# 532 - Ebola, ISIS, Rioting Idiots...Prepping Reconsideration

Prepping was a way of life for many people for a long time.



My great-grandmother was the first "prepper" I had ever met. She
understood old-fashioned preservation techniques, she canned
regularly and raised chickens for her own food.

Actually, this is nothing new since many of us grew up with family members who "prepped" for the year with canned home-grown vegetables and fruit jams as well as those who hunted for sustenance.

These days, prepping has become a conscious effort to use the "preparation" for future needs that might result from something gone wrong in society.

We have all seen the ideas for prepping stem from concern about solar flares, satellite destruction, economic collapse and so on. However, I developed an URGE to begin some minor prepping after living through Hurricane Ike destroying our house and our neighborhood, encountering looters in our own neighborhood, and being in a mandatory evacuation zone that resulted in police barricades blockading the entrances/exits to our neighborhood for an extended period of time.

Several of us "hunkered down" for numerous reasons. We were a family that choose to stay behind. If we hadn't made that decision, we would have certainly lost EVERYTHING in our house to the continual rains that came through the roof that had been blown away between the hurricane and a twister. Then, had we not been there, the people looting houses in the neighborhoods would probably have hit our house as well.

Yes, we took a chance, but after living along the Gulf Coast region our entire lives, we were not accustomed to be runners...and the one year we did abide by Houston's idea to flee, we were stuck in devastating road conditions for nearly 13 hours that caused more loss of life than the storm itself caused. Never again.



In dire circumstances, independent judgment calls must be made. We learned, the hard way, that the government might be well-meaning, but they are not always right. With a high level of preparation and determination, a person or family can make their choices and live by them.

During the storm that Houston saw complete government failure during evacuation, we saw lawlessness in droves...we literally lived through life and death situations while being trapped on the road. Of course, me and my two daughters were EACH carrying guns, such as a Glock, we were ready to confront any criminal element that wanted to rob us, especially since we were towing a 30 foot RV that looked enticing to people who did NOT prepare for disaster along the road.

Houston's standstill roads during evacuations gone wrong.

People were traveling with pets and the Texas heat made untold numbers of people's vehicles overheat, so people were finding their pets dying. The only solution at this time, for many people, was to leave their pet's body along the roadside. My girls and I witnessed a man being hit on the head with a crowbar and with his skull cracked, with blood running down his face, he walked in circles in a parking lot, not knowing who he was or what had happened...we could not get one officer to come help because they would have faced insurmountable odds with stranded, furious, unprepared, desperate people. This is when you are thankful that you know a little about "prepping."

STAY OUT OF SIGHT.

During the time we are stranded, my daughters were not even allowed to hold a water bottle above the truck window line. The RV door remained locked and we made trips to the RV trailing the truck only during a dire emergency, with a gun in hand. One thing is for sure, we did not want to become a rolling "outhouse" for all those around us who felt entitled to use our RV for their personal use. Sorry, but that is not an option.

Truly, during moments like these, you MUST think of you and your family. I could have embraced a generous spirit and began to hand out water bottles, but I also understood that I had two teenage daughters who would need clean water over the next few days...which the water ran out fast. After a trip that normally would take two hours ended up taking over ten hours because of the panic and ill-planned city evacuation, I would be extremely thankful that my "prepping" instincts helped me protect my daughters. We had enough water left for us to not become dehydrated. Water...it definitely runs out faster than anyone can imagine.

As for today's preparations...I am thankful, our land has a Spring-Fed lake that could be a source of water for us, in an emergency.

Over the past year I have taken my prepping efforts up a notch. Of course, we have a flock of chickens that provide plenty of eggs that could be used to provide nutrition, but I have also begun to store extra amounts of rice, tuna fish, pasta, matches, seeds, packets of Ramon noodles for the carbs and sodium, popcorn, dry beans and so on. I even purchased buckets with lids from Walmart, and I really don't know how to protect the dry food other than to keep it in a cool, dry environment, and I lined the bucket with a black, thick trash bag to make sure no extra light would get inside the bucket.

