# February 2010 Prep Journal



## Guest (Feb 1, 2010)

Well, it's February and things are more like now than ever before!

The economy continues to recover so the news tells me, but I'm still not seeing much of it around here. Layoffs seem to have dwindled, but hiring is still mighty slow. I did notice over the weekend that several new small restaurants are opening here in Gainesville, but being a college town we always have new ones coming in to replace the old ones going out. It's a cut throat business. Still, I'll take it as a hopeful sign.

Nationally the government continues to do what the government has always done no matter who is in charge - make bad decisions that wastes billions of dollars already spent in favor of all new programs that will themselves spend billions of dollars. Which in turn will be wasted when the next administration comes along. Doesn't matter who is in charge, they all do it. Internationally the immediacy of the Haiti catastrophe is winding down into what appears is going to be a decades long recovery. The next major disaster somewhere in the world is probably tuning up. Somebody somewhere (millions of somebodies usually) are struggling just to stay alive every day. It seems to be a constant of the human condition. If there was ever a reason to get prepped and stay prepped 24/7/365 you have only to read the headlines for a week or so. Sooner or later we all get our turn in the barrel...

On the personal prep scene the latest Walton Feed truck pool order came in on Saturday. Our luck finally ran out on getting our order in that it rained from before dawn to after dusk that day and the truck cannot wait so it was march or die. The one upside to this being the smallest order that I can recall us receving was that it allowed us to cram everything into the small area under roof we had available to us to get it sorted out, repacked, and picked up. If it had been one of our more normal orders we'd have had to break out the pop-up canopies and tarps some of us had brought. I don't mail order much in the way of food, but there are a few things that I cannot find locally at least not at a price I'm willing to pay so the truck pool is often the best way to go. If you have an organized person in charge of the dropoff it's a wonder to watch that Chinese fire drill in action getting everything off the truck, taking everything apart, sorting it all into their respective categories, then getting all of the individual orders filled. It takes months from the time the order is sent in for it to arrive, but there is not cheaper way to get it from thar to hyar.

Made a very small Sam's Club run yesterday. Would have been larger, but had to buy materials for building a grow out pen for the poultry. It's a transition stage from the brooder to the production flocks. The days are growing longer so the egg train is building steam. Won't be much longer before we start hatching our own for the first time now that I've got the breeding stock I wanted. I've been dithering for months as to whether I really wanted to spend the money on the incubator, but the time has come to either buy the dang thing or give up the idea so I'm calling it in today.

How's the prep month looking for you folks?

.....Alan.


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## jehoshaphat (Feb 13, 2004)

We added facial tissues, dishwasher soap(can use for soaking stained clothing) & canned tomato products. Local store has mega sale & using co's have been able to get all very cheap & some even free. Have been doing some reorganizing. also, been talking with friends who I didn't know were prepping. It came about in conversation one day & we've been chatting about diff sites, what to prep & how can we help one another meet goals.


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## Hotshot (Mar 6, 2009)

We started some cool weather seed inside.Hopefully we can get a jump on the garden this year.Hard to think about spring with 10 in of snow out there


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## Riverrat (Oct 14, 2008)

Have placed the seed order, local company that makes their own heirloom seeds. Found a great deal on carrots at a local store, buy one 5 pound bag, get two free, so we canned 14 bottles of carrots. Going to make a Cosco run this weekend. Looking forward to that. 
We also have stopped buying any bread at all, we make all of our own. Each Sunday afternoon, we have a bread making day, make enough to last all week.
Almost have the new addition finished, kitchen wood stove has arrived, and hopefully will soon be adding heat and another cooking option.
Thinking about raising chickens, never done it before, but love fresh eggs. Doing quite a bit of reading on that.
Other then that, not to much going on....


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## BoldViolet (Feb 5, 2009)

I will be starting my seeds indoors this weekend. 


I've been trying to make more meals instead of eating out at restaurants -- we're doing pretty well, maybe eating out at restaurants only 4 times a month (compared to, say... a year ago, when we ate out more often than not.)


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

Being the 1st of the month, I was suprised on the lack of people out shopping today. I ran a few errands this afternoon, after my doctor appointment in town. Got a deal on TP today, and bought about 100 rolls.. Also found a sale on different types of pasta, sauces, and other storage items for the pantry that I will use on a regular basis..

