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Off the grid living isn's enough

I thought I was ready by being off the grid years ago.
Fuernis

It all started out well. I got a 3 acre property well outside of the city. Set it up with solar and wind power, outputting so much power the electric company was sending me a check. Had a good sized garden that was providing all of the family vegetables and some fruit. Canned what was left over and stored it in the store cellar for a rainy day. Watered the garden with stored rain water, it took me two months to get the collection system working right and the 300 gallon collection tank cost an arm and a leg. I couldn’t talk my wife in to letting me get live stock, but that’s okay I hate processing my own meat. It was all set, we lived somewhat close to town but I was still self sufficient.

 

It wasn’t enough, when the price on produce went up I laughed. We didn’t care about food cost, we made most of our own and now I could tell my wife “I told you it would be worth all of the work”. Prices kept going up. Not just on produce but stapes like flour, sugar and meat. My god, chicken breasts are $15.00 a pound, but that’s okay we always have eaten too much meat. But it didn’t stop, prices kept going up. The lengths our friends go to pay for food in a week are insane. They always wanted to lose weight but now it’s a side effect and not vanity. Kristen has been giving them out canned goods from the shelter. I know it’s a bad idea, but I can’t let them suffer like that. We don’t have and stock pile of food left now. We haven’t had meat in about three weeks now; I don’t think there is any in the super market. Super market is now an oxymoron.  What once held boundless isles of food is now closed.

 

Mark and Heather came today with the kids, they want to stay here. There neighborhood is just too violent. Heathers car got stolen, not like she needed it now anyway. Her job at the coffee shop ended long ago. Someone broke in to there house and stole all of there food while they were in line for there subsidized rations. Kristen already told them they could stay; I don’t know how we are going to feed them all. Even with all or our ration vouchers and the food we grow it was just enough for the three of us. My mother and Konrad will be here this week so that takes the number to nine. There isn’t enough land to grow that much food. I am going to plow down everything that isn’t a walkway and that will help some next year, but that may be too late.

 

I have tried talking to Doug next door; he won’t let me use any of his land. I told him we would do the work and he gets 15% of the food from his land. He thinks this will all work out, he his still watering his three hole golf course. This fool has four acres and he is using it as a practice golf course and wasting water on it. He said he needs something to do while is shop is closed for the winter. He really thinks his golf shop will reopen.

 

Tomorrow I am going to try to convince Mr. Kim to let us buy some of his chickens, I guess I will have to get used to prepping meat again. At least well have some meat and eggs this way. I am having the kids go to the state park and gather seeds and acorns to grind up for feed for the chickens. I don’t know what else to do about food. Even with all the preparation and off the grid independence there isn’t enough. If any one else comes I will have to turn them away. That isn’t a choice I wanted to make. Do we still have choices or is it now only about survival?

Dec 31
off the grid,Green living


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