And now that the news is picking up momentum with revealing the issues our society is now facing, such as domestic terrorism from foreigners and from people living in America who feel their discontent gives them a right to destroy communities...I feel it is important to be prepared to "hunker down" in a different way.

After being in a situation that was so dangerous, for many days with my girls, it became apparent that the local authorities would not be able to respond to most emergencies due to the calls being far higher in numbers than can be confronted. We need to be able to fend for ourselves.

If we were not able to go into town to get groceries because of local unrest, we need to be accountable for our own residential and personal protection, meaning we need to be well-armed, well-trained and with ample ammo at our disposal, as well as prepping with extra food on hand to last several weeks, at a minimum.

Then, we have illness and potential bio-hazards, such as Ebola that could become a serious concern for our communities. Just as Hurricane Ike prevented the trucking industry from coming into our communities for the replenishing of desperately needed fuel, groceries and such...the community basically just shut down.

Everything closed...there was no business to be had, especially since there was not electricity to run the fuel pumps and registers and lights. Everything shut down, and it took weeks to restock and to resupply. If you needed gas, too bad. If you needed water, too bad. If you needed batteries, too bad. If you were hungry...oh well...nothing within a two-hour radius is open to help you!

With Ebola, there will be additional problems for any community that is stricken with a major outbreak because no one will be eager to rush into the area to truck in goods. Also, if a major outbreak occurs in a community, we will see a lack of people wanting to go to work, so this will also contribute to areas being forced to shut down. Growing your own food would really be a great way to be self-sufficient.

And the police cannot protect a community from certain hazards; the government cannot protect a community from certain dangers; personal responsibility must be embraced. Police and government services are a great "back-up," but I know that we are often our own first line of defense for many different situations.

Regardless, I appreciate and have high regard for those who put themselves on the line for our safety and for our rescue from those who are self-serving on a criminal level.

Looters without a Cause - Ferguson

If we were to suddenly be in an area where such a virus began to spread, rapidly, we would need to be ready to either leave the area for an extended period of time, or since we live on acreage, we would need to be ready to "hunker down" on our property and to not leave for however long it takes to have confidence that our community is in the all-clear. For a virus such as Ebola, we can all see how this could present a problem due to the extended incubation period of 21-days for those who are exposed to the virus.

This also means that people with chronic medical conditions truly need to have extra medications on hand and to have a First-Aid kit that is extensive.

Since things are becoming iffy with our federal government lacking guts and since this administration lacks an aggressive proactive stance necessary to protect the citizens of our nation, we need to be prepared for the worst and expect the best.

I do feel better, overall, that we are living out of the city and deep in the forest. I suppose that we would have to watch for looters desperate for provisions, just as we had to do when our neighborhood was hit by the hurricane.

Ferguson-Fit-Throwers, any excuse to steal something and feel justified!

Since we do have surveillance on the land and we have set up certain protections, we are better off than most, but I think that we all should be alert and prepared rather than afraid and unprepared.

Having a plan is better than being taken off guard. Does anyone else have a plan to protect themselves and their family from a community issue that could require individual pro-activity?

# 522 - Doggie Disappearing Act

This past week has been full of ups and downs. First of all, I had wanted to go see my oldest daughter and grand-daughter in the Fort Worth area, but things around our own place have been chaotic.

Auntie Stefie with Coraline. My youngest
daughter Stefie with my grand-baby Coraline.

I didn't feel well this past week...for those of you who are long time readers, you might know that I have jumped a few MAJOR health hurdles, which includes two critical Cardio-Thoracic surgeries that were a year apart. I also have a rare condition that actually makes my blood pressure plummet, which can create jello body. Since I have had trouble this week keeping my blood pressure elevated, I knew that driving one-way for 4+ hours might not be the wisest choice. When this happens, I just have to wait it out. Usually, it does happen more often during the summer months because I am outside to do this and that and it causes my electrolytes to get a little off-whack, causing me major issues. Not fun. I have medicine I take to elevate my blood pressure, but sometimes it is more complicated than a little pill can fix, so I have to kind of take it easy and wait it out. I have learned that patience is crucial to getting through the frustrating times. I still have so much to do, whether I am doing outdoor work or handling necessary paperwork and home business to keep things running at home.

