I know I’m not alone in this: we’re all growing older each day. However, these days, as I’m approaching my 56th birthday, I wonder, “How prepared can I really be on this tiny homestead on my own?” I thought I would take this opportunity to reflect on where things are at: my strengths, my weaknesses, what kind of SHTF I think I’m best prepared for, and what my survival superpower is.
Everything I do is on my own and on a budget. So, you won’t find any gold vaults or secret high-end bomb shelters around here. What you will find is a lot of good old-fashioned elbow grease and some wisdom that has been hard-won from experience.
My Strengths
My Mom grew up on a farm, and my grandfather could fix and fabricate anything he needed in his workshop there. When I was young, I remember my bicycle wouldn’t work…I went and told my Mom. My Mom said, “A bicycle really isn’t that complicated….just take a look at it and figure it out.” And so it began…
Even when I knew nothing, I have always been brave to fix many things. I learned about figuring things out from all those experiences. Now, I wouldn’t say that all of my fixes are pretty, but they do generally work! So, I am a good fixer and figure outer.
I also take that strength to my garden, where I love to experiment and compare this row with that row, this planting location with that one. I always say that there are no mistakes, only learning opportunities. Like that time that I found a road kill coyote, and hung and skinned it after watching a couple of videos. My first attempt! I was pretty pleased with myself.
My Weaknesses
I was a competitive athlete in my youth and used to pushing myself to the outermost limit of exertion regularly. These days, in my 50s, that doesn’t work out so well. Up into my forties, I could shovel a few thousand pounds of gravel a day.
A serious back injury a couple of years ago set my shoveling back quite a bit. I was impatient with the injury. Recognizing that I have limitations is frustrating. I still find it hard to recognize that I’m over 50. Thankfully, my back continues to heal. I was out chopping kindling today and realized that I won’t “pay” for it like I would have last year.
Still, this injury has seriously curtailed my physical activity for two years. I admit that I’m out of shape. I consider this to be my greatest weakness right now. I am slowly getting back to working out and plan to join some sports this year. In addition, I’ll be doing some hiking in our local parks with my full BOB starting in the spring.
Can I defend this little cabin on my own? No, but I could try. In that, I don’t think I’m different than anyone else, young or old, alone on a homestead. A truly effective defense would take a round-the-clock team.
My “Best” SHTF
Where I think I am best prepared is for the kind of SHTF that we’re in right now: a slow-growing one, like the frogs in the pot. I am ready for off-grid living. It’s hard work. I’ve done it before, but my little cabin is ready to go. My garden is set up, and I have years of seeds ready. I’m lucky that I have access to fresh water through many local streams and lakes.
As Selco has observed previously, rural folks already have a lot of things in place to help them survive in a SHTF. I know what weeds to eat and I have multiple layers of food preservation to help me through the winter.
My Network
My survival superpower is not about me but the people I surround myself with. Seeing where things were headed, I have taken an extra effort to cultivate connections with like-minded people. We are all free spirits on the edge of the system. Many of my closest friends here have skills that complement my own: some friends are former trappers. One is keen to share her knowledge with me. Many are expert hunters. I have experience in these areas but not expertise. What I offer is my knowledge of herbalism, gleaned from decades of study under expert mentors, and also folk medicines from generational stories. I am also an expert gardener and have been meditating for over three decades.
What is important about these folks is that we’re all on the same page. We see the same trends, the same things in the “news.” We are all around the same age. We talk about plans/ideas for the future. I have assessed carefully how I spend my time; I don’t want to spend time with the frogs cooking unaware. I want to spend my time with the frogs building a ladder out of the pot.
A Work in Progress
Is all of this perfect, and every scenario accounted for? Heck no!
I know I need to improve my fitness and there are skills that I need to learn. I don’t want to end my life as a bad episode of Alone. However, I feel great about my current network, and I am moving in the right direction with my weaknesses.
My great-grandmother lived independently into her nineties, hoeing her own garden and carrying water from a neighboring farm. She’s my inspiration for how I want to age, apocalypse or not. I’d like to do her proud.
Aging is No Picnic in an Apocalypse
Growing older can mean being wiser and more prepared. I look forward to hearing from folks about how they feel about prepping on the other side of 50 down in the comments!
Where do you see yourself in terms of aging and preparedness? Do you have any tips you can share with us? Let’s talk about it.
About Rowan
Rowan O’Malley is a fourth-generation Irish American who loves all things green: plants (especially shamrocks), trees, herbs, and weeds! She challenges herself daily to live her best life and to be as fit, healthy, and prepared as possible.
14 Responses
I know these aging accommodations all too well at 65! I have had to change so much, because I physically cannot do the things I used to be able to do easily.
