H1N1 Swine Flu Confirmed in Colorado

As of 10:31 a.m. this morning, the top health officials in Colorado released the information that there are now 2 confirmed cases of the H1N1 Virus (Swine Flu) in Colorado. One in Arapaho County - a person who recently traveled via a cruise to Mexico with a stop in San Diego, and one in Douglas County who is a DIA baggage handler. Both were hospitalized and are now recovering at home. Both didn't work so that they could "self-quarantine". One family member took antivirals.

There are no additional confirmed reports at this time.

Inventory Check: Nails and Screws

How often to you really think about your supply of nails and screws? When you have a project and go to reach for them? How many different sizes do you have? How many of each size?


If something were to happen today, like the price of nails and screws goes up 10-times what they cost now, do you have enough to last for a long time? Same question - if you could never ever buy any more - enough?


Next time you go to Lowe's or Home Depot or any hardware store, pick up a few boxes of nails and screws, various sizes. Oh, and while you're at it, do you have a couple of good hammers and screwdrivers?


Just checkin'.

When the Police Ask Out-Of-The-Blue Questions

This is a necessary vid to view. When speaking to the police, you don't HAVE to VOLUNTEER information about what's in your car. Check out this video for more information: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4097602514885833865

Here's an excerpt from another website (http://wisdomaddict.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/dont-talk-to-the-police/) about this:

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The absolute worst thing you can do during an interaction with law enforcement is to speak. DON’T do it. The police will try to charm you. They pretend to be your best friend. They will smile and look you in the eye and stroke your ego. They will tell you how intelligent you are and how whatever reason they are speaking to you is no big deal and your simple explanation will smooth everything out and you will be on your way. This is CRAP. THERE IS NO WAY SPEAKING WITH THE POLICE CAN HELP YOU! IT CAN ONLY HARM YOU! The reality is you are only one individual in a long line of individuals that the police deal with day in and day out. You are nothing. It is their Job to find people who have committed Crimes. They could care less and may even revel in their power to wreck your life - Guilty or not.

“Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution”

“Due process”

“Double jeopardy”

“Self-incrimination"

“Eminent domain”

No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Your Miranda Rights

• You have the right to remain silent;
• Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law;
• You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have a lawyer present with you during questioning;
• If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you if you so desire;
• If you do choose to talk to the police, you have the right to end the interview at any time.

The second piece confirms that the suspect heard and understood the rights and is making a voluntary decision to speak with law enforcement:

"Do you understand each of these rights as I have explained them to you?"

"With these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us now?"

THIS IS WHEN YOU SAY

"NO, I DO NOT"

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Remember that they can't pull you over "just because". Do you have an NRA sticker in your car window? You could be a likely target. Do you have a visible gun rack? Same. Be careful about your driving, especially while transporting your newly-purchased firearm. Keep your car insurance and registration up to date, and your vehicle in obvious good working condition.

As a single mom, I've been bullied by cops. Yes, I know they are just doing their jobs, but when they come across a single mom, with a 3-month-old in the backseat, properly strapped in, in a 1984 Chevy that barely runs, tattered clothing, no job, and 100+ degrees in August ... there is NO excuse for a policeman to mistreat the mom just because she couldn't afford the car insurance necessary to drive her car once a week to get formula for her child. Had to walk the 2 miles back to the camper that subbed as a home, in the heat, carrying the baby and diaper bag. I haven't respected law enforcement since.

Protect Yourself From Lightening Strikes

I was struck by lightning in 1981, while standing a bus stop, waiting in the rain for the bus to take me to class at the University of Louisville. My hair stood on end, the umbrella melted, and I smelled smoke for days. I was one of the lucky ones.

Lightning kills nearly 100 people in the United States each year, and injures another 300. Most lightening injuries and deaths can be prevented. Take a few minutes to review the following so that you can protect yourself, your family, and your home. Don’t become a victim:

• Get indoors and stay there. Be inside with windows and doors closed.


• Don’t use the phone during a storm. Electrical surges can enter through your phone line and electrical wiring. It can cause your entire system to melt.


• Stay away from metal pipes. Metal conducts electricity, which is lightening.


• Avoid water: showers, washing hands/dishes, pools, or any other source of water. Water and electricity/lightening do NOT mix!


• Turn off electrical appliances and equipment, then unplug them. This includes power tools, power strips, computers, etc.


• Did you know that you don’t have to be in the middle of a storm to be in harm’s way? A bolt of lightening doesn’t travel straight, and is five-times hotter than the surface of the sun. It can strike as far away as 10 miles from the center of a storm.


• Hook your electrical equipment up to surge protectors – including your computer, air conditioner, etc. In the event that you’re not home to unplug items, the surge protector will automatically shut the electricity down. This will help prevent fires and other damage.


• Get lightening suppressors, which help diminish the damage caused by a bolt of lightening. Use them on your TV, cable antennas, phone system, etc. Protect your entire house.


• Don’t underestimate lightening. One bolt is strong enough to power a 100-watt lightbulb for about three months.


• Check your weather forecast before planning any outdoor activities, especially swimming in a pool.


• Stay inside during a storm, if possible. If not, wait in a vehicle with a hard top.


• If you are outside and unable to get into a car or building during a storm, stay away from trees, anything metal like light poles, bleachers, goal posts, etc. The lightening’s charge will go through the metal and could get you if you are close or touching the item.


• Never lay on the ground. Instead, drop to your knees with your hands on them and bend forward. This will minimize the area of your body that is in contact with the ground.


• Take a first aid course. It should teach you how to work with someone that has been struck by lightening.


• If your hair stands on end, you are probably about to be struck by lightening. Watch out!

Be careful!

Symptoms of Swine Flu

I was reading the wikipedia entry for this 2009 Swine Flu outbreak, and loved the picture they had that depicts the symptoms of the swine flu. Here it is:

In addition to replenishing our lost supplies (gloves, masks, etc.), I also stopped by the health food store for sambucol (elderberry syrup), horehound tea leaves, and more. We brought home 16 gallons of water, more cough medicine, puppy food, dog treats, trash bags, baked beans, and puffed rice to make some special treats that hide spinach (for Tween). We already had everything else we need to last indoors/confined for several months. Maybe longer.

Yesterday the news gave a total of 86 deaths in Mexico due to this outbreak. Today, I see on http://www.cnn.com/ that there are 149.

Could it be that it's really here, or are we just going overboard? Does it matter? I'm basically a hermit anyway, and not going to the mall because I never go to the mall. We don't need to spend money on non-necessities. And our garden, yard and house need tending to, as well as our business and schoolwork.

Enjoy your day. Don't be paranoid or afraid. Just eat healthy, wash your hands constantly, take precautions, get plenty of sleep and exercise, drink lots of water, avoid touching possibly-contaminated surfaces, avoid contact with possibly-infected people, and enjoy your life!

Swine Flu Pandemic Possibility

Found this article at: http://www.utahpreppers.com/2009/04/pandemic-preparedness/ - wanted to pass it along in its entirety with a few comments of my own:


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With the current Swine Flu scare coming out of Mexico and popping up here and there in the United States, it is prudent to become familiar with the situation and especially prudent to review your Pandemic Preparedness Level. I should also stress that this is a “DON’T PANIC, Just Prepare!” post. So first, let’s get to know the player - what is the swine flu? Well, it’s just a variant of the “flu” that makes the rounds and gets passed around every year. Thing is, this variant doesn’t typically pass to humans so there is not an anti-virus in production or even made yet. Don’t take it from me though, and don’t take it from the ‘news’. Here are links to the CDC info and briefs on this situation:

• Swine Flu Brief
• Key facts about Swine Influenza
• Human Swine Influenza Investigation
• This is a vid-cast from the CDC about the swine flu outbreak

Some quick anti-panic notes from the above sources:

• Swine flu CANNOT be transmitted by food. Eating pork does NOT put you at risk.
• This is NOT the first time the ’swine flu’ has transmitted to humans. It’s happened several times before without it becoming a pandemic.
• This variant of swine flu, as with any flu, is a virus and primarily spread person-to-person through coughing or sneezing.
• This is just a flu! The key here is to NOT GET IT, since there is not currently an anti-viral for it.

