Happy birthday, Younger Daughter

Younger Daughter turns 22 years old today!

Sadly she's far, far away right now at her overseas Navy duty station, so we had to content ourselves with sending instant messages with birthday wishes. Such is life in the military, I guess.

The (re)Rise of Victory Gardens

Here's my latest blog post for Lehman's entitled "The (re)Rise of Victory Gardens."

Buried under demand

I've been following the situation at Lehman's since the economy took a nosedive.

Lehman's, as you know, sells an enormous variety of merchandise geared at simplicity and self-sufficiency. Originally it began as a source of non-electric goods for Amish customers, but it's blossomed over the years as many other people discovered non-electric goods do indeed make life simpler. Their philosophy is "Prepared, not scared."

With the advent of the coronavirus, it seems a lot of customers are in the latter category and attempting to move into the former. This can be nothing but good news, but it also means places like Lehman's are overwhelmed from people desperate to obtain products like canning supplies, emergency foods, non-electric lighting options, and other tools of self-sufficiency. It seems every time I log onto the website, the banner message at top hints the business is getting busier, not slower. Shipping times are taking longer, and many items are out of stock.

Curious, I emailed the vice-president of marketing, Glenda Lehman Ervin, and inquired: "I thought things would have slowed down by now, but I guess I'm wrong. How are you on getting new inventory in? Are your sources down?"

Glenda replied: "We have not seen any slowing down of demand. The warehouse is about a week behind (we normally ship within 24 hours) and our vendors are having trouble keeping up. We have lots out of stock. We are also getting some major media coverage like the LA Times and the Wall Street Journal. Our hope is this movement has a long tail and people realize how important self-sufficiency is; not operating out of fear but our of a desire to live a simple, more fulfilling life. As a marketer, it feels good to be promoting the same message we have been for years and not taking advantage of people who are scared."

She makes an excellent point. Homesteaders and preppers were once considered "fringe," but they have emerged to be the rock stars of self-sufficiency.

Glenda also would like to pass on the following statement from Lehman's:

"We apologize for any delays in our response and appreciate your patience during the time of this pandemic. While we are still open, we have limited staffing and have an emphasis on receiving essential inventory and processing orders. Our normal order turn-around time is 24 hours, but our warehouse staffing capacity is limited by social distancing rules and orders are running higher than normal, so orders are currently taking up to two weeks to fill. Our vendors are also having trouble producing merchandise, so our out-of-stock situation is much higher than normal. Thank you for your patience as we work very hard to catch up!"

If you plan to order anything from Lehman's you won't be disappointed with the quality of their goods; but this is also a plea for understanding from a business that's doing its very best to keep up with demand.

May the Fourth be with you

Coming as I do from a family of geeks, I'm always amused by geeky celebrations. Today is International Star Wars Day because -- are you ready? -- it's May 4th. As in, "May the fourth be with you."

So Happy Star Wars Day! May the Fourth be with you!

Never believe the weather predictions

So yesterday (Saturday), ominous weather predictions started surfacing for our region:

Saturday has the potential to be an active thunderstorm day. Isolated strong to severe storms will be possible after 1PM. Some of these storms could produce large hail and strong wind gusts. A second line of strong thunderstorms will be possible between 5PM and 9 PM. Wind gusts between 40 and 60 mph, brief downpours, and small hail will be possible with this second line of storms. Areas of blowing dust will be possible near recently worked fields which could reduce visibility in some areas.

We decided it would be prudent to spend the day battening down hatches. We picked up tools left lying around, secured loose objects, and even parked the car and log splitter under the livestock awning (in case of heavy hail).

The day started out sunny and warm, with the daffodils in full bloom.

Our young orchard trees are just starting to bloom, too, and I was hoping the weather wouldn't be so severe as to strip the blossoms, which would mean less fruit.

Once the battening down was done, I took advantage of the balmy conditions to get a lot of work done in the garden, prepping the beds for planting. I kept an eye on the sky, which gradually grew more ominous.

We had a little bit of rain and a little bit of wind -- enough to kick up dust on the road and drive me in from the garden -- and that was it.

The sky cleared and the sun came out. Then the cycle started again, with ominous clouds gathering.

A little bit of wind, a little bit of rain...

...but the majority of the cell skirted to the east of us. Here the evening sun shines on trees with a dark thunderstorm as a backdrop.

As it turned out, the majority of the weather moved through during the night, though we never got any hail, thunder, or lightning. But it rained enough to leave puddles.

While we're joking we should never believe the weather predictions, of course the one time we didn't heed the warnings would be the one time all chaos would break loose, right?. So -- we'll keep listening to the weather predictors and acting accordingly.

It must be spring.

Where to get seeds when online sources are SOLD OUT

Here's a piece I wrote for The Organic Prepper entitled "Where to get seeds when online sources are SOLD OUT."

