Our society has become so strange I cannot even comment on it any longer. I am now in the ignore mode. I've been centering on my own little world and there is quite enough to do there. My little shed, laboratory, workshop or whatever you may call it is in constant need of cleaning and organizing. I need to check the tires on my segway, cut and trim the backyard...and all this is enough for me right now.

My JoJo is at war with what she calls the "Demon Squirrel". We have a large Pecan tree right off the back porch and the Demon Squirrel eats well. Now it's not that my wife begrudges the demon squirrel a square meal...apparently he lies in wait to throw whole pecans at her when she is working in the yard, and hangs upside down staring and chattering squirrel curses at her.

So the pronouncement was made that the demon squirrel must go...even to the point that JoJo advised that she would accept the Karmic consequences...I was hired as the hit man free of karmic death responsibility. I was without proper equipment for this assignment so to the Internet shopping I went and purchased an air rifle. There are good deals available on these things, plastic stock, heavy barrel, scope, and ammo all included in a reasonable base price. I also thought an air rifle might not be without use in the survival supplies or for future pest removal for the garden. I ordered a Gamo air rifle that is pictured above. Of course as soon as we ordered the rifle----the Demon Squirrel has apparently disappeared! Good for him. If he felt the vibes of the upcoming future and split my job is accomplished....and I have a cool air rifle with zero bad karma.

We are about done for the year with the garden...we could of course plant some "winterish" stuff but we have decided to work the beds over during the fall and the winter instead of planting. I feel bad about the end of it. I have gotten so used to seeing things growing and flourishing out in the back yard that watching it end is tough.

JoJo is still canning. So far she has made and put up salsa, tomatoes, English style pickles, green beans, plum "stuff" (i don't really know what it is so...) applesauce, apple pie filling and there is probably more canning to come. The best thing is that everything actually tastes good...so far I've eaten the salsa and pickles and they taste great and look like what they are supposed to be. Amazing. The Kitchen has been like a chemistry lab for the past couple of weeks tho.

I have a thing about organization and preparation. I sort of fell in love with the photo displayed above for those very reasons. I have completed my 3 day walk-out bag for the Prius and am very happy with the result. Being organized and prepared makes me feel as if I can adequately handle any situation which arises and i simply feel better when I address these needs.

The homestead has 3 months worth of long term food supplies in stock and 160 gallons of rainwater collected. I am planning on expanding to 6 months food supply over time but right now i feel satisfied that 3 months will cover us for any upcoming emergency.

I did recently order an additional case of 12 MRE's this month. I am still concerned in regards to the coming influenza season. I have previously alternated between buying mre's and freeze dried food for long term storage. Mre's contain a complete response with snacks, spoon, toilet paper, spices etc. With mre's there are no additional elements requiring storage. From this point on I believe that I will focus on laying in mre's only for simplification.

Photography can be the window to our soul as a nation.

Brian Ulrich, has been photographing the results of our current depression on abandoned housing developments. He has now completed an exhibition of abandoned commerical real estate across the country titled "DARK STORES".

It is disturbing to clinically see what we have done to ourselves and our wasteful stupidity as a people. You owe it to yourself to look at these photographs and view our future wasteland.

http://notifbutwhen.com/projects/copia/dark-stores/#i31

"And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, "O Lord, bless this thy hand grenade, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy." And the Lord did grin. And the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths, and carp and anchovies, and orangutans and breakfast cereals, and fruit-bats and large chu..."