So, there you go with that angle. Tough week as my blood pressure yo-yo's.

To top it off, the dog we had rescued from the deep forest a few months ago is scheduled to be "fixed" in about a week at our country vet's office. Apparently, the appointment was off by a couple of weeks because Gracie went into heat and everything went into chaos around here as Howdy entered a zone-of-crazy-dogness.

For days on end, I felt as if I were living around events that closely resembled what I can only refer to as "live porn" and it was fairly traumatic. Thankfully, Howdy could not figure out which end was what, if you catch my drift. However, there was a lot of kennel time off and on during the day with a sharp eye on both dogs to usher my "STOP THAT" command.

You would have thought my blood pressure would've gone sky high with all the constant attempts of the dogs to be "involved" that had been going on around me.

Howdy still has the jewels because we were hoping to one day get another full-blooded Aussie for him to breed with, especially because he truly is one of the best dogs I have ever been around...awesome farm/ranch dog that is great with the animals, a natural lead dog for walks and an excellent guard dog with sharp senses and an ability to follow detailed commands.

However, after these intense days of Howdy being in the zone, I was ready to neuter him, myself.

In fact, Gracie has been a dog that has been prone to give in to her wanderlust, but Howdy has always remained by my side, true blue. We have tried to handle her wanderlust, but on a lot of acreage, that can be a challenge. The good part, overall, is that the older she gets, the less often she wanders and the more often she loves to linger directly in our yard with the chickens at her side. Gracie loves to find a stick or a branch or a bone from the forest and chew on it for a few days in one of her favorite spots in the yard. With the summer heat, she is more prone to elect to stay inside next to the fan.

However, this past week, in the chaos of a dog in heat for the first time, Gracie decided to go on an excursion and the especially bad part is that Howdy followed her.

He has never left the homefront and he flat out left. That morning, I had been outside doing morning chores as the dogs were outside with me. I was keeping my eye on Howdy to make sure there wasn't any "funny business" happening. In fact, Howdy had been commanded to get onto the deck and to stay as I walked a few feet away to collect eggs. In the amount of time it took for me to collect ten eggs against me and turn around to face the deck, he was gone, Gracie was gone, both were gone.

 

Setting the eggs down, I began to walk around calling for Howdy because he is the one who will turn on a dime at a command. The problem was...he wasn't showing up. Highly unusual. I kept walking from one side of the acreage to another, walking for acres and acres, probably a total of pacing hit around walking a minimum of ten acres as I called out commands to him that he has never ignored before this time.

Finally, I decided to go back to the home-site to wake Sgt. Dave, even though he'd been working long hours and had not gotten a full night's rest, I could not continue searching by myself. He woke straight up and headed outside to start his own calls.

Sgt. Dave even fired the rifle and the .38 because Howdy does NOT like the sound of gun-fire. But, nothing worked. It seemed that Howdy was completely out of hearing distance.

Knowing that we are surrounded by THOUSANDS of forested acres made me feel hopeless. Also, rain was coming, so I feared that their scent trail to find their way home would be wiped clean.

Also, the roads surrounding the acreage are very dangerous to animals because nearly everyone around here drives a huge truck. Then, I was concerned that Howdy and Gracie would come up to a neighbor's acreage and either be attacked by one or more of the neighbor's dogs or that they would be shot by the neighbor trying to protect his own animals from rogue visitors.

No matter...I had terrible thoughts and the more time that passed, the worse the thoughts became.

Sgt. Dave went driving around, looking for the dogs, with no luck. Eventually, he had to leave for work. I began calling local places to see if they could keep their eyes and ears open for anyone seeing or hearing about our dogs being caught.

And, nearly eight hours passed. I knew they would never come home again. I tried to not be angry at Gracie for her wanderlust and for the natural conditions that made Howdy want to stick to her like a piece of duct tape.

Then, after 5:00pm, I walked into the yard to find the dogs coming across the acreage to the deck. Howdy looked like HELL. He was filthy, soaking wet with debris sticking to his fur, and he literally could not make it to the deck...he collapsed on our acreage, in our yard, about half way to the deck.

Better days the followed the doggie-disappearance day.

