Continued from here
nopower – at 12:04
shadddup – at 09:36,
I’ve bought Pillsbury and Gold Medal from the local groceries but was looking specifically for hard white wheat flour such as the kind from Golden 86, white wheat. King Arthurs sells hard white wheat flour on their website and lists they sell it locally but all the places they list it under in my area don’t have it - Publix, Walmart SS, BJ’s. I went down to the Whole Foods market on Glades and 95 and I couldn’t even find flour there, they seemed to be geared more to the non-cooking/baking college crowd.
I’ll see if their is a Wild Oats around here, my aunt loves the one by her in Colorado.
Have you found King Arthurs Flour at any of the chains down south??? I was about to order some online but got sidetracked. Ideally I would like to by an electric grinder and some Golden 86 from Walton but I can’t justify the expense right now - especially when I love the 5 grain Italian bread from my local Publix.
nopower – at 12:09
Just took a look at locations and nothing near me, but I go down to Homestead quite a bit and the Pinecrest store is about 17 miles NE of there so I’ll have to check it out next time I am down there.
nopower, there is a Wild Oats on east Sunrise across from the Galleria Mall in Fort Lauderdale — you may want to call them first to see if they carry the flour you want. Good luck!
sooo close… I tried a different Publix today for groceries, an extra mile each way, and they had King Arthurs Flour, just not what I wanted. I talked to one of the managers who was nearby and he said it was inactice but he would try and special order it for me. He said another store out west special orders it from time to time but didn’t have any right now.
Also, this store had been completely redone about 2 years ago and is soooo much nicer than my usual Publix. Larger selections, wider aisles, more staff. That is now my new regular grocery store.
They also have a bigger “natural foods” section and I bought a bag of “10 grain” bread mix - just add water and canola oil, comes with yeast. This should tide me over until I find some new flour to experiment with.
Hi Gang how are you doing today?
I’m Back to school and 15 credit hours of 3rd year studies is harder then I thought. With a part time job, the house, grand kids, and preppering takes (all) of my time now.
I hope to visit this site once a week to see what is what. My school now has posted notices about birds and what should be done with them if found dead or sick. I also noticed that some swans in Maine were found with H5N1, but the government is keeping MUM about it.
bump
Watch the Carribean. I think we have a player in the making.
I’d hate to have a hurricane now, and need to use those preps. Indonesia is really heating up right now. Have you guys been reading the news thread? I thought this was suppose to go dormant in summer.
Indian River Community College(FT Pierce Fl) is having an all- day seminar Sept 27 on “Pandemic Flu-What your business needs to know” 9am-4;30(Knight center) for info/registration go to www.ircc.edu/ccti or call 888 283 1177
Santa Rosa County has posted their Pandemic Flu Plan on their website.
Is it my imagination or is Florida seemingly ahead of alot of other states concerning planning?
I’d hate to have a hurricane now…
my hopes, thoughts and prayers are with you… and everybody in hurricane zones, during this hurricane season! We have been picking up around our place today because of Ernesto… and it doesn’t look like it is coming our way. *About utilizing those preps. That is why I make “hurricane only” preps. Good luck!
Lizabeth,
We may be ahead, but on a whole, we are still in a hole. To little -to late. Many people will not be prepared. I believe time is running out. I told Tom DVM last night that someting was going to happen in October. Don’t know what, but I’m not talking hurricane. We will see that Class 3 monster Friday. I think it will go in on Mobile. Of course, this puts us on the evil side of the storm. When I told my husband, he took his truck for a fill up. All I have to do is get Dry Ice for my freezer. I can replace any preps I use after the storm. This will be a good test for our BF Plan. gina
Hurricane Alley RN, I saw your post to Tom DVM last night and it resonated with me as well. Indonesia’s ineptness is feeding my sense of foreboding…I think. My own personal “early warning system” has been extremly accurate in my life, but as I get older I have a harder time listening. This feels huge to me as well. Not that there’s ever a good time for pandemic flu, but it would sure as h*** help us if it would hold off a year.
Went to costco today and they had buckets of “emergency food” good for 90 days that they were selling for just over 100$. Looked like soups, stews, blueberry pancakes,etc. Of course shopping for individual prep food would be the best option for many but this seemed to be a good idea for anyone that can’t take the time, or put out the effort…. I haven’t seen this in a store before, maybe the word is getting out! (Could be hurricane prep also but I doubt 90 days would be necessary).
Orlandopreppie, With all the spin around, I think I’ll stick with my feelings. I’d love to have another year too! Just to think of the things I could accomplish. Can I say - mind boggling. What did you think of Tom’s comment about this site being a group of witches/warlocks? He should see my broom! State-of-the-Art jet enhanced, with a hover mode thrown in for those beief stop overs. gina
Everyone check the new update at NOAA. Big changes, could now be headed for SW Florida and could be a strong storm!
I’m going to top off the gas and other supplies today.
Yep. We will be getting a visit from Ernesto. This storm is forecasted to be a major hurricane before landfall. If it hits Cuba to the east, the mountains may rip the storm up. If it hits Cuba to the west, there will be little or no damage to the structure of the storm.
All gulf coast residents should keep a close eye on this storm from LA to FL.
Looks like Ernesto may be hanging a right. Good news for the rest of the country, bad news for us. I’m off to fill my gas cans.
Hurricane Alley RN, I had to laugh at Tom DVM’s comment about witches and warlocks. We all have our stories don’t we? My grandfather was run out of a small town in Arkansas in the 1930′s for his accuracy in his visions. It runs in my family, on both sides, but has only been talked about for the past 20 years or so. I look at it as a gift most of the time. I’ve learned that emotional turmoil and poor health mutes it though. Mine has been on vacation for a while.
Looks like Ernesto is going to complicate my life. Have to run to Sam’s to get a few things anyway, need to fill up all gas cans, and put together the new generator. Also need chain and locks to lock it to back fence. I think we’re good for everything else but if it’s a Cat 3 or 4 at land and does come across Orlando like Charlie we will put the boards over the windows…but we need help. Can’t possibly do it alone.
shutters may be coming out tommorrow….
Wow, that path sure does keep moving, don’t it though? Living in Broward, I’m not thrilled with the new “cone.” Sounds like it’s a fast mover though and then back to bf concerns.
Current path through the center puts the worst stuff on us east side folks. I’m concerned with the intensity forcast and am probably going to put the shutters up today since if it turns to 2 or worse after leaving Cuba it would be too late. Plus, didn’t Katrina come across Miami as a cat1 and do a fair amount of damage before going on to the Gulf Coast?
7:30 and Publix had a only about a dozen people picking up supplies. I saw one elderly gentleman pushing a cart with only a case of bottled water and a package of TP, I guess that’s all you really need for a week :)
Am glad that due to bf prepping, I don’t even have to go to Publix like a maniac today. Got gas yesterday — shutters probably up later today or tomorrow morning depending on new track projections. Good luck!
Best of luck all you Floridians! Keep your heads down and know that we are thinking of you from the Lone Star State.
Dusty -
well the 11am track is the worst one yet! My father is under the impression that they will continue to nudge the track east and it will eventually hit the Bahamas. But since I was hauling 11 sheets of plywood for him to make shutters out of, I don’t think he is too sure.
I’m going to wait till the 8am Tuesday advisory to decide on putting my shutters up and clear the patios. That will be the last thing I need to do anyway and I can have it done in under 2 hours.
If this storm goes the projected path, we can all relax. Least of my worries is a Tropical Storm. Let’s just hope it doesn’t go into the Gulf of Mexico. Don’t think it will. Just a nice rain event. Ya! I just love it when I’m wrong. gina
nopower 11:14
I’m here in SE Florida and I didn’t like that 11am report either. Looks like it’s coming right for us. It’s just going to be a matter of intensity.
