San Francisco earthquake emergency plan, what do I need if I'm caught in the City during a shaker? 2 things mainly

It can happen again in the flash of a second.

One of my grandson's and I were having a conversation yesterday about emergency preparedness, what  emergency food, water and equipment to have on hand in the case of a nuclear bomb dropping on us. Our conversation took a different direction, it started when I asked him "if you were in San Francisco walking around Fisherman's wharf, and the "Big One" struck what would you do?" He is 20 years old, he will be 21 in November, I remember when I was 21. I was not worried about too much especially an earthquake in California. Apparently he is not very interested in it either, his answer was simply "I'd get out of town." I told him that at least 1 million other people would have the same idea, they would all be heading for one of three ways out, 1) The Bay Bridge. 2) The Golden Gate Bridge. 3) Highway 101 through South San Francisco, all a parking lot during a normal work week, it would become a petrified forest in an emergency evacuation. There is a fourth way out, I don't know for sure if the ferry's would be running so I did not include them. It's my belief that with many people hitting the roads to evacuated the first 10,000 vehicles may make it out before breakdowns, accidents and road rage all take effect. The highways

Here's one way out of town, there is two others across town.

may be unusable, I wonder where everyone would be going anyway, somewhere else is all I can figure. My grandson said he would walk out over the Bay Bridge, I asked him where to Oakland? I then told him that may very well be the only way out, however he would have to walk to my house 50 miles NE of San Francisco. We live on the Great California Delta, the river system that feeds San Francisco Bay and waters all of Southern California. On occasion my grand kids will take the Bart to the City for the day when they are visiting us, they are all 18 years old plus when they go. I told my grandson before he starts his 50 mile hike home there are two things he should make sure is covered first.
 1) Call our contact number, we have put together an earthquake emergency plan as recommended by survival experts and FEMA. In the plan we included an earthquake evacuation plan as well, each member of the family (and those staying with us) has a copy of the plan with instructions on what actions to take if they are either at home or away. It is prudent to make sure in your preparedness plan to include a "contact number", this is a friend or relative to contact and leave a "I'm OK in Madera" message. The contact number must be someone out of the area, the local lines will most likely be all jammed up, long distance will be open. When people call a telephone number a normal human reaction to a "busy" line is to hang up and immediate call again. During a disaster event this adds to the congestion of the lines, and is many times the reason no one is able to call anyone, but we keep trying. Call out of area, leave a message to pass on, then call again in about 4 hours, tell your contact when you will be calling back. This person will pass messages to other family members and co-ordinate activities as he/she is able to help out.

Water, the most important commodity during an emergency.

2) Immediately after the quake strikes go to a store and get at least two gallons of water, I suggest two gallons because in a 50 mile walk at 3 miles an hour with breaks and rest stops will take 20 hours to complete. We need to drink 1/2 gallon of water daily to survive, without it we will live maybe 5 days, we can live 3 weeks without food. 3 days is normally the expected survival length of time with no water, some people have lived for as long as 8-10 days however this is not the norm. A gallon of water weighs about 9 pounds, the good part of that is the more that we drink the lighter the load becomes. I also told him the further from the city he gets the scarcer water and food supplies would become due to the time elapsed between the strike and where he is now. He would meet people with no water on the hike, that's the reason for having twice the amount he may need, however if the ambient is above 80 F, he will drink a gallon a day. If he is able I suggested to him to also purchase granola or granola bars, a 20 hour hike takes a lot of energy and it will have to be reclaimed during the hike. I told him he will most likely spend the night in the wild, that is the wild surburban area which is emense in this area,
  When visiting the city for a day or attending one of the many festivities occurring there every week the possibility of a major earthquake is always present. I have seen the San Andreas fault in San Francisco down into and past Palm Springs and as far South as Puerto Vallarta long, power full and active. That's only one fault, there are many others running in every direction. So when visiting the city for a day are there any precautions we should take? Yes there is we should have on our person two one pint containers of water at least, two one quart (liter) containers of water would be even better. Take a couple of granola bars from the home pantry, put them in your pockets, fanny pack or back pack and forget about them, only break them out when you need them. I wonder if a person should have his/her fema preparedness kit on their person as well.
  An earthquake in our area can occur at a moment's notice, there is never a reliable warning or heads up. Monitoring is taking place, we hear reports on earthquake predicting quite often, mostly that science is getting "closer" to better understand them. In the event we have a major quake, say 9-10 on the Richter scale, buildings will collapse, bridges fall in and many structure fires will occur. I told my grandson on his way out of Dodge he may very well be recruited to help with emergency efforts, something else to report to the contact number.

You may be recruited to help, the young ones are extremely helpful in these
situations. 

  I'm not sure how prudent it would be to take our earthquake emergency kit into the city for the day with us. It may make sense to take it along on the trip if the person is driving to fisherman's wharf or the Giants game for example. An earthquake emergency preparedness kit when loaded with jackets and extra clothing can become heavy and awkward to carry when sight seeing. Unless a kit is in a trunk or some sort of a handy wheeled carrier, the emergency preparedness kit should be left in the at home, instead put together a smaller one. Call it the "escape kit", water, flashlight, a jacket and hat, along with something to eat, it can fit in a small messenger bag making it easy to attend to. The "escape kit" can be used at home as well, sometimes for example such as a wild fire a person has minimal time to escape, then has to walk several or many miles to get to a muster or relief station, a light kit will make the walk easier.
  The chances of suffering an earthquake during a brief visit to any city would be considered a rare occurrence, it does happen however. Does it happen often enough for us to be overly concerned about it? No not overly, but a healthy concern is warranted and to have a small escape kit on your belt may be prudent. Water is an absolute, above and beyond all else we must have water.

