More people are leary of Foxes than are afraid of Otters or Raccoons, are their concerns mixed up, maybe they are.

  My last blog's subject was on the diet of Urban Coyotes, it was enlightening to me mostly because I halfway believed the suspicions they hunted Domestic Pets, Cats and Dogs mostly. I discovered my initial ideas when I wrote that article was, in fact, incorrect, which lead me to another question. " How much of an impact on domestic animals do Raccoons, Foxes, and Otters have on domestic pets?" The answer may be zero or it could be a tremendous amount, let's take a look at it.

Aww, isn't it cute? Even so, Don't mess with the Raccoons!

  My number rule of life is "Don't mess with the Raccoons." Growing up my Dad would say that, the number one rule of camping, I have expanded that to include all of life, due to the fact they are everywhere, living in close proximity to us whether we live in the country or the city. When I was young my family was spending time in the North Woods of Minnesota, tent camping, we did that a lot, it was fun. I forget now where we were, my brothers and I caught a lot of Walleyes from our canoe and would lead people to where the fish were. We were happy to share our spot with anyone, we thought there was an endless supply of fish. One day we came back to camp to find my Mom feeding popcorn to two small furry cute engaging baby Raccoons, we heard Dad telling Mom, "Don't feed them, you will be sorry." Not only would she be sorry, all of us would be, but thankful for learning a life lesson about "Messin with the Racoons." Those two furry little ones turned into six small ones, then twelve larger ones showed up with them, pretty soon we were surrounded by large Raccoons, moving steadily forward. They all came to dinner, while my family retreated to the car, rolled up the windows and enjoyed the show, we watched them tear the camp apart looking for food. We had a dog, he was in the car with us, right where he belonged. Raccoons pick their battles carefully, most of the time running from larger opponents, dogs chase them, they never learn, most of the time the bandits run away. They do attack dogs, and cats, when cornered they are fearless and will fight to the death for their lives, but only under extreme stressful danger. I heard a story, I don't know the source, two large dogs were chasing Raccoons on the levee, they chased them into the water, the Raccoon backed into the slough. The dogs did not hesitate to continue charging them, the Raccoons grabbed onto the dog's necks with their front paws, holding their heads close to the dog's neck so as not to be bitten. They started kicking the dogs with their razor sharp rear claws, slicing the dogs stomachs to the point of an immense loss of blood, the stomach of each dog was exposed. Both of the dogs were found the next morning dead on the slope of the waterside levee, they were big tough country dogs, it's a lesson one learns only once. The Raccoons can easily kill cats, and dogs, it is fairly rare for them to kill a very large dog, but they do accomplish that as well. Raccoons will also attack humans, they are defiant, most people that encounter them will most likely agree with me, they stand their ground. I saw one up against a gate right at dusk, my neighbor was with me, it was his gate. He (Bob) pointed and I looked, this raccoon was on its hind legs with the front paws on the top of the four-foot gate, easily looking over the top between his paws. "Look at the size of that one," Bob said pointing to it. I met the same Raccoon one other time, he was getting ready to stir up my garbage cans, I attempted to haze him, he had a different idea. The big Raccoon turned to me and squared off, his eyes were very intense like daggers that could see my soul. That guy was not about to give me any ground at all. Do you want some of this? He seemed to be saying with his eyes, my eyes were replying, "Not me, Not me, wait here I'll go get someone to take you on." (Link to information on how to deal with them ) They are tough, vicious animals, they can an will kill or injure pets and humans, however, they do not have a taste for either, we all are a bit too large, and not to there liking as well. In the event you are ever attacked and bitten by a Raccoon it's nothing to mess around with, they can carry numerous deadly diseases, one of which is rabies. If a Raccoon attacks you there is a very good possibility it may have rabies, seek medical help immediately if you suffer a bite. The story I related to you is the only time I have heard of Raccoons attacking and killing large dogs, all of the requirements for a battle with a Raccoon were present. They were being pursued, they backed into the water for defense, and they felt cornered with no way out, a Raccoon will attack under those circumstances, and they did. No, they do not kill pets to eat them, they only fight in self-defense, preferring to run fast, far, and long before risking their lives.
  What about the Fox, how do they affect our domesticated pets? There are a lot of people who have concerns about Foxes, the three most common are:

They are more intimidating than vicious.

1) Does a Fox pose a threat to my pets?
2) Are they a threat to my small children?
3) Do they carry dangerous diseases?
  These questions are the reasons most people want Foxes removed after sighting them around their property. Generally, a Fox is not a threat to humans or pets, but when cornered they will become very aggressive, people have a tendency to catch them with their bare hands. I have some experience with catching a Fox with bare hands, it happened when I was around 10 years old. A neighborhood chum and I spotted a small Fox, I don't know if it was a Red Fox or a Kit Fox, I was too young to know the difference, we cornered the poor little animal, picked him up and put a leash and collar on him, we then took him to my friends house and tied him up. The small Fox was tethered to a tree with a rope and restricted to a space on his driveway, later in the day we started feeling sorry for him and decided to let him go. Somehow the decision was made that I was going to remove the collar, after all, it was fairly uneventful putting it on the little animal. My first mistake was backing him into a corner to make it easier to grab him, my second was grabbing him. That Fox tore me up, it was like an extremely mad cat, he wrapped all four of his limbs around my arm and began to chew, scratch, and bite me every spot he could reach. On my arm as he was it became harder and harder to get him off, my friend was no help standing with his mouth open watching as I was being mangled. Finally, somehow I worked the critter off and ran away from it until he could go no further due to the rope holding him back, I was scratched up pretty bad, not much blood and no stitches were needed. Then his dad came home from work, he was totally bewildered, "what in the Sam Hill are you guy's up to?" he said, We told him we caught a Fox and intended to make him a pet but our plan kind of went haywire when we found out how mean he was. I don't recall the entire exchange but his dad got some gloves and released the poor suffering animal, as he ran away he never even looked back. I don't know why we thought we could handle the animal as we wished I suppose it had to do with being so young and inexperienced. (Follow this Link to learn how to deal with Foxes.)
  Yes, a Fox will attack a human, but only if it is rabid, or forced into a corner with no way out other than directly towards us. They stay away from humans as much as possible, they do not see us as "prey", in fact, they don't see us as anything other as something to be avoided.
  They co-exist with domestic and feral cats, both are nocturnal and cross each other's paths continuously all night long. Foxes do not see cats as prey, they are accepted and tolerated.
  It's safe to say that the threat of a Fox harming us or one of our pets is too remote to even be mentioned as a problem, as long as we don't attempt to pick them up, corner them, or otherwise abuse them they are not a threat.
  I've never thought of Otters as a threat to pets or humans, I've seen plenty of them in rivers, lakes, and ponds as well as some California Sea Otters. The individuals in our slough come in two different sizes, we have small Otters and Large full-size River Otters.

An animal to be reckoned with for sure.

