The best laid plans – Phase 2

The continuation from yesterday on my last ditch fall back plan.

Now we are entering spring, the winter will have seen off most of the survivors so far and except for the governments ‘elite’, Ray Mears and Bear Grylls both of whom would survive a direct nuclear strike it will be mainly those that prepared and those that had their own farm or vegetable areas out of the way that will have survived. Many of us who prepared will not have made it due to sheer bad luck, either being discovered or being killed in a random attack at some point. With no sign of any government aid we can assume that we are on our own.

Now is the time where we have little or no stored food left but the stores have done their task which was to keep us fed whilst we are keeping our heads down and surviving the aftermath.

If you have arrangements for a group meet up then you need to evaluate the situation, contact your group and/or activate the plan. If that involves moving then load up the wagon and go. Remembering that we will have made arrangements with others for specific dates and time although we probably will not have kept accurate time, at some stage watches will have wound down, batteries stopped. Time has been meaningless for a while. We probably won’t even know what date it is. You may decide to move to your primary retreat as you originally planned. Outline plan for moving in Phase 3.

If it involves staying where you are then we need to prioritise. I have several ideas on what and where to plant which involved planting little areas all over the back gardens of the houses in my street. Planting not in rows but in a haphazard manner to disguise that the gardens are maintained and spreading the load so that the crops are not all in one single area with multiple plants in multiple gardens. I have some large camouflage nets which I will use to cover up any areas of concern. Hopefully, the plants in the pots I denuded will still be there and alive and these can also be spread around. This is high priority because this is what we will be living off for the foreseeable future. Any animals would be kept in suitable locations again spreading them around to reduce the risk of animal attack or someone stumbling on them.

In addition there will be the burial of bodies which will not be pleasant. I’m afraid they will simply be placed in a single grave several streets away. Too much work at this critical time to dig and individualise the graves. I’ll also move back into my home and replace the doors, replace or cover any damaged windows and repair what is necessary although leaving the stairs collapsed.

I’ll assume I have the solar panels or the wind turbine up and working, which doesn’t exist now, in which case we can go back on limited power. If not it’s back to stacking wood for the fires and ensuring we have a decent stock in place.

One thing I didn’t mention yesterday, because I forgot, is that I am looking at keeping some fish, perhaps Tilapia, in a small pond. When I’m out removing what I can from the garden looking at moving them into a barrel and a small tank away from the pond, reducing their number to suit and eating the surplus. The thought is they should be overlooked by anyone who would concentrate on the pond and not empty looking barrels. I’d sort the pond and restore the fish to it then look at my neighbour’s koi pond. I don’t expect it to have any koi in it but I should be able to use the pond to expand my fish farming capability. If koi are there then even better.

This will be a busy time and I doubt we would have time for much else in the way of expansion or consolidation. Now of course we would have light although black out conditions would still be met. We should now be on the radio and remembering OPSEC, I’d like duplicates, one at home and one a few streets away. I’ll assume the licensing requirements are relaxed and the CB radio and ham radio can be used to see who is still out there. You will need to be very careful who you speak to and what details you give out but you are looking to meet like minds, groups of survivors you can share the load with and trade for the items you do not have. They may have a doctor, some ducks, chickens, etc. They may have fuel for your generator. You need to build up contacts and start trading. Never forget though that you need to be careful. Most people are decent and moral but the situation you have just gone through will change anyone, even people you knew well. Be very careful with giving out information at all times even when you feel confident.

Now, I mentioned that I was 100 yards away from a school. It is a big school, three stories, hundreds of classrooms but split into five separate buildings. I can see the main building being ideal for a small group, separate rooms for living, the roof areas for animals and some crops while the playing fields would be ideal for crops. Only problem is it is overlooked by hundreds of houses which surround it so someone could easily watch what is going on but it is defensible, if you have guns, and if you destroy the stairs difficult to gain entry to. Even if it was not used as your main base it would certainly be handy as an educational area and community area for interactions.

Our new society has just started. It will be based on farming, it will be hard work but now you can share the load and educate the children, rebuild some infrastructure, plan out the way your society is going. Make up some rules like a constitution. This will be it for the rest of your life.

However, if it does not work out that there are people close to you or it may be there are but they are hostile and encroaching on your crop areas, you may decide to move to your original retreat as you planned originally. More about that in Phase 3, The desperate fall back plan.