Make sure everyone has input when making your earthquake
emergency preparedness kit  as well as your
earthquake emergency plans.

I don't expect any of my grand kids to be stranded in the city after an earthquake, but it's like when I was taught CPR at a place of employment. A large portion of the crew was in attendance, the office manager, a lady, was in attendance and contrary to most of the attendees had never learned CPR before this time, she was in her late 40's. That evening she had a tennis lesson during which a person at another court collapsed and stopped breathing, she administered CPR and mouth to mouth saving the person's life within 4 hours of taking the class. That sort of occurrence is quite common, I can think of at least 3 other incidences of  learning something then within hours having to use it. So these conversations are important to have, especially when centered around your earthquake emergency plan, and your earthquake evacuation plan which should be a separate plan attached to your main emergency plan. Both plans should have spelled out what actions to take in the event they are either home alone or out and about (as our example of being in San Francisco.) Make sure all members of the family know the plan and understands it perfectly, the preferred way is to make sure all family members have input into both plans. Practice the plans, go over them verbally and physically, where are the  evacuation kits, who takes what, who's responsible for the dog or grandma? All of it is important, as well as spelling out what to do if an earthquake strands you in a big city.
  Thanks for reading please leave a comment or suggestion, I enjoy hearing from you all.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com 

Measuring squareness, use square math? Learn the 3 methods here, it's another self reliance skill to own

  Two of my grandson's have been here helping me out for the past few weeks, I'd like to say I can keep up with them, I can't. They are working on my old boat for the past few days, I painted it a few years ago and it's due for another coat, they have been chipping, sanding and cleaning for 3 partial days, it's looking good. I have 10, ranges in age from 8 to 21, they grow fast. When they are with me, most of them come during their various days off of school, the ones that don't work or go to school just come and go. I like to work with them on projects and I believe they like to work with me as well, I teach them lot's of stuff. They have helped me build a new front "stoop" from wood, Raised bed garden boxes

The grandson's can accomplish anything I swear.

were built by one of them as was my big composting worm farm in the yard. We repair things and build things, they learn to use a table saw, miter saw, routers and all sorts of hand tools. I have taught them to read measuring tapes and rulers, how to mix and use epoxy glue and to their disapproval how to weed. Which brings me to the subject of this blog, squareness, how to check assemblies for being square. There are a lot of different ways to check square, I will cover three: 1) 3-4-5 method of squaring, 2) Cross squaring 3) squaring with a square, all effective all very good to know time saving methods.
   1) 3-4-5 square method, "squaring up" an assembly is essential for the objects strength and appearance. It is most important in multi-story buildings, the sky rises that I worked on (I spent 20 years as a structural steel iron-worker, we built Diablo Canyon Nuclear facility, and the Moscone center in San Francisco). On all of the structures the engineer's dictated a tolerance of 1/4" +/-, that's actually a lot. In the event a vertical column of 20 feet used the 1/4" tolerance on each foot the top would be off 5", it doesn't take much for a vertical column after 5 stories high to be off a foot or more. Squaring assembly's is absolutely needed to be completed on each and every assembly prior to erection.

Routine when once you begin to use the 3-4-5 method of squaring. 

3-4-5 method, used on an assembly with at least two legs, it works on forms with an open side or end as well as with one vertical member and one horizontal member. Squaring is done prior to final welding or nailing depending on the structure, all the parts are cut to size and either tacked together or held together with one fastener on each corner. The part is laid out on a table or "saw horses", larger ones laid out and assembled on the floor or deck. When the assembly is temporarily tacked together and appears to be square this is the time to check it. Choose one corner of the frame, I normally start on one end the right hand corner. With a small square strike a line 1 inch from the edge of the part, then mark the center of of that line and draw a circle around it. From that mark measure down the left leg 3 feet, mark it, draw a line with a square across the part and mark the center line, circle it. Go back to the original point and measure 4 feet down the right hand part, again draw a line across and mark the center line, circle it. Now grab your assistant (in my case assistant's) have one stand at the 3 foot mark and the other (or we can do it ourselves) person by the 4 foot mark. One person sets the measuring tape zero mark on the circled center point, Now measure the point between the 3 foot and 4 foot mark, if your assembly is square it will read 5 feet. If it reads any other measure the frame must be adjusted, it will take two or three moves to figure out which way and how much to move which leg. The final task is to install 4 more fasteners in each corner or if welding heavy tacks prior to final assembly. When it is assembled, re-check the 3-4-5 square, if it measures correctly you're golden. Squareness can be checked as well with the following method of measuring squareness.

Cross squaring, not always this distance, but it is very common.