  March 8, 2018, a husband and wife were kayaking along with 8 other people on the Branden River, in Florida. Thinking an Otter they saw swimming and playing around their boats was "cute", that was until the cuddly animal leaped into the Kayak and began chewing, scratching, and biting the lady. This incident happened just days after a similar attack occurred in the same area. She suffered lacerations and bites needing stitches and treatment for possible rabies. This being just the most recent attack by an Otter towards a human. 
  Humans are not on their menu however, the five foot long 30 pound animals seem much larger than they are, they appear much heavier. They are carnivores with their diet consisting mainly of fish, crayfish, frogs, and other amphibians. Once in a while, they will attack and make a meal out of an alligator, it takes many hours for the Otter to wear down the reptile, but it does happen. They are extremely territorial and will attack humans and animals when they feel they are being threatened, but other than that they avoid us and our pets. When encountering an Otter, they appear to be cuddly, soft, and cute, and they very well may be, however approaching one is not advisable at all. If you do approach one don't expect an uneventful encounter, it will be an introduction to a set of sharp teeth, and bone-crushing molars, keep your distance.
  I caught one once while fishing, I caught a small fish and while reeling it in I felt a very hard tug on my fishing pole, I continued to reel in. I reeled line in until I was able to make out what was on the line, the Otter and I saw one another at exactly the same time, he was about 10 feet from shore. That's when he decided I was the cause of all of his problems and he decided to rectify the situation, he came to me as fast as he could. When I realized what was happening I tossed my fishing pole at him, now about five feet away, I turned and ran to my pickup truck, the animal did not chase me, my pole was in the water when I returned and the Otter had broken the line. He didn't seem to be any worse for the wear, he was extremely aggressive and I can't say as if I blame him, I'd most likely be the same if I were in his shoes. Otters will not eat us, at least they won't attack, kill, and eat us, I'm sure more than one could cause a humans demise, but there has never been a case of a human becoming a meal for one. They don't eat or attack our pets either, I would imagine like the Raccoon's that killed the two dogs at the beginning of this blog they could injure even large dogs when cornered, but cats, no. Cats cross the paths of the large River Otters all night long, much the same as their encounters with the Fox, there is an attitude of living and let live.
  Of the three, Raccoons, Fox, and Otters, it is clear to me the biggest threat of them is the Otter, they will go after a human solely due to the human crossing a territorial boundary that we have no idea exists. I'm not sure how to avoid an attack as the lady in the kayak experienced after all the aquatic animal was freely swimming and the group of people certainly did not molest or harass the Otter in any way they knew of. The Otter did become aggressive and went after the lady, she used the only defensive weapon she had, which was a kayak paddle. Otter attacks are fairly common, we must exercise extreme caution when encountering one, simply giving them space may not be enough. Keep a watchful eye on them when they are encountered, do not turn your back on them and do not approach them. There are two that live in our slough, I see them from time to time, in fact just three days ago was one encounter. They are an obnoxious animal, searching boats, docks, and patios for bits of food, if none is found they will leave a calling card, normally in the center of a chair seat. Dogs love Otter scat, I have never been able to figure out why they have an undeniable need to roll in it, every dog I have had has done it, I've seen other dogs roll in the scat as well. It is not a pleasant odor, it must be perfume to a dog, to me it stinks. ( Follow this Link for more facts about Otters from the Department of the Interior.)
  Thank you for reading and sharing my blog, I'm going to continue my series on what animals may harm humans and our pets, I will investigate the animal I feel is a threat, the Bobcat, I am intimidated by them, I want to know if it's justified. Thanks again for reading, leave a comment about your encounters with these or any other wild animal, I'd like to hear about it.
jacquesandkate  EmergencyKitsPlus.com

Urban Coyotes have a diet that consist of many food sources, how much do domestic pets make up of that? You may be surprised.

  I lived close to 29 Palms, California during the late 1990's, I lived in the small desert city of La Quinta, it is a very good town to live in. I worked about 25 miles south of the town near Mecca, just North of the Salton Sea, hot, dusty, and everything a person that never lived in the desert would envision a desert town to be. I would leave home in the morning early, about 5 am as I recall, the plant was lenient in our starting times due to the fact we never knew how long we would work, or get back home. The desert mornings are nice, not hot, not cool, just very temperate, about 75 degrees after the sun appeared for about an hour then it would begin to heat up. I would drive around the block past a PGA Golf course on one side and homes on the other. Green grass, cobblestones, and gravel made up the Golf course and the landscaping of the homes. Many times, I'd like to say every day but it wasn't, more like 5 days of the week I would pass and on the green grass would be laying two or more Coyotes, sometimes as many as 6, I never saw less than two, it seemed odd but maybe they like company as well. 

It's exactly the desert as it is imagined by many people, I lived
and worked here for 3 years.

I heard that the wild canines would dine on domestic cats, and dogs, I have often wondered if that is indeed the truth or just a rumor based on hearsay and supposition. As I've spoken about numerous times in my blog there was a house (it burned to the ground 6 years ago) where the lady had a stable full of cats, we counted 30 at one time. I spend a lot of time outside, a lot of that time I sit in the shade just watching the world, and because I live in a rural area most of my observing are of the animals and birds. I do see some Coyotes, however mostly at dusk and later, they have habits that are quite astounding, they don't seem to like to be alone. I many times have wondered about the cats that were left behind after the fire, it was an obnoxious smell with all of the marking of territory. Mostly I wondered if the Coyotes were decimating the cats, I did not see any of them in or around that house, but still, the thought persisted. The cats were slowly disappearing, it was very noticeable there ranks were diminishing, what was happening? Between the hours of 1-2 pm while sitting in the shade a big red tail hawk would come from the east, rapidly making 3 circles around the house then swoop down, moments later appearing once again above the treetops with something its talons. That was the destiny of some of the cats, and kittens too, it was sad I don't like to see that stuff happening, but there is little a person can do to discourage that from taking place. I would on occasion think again about the diet of the Coyotes, I as well as my neighbors would see them (Coyotes) well into the night running down the levee, 3 Coyotes every time, no less, no more, three, a neighbor told me of another curious activity they engage in. He told me one Coyote would be in the lot next to him, it's about an acre, it's used as a parking lot mostly, wild rabbits inhabit the edges. One Coyote would wait in the lot while the other two ran up onto the levee, when they made it to the top they would stand there for less than a minute, both would look down at their lone companion. At that point the animal in the lot would run up to them, it is obviously some sort of a defensive strategy, they would do that every time my neighbor saw them. Upon reaching the top all three would run down the levee, closely bunched together, I've watched them as they run down the levee past my house. I don't know where they go, they act like dogs, marking as they go, sniffing, running, and smelling the air. We have a lot of animals on the levee, Otters, Possums, Skunks, Raccoons, and many others, I talked to a man that tripped over a big snapping turtle late at night. What does consist of a Coyotes diet, finally I did some research. ( Link to L.A. Times discussion of their diet)
  For longer than a year a research team in Los Angelos have been investigating the contents of Coyotes that have met their demise in various ways. The team would collect the Cantaloupe sized stomachs, a member of the investigative team, Danielle Martinez, wears protective clothing, and safety goggles to begin the not always enjoyable tasks. "We never know what will be inside," she told the Los Angelos times on March 23, 2018. The question she and her team are answering seems fairly straightforward, take a look inside and catalog what the remains are. The main question "What do local urban Coyotes eat?" They are very adaptive, as is proven by their expanding ranges throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. They plan on inspecting 300 of the animals this year, and they are well on the way of meeting that goal, so far during 2018, 104 stomach contents have been cataloged. Managing to survive in an area occupied by 20 million humans consuming everything from leather boots, to Gophers. Rubber soled shoes, Rabbits, Birds, Avocados, Oranges, Peaches, Candy Wrappers, Fast Food containers and yes once in a while a Cat. To answer my question, Cats consist of 8% of an urban Coyote's diet, Martinez stated, she is a graduate student a Cal State Fullerton. To me that is a surprise, maybe it's higher in other areas, perhaps lower, but this study so far reports 8%, Cats. Another surprise and I thought it would be a much higher number but very few roof Rats consisted of their diet as well, once in a while one would be found. Researchers surmise one of the reasons may be because Rats are excellent climbers, and fast. It's very difficult to determine if the remains are those of another canine, to determine if a Chihuahua is included, for example, the canine DNA in the

One picture is worth a thousand words.