I promised myself I wouldn’t get all stressed out over this one, but I am. It’s made me think that I need to go study the coping with your emotions during a pandemic thread some more. Bird flu with a high CFR would be immeasurably worse.
Hurricane Alley RN - I like your train of thought and I am going to try to adopt it!
A lot of gas stations along US 1 had run out of gas already. There were long lines at the stations at 6:30 this morning, so I didn’t stop to gas up and am now regretting it.
People are taking this storm very seriously. Sounds like the City will be closing up by noon tomorrow.
I’m with you, nopower, with the shutters. They won’t take long to put up and tomorrow morning is supposed to be clear so I think we’ll wake up early and will decide then. Long, long gas lines in Broward already via news coverage. They’ll know how it will go once it passes Cuba. Good luck everyone!!
Seems like we may dodge a bullet. Our meteoroligists are not expecting anything as strong as Wilma was down here. Good, maybe a lot of people who purchased preps today will hang onto them. That would help us all.
Well its time south Florida you are going to be visited by tuesday afternoon. I get another day in NE Florida so I will put my preppes in line starting Tueaday. Still have school on Tuesday after that ????.
Also I still waiting for activation by Red Cross. (Yes) I joined up with them. I even get paid once activated. But must work long long hours long after the weather one and gone.
Any one see what is happening (H5N1) in Indonesia since Friday? I thought it was to slow down in the fall…
I was at both a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market and a Publix tonight…both were very busy. Decided to pick up a couple of non-perishable’s like Ice Cream. It would be so sad to lose power and have to eat it all at once. Also stopped at Chevron, gas was down to 2.71 a gallon, and gassed up multiple gas cans for the generator, and it was also experiencing brisk business. The track is moving back west, wouldn’t surprise me if we got it directly…but last I heard it isn’t expected to make Hurrican status again.
I found dried soup at Walmart for $3.46 that Publix sells for 4.10. I got it for a prep and tried it out last week, ohmaGodwasitgreat! It’s called Bear Creek and is dehydrated in lots of good flavors. The potato soup was restaurant quality. One package wants eight cups of water, and makes a gallon. I went online and they sell it for the same Publix price…looks like Wallyworld wins again. Good luck guys, stay inside, don’t stress out. It’s just a baby.
In prepping for Ernesto, I brought in a lot of our bf preps from the garage (needed to fit the car in) — just realized, need more toilet paper!!! :)
Well after a 4 day weekend — present from hubby for my big 4–0 — Ernesto is not what I wanted to come home to … but such is life in Florida.
I don’t think the Tampa Bay area will be overly impacted. Need to go check and see if the track has been moved yet further east. Sucks for those of you in very south Florida though.
Because of all the rain we’ve been having lately it is taking flaming forever to get the outside of our house painted. If it isn’t one thing it is another as they say. And away we go …..
Well, we dodged a bullet with Ernesto. Wind gusts still around 46 mph and rainy but I’ll take that any day.
I just looked at the radar image and it is tough to find a center but it sure it moving slow. I rented a bunch of DVDs figuring the satellite might lose signal so I’m going to just hangout today and watch some movies. Maybe I’ll do some prep organizing too since my cabinets are overflowing.
I’m adding and organizing and just wanted to get a second opinion. Below is the contents of one of my Rubbermaid bins that is designated a “Dinner bin”. I calculate that I should be able to make about 40 regular meals or 60 “stretch” meals with these items, a meal being food for 1 person. Since there are two of us, it would last 20 - 30 days for this bin. I currently have 11 Dinner bins in similar quanities. I wanted to make sure I’m not being too optimistic with my numbers.
Next step is to add some more variety as I think food fatigue will be an issue with these items.
Thanks for the opinions.
Bump from the bottom
Nopower, I think you’ve done a great job! Looks like you are covering the food groups — you are right in that variety is the spice of life and will keep food fatique away. How about a small jar of mayo or relish (great with the tuna?)-- you may already have this left from another dinner tub. I assume you’ve got extra spices somewhere stored so you can spice up the rice etc.? Do you have the ingredients needed for the Banana Bread and Brownie mixes? When putting cans of veggies, unless you are in love with corn, you can put one corn, one mixed veggie, one green beans (still three cans, but not one of the same for variety). ok, back to watching the rain fall!
nopwower and all,
Avoid a mistake I made in my preps (nopower you list looks good in this regard): don’t rely on refrigeration of leftovers.
Also, (to be honest) I don’t live in FL, but my mom is there so I have an interest.
Dusty,
The brownies and bread mixes take water, oil and eggs (powdered) which are stored in bulk seperately.
Besides these 11 bins of Dinner preps I also have my normal stocked pantry which contains atleast a months worth of items and lots of condiments. Plus I should be able to stretch the fridge and freezer to a month assuming the power stays up at first and I believe it will.
I ordered a case of canned butter last night so next step is a wheat grinder and some large buckets of wheat.
Dusty,
The brownies and bread mixes take water, oil and eggs (powdered) which are stored in bulk seperately.
Besides these 11 bins of Dinner preps I also have my normal stocked pantry which contains atleast a months worth of items and lots of condiments. Plus I should be able to stretch the fridge and freezer to a month assuming the power stays up at first and I believe it will.
I ordered a case of canned butter last night so next step is a wheat grinder and some large buckets of wheat.
opps, I tried to stop it before it posted the first one :)
Nopower, sounds like you really are doing great. I’ve got a family of five, all with different tastes, so it’s been a real challenge for me with variety. Have you seen the muffin, bread mixes that Target sells that only need water? Good shelf life too. I picked up quite a few of those awhile back even though we also got powdered eggs. I can’t remember the brand, I’d have to go through my inventory but they had a real good range — banana, apple, blueberry, corn bread etc.
Hi everyone I’m back from holiday. It was nice in Disney world resorts (Animal Kingdom) The first time I’ve been there. Got alot of rain but I was prepared. I wonder what will happen to all the foreign guest when H5N1 hits. Will their countires let them back in or are we stuck with them? Any thoughts about that…
I see we have another visitor coming from the Atlantic Ocean..
Any Way have a nice day and smile…
Welcome back Richard. I, too, have been away for a few weeks playing on my new property in TN. Had to rush home to prep for the big Ernesto storm that turned out to be a non-event. Have a feeling this next one is to go fragment enough to perhaps not pose too much threat to us again.
Nopower - I can relate to the concern about food fatigue. I have included some yummy indulgent items for my crew when they are about to scream of rice OD. This includes several large jars of Nutella, extra syrup to pour over the rice, marshmellows, etc.
Interesting that you mentioned the “stretch” meals. I have this feeling that once we begin to SIP, every day will be a stretch day because we really won’t know HOW LONG our food indeed has to last. What if we don’t stretch and we run out a month too soon? We have also agreed that we will post a sign to our friends and neighbors telling that we love them and care about them, but have made a pact NOT TO SHARE because we may not have enough for ourselves. And besides…where do you draw the line if they should come knocking? We do not plan to answer the door. Call it self preservation.
Just found out something today. We have a new generator. For anyone else who does also, you have to START with one kind of oil (non-synthetic), break in your generator for 4 hours, empty the oil, and then fill it with new synthetic oil (or risk major damage). We missed that in the small print the first time around so pass it along.
Help me avoid homicide or a divorce, whichever comes first!
DH (you choose the adjective) tells me this morning, that he saw a segment a few weeks ago on a Tampa TV station that says it is illegal for homeowners to store fuel except in a vehicle or just enough to fill your lawnmower.
So, I look at him and ask, what about the fuel for the generator? And he says…he didn’t get any because it IS ILLEGAL!