  2) Cross Squaring, after assembling a large component and it is laying flat on saw horses or the floor, measuring squareness needs to be accomplished. For example if you have just assembled a 40 foot x 20 foot form and you are ready to pour concrete, get your partner and grab a 100 foot measuring tape. With a small square mark each corner, measure from the end 1" ("burning an inch") then mark each at the center. With one person on one end and another on the far end measure from the right hand mark on one end to the left hand mark of the far end, write the number down. Then proceed to the other sides and measure in the same manner, they should be fairly close, many lunch bets have been lost from over confidence. If the measurements match you are finished, complete the final assembly and measure once again. If they do not match the assembly must be squared, pushing, shoving, prying and use of motorized equipment are several ways to move a heavy object. Generally if the measurements are within +/- 1/4" it is a good measurement and can be completed. After the unit is completed and squared, the last method of measuring squareness may be used in the corners as a last check. Need a freshening up on a measure tape, check this link out here.
  3) Square Math, measuring squareness with a two foot square, one of the most versatile tools in your tool kit, carpenters and iron-workers normally keep two by their side. The "two foot square" is 1 1/2 foot on one leg and 2 foot on the other, it can be used for squaring assemblies, setting angles in degrees, laying out steps for stairways, as well as use a a straight edge. To check the squareness of the square (yes it must be done), begin by placing the square's 1-1/2 foot leg (lay it to the left) even with the edge of a piece of plywood or steel at least 2 feet wide, the flat squaring piece should be a minimum of 1-1/2 foot x 2 foot. Push the 1-1/2 foot inner edge against the outer edge of the plywood and strike a line down the 2 foot edge. Flip the square over so the 1-1/2 foot leg is now laying to your right and the inside at the 90 is even with the line you struck and strike another line. If they line up you are fine, if not the square must be squared by peening the inside or outside, inside if the square is open, outside if the square is closed. To check the square of an assembly simply go to each corner and place the outside of the square in the inside of the assembly, after the 3-4-5 method and cross squaring it will be square.  Learn more about the 2 foot square here.

A few functions of the 2 foot square, or commonly called "framing
square". 

  It's also recommended that if a person is using more than one measuring tape, or is working with more than themselves, all measuring tapes should be the same brand. The tapes need to be compared to be certain that all of the inch, fraction and foot marks match, they can be off a considerable amount depending on how many different brands there are.
  I think this is a very boring subject, however it is one that some people just are not familiar with the many methods to square concrete forms, or ascertaining square footage. I use them all the time when we are building things the foundation for my shed, the deck or building a trailer. One of the three handiest tools the other two are a good tape measure and the use of PI (3.14) it's geometry Watson.
  I hope this blog has enlightened you a bit, maybe you knew two methods, or one, or all three regardless it's essential to "stay square" to ensure a professional looking assembly. Structures gain a lot of strength when they are held vertical, gravity is in this case our friend and ally when everything is square but is a destructive force when it is out of square. (I'm kind of thinking of the Millennium building in San Francisco, leaning over slowly). In our desire to be as "self reliant as we can possibly be", in the event we must build a temporary structure or any thing vertical, if it is square it will have a better chance of staying vertical.
  Thanks for reading, leave a comment or suggestion. What are you building?

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

Chimps, Bees, Alligators, Buffalo and Wolves, which mating rituals end in death I know you'll be surprised

Why do some wild animals fighting each other result in death and other animal mating fights do not?
 
When animals of the same species fight each other which they normally do during the mating

This is more common than we would like to believe, inadvertently
causing harm, death in some cases. 

season it most of the time is in the form of ritual or threatening actions. Puffing and beating on the chest, making loud noises, tossing things around and charging towards the opponent are common. As is the case with antlered animals it is more of a case of "antler rattling", common reproductive behavior in
animals is to do little harm in some cases not so much. Size, if one is bigger than the other then the smaller animal realizes he could be seriously injured so many times they will concede. However the bigger opponent realizes that no matter the size of the challenger serious injury is possible, a larger animal will not back down exerting just enough strength to encourage the smaller animal to retreat. In this case chest beating, howling and stomping may be enough to encourage a concession. Which animals will and won't fight to the death? Here are 5 that may or may not surprise you.

  Chimpanzee's, we all like to watch monkey's, after all we have a number of similar body parts, and we are proportioned almost the same. The old saying "the same but different." comes into play here. January of this year a chimpanzee was murdered, by his own followers, badly beaten and partially cannibalized. It happened in Sengeal, the group has been under observation since 2005, the leader Foudouko was the alpha male. He fell from power in 2007 and lived on the outer boundaries of the colony, then suddenly returned in 2013, and was killed by his followers. The paper suggested that due to the population having considerably more males than females, the older chimp may have been killed while trying to mate with a female, the younger ones didn't like that apparently. This was a very brutal murder, the only one the researchers observed in the time the troop was under

Yep these little gentle creatures, extremely strong and extremely
possessive, it's not a very good combination

observation, it does happen, how often is unknown, Animal murders are extremely rare in the wild.
  One of the largest species of Bee's, the Dawson's bees kill each other in mass during the quest to mate with females. They enter an intense battle scene, it reminds me of the description we hear of the grand armies during the day's of the huge roaming hoards of conquerors. By the time the fighting is over every single Dawson's Bee male is either killed or dead by another means. Some females do get killed as well, not nearly as many as females however. Dawson Bee's reside in the Australian out back, burrowing deep beneath the sun baked earth, the males emerge from the tunnels prior to the females. The males wait for the females to emerge then, 90% of the females are inseminated before the grand finale. The cause? The smell of the females enrages the males then the fighting begins and ends. Females 30,000 males 0, the beat goes on.
  Wolves leave their home packs when they mature, there is room for three male Wolfe's in a pack, each one has an important role in that society. The Alpha is the leader and does all of the mating with the largest female, the Alpha is not always the largest, but he is always the toughest. Beta's are the second in command, quite often challenging the Alpha for mating rights. The Omega is the pack's scapegoat, dominated by the Alpha and not allowed to breed and is kept from feeding until the entire pack has had their fill. The wolf mating ritual is rather civilized, as with humans the new male is introduced to the Alpha male by his daughter, after all he is the father of everyone in the pack, if the

More civil than humans? It sure looks like it. In 1985 a friend
and I saw a timber wolf in the Sierra Nevada's, yep in
California, they are listed as non-existent in this state, they
survive.

