | Unit Price | Extended Price | | ELC-R0006 | Power Switch (M, L) 2.000 Units 7.000 50.00 7.0% $ 7.00 | 2 | 7 | 14 | | U-UFD-WA-007 | Power Harness (M) – Medium FD Power Cable | 2 | 16.75 | 33.5 | | ELC-B0003 | Relay Board | 1 | 95 | 95 | | Part # N/A | Capacitive Kit- USB & Touchscreen | 1 | 150 | 150 | | 300101 | Door Gasket (M) – Medium Door Gasket | 1 | 45 | 45 | | JIC Hose O-Ring | Vacuum Hose (JIC, O-Ring) | 4 | 1.75 | 7 | | HDW-V0001 | Valve (Ball, Drain) | 1 | 13 | 13 | | OP-VLU11060 | Oil Pump (Standard, 110V 60Hz) – Standard Harvest Right Oil Pump | 1 | 295 | 295 | | HR-VP-OIL | HR Oil – Food Safe Vacuum Pump Oil | 4 | 13.75 | 55 | | U-UFD-HS-004 | Vacuum Hose (Standard, JIC, 3/8″ x 36″) | 1 | 21.99 | 21.99 | | Total | $729.49 |

Conclusion $729 is a lot of money. But when you look the timetable above, it is very possible that a repair could take 20+ days. We had several sets of trays, cookie sheets and zip lock bags and that got us through the 6 calendar days to get the freeze dryer back up and running. Waiting 20+ days would be rough, especially during peak harvest.

Suggestion If you have to pay for a tech support call with Harvest Right, then make sure to schedule a follow call (during your initial call) to discuss any issues that you have installing any replacement parts. That way you avoid an additional $45 charge and a delay in setting up the 2nd call.

Disclaimer I have received no compensation, products or other considerations from any company mentioned above. If Harvest Right wants to send a freeze dryer or more medium trays, that would be great! Ditto for Freeze Drying Supplies. The links take you directly to the company website with no affiliate relationship.

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This videos explains why

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Lets talk about not seeing the world in terms of left / right. Lets think about what is good and bad for you, the people around you and your nation.

Today’s world is all about being compliant. Compliance is not always a good thing, especially when your compliance allows others to do bad (or even evil) things. Instead apply your judgement, use discernment and do the right thing. I talk about this in my podcast, among a few other things as I’m out for a walk. Unscripted with great scenery (video version of the podcast is below).

I recorded this podcast while I was hiking / walking the River Loop Trail at the foot of Mount Mitchell in NC. We camped at the Black Mountain Campground. What a great place to camp!

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Come join me on my hike. I was hiking on a trail at the foot of Mount Mitchell in NC when I recorded this podcast (video below).

Consistently putting in a modest effort is the way to succeed. I started consistently working out in 2015. Over time my diet has also improved. I’m still a long way from “eating clean” but I’m more aware now of what I’m eating and how much.

It is important to note that I don’t usually workout for the sake of fitness alone. My efforts to stay fit are designed to

improve my quality of life
enable me to participate in outdoor and athletic activities

It is also important to note that I work out about 45 minutes, 3 times a week. Depending on my schedule, I’ll supplement that with walking, and sometimes running. I’m making a small investment of my time, but it yields good results. I try to maximize the effects of my efforts by doing these 2 things:

consistently working out over an long period of time and avoid skipping workouts if at all possible
aware of what I eat and make good small decisions on a constant basis (this is the hardest part for me and I don’t always succeed)

Diets don’t work in the long run, because you can’t be consistent in the long run. Instead what changes can you make that are changes that you can maintain. I have a long way to go on my personal dietary choices, but I’ve managed to maintain a comfortable weight.

With all the craziness going on the in world, one of the things that you can control is your physical fitness and what / how much you eat. Stress exacerbates many things including the effects of poor physical fitness and an overweight condition. If times get tough, then starting out a crisis in good physical condition is a very good thing.

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Our overlanding destination is closer to finally being ready for the first guests in the fall. The next step is sowing more grass and getting the grass established.

The campsite is big enough for a large group. It is only about 25 minutes from Max Patch, Hurricane Creek or Hot Springs. You can preview the listing on Hipcamp at:

https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US/north-carolina/troublesome-gap-overlanding/troublesome-gap-group-site-w-elec

Here are some pictures from the latest work:

First step is putting down the base layer of large stone The larger stone keeps the driveway stable and the finer stone is easier to drive and walk on Then follow up with finer gravel on top of the large stone The turning circle, perfect for a teardrop camper is half way finished Second load of finer gravel is applied and the turning circle is ready to drive on Looking back towards Baltimore Branch Road View of the campsite from the road

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Lets talk about how doing it right, means choosing a project that isn’t too big. Alternatively a project that is too big can lead to horrible results and burn out.

The podcast also covers the concept that as a farmer (or hobbyist or prepper) you have two resources. You can put time into your project and money into your project. If you have a lot of time you can accomplish a lot. If you have a lot of money you can accomplish a lot. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle so we have to scale our efforts to match the amount of money and time that we have.

Thanks for checking in!

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We all like to eat. We all need to eat. How much will food cost this year? Next year?

I’ll make the argument that we, as a nation, have passed a historical inflection point. Its our job as men (and women too) to prepare for difficult times. I’ll also make the argument that preparing for difficult times is a moral obligation as a citizen of the United States.

The price of food is going up. Right now be price of food is up at least 3%.

Lets spend a few minutes and talk about why the price of food may skyrocket and what you can do to have a more resilient family, community and nation.

Check out my podcast and let me know what you think. I’ll be happy when we get to the point where my biggest concern is what Montie Gear product we just built or what trail to hike to where to go camping. However, for now, we need to become more resilient. Lets take that journey together!

Montie Roland, NPDP: Recent Episodes

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