So, I ask him, just what does he plan to do to fuel the genny, car, etc. if we have an emergency? Does he think we can get fuel at the last minute?
He then proceeds to tell me how the insurance will be invalidated, etc. OK…we put our fuel stores LAST YEAR away from the house, in legal containers, away from heat, etc. He now says you have to have a certified container UNDERGROUND to store fuel.
Any sane comments? Help me out here! Give me alternatives to address this situation besides my first sentence of this post! *&^%$
We too saw that it’s illegal to store more than I think 25 gallons of fuel. This followed Ernesto because people filled their gas containers and then nothing happened. My question is, who is going to know? There are no such things as “gas police” searching door to door looking for illegal gas containers, and I know the insurance agents aren’t out looking. So, I say continue doing what you are doing safely and with the knowledge that gas can be lethal and must be handled properly.
Dusty,
25 gallons? He told me 2 1/2 gallons! I thought that seemed kinda odd, since they sell 5 gallon containers everywhere!
We were quite careful because it doesn’t take a genius to realize the potential problems with fuel storage. But, to not have anything stored at all, seems just as problematic. What are the odds of getting fuel at the last minute in a hurricane or panflu?
“What are the odds of getting fuel at the last minute in a hurricane or panflu?”
Well I filled up about 30 gallons in 6 gallon cans and my truck when Ernesto was a couple days out with no problem. However by the time I was helping my father cut hurricane shutters (two nights before it was to hit the Keys) there were long gas lines and a few stations out of fuel. And this is for a storm that didn’t look to be terribly serious.
As for panflu - hopefully you will have enough warning to beat the crowd, but it’s not possible to store enough gasoline for a panflu situation.
Sun-Sentinel article from 8/31: http://tinyurl.com/l5dyj
From Broward PDF (http://tinyurl.com/kn259) dealing with lawn services:
[b]It’s also important to note that any facility where hazardous materials of 25 gallons or more per month are stored, handled, generated, used, processed, manufactured, disposed or are otherwise present is considered to be a hazardous material facility. All such facilities are required to have a hazardous materials license by the DPEP.[/b] To obtain a hazardous material license, call 954–519–1414.
Guess I need to empty a couple containers in the car to be legal :)
opps, guess that bold didn’t work :)
I gotta tell ya, for the first time (and I’ve been through many hurricanes and hurricane scares)when they were announcing Ernesto and everyone started scrambling for supplies and gas, our family calmly sat back and continued life as normal. (we did shutter but that just took one hour) We had food, gas and everything else we needed. The stress level was nil. I’m really liking that! :)
You could do what I do I have a 85 gallon tank in my boat so I keep it full. A ready supply when I need it. I’m back from Orlando boy what a time I had!!!!
I thought about buying a boat as flu prep but decided it wasn’t really practical. :)
My neighbor has a 60 or 80 gallon tank in his boat and a Propane generator and has mentioned in previous storms that I could siphon some off if need be. My neighbor on the other side had a much bigger boat but sold it a while back.
Hi everybody…I’ve been away for a while getting my new 8th grade class planned for in addition to my 7th grade classes. Is anybody else getting in on the group buy for canned butter and canned cheese? I didn’t get up early enough to buy my postal money order, so I have to do it Monday. I’ve still been prepping away, has FloridaGardenMom posted recently? I used the seeds she gave me in my first raised garden bed, and they are taking off! We just got the second 4′x4′ bed filled with appropriate soil today, and will begin planting in that.
I thought I had evaluated everything in our lives that could need tending during a SIP situation but got blindsided this week. I have two shunts, one in my head that is currently operating and the remnants of a 10 year old shunt that I was told had been removed. Apparently it wasn’t removed and it’s come apart in my abdominal/chest cavity. The long tube is poking me in my side and liver, and the clips that hold two lengths of it together have floated up and are resting on my right lung. It is neither comfy nor cozy. Can you imagine what would happen to me if this happened during a pandemic? I’m pissed that it happened at all, but I’d rather it happen now!
Richard, glad you had fun down here! How did you like your resort?
Orlandopreppie – at 22:51 We had a great time. Plan on doing it again next year. I hope!
Anyone from Broward County reading this thread?
I’ve certainly shifted to a new phase. I still check fluwikie everyday but have taken a more relaxed attitude. This is probably because I feel pretty well prepped and am just filling in gaps on my weekly grocery runs. Sales have been good to me lately and I have managed to stock away almost 6 months of cereal for 2 people on our brands in just a couple weeks, all from B1G1F. The cashier at Publix today said “You must have alot of kids” as I bought 8 boxes of two brands. I said “No, I just buy it on sale so I don’t have to buy it every week.”. His reaction was pretty funny.
This week at Publix, 9/21–9/27, I recommend the Betty Crocker breadmixes that are B1G1F. The chocolate chip bread is very good, just add water - oil - and egg. They also have Cinnamon Struesel and Blueberry that I bought but haven’t made yet. The Cinnamon and Blueberry call for milk instead of water but I figure powdered milk will work in a pinch. Buy a bunch and stock them away for when you are eating rice and beans every night. I’ve also been buying assorted brownie mixes B1G1F and adding them to my preps to breakup the food fatigue.
Have been lurking more than contributing over the past month but thought I would drop into this thread to see what’s going on. We had two new ideas to add to our pan preps. One was a push mower. We have a 250 gallon fuel tank for gasoline…but do we really want to use that valuable resource for our lawnmower??? No! So, looks like we’re going to have to go back to the good old fashion method.
And the other item, speaking of gas, is a small, used moped, which supposedly gets 70–80 miles to the gallon. Good news is that we live in the country and have space for large fuel tank. Bad news is we live way out in the country and need 17 miles of gas just to get into town periodically. We figure that the only thing we might want from a grocery store (if they are operating) is fresh items (milk, fruit, veggies, meat) but would have limited capacity on a moped. Guess we’ll have to design a REALLY big backpack!
Any other unique items that any of you have added to your prep list recently?
Orlandopreppie, yes I ordered the canned cheese and butter. Payed by gearpay but haven’t received the order yet. I’m looking forward to trying it out! I’ll let you know..
I plan on letting my lawn grow and grow. I always keep it looking nice but I figure it would stick out if I’m the only one on my street with a cut lawn 6 months into a pandemic.
The moped is a good idea especially since you are so far out, a bike wouldn’t really be an option.
Out of curiousity, how big (approx) is your 250gallon tank?? Is it buried or above ground?? I really need to store more fuel but need a safer way.
I just got the order paid for today. I really had to think about it hard as it came to almost $200! Then I remembered my new mantra “there’s no point in being uncivilized about this”. At least we’ll have some butter and cheese for a while.
I think the push mower is a good idea, if only for the back yard. 3 of my 4 dogs are little, and have a hard time going when the grass is too high and thick. Also, I want to be able to spot dead birds. I think we will eventually have bird infections, if we’re like everybody else it will happen before the human infection. Being able to spot the dead birds, remove them, and disinfect will be important to both me, my dogs, and other neighborhood animals. I’ll look into a mower and add it to my wish list.
Next big purchase is the backflush valve for the household plumbing. I see that as essential, and with the teachers bonus coming in about a month I can do it. Actually, I’m sending in the money order for my concealed carry permit first. I’m hemoraging money again. I hate that feeling.
The last report from CDC shows negative test results from the bird testing in alaska over the summer. The Government set up 50 stations to catch, test, and release wild birds in the fly zone from Russia. So far the test results are negative. We may have an additional 6 to 12 months before it hits us…. I was told it will hit us between 6 and 18 months from now.
So don’t stop prepping now we just got a short time out.. Use it with care
RICHARD-FL
For yard work … remember, for those that normally have to keep their yard watered to keep it alive, if the water goes off it is unlikely your yard will need mowing.