Alpha takes exception to him he may run the young wolf off. When the stray wolf first finds a female, sometimes after a year or more of wandering, they stand shoulder to shoulder, fur up on end, tails straight out and wagging, the ears perked up at attention, The young female and male then begin to sniff each other, just like domestic canines do, they then begin to romp around playing. With the greeting out of the way courtship begins, that is the point the female takes the male to meet the Alpha. They never have been known to hurt each other critically, wolves number among the animals that do no harm to each other during mating rituals. Wolves 10 Civilized reasoning 10, It's a tie! I knew wolves were OK, they sure are a lot more civil than the chimps.
  The Great American Bison, hunted by the North American Wolf, the herds in the past numbered in the millions, some times stretching over several states in the prairie during their migration. The Native Americans called the buffalo mating season the "running season", during this time the herd becomes a complete mess of agitation, excitement and energetic activities. The rut is on, with the bulls spending most of their time chasing females, the other half of the time they spend fighting each other, however the challenges and answering (fighting), after the initial head butting and colliding the main event last a few seconds. The bull lowers his head, kicks at the dirt raising a huge cloud,

Beautiful majestic animal, our American Icon. I had a Labrador
retriever at Lake Itasca, Mississippi headwaters, that was launched
it looked like 40 feet into the air due to his badgering a big bull.

bellows loudly enough to be heard several miles away, glaring all the while with half white eyes, at times the bulls all join together to bellow loudly which sounds like distant thunder heard miles away. The battles between the bulls at this time are very impressive and always harmless, everyone walks away, or in the case of those on the losing end merely sloughs away at a run. Another breed that does no harm during mating rituals, buffalo 10 civilized society 10 another tie.
  Alligators, I am not fearful of a lot things, cautious yes, fearful not so much. When it comes to Alligators and Crocodiles not only do I not know much about them, they scare me to death even from the TV. Salt Water Crocs are the stuff that nightmares are made of, even stepping foot on the Australian continent would put me on guard. I'm not a fan of modern day dinosaurs, today I don't have to kiss or pet one, I'm merely in investigating in whether or not their mating rituals are fatal. I've always said if re-incarnation is fact I want to come back as an alligator and be among the 99% that don't make it to the water right out of the egg. The mating season is from the middle of April Until June 31st, This is the time period most calls for nuisance alligators are made, and upon capture re-introduced in another location away from civilization. They are commonly around 10 feet long at most, some grow to 12 feet it's rare, fewer still make it over that length, they are considered full grown at 7 feet. It takes 8-12 years to grow to their maximum lengths. 1/3 of their nest are destroyed by predators 32-46 eggs is normal, hatching in 65-68 days. Alligators stop feeding when the ambient temperature is below 70F and goes into hibernation at below 55F.

I'm pretty sure this is a big one, he can go ahead and keep
the ball, and the cart, and the clubs oh heck, I'm leaving.

Alligators have a unique mating ritual, which is a tourist attraction in Florida. The males are show off's, advertising their availability and complete dedication to mating these guy's are pretty impressive. They begin by finding an eligible female, they then slap their head on the water surface, bellowing, jaw snapping and vibrating their torsos making the water around them come alive in ripples. The deep bellowing is heard throughout the alligators realm, the females join them with a bellow that sounds more like a low decibel growl than a feminine answer of any sort. Another ritual the male participates in is an elevation of the body above the water line, they do this to appear larger than life, sometimes being in this pose for half an hour, it's all about showing off the massive head. The loud bellow and head slapping are a social communication habit of the adult alligators, once it begins the entire community often joins in with head slapping, bellowing it being as if they created a 'gator chorus. It is not unusual to see the male surrounded by 3-4 females during courtship, other species swim away unimpressed. They then mate, that's it, no fighting, no biting or scratching or eating of the opponent. They take the grand prize for being civil, so far the two most violent animals I have studied are the most civilized, ain't that amazing.
  Thanks for reading, easily relative to our quest to be as self reliant as we can possibly be, "When we study the animals, we learn more about ourselves."
Leave a comment, if you have knowledge of Alligators or Crocodiles tell me stuff I don't know about them, which is a lot. Thanks

jacquesandkate emergencykitsplus.com
 

 
 

The summer life of the American Wild Turkey, what's up with the male wild turkey's?

  I spend a considerable amount of time out doors, during that time I normally have my bird books and binoculars around my neck. It's amazing to me how I can sit on my river side porch, sometimes with my Ukulele, banjo or guitar. Just like seen on TV, an old guy making bad music on a beautiful day. I watch the birds, a lot, starlings, hawks, turkey vultures and the great american wild turkey. Benjamin Franklin suggested the eastern wild turkey be the symbol of the new United States government, obviously he was over ruled, the Bald Eagle was chosen in it's stead.

They are majestic birds occupying the same spot in the bird
kingdom as the Peacock. The pale color head tells us he is
at the peak of breeding season, it takes the color right out of
him I guess. 