Obviously, they had also found something to eat because Gracie was dragging a piece of heavy foil with bits of charred meat stuck inside of it, so they had their fast-food with them...no telling where they got that from, probably another reason to almost get shot.

Sgt. Dave had three problems on his hand when he had left for work...Gracie missing, Howdy missing and his wife, me, who was beyond furious. In fact, after Howdy disappeared, I called to vet to also schedule him to be neutered. My husband asked me, "Isn't that premature...I mean...he hasn't even come home yet."

And I have to be honest, I responded, "Well, when he comes home, it will be to face a ball-less future because his following her is because he is not thinking straight and we CAN fix that!"

Yes, I scheduled Howdy for a neutering as he was missing. I had to do something since I felt out of control and scheduling him for surgery to remove the source(s) of the reason for him to stray felt like the right thing to do at that time.

Sgt. Dave has been bringing home wood pallets for us to recycle for
various projects around the land, such as when building a new
chicken run-coop.

Anyway, the dogs came back. I gave them water, then put them in their separate kennels until Sgt. Dave got home from work. I had no energy left to give to them since I had already been feeling like puke and had walked enough that morning to get in a week's worth of exercise. My throat was raw from going outside every twenty minutes to call for them and the stress of KNOWING they had met some foul ending had zapped me completely. I kind of felt like Howdy did as he collapsed, as if I almost did the same thing, weak knees and feeling overwhelmed with thankfulness that they were able to make it home after being gone for so many hours in the Big Thicket forest.

Picture taken on another day when the dogs weren't so worn out.

So, I know that we need to make fencing a part of our construction plan. Acreage needs boundary fencing, but that won't really keep in a dog that is determined to wander off the property. Even though this is probably a rare occurrence for Howdy, I need to make sure these dogs have a proper fenced-in yard they can stay in as I go to town. For now, I cannot leave for any significant amount of time because they have to stay in the RV, which means no potty breaks, so I cannot be gone long.

The lack of fencing has restricted my own freedom and my own ability to live life as I please, so that fenced-in yard area will be crucial to our new residential site. Also, the chickens were left unguarded with the dogs gone, especially since they are mostly free-ranging chickens.

Howdy even listens and jumps up toward swooping hawks and he has taught Gracie to do the same. But, the day they were gone, I realized that I have the animals living too interdependent of one another. It's great that all of our animals can be together, but I do need each to have their separate quarters and fencing.

And you guys already know that I am fed up with having chicken under my feet as I am walking back and forth with laundry in my arms, unloading groceries or trying to just do something simple outside...chickens are great, but not underfoot.

They also have access to get upon our deck, which is a constant battle and a problem that I can only describe as creating "nasty" circumstances that is not acceptable to me. Sorry, I don't want poop on my walkway, on my porch or in my yard.

This one little chicken I call "Baby" might be a chicken
I would let move in, give her a bedroom, and act
chicken-crazy about her. She's fairly adorable. Lol.

So, fencing has become another element of my construction process and it will be given priority over the outdoor kitchen because we cannot even enjoy an outdoor kitchen without the dogs and chickens having proper accommodations.

There are stresses in life that can be reduced with proper planning and action. For me, fencing is now at the top of the list and my priorities are in order.

Having acreage is different from our last few houses that were located in the suburbs and required a few wood picket boards between us and our neighbors to create a nice fenced-in space. The problem was, the space was limited, directly against the neighbor and we had neighbors who didn't want to share the load or expense of fencing. So, I am glad to be out of that situation, but that also means that we have a different scenario with acreage...I will have to make sure we put up effective fencing that is affordable and that will do the trick to keep the animals in the designated place in a way that looks attractive or that does not block our views.

On top of it all, last night, Gracie evidently had a sick stomach and began having diarrhea, inside the RV. She had cried out and I should have immediately let her outside. I have learned that when she communicates with me, she does it because she means business.

Regardless, this week has been eventful and a challenge to search for the "good" has been my task as I have encountered a lot of activity that would disturb anyone's peace.

One of my goals with the new house is to set things up so that I do have peace and enjoyment in and around my home, not to be run over by animals, but a home that I have under control. This year of lacking control has not been a pleasant part of this experience. But, I can change that, and I will.