In addition, if water restrictions are put in place … a very possible scenario … then I wouldn’t worry about your yard either.
In northern Florida you will probably experience at least one freeze that will kill back the grass at least during the winter.
The other old-fashioned option is a scythe. Its a swing blade and works quite well. The lawn won’t be manicured, but it won’t be impossibly overgrown either.
Good point Kathy. I have bahia grass, it goes brown w/o water as I’m not paying $100 bucks worth of water for my yard. The scythe is a good idea for those physically able…but that’s not me. I plan on using my limited water to keep the vegetable garden alive. Lord, I hope we don’t have a drought during this. Nobody ever said we couldn’t have multiple disasters.
Richard,
Ignore the birds. The birds in America should not be that disconcerting to you. Just because the wild birds show up here, doesn’t mean that the human pandemic does.
The thing to be watching is the countries that have bird flu in their domestic poultry, and especially in their pigs. These are the current sources for human infections. These are the places were limited human to human infection is happening. It will be these places that the human form of the pandemic will originate from. In these places, teh virus is far more evolved than the one you may be worrying about coming in on a wild bird into America. Not too many Americans have frequent sustained contact with wild geese these days. It may take years for the virus to evolve and mutate from wild american bird species into human transmission here, but it may only take days for a virus which has already been “created” and become fully efficient at human transmission to arrive here via an asymptomatic traveler on an airplane from “pick a country - Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, China, Thailand, Miramar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Nigeria, Niger, Congo, Sudan, Egypt, Kenya, etc. etc.etc.)
A question:
Do any of you plan to use your hurricane shutters (as protection from civil unrest) during your SIP? I know I have seen some discussion of this in the past, but can’t find it. Specifically, my DH and I have discussed if it would be wise to put them up at the beginning of our SIP. But we are concerned they will draw too much attention to us (ie. what are those people trying so hard to protect?).
We have also considered waiting until we hear of any civil unrest. But at that point we could be approached by sick neighbors while we are out there drilling away. Not good.
And of course the last option is to not use them at all and just try to blend in and hope to be overlooked. Any thoughts?
Yes, we will be using our shutters as protection. Shutters are so common place here (people still have them up from Ernesto) that it doesn’t really attract attention. We may not do all our windows, but just the most important. We just bought some clean panels to mingle with our aluminimum window shutters on 3 windows (bought at Coscto) so light can come in, we can see out, but others can’t necessarily see in the way they are positioned. With a quarantine sign on the door, I don’t think our home will look too inviting. We also installed solar spot lights in the front and back so should anyone approach, we’d know. They too are pretty common place in our neighborhood. No one will think we’re fortressing because the lights are already in place, and it’s not unusual to see shutters up June through November at any given time. If bf hits Dec - May, they’ll probably just think we left them up or that we’re quarantined.
Thanks, Dusty. I agree, I am leaning toward using ours from the very start.
It’s a trade off. They may draw attention to us in our neighborhood, but they may pay off in their level of deterence. Someone may find my neighbor’s house easier to break into than mine. And as my DH has pointed out, if he hears anyone rattling around with the shutters he will be there waiting for them with his shotgun and our very territorial 70 pound dog!
I agree. We’ll hear anyone trying to break in and can be better prepared. We’ll just be using wasp spray though. We have a killer rabbit who thinks it’s a dog, but not sure how helpful he’ll be :)
Well, truth be told I’ve stocked wasp spray and pepper spray for my use also. I just love to throw the shotgun part around every now and then. My husband uses it only for shooting skeet, but in the last year I have had a new appreciation for it. Personally, though, I wouldn’t touch it. Ok, back to lurking and reading.;)
I decided a long time ago to use my shutters on any window that is NOT behind my fence. Having at least one window open in the sick room will be important for negtive air flow…but I would put the rest up if I needed to. The gates will be chained and padlocked. But I wanted a barrier, if nothing more than a noise barrier, between us and the street. I have two high windows, I think they’re called “sunburst” windows…one large one over the front door and one smaller one over three windows in my front bedroom/bird room. It will let in light, but not be convenient to get through at all. I have screened in my front porch/entry way and plan to lock the screen door, put up plastic and a quarantine sign.
Hey guys, I have been lurking off and on, but haven’t been posting due to lack of time… Anyway, I had discussed this with Orlandopreppie when we met and was finally able to track it down.
If any of you are interested in obtaining a copy of the Florida Pandemic Summit Meeting from February 16, 2006, it is available through WFSU’s The Florida Channel at (850) 488–1281. We are obtaining a copy for our office because half the staff isn’t taking this seriously at all and we are a Federal Agency (archeologists never follow rules unless they are forced to). Lucky for me, we are finally forced from Washington with deadlines so I have a little more leverage. We are ordering a DVD version and it will be $35 per disk. I will not know how many disks until they are burned. I will let you know as soon as they fill the order. VHS tapes might be cheaper. I’ll ask when they call for my credit card number. If it is only one disk, I am going to order one for myself so I can pass around to friends and family. I went to the meeting with a calm person who was not a flu prepper. He freaked out afterward. I am hoping to reduce the rolling eyes at least a little bit.
Orlandopreppie- I am glad to hear your seeds have sprouted. I am battling a nemotode issue in my soil, but once things cool down here I won’t need to worry about them as much. Next year I am going to have to solarize my soil big time! Also- sorry to hear about the shunt problems. I am still fighting with the health care system trying to get a proper diagnosis for my problem that was triggered the night before I saw you. I am now only able to work part-time which has kept me from buying some of the more expensive prep things, but we are doing great supply-wise overall.
Take care all!
Lurker Mom – at 16:17
I know several people who put their shutters up anytime they go out of town. They say it can be a pain, but it also adds security … less likely that the house will be broken into.
On the other hand, the shutters are installed in such a way as they cannot be taken off from the outside only. You have to unbolt them from the inside and then remove them from the outside … two person job.
At our rural house … the one we don’t live in … we’ve had lexan installed on the two dormer windows and the two upstairs bonus room windows. Lexan is the clear, hurricane panel. Downstairs we are having permanent accordion shutters installed. The cost has been high, but we needed security at the house so that it didn’t get vandalized again or we wouldn’t be able to find insurance coverage.
For our primary residence … where we would most likely SIP … I’m not sure what we will do. We do not live in a subdivision, but have them all around us. We just repainted the exterior and made the decision to remove the burglar bars because they are fire hazards and the kids wouldn’t be able to exit their rooms through the window if they needed to.
All of our exterior doors are metal except the front door which is solid wood. We are considering replacing it. We do have a set of french doors that are worrisome, but they aren’t obvious and are located in the lanai. They are a bonus is that they will help with cooling if the power goes out … but they also have a lot of glass, but we could board over that if need be.
Security is nothing to sneeze at … and that doesn’t even include panflu issues.
Thanks, Kathy in FL. That was all very helpful.
By the way, why do you plan to SIP in your primary residence? Is it due to your husband’s business (I believe property management)? Just curious, because I sure wish we had a rural location to bug out to. We have considered purchasing in North or South Carolina, but are concerned if we could even make it to the property. It’s a 12 hour drive for us.
I attended the Pandemic planning conference(for business) yesterday in Ft Pierce. Good news was that FP&L seems very informed and has good planning for a pandemic! At least on paper it sounds good, they do assume it will be a mild -moderate pandemic with low fatility rate.I left feeling that we may be ok at least with power! At least for awhile anyway! Was not impressed with Martin county’s plan, state to present department of health plan in coming weeks.Had about 150 in attendance. Most were human resource people.
jt- the state summit meeting was nice because it addressed many issues such as public schools, food distribution, and supply/power disruption issues in addition to the normal heath stuff. It looks like Publix is going to be our friend. Locally, our county has hardly said anything I have heard about and I am listening. Elections are more important around here. Not a single person I have talked to knew Indonesia was having problems through the summer and currently.
