Chance favours the prepared mind – Louis Pasteur (1822 – 1895)
To improve your chances you need to plan when the pressure is off. This means that you have to be prepping before an event and sure enough you are. You are putting aside food and water, planning for your BOL or planning to stay at home and you are gathering all the information that you can on surviving after an event.
To make the most of your environment though you need to start looking at resources around your home or your BOL. It is easier than you think and I’ve talked about it before. Get two maps for the local area. The first one covering the mile around your location and the second one covering up to 15 miles around your current location. Put both up on a wall.
I use the local one to record all the local information. Detail about surrounding houses whilst the larger scale map is used to highlight areas of interest. Using a combination of Google Maps and simply walking and driving around I can identify the areas of interest and then highlight them on the maps.
The first thing I put on the small map is entry points around our street. I live in a cul-de-sac and although the road only has one entry point there are access points all the way up the road, some even could be used by cars. I mark off where I will have to secure to stop this. I also mark off areas of interest where I can find items I should be out scavenging as soon as I can. Where some neighbours keep fuel, others have gardening kit, polytunnels, fish ponds, fencing, water butts, etc. Who have homes that are of interest, greenhouses, garages with equipment or items such are radio gear, firearms (sadly none of my neighbours) or anything that will help us in the uncertain future. One of my neighbours has a wood stove. Do I move in there or not?
On the larger scale map I put builders yards, allotments, public houses, shops, medical centres, farms and other items of interest. These items range from the location of streams, wild bees, mushroom deposits to rabbit warrens, pigeon roosts and areas where sheep, goats, chickens are currently held. Although I may be too late to acquire some of the livestock because I’ll be keeping my head down there are tools and other equipment stored there that may be left behind that is of interest.
Of course the tricky part is making your move quick enough to get the resources whilst keeping your head down and keeping yourself safe. My view is to err on the side of caution. I ensure that I prep enough food so I don’t need to go out but I weigh this against the capability of acquiring a breeding pair of ducks or goats. It all depends on the situation on the day. Can’t plan for everything. The chances are I could get there much quicker than someone just wandering around looting at random because I have prepared beforehand.
Do everything you can to improve your chances and you will benefit from this investment.
I also mark off areas of interest where I can find items I should be out scavenging as soon as I can.
People’s vegie patches, that sort of thing. Are you able to leap over the back fence and get away that way if cornered from the front?
keep off my vege patch. lol
Fred,
If they are abandoned then Yes and I will take care when doing the deed.
Luci,
Of course I will. Give me your address and I’ll make sure that you veg patch is on… sorry not on my list. 🙂
makes mental note to use the compost from toilet on the veges that are out of sight.
makes mental note to plant some easy to grab veges useing the compost from toilet.
Erm just wonering which route do you chaps take when you have been out gardening / foraging?
Well if anyone remembers from my earlier posts, I have been trying to move from the city into the country, and at the moment it looks like coming to bare, the memsaab and my self are in the process of moving to the immediate outer boundry of a village which is only one mile from the start of ONE of the estates that we have control of pests on.
We will have a small garden, but access to 3500 acres with woods which we practice bushcrafting in, and as much game as we can shake a gun, sorry stick at, it is surrounded by agricultural land and even has a fresh water supply by one of the woods, as far as firearms are concerned we have all calibers and should be self sustaining for quite a while, just making sure rounds are only used when we have to, making use of traps etc when we can, to make rounds last, mainly using them for self defence if necc. wish us luck as we only have the dotted line to sign on then it’s all ours. Mind you there is still a lot of prepping to organise but we’ll get there.
sounds good, Kiddsy…..what part of the country is it??
bigpaul, as you know OPSEC, but as it’s not direct address,_: it’s within 15 miles of york, and we have been shooting there over 12 years so we know it well.
nice one, your opsec is ok-your a long way from me!!!
I plan on moving straight onto my allotment as soon as possible to protect it. and the way i see it is this.
everyone elses allotments and veges and all the land surrounding it is mine.
if the owners want to move onto the land and help keep it guarded then they will have access to their allotments.
if they dont then they can sod off.
i know its a little unfair, but hey my familly comes before fair.
im kind of hoping they will want to move onto their allotments too, it be easier to protect it all if theres more of us.
ive already got my eye on some sheep down the road. whick will be getting sheepknapped, along with his little goat friend.
and theres already turkeys, ducks and chickens there.
they all belong to me the second tshtf
I had my eye on a couple of sheep, but my wife found out about the one with the little black face lol
Another good thought provoking post Skean, thank you.
I have taken to trying to concentrate more when I’m out and about, it’s amazing what you miss while on Auto-pilot going to work or shopping etc.
Mainly I have been focusing on suitable places to hole up when traveling in a bug out or scrounging situation, if there is no where to retreat to or travel with some concealment when looking for resources then that area becomes less viable on a risk/reward scale.