Apocalyptic Homesteading (Day 530-562)

Hello Everyone!

A month of binge gaming, Deer eating the black locust, Wild weather, Broken trees & The garden grows!

I am up early today which has not been the case much of late because my sleep cycle has been all over the place during the previous month. Nonetheless I have been getting plenty of rest so no complaints there or anything and I am sure that I will settle back into my usual routine eventually.

Initially I had wanted to take a short break from writing (for at least two weeks) but once those two weeks were up I just kept stretching it out further and further until I awoke this morning and realized an entire month had passed!

The writing was not the only thing that I took a break from because I also largely avoided social media, the news and pretty much anything that was unrelated to the video game that I have been steadily binging out on each day.

Thankfully I am not mindlessly zoning out playing the game alone and have had daily interactions with other folks playing it as well. Which is assuredly a big change of pace for me given the level of reclusion in my life and the lack of social interactions that I have aside from my jaunts to get supplies each month.

As far as the supply runs go I think that it has now been around three months since I went on one and at this point I think that I have done a pretty good job of cleaning out my 'larder' so that I can replenish it with new items. So far everything that I had stored away has held up well and even the outdated stuff still has some flavor to it (aside from tasting like a can) which is good considering some of that stuff is a few years old at this point.

There are a number of reasons that I have been postponing the supply run but mainly I wanted to use up those squirreled away goods, test how well the diet suits me and of course continue trying to stretch the supply runs out further and further apart. I think that so far this is the longest period that I have gone without a resupply trip and although things have gone well... it is apparent to me that I should at least double the amount of coffee that I stash away!

Seriously though the experiment of maintaining food security in my life has done wonders for me mentally and doing these little tests of my 'stocking, storage and rationing' capabilities really feels rewarding. The tests of course also help me figure out how to improve my overall tactics and make better decisions on what to squirrel away in the first place and perhaps more importantly... just how long it will last so keep that in mind.

Okay, it is much later in the day now and I better work on this entry more to avoid it being incredibly short for such a long period of not writing and posting. I have assuredly missed the writing but I have alas also been very content without it or at least without the pressure that I put on myself over doing it all.

During the previous month I have fully zoned out into the gaming world and had an awesome time gaming with both old friends and new friends alike and by and large the social interactions have been awesome. Perhaps more importantly though (although it may sound selfish) I got to have the kind of experience playing the game that I wanted to have when it first launched but it was super buggy and overall not a fun experience.

Now that I have finally 'scratched that itch' I am starting to want to get back to working on stuff outdoors more. Over the last few weeks I have repeatedly found myself toiling away at odd hours doing little tasks around the place so that has been nice. Mostly because it is a sign that perhaps my desire to binge game is getting satiated enough that I will soon tire of it (like I routinely do) and get back to being more physically active.

On a different note. All my black locust seedlings were doing good and almost to the sapling stage when the deer found them and mowed the majority of them down to tiny nubs sticking up from the dirt. I guess that in the long run I need to either move the remainder of them (and any future ones) into the dog yard or make a fenced in area just for them.

Thankfully there are still a handful of the seedlings left and I may have just enough wire mesh to protect them so if all goes well I will save the remaining few that there are before the deer get them also. I still have well over half the total seeds that I ordered during the spring remaining so I think that I am just going to plant a bunch more over the coming weeks and try again.

On the other hand both the potato plants and those two corn plants are doing quite well and there is what looks like basil growing in several of the pots that I planted it in last year along with what I think is squash. Basically I have (aside from the potatoes) two or three different food or herb plants that have somehow made it this far which is honestly better than most of my gardening endeavors turn out so go figure!

The weather has been quite cooperative for growing with all the rain that we have been getting from those 'routine' severe storms that seem to blow through every week and a half or so. As a side note, a few storms back a big oak near the compost sheered off at its crown and then a few days ago another storm broke a massive cherry tree branch that is now leaning over the dog yard fence.

That particular cherry tree branch is a solid foot in diameter at its base and since the rest of the tree has signs of similar breakages I had left two smaller trees under it to catch it in case it ever relieved itself. Which it sure as heck did and yup those two trees caught it (and kept it from smashing the dog yard fence) just like I intended them to.

At some point I am going to have to start sectioning that branch down and get it removed before it fully dies and starts shedding its smaller branches into the dog yard. One way or another I will get it dealt with but more than likely it will not be anytime soon since the ticks are so bad right now and the last thing that I want to be doing is handling a bunch of brush.

The last time that I actually hiked out into the woods I was like 'whoa that is too many ticks for even me' and have yet to hike in them again since then. There really is not much that can be done comfortably outside this time of year between the heat, the ticks, the horse and deer flies along with all the other pests but its not miserable outside either or at least not in the shade.

Of course the chickens do an amazing job at keeping the ticks (and most of the pests actually) out of the dog yard so that is good and I have noticed that with all the bugs around they do not eat nearly as much feed as they do in the colder months. I am sure they eat a good bit of vegetation also but I think mainly its the sheer amount of bugs they consume just plodding around the dog yard all day.

Well, I have rambled on enough for one entry and want to avoid trying to recap the entire last month and all the insights that I have had along the way... so suffice it to say that it was a wonderful experience and I am glad to have taken the time away from everything to do it.

I hope that everyone is doing well and has a nice day/night.

I am so thankful for the shade of this tree canopy!

I have no idea what kind of bird this was or what killed it!

It is not the greatest picture but check out these tiny cherries!

The pokeweed in the dog yard has gotten insanely tall!

Thanks for reading!

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Cheers! & Hive On!