Coyotes stomach mixes with the DNA of the remains, making identification nearly impossible. Keeping their protective gear on, rubber gloves up to the elbows, define the stench as a sickeningly sweet, fetid, disgusting, and lastly shocking, I don't dought any of those findings. They do say it is an odor that can be gotten used to, I can see that, I've done some disgusting tasks as well. It is much easier to identify animals by their "scat", I do it all the time, we need to know who our neighborhood animals are. The Coyotes are doing very well in that huge metropolitan area, there are still many areas in and around L.A. that are very isolated, it's a land of desert, mountains, beaches, and parks. They are adapting very well to the city, reports of sightings have increased as more and more of the animals frequent areas occupied by humans. Bites are also on the rise, the closer people are associated with wild animals the more likely the interaction will end up poorly for one of them, sometimes it is us. Over the past five years, 39 people have been bitten, it is a surprise to me, I have recently written a blog where I stated almost no bites have occurred. Apparently, the source I used took in a much larger demographic area. (Bites are another blog which I will take on again in the next few days.) Typical stomach contents consist of a small Snake, a Paw from a squirrel, seeds, an animals tail, parts of a Mule Deer, and various pieces of plastic, no cats or other domestic animals. That is not to say they don't eat them, they are animals that take advantage of the situation, if it's easy to get an animal, well that's what they will consume, it appears they will eat anything.

Feral Cats now share their habitat with wild Coyotes.

  According to this study so far this year, 2018, domestic pets do not consist of an overly large number of them. Garbage, and the typical animals that make up our Urban jungle it is a relief to discover that, in a sense. The Coyotes that frequent my levee most likely did take advantage of the easy pickings of the Cats down the road, I take comfort in the report the number may not be as high as rumors suggest. I have seen the huge Red Tailed Hawk take as many as one a day, it's a female with a wingspan of what looks like 4 feet, it may be wider, the males are the smaller of the birds. Now, as my brain works, I wonder how much of an impact the diets of Raccoons, Fox, and Weasels have on domestic animals. I cannot help but wonder the impact of Feral Cats on the local environment, all worthy of investigation.
  I appreciate you taking your time to read and share my blog, leave a comment, these are Urban Coyotes, the ones that frequent my levee are more rural, I'm sure people reading this reside in very rural areas which poses an entirely different co-existence with the predator, fill me in, Thanks again for reading!
  A special thanks to Los Angelos Times reporter Louis Sahagun for his contribution to my blog. 
jacquesandkate  EmergencyKitsPlus.com 

Being self-reliant depends on supplying our own electrical power, is solar the answer, this is my opinion what's yours?

  It's been raining this late winter/early spring in California, mudslides have returned, high winds, and canceled airplane flights. It seems in San Francisco when it begins to rain the flight cancelations begin as well, so my wife and I canceled our flight to and from Las Vegas. We are not really Vegas people, we do like the shows but living close to the City we can always go there for a top rated one. I'm not a gambler, my dad told me early in life don't bet any more money than you can afford to lose, so I don't gamble. Our youngest daughters wedding was last weekend. We decided to drive, actually, my wife does all of the driving, I can no longer drive, my legs don't co-operate with the rest of the world any longer, canes, scooters, and wheelchairs are my world now. It's OK, I do a lot of other stuff, besides my wife needs my help driving, no more comments on that, she reads the blog. The trip went well, it was raining most of the way there, windy, rainy, and low visibility. It took us 10 hours to get there, total, we stopped in Mojave for the night then drove just over 3 hours the next day. Las Vegas has grown big time, in 1990 there were about 350,000+ residents, today there is over 2,000,000, and a lot of construction. If you need a job and you are in the construction or Casino industry's, Vegas may just be the spot for you.

I took this photo from the car window at 75 mph, the tower is over
400 feet high, 173,500 mirrors supply the heat. 

  I'm an old dinosaur of the electric generating industry, I spent 20 years total working at several different plants. I worked in two biomass plants, one in the California desert near the town of Mecca, it's just north of the Salton Sea. The second wood burner I worked at was in the town of Tracy, about 50 miles east of San Francisco. I worked at 9 different gas turbine generators, "combined cycles", jet engines are the heat source, some spun a "free" turbine which drives a generator, others merely made steam to drive a steam turbine. The free turbine is classified as a "combined" cycle, it made steam to drive a steam turbine as well as the free turbine. The Gas Turbine plants are fueled with natural gas, a greenhouse contributing fuel. The biomass plants emissions were greenhouse contributors as well, however, they had different issues also, the environmental impact was large, partly made up by burning wood waste that would otherwise have ended up in a landfill. The biomass plants generate an extreme amount of wood ash, which is a toxic waste due to the structure of the ash particles. The fuel delivery systems and the ash systems create an unbelievable amount of maintenance, first-year growth in wood contains a lot of silica, acting like a sandblaster in the fireboxes (commonly known as a "boiler"). The silica tears up the boiler tubes, (water wall), in a fluidized circulating bed combustor the steel tubes look like a garden rake was taken to them causing deep gouges that need to be repaired in most plants twice a year. In a fluidized bed combustor, the damage is mostly realized in the air delivery system on the bottom of the fire box. Coal and Petroleum Coke (think of it as synthetic coal) plants suffer an immense amount of maintenance needs in the fuel delivery systems as well, it is also very abrasive. Gas turbine plants have no such demands, all of the fuel is delivered via high-pressure natural gas pipes that criss-cross the country. The number of fans, pumps, valves, emission controls and electronic monitoring systems exerts their muscle as well, requiring expensive yearly rebuilds.
  Such is the main subject of this blog, I am amazed by what to me is "new" technology, but to the industry was nearly obsolete the day it was placed online. Leaving Las Vegas driving west on Interstate 15 which connects Los Angelos to the rest of the South West, five miles after crossing the state line on the right side of the highway, (I want to say the west side, but I'm not sure it may be to the north) is the new (to me) Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Plant. There are many opinions of the project, of which I know very little about the technology but it does follow the basic rules of electric generation, heat + water = Steam to drive a turbine. The largest Solar Thermal System in the world creates 377 megawatts of power, enough to supply 140,000 homes in California during the peak operating times, normally from 9 am-6 pm, it will reduce CO2 exhausted into the atmosphere by more than 400,000 tons per year. when compared to a comparable gas turbine plant, 173,500 heliostats (mirrors) follow the sun, directing the sun's power to a heat collector atop a tower 400 feet above the desert floor. The heat collects in what I would call the "fire box" because that's how I understand the process, I don't know the terminology. Inside the fire box is a boiler with a water wall of boiler tubes turning water into steam which is directed within high-pressure piping to a steam turbine 400 feet below it. Water is boiled to produce the steam, it is an enclosed system using 95% less water than a comparable power plant using an "open" system cooling tower. The steam turbine performs the same as other plants spinning a generator to produce power, which needs to be used as it is being produced. There are times when too much power is made, which requires the plant to give electricity to the state of Nevada, often having to pay them to take it.

Typical Gas Turbine electric generating plant.