Quick notes about prevention:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people. If you get sick with influenza, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth because germs can spread that way.

Now, let’s talk a bit about Pandemic Preparedness.

We’ve linked to this before, here is an excellent resource on Pandemic Preparedness from the LDS Church. In the case of a true Pandemic outbreak in your area, the most important thing is to be prepared to Shelter In. This means having enough food/water/supplies to keep you and your family inside at your home for possibly several weeks. You don’t want to be caught in a store-run in a pandemic outbreak! You need to make sure you are prepared for that possibility ahead of time. If you have your 3 month supply of everything at home already, then Peace is yours in this situation!

Other Pandemic specific things to make sure you have an excellent supply of:

• N-95 Masks: These masks are different from regular dust masks or other types of masks. They are rated to help stop the spread of viruses. You should have enough in your preps to provide a new one to every member of your family every day for at least 2 weeks. They can be purchased at most stores that include a pharmacy, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, WalGreens, etc. Generally they are a little pricey but are necessary for your preps.
• Medical Gloves: You should have several hundred pair of medical gloves in your preps. These are needed if someone in your family gets sick and you have to self-quarantine. Anytime you touch anything that a sick person has been around, you need to be wearing gloves. You can buy these at the same places you buy N-95 masks. They are a lot cheaper than the masks though.
• Alcohol-based Hand Sanitizer: Even though you’re wearing gloves all the time, you should have lots of alcohol based sanitizers in your preps. You should have them in your day bag, your go bag, your 72-hour kits and your regular preps. You should also have lots of anti-bacterial soap as well.

Other Preps: To be prepared to take care of someone infected in your home, you should also have the following in your preps (these preps will be for the single person providing care for the sick person, you do not need to have enough of these supplies for everyone in the family to wear constantly):

• Disposable surgical gowns
• Disposable shoe covers
• Goggles or face shield
• Bleach (to clean surfaces and items touched by a sick person)
• Supplies to boil water (to sanitize dishes and other items used by sick person)

I can’t stress enough how important Pandemic Preparedness is. The worst possible thing you could do in a Pandemic outbreak is rush to the store with thousands of potentially sick people and try to fight them all to buy supplies to shelter in. The only rushing you want to do in a Pandemic situation is rush home - and stay there.

Make sure you have N-95 masks and hand sanitizer in your Day Bag, Office Kit, Car Kit, Go Bag and 72 Hour kits! Keep a good supply of sanitizing materials in your preps at home and .. .. .. Don’t Panic!

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According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control): symptoms for swine flu (H1N1) include: fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. If you come down with even a few of these symptoms, call your doctor, don your mask, and head on to get checked out. Samples of your blood will be sent to be examined to see if you have this strain of flu. Better to be safe than sorry.

Here's a link to a .pdf file that gives information on how to give chest compressions to people who are having troubles clearing their lungs: http://www.phoenixchildrens.com/emily-center/child-health-topics/handouts/CPT-55b.pdf. Print it out and put it in your emergency binder.

You haven't started your emergency binder? Do it. TODAY! Grab a 2" binder and label it. Start with printing out the .pdf mentioned in the above paragraph. Then start your inventory of your stored foods, disposable gloves and other items mentioned in this article. Do you have hygiene and sanitary products, i.e. toilet paper? Cough medicine, theraflu, ibuprofen, acetamenaphin, children's products? A way to light your home? A way to cook if your utilities get shut off? Enough water (1 gallon per person per day)? Make a note in your binder of everything, then get out there are purchase what you don't have. Be sure to include a section in your binder for first aid, cooking without utilities, and more.

In addition, be sure to sanitize (with bleach, ammonia and/or vinegar) all doorknobs, telephones, toilet handles, cups, and everything else that you come in contact with. First thing tomorrow, we're going through this house and sanitizing everything, including the doorbell outside!

We have a particular situation: we have begun packing and preparing to move. We also have some minor repairs to make, and I have a business to run. Busy busy. We don't intend to put the house on the market until June, but have to pack and store lots of items to "stage" the house (make it more sellable). So... we have to figure out how to store our "prep" items without making prospective buyers think we're end-of-the-world freaks (which we're not). We can't fill our big water storage tank, and in the midst of moving some things to the storage unit we rented, we can't find the disposable gloves, masks, etc. At least we still have plenty of stored food on our special shelves.

So, despite tomorrow being my birthday, after I take the dogs to the vet, Tween and I need to gather some more disposable gloves, N-95 masks, goggles, bleach, and lots of gallons of water. Then we'll get a couple more bags of dog food and head on home.

Inventory Check: Soap

Soap. Simple, right? You use antibacterial squirt soap at the sink, have a bar of bath soap at the tubs, and gallons of laundry soap near your washing machine. But do you have enough?

Take a look at your receipts for last year. How often did you buy these things? Did you have enough? Did you have spur-of-the-moment trips to the store because you ran out of Cheer in the middle of doing laundry?

Did you know that in a pinch, you can use bar soap in your hair, and do you really need the convenience of squirt soap when bar soap will work just as well? How about using that same bar soap to do a load of wash (shavings)!

Do an inventory check. Then do a reality check. How much do you REALLY need per week. Per month. Per year.

Then make sure every time you buy one soap, you buy an extra or two for your storage plans.

A Survival Garden

If you can’t get to the store to buy your produce, what will you do? Plan now! Buy the seeds (HEIRLOOM!!), learn how to garden, learn how to preserve / can / dehydrate, and cook with what you grow. Practice seed-saving. Figure out what you have space for inside your home – if you can’t get outside to garden (in case someone sees your food and tries to steal it), stock up on grow lights and potting soil. Food is our most basic need, behind water. Do what you can NOW to ensure your health.

If you don’t have room for the following, choose what your favorite foods are, and which of the following are most versatile in your cooking.

Vegetables:

• Artichoke
• Asparagus
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Greens (lettuce, endive, escarole, spinach, swiss chard, etc.)
• Okra
• Onion and Garlic
• Pepper (Bell and Hot)
• Radish
• Squash (summer like zucchini or crookneck, winter like butternut or pumpkin, gourds)

Fruits:

• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Grapes
• Huckleberries
• Kiwi
• Melons, including watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.
• Raspberries
• Rhubarb
• Strawberries
• Tomatoes
• Wonderberries

Protein:

• Beans, including soybeans
• Cowpeas and Peas
• Sunflowers

Starch/Grain:

• Amaranth
• Buckwheat
• Corn
• Oats
• Quinoa
• Rice
• Wheat

Herbs/Other:

• Basil
• Chamomile
• Cilantro
• Cumin
• Dill
• Garlic
• Lavender
• Marigold
• Parsley
• Peppermint and Other Mints
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Soapwort
• Sorghum
• Stevia
• Thyme
• Etc.

Some of the above are perennial plants, and some you need to replant every year. Radishes can be grown every 6 weeks or so.

Be sure to read http://www.survival-cooking.com/ for recipes and cooking ideas and http://www.backyardgrocerygardening.blogspot.com/ for the best way to grow these plants.