I have made an observation this year, there appears to be less birds this year (2017) than normal. I see no Mud Hens (the American Coot), normally there are several thousand on the slough acting like an organized miniature army. Red Wing Blackbirds were eradicated by the West Nile virus and appear to be making a slow come back. The Red Tail Hawks, I have in years past seen two active breeding pairs, they are still around somewhere. Two summers ago one pair roosted in a 50 foot tall "snag", about 20 feet from their nest in another tree, they have bred there for about 3 years. The snag had to go, it was cut down because it was an actual hazard, out buildings were close and the road is within 30 feet of it, if it fell it would take the power line down and block the road. The rancher cut it down, I agreed with him, the Hawks did not they relocated to a big steel 15kv power structure about 1/3 mile away. They had their brood last summer and did not return this year, they are in the wild somewhere. We have Peahen's and Peacock's running around here as well, they compete with the wild turkeys in our small island, Peacock's are noisy as all get out, day and night and are thriving, most likely due to being semi-domesticated.

Similar in size and feeding habits, they are very much alike, the
Peacock is a native of India the Turkey of North America.

Even the shore birds are in smaller numbers, we are 40 miles from the ocean we do see sea lions as well as the birds, however this year few birds and no sea lions. My attention has been on the wild turkey's that numbered in the 30-50 range last winter during the rains. (the flock that frequents this part of the island) This year I saw zero until 3 days ago, I then saw a female with 4 wild turkey chicks directly behind her, they appear to have hatched around the end of March. (My observation) I'm sure there are many more in the wooded areas. The question I have is "What causes the flock to disappear during the summer?" If you're interested click here for more information on the summer turkey.
  There are times we see the male wild turkey's out strutting their stuff in the middle of June, sometimes even until the first day of July. They will gobble as they are still seeking females to fill out their brood, as spring comes to a close and summer begins it's full swing, there are less females available. Still the males have the biological urge to mate, as do some females, when the wild turkey chicks hatch in August, the normal cycle for those females of that brood will begin in June. That's understandable, but, what about the males that gobble during July and August? Just like people, some male wild turkey's are just out right noisy and may just like the sound of their own voice. Some people like to call turkey's for various reasons, I do it to prove to them I'm smarter than they are, others are photographers or hunters and some are like the turkey's they like to hear themselves call out. Maybe like boy scouts on a camp out with the "wolf howls" until midnight.

I don't think he's calling Turkey's, like most youngster's he's just howling.

It's not good to call them, the american wild turkey is not as dumb as we would like to believe, (hence my comment about being smarter than they are), they learn to equate the "false" gobbles with "crying wolf" and will ignore them just when they are needed. They don't really "disappear during the early summer month's, especially following a winter of heavy rains, there is a lot of water which turns into lot's of food in the isolated areas. The wild turkey's have a limited range of about one square mile, they will share their habitat with other turkey's, but the curious thing is the male wild turkey acts as if it is all alone, they ignore the other's, as long as their breeding brood is complete. The male wild turkey does not participate in the rearing or overseeing of the wild turkey chicks. When we see a flock of turkey's at a feeding spot during the summer, the females and the chicks are there intentionally, the male is there as a coincidence, when it happens the males act like no one else exist. They are different birds during the summer than they are during the fall and winter. They don't fight during the summer it's a waste of energy better spent during mating season, besides they can be seriously injured. As with all wild animals fighting is avoided at all costs, running away during the off season is the strategy they employ. However when challenged the male turkey will not back down or even step back, he has to maintain his pecking order for intimidation reasons year around. So during the summer they (a practice I have not witnessed) gobble, strut and do a little intimidating but little else. Click here for an interesting paper on why some species of animals do not cause injury to each other.

A few ways to call turkey's, I'm not sure the wolf pup would be
helped out by any of them, there is a technique to their use.

  So what is up with the wild male turkey? Nothing is up with them, they are being their normal selves, I believe for some reason this year I am on a higher level of awareness or something. The all american wild turkey is safe and sound on the island as I suspect they are everywhere else as well. I have never seen a wild turkey road kill, ever, they are always in the road, but even on busy roads I've never seen one dead on the road side. That may be a better title for this blog "why don't wild turkey's get hit by cars?" My answer with a shrug of the shoulders and a I don't know why that is, my wife Kate is more logical than I, she say's "cars stop for turkey's." You know what, she's right, everyone stops for the turkey's, is that what you've seen?
  Nothing is happening with the turkey's, self propagated problem is solved, now I can move on to subjects such as "what is that crazy squirrel doing with all of my apples?" Thanks for reading comment about the turkey's around your place, they are fun to watch and talk about. Share my blog please, I need more readers. Thank you

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

Barn owl habitat and owl nesting habits Owls and Bats add to our security and self reliance, read here to learn how

Five years ago my neighbor came across a fledgling Barn Owl, a very small female, very healthy it fell out of a nest and started walking somewhere. He had a huge wire cage and placed the little guy in it and nursed it to full size and released it. It flew to the eave under his house and stayed there, so he did what every blue blooded american boy would do, he built a nesting box. The owl did occupy the box and went on to have two broods of young ones over the next two years, the barn owl habitat needed to be revisited however. I volunteered to building an owl box, I had been thinking about building a few for some time along with wood duck boxes and bat habitats. If you are interested click here for wood duck nesting box plans.

When young the barn owls spend a lot of time looking out the access hole
in their box, sometime loudly!