 Making electricity is very expensive, it appears that to make a profit of $1.00, the company's had to spend $5.00. So naturally driving across the country I notice every power plant we pass, my wife is not really interested in hearing about them, especially when I say, "pull over so I can take a picture of that one." I take pictures out of the car window, we have 2005 Excursion, huge vehicle but very comfortable.
  There have been problems with the plant, bird deaths, no way to store the power for later use, it is more expensive to produce and having to pay to relieve itself of excess power production. I certainly don't want to trivialize any of these concerns, to me there is one thing that makes this project more than worth it.
  Sometimes to make positive steps we have to meet challenges that don't always work out to be exactly to plan, we all like it when a plan goes well. In my opinion, most of the time a horizontal step that is slightly forward is well worth the cost and the effort, I feel this project is one of those. It is more (in my opinion) a step at a 45-degree angle to the positive, it is not a step back, or even slightly back. I compare it to my planting of potatoes and cantaloupe in a "leaf tower", will it work? By all calculations and planning the cantaloupes should grow, and if they don't does it mean its a failure? I don't think so, I think if it doesn't I will back up and try again, in a slightly different manner learning from my first attempt. So goes engineering, and the Ivanpah plant, this may not be the future of power generation but the knowledge gained from it is nothing but positive. In the future creating heat with the sun and producing steam will most likely look totally different, the bird deaths which are a major concern of any project will be dealt with positively, it's no reason to stop trying. The glitches in the controllers of the mirrors will be an issue of the past, as well as the monetary concerns.  (This is a very interesting Link to Bechtel's presentation page, several interesting videos are on it)
  What about storage, It has been my opinion for a long time that the future of electrical service to homes especially resides in battery storage, each home could have a bank of batteries to store power, charging them during off-peak hours is a possibility. The research being done on batteries, Tesla is one company, is barrier-breaking, in the future we each could have high tech batteries with a trickle charger, connected to the power grid. Part of Californias plan is to include rooftop solar panels in the plan for the power supply to be 25% renewable energy by the year 2025, 50% by 2050. We could easily power our homes with stored energy, charging them when the power is available, from the utility. Powering our homes 24 hours per day off of the battery bank, charging during the day, yes peak hours that's when the sun shines, it would store enough power to keep each home supplied during brownouts, and power outages, we would not notice when the power went out. I have been thinking lately the need for solar panels is already obsolete, much like the Ivanpah project or more gas turbines. Storage may well be the answer, and it would make us all more self-reliant. It has never made sense to me to stay connected to the utility if I have solar panels, my goal would be to be rid of Pacific Gas and Electric. Using the utility's energy to trickle charge batteries versus installing expensive solar panels which we do not own makes a lot of sense to me. It makes more sense if I install solar panels to join with 5-10 other neighbors, install the panels and batteries, disconnect from the Utility and form a small power company selling the excess power to 2-3 other neighbors at a much-reduced rate. To install solar panels and sell the excess to the Utility so they can, in turn, sell it at an inflated price makes no sense if I install them I want to be disconnected. The huge solar projects like Ivanpah may be the ticket to achieve that goal.

20-12 volt batteries connected in series will supply 240 volts, single
phase, 10-12 volt batteries in series will supply 120 volts.

  There are many other issues concerning Ivanpah, but man it is the correct direction for us to head like I said in 20 years solar generation may not resemble that project at all, but we will have learned a lot. There are many ways to generate electric power, wind, hydro, solar, and the earth. The earth is actually a generator, the spinning ball of iron in the core creates a magnetic field, which is electricity, scientists are now hypothesizing it may be able to supply wireless electrical power. I think within the next 100 years that may become a reality, Nicola Tesla thought so as well.
  Thank you for reading and sharing my blog, self-reliance depends on providing electrical energy for ourselves, sustainable energy without the use of fossil fuels. The Wright brothers did not carry 200 passengers on their flight at Kitty Hawk, only one was on the plane and look what it started. Thanks again, leave a comment tell me what you think, that's what's important, not my rambling on.
jacquesandkate  EmergencyKitsPlus.com
 

Hygiene is extremely important during and after an electrical outage caused by a natural disaster, it's important.

  I've been writing about electrical power outages lately, my last two blogs have talked about being prepared for a one-week outage and the second was written about outages that extend for a month or longer. I chose power outages because most of the time when a natural disaster strikes the first casualty is our electrical system. The state of California Legislature is talking about a mandatory requirement for electric utilities to shut the electrical transmission lines down when a wildfire breaks out. The wildfires we experienced last year, 2017, have been suspected of being started by problems in the distribution system, and there are plenty of them in the remote areas of the state. It's a little-known fact to those who live outside of the state that it is actually an area with a lot of desolate country. It's not a long journey to be in the middle of nowhere, even when close to one of the big cities when the electrical service is interrupted in one of those areas all conveniences are lost.

It could be caused by the electric distribution system.

  There is another concern we have to deal with during a blackout, and that is how to keep clean, hygiene and sanitation. To keep diseases from spreading like the wildfire that may have been the start of this event it is important to pay attention to our personal hygiene. Clean water is once again the most important ingredient of cleanliness as well, it is essential for scrubbing our hands and in case someone suffers an injury. Keeping clean is especially important during and after a flood, the flood water carries an enormous amount of chemicals, oils, and waste from various processes. The water we use for hygiene should be when at all possible as clean as the water we drink if that is not a possibility the use of raw water with plenty of soap will answer the call. Be careful not to get the dirty water in your mouth, nose, or eyes, the viruses and bacteria can be deadly.
  Use water that has been boiled for at least 30 minutes, by adding a few drops of unscented chlorine bleach it will be safe for drinking or washing of hands. When washing hands they need to be scrubbed well, remember it is a compromising situation, work up a sudsy lather being sure to wash all areas of the hands. Paying particular attention to the spaces between the fingers and under fingernails. (Link to the importance of clean hands) They need to be scrubbed for a minimum of 20 seconds, if we count to 30 that will ensure it has been at least 20 seconds It is best to rinse our hands well under running water, but most locals will not have water service during an electrical outage, if you do use the water that comes out of the tap. If tap water is not available, or if it is and a directive has been issued by a government agency that the tap water is not safe, it must be boiled. During a natural disaster, it is fairly common for all of the water to be declared unsafe. Finish with drying our hands with the cleanest towel available or let them air dry, we need to wash our hands often during a compromised situation. Commercially built sanitation centers are available, some include enclosures with a shower, toilet, and sink with a water reservoir of some sort. It's quite simple to build a temporary sanitation center as well consisting of a jug of clean water, soap, and a hand towel or clean rag. Washing hands with soap and clean water are the best way to combat germs, if clean water and soap are not available then a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol will work on unsoiled hands. Alcohol-based sanitizers eliminate a lot of germs, however not all of them that soap and water will, and they do not work when one's hands are dirty.

All we will need is one.

  Never use flood water, or contaminated water under any circumstances for drinking, cleaning, or cooking, even if it is filtered, and boiled.
  Bathing is a little different, water that has not been boiled or filtered may be used for bathing or in a shower, be very careful not to swallow it or splash the water in your eyes, nose, or ears. If the person has any open wounds, rashes, scrapes, or blisters, untreated water should not be relied upon for a bath or shower. If flooding has occurred and water is pumped from a well it will be contaminated, do not drink the water or use it for hygienic purposes, the well water needs to be lab tested for impurities prior to use. If a well is suspected of being contaminated it is advisable to notify the local, state, tribal or federal health department, they will check it for you.
  The same goes for dental hygiene, only use clean water to brush your teeth, the local authorities can tell you when the tap water is safe to use. It is prudent to have a sanitation center set up, that way a gallon or more of cleaned up water will be readily available for oral hygiene. (Link to the CDC's paper on oral health)
  Someone always has a need for a band-aid, in my younger days it seems to look back I always sported a band-aid somewhere on a finger, toe, or arm. If someone does have an open wound it should never come in contact with flood water. Wash the wound with the cleanest water you have, filtered and boiled is best when kept at a warm temperature. Wash the wound area with plenty of warm water and soap, suds are what carry off germs, and dirt so we want to work up a healthy lather. Application of a wound disinfectant is advisable then covered with a waterproof bandage changed daily will greatly reduce the chance of infection. When the bandage is changed, which should be once a day, wash the wound each time well with cleaned water and soap. If the wound begins to swell, turn red, oozy, or feel warm to the touch, medical attention needs to be sought. We have no idea what is in flood water if it mixes with ocean water combined with some bacteria's which naturally occur in salt water infection will almost always be sure to follow.
  During natural disasters, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Wildfires, and Floods the risk of injury is high. Rapid response to even the smallest wound can mean the difference between it healing with no problems and getting infected with dire consequences. Always wash your hands prior to cleaning and dressing a wound, then wash them again after the wound is dressed. If water is not available use of an alcohol solution of at least 60% will suffice.
  Wounds and other injuries can happen in the blink of an eye, it makes little difference if the event has been of a one-minute duration or one month's time. Medical help during the first hours of a natural disaster will not be available, certainly. There are some instances when medical attention will be needed as soon as possible, such as an animal bite. If the injury is caused by a foreign object, soil, wood sliver, metal or steel shaving, snake or insect bites, medical help should be sought as soon as possible.