Check it out!

Social distancing, North Idaho style

A couple weeks ago, Older Daughter and I decided to take Mr. Darcy on a nice long walk to stretch our legs. We chose to explore a nearby bike trail which runs along the lake shore. This trail used to be an old railroad line, and when the railroad was decommissioned, one of the best things the state ever did was convert it for bike use (and pedestrian use, of course).

So we loaded up Mr. Darcy, and off we went.

It was a cloudy, cool day, perfect walking weather. The trail was also deserted. In three miles of walking, we passed only three people.

Near the spot where the parking lot meets the bike trail, the rangers had trimmed a fallen tree and left it for, I dunno, décor or something. It was of impressive size.

And evidently children enjoyed crawling into a small hole at its base, which I presume was deliberately trimmed for that purpose. Forget décor; this was a jungle gym for kids. How cool is that?

The trail incorporates an old bridge, so bikers (and walkers) can cross this shallow portion of the lake.

Making sure we were sufficiently armed with poop bags -- Mr. Darcy gets a little excited on these excursions -- off we went.

First stop, the bridge.

This venerable structure was built in 1921.

On the far side, Older Daughter noticed something on a rock at the water's edge.

Some clever wit had made a modern-day pictograph.

A solitary loon looked like it was swimming through a symphony.

On the far side of the bridge, the lake shore curls around for a view of the structure from the other side.

The views on the path were lovely.

We walked 1.5 miles in one direction, then turned around to complete a three-mile loop. Afterward, we let Mr. Darcy splash in the water...which, of course, was our whole purpose for this jaunt, right?

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we made another excursion a few days later. This time the day was sunny and warmer, and my goodness the parking lot was packed. Lots and lots of families with young kids and bicycles. It was nice to see everyone enjoying the weather.

We took a different direction this time, and saw an osprey nest.

Because the day was warmer, we made sure to incorporate a lake stop for Darcy.

This dog lives for the chance to fetch sticks in the water.

Despite how full the parking lot was, there was plenty of room for people to spread out and enjoy the sunshine.

We've been hitting this trail about twice a week now, and Mr. Darcy really, really enjoys social distancing, North Idaho style.

Were stoics onto something?

After a lifetime of hearing virtually nothing about the philosophy of stoicism, suddenly I'm seeing articles about it everywhere.

Stoicism, as you may know, is a school of philosophy founded in ancient Greece in the 3rd century B.C. by Zeno of Citium. Famous adherents include Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius.

According to the Daily Stoic, "The philosophy asserts that virtue (such as wisdom) is happiness, and judgment should be based on behavior rather than words. That we don’t control and cannot rely on external events, only ourselves and our responses. ... Stoicism doesn’t concern itself with complicated theories about the world, but with helping us overcome destructive emotions and act on what can be acted upon. It’s built for action, not endless debate." (This website also offers nine exercises for developing stoicism.)

The philosophy is a lot more complicated than that, but you get the gist.

So why, after a lifetime of barely hearing a peep about this philosophy, am I seeing stoicism get so much coverage? I'm sure the timing -- coming as the globe shuts down over the coronavirus pandemic -- is no coincidence. Now that life has suddenly become very complicated, I suppose stoicism may offer ways to handle those complications.

The concept of "It's not how you feel, it's how you behave" is a new and possibly difficult philosophy for many people to abide by. Our modern society teaches us emotions and feeeeelings are paramount. Every little perceived microaggression must be treated as earth shattering and personal. We are literally enshrining emotions (hurt feeeeeelings) into law.

But with so much now out of our control, maybe the stoics are onto something.

This article, for example, recommends stoicism for anger management: "Seneca thought that anger is a temporary madness, and that even when justified, we should never act on the basis of it because, though 'other vices affect our judgment, anger affects our sanity: others come in mild attacks and grow unnoticed, but men's minds plunge abruptly into anger. … Its intensity is in no way regulated by its origin: for it rises to the greatest heights from the most trivial beginnings.'"

Or, as Marcus Aurelius put it, "Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been." (In other words, anger is a choice.)

The author recommends behaving like a rock when insulted. "Stand by a rock and insult it, and what have you accomplished? If someone responds to insult like a rock, what has the abuser gained with his invective?" This way, the insulter can be "livid with rage" while the insultee can retain his serenity. (This author also offers tips on how to keep from getting angry.)

In another article, the writer points out two foundational principles of stoicism: "The first is that some things are within our control and some are not, and that much of our unhappiness is caused by thinking that we can control things that, in fact, we can’t. What can we control? Epictetus argues that we actually control very little. We don’t control what happens to us, we can’t control what the people around us say or do, and we can’t even fully control our own bodies, which get damaged and sick and ultimately die without regard for our preferences. The only thing that we really control is how we think about things, the judgements we make about things."