Preparing for a Home's Power Outage

With the freak blizzards, and the Spring storms, let's prepare for a power outage in our homes:

1. Gather emergency supplies like food, can openers, water, candles, matches, flashlights, batteries, and radio.
2. Know where your fuse box and/or circuit breaker is.
3. Learn how to reset a circuit, and how to change a blown fuse.
4. Find out NOW how to override an electric garage door. If there isn’t a way, figure out what to do to get your car in or out of the garage.
5. If you think a power outage is about to occur, turn your refrigerator and freezers to the coldest settings. This will help keep food cold longer. Be sure to not only the fridge/freezer doors except when you absolutely have to, and do it quickly – quick in and quick out.
6. You should have most of your electrical equipment and all of your entertainment and computer equipment hooked up to surge protectors. This will prevent a sudden surge of electricity from hurting or frying them.
7. Keep extra blankets and old cardboard boxes (with an x-acto knife) and duct tape to cover windows in case the heat does go out. This will prevent drafts.
8. Figure out which of your home’s rooms are the most insulated. Inner room, or the family room with the fireplace. Make that where you spend most of your time during the power outage.
9. Once the power does go out, turn the thermostat pretty low, and turn off the circuit breaker for the water heater to reduce the demand for energy once the power is restored. An overload could send it back to an outage. However, leave one light on, or a radio, so you’ll know when the power has been restored.
10. If the outside temperature is expected to stay below 35 degrees, place items from your fridge (milk, cheese, etc.) in a cooler on your back porch to keep things cold.
11. Cover the freezers and refrigerator with blankets to insulate them.
12. If you small gas, do NOT use matches or flip switches (including flashlights). Call the gas company, and turn off your utilities manually.

Did I leave anything out?

Birds Attack Cherry Trees

Soon after we moved onto this property last February, we discovered a beautiful flowering tree in our front/side yard. We took a sample and a pic to a local nursery who told us it was an ornamental pear tree. Boy, were they wrong. See the pic to the right? That's our actual cherry tree, laden with cherries, 2 days before it got attacked.

By the time we figured out it was a cherry tree, the fruits were there one day, and almost completely devoured the next day by birds. We did everything we could think of:

• scaring them away by hollering and yelling and clapping our hands
• netting the tree (it is too tall)
• tying aluminum pie pans to branches to scare them off (again, tree too tall and birds didn't care)

We did manage to grab a few cherries before they all disappeared, but we have a plan this year! The very day that we notice the cherries forming, we'll keep a close eye on the tree. And the very second that we find one with the blush of red on it, we'll start to harvest. Waiting even one day will be too late.

Again, this is applicable to this blog because birds can really kill our crops. They love fruit trees, corn crops, and surprisingly enough, tomatoes. Preparing for the bird invasion will help us gather cherries for preserving, dehydrating and seed-saving for cherry trees at our next house.

Plus, as we grow the cherry trees at the next place, we'll tie the aluminum pie pans on the branches as they grow!

Foxes in the Henhouse. Or Garden

We live in a suburb of Denver. No farmland nearby. No forests nearby. Just houses, businesses, and the rare empty lot and foreclosed house. We had barely moved into our new house February 2008 when we found a couple families of squirrels living in our attic, and a family of red foxes living under our back patio. (This house stood empty for about 18 months - more than enough time for critters to move in.) The squirrels needed an professional help, but for the foxes, since they are considered wildlife, we needed to simply "discourage" them.

First, we flooded the hole they'd dug under the back patio (to get all of them out - and scamper they did!). Then we filled it with cement before they could come back. They found a way to dig a hole on the other side of the patio so we had to flood that one and fill it with cement. They still tried to dig more holes so we surrounded the patio with large cement blocks the previous owner had placed in stacks around the yard, unfinished projects, we assumed.

We kept seeing the foxes. They must have made a den somewhere else in the suburb, but they liked our house. They would bark as they ran down the street at dusk, slowing and creeping onto our property. Burrowing into our front raised beds where I had tried to plant asparagus. Killing animals and devouring them on our front porch during the black of night (we often awoke to a bloody front porch, and skulls or tails on the front lawn).

I kept trying to plant vegetables, fruits and flowers in the front raised beds, but they would end up scattered all over the place from them making a burrow for their bodies. We even sprayed tiger and lion urine (from the local zoo) all over, but it did nothing! And, I make a "bed of nails" which they just moved aside and laid down. We bought an ultrasonic noise emitter - squirrels and birds kept setting it off. We tied packets of human hair all around the area.

Nothing deterred these foxes.

Except maybe time. They finally left for the season, and haven't been back yet. I wonder, no, I **hope** it's because we got a couple of dogs!

In case you have a problem with foxes in your yard, and you're trying very hard to have a garden to prepare for worse times... here's a bit of information about them (from: http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/Profiles/Mammals/Foxes.htm):

• Description: Four species of foxes make Colorado home. Red and gray foxes are three feet long and weigh nine to 11 pounds. Red foxes are reddish orange above, white below, and have a white-tipped tail and black ears and feet. Gray foxes have a black-tipped tail, reddish ears and feet and a mane of stiff black hairs on their grayish brown back. Swift and kit foxes are only 27 to 36 inches long; their tails are as long as their bodies. They weigh just four to seven pounds.
• Diet: Foxes mostly eat rodents, rabbits and birds. The smaller fox species eat large quantities of insects. The gray fox is distinctive in that it sometimes forages in trees for fruit and nestling birds. Red and gray foxes are most active at dawn and dusk; the smaller, arid-land foxes are more nocturnal.
• Reproduction: Coloradan foxes all produce a single litter of young per year. Gestation periods range from seven to eight weeks, and litter sizes probably average around four. Gray and kit foxes are not particularly common in most of their range in Colorado. Red foxes have increased greatly with the growth of irrigated agriculture on the plains. Swift foxes were nearly driven to extinction as an unintended side effect of programs to eradicated wolves and coyotes, but now are recovering.

From: http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/Professional-Trapper/howtogetridoffoxcoyotes.htm:

• Nuisance Concerns: Fox are a nuisance primarily for poultry producers. Turkeys, chickens, ducks, and geese are all susceptible to an opportunistic fox. Young pigs, lambs, and small pets are also killed by foxes. Foxes may carry rabies. Additionally, foxes have been known to steal pet food left outside for outdoor pets.
• Dog Issues: If you have a concern about a dog, whether it's a lost pet dog, a dangerous dog in your neighborhood, or to file a complaint about a barking dog, please visit my (his) dog issues page. You will find information on these topics, as well as dog services such as dog vaccinations, dog spay or neuter, or dog adoption programs. This website deals mostly with nuisance wildlife, but I have the phone numbers of almost every county animal control service in the country on this website.
• Wondering how to get rid of fox or coyotes? There is no magic spray or device that you can use to make them go away. Some people try to sell ultrasonic sound emitters. These devices are worthless at eliminating fox or coyotes. Some old wives' tales recommend the use of mothballs or ammonia-soaked rags to make them leave, but I've been to countless homes where these techniques failed - biologists know that these attempts won't work. The ONE AND ONLY WAY to take care of your problem is with trapping and removal of the animals.

I don't really agree with that last part: foxes are too smart to be caught in a trap. My opinion? If you have a fox problem, try everything you can. It may be a combination that actually finally works. Meanwhile, keep those chickens and other livestock safe.

The Economy

I heard on the news today that although people are starting to spend again, the economy is still falling into the toilet. I have to agree. The prices of produce and diapers and basics are still going on, as is gas (back on the rise - bought at Sams on Sunday for $1.93 a gallon).

As some of you may know, we've been "prepping" for several years. It appears that if we hadn't, our family would have been making weekly trips to the food banks by now, and begging money from family members.

That's why we have a blog about turning your yard into a "backyard grocery". That's also why we have a blog about cooking with limited resources (money and food). And that's why we have a blog about the basics of homesteading.

