Adam's Story

[feralferret]

Adam 1
Bear 0

This chapter was definitely not unBEARable!

Thanks for the fine chapter.

[iamnobody]

He was able to get the things he needed for the electric fencing in the local small town. He set it up so it would run on the standard house electric plus solar. He had bought a 10 mile fencer and the area he fenced in was less than ½ a mile with the several strands he was running. He ran a “hot” wire and then 4 inches higher had a “ground” wire. That way even if the ground wasn't wet enough, when an animal tried to come through the fence, it would touch both the hot and ground wires, getting shocked. Yes the fencing worked. With the electric on, he accidentally touched his arm across the 2 wires. It only lasted a split second, but it was enough to make his hair stand on end and to make him wet his pants.

After talking with Eve about how many chickens and pigs she wanted, he drew up plans for a building. Figuring how much cement and blocks he would need, he found out he would have to get the blocks and cement trucked in from the big city. He would have to rent a cement mixer and make it himself, pour the floor and lay up the courses of block. So he took his truck into the city and ordered the blocks, bought the bags of cement and rented the mixer. He bought a trailer to hitch behind his truck to haul the mixer and cement. The driver of the block truck followed him home and unloaded the block. Adam gave him a big tip and then started laying out the footer for the floor. He had put re-enforcement bars in the floor, once it was cured he started laying the blocks for the wall, putting bars in the blocks to strengthen them.

It was a warm day and lifting the block was causing him to sweat so he took his shirt off. Eve had been standing on the porch watching and it was the 1st time she had seen him with no shirt. She knew he was not overweight but his body looked like a 40 year old instead of the age 50 he had said he was. Her husband had been dead for 5 years. But after what his ex wife and “daughters” had done to him, she doubted he would be interested in a woman, let alone her. She hadn't told him yet but she was age 55, her hair had lots of gray streaks. In her opinion, not someone he would be interested in. She admired the view for another minute, then went back to doing her work.

Finally the coop / pigpen was finished, along with the fence to contain them. After seeing it on one of the internet sites, they set the fencing up to be divided in 3 sections for each side. That way the animals could be rotated through the sections, giving them a healthier life. They ordered new baby chicks to replace the ones the bear had killed. They ordered from Murray McMurray hatchery. They placed an order for 13 layer chicks and 12 meat chicks, to be butchered at 10 weeks of age, which should give them a 6-8 pound roasting bird. The chicks would be delivered to the town's post office in 7 days. They made sure the coop was ready for when the chicks arrived, fresh pine shavings, chick feeders and waterers and a heat lamp. They got the pigs moved into their new pen. The chicks arrived, Adam picked them up at the post office. He had never seen baby chicks and was fascinated by their running around their new coop.

[kaijafon]

Have to ask in case I missed it, what kind of fencing for the chicks? They will go right through chicken wire. I had to use hardware cloth.

love baby chickens

[kansasterri]

Baby chickens are the promise of another year of life.

I hope to pick up 3 tomorrow as my flock is getting old: us 2 older farts do not use a lot of eggs any longer.

[iamnobody]

Feb 24, 2023 11:39:06 GMT -6 kaijafon said:

Have to ask in case I missed it, what kind of fencing for the chicks? They will go right through chicken wire. I had to use hardware cloth.

love baby chickens

The way I have always done it is to keep them corralled in their brooder for several weeks under a heat lamp before letting them out in a fenced in area. That way they are usually big enough they couldn't fit through the fence. The meat chicks would definitely be too big to get through.

Using a momma hen to hatch chicks, she keeps them close and calls them back if they stray.

Adam and Eve could keep the chicks inside the coop til a few weeks and the chicks would be just fine.

[feralferret]

Nice chapter. Thanks!

[iamnobody]

One of the chicks had already got Adam's attention. It was a Rhode Island Red. It was always running around being inquisitive and nosy, checking everything out. When Adam got in the brooder, the chick always ran up to him, often jumping up on his leg when he squatted down to fill the food and water. Eve told him he had a new friend. He named the chick Nosy. When they had ordered the egg layer chicks, they ordered “eye candy.” One chick of different breeds of brown egg layers. They planned on keeping the chicks in the brooder under the heat lamp, lowering the temperature every few days as the chicks feathers grew in. That way when they were put outside in the fenced in area they couldn't squeeze through the fence.

It was too late in the year to plant a regular garden but plans were made for expansion next year. He marked off the boundaries of the extra area and tilled it up with the new rototiller he had bought, then started spreading used animal bedding from their chickens and pigs on the area. It would be decomposed by next Spring when they were ready to plant. Eve liked to use a lot of onions in her cooking so after looking online, he contacted Dixondale Farms and talked with “Bruce the Onion man” who was the owner and discussed what would grow best in their area. Bruce was very helpful and Adam placed an order for the next Spring. He went with Sterling, a white onion growing to 5 inches and storing up to 6 months. The potatoes planted would be Kennebec and Late Flat Cabbage for their storage over next Winter.