The second principle is: "It’s not things that upset us, but how we think about things. Stuff happens. We then make judgements about what happens. If we judge that something really bad has happened, then we might get upset, sad, or angry, depending on what it is. If we judge that something bad is likely to happen then we might get scared or fearful. All these emotions are the product of the judgements we make. Things in themselves are value neutral, for what might seem terrible to us might be a matter of indifference to someone else, or even welcomed by others. It’s the judgements we make that introduce value into the picture, and it’s those value judgements that generate our emotional responses. ... Another Stoic strategy is to remind ourselves of our relative unimportance. The world does not revolve around us."

Yet another article points out how Marcus Aurelius passed the last 14 year of his life enduring a far more virulent plague that we face (which killed him), yet was able to pen his famous "Meditations" on how stoicism allowed him to cope. Very similar to the Serenity Prayer, stoicism allowed Marcus Aurelius to "distinguish between what’s 'up to us' and what isn’t." The author points out how this principle is "basic premise of modern cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the leading evidence-based form of psychotherapy. ... Stoics reflect on character strengths such as wisdom, patience and self-discipline, which potentially make them more resilient in the face of adversity. They try to exemplify these virtues and bring them to bear on the challenges they face in daily life, during a crisis like the pandemic. They learn from how other people cope."

Interesting, the author of this last article writes, "With all of this in mind, it’s easier to understand another common slogan of Stoicism: fear does us more harm than the things of which we’re afraid. This applies to unhealthy emotions in general, which the Stoics term 'passions' – from pathos, the source of our word 'pathological.' It’s true, first of all, in a superficial sense. Even if you have a 99% chance, or more, of surviving the pandemic, worry and anxiety may be ruining your life and driving you crazy. ... We live in denial of the self-evident fact that we all die eventually. The Stoics believed that when we’re confronted with our own mortality, and grasp its implications, that can change our perspective on life quite dramatically. Any one of us could die at any moment. Life doesn’t go on forever."

Interesting stuff here, folks. There is nothing new under the sun.

A flaw in bug-out plans

As you've probably noticed, there's a lot more chatter out there about bugging out to rural areas to escape crowded cities ravaged by the coronavirus.

Most people bug out to modest set-ups. People are staying with distant family members, or renting cabins, or finding Air BnB's, or otherwise doing what they can to keep their distance.

But one group of people who went through the time, effort, and expense of pre-establishing a rural bug-out are having a difficult time. I refer to the Super Rich.

As many know, the Super Rich are known for paying fabulous sums of money for extravagant bunkers in perceived safe locations (such as New Zealand). But for all their elaborate planning, it seems many of the Super Rich didn't factor in one obvious flaw: an inability to get to their bug-outs in the first place due to border closures or pilot shortages.

In one article entitled "Super rich stranded as private jet operators say no to travel," the article notes:

"Private jet operators are turning away wealthy clients as coronavirus-related travel bans restrict their ability to operate, despite a surge in requests from people willing to shell out as much as US$150,000 to secure a spot on their planes. Inquiries for international flights on private jets have shot up ninefold, said Kanika Tekriwal, founder of New Delhi-based JetSetGo, as individuals with vast financial means try to escape virus hot spots.

One of her clients, an Indian tycoon, tried to book a jet to fly with his family to New Delhi from London last weekend, but he remains stranded in the U.K. after a sudden travel suspension in a stopover country came in just half an hour before they were due to depart."

In another article titled "Rich Americans Activate Pandemic Escape Plans," the focus is also on New Zealand:

"Some Silicon Valley denizens have already made the move to New Zealand as the pandemic has escalated. On March 12, Mihai Dinulescu decided to pull the plug on the cryptocurrency startup he was launching to flee to the remote country. "My fear was it was now or never as I thought they might start closing borders," said Dinulescu, 34. "I had this very gripping feeling that we needed to go."

Dinulescu packed his bags and left his furniture, television, paintings and other belongings with friends. He bought the earliest plane ticket available and within 12 hours the Harvard University alum and his wife were on a 7 a.m. flight bound for Auckland. In San Francisco, "the entire international section of the airport was empty—except for one flight to New Zealand," Dinulescu said. "In a time when pretty much all planes were running on a third occupancy, this thing was booked solid. ... Four days later, New Zealand closed its borders to foreign travelers, which could thwart some refugee travel plans. ... After the shutdown was announced, however, local press reported a slight increase in private plane landings in the country."

I dunno, it just strikes me as odd that this most obvious weak spot was overlooked by people who presumably were smart enough to get rich in the first place. For a bug-out to be effective, you have to be able to get there. Go figure.

Personally I think it's a lot wiser to be among like-minded neighbors who are enthusiastic gardeners.

On the other hand, I've always wanted to visit New Zealand. I hear it's beautiful.