I just caught up on the canned butter and cheese info. My co-workers were interested in the novelty of it so I guess we will place a bulk order. They are careful to say they are not ordering it for pandemic prep, but for future hurricane prep and Christmas prep presents. Go figure.
Lurker Mom – at 12:39
A couple of issues will probably have us SIP at our primary residence.
1) Yep, some of it is based on business. We have legal and financial obligations to meet that aren’t going to go away in the event of a panflu — particularly if it is a “mild” one.
2) Our rural location is 3 hours from us. Fuel may be an issue. Involuntary quarantine may be an issue for large cities (we are in the Tampa Bay area).
3) The pandemic may not start quickly … it may actually build. The wave hypothesis makes it unlikely that all areas will be feeling the effect in the same way at the same time.
We are leaving ourselves flexible, but most of our preps are here and it would be nearly impossible to move everything we would need for an extended SIP to our rural location with the vehicles we have … five kids, a pet, all the clothing we would need, all our supplies, etc. Nor would I leave anything that I wouldn’t leave during a hurricane … photo albums, computers, business files, etc. The logistics of a move are pretty staggering.
FLGardenMom, I’m so happy to hear from you again! Garden’s going great but something or someone is eating leaves off all my squash-type plants. They don’t like beans though. Onions are sprouting now. I’ve been looking carefully…practically gave up on them but I’m following all the instructions you got for me and am very grateful! Makes me feel better.
Sure hope they get your issue figured out. I just got a big blow off from my now “former” Neurosurgeon today. I don’t want to get all riled up again so I’ll just say I’ll be going to another surgeon.
I definately want one of those DVD’s or VHS. I have looked off and on. I’ll call the number myself. It should be very enlightening. I hope to see your posts again soon.
Kathy in FL, I sure wish I had a place to bug out to. It’s just not possible here either. I can’t imagine a move, it would be a nightmare. Gotta run, four dogs begging for supper. They let the little-old-man do the most pitiful begging as they know he’s my baby. Guilt…must feed the baby.
I posted this over at the Gardening for Emergencies thread, but since it’s especially applicable to Florida, I thought I’d post it here too. You’d be able to grow this bean during the winter in Fla.
I’ve been working with the Excel spreadsheet of nutrition info that the USDA has available on their website, with plans to estimate the protein, carbohydrate, & fat content of the canned/dry foods recipes.
One thing that has popped out of that is the high protein content of winged beans (also known as goa bean or princess bean). All parts of the plant are edible and have high protein content (see article). The article includes a link to a site that has seeds for sale of a day-neutral variety (recommended if you want to grow the plant farther north than Florida). It prefers humid conditions, but I may try it in New Mexico just to see what happens.
Kathy in FL at 15:13 I get it and I agree with you. The logistics of moving to a rural location are difficult. The good thing is, at least if you have to bug out, you have somewhere to go.
Thank you, Mari. That was very thoughtful of you to post that on this thread. I am going to look into those beans. We have humidity to spare down here!
I went to WalMart last night, and saw what many are reporting. Aisle full of prep items, many being purchased. It was good to see. I bought some screening that goes over vegetable gardens to keep the birds out, and some stakes to hold it down with. I the first squirrel in my yard, and I’ve been here 11 years. He was on the fence three feet away from my raised beds. I never figured on that threat…now, what to do?
Got a lot of good stuff, and spent $100. I bought the last solar shower, last weekend they had none. Maybe it was a return, maybe not. But I did notice a boatload of tents were gone. Of course, in Florida, optimal camping time is approaching.
Help! Does anyone in the Tampa Bay area know of any doctor that is willing to prescribe Tamiflu if you do not have a current active flu virus diagnosed??? I have located numerous places to obtain it, but I need a prescription. I have been a good little ant and made all my appropriate preps for a few months. This is the very last thing I wanted to get and I really feel it is crucially important that I do secure this. I work with folks that frequently travel through Asia. I wouldn’t want to be right next to an Index case and have no recourse if they were diagnosed and I started showing systems before my job closed down our plant. :(
Has anyone tried a walk-in clinic to request a prescription for Tamiflu? Just crossed my mind…. our doctor gave us a script months ago.
I went to a walk-in clinic yesterday and asked if they were willing to do that at the front desk. I was told that I would have to sign up for an appointment to speak with a doctor about that. The front desk would not tell me one way or another whether they would do that. In other words, pay your $70 jsut to see the doctor to ask that, even though you are perfectly healthy now, and then take your chances that he may say “no”. Seemed like a pretty expensive experiment. :( I was frustrated and left. Maybe I will try phoning in my question instead.
Cash B, is your doctor a member of a walk-in clinic?
No , as a matter of fact our dr. joined the MDVIP program several years ago and tho we resisted paying the fee at first, he is such a great dr. that we broke down and joined. We are very happy we did now, the service is top notch. When I asked about bird flu, he shrugged and said he had given other patients a prescription for Tamiflu when they insisted, so I told him I wanted one for each of us. He complied, no problems. Then no one had it in stock so I ordered it from Canada. Won’t your regular Dr. write one?? Good Luck.
TreasureIslandGal – at 14:13
I havent’ located a single one. Basically gave up as it would be an expensive prosition to stock for a family of 7 that might not even be effective.
My Doc is a VA doctor and other than me, has heard nothign of the possibility of pandemic. I reminder her that I had asked 6 months ago and at that time she laughed it off as not even a possibility and that it was only hurting ducks last she had heard. I corrected her with a lot of facts, but she was blissfully ignorant. When an assistant came in and I continued to try to press her, she turned to teh assistant and said “have you heard anything about this? do they think it could really happen?” and to my suprise, teh assistant said, “why yes doctor, in fact, even though it isn’t in the news as much, more and more scientists are getting worried. there have been a lot of business meetings and hospital planning from the top recently, just in case.” She seemed to be a lot more aware. With that, the Doc shrugged her shoulders and let me continue with the more recent things I was aware of in Indo and my further justifications for wanting a script that I could take outside the hospital. She said she would have to do some research before she would feel comfortable giving me one. She was concerned I would use it rather than come to see her if I was feeling ill, and not have the flu afterall…maybe have a bacterial infection. I told her that I would never waste it on a simple flu. I have had them enough to know the difference. Plus, I would only take it if I knew the pandemic was occurring locally and I had been exposed. I then asked her, “would you want to go to a big hospital during a pandemic if you had the suspician you could be sick? -but not absolutely sure? -knowing that the hospital would probably have no Tamiflu left by then?” I then commented that the gov’t has said it would be at least 8 months before a vaccine could be produced, and only a small tier of first responders and HCW would probably get any. My plan was to SIP. But I wanted that one small reassurance to help me sleep better at night that I had tried to prepare myself and my family as much as I could. She said that they haven’t proven it really even works that well. I then commented that with the current 75% CFR rate, teh ONLY thing that has let ANYONE survive this has been early intervention of Tamiflu within the first 48 hours of symptom onset. I asked if she had children. If you thought that was the only chance they might have, would you not keep trying to get it? -You’r elucky, you can write a script anytime. I can’t. This could very well be life and death. It seems dramatic now, I know. But if I show up 6 months from now and things have started to go pandemic, will you give me a script then? -of course not, it will be too late. Please reconsider.