I'm going to let this guy stitch me up? Maybe. 

If an old wound starts to weep, swell up, get hot to the touch, turns deep red or begins draining, immediate help is needed. I many years ago suffered a deep gash just above my right knee. it was caused when I accidentally gouged it with a steel grinder that had an aluminum oxide cutting disc attached. The injury was about 2 inches long, 1/2 inch wide, and 1/2 inch deep, I received a bunch of stitches, I have had a lot of stitches in my life. The wound got infected, badly, it displayed all of the symptoms described above as an alarm to seek medical attention. I went to the doctor, it was grossly swelled to about 1/2 again the size of my leg, and it hurt. The doctor treated it, that hurt as well, then he told me if I had done that 10 years prior to that my leg would have had to be amputated. 10 years earlier would have been the mid 70's, that experience taught me to take wounds very seriously. It's prudent to keep them clean, covered, and completely dry, infections are easy to set in under the right conditions. I still have the scar as a reminder. During the Civil war, infection in wounds killed as many or more soldiers as the fighting did. (Follow this Link to a first aid kit)
  No matter what happens water is always part of the answer, whether cleaning, drinking, or eating, electric utility outages and water go hand and hand. It's prudent to have a case or two of water on hand at all times, we don't know when we will be in need of it. It's more important than food, we can live a few weeks hungry and three days thirsty. There are places in Puerto Rico still without electrical power or water, it has been months, maybe we should take that to heart.
  Thank you for reading and sharing my blog, Give some thought to rotating water through your pantry, it will become second nature in short order. Thanks again for reading.
jacquesandkate  EmergencyKitsPlus.com

All important water, the likelihood of a complete collapse of society and being self-reliant in the face of a shortage

  I am still learning how to make videos, there is a lot more to it than I thought, I was under the impression all that I had to do was aim and shoot. Not quite that simple, to catch a bird flying it must take years of practice, by the way, the camera shakes it appears as if I am toppling over behind it. Everything affects the picture, wind, shaky old guy, people walking by, dangit, I will catch on, I won't be a pro but I will get to the point that I know what all the buttons do. It's very enjoyable, I have coffee on the waterside deck most mornings, that's what drove me to video recording, something totally new happens out there every day, so I wanted to capture it. I think a lot about the water, I am a water person as well as a proponent of self-reliance, when I look at the water I am reminded that is our source of water if we should ever run out.

This is my emergency water source, I don't even think about what
the critters do in it. 

  My last blog was written about being ready for an electrical interruption lasting for a period of one week, I wrote a brief description of what my wife and I have planned if we are in that predicament. One week's outage is a long time for the power to be off, the cause of it would have to be a major natural disaster. I don't address social upheaval because it is my belief the likelihood of a battle of that size is extremely unlikely. Everyone has their own opinion and mine is I just can't buy into the idea that our social structure will collapse, most of the social uprisings I have seen in my life have been very localized. Take for example the Detroit riots during the 1960's, I was young, about 13 years old and those problems had me really scared. Detroit is a long way from Minneapolis where I was raised, but still, I had the idea that somehow it would affect my town. I guess that's human nature, many years later my daughter was the same age at the time of the Rodney King riots in Los Angelos. She was scared at that time as I was in my younger days, she was so scared I took her to work with me, the riots never made it to Fresno where we lived. I was in downtown Memphis on the second anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther Kings murder, there were 10,000 people in the street, we were trying to make our way through the confusion, it was uneventful, a relatively peaceful event. If our society did not collapse during any of the major events of the 1960's, I don't believe it will collapse now. During those days the people were highly organized, the Black Panthers, Symbionese Liberation Army, Weathermen, and the Students for a Democratic Society, plus all of the anti-war protesters. Then throw in all of the Civil Rights and Segregation marches and demonstrations, those times were a lot more precarious than what we are facing now. I just don't think our Government or our way of life is that fragile, so I am not an advocate for preparing for a long-term widespread social upheaval type of an event.
  I do however believe the possibility of a naturally occurring event having the potential to cause an interruption in our lives for an extended period of time. In my last blog, I discussed an electrical outage lasting one week, that is an extended length of time, I have been in one that lasted a few days. In this blog I want to discuss a longer period without electrical services, again I think there would have to be a major disaster for that to be realized. (Link to how to prepare for a long-term power outage) Wildfire is a real possibility, an Earthquake would have to be huge, tornadoes are more likely to cause a long outage along with Floods and Hurricanes, Blizzards in the North Eastern United States cause long outages every few years, still not predictably common. I realize the destruction does last for a long time, especially if homes need to be completely rebuilt, and if the infrastructure is destroyed. When my neighbor's houses burned down an insurance estimator told me it typically takes two years for a house to be rebuilt after it is destroyed. Even so, the human condition is attended to fairly rapidly, we have many agencies in Government and private non-profits who are quick in their responses. The possibilities still are there for an extended period where we will have to provide for ourselves, during a disaster no matter how "johnny on the spot", relief agencies are it still takes a while for a response. That response is delayed by the size of the disaster, and if there are others taking place in other areas of the country or our nearby world as happened last year. For us to depend on being "saved" by our government is in my opinion, folly, we need to take measures on our own to assure our own survival. (Follow this Link to FEMA's preparedness guide)
  It all takes on the same general scheme of things, I recommend no less than a 3 month's supply of food in the pantry, 6 month's supply would be the maximum for canned food. After the 6 month's dehydrated food should be relied upon, it has a long shelf life and it will not spoil. Canned food has a long shelf life as well however it does retain the possibility of the cans becoming compromised, and the number of dishes and clean up when preparing and consuming full meals from cans may become daunting. It would not be a problem if water were to be readily available, and that is where every catastrophic event renders down to, availability of water. Dehydrated food is prepared by adding hot or boiling water, there is no big pot of beans or lasagna that needs to be scrubbed clean, the hot water in the boiling vessel needs not follow up cleaning. There must be a water source available to satisfy our need, storing water for a period longer than a week is a major project, it's a year-round project maintaining the storage systems. 100 gallons of water will supply two adults with the minimum amount of water to stay alive for about a 2 month period, that is very little for hygiene uses. In fact, after the first week, we would have to begin "making" water, that is making it safe to drink, and use for preparing food.

Even if the water is filtered it should be boiled for 1/2 hour.