We, as a family, are getting by on less money that I made by myself 12 years ago. We have NO credit cards, buy things only with cash, put money in savings every month (even if it's only a little bit), and take care of family first.

We're prepping, but now, it's life we're preparing for. (More posts coming soon!)

Affordable Transportation

Hubby brought up a good thought: why is there a law that says electric cars can only go 30 miles per hour?

We were seriously looking at hybrids or electric cars -- something to help reduce our carbon footprint. Besides the fact that they are ridiculously overpriced, one of the manufacturers told us in confidence that they couldn't design them to go above 30 miles per hour. That if they did, they would be subject to fines and possible imprisonment.

Is there anything we can do to change this?

Is the Government Listening In?

Have you read:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/15/justice-dept-nsa-improperly-spied-americans/

I read that article, talking about how many people are being spied on via cell phone, regular phone, internet conversations, etc. I got to wondering...

Can we stop this? They obviously don't care about legalities, but someone suggested a possible way to overload their spy-system. Make a list of the keywords they search for, and include this list in every correspondence and on every blog we access. This will overload their system, looking at 2 or 3 times the e-mails than usual, and if we include the words in our phone conversations, can you imagine the time we'll take up?

Ok.... who can give us (compile) this list?

Change the Banking System

The banking system sucks... everywhere. In the UK, in the USA, and everywhere. How can we change it? Throw rocks through windows? Organized marches and boycotts? Physical acts are tempting, and sometimes works, but little people against big banking organizations isn't even the beginning of a contest. Plus, it will just make the majority of people think the people doing these acts are thugs and radicals.

Avoid the physical acts. Try this.

Don't use banks any more. Stop giving them your money.

Banks need people like to regularly deposit money in their hands, so that they can lend it out to never be repaid. They use our deposits to fund various financial tricks that only they know about. They need us. NEED us.

Why should we willingly give them the money keep pulling the wool over our sheeple eyes?

I understand that to completely take yourself out of the banking equation might be difficult and possibly/probably impossible or impractical to do, but you can take some steps:

• pay off your credit cards and don't ever ever EVER get any more.
• transfer or sell or refinance your mortgage and any other loans to a company other than a bank or one of these other companies in trouble
• don't use direct deposit, instead receiving your paycheck or social security check in the mail or by hand

Just take a few steps... whatever you can do. Forward this to whoever you can, or link to this posting. Get the banking system to rethink their business. Stop funding their grip on this planet. If just one out of 100 people do this, then the banking system might rethink its lending and corporate practices. Maybe, just maybe, it will help stabilize the economy.

(Obviously I'm no financial guru, but if we all do what we can, surely some good results could happen?)

Does anyone have any other real-time suggestions on how we can stop using banks?

Mommy, Where Does Meat Come From?

I couldn't resist ... saw the below quote on another website, and had to copy it! Hilarious!

"To all you hunters who kill animals for food, shame on you; you ought to go to the store and buy the meat that was made there, where no animals were harmed."

So... to the question, "Mommy, where does meat come from?" feel free to answer with either "the grocery store" or "a slaughterhouse and farm" or "the woods". You know. Whatever you're comfortable with. He he he.

What is YOUR answer?

Tax Day is Here-eth.

Not... tax man cometh, but tax day here-eth! I was searching for a picture to show my Tween people lining up late to submit tax returns to the post office and discovered that some cities and some other places, like in Idaho, are NOT keeping post offices open late! What's up with that?

True, we finally got ours in on Monday, but there have been many times when it was just in the nick of time.

Here's a list of post offices open late today: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/money/15889117/detail.html

Good luck!

K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple, Silly. Simplicity is the key.

For most people who prepare for the worst, life can be broken into a few major categories, like clothing, water, food, sleep, shelter, transportation, communication, sanitation and hygiene, first-aid and lighting.

The above are not in any particular order. That's because the order changes with every situation. Yes, it's important to have water and food when bugging out, but they aren't very important when you have a nail sticking in your eye.

Have you heard the rule of "Threes or Fours":

If you PANIC, you could be dead in 3-4 seconds.

If you HAVE NO OXYGEN, you could be dead in 3-4 minutes.

If you have no SHELTER, you could be dead in 3-4 hours.

If you have no WATER, you could be dead in 3-4 days.

If you have no FOOD, you could be dead in 3-4 weeks.

If you FALL APART AS A GROUP, you could have 3-4 months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, or even seconds.

Make sure these don't happen to you.

• Keep your preparations simple.
• Practice emergencies. Make a list of possible emergencies (fire, hurricane, tornado, riots, etc.) and write out a plan for each. Drill drill drill!
• Run your routes... from home or work or soccer practice to your safe place you've established. Mark the routes, including landmarks that can't change or burn down. Where are there gas stations? Do they accept cash?
• Teach your children to call 9-1-1.
• Pretend there's an emergency, and you do NOT panic. This is also part of the drilling and practicing thing.
• Make sure that your items all do double-duty, or more.
• Test the group mentality: gather the family and tell everyone that no one can have any food (or toilet paper or water or a bed or clothing, etc.) for the next 2 weeks. Look in the eyes - see the panic and find a way to deal with it. Here's another test: tell a group of smokers that they can never have another cigarette - watch the intense panic in their eyes once it sinks in - then figure out how to keep a cool head.

Psychology plays a big part of your preparations. That's where practice comes in. And the practice is made easier when you've made out your plans, using the simplest features, items, and so forth.

Inventory Check: Space Blanket

A space blanket isn't really a blanket. It's more like a covering that's made to reflect radiant energy (heat).


Two sizes:

1. They come folded up to fit in the palm of your hand, and open up to cover your body, and more. It's shiny, and made from a Mylar plastic, coated with aluminum, that reflects up to 80% of your body heat. It's shine also is great at signalling.
2. A larger version is a big bigger when folded, so takes up more space in your supplies. It isn't as reflective or as shiny, but it is more durable. It's made out of a tougher woven material, and has grommets in the corners to allow for tying down. These are smaller than a tarp but can cover 2 people easily. They can also be used as a ground cover, windbreak or body wrap. They also keep rain and snow off in a pinch. These come in neon-type colors which will help signaling for rescue.

Use these to insulate you against cold OR to reflect heat from, say, a desert, away from you. You could also use them to line a solar oven, disinfect water, or reflect the sun when hung in your windows.

I've found these at Wal-Mart for .99 cents each. I grab all I can find when they are in stock; usually, that space is empty!

In my opinion, you can't have too many of these.

Farm Animals To Require Tracking

Did you know that legislation is being passed, without American citizenship participation or debate, about chipping our livestock?

I just got my May/June 2009 issue of the Backwoods Home Magazine, and started flipping through it. An article, "The Coming American Dictatorship Part X", that started on page 31 caught my eye. I started reading, thought it surely had to be a joke, went back and re-read it. I went online and researched it. OMG - it appears to be true!

Check out http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/

Basically a bill is being pushed through that requires all farm animals bred for consumption (including chickens, etc.) to be chipped so the government can track them. Every chicken. Every baby chick just hatched. We'll have to report new births, transfer of animals by sale or otherwise, when they are butchered, are eaten by coyotes, etc. If we don't report accurately or choose non-compliance, and need to take our non-chipped chicken to the vet, s/he will be required to report us to the government.

The website says that if the animal is not to leave the premises, or to be taken from your premises directly to slaughter, it doesn't need registering. I'm thinking... "for now".

They say it's for the safety of people who will consume the animals. They also say...

To protect the health of U.S. livestock and poultry and the economic well-being of those industries, we must be able to quickly and effectively trace an animal disease to its source. When a disease outbreak occurs, animal health officials need to know:

• Which animals are involved in a disease outbreak
• Where the infected animals are currently located
• What other animals might have been exposed to the disease

By choosing to participate in NAIS, you will join a national disease response network built to protect your animals, your neighbors, and your economic livelihood against the devastation of a foreign animal disease outbreak.