Reading online, they started seeing a lot of food supply companies having fires, explosions and planes crashing into them. There was very little coverage on the regular news but many sites on the internet were covering it. Adam and Eve talked about it and decided it might be best to gather up canned goods and dried beans, etc. Searching online, they found a restaurant food warehouse in the same city as the big gun store. Adam said they could make a trip and stop at the warehouse and gun store. Eve agreed.

They placed an online order with the food warehouse to be available for pickup. Arriving, he checked the billing against what was being loaded on his trailer. 50 pounds of each:
Pinto
Red
Great Northern
Navy
Small Lima
Split Pea
Oatmeal
White Rice
Flour
Cornmeal
Instant mashed potato

Then they drove over to the gun store. When they entered, the sales clerk that waited on him before, saw him and waved with a big smile. He came over and asked how he could help today. Adam told him no guns today, but some ammo and maybe some more magazines. Looking over the FAL magazines, he picked out another 20. He got another 2 cases of the 12G Brenneke 1 3/8 ounce slugs, he was impressed on what they had done to the bear. 2 cases of the PPU 150 grain ammo for his 308 Winchester. Another 2 cases of the 22LR Winchester 40 grain Hyper Velocity FPS hollow point. It was used for squirrel hunting, Eve loved making squirrel potpie. He grabbed 5 cases of IMI 7.62x51 for the FAL. Then he saw some beat up boxes of 7.62x51 government ammo, the bullets had black tips on them. He asked the clerk and was told they were US government surplus armor piercing 7.62x51 ammo. They were $3 a round and they only got in 1,000 rounds. Before Adam thought about it, he said he would take all of them. Wheeling the cart stacked with his ammo, the clerk pushed it to the cash register.

Passing the display cases with handguns, the clerk asked if he would be interested in a handgun. He told him not now, he was still learning to use the long guns. Ringing up his items, the clerk told him to come back again. On the trip home, Eve asked why the armor piercing ammo. Adam said he wasn't sure, he just a prompting to get it.

[gipsy]

Good idea he had

[freebirde]

I will ask two questions I asked on FB, not really expecting an answer. Where any of those damaged/destroyed food plants, grain silos, warehouses, and such were owned by Chinese companies? Had any of them recently turned down a foreign buy-out?

[kansasterri]

A very timely chapter. Thank you

[prepguy]

Very good story, looking forward to more.

[tsam]

Thanks for a great story

[iamnobody]

Feb 25, 2023 15:47:12 GMT -6 freebirde said:

I will ask two questions I asked on FB, not really expecting an answer. Where any of those damaged/destroyed food plants, grain silos, warehouses, and such were owned by Chinese companies? Had any of them recently turned down a foreign buy-out?

Honestly, I hadn't considered the thought that someone might be trying to force them to take a buy out from a foreign buyer.

Not sure if any of them were Chinese owned.

My mind has only been going in the direction of it being gray terror by an enemy, foreign or domestic, destroying supplies to weaken their target before outright war.

[CountryGuy]

Feb 26, 2023 7:34:05 GMT -6 iamnobody said:

Feb 25, 2023 15:47:12 GMT -6 freebirde said:

I will ask two questions I asked on FB, not really expecting an answer. Where any of those damaged/destroyed food plants, grain silos, warehouses, and such were owned by Chinese companies? Had any of them recently turned down a foreign buy-out?

Honestly, I hadn't considered the thought that someone might be trying to force them to take a buy out from a foreign buyer.

Not sure if any of them were Chinese owned.

My mind has only been going in the direction of it being gray terror by an enemy, foreign or domestic, destroying supplies to weaken their target before outright war.

Well and I wouldn't rule out our own govt, entities of the govt, or shadow state entities trying to reduce the supply. I forgot who said it, maybe multitudes of people have, but Control the food, Control the people. I mean that has been a favorite tactic of the communists for about forever. How Stalin took control of Ukraine during the Holodomor in the early 30's. He seized and destroyed all the food, crops and animals and starved over three million to death. Communism, it's such a swell idea; Stalinism is the cherry on top. The democratic progressives here are a blending of all of them and I fear will end up being worse than the Germans, Russians or Chinese, only to be seen how many of us they will kill to have their utopia. I mean could say Covid was a bit of a warm up exercise.