I need to go to the dollar store and get a few boxes each of 1 the gallon and 1 quart sizes of ziploc style freezer bags. Due to the average high humidity (90% to 100%+) here along the coast, I try to ziploc anything that is stored against moisture. So I go through several boxes of those ziploc style bags at a time..

I got another email notice from the Sportsmans Guide - that a thousand (1,000) rounds of 9mm parabellum (9X19mm) ammuniton which has been on backorder for over a year, now has another anticipated shipping date of July 2010. Not that I am low on that caliber, but it can be handy to have extra on hand.

I did stop by our local Sheriff's Office to get the necessary paperwork to renew my State of California CCW license today. Called on the phone the usual instructor that I use, and sometime this month I get to go to the firing range to offically requalify with my weapons. So I need to dig out some surplus/ reloaded ammo, for firing at paper targets.. That and some extra magazines for each weapon, if I need to fire 25 rounds per listed weapon.

This month I need to start looking for a deal on more parafin based wax to make even more old school sheetmetal fabricated mold based candles.. That is if I can't find some used candles/ wax off of Freecycle/ Craigslist, which has been a good source in the past.


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## CottageLife (Jul 20, 2009)

Well, we have lay-offs coming at my work. Expecting them last week or March or first-second week of April. Due to this we are holding off on buying much and looking at our finances instead. Stinks to just put everything on hold, I wish I knew if I've made it through yet another lay-off, or this will be my time to look for a job in this economy.

I did get my concealed pistol permit in the mail this week though! Now I can officially go try out some pistols to find one I like.


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## firegirl969 (Nov 3, 2008)

DH and I picked up our Breadbecker's co-op order consisting of 96 lbs of soft white wheat, a gallon of virgin olive oil, lecithin, glutin, and dough enhancer. This is the first time I have ordered soft white wheat, so I am going to try it out for cookies and maybe a cake next week.


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## BoldViolet (Feb 5, 2009)

hee hee. I live right up the road from the Bread Beckers' storefront.  Super awesome people.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

Made a quick run to the grocery store for some "good" bread to go with dinner. (I didn't load the bread machine before going to work.) I found half gallons of orange juice with added calcium for $1.49 at the local Wegmans. I bought 6. I will be freezing 5 of them in a few days, once I have poured a little out of each to keep them from bulging.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

DH got skipped on the layoffs today:nanner: 25% of the workforce at his place of employment will be out of work by the end of next week...his group got "hit" today.....so many being let go they are going though one department at a time. So out #1 prep this month is remaining employed.

I picked up my first order from Something Better Natural Foods. We didn't order much this time, more of a trail order. 5# of popcorn, 1#clear-jell, 1 oz of tea tree oil, and a few other things. Happy with the "system" of how it works, so we'll put away a bit more money so we can order more next time....need some soft wheatberries, I can get hard cheap....but not soft. So I need to check the catalog and start setting money aside.

Have our first budget done! I know we will be tweaking it over the next few months. Doing it reminded me to call the electric company and gas company to get our bills set up on budget. It's allot easier knowing how much it will be BEFORE I open the envelope.


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## Cindy in NY (May 10, 2002)

We did a "no spend" experiment last month. Except for a couple items, we only spent on perisable items - fresh vegetables, fruits, dairy, and bread. I wanted to do this not only to spend as little as possible but also to see how long our preps would last.

I was kind of surprised at how little we used from the pantry and freezer! When the first of February came around, there were only a few things that got lower than what I would have liked. I had to buy various kinds of canned beans, canned soup, tissues (knew we'd be low there) and hamburger (thought I had more to start with than I did!). I restocked on Monday including buying 11 1/2 pounds of ground round that I divided into 3/4 pound packages and used my new FoodSaver to seal.

Looking at how little we used, I think we have a year's supply of food including flour to make our own bread and powdered milk. So the only things we'd need for a long term SHTF would be fresh vegetables and fruits. Depending on the time of year, we could get vegetables from our garden and there are a number of apple trees near by.


