I need clean WATER....now what??

     If this were to cease to exist today, what are you going to do for clean water for your family??

In Beyond the Strandline the story begins with "civilization" already in tatters. City water and sewer are long gone. Col. Kennedy had prepared on the ranch for long term water solutions. There were streams and water sources on the property, however, these too had problems. They had to solve their problems differently than we do now. (At least for the time being!) Here are some ideas to get you started thinking!

**Do you have a functioning well on your property? Do you share that well with others? (Who would have access to that water?? Can you protect its purity?) Do you have a hand pump or a generator as back-up to make that well function if there is no electricity? 

**Do you keep at least a 72 hr supply in your home? Ready.gov suggests the minimum of 2 gallons, per day, per person. (Water is an inexpensive way to get started preparing. Each trip to the store, pick up a couple gallons.) This gives you one to drink, one to use for hygiene and cooking. Here is an average breakdown for usage in the US: 

· Toilet - 19 gallons per day
· Bathing & hygiene - 15 gallons per day
· Laundry - eight gallons per day
· Kitchen - seven gallons per day
· Housekeeping - one gallon per day 

 **Purifying and Filtering.  Do you know what can sicken and kill people the fastest? Dirty water. There are cheap and easy ways to begin storing items to help you. Bleach. Water purification tablets. Personal water filters. You can research different ways to clean your water. Read up and then go visit some outdoor stores like ProBass and Field and Stream, REI, etc. Many Walmarts carry a good camping section with water filters, etc.

Next up??? Review of different options...for preparing today and for long term solutions.  

You asked and we're going to answer!

WHAT made Colonel Kennedy do what he did? And, WHAT did he do??

We don't know  the time line exactly of Beyond the Strandline, but we have plenty of challenges facing us today. Hopefully, we can gain some knowledge from his wise choices. The following are a few "natural disasters" from the news:

**Hurricanes/Storms/Flooding
**Fires
**Power Outages

How are you prepared for any of these? If you are new to the "Prepper" scene, it can be overwhelming. Here are five areas to begin thinking about:

**Water
**Food
**Shelter
**Light
**Hygiene

We'll share some ideas this month about each of these areas to help you get started or check what you already have stored.

Have specific questions? Let us know in the comments and we'll do our best to help!

Linda & Mindy

AN INTRODUCTION . . .

Dear Reader,

While Beyond the Strandline is a work of fiction, the atmospheric events leading up to the establishment of the S-Line Ranch as an oasis of prepared safety have been and might yet be very real.

Solar storms are a documented part of earth’s history. In 1859, a solar coronal mass ejection (a geomagnetic solar storm or solar flares) hit the earth. What little power grid existed at the time, mainly telegraphs, largely failed. 

Our modern world, with its complicated power grids and systems, has only grown more vulnerable to the massive influence of our closest star. According to some in the scientific community: EMP’s, pandemics, dirty bombs, nuclear attack, global economic collapse, and all the rest are statistically less likely than the storms that we cannot stop but can only try to prepare for.

In the character of Colonel Kennedy, I wanted to show the potential for all of us to be able to think ahead and prepare (prep) for whatever the universe or mankind might have in store.

Curious readers have asked me, “How did he [Tess’s grandfather] know what to do to get ready?”

I rejoice at the question. Thinking about what might happen is the beginning. I like to imagine that Colonel Kennedy looked up emergency preparedness on the Internet and started reading. Something any of us can do.

This is a story of possibilities and hope and courage and love and survival. In my mind, it’s better than a fairy tale because it’s a story about the best fairy tale of all—life—in all its unpredictability.

Linda L. Zern

www.zippityzerns.com