[iamnobody]

By late Fall, the pigs were ready to butcher. The neighbor was doing it. Eve had the hams and bacon cured and smoked, pork chops made, front shoulder roasts and everything else was made into sausage. She got the fat to render down into lard. Next Spring she would start over with 2 more pigs. Adam was busy with the Winter's wood supply. Eve ordered a tri-axle load of logs delivered and he cut them up into lengths for the wood stove. The logs were from dead trees so it would be safe to burn the wood this year without a lot of creosote build up in the chimney.

Winter passed with the normal snow and colder temperatures. Days it was nasty out, he fed the chickens and then spent the day inside. A few days when it wasn't too bad, he went hunting for white tail deer, taking 2 of them, a nice 6 point buck and a doe to add to their meat supplies. The PPU ammo worked fine in the Savage Axis rifle, dropping the deer with 1 shot. Adam and Eve still spent time reading the sites on the internet. There was so much info on there that was not talked about on the regular news.

One evening next Spring he checked his email. There was a week old message from a law firm, asking him to contact them regarding a matter concerning Nancy. He showed it to Eve, she said he should get in touch with them to see what was the problem. He called them, finding out that it was a matter concerning her estate, they needed to see him. He had thought everything had been taken care of at the divorce but they set a day and time for him to be there.

The day before the appointment, he set off for the 10 hours long travel to the law firm. Eve had told him to have a safe trip and she looked forward to his return. Finally arriving he got a motel room for the night, to be refreshed for the appointment tomorrow, he wasn't looking forward to seeing his ex wife. Arriving at the law firm, he was ushered into the office by the secretary. He saw his 2 “daughters” sitting there. They gave him the evil eye and snickered as they looked at the work clothes he was wearing. The lawyer asked him to sit down and they could get started.

The lawyer said they were here to settle Nancy's estate after her death in a car wreck. Adam said he was divorced from her, what was he here for. The lawyer said he would get to that. Proceeding, the lawyer told the daughters that their mom had left them the house and the $70,000 savings. They were happy. Turning to Adam, he said Nancy had a $500,000 life insurance policy with him as the beneficiary. Adam remembered when they had each taken out life insurance policies for the same amount and made each other the beneficiary. He had changed his after the divorce. The daughters immediately objected saying Adam was no longer married to their mom. The lawyer said it didn't matter, his name was on it and legally he was to receive the funds.

The daughters stomped out of the office, slamming the door against the wall and left. The lawyer handed the $500,000 check to him. Adam asked if the lawyer knew how she had died. She had drove straight into a rock cliff face at a high rate of speed, dying instantly. The coroner's report showed high levels of alcohol and drugs in her system. Adam thanked the lawyer and left the office. It would take longer to get back to the cabin as he would have to swing by another city to deposit the check in the bank he used. He only had $175,000 left of his originally money, so this would really help him out.

[gipsy]

Job is not finished till the paper work is done.

[iamnobody]

He arrived back at the cabin 6 days after he had left. Eve had heard him coming and as soon as he had got out of the truck, she touched him on his arm and said she was happy to see him back. Adam told her he had said he would be back, he liked it here and her company. He told her he had brought back a present for her. He reached in the truck and pulled out a paper bag and gave it to her. With a surprised look, she took the bag and looked inside. Then she burst into tears. There were 3 boxes of Godiva gourmet chocolates. He asked what was wrong, didn't she like it. She said she loved it, no one had ever got her chocolates, let alone the gourmet candy. She suddenly gave him a strong hug, then pulled back, saying she was sorry. Then she turned and walked to the cabin as he watched her retreating back with an unreadable look on his face.

Inside the cabin, Eve was busy fixing a meal for them, a nice satisfying meal of pinto beans with a flavoring of bacon mixed in and a chunk of cornbread. After the meal, they sat on the porch and he told her what had happened. That his ex was dead, had wrecked due to alcohol and drugs. That she had forgotten to change her life insurance policy and he had been still listed as the beneficiary. His “daughters” had been there and were mad about him getting the pay out but the lawyer said there was nothing legal they could do about it. Eve said it sounded like karma had caught up to her for what she did.

Adam took care of the chickens and pigs. Nosy came running over to him when he was filling the water and food. The little hen jumped right up on his leg and started clucking at him. Eve told him everything had been quiet while he was gone.

[techsar]

Thanks for the new installment of this fine story. 🙂

[kaijafon]

Feb 25, 2023 15:47:12 GMT -6 freebirde said:

I will ask two questions I asked on FB, not really expecting an answer. Where any of those damaged/destroyed food plants, grain silos, warehouses, and such were owned by Chinese companies? Had any of them recently turned down a foreign buy-out?

most everything is now owned by "Vanguard", like the railroad companies and it might be interesting to see just what exactly is owned by them, through several shell companies that is... I could be wrong.