  Barn owls hunt at night, they are nocturnal, the owl occupying our nesting box flies past my sliding glass door every night at 8-8:30 pm during the winter and an hour later during summer. This one at least is a creature of habit. Owls roost during the day in secluded spots that are hidden, under the eaves of houses, in hollowed out holes in trees, high in barn rafters and of course in their nest. They don't hoot like other owls they have a raspy, slightly eerie call, in fact almost a screech and almost a scream. When the little ones get hungry they also get noisy hollering out the hole of the owl box. They are silent, strong, flyers hunting over open fields and meadows spreading their large graceful wings silently. The barn owl wingspan is an impressive 39 1/2"-49 1/4" (100-125 cm), with a body length of 12 1/2"-15 3/4" (32-40 cm) and weighing in at 14-25 ounces, a large bird but light weight.
 

Adult doing what they do, just hanging out.

They swallow their food whole, skin, bones all of it down the old hatch, but they do not pass all of it, a couple of times a day (normally 2, sometimes more) they will cough out a ball of tightly wound remains which land on the ground. Researchers inspect these "pellets" to learn more about the owl nesting habits. There are 46 different species of barn owls world wide, the North American species is larger than twice the size of the smallest species, residing in the Galapagos Islands. They have excellent vision which aids them in hunting from dusk until morning light, and has the best hearing of any animal ever tested. With such great hearing they are able to capture small rodents and field mice hidden by snow or ground cover. Because squirrels and chipmunks are day time creatures owls normally do not feed on them. I observed the owl in our nesting box perching on a limb 10 feet from the entrance of the nest staring down a red squirrel. The squirrels live upstairs of the owls, they have 5-6 nest normally, they have been nesting there for years. It's a pecan tree, crows love that tree as well, I wrote a blog about the crows earlier this year about how they were flying around with pecans in their beaks. Everyone except the owls eat the pecans, I use the leaves for worm bedding and I make walking canes with the limbs. Back to the story, the owl stared at the squirrel and the squirrel stared back for about 5 minutes. You know how squirrels will bob their heads, chatter and flip their tails? Well that's what this guy was doing, tormenting the owl like they do a dog. I suspect the only reason the owl did not pounce on the the little wise acre is due to a large branch looming over the owls head, finally the red squirrel abandoned his little bit of "hot dogging".  The owls live to a ripe old age of 15 1/2 years at the most, 13 years being about the average age, squirrels don't seem to last as long. Click here to read all about barn owls.
  Barn owl habitats extend in all 48 lower Untied States into Canada in the south. Deserts, marshes, wheat fields, forest, wooded areas as well as in urban and city's. They are very versatile, however they are in declining numbers in some habitats, they live in hollowed out tree trunks, tunnels, stadiums, and live as high as 13,000 feet in the Andes. They roost in their nest year round, they sometimes have numerous nest with young owls at varying ages. They use the same nest year after year, but often different owls take up residence. Barn Owls mate for life, yes another animal that does that, I'm going to write a blog on that because it is so impressive and romantically sad sometimes. The male courts the female by hovering in front of the female for a few seconds, referred to as a "moth flight", he will display the nest by calling inside and flying in and out of it. After they become a pair the male will bring prey to her, much more than she can consume about a month prior to her laying eggs. Maybe it's a showing of plentiful food to encourage more eggs, the eggs are not large grade A, they measure up to 1 3/4" long. They protect the area around the barn owl habitat, but they are not territorial in the open fields, more than one pair normally hunts the same locations. Click here to learn more about Barn Owl habitat and barn owl nest box placement.

Typical Barn Owl habitat, fairly easy to build
and very rewarding to help out. 

  Barn Owls were affected when DDT was used in agriculture and rodent poisons affected them due to small mammals being their source of food. Cars kill and injure a number of them due to the fact they fly low over the fields while hunting, hedge rows have been found to help in saving some of them from that fate. Building an owl box is not real difficult, plans are available here, I made mine from marine plywood I had left over from a project (I forget what that one was). I try to use "reclaimed" material in what ever I build, the next boxes I build will be made from an old (30 years) redwood fence, it makes good barn owl habitat,s. Barn owl nest box placement must be as close to their natural habitat as possible, protected in a hidden spot is the most important thing to remember. Great Horned Owls are the Barn Owls natural wild predator, raccoons and snakes are lesser predators but they are still an extreme danger to them. I found a dead young owl at the base of a power pole in my yard, we had a wind storm during the night. The young one appeared to get caught in the wind somehow and was blown about 75 yards away from the nesting box. I was on a construction site building an electric generating plant and a worker found a dead Barn Owl, well the job was shut down and the death was investigated. After 2 weeks it was found to have passed naturally, and we went back to work. At another site we were shut down due to an owl that was nesting at the top of the structure near the smoke stack, it was nesting, we were allowed to work after a few days of consideration. It was determined we could work but not within a distance of the nest, unfortunately the bird most likely nests there every year, it will be OK because no one generally climbs that high during operations.
  The owls are important in our quest to be as self reliant as we can be, without them we could be overwhelmed by small rodents which in turn would attract larger predators. In a survival situation we don't need rodents climbing all over our food and equipment which in turn would invite disease. A healthy barn owl habitat is instrumental to our health and well being, when coupled with a bat habitat the pest population is manageable. Owls take care of the rodents and small animals the bats take care of the mosquito's. (thousands a night) The red squirrels, well they shall remain my dog's nemesis, which is entertaining as all get out.

This is a "Bat house", made correctly they can blend in with
the siding if you use a spare piece and the same paint.
They will cut down on the mosquito population, they eat thousands
each every night. Bats are our friends. 