Fences are coming.

# 500 - Lost in the Forest

I can't believe this is my 500th blog post for Farm Life Lessons. In this journey, I've learned that living in either the city or the country can provide a beautiful life. The great part of my adventure is that I have been graced to experience both and know that I am happy with either way of life.

My house at this time, last year.

Very large home in the Greater Houston area. SOLD!

Got the RV for the temporary residence for the next year while
getting ready to build on the acreage.

This was the backyard in the city...a good sized backyard for the area.

This is now my "side" yard.

In spite of all the excitement I have written about, today I had a difficult moment in the forest of being left behind during a hike. With my terrible sense of direction, I was not in a good spot since I am surrounded by significant forest with difficult terrain, and I had NO IDEA if I were going to end up having to find my way back to residence-land on my own. During that time, it was a hard realization to face the fact that I did not have any water on me, nor a gun, and that was NOT a good feeling.

...It was a feeling I won't forget.

I had on warm clothes, had on leather gloves for climbing, carrying a walking stick made out of the same material as ski poles and a cell phone with a very low battery.

Up until that point, I had a wonderful hike. There were berries on trees that were beautiful. This week, I will be going to the local library because I just received my library card in the mail recently. I'll be checking out books on berries and books on trees.

My lesson today is that I will NEVER walk into the forest, unless I, personally, know exactly where I am, have a significant knife in my pocket, and I will NEVER again go on a hike without my own weapon, checked and with extra ammo on hand.

Live and learn.

That's my Farm Life Lesson, or I guess I should say, my Life in the Forest lesson for the day.

Howdy says, "Howdy!"

And here is a video of me being a bit turned around, but I took this video shortly before the "Get Lost" moment occurred. To be sure, this is an eternal lesson that I should never depend on another person while in the forest, and to never follow one person into the forest with the expectation that they will lead you out because that person might disappear.

http://youtu.be/7skyzy2wTbo

Good thing was, I didn't need a machete chopper in front of me in order for me to wind my way through the forest...turns out I am REALLY good at ducking and diving and weaving and winding and climbing out of ravines.

So, this was a great day because it taught me more about life. My level of wisdom was increased exponentially today, so it was a great day indeed!

# 477 - Big Fire

Every now and then, we have to burn piles of debris around our acreage.

First of all, let me state, unequivocally, that I do not like to tempt fate. The debris fire that was recently started on the property was in absolute opposition to how I deal with life...I don't want to be burned, so I don't play with fire.

Well, not unless I am roasting marshmallows.

As for this latest and greatest fire, our puny water hose was useless.

And most of us know that a fire does not stay with the mother-flame, which has power beyond our imagination.

My husband likes to feel as if he is "controlling" the fire, which is humorous. (Hi Honey!) These roaring flames made my husband look like a tiny, little morsel that was in danger of being roasted.

 

I stood back, listening for potential fire trucks heading our direction so I could point them directly to my husband, "There's your pyromaniac...right there...making steam with that water-hose!"

 

As I was running back and forth on the property, looking at the water valves, checking for kinks in the mile long connections of water hosery, and trying to get my puny fire extinguishers ready, my father-in-law pointed to large chunks of black embers blowing directly over my RV and my new deck and he said, "That's what I'm worried about, those embers are our real danger right now, this fire can jump so easily."

 

And I remember the words of my grandmother as we'd burn trash on her land; she'd tell us to beware of "Flying Fire."

 

Oh great, we've got Flying Fire. I glared my husband's direction and imagined a size 6 1/2 -7 shoe in his rear as my RV burned to the ground. Hey, my temporary home as we wait to build a home cannot be burned down! I need this RV to remain scorch-free because it contains my FAVORITE PILLOW!

 

I cannot sleep without my FAVORITE PILLOW!

 

And as I watched magical pieces of Flying Fire whirl directly around my temporary residence, I had a sick urge to sing a highly inappropriate song that was released when I was about sixteen years old...the chorus goes, "The roof, the roof is on fire...we don't need no water, let the ***** burn!"

 

Yes, it was a moment tinged with crazy thoughts to match the crazy situation.