I then left her with a few printed out research bits and showed her the printout of our County Health Dept. Home Page -featuring Bird Flu and Pandemic Flu Preparedness. I also told her to watch for the interview with Dr. Webster in the next AARP. She was shocked how much I knew and how little she did. She even had the pharmacist come in to speak with me, and a little to her too. The pharmacist seemed quite sympathetic and said she COMPLETELY understands my concerns (with a nod that let me know she preps too) and that it was the smart thing to do to prepare for what may change everythign as we know it. She said they couldn’t give out tamiflu through the VA without someone having active, confirmed virus in them…but if that happens at all this year, that I could request extra extra supplies to ensure I shake it and that I don’t give it to anyone around me (wink wink). So, in other words…go catch it so we can give you supplies for yourself and family. It is up to you to use them or not for regular flu or keep for real NEED. She even said they could back it up with Relenza in case a “particular nasty flu” were to come along that may have some resistance building against Tamiflu.
My doc looked at her, then me again and said she will do the research and to call her in a few days with her decision.
Hey Gang what’s up.
Shallow Water Wells - A guy told me that you can set it up via home depot I’m going to check it out tomorrow. You use pvc pipe with a special head and push/hammer it into the ground until you get water in the pipe. I’ll know more tomorrow. Has anyone gotten any information about shallow water wells. The type that you can dig yourself for about $200.00 for 50 foot well?
I wonder also what will happen when we have birds with H5N1 in the USA will (PETA’S) take the Government to court to stop them from killing off these carriers? Should be an interesting show
Hi I’m back sorry been very busy lately.
Hi Richard, glad to hear from you again. My county is on “Fall Break” this week, so I’m relaxing. I was just speaking with my father about wells today as I drove him to the airport. He just had two put in. They hit water at about 20 feet using pipe and water from a hsoe…or maybe just the water from a hose. Anyway, they had to come back the next day as the pressure wasn’t enough to run the sprinklers and they ended up going down to 40 or 45 feet.
TreasureIslandGal, well I’m impressed you kept your cool so long. I am so fed up with Doctor’s (my Neurosurgeon specifically) that I can barely talk about them. I hope you get the Tamiflu…I’m going to try through my General Practioner and don’t anticipate a problem. We’ll see. I’ll follow your lead and take documentation with me.
Dropping in after being gone for a week -
nopower – at 08:37 - our gas tank is cylindrical in shape, and above ground. Have it placed away from the house and garage just in case.
Lurker Mom – at 12:39 - I’m just curious about your comment about buying in the Carolinas (12 hours away). Would you buy an existing farm? Or a parcel of land and bring a travel trailer? Or buy some land and stick a mobile home on it? The reason I ask is that we have land that we bought earlier this year and wanted to wait for one year to sell in order to avoid short-term capital gains. However, we are concerned that if the pan flu arrives BEFORE the one year anniversary, we’ll never be able to get rid of that land. So we are now looking at a “Plan B” concept of setting it up for a handful of people to buy larger lots where they could have a mobile home installed in about a week (utilities would already be set up). The land is in the country in middle TN, about 6 miles outside of a town w/ a population of 25,000.
Do you think anyone from a larger city would want to do that vs. buying an existing farm? (If it were me, I’d be looking to buy an existing farm, if I could afford it.) Any opinions out there???
JT – at 09:19 I went to the IRCC seminar - thought it was very well done. Good panel of speakers - high ranking officials with FPL, BellSouth, IBM and Office Depot, as well as representatives from all 4 counties. Indian River Co. Director of Health was very good…told it like it is. Since this was geared for business continuity, there were many HR issues covered (and HR people in the audience). I was like the 5 year old kid asking all the questions…but some of the questions were asked primarily to “expose” information that was being glossed over…like the current CFR. Asked about why everyone is using a 5% death rate vs. current death rate. Reason given was because they were basing projections on established pattern from 1918. Upon further explanation, they said that the reason there’s such a high CFR is because people are getting it right from the chicken (i.e. “high test” flu). When it starts passing from H2H, it is anticipated that the rate will drop considerably. I asked if they would adjust their projections once they can measure the avg CFR After it goes H2H and she said yes. It’s a bit frightening to think what the impact will be if we end up with something like a 27% CFR. At 5%, we’re already in the 2 million range for USA!
Ranchgirl at 23:03
You are definitely asking the same questions my DH and I have been asking ourselves. Ideally, we would purchase a small farm with around 10 acres. But I am much more concerned about BF than my DH. He thinks we will SIP here for about 3 months during the first wave and then come out and resume our lives. I am thinking it will be much worse and our lives as we know them will not exist (especially because DH works in the service industry). I want us positioned to move to a simpler, agrarian based lifestyle.
You mentioned your land in TN and that did pique my interest. It is not exactly what we are looking for. But out of curiosity how big do you plan to make each family parcel? Do you plan to keep some of the land for yourself? TN seems to be a good place to start over. Maybe we could get a bunch of us up there together!
To be honest, at this point I feel like I am out of time to put together a bug out location. DH isn’t totally on board with rushing out and purchasing something at these “high” prices. Also, gas storage is a major issue for us (how will we get up there?) and trying to stock a location so far away is tough. Plus, DH has no issues with me prepping our current residence. I am just not sure we will survive the civil unrest and arson that could erupt here. I just keep going in circles on this……
Speaking from experience … some of it bitter … when purchasing a property you need to take some stuff into consideration besides the obvious financial end:
1. property maintenance - think about how much time you spend on keeping your current property up. Mowing the lawn and building maintenance primarily. You will have those same issues on a second location. How will you accomplish this?
2. security - this is a big one and don’t I know it. We have teenage vandals break into our second house and the damage wound up being about 100K, mainly because they turned the water on, plugged the drains, and then walked away. A few simple actions on the part of the vandals and a huge problem for us. It was heartbreaking and we are still dealing with the fallout. Everytime we think we are nearing the end of the repairs, something else rears its ugly head. Monitoring is going to cost you between $30 and $50 extra a month and isn’t really much of a deterent out in the boonies. There are security shutters, but then you are looking at 20K or more, if you can even find an installer in your area. And what about outbuildings, fuel tanks (they can be broken into a syphoned), arson, etc.?
3. How often are you truly going to be able to visit this 2nd property to take care of it and enjoy it? If it is just land, you will either need to camp or will incur some type of expense for accomodations. How easy are you able to meld the extra responsibilities into your current life and lifestyle?
Those are the three biggies that come to me off the top of my head. We don’t know when … not really even if … a severe pandemic is going to occur that would lead you to actually bugout. A bugout location sounds wonderful, yes. But reality for your family may be something else. How do your know WHEN to bugout?
Even though our family has a really good location to bugout to, our primary plan is to SIP in our current location. It is easier to stock, closer to our current responsibilities (which won’t go away just because a pandemic occurs) and is in an area that if we have to, hubby and I can find work after everything is said and done that will support our family. The second place will still be there … but we didn’t buy it because of a pandemic in the first place, it was an investment that we plan to retire to in ten or so years assuming our plans remain the same.
I agree once again Kathy in FL. Those are all concerns we’ve had. And thus I come full circle once more - stay where we are and spend the money on preps instead. My DH said he heard a joke about Floridians buying property up north. The first year they visit it 10 times, the 2nd year they don’t visit at all, and the third year they sell it! There is truth in that.
Kathy -
You had mentioned joining BJ’s club. I just got a coupon in the mail good for $15 off the membership good till 10/31/06. Plus I got their magazine with a bunch of coupons good only at BJ’s.
They must want me to join since my trial is up but they are too much of a drive and I thought Sam’s had better prices, although BJ’s had better variety and smaller packages.
If you are interested, let me know and I will post an email so I can mail it to you.
nopower – at 11:24
Yes, I am interested. Actually, I’ll post my email for you.
mamkmm2 at prodigy dot net
My email is so all over the place out there that it doesn’t matter who picks it up. This way, you can email me directly and not have to worry about it. <grin>
Thanks!