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## CottageLife (Jul 20, 2009)

Ohio dreamer said:


> DH got skipped on the layoffs today:nanner:


:bouncy: I'm so glad he wasn't laid off! I'm in the boat of still waiting to hear (probably 6-8 weeks from now is the guess). It sure is emotionally draining. I bet a huge weight has been lifted


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## texastami (Sep 13, 2002)

We bulk ordered and put up oats, barley, black beans, farina and instant potatoes (50# each) Rotated all stock and cleaned out the "cave"!! 

Also received our order of seeds for the garden this year (and for years to come according to DH  Nice to have that done! Hay bales are already bought and I just scored a very large piece of glass to create a haybale greenhouse of sorts for my seeds!! 

We also tripled our grocery shopping budget this month.... we found SUPER deals on many items (canned goods, meats, dairy) and we finally had the extra CASH to do so this month!! I caught meat on sale from a local supplier and bought 200# -- in the freezer now, but will be cooked and canned ASAP. DH has bought a smoker and will be smoking meat and canning that as well! 

We also added a Royal Berkley water filter, Big Buddy Propane heater, self defense weapons, and 4 months worth of all necessary tolietries and OTC meds.... Should have seen people look at me buying 10 packages of TP!!  Am waiting for my crank radio and wash board!! 

Scored another 10 dz jars FOR FREE (6 doz had 20 yr+ food in them that needed to be dumped, but DH handled that with grace and the jars are in the dishwasher now!!  

And the best part this week was we PAID OFF a debt that has taken $150 (no interest) a month from us for the last 5 months (non-negotiable car repair)


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

CottageLife said:


> :bouncy: I'm so glad he wasn't laid off! I'm in the boat of still waiting to hear (probably 6-8 weeks from now is the guess). It sure is emotionally draining. I bet a huge weight has been lifted


We'll keep you in prayer. WOW 6-8 weeks til you know that is draining!! Rumors only started 2 week ago, so we didn't have to sit an stew too long.


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## Browncoat (Jun 8, 2009)

Bought a lot of seeds and table greenhouses, going to try to start plants indoors soon. Still a little early here yet, I'm told. 

Mostly trying to get through the bad weather here, making sure I have enough water for lengthy power outages, if they come. Also bought the coolest water jug yesterday with a spigot so that even if I have no running water from the faucet I can have running water to wash my hands. I have simple needs, except I desperately want a chest freezer. The one in my fridge is bulging and throws things at me when I open the door.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

An elderly great aunt called and asked if I wanted some canning jars this week, went to pick them up and she gave me 4 dz. quarts and 6 dz. pints all cleaned and in the original boxes. She told me she is too old to can and has started getting her place ready for her to die one day and knows none of her kids will ever want to can food. She told me as she cleans out she will call me with things she knows I might want or need. I feel blessed!


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Went to a bulk food store and grocery outlet today. My favorite deals were the 4 for $1 red peppers. Peppers are in the dehydrator and freezer, except for the 2 that are going to be stuffed for dinner. Found single serving size bags of tortilla chips BOGO and they were marked 25 cents! So I got 8 for a dollar....that will be perfect for Super Bowl Sunday. Wide mouth canning lids were 99 cents!! I only have about 3 dozen wide mouth jars, but I bought 10 boxes of lids - so I'm set for a year and a half or so on wide mouths. Now, to keep watch for a good deal on regular lids. Liquid pectin for 1.29 so I grabbed a few more boxes. I really need to start shopping there more often, they are only 20 mins away.


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## FrontPorch (Mar 27, 2008)

I put a deposit down on a Dwarf Nigerian doe and her two young weathers. February prepping will focus on getting more pastures fenced if the weather cooperates and a small portable shelter for the goats. Other than that it's just the usual stocking up on whatever is on sale.


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## wvstuck (Sep 19, 2008)

Still plugging along


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Our front door and special ordered storm door are in finally and we're still waiting on weekend weather suitable enough to install all of it. The contractor is our neighbor and he can only work here on weekends due to working out of town the rest of the week. He put in our back doors and we're so pleased with those. It's really helped with the insulation overall of the house. 

Had the grandkids here today and so didn't get around to sowing any seeds, but that's upcoming. Working on getting a new order ready to replace used preps. Should be placing that order in about 3 weeks. Also still working on getting all the tax documents ready for the accountant to do our taxes. Will be really glad to get that done and out of mind and misery.

