Advice and Beans Updates – Spring 2017 Edition (Personal Edition)
So we finally did it. We escaped the deathtrap peninsula we lived on in Suburbia just outside of Nashville, TN. No longer do I fear the rising floodwaters of a broken dam or being trapped in an EMP nightmare with 30,000 other people on a 5 square mile strip of land with only 2 ways out. We bought a 40-Acre farm in Lewisburg, TN about an hour and a half south of where we were living (About 40 minutes north of the Alabama border). We did keep the house in Hendersonville and are renting it (kind of, as the tenants only pay occasionally). We also upgraded the business from the little 3000 square foot rental location to a 6000 square foot building we purchased. It’s provided us a lot more opportunities and we’ve taken a stab at some other little businesses in addition to Discount Mylar Bags.
I love the small town feel (there’s an open drive-in theater two lots down from us!), and I will live and die in this place. My wife doesn’t even ask if I want to run to Nashville for something…because I don’t want to, and likely never will. I could putter around in the warehouse or on the new farm for the rest of my days, without ever stepping outside of town. To all of the customers who made this possible, you will never understand how grateful I am for you. With Trump in the White House, our market has seen some pretty significant declines, and I hear the same for almost every prepper-based business. We’re attempting to retool and refocus in different areas as quickly as we can, but no one ever knows what will happen. For me, it’s enough that we’re here and we’ve kind of created a lifestyle where my wife and I could pay most of our bills selling stuff from Goodwill on eBay. Plus, they let us keep our kids in cages as necessary.
We’re on our 2nd flock of chickens, as the first were killed off over the Fall and Winter. (I hear that’s pretty common with a first flock). We’ve upgraded to a nice large coop and have 6 great hens (1 passed just recently to an infection). I had to put down our rooster Cluck Norris last week as he attacked one of my 3 year old twins (and has even attacked my wife). It was the first, and hopefully last, time I ever pointed my Glock at a living thing. Though it was a little nice to know that my carry pistol works! We have a new turkey that wanders up to say hello to the chickens around sunset, I keep meaning to put a flock block out for her.
The thing about 40 acres is there’s always something to do. My wife and I are not outdoorsy or farmy by nature, but we’re trying. We all went tooling around the property in the Suburban on Sunday putting fire ant killer on any mounds we could find. My wife is working on a small garden, and my Spring project is trying to fix the fences (so we can get some goats) and carve out a walking path around the property (it’s just about a mile walk along the outside of the entire property)
Our beloved Coco passed (she ran into the road, which is still too close for comfort), but it was almost a necessity, as she, despite being 3 pounds, killed 3 of our first flock of chickens. My wife, who was a trainer by trade, says chicken-killing is a trait that is hard to break for a dog. Ellie, our new border collie mix, loves to get along with everyone. She’s our hero right now, as she pulled the rooster off of Dagny when it was attacking her, and damn near killed it. For as sweet a dog as she is, it’s nice to have another set of eyes (and teeth) looking after the girls.
Life is busy, but beautiful. We’ve found a church we love, and we’re working to start making those important connections in a small community. This past weekend I passed the Technician test to get my Ham Radio license. (Call Sign KN4DCA) I plan to join our local ham club and emergency response team. I am even considering starting a little ‘Survivalclub’ Meetup to see what the town has in the way of preppers and survivalists. Down here, I suspect they’ll be quite a few folks who far surpass anything we’ve done.
My families main food storage is still at SurvivalClub North (as another just in case), so I’ve started again down here. However, my focus here is a lot different, and encompasses everything I learned helping our group lock down our needs at our first location. If I find the time, I’ll try to do some updates and let you know how I’m doing things differently down here in comparison to when we first started prepping.
Again, thanks to all who helped make this amazing journey possible!