  The first concern is to have a water source if a person lives in a city, or a desert a standing water supply will be tough to find. I question whether in a major city if after the first-week drinking water would be a problem, I have faith the local authorities will be able to have enough to satisfy the population. If we take into account the recommended daily intake of water is 1/2 gallon for a healthy adult, in a city with 2 million people it would require 1 million gallons a day to satisfy the demand. That is a lot of water, it is in the cities best interest to get the water systems up and running as soon as possible. It's my belief if city residents have water supplies for a one week period, the government agencies will either have restored the water system or will supply the amount needed for the people. It will be a gigantic effort to do so, but most locals have an emergency response plan in place which covers this essential commodity. It's no secret water will be scarce during and after a catastrophic event, even with my comments placing ourselves in a position to be able to supply our own water is essential even in a big city.
  Those of us in a rural area may be faced with a more challenging situation, we will most likely be on our own for a substantial amount of time. A long duration especially if a large city is impacted and what the damages are if rural houses are still intact and suffering from a utility outage it may not be as high of a priority as a city that has lost most of their homes to a Tornado or Hurricane.
  Catastrophe's rarely come one at a time, with Earthquakes there is fire following and a power outage. Wildfire, always the power is lost, loss of all utilities, as a matter of fact, Tornados and Hurricanes invite flooding to follow, blizzards freezing, power outages and later during the thaw possible flooding. In our location for example if a major Earthquake were to devastate San Francisco I question how much attention would be paid to an island of people in the middle of nowhere. I don't worry about an influx of city dwellers overrunning us and demanding something, that won't happen, most of the people in the city will stay put. I believe in the case of a major Earthquake, I'm talking about 8 or 9 magnitudes, and the ensuing fires all resources will be taxed to the maximum, even so, I can't imagine the event lasting longer than a month on the outside. As a side note, the best way to escape San Francisco would be by water, it's possible to get several hundred miles away inland and the distance by way of the ocean is endless.

Water is important enough to stand in line for.

  When we lose our electrical service we lose our water, we are on a shared well, actually a series of wells but it's not potable water anyway so most people here have water on hand for a short period. For a longer length of time, the solution here and I am sure other areas as well is to have a water purifier with a hand pump. They range in price from $100 to whatever a person wants to spend, in my opinion, a hand pump made of stainless steel capable of filtering to 2 microns is the optimum one to purchase. They are in the $1500 dollar range, and it depends a lot on what the possibility is that it will ever have to be used. If water is not readily available in a creek, lake, pond, or river the purchase may not be very prudent, but if it is like on our island it is prudent to have one on hand. Even after the water is filtered it should be boiled for 1/2 hour then treated with unscented chlorine bleach. In some extremely isolated areas, a second well with a hand pump may be a wise investment.
  It always comes back to water, we can have all of the equipment under the sun, all of the food we need for years, but for a lack of water, it is all in vain. Prepare for water first, then food, but have both available, and plan to make water some way, without it we cannot survive very long.
  Thank you for reading and sharing my blog, give some thought to water and preparations for a one week period at least, a six month period is recommended plans for longer should be centered around dehydrated meals, and of course plenty of water. Thanks again, I hope this all makes sense.
jacquesandkate  EmergencyKitsPlus.com
 

  I expect to lose electrical service once in a while, I suspect most people do, where I live if it rains we will probably have an interruption. It happened yesterday, the power was out for about 1-1/2 minutes, just long enough to cause the clocks to lose time.

Those power lines are between me and the Mount Diablo. During
hot days they slump to about 30 feet above the pasture, 20 feet
lower than normal, it's a worry some of the time.

There are clocks everywhere, just in the kitchen, there are three prominent ones, on the stove, coffee maker, and the microwave. I don't set them all like I've said numerous times, I have two times in my life, the time the sun is out and the time the sun isn't out. None the less electricity is still a much-needed commodity and when we have to do without even for a short few hours it is an irritant. It's pretty rare to experience an outage for longer than several hours, a few days is fairly common and one lasting for over a week is rare. The Northeastern United States is the area that comes to my mind when I think of long-term outages, most likely because I remember the huge blackout that occurred in the early 1960's. There is another one being experienced now due to the relentless barrage of blizzards they are experiencing this winter. Every area of the country has a different event that could shut down the electrical systems, the East and North have blizzards, the Midwest has Tornadoes as an example. The area I live is threatened by Wildfire and Earthquake, they are just two of the main disasters that may affect us. If an event were to take place lasting one or two days most of us would survive just fine, in fact, many of us have, besides the inconvenience, it is virtually painless.
  Two days is about the limit of supplies we have in our pantries, and refrigerators, if a freezer is in use there is a much longer supply, however fragile the preservation is after a week or so. (Use this Link to learn what the Department of Power and Energy has to say about outages)
  Three days is when we start running into problems, water has run out, cooking is tricky at best, and the food in the refrigerator is starting to go bad. The refrigerator food has to be monitored closely at this point, it's time to start tossing questionable food items in the trash. It would be nice to be able to construct a list of food spoiling on a time basis, but unfortunately, it's a judgment call by the people looking at it. There are some guidelines published by Government agencies but still, it remains a judgment call on our behalf. It is my conviction every food item in the refrigerator should be discarded on the fourth day, that's right just arbitrarily throw it away it's not worth the risk of getting ill. I can't think of a more miserable experience than to suffer food poisoning with no toilet facilities, and that's not the worse of it. Food poisoning can be deadly, I don't feel it's worth the risk. (Link to what the FDA has to say about food safety during a power outage or flood.)
  Then there is the food in the freezer, the one that's part of your refrigerator, if it's like ours there is some stuff that should be tossed as it thaws. Don't discard it unless if it is thawed, keep it as long as it is cold to help retain the temperature in the box if it is thawed do not consume it. Water in freeze proof containers is a good idea to place in the bottom of the freezer, it will become ice blocks and help keep the foods frozen. The ice packs have a second life as well when they thaw the water in them can be consumed. Open the door of the freezer sparingly, it's a judgment call whether to use the food in the fridge first or the food in the freezer. Our plan is to use all of the "leftovers" in the fridge first, they most likely have a shorter life after being cooked. We will all eat well for the first two days or so, hopefully, the frozen food will survive that long, and I think it should. Don't go by my word though, again when it comes to the freshness of food it is each one of our responsibilities to determine its condition and if it is safe to consume. If any food is in dought it must be disposed of. A big cookout may be the answer, BBQ everything in the freezer and invite the neighbors over, they may appreciate it, more than likely they will have items that need to be cooked as well.

I don't have that much in the freezer.

  By the fourth day, most of the refrigerated food will be gone, if not toss it and scrub out the fridge with a water and bleach solution to keep mold away, do the same in the freezer when it is emptied. It is now time to go to the canned, and dry foods in the pantry, rice, beans, oatmeal, and noodles are examples of food that has a long shelf life and will be safe for a power outage lasting for a one week period. All of the canned foods should be safe just rely on the normal day to day precautions we use all of the time. If a can is swelled with the lid bulging out, don't use it, or if the can is corrupted in any way it should not be used. Watch the bread and pastries closely, in warm temperatures with high humidity mold forms rapidly, throw any moldy food in the trash, then immediately dispose of it outdoors. A precaution worth taking at virtually no expense to us outside of our normal food budgets is to keep at least one week's supply of canned and dry foods in the pantry. This is out of the theme of this blog but it is my opinion we should have 3-6 months of canned food stocked, a maximum of 6 months. That's another blog, however.
  Then there is the cooking, there are many ways to accomplish it, but there are some preparations that need to be attended to. There has to be something to create heat, a Bar-B-Que, Campstove, Propane burner, or maybe a Solar Oven, some way to generate heat. That heat source also needs to be able to boil water which I will get into the next section. The refrigerator and freezer are easy to cook, most of the food can be warmed up or cooked on an outdoor grill, creating no dishes. When the pantry foods begin to be used however dishes will be created. The reason I bring up dishes is due to the last issue I want to talk about, it's the last and the most important item to pay attention to.
  Water, unknown to most of us it is the most important and least thought of commodity in our lives. Water is easily obtained when times are good, however, when an emergency like a power outage occurs it is the first to be depleted. It is the first item to be used mainly because we take it for granted many times. For instance, we have three, five-gallon jugs on hand most of the time and at least two cases of bottled water. It's not solely due to our being "prepared", it is mainly because the water piped into our home is not potable, we always have water stored because we have to. In our case 15 gallons plus a few cases of bottled water will supply us for a week, seven days maybe one or two more. In the event, the electrical service is out for longer than seven days a method to purify water must be available. (Use this Link to learn how to purify water)
A cookstove and a pot are the basic tools to satisfy that requirement, boil for 1/2 hour and add a few drops of unscented bleach, OK easy enough, let it cool and we are good to go. There are many pots available for boiling water, from percolating coffee pots to dutch ovens or many other pots and pans in the kitchen cabinets. There are pots available that are employed by building a small fire of twigs in the hollow center of the pot, the sidewall is a jacketed container of about one quart (liter). The fire burns in the center and boils the water in the outer shell, it is fast, efficient, and handy. My preferred method is to pump the water through a filter membrane, either a hand pump, gravity, or a suction straw (for one person) are good choices. The pumps range in price from $20 for a straw style to over $1500.00 for a top of the line stainless steel hand pump. Reverse Osmosis systems equipped with a hand pump are fairly simple and inexpensive to make, the expense depends on how much and what we want to filter out. The final concern about having enough water is, Water, we need a water source, a creek, river, lake, or another large body of water that is not standing still. Do not use stagnant water, flood water, or water used to extinguish a fire, there are bacteria and viruses in some of them that if unknown will remain in the water. That is the reason that no matter where the water is obtained from after filtering it should still be boiled, to kill all the nasty bugs we don't know about, add a few drops of unscented bleach and the water that has been filtered, boiled, and treated with bleach will be fine. Which is why the creation of dishes can become a huge headache, making water for 8-10 hours straight is not my idea of having fun.
 