Had to have another neighbor stop by last week and check our old furnace thermostat. Five minutes and he had it working again, better than ever. We were without heat about 2 days, but the Amish electric heater kept the temps around 68 in some really cool weather. We still haven't lit the wood stove because of my breathing problems, but it's still good to know we have that backup as a last resort.


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## Trixters_muse (Jan 29, 2008)

I found free oak on Craigslist so we spent most of the week cutting, hauling and stacking. A few people around this area have been cleaning and raking lawns so we also got a good bit of dry kindling and pine cones from several people. I was given more grapefruit so I juiced the entire bushel and froze it. We have mostly been pre-spring cleaning and organizing.

I did find a decent, almost new two room tent with an attached canopy for $15. We have 6 tents now, dont ask me what I plan to do with so many, I just keep finding good bargains, lol.


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## Jakk (Aug 14, 2008)

Just put a deposit down on 5 acres with a stream, pond and cleared homesite. Plan to move in 4 yrs.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

Jakk said:


> Just put a deposit down on 5 acres with a stream, pond and cleared homesite. Plan to move in 4 yrs.


Congratulations on your purchase! Now the fun begins!


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## BoldViolet (Feb 5, 2009)

Hope everyone is doing well.

Went to Home Depot today and picked up some soil to start my seeds indoors sometime this week or by the weekend.

Grabbed two 5-gallon buckets with lids while I was there. I told my fiance that the next time we go to Sam's club that we need to fill those buckets with rice and flour. So I need to order some mylar and O2 absorbers. Once I figure that out, I'll be getting more buckets (still waiting on Publix to call me - gave 'em my number and asked them to save the buckets they were gonna throw out...)

Just ordered two lanterns, two extra wicks, and a gallon of lantern fluid from http://www.lanternnet.com/

Fiance just got a Hornaday (sp?) catalog and is oogling at the reloading kits. I know one of those is coming soon.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

I stocked up at the grocery store yesterday. Bought 15 lbs of chicken legs and thighs for 89 cents a lb. 10 lbs of steak at $4.99 lb, 2 boxes of cereal, 6 more half gallons of OJ, 4 boxes of instant oatmeal, a lb of butter, 6 lbs of apples, a case of TP, a case of paper towels, six two liter sodas, some seasonings and a box of powdered milk.

I checked the sale flyers that came in today's paper...The apples increased in price from $1.29 for a 3 lb bag up to $1.99. I wish that I had bought some more.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

Just had a friend give me 55lbs of cut up chicken, Will be thawing it up tomorrow to put into managable meal sizes.


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## pamintexas (Jun 15, 2002)

Last week at the thrift store I picked up a dozen canning jars for .25 cents each (wide-mouth pints and quarts). Over the weekend I bought 10 more pounds of rice, 10 pounds of chicken breasts to can and more canned goods to fill out what I have used. Did a seed inventory and bought 19 new packs, all veggies and herbs. This year besides the garden, I plan to plant all my beds, including flower beds, in edibles. Tomorrow I'll be planting seeds to start in our little greenhouse. I have some potato slips ready to plant and let some red potatoes sprout so I'll have those to plant too. It has been too wet all winter to till the garden so as soon as it's dry that is on the agenda.


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Stopped by Salvation Army, found a 4 qt Presto pressure cooker for $4.99, after 25% discount & tax = $4.05! Model 0121004 alum. 

This is a real convenient small size, can take camping & such.


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## TheMrs (Jun 11, 2008)

We recently purchased a 1/2 grassfed beef and another chest freezer to put it in.

I went shopping this weekend and purchased more for our stockpile: a flat of canned green beans, 2 flats of corn, bulk vinegar, borax, lamp oil and wicks, coffee, oats, and aluminum foil.

We've ordered our first heirloom seeds and are awaiting their arrival.

Getting ready to order the cookstove accessory to the Napoleon woodstove that came with our house. The woodstove is insulated on the outside to keep children from getting burned and this accessory will allow us to use the top for cooking.

Researching candle making and soap makikng. When we ordered our 1/2 cow, we were able to get the fat from the entire animal for free, so I have a lot of beef fat here that needs to be turned into tallow. I'll use much of it for cooking, but I'd like so experiment with other uses as well.