  Thanks for reading my blog, I hope you learned something or found me in a mistake, please comment or ask a question.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

How much water do plants need while watering garden plants? It may surprise you

Now that the drought is relieved for this year as least during which all of the water times for plants and lawns were either drastically reduced or eliminated all together. This year we are able to return to a level of normalcy, still we will conserve water while using a little more than the 5 years previous. Some people on metered water were restricted by the increase in rates, which brought on another round of rate increases due to a loss of revenue because of less use during the drought. (I won't get into that, it is bizarre). Which opens up the question I have been thinking about this morning after looking over the garden and checking the soil, "how much water do plants need?" An extremely important piece of being as self reliant as we can be, I think it's a good idea to place garden watering requirements in with our disaster planning, it will enable us in the event of a lack of utilities to keep our gardens in top production.

Yes we had rain this year, now that it's over 100 degrees
the downpour looks inviting. 

  First off lets see how to check to see if the plants are in need of watering. An excellent way to check is to see how dry the soil is around the plant. Place a spade into the soil, close enough to the plant to check the soil and far enough away not to damage the roots. Pull the spade out, being sure it has penetrated 10"-12", flip the dirt over, if it's moist the plant does not need water, if it's dry it does. The results will be a result of the outdoor conditions, if it is a dry, hot environment the soil will dry out rapidly, if it is a low temperature moist climate less drying will result. I garden in raised beds, I tend the garden on my mobility scooter and made the boxes to match the height. I find in the raised beds the plants on the ends of the box have a tendency to dry out faster than the plants further inboard. My garden needs water every other day, if I miss the plants begin to deteriorate rapidly. I water my tomato's no more than every other day for the first month, after that I water every third day. I will sometimes stress the tomato's if they are not performing well. I stress them by not watering them, I skip a day, it causes the plants to set more flowers, I will stress them only when there is no fruit on the plant. Use mulch, it keeps the soil moist, I will use almost any organic material as mulch. I do compost so some of it is usable at a moments notice. Some of the

A fairly common raised bed garden, this is not mine, however
mine are the same. 

materials I use for mulch include: Tree leaves, Corn husk, Lilly pads, Succulents, Hay and recently I started using Tule stems. (Much like cat tails without the tail). I also use the same organic material in my worm farm, creating castings which in turn can easily be converted into nitrogen rich liquid fertilizer with many benefits. The mulch will hold the moisture in the soil for a longer period of time. Click here to learn how to mulch.
  There is a rule of thumb some people use while watering their lawns on the levee with a prevailing wind drying out the soil rapidly. Lawns do well with 15 minutes of water daily. I use a trick that enables me to better understand the amount of water I am giving a plant in gallons. I run the water from the faucet, (we have a well) into a 5 gallon bucket and let it run until it fills up. I record the time then divide the 5 gallon number by the amount of minutes it took to fill it. I now know how many gallons per minute I am using and it enables me to better judge how much I am putting on the plants. Of course this is hand watering out of an open hose, big gardens would take a considerable amount of time which would make it

inefficient. It can still be estimated however by measuring the amount of water being emitted by the sprinkler, determine gallons per minute then divide by the square foot coverage of the sprinkler. The argument has to be made then "why would I even consider doing that, what does it tell me?" I can think of one reason only to measure the amount emitted from the sprinkler. My neighbor told me (I know I know), tomato's need one gallon of water daily, OK, one gallon each plant. He is also the person that told me not to water them with a sprinkler, so my source may not be to the level of "expert". I continue to "deep water" my tomato's every third day, it has served me well for a number of years. I get 15 gallons of water per minute from my well, that's a lot of water for one plant but it serves well. I water each plant for one minute and move on, that's the tomato plants.
  Over all the best goal in watering is to get the water to the roots of the plants, not the leaves it won't be to any benefit, in fact wet leaves can be infected with diseases. Too much water can do as much damage to plants as not enough, automatic watering can be both a blessing and a curse. If an

Notice the drip, just one nozzle of many in this system, the
water is capable of being measured with this method.

automatic watering system is employed when watering a garden during times of rain the watering times should be reduced or eliminated until the rain subsides. As with hand watering only water when the plants need it. Deep water down to 12" that's as deep as the garden vegetable roots go, keep the top 6-12" moist, check it as mentioned above with a shovel. Water in the early morning, if the leaves get wet they will dry out in the sun before any damage is done. Drip irrigation is a good way to water and control the amount of placed on the plant roots, each drip nozzle is designated for the amount of water per minute or hour, they can be strategically placed at each plant to ensure proper amounts are applied. Now we are all the way back to the title of the blog "How much water do plants need while watering garden plants?" There is no set rule or way of knowing outside of experience, I will dig my hand into the soil to about a foot deep and check the moisture. Many times even if the soil is moist I will water, if it is wet I will not, when the plants look stressed, I dig my hand into the soil and check it. I especially keep a close eye on my containers ends where it dry's out quickly, normally I water more heavily in that area.

Display of a simple drip irrigation system, they can be as elaborate or simple
as needed. They work wonders.

The answer to watering garden plants is experience and commitment, all gardeners know persistence, dedication and the want to is required to succeed. I will also mention briefly that I have added earthworms to each raised bed, some live in the mulch (red wigglers) other commute from the surface to six feet below (European night crawlers). The worms move the organic material from top to bottom and distribute moisture to a lesser degree while fertilizing the beds.
  I hope this blog is informative, it more or less outlines how I water, it's all experience, if your plants are doing well you are watering well. Thanks for reading share this blog with your friends I need more people reading it. Thank you!