In 1906 fire was one of the major results of the Earthquake, now
it may just be water. During the fires the city fire hydrants did run
out of water, all except for one, it's now painted gold and is by the
Dolores Park and Mission.

The cause of a long duration blackout in my area will most likely be an Earthquake, I don't want to trivialize that type of disaster but we have gone two almost three generations in California since the big Earthquake in San Franciso of 1906. One of the biggest problems during and after that event was the fires which followed, many of the people that lived in that time had been raised with no electrical service. Being raised without power then experiencing an event that took it away would on that day most likely have been no big deal, what a contrast between then and now. It would have to be a huge devastating Earthquake to cause a 7 day or longer blackout, but still, I want to be at least set up half way for it. (Link to an example of a dried food kit)
  Thank you for reading and sharing my blog, give some thought to power outages and just how ready you are for one, pay particular attention to your water needs, it's more important than food, or heat.
jacquesandkate  EmergencyKitsPlus.com 

It's time to prepare for wildfires, prepare zone 1 and zone 2 now, I explain it in this blog.

  The rain continues to fall, saturating the ground making everything green when the sun shows a person can almost hear the grass and weeds grow. I keep looking out the window into the garden to see if my potato tower is doing anything, it isn't, of course, I just put it together last week. I will plant the garden on and after April 1st, (my wife's birthday), the frost is most likely over for the year.(I woke up this morning 3/18/18 to frost, my weather prediction as usual is way off.) The pasture across the river is in its full glory, knee-high grass, and bright green.

It's nice and green now after the rain stops it will turn golden.

  The grass is growing, when the rain stops it doesn't take very long for it to turn brown. I'm not sure but I've heard that's where the motto of California comes from, "The Golden State", all the grass and weeds turn golden during the spring and summer. I was looking at the rain pouring down on the Diablo Range of Mountains west of my house, Mount Diablo is due West. That's the mountain I saw a wildfire started one spring day a few years ago, it started with a puff of smoke. A plume of smoke was not far behind the initial dot, I have never found out what started it. That fire grew rapidly, coursing its way up the side of the mountain it soon covered a good 1/4 of the mountain in my sight. Wildfires travel uphill very quickly, they will go downhill but the progress is much slower, that's what this one did it ran up the hill. It was not a huge fire, but I'm fairly certain if you're on the fire line fighting it small or large can't make a lot of difference. There are no structures on that mountain until the top where the State has tourist buildings. There is also a beacon, the light is lit on December 7 each year and shines until dawn December 8, The Beacon was originally lit in 1928 by Charles Lindberg to commemorate the early days of flying. It was lit each night until December 8, 1941, the day following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Then continued on December 7 after the war.
  During the rain, we hardly think about wildfires but now may be the best time to start making preparations for what we know is unfortunately sure to come. It's cool out and the ground is soft which makes digging and pulling stumps and trees out of the ground a bit easier. We can take a look around the house to either maintain the defensive zone or if one is none existent we can construct one. The defensible zone consist of 2 areas which adjoin one another, I've made a list of some of the tasks we can accomplish starting today:

Zone 1:
   * A space surrounding the house extending 30 feet from any structure, decks, garages, and outbuildings.
   * All vegetation needs to be removed, dead plants, fallen trees, dead trees, and plants all should go.
   * Clean rain gutters, roofs, leaves and dead pine needles and boughs.
   * Tree branches need to be trimmed to be sure there is a 10-foot distance between trees and buildings. Call your electric utility company to trim limbs away from power lines. Don't perform this task yourself, utility companies are responsible for this, they hire experts.
    * All tree branches that are above the roof need to be removed, making especially sure to keep at least a 10-foot distance from a chimney.
    * If there is firewood stacked in this zone, it needs to be moved to zone 2.
    * Clear shrubs and bushes from windows, in the high temperatures created by a wildfire they can appear to explode into a ball of fire.
    * Clean clutter, and all flammables from around and under the decks, stairs, and outbuildings.
    * Make sure there is plenty of space between flammable objects.

Zone 2:
    * A 100-foot clear space that extends out from the house, outbuildings, and all structures.
    * Keep the annual grasses mowed, a maximum height of 4 inches.
    * Trees and bushes need a horizontal spacing of at least 10 feet.
    * The space from the ground to the bottom branches of trees, bushes, and shrubs should be 6 feet at a minimum.
    * Remove all fallen leaves, tree limbs, twigs, and flammable materials, some jurisdictions allow them to a depth of 3 inches. Check with your local fire authorities.

  Vegetation on hills require more spacing than trees, shrubs, and bushes on a flat level surface, the steeper the slope the more spacing needed between them. All branches need to be removed up to at least 6 feet from the ground. Fire will climb the branches of a tree like a ladder, causing larger hotter fires and endangering the firefighting personnel.
  Fire resistant plants can be planted as well, when placed strategically they resist the spread of fire, reducing the threat to the home. Fire resistant landscaping is not very expensive, it can conserve water, and increase the value of your home. Its spring and time to plant if new landscaping is planned now is the time and most fire-resistant plants conserve water.
This is a Link to the Homeowners checklist, How to make your home fire safe.
  Leave the firefighting to the fire department, I have been involved in a lot of fires, airplane, barn fires, and fires on board a ship. My neighbors' houses burned 6 years ago, two burned to the ground, one suffered extensive damage. A phone call roused my wife and I at 2 am, my neighbor ladies voice was on the other end, "get out of your house we have a huge fire!" After dressing and running upstairs to a window I observed a wall of flames which seemed to be over 50 feet high, two houses were totally engulfed in flames, the fire department was still 15 minutes away. When I got to the levee I saw my neighbor lady and her husband with garden hoses on their deck next to the house spraying water on it. She was in her nightgown, wearing flip-flops, standing next to a big pine tree which was 20 feet from the towering flames, I thought she was a goner. I had visions of that tree bursting into a fireball with her suffering the brunt of the burst of flames.

Trees will explode into a fire under the right conditions, stay clear
of them during a fire.