 

# 391 - Boy Scout Weekend Prepping

Today my brother came over to pick up the lawn tractor and trailer to go to our acreage for mowing in preparation of the Boy Scouts Wilderness Survival Badge weekend, which is next weekend.

This weekend, he'll be mowing the parking and camping sites, then doing some preparations for the boys to better handle their wilderness experience. This weekend, he'll probably use the chainsaw to cut down a few pine trees and such that the boys will be better able to use to build their makeshift shelters and the rudimentary bridge across the creek. I believe the branches with the evergreen pine needles will make great coverage for their shelter roof. I can't wait to see the pictures my brother will be taking next weekend!

One thing for sure, in my family, I'm surrounded by men who are typical products of testosterone over-drive maleness. Sometimes I am ready to go bonkers about that fact, but then I look at these men and am proud at how they get things done. It's nice to see them work together and able to communicate like REGULAR people!

For me, I was looking at my little bearded brother today and still can't believe he's now 40 years old! It's great that he's so active with the Scouts. He's a hard worker, an intelligent man, and he is always involved with the kids on the weekends. Since he's an outdoorsman, this usually involves being in the great outdoors. But, most Sundays they are in church. He keeps his priorities in line.

He also took a chainsaw and I'm sure that will add to his fun times on the land. There seems to be a little Lumberjack in most men. Put a chainsaw in their hands and they are saw-happy. I think men believe the smell of sawdust is an exotic aphrodisiac.

Maybe there should be a perfume for women, Eau De Sawdust Parfum, or whatever the terminology would be with a French spin to it. Then, added scents to this special line of perfume would be...bacon, ocean breeze, and perhaps, motor oil. \

Hmmmm...

# 389 - Wilderness Survival Training

I am so proud of my brother. Since I'm from the South, I call him, "Bubba." However, his actual name is Douglas. He is a Boy Scout Leader for Troop 202.

Because my brother is a true survivalist and a decorated war veteran, he will be leading the troop into the wilderness for survival training. The kids who pass all the tests for the weekend will earn their Wilderness Survival Badge.

Douglas and his youngest son, Quin.

Guess where he's taking the troop for their survival training?

He's taking the scouts to my acreage that's located in the Piney Woods of the Big Thicket region. There's near ten acres waiting for the scouts and they will definitely be tucked away inside the forest.

The troop got together and my brother put it to the kids like this, of course, he's giving this speech in his typical booming "Marine" voice, (I'm paraphrasing from my conversation with him), he told the troop, "At the end of this month, I will be taking you scouts into the wilderness where we will live out a survival scenario for the weekend. Your leaders will be injured and the bridge to the creek, needed to escape, will be washed out, so you will have to build a natural bridge to cross the water. Each of you will need to build your own make-shift shelter, prepare your own drinking water, build your own fire, and provide First Aid to your leaders."

My nephew is the long-legged boy to the far right.

He had their attention, he continued, "When you are in the wilderness, you might come across predatory animals, bad weather, unfair conditions, discomfort, and you might want to cry, whine or moan. But, if you walk up to a tree and cry and wail to the tree...What Will Happen? The tree will not respond, AND in this manner, your scout leaders will be trees. We will NOT respond to crying or whining or complaining because this is a weekend for survivalists and that means YOU must work out your own problems. By the way, remember that your leaders will be 'injured' so you will need to take care of US leaders in addition to taking care of yourself. It's going to be tough. You will be challenged and if you succeed, you will definitely have EARNED your Wilderness Survival Badge."

Since my brother is a Marine (never say "ex" Marine), he is forceful and competent, can kill with his bare hands and all that good Marine stuff.

The handsome guy standing there in the middle of the Middle East,
that's my brother. An amazing person --- it took him a while to
figure it out, but he is indeed amazing.

Did I mention that he's also a Systems Analyst Executive in Houston, Texas? The Survivalist-Marine-Computer-Geek.

But, this is still his favorite past-time...