Kathy,
I emailed you on Sunday.
nopower – at 20:05
Sorry about that. My husband had set the email aside for me in a folder and it got stuck to something else. <sigh> I’m emailing you back as we “speak.”
Orange County had some type of higher level prep meeting this week. My father saw the news blurb on local news. The commentator made a point of saying that out of the numerous agencies invited to attend, only 12 showed up. It was not open to the public from what he could tell. Maybe a table top exercise. Anybody heard of anything? News Now seems to have so much activity listed. But locally not much happening.
Everybody doing ok?
I’m still here. I check the thread titles once a day but that is about it. I’m at my limit on food and water so I’m working on other projects.
I am suprised how very littel is being talked abotu and done in the state of Florida. i see th emidwest taking this so much mroe seriously. I bet that after the AARP article starts getting read now by the huge population here that is of that readership age, we’ll start seeing more activities planned. ;)
You have to remember someting we are not in flu season yet, that starts in December and runs for 4 months.
The CDC is keeping a low profile about H5N1 right now trying to keep it off the front burner in the news. Politics is what I think is behind it all. They are trying to paint a pretty picture for everyone to believe before the election.
We will have to wait until after 7 Nov. to start getting info in the news again. Up here in NE Florida the subject is just pushed aside as if it is a tooth ache that just will not go away. Well I guess I’ll keep[ picking at it maybe someone will listen.
Sorry its been so long I thought I caught the FLU.
I ended up in the ER last monday morning. I had a 105 Temp. for over an hour it took over 10 hours to get the temp down. I was shacking all the time teeth chattering etc. In fact that is how I awakened. I could not do anything but shack. They got me in the ER and started to to IV me with braudband antibioticxs. Sorry for the spelling.
It was so fast; no hint of the flu the night before but 6 hours later, I was close to death.
Glad to see you back Richard, sorry about the health thing. I check the thread everyday but our little Florida discusssion seems to be dying. I’ve still been busy prepping, but have paused temporarily as I had surgery Thursday.
Richard, sorry to hear you were ill. You said you “thought” you had the flu and I was just wondering whether you did get it, or maybe caught something else? Hope you’re all better now. I’m in NW FL and am on the lookout for any flu cases.
Well here is an up date for you.
While in the ER i caught a MRSA bacteria infection in my leg. I ended up in a infectious disease ward at a out of county hospital two days later. I nearly loss my leg/life. If the massive amounts of anti bacteria that was placed into my body for four days I would not now be writing this.
So all I can say is be very carefull while in a hospital. all I did was bump my leg against a corner while in a wheel chair!
As for up dates the government has hid its head until the election is over. Then I expect the fireworks to begin in congress.
Hi all, flu shot for me tommorrow, don’t want to suffer that this year… I’ve been getting them for 15 years or more and they have really worked for me. I used to get the flu every year and sometimes twice a year!
I’m getting mine this afternoon. I’ve never gotten one before but since I’m at the grocery store every week and other flu hangouts I figured it was a good idea. My insurance would cover it but of course the doctor hasn’t gotten the flu shots from them so I’m just going to pay the cash and be done with it.
Hello all! It’s been a while. I just wanted to update my previous post about the copy of the Florida Pandemic Flu Summit Meeting from February. It was two DVD’s, so the cost for the DVD reproduction is $70. A bit high, but I can loan it out to all my friends and family. If you look at it that way, it’s a bargain. We just started passing a copy around the office. It will be interesting to hear the feedback. It is 3 1/2 hours long.
My prepping frenzy is tapering off to completion. Now I am able to save up for the emergency items that are not critical, but make life nicer when the power is out.
I am also putting together a street garden plan for us. I decided a lot of my neighbors will not have the skills/patience to plant seeds when an emergency hits. Instead of providing seed packets which may waste valuable seeds, I will provide transplants. They will have a better chance of surviving to nourish my neighbors and keep them out of my garden. Instead of a CSA where people get a box of vegetables delivered every week, a flat of transplants timed for pick up every second week at their curb (with growing instructions). The delivery location and method will be determined before the pandemic. This will be a free service. This is the best idea I have come up with so far. For those of you who do not garden, do you think this would be a service you would appreciate during a pandemic, or do you think this would be a waste of my time?
Take care everybody!
what a great idea FLgardenmom! I, for one would love it!! It crossed my mind about the time frame to reap many veggies and I wonder if things that can be eaten rather quickly after planting might be the best gift? Greens of any variety come to mind, as they can be eaten even when small..
Hi FloridaGardenmom! I think it’s a great idea. Our small garden is still going ok, except the squirrels have been stealing my butternut squash and the yellow squash! I’ve been here and never SEEN a squirrel in my yard until I planted the garden. Otherwise, pests are a problem and I don’t like the chemicals we have to use. Any ideas? Another question, do lizzards eat the leaves of squash plants? Something munching and the chemicals have no impact. How frustrating.
I think $70 is too high for me to pay for the DVD’s. I’ll have to think about it. Glad to see the board get a little active again.
Last week when I was off recuperating I call called the County people that were suppose to put together a committee to work with Home Owner’s Associations. It was announced last June at the county meeting I attended. Well, I spoke to two people who put me in touch with the third and I’ve received no call yet. I am out of warm-fuzzies!
Last year I planted some mustard green seeds and had a good harvest and much to my surprise, baby mustards have been popping up ALL over the yard ever since! They never stopped all summer(tho most were eaten by insects of some kind) and they are back in numbers now! I am thrilled to see them and plan to chow down on some shortly! Could be the greatest gift to see them sprouting on their own if TSHTF. Also, watercress appeared in my manmade goldfish pond several years ago and returns every winter! I have eaten it and it is deelish! I have never planted any, so I don’t know where it came from originally.
Cash B- For the semi-lazy gardener, reseeding is one of the greatest gifts. I let a few of my lettuce plants go to seed every year and not only are they pretty, but the next fall they spring up on their own. It works best in a non-raised bed that doesn’t get disturbed a whole lot through the summer. I actually have my re-seeding lettuce in a flower bed. My neighbors don’t know the difference. Congrads on the baby mustards. With the cool weather coming on, this is a great time for them.
Orlandopreppie- squirrels can be quite annoying can’t they? I have more problems with neighbor cats trying to use my beds as litter boxes!!!! The squirrels tend to dig through the garden and plant all their acorns so I have thousands of oak trees pop up each spring. I have never had one take a squash, but I wouldn’t put it past them. They like to behead all my sunflowers the moment they open up and look pretty, shred the flower a few feet away, and then leave it there. You might want to try that black plastic deer “fencing” you can buy cheap buy the roll at Home Depot or Lowes. It is 4′ tall, about 3/4″ squares, and can be cut with ordinary scissors to any size you want. I don’t have deer, but I use it for lots of things including a pea trellis and to keep birds off my strawberries. Could it be possible that you have raccoons instead? I imagine if the squirrel managed to remove the squash that it would only take a few bites (just enough to ruin it) and then leave it several feet away from the plant. As for the chemicals, I don’t use them. I have decided that I plant for harvest through June and then pull everything and cover crop in the summer (except my precious peppers). You will never beat those insects and you’ll poison yourself trying. I don’t like gardening in the hot summer heat anyway. You do need to start the winter garden in August around here which can be challenging with the insects, but once the weather gets colder, the bugs give you a break (at least here).
For those of you who have centipede grass that goes dormant in the winter and does not have toxic runoff, I broadcast out a mesculun salad mix and radishes into areas of my grass and get nice salads out of my yard throughout the winter without tilling, etc. I just make sure it is all harvested as the grass begins to wake up in March. The seeds actually thrive in the thatch and the plants are easy to pull up. I also have less pest problems there than in the garden itself- go figure. I only use organic fertilizer, no herbicides, and no pesticides on my grass so I feel comfortable with planting in this way. St. Augustine grass might work in this way too, but I only have experience with centipede.