It never happened, the fire department did arrive, we live far from a fire station when they showed up the firefighters made them evacuate to a safer area. There is more to the story, for a month prior to the fire she had been washing that tree down with a water hose, every day. I asked her what in the heck she was doing, her reply was the tree was dropping huge amounts of yellow pollen, and she suffers severe allergies. She found when she washed the stuff off of the tree, house, and deck it lessened her reaction to it. They were lucky, that tree was soaking wet when the fire started, however when it ended the tree was literally cooked and had to be removed several weeks later, it was most likely moments away from catching fire in a spectacular way. The lesson is to leave the firefighting to the firefighters, don't try to extinguish a fire with a garden hose, especially a wildfire, it is not worth the risk.

  The fire season in the Western States will soon be upon us, if we get a jump on preparing for it we will be steps ahead, and if it happens the damage and loss of life will be reduced. It's unfortunate but when the rain stops the drying starts and it takes just a few days to become tinder dry. Link to a wildfire survival kit.
  Thanks for reading and sharing, I'm thinking about the threat, aware enough to begin to prepare, if we start now it can be accomplished in a stressless environment.
jacquesandkate  EmergencyKitsPlus.com

Homesteader, BushCrafter or Survivalist, where do you fit in the scheme of things, here I'll help figure it out with you.

  I was thinking this morning about a song I play on the guitar, "Stuff that works" by the late Texan Guy Clark. He was a singer-songwriter, he played the guitar, he also built them, that's quite a wide spread of talent and knowledge. The song goes on about "stuff" that works and holds up, well-made things that people can and do rely on. An old guitar, an old car, and his favorite shirt are some of the items that work for him. It's a basic song about basic things by a basic guy who just wants stuff to work, and to be reliable.

Just an old guitar.

  That got me to thinking about our self-awareness and self-reliance, what kind of stuff do we rely on every day out of necessity or comfort. Even more than that I began thinking about how we are all supposed to fit into these neat little categories that I believe have been created to enable the news outlets, politicians, and marketers to target us for various reasons. I have thought that being independent was just being reliant upon oneself as much as possible to the point of knowing when help is needed. That to me is self-awareness to know our limitations.
  I read some postings on Reddit, it's a really good platform for readers and thinkers, I especially like the forums that the younger people moderate and contribute to. The comments on some of the postings are imaginative and funny as all get out, these are people between the ages of 20-40, a fairly wide age group, it has reinforced my belief in them. There are forums for everything, some I contribute to, some I don't. I only comment if I have something constructive to add to the conversation, most of the comments and posts from younger people are out of my wheelhouse, even though I do understand what they are talking about an old guy commenting doesn't add anything to the humor.

All except the dark glasses, I like wireframes.

  Some of the forums are in my demographic but confuse me a bit, this is where being categorized comes in. I read several forums on self-reliance, homesteading, bush crafting, and self-awareness, I read one this morning. The one this morning was written well and informative, the man that wrote it was defining what being a "Bush Crafter" is, and he listed several categories under it. It is my opinion every person on earth could identify with one of his definitions. He talks about learning, and using as many skills as a person is able to develop through education or experience, it is a lifestyle. By his definitions I am a bush crafter, to be honest, I've heard the expression before but did not pay it any attention due to my aversion to being classified, but yeh OK I could be classified as a "Bushcrafter" at a certain level.
  I also read a number of blogs and forums on "Homesteading", these people are mostly young families that own some acreage, typically, although there are some that live in urban areas. They normally are all in on gardening, composting, and have some livestock be it chickens or larger animals, almost all heat their homes with wood, some get along without utility services at all. The blogs I read, and the forums I belong to mostly deal with being self-reliant, self-aware, and being as self-supporting as one can be. Mostly the image that is in my mind of a Homesteader is a wholesome down to earth person, or family, that has an intense interest in renewable resources, developing their own resources, and takes great pride in what they have accomplished. They store food by canning, drying, or using methods that need no refrigeration or equipment of any modern kind, like the Bushcrafters they are very innovative.
  I read forums written and visited by "survivalist", there are a lot of levels of being a survivalist, I stay with the people that take environmental, weather, and natural events as the issues to prepare for surviving. This group works on their self-reliance skills as well as stocking and preparing for long periods of time without utilities, and lack of readily available food or water. They are constantly seeking ways to improve their methods of making sure if any of these events take place they will be able to be sustained with their stored supplies. Many of them store rootstock, seeds, and collect and store water. They are also very interested in how to continue to supply their needs into the future, by being prepared, which means lots of gadgets. Useful gadgets, water purification methods, fire starting, cooking equipment, and shelter.

She is ready, even to hide behind a bush.

  Those are three examples, and the fuel of my thoughts for the past few days, if you have noticed they all seem to be very similar, they are all a lifestyle. A lifestyle that I am not sure if it is a learned type of thing or one that comes naturally, I can identify with all three. They all concentrate on self-reliance, and all of them center on family and community. My question is "why is it we have to classify ourselves?" I have never classified myself into any group, however, I can identify with every one of them, what is it that draws us to identify with one of them and declare ourselves a "homesteader", or "prepper?" I think most of us don't even suspect there is a classification for us on the internet, I have lived this way my entire life, I was raised having to "make do" with what we had, which carried on to my adult life. It is a lifestyle for sure, one that is in many ways not even realized by the people living it, it is that ingrained in their lives.
  I read a blog asking the question about being prepared for a natural or man-induced event, and how important is it to have supplies on hand for a week or so. The writer went on to say that he would classify these three categories, as well as people that prepare for the first three days as a "hobby, and hobbyist". He also compared it to being a camper and classified it as a family activity (which is true). There is some truth in it being a hobby, just like a lot of passions it begins as a hobby but quickly turns into a way of life for many people. It becomes a lifestyle because it makes all the sense in the world to be ready for the unknown, and some of the activities like gardening are actually very enjoyable for many people. Once livestock is acquired there is a lot of responsibility that is delivered on the trailer the animals come in on, from that point on they are 100% dependent on the owners. It hardly classifies that as a hobby, it displays an entirely different personality of the livestock owners and their devotion to not only their lifestyle but the animals as well. (I have a very strong feeling of commitment to my worm farm). When animals are taken on as a responsibility it is not to be taken lightly, if a pasture runs out of the water, guess what the steers will leave to find some.
  Another blog I read was written by a homesteader who had chickens, like 50 of them, his intent was to supplement his income with eggs, that would be about 4 dozen a day. To his surprise mostly, it was a gradual buildup to get to this point, his chickens made so much compost he was selling it. He was raising so many vegetables in his garden that he was selling the surplus as well, it started as a hobby that grew into a full-fledged business. It was still growing as he was writing his blog, but that's how it all works, go after your passions and many times it opens unimaginable doors. Even if we don't classify ourselves, some things that come naturally are meant to "work out", how many times have you heard that?

Camping? Maybe a little bit like it, Hobby? At first yes, after a few
years it's a lifestyle.

  Are they all the same? Bushcrafter, Homesteader and Survivalist, there are a few differences but not enough to make one stand out from another. A Homesteader may have to get up at 2 am to check on the livestock where a Bushcrafter may not have to, whereas a Bushcrafter may have to get up at that hour to check his smokehouse, and a survivalist gets up to check his water reclaiming system in a storm. Basically, all are making efforts to be self-reliant and as independent as they can possibly be these three, and they are a lot alike to me, there is a part of each that make up my personification, I bet you are the same, most of us are.
  Thank you for reading and sharing my blog, the lifestyle we have chosen is fun, interesting, and educational, just because we call ourselves by different names or no name at all doesn't mean we differ all that much, the goal remains the same. My goals are zero garbage and making my own fertilizer, and to never run out of coffee, go figure.
jacquesandkate  EmergencyKitsPlus.com