Notice they say "you WILL"... leaving little wiggle room. This isn't protection of our food sources. Those hatcheries with 100,000 chickens won't be required to chip each hen - just one for the group! Nope, this is, in my opinion, yet another instance of government interference, and loss of liberty.

We HAVE to do something! Below are some contact numbers and addresses. Pass along a link to this article/blog posting, and get people calling and writing and e-mailing. Have schoolteachers get their students to practice letter writing by assigning this as a project. Make sure every state in this country starts working against this.

Here's a link to the NAIS' feedback form - let's flood them with HELL NO-type feedback messages, shall we? http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/contact_us/general.shtml - this is what I wrote: Homesteaders with just a few chickens and a goat (or other small amounts of livestock) will NOT stand for this nonsense. Do NOT push this through. How dare you!

Pass the word... we have work to do!
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Alabama
Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries
Contact: Dr. Tony Frazier Alabama State Veterinarian/Animal ID Coordinator stvet@agi.state.al.us
Address: P.O. Box 3336 Montgomery, AL 36109-0336
Phone: 334-240-7253
Fax: 334-240-7198
Email: animalid.premises@agi.alabama.gov
Web: www.agi.alabama.gov/state_veterinarian

Alaska
Alaska Department of Environmental ConservationDivision of Environmental Health
Contact: Dr. Jay FullerState Animal ID Coordinator jay.fuller@alaska.gov
Address: 5251 Hinkle Road Anchorage, AK 99507
Phone: 907-375-8215
Fax: 907-929-7335
Web: http://www.dec.state.ak.us/eh/vet/nais.htm

Arizona
Arizona Department of Agriculture
Contact: Jim MeggsProject Coordinator jmeggs@azda.gov
Address: 1688 West Adams St Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone: 602-542-0943
Web: http://www.azda.gov/Main/animalID.htm

Arkansas
Arkansas Livestock & Poultry Commission
Contact: Jon FitchExecutive Director jfitch@alpc.ar.gov
Charles W. Gann Animal Identification Coordinatorcgann@alpc.ar.gov
Address: #1 Natural Resources Drive Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: 501-907-2400
Fax: 501-907-2425
Web: http://www.arlpc.org/

California
California Department of Food and Agriculture Animal Health and Food Safety Services
Contact: Victor J. Velez, MS vvelez@cdfa.ca.gov 916-654-1264
Address: 1220 N Street, Room A-107Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: 916-653-2215
Web: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/pais
Registration Help Desk 866-325-5681 pais@cdfa.ca.govmailto:866-325-5681pais@cdfa.ca.govhttp://californiaid.org

Colorado
Colorado Department of Agriculture Animal Industry
Contact: John Heller (Animal ID Coordinator) john.heller@ag.state.co.us
Address: 700 Kipling St. Suite 4000 Lakewood, CO 80215
Phone: 303-239-4516
Fax: 303-239-4164
Web: http://www.coanimalid.org/

Connecticut
Connecticut Department of Agriculture
Contact: Mary Jane Lis, MS, DVM, PhD State Veterinarian mary.lis@ct.gov
Address: 165 Capitol Avenue Room G-8A Hartford, CT 06106
Phone: 860-713-2505
Fax: 860-713-2548
Web: http://www.ct.gov/doag

Delaware
Delaware Department of Agriculture
Contact: Robert Moore robert.moore@state.de.us
Address: 2320 South Dupont Highway Dover, DE 19901
Phone: 302-739-4811
Fax: 302-697-4451

Florida
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Animal Industry
Contact: Stephen Monroe Florida NAIS Coordinator monroes@doacs.state.fl.us 850-410-0944
Dr. Diane L. Kitchen, D.V.M., Ph.D Veterinarian Manager, Bovine Programs kitched@doacs.state.fl.us 850-410-0940
Address: 407 S. Calhoun Street, Mail Stop M-7 Tallahassee, FL 32399-0800
Fax: 850-410-0957
Web: http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/ai/adc/adc_nais.shtml
Help Desk Registration Help Desk mailto:animalid@doacs.state.fl.us%20

Georgia
Georgia Department of Agriculture
Contact: Dr. Lee M. Myers Georgia State Veterinarian lmyers@agr.state.ga.us
Dr. Carter Black NAIS Coordinator cblack@agr.state.ga.us
Address: 19 MLK Jr., Drive Atlanta, GA 30334
Phone: 404-656-3671
Fax: 404-657-1357
Web: http://agr.georgia.gov/00/article/;0,2086,38902732_0_41051091,00.html

Hawaii
Hawaii Department of Agriculture Animal Industry Division
Contact: Dr. James Foppoli Hawaii State Veterinarian james.m.foppoli@hawaii.gov
Dr. Raquel Wong Veterinary Medical Officer Raquel.L.Wong@hawaii.gov
Address: 99-941 Halawa Valley Street Aiea, HI 96701
Phone: 808-483-7103
Fax: 808-483-7110
Web: http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/ai-hapis.htm

Idaho
Idaho State Department of Agriculture
Contact: Linda Cope Animal ID Integration Analyst lcope@agri.idaho.gov Bill Barton, DVM Veterinary Medical Officer, Senior Division of Animal Industries bbarton@agri.idaho.gov
Address: 2270 Old Penitentiary Road Boise, Idaho 83712
Phone: (208) 332-8540
Fax: (208) 334-4062
Web: http://idaho.locatein48.com/

Illinois
Illinois Department of Agriculture Bureau of Animal Health
Contact: Jim Kunkle Jim.kunkle@illinois.gov
Address: State Fairgrounds P.O. Box 19281 Springfield, IL 62794
Phone: 217-785-4740
Fax: 217-558-6033
Web: http://www.agr.state.il.us/premiseid

Indiana
Indiana State Board of Animal Health
Contact: Theresa Shuck Coordinator tshuck@boah.in.gov
Address: 805 Beachway Drive Suite 500 Indianapolis, IN 46224
Phone: 317-227-0336
Web: http://www.in.gov/boah/premiseid/

Iowa
Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Animal Industry
Contact: Delores Clausen Animal ID Coordinator
Address: Wallace Building 502 E. 9th St. Des Moines, IA 50319
Phone: 1-888-778-7675 (toll free) (515) 281-5305
Fax: (515) 281-4282
Web: http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/animalIndustry/premiseIdentificationProgram.asp

Kansas
Kansas Animal Health Department
Contact: George Teagarden Livestock Commissioner gteagarden@kahd.ks.gov
Bryan Rickard Animal ID Coordinator brickard@kahd.ks.gov
Address: 708 S Jackson Topeka, KS 66603-3714
Phone: 785-296-2326
Fax: 785-296-1765
Web: http://www.kansas.gov/kahd

Kentucky
Kentucky Department of Agriculture
Contact: Dr. Robert C. Stout Kentucky State Veterinarian robert.stout@ky.gov
Tim Turney Director, Division of Producer Services tim.turney@ky.gov
Dana Jenkins Animal ID Coordinator dana.jenkins@ky.gov
Address: 100 Fairoaks LaneSuite 252 Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: 502-564-3956
Fax: 502-564-7852
Web: http://www.kyagr.com/statevet/nais/index.htm