If anyone stockpiles Epsom salt, Walgreens has it on sale this week $0.50 per pound. I plan on getting some.

radiofish: DH has ammo backordered from them too..one of these days it'll arrive.


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## TheMrs (Jun 11, 2008)

DH ordered the woodstove's cooktop accessory yesterday. It's supposed to be in Monday.

Today I ordered 135 pounds of wheat (hard and soft) and 23 pounds of oats from Bread Beckers. 

It feels good to be stocking up on these things.

Next on the list: percolator and chainsaw with all the safety gear.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

It's so good to be back on line and able to post to the prep journal again! This has been a good prep month so far. I made a huge batch of laundry soap from our homemade soap, borax and washing soda - probably won't need more made for a year, and made it all for pennies. 

I have totes, garbage cans and buckets lined up all along the drip line to the barn and have most of them full of water to give the animals, and I've filtered 9 5 gallon buckets of water through the Berkey, in addition to filling all of the gallon thru 3 gallon jugs and bottles. We are in good shape for drinking and laundry water.

I've been continuing to cut firewood and to pick up small deadfall and slash wood to break into kindling and small firewood. Looking at my woods and the cleancut next door, I should be good for wood for a long time. 

Probably my favorite prep this month was my trip to Costco, where I bought......

FRUIT TREES! LOTS and LOTS of fruit trees.  I bought a 3 in 1 apple tree with Honey Crisp, Liberty and Chehalis, as well as a separate Liberty and Chehalis each, and one each of Braeburn, Yellow Delicious, Fuji, Early Fuji, and Red Gravenstein, plus a 3 in 1 plum and 2 pear trees - a Red Clapp's Pear and another one I can't think of the name right now. I also bought 4 more blueberry bushes, 2 Reka and 2 Chandler. So, I have $150 worth of holes to dig! I'm still figuring out where I want them and how to protect them from the critters, but I think I'll have them planted before I head to Moses Lake this weekend.

2 of the goat does are filling udders, so we are looking at kids soon, and MILK! It'll be good to have fresh milk again. So much better than store-bought.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

We got $40 worth of groceries to add to our stockpile yesterday, by signing up for the newspaper. We walked into the Price Chopper store to pick up a couple of things and there was a guy in a booth selling subscriptions to the local paper. We told him that we already subscribe and started to walk past him. He then explained that we could now get their weekend special (Saturday & Sunday's paper) for less than we are currently paying for the Sunday paper alone! We will now pay less and get another newspaper which we use to start fires in the fireplace after it has been read. As an incentive for signing up, we were given $40 in gift cards to use in Price Chopper. We used the money to buy cases of veggies, some fresh veggies to dehydrate this weekend, 2 cases of toilet paper, some first aid supplies and fresh meat to package and freeze. This is the same store that gives discounts off of gasoline at Sunoco stations based upon how much you spend in the store.


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## jehoshaphat (Feb 13, 2004)

A good sale @ local store is providing us w/ dehydrated potatoes for almost free! buy 5 pkgs @ .60 ea ($3 total) & get store coupon for $3 off next purchase. Doing 2 orders ea time we go thru store. also those helper dinners on sale(can be tasty with added veggies etc) are buy 5 /$5 get $3 off next order. there are man co's out on those so that's make them even cheaper. Now I want to know if I should repackage the potatoes with a vacuum sealer partly to save on storage space. Have added quite a few boxes of ea to storage w/o wiping out shelves.


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## cowboy joe (Sep 14, 2003)

Quail hatching in the 'bater as we speak. Weather guy is predicting the worse storm of the winter for our area to arrive mid next week. Checking the list twice to make certain things are in order just-in-case.

New rechargeable batteries arrived earlier this week. Made up new battery packs to replace the ones in the scanner and HT (ham readio 2m handheld) which barely hold a charge these days. Feeling better that chore is done.

Finished my seed inventory and hope to place an order this weekend to fill a few gaps. Figure I should attend to that soon to get it off the 'to do' list. Looking forward to a productive weekend.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

I spent the weekend visiting my sister and bil across the mountains and they sent me home with several rolls of no-climb fencing, a fence charger and electric fence wire. Now I can fence off the rest of the orchard against the goats and add electric fencing to the field fences so the goats will, just maybe, stay where they are put!

