HB Prepper - Emergency Preparedness

 As I type this Donald J Trump has been President of the USA for a couple of weeks.  Since his inauguration he has signed a number of  Executive Orders which have started to add weight to the "common sense" side of the political see-saw. You may not agree with me - and that is your prerogative - but I view most of the rules he's brought in as a positive thing for common sense and the wellbeing of the world as a whole. Some of the major E.O.'s in my opinion were - securing the southern border - abandoning D.E.I. hires, instead selecting the most qualified person for the job based on merit and their ability to actually do the job - withdrawing from the W.H.O. which has outgrown its original purpose and has become a bureaucratic tick box nightmare with a ridiculously high budget - declaring that there are 2 genders, male and female (although technically if you are born with both sets of genitalia you would be a hermaphrodite, so the argument could be made for a 3rd gende...

 My last article, published here on February 9th 2023 was titled "Timely Reminders and General Thoughts" And, timely it certainly turned out to be. Only 3 days later Cyclone Gabrielle paid New Zealand a visit that we on the east coast will never forget. I also said, in that last post, that I would make my next article about what I was doing to prepare. So, here it is.  Let me first say that compared to how Gabrielle impacted people's lives in places north of Hastings and Napier - such as Esk Valley and Wairoa, also Pakowhai - which lies between Hastings and Napier - we got off very lightly. The damage that some have endured, losing homes, livelihood's, livestock and human life has been terrible.  We personally were very lucky that our only losses, during the gale-force winds and driving rain of Gabrielle, were our veggie gardens and fruit trees. This happened because our property from front fence to back fence was under about a foot of floodwater, compromising our sep...

 You've probably all heard of the terms bugging out and bugging in. In other words staying put where you are, or alternatively, leaving and going to a secondary location. My own take on whether to bug out or bug in is that where ever possible I will bug in. My home and garden can provide me with food, water, shelter, warmth, light, security and all the creature comforts I am used to. In a SHTF event I would rather shelter in place with all these benefits, than leave and try to survive in the bush. Obviously if you have a secure location to bug out to, that can offer you a safer and better stocked place to ride out the event - whatever it may be - then bugging out, in this case, would be a good option. Although my preference is to bug in, I still have a bug out bag, just in case I do have to "get out of dodge" due to circumstances beyond my control. At our last Prepper Group meeting, we went through my Bug Out Bag to critique what I had included and what I had missed out. ...

  Following on from my last blog post – which concentrated on the first 2 Pillars of Prepping – water and food, I was at a meeting recently listening to an ex US Marine Sergeant who organizes a community group ready for the coming collapse...of the economy and of our current way of life. Their group are encouraged to put away a 2 year food supply of shelf stable foods to be sure that they not only survive what is coming, but thrive. A 2 year food pantry is a great goal to have and although it sounds daunting, is possible to achieve. The best time to have begun your food supply store is probably 5 years or more ago. The next best time to begin is today....much better than tomorrow or next week, next month. Start today, even if it's only a few tins here, a bag of rice there. What ever you can afford. Every little helps, to get you started on your way to building up a 3 day supply....then 3 weeks....3 months and so on. OK...on to the next 2 Pillars of Prepping - Shelter and Fire....