Quote:
Originally Posted by targetacqmgt
And wife is learning to can (something I have been getting into for the last 5 years.) Lots of local produce and wild critters.
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We have at least a year's worth - probably closer to two - of canned venison, halibut, salmon, tuna, shrimp, crab, veggies, pickles (our own brand), onions, you name it. Couple of times a year, especially right after deer season, the lady of the house and I drag out the canning cookers, fire up the stove - gas, but we do have a monster wood-fired stone fireplace that's also been used for this purpose, and add to our reserves. The fireplace is also capable of maintaining a constant 65-68 degree inside temperature if oil and propane supplies dry up. We have several gardens and grow pretty much all of the veggies we end up canning. The deer and bear do compete for some of the stuff in our gardens, but that's okay, there's plenty to go 'round, and some of the deer are probably going to end up being canned anyway. There isn't an appliance in the house that doesn't have a manually operated backup counterpart should the power grid go down. Canned preserves don't require refrigeration, and for the few items we have that do - largely stuff that we don't really need, there's the simple expedient of sealing them in tethered and weighted waterproof containers and dropping 'em into the lake - sort of like the old picnic beer cooler bit. Then there's medical supplies, backup stocks of prescription medicine. batteries, and just about everything else from tarps to toothpicks. There's also the fact that we live on an island. Only way in or out is air or sea - period, so if the large urban areas end up going to hell in a handbasket I don't think we'll be seeing it spread to our patch. All things considered, and we've tried to consider all the possibilities, I'd say we're set for whatever comes. Hopefully it never will.