Louisiana
Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Office of Animal Health Services
Contact: Dr. M.A. Littlefield-Chabaud Louisianna Assistant State Veterinarian martha@ldaf.state.la.us
Address: 5825 Florida Blvd. P.O. Box 1951 Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Phone: 225-925-3980
Fax: 225-237-5555
Web: http://www.ldaf.state.la.us/portal/Offices/AnimalHealthServices/VeterinaryHealthDivision/PremisesIdentification/tabid/229/Default.aspx
Maine
Maine Department of Agriculture Division of Animal Health & Industry
Contact: Donald E. Hoenig, VMD State Veterinarian donald.e.hoenig@maine.gov
Phone: 207-287-3701
Fax: 207-624-5044
Address: 28 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-0028
Web: http://www.maine.gov/agriculture/idme/

Maryland
Maryland Department of Agriculture
Contact: Maryland Assistant State Veterinarian
jacobst@mda.state.md.us Marilyn Bassford NAIS Coordinator nais@dmv.com Dr. Guy Hohenhaus State Veterinarian
Address: 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway Annapolis, MD 21401
Phone: 410-841-5810
Fax: 410-543-6660
Web: http://www.mda.state.md.us/animal_%20health/nais/index.php

Massachusetts
Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources
Contact: Mike Cahill michael.cahill@state.ma.us
Joao Tavares joao.tavares@state.ma.us
Address: 251 Causeway St. 5th Floor Boston, MA 02114
Web: http://www.m%20ss.gov/agr/animalhealth/nais/index.htm

Michigan
Michigan Department of Agriculture
Contact: Kevin Kirk Special Assistant to the Director KirkK@michigan.gov
Address: P.O. Box 30017 Lansing, MI 48909
Phone: 517-373-1077
Fax: 517-373-6015
Web: http://www.michigan.gov/mda/0,1607,7-125-1568_2390_41314---,00.html

Minnesota
Minnesota Board of Animal Health
Contact: Ted Radintz Animal Health Response Outreach Coordinator Ted.Radintz@state.mn.us
Address: 625 Robert Street North St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: 651-201-6816
Fax: 651-296-7417
Web: http://www.bah.state.mn.us/bah/nais/registration.html

Mississippi
Mississippi Department of Agriculture
Contact: Dr. James Watson Mississippi State Veterinarian/Animal ID Coordinator jimw@mdac.state.ms.us
Address: 121 North Jefferson Street Jackson, MS 39201
Phone: 601-359-1170
Fax: 601-359-1177
Web: http://www.mbah.state.ms.us/

Missouri
Missouri Department of Agriculture Animal Health Division
Contact: Greg Onstott Animal ID Program Specialist greg.onstott@mda.mo.gov
Address: 1616 Missouri Blvd. P.O. Box 630 Jefferson City, MO 65102-0630
Phone: 573-751-7766
Fax: 573-526-0745
Web: http://www.mda.mo.gov/animalID/index.html

Montana
Montana Department of Livestock
Contact: Sherry Rust Public Information Officer srust@mt.gov
Address: 301 N Roberts Helena, MT 59620-4543
Phone: 406-444-9321
Fax: 406-444-1929
Web: http://liv.mt.gov/liv/ah/nais/nais.asp

Nebraska
Nebraska Department of Agriculture Bureau of Animal Industry
Contact: Ross Baker State NAIS Administrator ross.baker@nebraska.gov
Address: P.O. Box 94787 Lincoln, NE 68509-4787
Phone: 1-800-472-2437
Email: helpdesk@agr.state.ne.us
Web: http://ne.locatein48.com/index.html

Nevada
Nevada Department of Agriculture
Contact: Holly Pecetti, Program Officer 1 Animal Identification Coordinator hpecetti@agri.state.nv.us
Address: 350 Capitol Hill Ave. Reno, Nevada 89502
Phone: 775-688-1180 ext. 236
Web: http://agri.nv.gov/Animal2_NAIS.htm

New Hampshire
New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food
Contact: Dr. Stephen K. Crawford, DVM State Veterinarian scrawford@agr.state.nh.us
Address: P.O. Box 2042 Concord, NH 03302-2042
Phone: 603-271-2404
Fax: 603-271-1109
Web: http://nh.gov/agric/divisions/animal_industry/animal_id_system.htm

New Jersey
New Jersey Department of Agriculture Division of Animal Health
Contact: Dr. Sebastian Reist mailto:sebastian.reist@ag.state.nj.us
Address: P.O. Box 330 Trenton, NJ 08625
Phone: (609) 292-3965
Web: http://www.state.nj.us/agriculture/divisions/ah/prog/animalid.html

New Mexico
New Mexico Livestock Board
Contact: Dr. Dave Fly New Mexico State Veterinarian Dave.Fly@state.nm.us
Address: 300 San Mateo NE Suite 1000 Albuquerque, NM 87108
Phone: 505-841-6161
Fax: 505-841-6160
Web: http://www.newmexicolivestockboard.com/

New York
State of New York Department of Agriculture and Markets Division of Animal Industry
Contact: George Merill (interim) NAIS State Administrator george.merrill@agmkt.state.ny.us
Address: 10B Airline Drive Albany, NY 12235
Phone: 518-457-3502
Fax: 518-485-7773
Web: http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/AI/AIHome.html

North Carolina
Animal Health Programs - Livestock
Contact: Dr. Tom Ray Director tom.ray@ncmail.net Penny Page penny.page@ncmail.net
Address: North Carolina Department of Agriculture Veterinary Division 1030 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1030
Phone: 919-715-2951
Fax: 919-733-6431
Web: http://www.ncfarmid.com/

North Dakota
State Board of Animal Health North Dakota Department of Agriculture
Contact: Dr. Susan Keller North Dakota State Veterinarian skeller@state.nd.us
Dr. Jim Clement Animal Identification Coordinator jcclement@nd.gov
Address: 600 E Boulevard Dept. 602 Bismarck, ND 58505-0020
Phone: 701-328-2655
Fax: 701-328-4567
Web: http://www.agdepartment.com/Programs/Livestock/BOAH/BOAH.html

For cattle, horses, and mules, producers can also contact:
North Dakota Stockmen's Association
Contact: Wade Moser ndsa@ndstockmen.org
Address: 407 South 2nd Street Bismarck, ND 58504
Phone: 701-223-2522
Fax: 701-223-2587
Web: http://www.ndstockmen.org/

Ohio
Ohio Department of Agriculture Division of Animal Industry
Contact: Gary Wilson Coordinator gwilson@agri.ohio.gov
Address: 8995 East Main Street Reynoldsburg, OH 43068
Phone: 614-728-6220
Fax: 614-728-6310
Web: http://www.ohioanimalid.com/
Help Desk: animalid@mail.agri.state.oh.us

Oklahoma
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry
Contact: Dr. Mike Pruitt NAIS State Administrator Mike.Pruitt@oda.state.ok.us
Address: 2800 N. Lincoln Blvd. P. O. Box 528804 Oklahoma City, OK 73152-8804
Phone: 405-522-8396
Fax: 405-522-0756
Web: http://ok.locatein48.com/index.html

Oregon
Oregon Department of Agriculture
Contact: Dr. Don Hansen Oregon State Veterinarian dhansen@oda.state.or.us
Darcie Wentzel Office Manager
Address: 635 Capitol Street NE Salem, OR 97301-2532
Phone: 503-986-4680
Web: http://egov.oregon.gov/ODA/AHID/ah_national_id.shtml

Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
Contact: Ronald C. Miller ronmiller@state.pa.us
Address: 2301 North Cameron Street Rm. 408 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110
Phone: 717-772-2852
Fax: 717-787-1868
Web: www.animalhealth.state.pa.us/

Rhode Island
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Division of Agriculture
Contact: Dr. Peter Belinsky Rhode Island State Public Health Veterinarian peter.belinsky@dem.ri.gov and/or Eugene Pepper eugene.pepper@dem.ri.gov
Address: 235 Promenade Street Room 370 Providence, RI 02908
Phone: 401-222-2781
Fax: 401-222-6047