Thanks for the input on the transplants. I was thinking of mostly green leafy things, but also broccoli, kholrabi, onions and faster growing cabbages as well. I have 11 houses on my street, so I think I can manage that fine. Perhaps I could find others in the neighborhood who have gardening skills that could provide coverage in the other areas of the neighborhood.
Have a great day everybody. I hope we are not in the calm before the storm…
FYI — you can go to the Costco and Publix sites and they will give you a list of locations for flu ($18 - Costco/$25 Publix) and pneumovax ($33 - Costco/$40 Publix) shots very reasonably priced. I’ve sent several patients to Costco because I knew their insurance wouldn’t cover the pneumovax due to being underage.
Orlandopreppie – at 19:41
You probably have either racoons or opposums, not squirrels.
My mom and dad have a lot of problems with racoons running off with the stuff in their gardens. Dad even tried caging some of their stuff and the racoons figured out how to get into it anyway. They are just too smart. <sigh>
I have a lot of problems with racoons and opposums in our garbage here. The varmints can take the lids right off the cans … even the locking ones … so putting lids on doesn’t help. Its going to be terrible if there is interruption garbage service. The varmints will over run us because of the bounty.
I’m looking for a metal drum that I can use as a burn barrel. No matter what my family does … a family of 7 creates a lot of garbage. Being able to get rid of even a little bit of the garbage will be helpful.
I’ve given up on my composting pile for the moment … again because of racoon and opposums. No matter what I do they get into it and pull stuff all over the place. <sigh>
Floridians:
Someone posted in the rumor thread about possible cases of Bird flu in Pensacola at the hospital with the initials SH. Can any on you call HCW”s that work there or have you heard any talk about this? I can’t imagine the HCW’s not talking about it at least to friends. Sorry to barge into your thread. Just curious.
Hey Fellow Floridian Flu Followers…
I just got a copy of the DOH DVD on The Avian Flu. I was reading some of the information, and I see where the use of Quarantine is stated. (!) I thought that quarantine was not considered a useful option?! And the first paragraph describes the administration of antivirals. It sure seems to be a BIG assumption that there will be adequate supplies. <G>
Here are some of the “interesting” parts:
“A useful insight from WHO’s containment plan is that if the public health authority controls the supply of antivirals, then access to antiviral medications can be a strong incentive for cases and contacts to come forward. This document assumes that adequate supplies of antiviral medications will be made available to support this containment strategy, and that available supplies will not be diverted away from this strategy for other purposes. The amounts needed for containment are very small compared to those needed during the later community-based control measures phase.” (snip)
“Phase 4/5/6 case management: Order isolation of the case with a formal DOH quarantine order – no visitors to home except as needed to provide supportive or clinical care. Others, including children, should stay somewhere else if possible, or be separated within the home. Care-givers, visitors and household members treated as contacts. Be prepared to act immediately if any contacts report ILI symptoms. For persons who are reluctant to comply, arrange for law enforcement and courts to enforce the order; alert legal department and arrange for needed court hearings. Make needed arrangements for any legally-mandated isolation of case in hospital or other health-care facility. Health care and public health workers with close exposure to a suspected case must protect themselves by following standard respiratory isolation precautions, to as great an extent as can be managed in the settings where the contact is occurring.” (snip)
“Phase 4/5 contact management: Instruct people meeting the contact criterion verbally and in writing, over the signature of the CHD Director/administrator, to go home and self-quarantine at home till 4 days have elapsed from their last contact, or until they become ill if that happens first. If they are unwilling to promise to completely self-quarantine, then obtain as much information as possible about daily schedule. Inform all contacts of their exposure and risk, give them an instruction sheet requiring self-quarantine, ask them for a signature acknowledging receipt of instructions. Instructions will say to go home and stay home immediately, and if symptoms develop contact CHD immediately.”
“Phase 6 contact management: People meeting the contact criterion will be formally ordered in writing, over the signature of the CHD Director/administrator, to go home and remain quarantined at home till 4 days have elapsed from their last contact, or until they become ill if that happens first. For persons who are reluctant to comply, arrange for law enforcement and courts to enforce the order; alert legal department and arrange for needed court hearings.”
I’ll post more as I read it…
IN today’s Sunday newspaper from the ST Lucie News was a FULL page AD from the St Lucie County Health Department titled “ Get Informed- Avian Influrnza” . Article described the current story on H5N1 and listed countries infected. And warned that a pandemic was a possibilty!
Thanks. I’ll tell my friend in PSL who thinks “Our medical science is too good for us to have another 1918 pandemic” to read it.
How about the t.v. commercial about Glaxo-Smith-Kline that talks about working on a vaccine for pandemic bird flu… It is somewhat understated, but interesting that it is mentioned.
I haven’t been here in a couple of weeks, and I’d like to thank all the gardeners out there. You were RIGHT. I came eye to eye with the beast who stole my squash…except one butternut he couldn’t get. He is a possum. He was on the top of a six foot fence last night and my four dogs went insane. I was about seven feet from the fence when he came running down. He must be at least five feet long, had three inch bloody fangs, and hissed like a gator. No really, it is a possum and now I’m thinking I’ll have to trap him and remove. Will the black fencing work on him?
I’ve seen the dancing penguin flu commercial, but don’t think it’s pandemic. Maybe it’s not in this market yet. Anybody having an outbreak of flu? Seminole county is apparently getting nailed.
Orlandopreppie – at 17:12
We have a possum in the neighborhood that has been terrorizing our cat. He’s bold as brass, too. We had a face-off in the walkway by my front door. I blinked. They’re nasty little critters.
I haven’t heard about any flu outbreaks in my area (Palm Beach County) yet, though there were many very sick kids a few weeks ago. The pediatrician said it was a virus; the word flu was not mentioned.
Orlandopreppie, I do not think the black fencing will keep the opossum out. As stated they are tough creatures and would more than likely find a way in. Trapping and relocating may be your best bet.
Happy Thanksgiving all.
We have the seasonal flu here but I do not think it is widespread. Other stomach viruses are though, with mild enough symptoms where people keep going to work and spreading them around :( A great trial run with teaching my kids about washing hands, coughing in their elbow, disinfecting grocery cart handles, etc. It is finally starting to sink in, but the 3 year old is impossible to totally train. By nature they are petri dishes with legs.
My father lives down by Disney and has had to trap and move five or six rodents. Three racoons and two or three possum. He actually had to shoot a possum a couple of weeks ago, it was huge and he had been unable to trap it for months. It was terrorizing the three cats he’s trying to tame. I wasn’t thrilled about it but he’s trying to get the cats inside before they’re at risk for BF. I’ll ask for his assistance in trapping this one and moving it out. Thanks.
To any preppers in Pensacola, there’s a meeting on pandemic flu tonight at Ferry Pass (not sure if it was middle or elem.) school cafeteria, located on N. Davis Hwy. I think the street address is 8103 N. Davis as I’m going off memory because I don’t have a paper here at home. There was a small article about this in todays News journal in the local section, more like just an announcement. I plan to attend. There was another meeting like this not to long ago at the Health Dept I think it was, I didn’t try to make that one. I’m really looking forward to this evening, will be wondering if any other attendees are fluwikians :)
P’cola prepper, let us know how it goes. I’d be curious to know how many citizens show up, and who the panelists are. I look forward to reading about it.
P’cola Prepper - I posted this on the new forum last night. I plan to attend, too.
I will try to take notes. Not much of a speaker upper though. Glad to hear someone else from fluwikie will be there!
will start new thread