[ydderf2]

Thank you

[iamnobody]

Over the next few weeks, they watched the news on the internet sites. Many more food production and distribution warehouses had “accidents” that caused them to close. Then it was other production facilities that also started having accidents at them. Basically every week, there was a new accident.

There was a group of non elected people that called themselves the World Enlightenment Forum (WEF) that was dictating policy to all governments in the world. These people said that they had all the answers for all the people of the world and the people would have to obey them. The WEF said that there would be food rationing which would save the climate. That people would have to quit eating meat, get rid of their pets, get rid of their cars and trucks, move into “smart cities” where everything was a short 15 minute walk of the small 8ft x 10ft apartment they would be living in as individuals, no more living together as husband and wife or as a family. There would be communal kitchens and showers. The governments would be taking complete care of the people's needs, from providing clothing to the food they ate. In fact the food would be completely made in a factory so that the old farming would not be harming the climate. The food would have all the needed nutrients, vitamins and even vaccines in it so people would be healthy. That all common people would own nothing but would be happy because the government provided for all their needs.

The WEF talked about the “re-wilding” of the countryside. People would not be allowed more than 1 mile outside of the “15 minute cities” and for only 20 minutes a month. Extinct species would be brought back to life and released into the countryside. Adam and Eve looked at each other with pale faces, even Adam with his liberal upbringing and voting habits understood that this was a bad thing.

[kansasterri]

LOL!

This is getting seriously good!

[feralferret]

There is something rather familiar about these goals. Where is Klaus hiding?

Thanks for the fine chapter.

[iamnobody]

Adam spent the night in fitful sleep, his brain wouldn't stop thinking. In the morning Eve looked like she didn't get much sleep either. After breakfast and chores done, they sat on the porch and talked. Both agreed they needed to get more food but would need a place to store it. He talked of having a “root cellar” put in and covered with dirt so it was underground, maybe something 12ft wide, 8ft high and 24ft long. No one local had equipment to dig out the hole needed so Adam contracted with an outside company. Once he talked with them in person, he found out they could also build the structure at a higher price. He asked for a moment of privacy while he discussed it with Eve. They discussed it, coming to the same conclusion, that it would take the rest of the year for him and her to build it and it was time they may not have. So he signed a contract with them, they would start next week and should be done in 3 weeks.

Adam stayed busy as the “root cellar” was being built. He bought a bunch of new 55 gallon barrels with the open screw off tops which would be used for storing beans and grains. Several more open top barrels for water even though there was a water well for the cabin, he wanted some stored water as a backup. They ordered a hand water pump for on the well in case of no electricity. He rounded up a bunch of plastic pallets for on the floor under the barrels to keep them off the concrete floor. He placed an order at the restaurant food warehouse for more dry beans and grains.

The “root cellar” was finished, Adam and Eve was happy with it. They headed to the big city to pick up their food order. He said they would stop at the gun store first. Walking into the store, the same clerk from before, saw them and waved. The clerk walked over and Adam said he would need a cart again. Adam loaded 10 cases of the IMI 7.62x51 fmj ammo. The clerk leaned in and whispered if he took 20 cases, the price would be 15% off. Adam quickly loaded 10 more cases. Whispering again, the clerk said they had recently got in another 2,000 rds of US 7.62x51 armor piercing but the government was planning on banning the sale of that type of ammo in 2 months. They were now $4 a round. Adam said he would take all of them. He also picked up another 5 cases of PPU ammo for the Savage .308 Winchester and 5 cases of the 12G Brenneke 1 3/8 ounce slugs. He saw some 12G Winchester 3 inch 24 pellet #1 buckshot. He had read good reviews of it so he grabbed 10 cases of it. He grabbed 10 extra magazines for the Savage Axis rifle plus lots of cleaning fluid, brushes and cleaning rods. He got several extra scopes, rings and bases for the Savage and Ruger as spares. The clerk said they just got in spare parts kits for FALs, so he grabbed several of them. After paying for everything, they headed over to the food warehouse.

The trailer was riding low after picking up the food, so he drove slower, arriving back at the cabin way after dark. No rain in the forecast so he would wait til morning to unload but he would sleep outside next to the trailer to guard it. Armed with the FAL, he had a decent night's sleep. He was awake as the sun came up over the ridge. He got up, stretched, watered the nearby bush and then tended to the chickens and pigs. By the time he went inside, Eve had a pan of oatmeal ready. After breakfast, they went outside. He parked the trailer as close to the door of the “root cellar” as he could and they unloaded, placing everything where it belonged.

[kansasterri]

Thank you for the chapter: it just keeps getting better