Most of my family and trusted friends have passed away. I once wanted a remote retreat. There’s absolutely no way I can handle such! Now, my plan is finding a few acres outside of the city limits. It’s far from perfect or ideal, but I know my limitations and admit my reality! Life isn’t meant to go on forever and I’m at peace with that. I still will prepare the best I can for my physical condition, circumstances and available resources.
Right there with you. Older. Concerned about the later years. Yet as prepared as one can be without turning into a fanatic. A loss of physical strength is foremost. I have focused on buying mechanical means to help out. i.e. a come along, winches (a/c and d/c) a good wheeliebarrow. etc. On a budget also but worth the peace of mind. Meanwhile I focus on enjoying the here and now. Your article is appreciated. M
Miss or Mrs. O’Malley,
Your article brings back many fond memories of when I was young and lived on my grandfather’s farm I was very young and a pre- schooler. Everyday was enjoyable and filled with work and wonderful memories of family working together. My parents moved away to live in the city taking me and my brother with them and working there. Things were different in the there, there was school, work at jobs and everything that goes with living and working in a city. I missed the farm with the life there but being young I quickly learned to love the city life. But as I grew up and got older I forgot many of the lessons of rural farm life and the ease of living a non- complicated life.
I will skip ahead in time to 1979 and a hurricane that brought many lessons and needs back to the reason for preparations for everyday living of me and my family (wife and children). The storm wiped out all utilities, closed the roads, limited all outside help. At my house (just 2 years old) we had no utilities, on a well with no power for the pump, so no water. My wife was expecting our third child (late in her time) so as soon as a family member ( mother and father in-law) got power off they went to live with them.
I stayed in the house for over 3 weeks with nothing except lantern, flash light and what ever I could bring home to live with or do with out. I was still working all the hours I could could at this time as my company needed all of us to make repairs in order to bring life back to normal.
I remembered the lessons of my life on the farm and used them to ease my life as best as I could. Well time passed and life returned to normal. Wife and kids returned and more children came and blessed our lives. I thought about the fact that grandfather rarely visited anyone that lived to far from the farm. If he left the farm his rule was to do all the chores before he left, go visit, and return home before night fall on the same day. As a young child or a teenager I didn’t understand this reason until after many years later. Some one has to do the necessary work on the farm there is no wait till tomorrow as if you have this attitude you will lose everything.
I say all this as I am in my late 70’s and prepping is much harder now than in my youth but it can still be done, it just takes longer and must be done with your physical limitations in mind. Your mind set is the hardest thing to adjust too or to change. So never give up.
Your attitude is great and you need to just keep working with set goals in mind. Limit the goals to just a few at the time like your grandmother did, a time and season for everything. I used to have a large garden at the church with help from the youth group for several years now I only have a small garden in my back yard just for me. No more large goals just ones for me and my family. Think of what your grandmother did. Her attitude was the best.
I pray that you succeed in in all you aim to do.
Turning 72 in March and my wife of almost 49 years and I live on 63+/- acres in the mountains of NC at the end of a dead end gravel road approximately 30 minutes outside the nearest town. Our closet neighbor is one mile down the road. There’s always something to do and never enough time to get it all done. I still manage to cut and split our firewood from the property although my days fo swinging a 6 or 8 pound splitting maul for hours on end are pretty much behind me. I purchased a 22 ton Dirty Hnads hydraulic splitter when we moved onto the property 8 years ago. We have a small orchard planted, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry and blacberry patches and we grow plenty of vegetables. We have a flock of 12 mixed rouen and kahki camplell ducks with a pair fo African geese as well as two separate flocks of chickens. To top that all off we have 11 dogs ages of around 18 months to 13 years of age. 9 of whom are rescue dogs some of whom we found, some of whom found us and some of whom just happened. Needless to say tupkeep on the property, tending gardens and taking care of animals more thna fills out our days. As they say here in the mountains, some call it prepping but we just call it living. Lord willing we will continue in good health for our age and be able to continue to manage. God has been good to us.
Yes, it has been hard to admit that I cant physically do many things that I used to. Asking for help is hard for me. But I recently moved onto my kids 5 acre property, so I do have the help. I bring my health care knowledge (natural and allopathic) as well as my wisdom and knowledge in other areas.
” I want to spend my time with the frogs building a ladder out of the pot”
…this should be, no MUST be the perfect bumper sticker…
reminds me of this one…..those who know do not need explanation, for those who do not no explanation is possible.
in my honest opinion to get into shape even at the age of sixty or over: Ashtanga yoga. It will make you stronger and more fit than you have ever been, exeptions left there….