We had kids born Sat and today, all bucklings so far this year, so they will be butcher kids. As soon as the colostrum changes to milk, we'll be back in business again - no more buying store milk.

I've added more seeds to the stocks, and dug some taters out of the garden. I left a lot of the potatoes in the ground last fall to see how they would do versus the ones I dug. I think I'll be leaving more of them in the ground and only digging 5-10# at a time. The ground seldom freezes hard for long here, so they keep well in the soil under mulch, and I can dig them pretty much any time.

I have a hen that would like to go broody - unfortunately, I no longer have a rooster for her, so no fertile eggs. My rooster was dog-killed at a friend's house. I guess I need to find a new rooster or get her some "foster eggs".

While those of you in the eastern part of the country are getting a hard winter, we have had one of the mildest winters in years. The last fall (early Dec) was wintery cold, but Jan and Feb have been springlike. Makes me itch to get my garden in, but I know we could still have a turn in temps. The rhubarb is up and growing - another few weeks and I might have enough for a rhubarb crumble.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

My pantry is bulging, so I've been focusing on garden seeds and animal foods in metal trash cans. I'm also getting my kitchen window replaced, since it's old, drafty, and the seals have broken.

With the snow and ice we had earlier this month, we had one day and night of using the lanterns, kerosene stove and alternate cooking methods as a test. We cooked only what I had canned, and even used 5 gallons of water in buckets near the toilets to flush. We did just fine, although the kids missed the TV and computer. It was nice to get things more organized for a time we might actually lose power and need to do it this way.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Got our first incubator chicks of the year two days ago, 15 out of 24 cuckoo marans and one lonely silkie chick.

Averaging 25 lbs of pork each week at the butchers (they save their meat trimmings each day and I pick it up after work... If I don't show up by ~5, they throw it away). Mostly the trimmings off of loins and sometimes hams... I've started saving the extra, to grind up en masse one weekend. Also get a box of beef trimmings, and we cut the fat off, and feed the meaty pieces to the dogs. Yesterday the butcher smiled and wanted to know if I wanted some 'bad' chicken... a whole case of thawed cut up young chickens were expiring that day... took it home and the dogs got a feast.

Three buckets of beans, one bucket of rice put up. Two more buckets of rice to process over the weekend.

GF picked up three more Nubian does, one in milk, one pregnant, and one to be bred, and two more nubian doelings. So now, I have no idea'r how many goats we have.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

On Tuesday evening after work, I stopped off at the grocery store because I had heard that a storm was coming... Now, I know that my pantry didn't require a stop off at the store but it is so close to my job that I decided to do it any way. Caught a great sale on toilet paper and bought 4 more cases, a few fresh veggies and some sale snack items. I figured that if we go stuck at home, then we would have a grand time watching the Olympics and snacking.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Preps this month consisted of ordering chicks, contacting a couple of people about adult chickens for March, and putting our first rabbits in the freezer. 

Talk about easy and continuous supply of meat! sheesh. 1 male, 1 female = 24lbs meat in the freezer in 4 months. and they can exist on scraps, hay, vegetation, weeds. 1 male can have a LOT of females, too. I'm going to try smoking rabbit next round of butchering.

The other thing that we're BOTH doing is losing weight and getting in shape. I've been going in to the doc to get everything fixed, checked, etc., and urging Artificer to do the same. Things are feeling so unstable lately, that I figure I need to keep on top of the medical stuff...get off my remaining 1 medication (other than the gabepentin) in case things fall apart. Losing another 40lbs should do that for me.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Planted 5 of my new fruit trees and marked the spots for the other 6 - I'll need the tiller to help me open up the holes for those. I also cleared out blackberry brambles around some of the struggling trees in the orchard and changed out the netting and shorter wire for the 5 foot tall wire I brought home last weekend. Did a little pruning of dead wood and was pleased to see that it looks like some of the trees that lost their leaders and nearly died, are showing signs of buds swelling on the side shoots they sent up last year. It'll take another 4-5 years, but it looks like they may come back and bear fruit yet!

I'm reworking my gardens, incorporating more of the fruit trees into the north side, behind fences, where they will be relatively safe from goat predation. The overall size of the gardens will grow by about 20' one way and 16' the other, I think. I measured it all out today, but need to pull T-posts and pound them in along the new line tomorrow.


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