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com
  

Brown recluse bite treatment, environment and location, serious bites but limited range read and share

Native to the United States, known as the fiddle back spider, the brown fiddler or the violin spider due to markings on the back resembling a fiddle or violin. The Brown Recluse Spider is one of two spiders native to the U.S. with venom that is toxic to the point of in the case of being bitten needs medical attention. (The other spider is the Black Widow.) Although common among the spiders the violin pattern is not a definitive sign to identify the spider, other spiders such as the cellar and pirate spiders also share a violin shaped marking on their back. Examination of the eyes is the only way to identify the brown recluse spider, most spiders have eight eyes, the brown recluse (as well as other recluse spiders) have six eyes arraigned in pairs, one median pair and one lateral pair.

This is the Brown Recluse Spider, small
package strong venom.

A few other spider species have three pairs of eyes arraigned similarly. Covered with hair they have the appearance of being covered with soft fur, joints in the legs sometimes appear in a lighter color. They possess no consistent coloring patterns that would normally be used to identify spiders as a brown recluse, adding to the confusion and the reason people describe them differently. (OSHA has a good paper on them here.)
  Brown recluse spider eggs are contained in sacs, the female lays her egg sacs over an extended period of one to three months always in the spring from May to July. In each sac is approximately 50 eggs hatching in about one month. Baby brown recluse spiders grow to adulthood in about one year and have lived in a controlled environment for as long as five years. In fact they are so hardy and resilient they are able to survive extended droughts and lack of food, during a five season period a brown recluse lived the entire time with no food. They are shy creatures, from the stories we hear it doesn't seem to be the case however it is. When threatened they usually run away rapidly appearing to avoid any conflict, when further threatened they will "play dead". They don't run very fast, a nice steady
even paced gait with it's legs extended is it's preferred way to travel. Even if they are missing one leg or more they move with the same measured and steady pace.

They actually live in a fairly limited area of the USA, look a likes
in the western states, none in the Northern tier states.   

  They build irregular webs, very disorderly the webs normally include a shabby looking thread tunnel. The brown recluse lives in woodpiles, sheds, compost piles, fences, and other dry and private places. They prefer rotting tree bark to most environments, and when none is available the spiders favor cardboard, the common thought is because cardboard mimics their favored rotten bark. When in the house shoes, dressers, couches, under beds, inside work gloves even in toilets, they are extremely adaptable creatures. Females have a tendency to remain close to their nests while the males do all of their hunting in the dark. Their primary source of food is small soft bodied insects such as crickets, cockroaches and fire brats.
  Native from Texas to Georgia and Kentucky they range south of a line drawn from Nebraska through southern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana to southwestern Ohio. Contrary to common knowledge the Brown Recluse has not extended it's habitat outside of that region, it's natural habitat. That means there are none in California, Oregon or other southwestern states. The confusion comes from there existing in these states a "look a like" they have never been identified as being medically significant. Included in a nation wide study it was found out of 581 reports from the state of California of brown recluse bites only 1 actually was. Although "none existent" in some states they do sometimes catch a ride in various ways and end up in an area they are not native to. The one case that was identified as an actual brown recluse bite was from a family recently relocated from Missouri, it is suspected that spider caught a ride to coast with them. There are many cases of mis-identification, due to their color variations, if ever in dought a person should seek medical attention. The incidents of brown recluse spider bites as reported from the states of Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma were found to be between 75% and 90% occurrences, indicating well established populations.
  Brown recluse bite symptoms, initially the bite is not painful however it can be very serious due to the deadly hemotoxic venom it employs, it must be noted most bites are minor with no side effects. A certain amount of bites do produce severe lesions on the skin, some cause severe skin injury. As a non aggressive spider the bites mostly occur when the recluse is forced into contact with the skin, such as upon putting on a shirt or pair of trousers while the Brown Recluse in tangled in them. The brown recluse bite symptoms are much the same as other poisonous insects commonly they include: nausea, vomiting, fever, rashes as well as muscle and joint pain, rarely such bites cause organ damage or death. The brown recluse bite treatment after medical treatment seems a little brutal, the bite forms an open wound due to the soft tissue destruction taking months to heal, often leaving severe scaring. Becoming painful and itchy within the first 8 hours, the pain and effects will get worse within 36 hours after the bite, necrosis will develop over the next few days. The effects of the bite make it grow to as large as 12 inches, normally becoming gangrene and then falling off. After the initial medical treatment there is not a lot that can be done, keep the bite clean and covered with fresh wound dressings. Brown recluse bite treatment begins with first aid, place an ice pack on the bite to control swelling and inflammation, then immediately seek medical care. Bring the spider with you if you can capture it, place it in a clear container with a secure closure. As stated above most bites do not respond to treatment successfully making the wounds self limiting and allowed to heal on their own.
 

Typical Brown Recluse web and tunnel nest, she will
build a flimsy door of silk thread to finish it.

There are recorded cases of houses that have been infested with the brown recluse spider with no one being bitten, even after years of exposure. Safety precautions should be adhered to when living in their environment, gloves, enclosed shoes, long pants, long sleeves and eye protection. The brown recluse will not bite if not forced into it, if you are bitten on the hand while wearing gloves the fangs are so short they cannot penetrate the leather. prior to dressing inspect shoes, socks, trousers and other clothing, shake out each one. Your chances are low for being bitten, if you wear protective clothing it is reduced more, merely being cautious and observant will go a long way in keeping you safe. Further discussion of bites can be read here, there is a picture of a bite wound, it's a mild photo, some wounds are very upsetting looking, they can be seen on Google images.
  Thanks for reading, leave a comment, suggestion or story I'd like to hear from you.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com