There is an area of our land where the boys will be camping out. My brother has made a couple of trips to scout it out to pick out the perfect spot. I wish I could climb a tree and get a bird's-eye view of the scouts on Saturday, especially as my brother is writhing on the ground with his fake injury...he's a pretty good actor. Come to think of it, aren't all little brothers great at fake-hurt acting? Even if they must slam their own arm in the door kind of acting, twist their own arm kind of acting, then run to mother with real tears while pointing to the big sister and saying, "She hurt me; I don't know why! I was being so nice!" Yea, acting, something like that. He's good, I've witnessed it plenty of times, personally. Let's hope my brother is now smart enough to create a fake injury instead of slamming his face into a tree for the sake of realism. I may need to have a discussion with him about the benefits of FAKE blood. haha.

As for the land, it's pretty isolated enough to believe they are really trapped in the wilderness, but they'll have access to a lake with spring-fed water and a creek. But, the water will still need to be treated before it can be drank. In a worse case scenario, they actually could walk about two miles to the corner store. However, the truth is...where our land is located, if the kids didn't know where they were going, it is a real possibility that they could become lost deep in the woods, very easily, and it could be serious. The Texas Forestry Department doesn't have a head-quarter's building around the corner from our land for nothing.

But, that's what this Wilderness Survival Badge is all about. If those kids were to ever become lost in the wilderness, they will know how to increase their chances of surviving. And guess what? America is still FULL of areas of wilderness; this is a good skill to learn. America also suffers from natural disasters that would make survival training truly valuable.

The Scouts will be allowed to cut down certain pine trees to build their independent make-shift shelters and to create a passable area at the creek. I believe they will use the pine branches to make the roof of their shelters which my brother said should be very low to the ground, just enough for the kids to slide under because it will better hold in their body heat with less space to the "ceiling" of the shelter.

I think that starting a fire will be their main challenge. Each scout must start his own fire. That will be interesting. I can't wait to hear the details of how this goes.

My brother's three awesome kiddos!

My brother is a sweetheart to me. Like any siblings, we have our ups and downs, but our hearts are very close. He is my "little" brother, but I am so damn proud of him. He's become a man of great conviction, truth and honor. He took a rough road to get there, but he got there and he keeps trying to reach higher.

At Heather's wedding a few months ago, my oldest daughter's wedding, my sweetest dance was with my brother. We couldn't even talk...just the knowledge that we were kids together and that our own children are growing up was overwhelming. All we needed was a couple of minutes together to absorb the phase we've reached as siblings.

It took a long time to get to that wedding day for my daughter, all the way from days like these...

...and these...but I think he's off the bottle now.

As soon as the scouts have their weekend with Big Foot on our land, I will be posting pictures to share with you. I'm sure Bubba will have incredible memories to share and the boy scouts will have awesome memories as well. I can only imagine how he will play out the scout leaders' injuries and what will be expected of his troop. These boys will definitely benefit from my brother's life experiences and from being thrust in the middle of the woods and expected to "survive."

It's nice to know my brother was selected to lead the troop for this badge expedition, especially since my brother is a man who survived in the desert; he's survived in canyon-lands: and he is a true woodsman from babyhood to manhood. To be honest, all this upcoming fun makes me wish I had been in the Boy Scouts, well, that sounds WRONG on many levels. Yes, I believe ONLY BOYS should be in the Boy Scouts, but they sure get to do a lot of awesome things! Forget the cookies! Give me the woods!

Good thing is, the first night there, Friday night, they will be staying in a tent, then the survivor time begins the next morning and will continue all throughout that coming night, all night, and I suppose it will come to an end on Sunday morning. For these boys, I bet Saturday will be high-stress, challenging and a test of their skills while Saturday night will seem to last forever.

I'm going to tell my brother that they can pick a hardwood tree (out of the hundreds on the land) and carve in their troop number and date, a tree that will be there for a long time for all to see. I'm sure those boys will leave their "mark" on our land in many ways, especially in sporadic holes dug here and there for a specific purpose, but the carved tree will give me years of joy as I pass it by.

By the end of January, the Boy Scouts will be one step closer to becoming a man. They might go home with their chests sticking out a bit further and with the feeling that chin hairs are starting to sprout, but I bet most will be glad to be home with mommy, a warm bed, and a kitchen with food to grab. Life will certainly look more grand and their pride will be inflated in a positive way. Ahhh, the beauty of the Boy Scouts organization.