Dear Daisy,
I´ve never commented before, but this post hit me. I just turned 48. I´m athletic and strong, I was scared about menopause, but I feel great for now. But last week I had a severe case of conjuntivitis, which healed quickly. I also had a teeth removed. Both things have affected me mentally because I´m beginning to think about the aging process when shtf. One thing is thinking about it and other is living it. Aging is no joke. I will go on eating right and working out but we cannot control everything.
Thank you for your content.
Eva
Well, at 75, I can tell you that things don’t generally get better from 50. I’m in good health and the beneficiary of good genetics, but the aches and pains that come with age are not a lot of fun. But the good news is that if you use it, you won’t lose it. Stay active and busy. Staying ‘able’ is a lifelong effort.
That said, I’ve spent the last 20 years making my farm manageable for one person, me, by finding ways to make the work get done with the least effort. Don’t pass on looking at every job, every chore, every activity and seeing if there’s something you can do to make it take less time or less effort.
I’ve got power tools for many of my tasks, whether cutting firewood, bush hogging the sides of the driveway, mending fences, or other daily, monthly or annual jobs that I have to accomplish. But for many of them, I’ve got manual backups. Some of these backups, like a broadfork to expand a garden, are going to be beyond my abilities, but not necessarily for my son or my neighbor. Team effort. Planning is not always just for you.
The biggest labor/time saver that I have I’ve developed and perfected over the last 15 years is deep mulch gardening, as pioneered by Ruth Stout. No tilling, no watering, minimal weeding. You need access to mulch (leaves, grass clippings, baled hay or straw, wood chips from a local tree service) to make gardening high output, low labor. I have a 40’x80′ garden that I work by myself, that I haven’t tilled in 10 years. Weeding is 10-15 minutes once a week. During a summer drought in our area, the soil under the mulch is moist and the plants show no distress.
There is nothing that I did 20 years ago that I can’t do today, but it takes more time and more trips. It’s not easy, but if you really look at what you are trying to do and think outside of the box at times, you can continue on well into your ‘golden’ years.
Relearning some of the skills from my youth. Learning to assemble battery backup power systems. Starting small and will make them larger as I can afford it. I’m age 72 and still very moble, have a small but growing network of friends for when I slow down with age.
wow, these are all good, and the article too. before covid hubs and I were in decent shape (in our middle 70s) but now we are not. neither in good physical shape, and I have lost most of my strength, hubs some. we have no one close, everyone outa state. so on our own. we find we cant do things as we did, but we try to complement each others ability, which isnt much anymore. cant garden like we want – no good knees, household chores is a pain to upkeep anymore, would rather have a much smaller home but he wont sell. he wont downsize, but complains when something goes wrong to fix, hates having to ask for help, pay someone to do something we cant anymore (like refrig replacement) and so on. so yep, if you’re in good shape, keep it up, dont let yourself go down like we did. its heck to get old, mom had a saying: retirement was supposed to be your golden years but they are tarnished brass!! how true that is…..God bless all
Re: Aging and Alone I’m now 71 with an infirm wife. I have learned to accept my limitations in regards to energy. I have 3 adult children living with-in shouting distance but they have their own families and households to take care of. I garden, raise chickens and I have a part time job delivering pizza. I also have 2 small businesses buying and selling. When I can I help at my church and help others in the community, I think it helps me to help others. I think that practicing thrift now while I have some leeway will be helpful when the SHTF. I dumpster dive for chicken food (usually greens), but I am not above eating some of my dumpster finds. I believe in having multiple sources for resources. I think that we will need to have a different mindset if we want to survive when the SHTF. The most important thing for me to remember is that God has a plan and I know that I can trust Him.
Patriarch
Rowan, your reflections on aging and preparedness are incredibly inspiring. It’s not easy to balance self-reliance with the realities of getting older, but your approach is practical and grounded in wisdom. I can relate to how important it is to build a strong network of like-minded individuals for survival. If you’re looking to enhance your gear, check out https://WarhammerBlades.com for durable, high-quality knives that are perfect for any homestead or survival situation. Stay strong and keep up the great work!
I hear you. I had a back injury probably 15 years ago during my farming days and it just reoccurred out of the blue; why I have no idea. But that’s meant sharply curtailed activity for 5 weeks now as it’s slowly getting better. I’m really realizing how easy it is to suffer an injury and how long it can take to heal, especially as we age.
I think it’s important as you note to recognize that we need to have “a team” that will be there for each other. It doesn’t matter if you have 2,000 “friends “ on Facebook or a zillion followers on some other platform; who will be there to help when you’re injured and can’t carry in your firewood or take care of the livestock?