South Carolina
Animal Health ProgramsClemson University
Contact: Dr. Boyd H. Parr Designated ID Coordinator/ Director, Animal Health Programs bparr@clemson.edu or idinfo@clemson.edu
Address: P.O. Box 102406 Columbia, SC 29224-2406
Phone: (803) 788-2260 Ext. 231
Fax: (803) 736-0885
Web http://www.clemson.edu/LPH/nais.htm

South Dakota
South Dakota Animal Industry Board
Contact: Dr. Dustin Oedekoven Acting State Veterinarian Dustin.Oedekoven@state.sd.us and/or Dr. Susan Reenders, DVM State Administrator susan.reenders@state.sd.us
Address: 411 South Fort St. Pierre, SD 57501
Phone: (605) 773-3321
Web: http://www.state.sd.us/aib/Animal%20ID.htm

Tennessee
Tennessee Department of AgricultureEllington Agriculture Center
Contact: Dr. Ron Wilson Tennessee State Veterinarian mailto:Veterinarianron.wilson@state.tn.us
Dr. Charles Hatcher Animal Identification Coordinator Charles.hatcher@state.tn.us
Jennifer Bowers Secretary
Address: 440 Hogan RoadNashville, TN 37220
Phone: 615-837-5183 (Dr. Hatcher) 615-837-5189 (Ms. Bowers)
Fax: 615-837-5250
Web: http://tennessee.gov/agriculture/regulatory/tpis.html/

Texas
Texas Animal Health Commission
Contact: Dr. Bob Hillman Texas State Veterinarian bhillman@tahc.state.tx.us
Mr. Kenny Edgar Animal ID Coordinatorkedgar@tahc.state.tx.us
Address: P.O. Box 12966 Austin, TX 78711
Phone: 512-719-0700
Fax: 512-719-0719
Email: comments@tahc.state.tx.us
Web: http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/animal_id/

Utah
Utah Department of Agriculture and Food Livestock Identification Bureau
Contact: Terry Menlove Director of the Animal Industry Division tmenlove@utah.gov
Address: P.O. Box 146500 350 North Redwood Road Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6500
Phone: 801-538-7166
Fax: 801-538-7169
Web: http://ag.utah.gov/animind/Utah_NAIS.html

Vermont
Vermont Agency of Agriculture
Contact: Michael Wood Assistant State Veterinarian mailto:michael.wood@state.vt.us
Address: 116 State Street Drawer 20 Montpelier, VT 05620
Phone: 802-828-2421
Fax: 802-828-5983
Web: http://www.vermontagriculture.com/fscp/animalHealth/prs/prs.html

Virginia
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Contact: Richard Odom Animal ID Coordinator richard.odom@vdacs.virginia.gov
Address: 102 Governor Street, Suite 146 Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: 804-692-0600
Web: http://www.vanimalid.info/

For questions about Premises Registration:
Contact: Dawn Hunter Animal ID Support Technician
Phone: 540-209-9121

Washington
Washington State Department of Agriculture
Contact: David Hecimovich dhecimovich@agr.wa.gov (360) 725-5493
Dr. Leonard Eldridge Washington State Veterinarian LEldridge@agr.wa.gov (360) 902-1881
Web: http://agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/Animal_Premise/default.htm

West Virginia
West Virginia Dept of Agriculture Animal Health Division
Contacts: Melissa Garrett State Animal ID Coordinator mgarrett@ag.state.wv.us
Dr. L. Joe Starcher West Virginia State Veterinarian jstarcher@ag.state.wv.us
Address: 1900 Kanawha Blvd. East Charleston, WV 25305
Phone: 304-269-3700, Toll Free: 1-866-844-2214
Web: http://www.wvagriculture.org/programs/Animal/Animal_ID.html

Wisconsin
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Contact: Paul McGraw paul.mcgraw@datcp.state.wi.us Phone: 608-224-4884
Susan Buroker susan.buroker@datcp.state.wi.us
Phone: 608-224-4740
Address: P.O. Box 8911 Madison, WI 53708
Web: http://www.datcp.state.wi.us/premises/index.jsp

Wyoming
Wyoming Livestock Board
Contact: Lee Romsa Brand Commissioner lromsa@state.wy.us
Address: 2020 Carey Avenue 4th Floor Cheyenne, WY 82002
Phone: 307-777-6443
Fax: 307-777-6561
Web: http://wlsb.state.wy.us/brands/Premises/

Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture Office of Veterinary Services Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
Contact: Dr. Hector J. Diaz-Collazo Hector.Diaz-Collazo/pr/aphis/usda@usda.gov
Address: P.O. Box 490 Bo. Higuillar, Dorado, PR 00646
Phone: 787-796-1650
Fax: 787-392-3305

Guam
Guam Department of Agriculture
Address: 192 Dairy Road Mangilao, Guam 96923
Phone: 671-734-3942
Fax: 671-734-6569

Blackfeet Nation
Contact: Juanita Cole mailto:ColeJcole_59524@yahoo.com
Address: Fort Belknap Indian Community RR1 Box 66 Harlem, MT 59526
Phone: 406-353-8333
Fax: 406-353-4653

Crow Tribe
Contact: Juanita Cole Jcole_59524@yahoo.com
Address: Fort Belknap Indian Community RR1 Box 66 Harlem, MT 59526
Phone: 406-353-8333
Fax: 406-353-4653

Eastern Shoshone Tribe
Contact: Sam Hill samhill@washakie.net
Address: PO Box 538 Fort Washakie, WY 82514
Phone: 307-349-1629
Fax: 307-332-3055

Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes
Contact: Juanita Cole Jcole_59524@yahoo.com
Address: HC 63 Box 5065 Dodson, MT 59524
Phone: 406-673-3199
Fax: 406-673-3199

Ft. Belknap Indian Community
Contact: Juanita Cole Jcole_59524@yahoo.com
Address: HC 63 Box 5065Dodson, MT 59524
Phone: 406-673-3199
Fax: 406-673-3199

Hopi Tribe
Contact: Priscilla Pavatea, Director ppavatea@hopi.nsn.us
Address: Office of Range Management P.O. Box 123 Kykotsmovi, AZ 86039
Phone: (928) 734-3701
Contact: Pam Komalestewa, Supervisor pamlalokomalestewa@yahoo.com
Address: Hopi Veterinary Services P.O. Box 440Polacca, AZ 86042
Phone: (928) 738-5251

Intertribal Agriculture Council
Contact: Katherine Minthorn
kgoodluck@indianaglink.com
Address: PO Box 538
Fort Washakie, WY 82514
Phone: 307-349-1629
Fax: 307-332-3055

InterTribal Bison Cooperative
Contact: Juanita Cole Jcole_59524@yahoo.com
Address: Fort Belknap Indian Community
RR1 Box 66
Harlem, MT 59526
Phone: 406-353-8333
Fax: 406-353-4653

InterTribal Bison Cooperative
Contact: Juanita Cole Jcole_59524@yahoo.com
Address: Fort Belknap Indian Community RR1 Box 66Harlem, MT 59526
Phone: 406-353-8333
Fax: 406-353-4653

Kawerak Reindeer Herders Association (Kawerak, Inc.)
Contact: Kimberly S. Carter
Address: PO Box 948 Nome, Alaska 99762
Phone: 907-443-4378
Fax: 907-443-4458
Email: kcarter@kawerak.org

Montana / Wyoming Indian Stockgrowers
Contact: Fred Small fsmall@rangeweb.net
Address: PO Box 538
Fort Washakie, WY 82514
Phone: 307-349-1629
Fax: 307-332-3055

Navajo Nation
Contact: Glenda Davis glendadavis@navajo.org
Address: P.O. Box 1450
Window Rock, AZ 86515
Phone: 928-871-6615
Fax: 928-871-6619
Email: glendadavis@navajo.org

Northern Arapahoe Tribe
Contact: Juanita Cole Jcole_59524@yahoo.com
Address: Fort Belknap Indian Community
RR1 Box 66Harlem, MT 59526
Phone: 406-353-8333
Fax: 406-353-4653

Northern Cheyenne
Contact: Justin Small mailto:Smalljsmall1159@yahoo.com
Address: PO Box 1016 Lame Deer, MT 59043
Phone: 406-740-0698
Fax: 406-477-6413

Osage Nation
Contact: Jann roseOsage Nation jrose@osagetribe.org
Address: 100 W. MainSuite 304
Pawhuska, Oklahoma 74056
Phone: 918-287-5531

Rosebud Sioux Tribe
Contact: Juanita ColeJcole_59524@yahoo.com
Address: Fort Belknap Indian Community
RR1 Box 66Harlem, MT 59526
Phone: 406-353-8333
Fax: 406-353-4653

Salish and Kootenia Tribe
Contact: Anita Matt anitam@cskt.org
Address: PO Box 538
Fort Washakie, WY 82514
Phone: 307-349-1629
Fax: 307-332-3055

San Carlos Apache Tribe
Contact: Gail Haozous mailto:ghaozous@scatui.net
Address: PO Box 0San Carlos, AZ 85550
Phone: 928-475-2331
Fax: 928-475-2451

Seminole Tribe of Florida
Contact: Dr. Diane L. Kitchen, DVM, PhD.Veterinarian Manager, Bovine Programskitched@doacs.state.fl.us
Address: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Division of Animal Industry
407 S. Calhoun Street, Mail Stop M-7Tallahassee, FL 32399-0800
Phone: 850-410-0940
Fax: 850-410-0957
Website: www.doacs.state.fl.us/ai

Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of Duck Valley
Contact: Sherry Crutcher crutcher.sherry@duckvalley.org
Address: PO Box 219
Owyhee, NV 89832
Phone: 208-759-3100 ext. 217
Fax:208-759-3938

United South and Eastern Tribes
Contact: Lisa Berrios lberrios@usetinc.org
Address: PO Box 538
Fort Washakie, WY 82514
Phone: 307-349-1629
Fax: 307-332-3055

Ute Tribe Agriculture Products, LLC
Contact:Juanita Cole Jcole_59524@yahoo.com
Address: Fort Belknap Indian Community
RR1 Box 66Harlem, MT 59526
Phone: 406-353-8333
Fax: 406-353-4653
Ute Mountain Tribe
Web: http://www.livestocktrust.com/

Walker River / Intertribal Council of Nevada
Contact: Raynell Miller raye_miller@hotmail.com
Address:PO Box 538
Fort Washakie, WY 82514
Phone:307-349-1629
Fax:307-332-3055

White Earth Reservation
Contact: Dawn Kier dawnk@whiteearth.com
Address: 2209 271st Ave, Unit 2Mahnomen, MN 56575
Phone: 218-935-2488
Fax: 218-935-2524

Yomba Shoshone Tribe
Contact: Juanita Cole Jcole_59524@yahoo.com
Address: Fort Belknap Indian CommunityRR1 Box 66Harlem, MT 59526
Phone: 406-353-8333
Fax: 406-353-4653

Foot Blisters

After a major disaster (think Hurricane Katrina), chances are you'll have to walk a long distance. If you haven't prepared, you may end up with a major blister-and-blood situation.

A blister is irritating at best, and when they get advanced, they can be crippling, taking days to heal (while you sit still, unable to continue your travels). It will take even longer to heal if you have to walk in knee-deep in sewage water (again, Katrina).

What is a blister? According to Wikipedia, "A blister is a small pocket of fluid within the upper layers of the skin, typically caused by forceful rubbing (friction), burning, freezing, chemical exposure or infection. Most blisters are filled with a clear fluid called serum or plasma. However, blisters can be filled with blood (known as blood blisters) or with pus (if they become infected)." If they become infected and are left untreated, it could actually be life-threatening.

They often show up on heels or toes, but can occur anywhere, especially if you are wearing new shoes or boots.

How to Prepare:

• Shoes: Choose shoes that are strong, lightweight, and sturdy enough to walk miles and miles and miles. Break them in as soon as you get them, but don't wear them out. I often walk around the house in my new shoes for days before they even hit the streets. This includes boots, sneakers, and casuals. I do NOT recommend flip flops or thongs for use during an emergency.
• Socks: You really need socks that will wick away the sweat, keeping your feet dry and clean. Keep several changes of socks in your supplies, and change whenever they get wet. Some people wear thin tight socks directly on the foot (to minimize any rubbing), then a heavier pair on top of those.

The instant you discovered a blister, deal with it. Leave it alone and you'll regret it. Your goal is to stop the rubbing.

• Stop walking.
• Take off your shoes or boots.
• Dry out or get out some clean dry socks.
• Apply to the blister a piece of first-aid tape, "second skin", duct tape, or something else that's just for blisters, like moleskin. Cover a larger area than hurts so that if the dressing comes off, it will pull off the tender skin. Do NOT use a regular bandage because the non-stick part will keep rubbing the bad spot (I had been doing this wrong for a long time!).
• Put your clean/dry socks on.
• Don't leave the bandage or tape on too long. It's a good idea to change it every hour or so, to prevent moisture accumulating under the tape, which will cause even more problems.
• If it gets really bad, make a little doughnut from moleskin and apply to the blister, keeping the blister inside the hole in the doughnut. This will even more minimize the rubbing.

Notes:

• If you can rest for a couple of days and not keep on walking, don't pop the blister. The liquid inside will reabsorb and will heal naturally.
• If you can't rest and blister hurts, clean the area gently but thoroughly. Carefully pop around the edge of the blister with a sanitized/sterilized (tip in a match flame) needle. Gently press the liquid out. Leave the flap of skin in place, and cover with a large bandage and moleskin.
• If your blister pops, stop and clean gently. Make sure all dirt and grime gets cleaned out. Lift off the flap of skin if necessary, replacing after it's clean and dry. Cover with a sterile banage then cover than with duct tape or other first aid tape or moleskin. Watch for infection (redness).

I've had my share of blisters, and have often treated them incorrectly, leaving scars in their wake. Here's just a tidbit of info that I hope makes your travels easier and painless.

An Improvised Tent

Don't want to spend money on a tent? Here's a suggestion:

Tube Tent:
Improvise a tube tent by using two 55-gallon drum liners, or other very large dark-colored trash bags. These are thicker and stronger than regular large dark-colored trash bags. You'll need that.

Cut the end out of one of them, and tape the two together (kinda like a sleeping bag - closed at one end and open at another). Use good strong tape, like duct, to make sure there are no holes. It is completely waterproof (not just water resistant). You should have room inside for your sleeping bag too.

One downfall: this tube tent won't breathe, and will gather the moisture exhaled from your body, possibly dripping on you in the middle of the night, or freezing then dripping on you later. If this is a problem, you could cut the other end out to help move the air.

This is a very portable tent, and folds into a very small little package. There isn't any room for your gear, but you'll have purchased a waterproof backpack, right?

Good Riddance, Jay Cutler

I'm so tired of hearing about Jay Cutler, QB for the Denver Broncos. Well, not any more, he's not. As of last night he was traded. In my opinion... he threw childish tantrums, ticked off the biggies at the Broncos, and got his wish to be traded. Good luck, Chicago Bears, Baby Jay coming to ya!

Maybe we can all stop watching the saga, and get back to the business of fixing the economy, paying our bills, keeping our jobs, and starting our gardens.

p.s. next week we plan to start posting regular to this blog. any ideas for articles?