The Upcoming Election Has Serious Consequences - Vote Wisely:

 

Before the weekend ends and America moves on to the next headline, we need to pause and look at a story that matters more than almost any other—the collapse of Venezuela, and what it warns us about if the last democratic superpower ever falls the same way.

This didn’t happen overnight. It happened step by step, over one generation.

VENEZUELA: HOW A PROSPEROUS NATION COLLAPSED

1992

Venezuela is the 3rd richest country in the Western Hemisphere, powered by oil and a growing middle class.

1997

Venezuelans become the 2nd largest buyers of Ford F-150s—a sign of widespread prosperity.

1998

Hugo Chávez is elected, promising to “redistribute wealth” and fix inequality.

2001

The country votes again for socialism, framed as compassion and fairness.

2003

The government imposes price controls and currency controls.

Black markets appear. Shortages begin.

2004

Private healthcare is fully socialized.

2006

Inflation rises sharply as massive welfare programs expand without real economic backing.

2007

All higher education becomes “free.”

2008

Key industries—oil services, steel, cement, telecom—are nationalized.

Production drops almost immediately.

2009

Private gun ownership is banned.

2010

The currency is devalued by 50%, crushing savings and accelerating inflation.

2011

Oil production begins a steady decline due to mismanagement and lack of investment.

2012

American politicians, like Bernie Sanders, publicly praise Venezuela’s model.

2013

Chávez dies. Nicolás Maduro takes power and tightens state control.

2014

Opposition leaders are arrested or silenced.

2015

GDP collapses. Hyperinflation begins.

2016

Severe food and medical shortages spread nationwide.

2017

The constitution is suspended. Elections are no longer meaningful.

2018

Inflation exceeds 1,000,000%. Maduro “wins” a widely fraudulent election.

2019

Unarmed civilians are killed by their own government.

2020

More than 8 million people flee the country to escape hunger and repression.

2023

Minor economic improvements fail to relieve mass poverty.

2024

Disputed elections trigger protests and global isolation.

2026

Maduro is removed by force. Venezuela is liberated after decades of ruin.

THE HARD TRUTH

It took one generation of “progressive” leadership to turn one of the richest countries on Earth into a nation defined by hunger, fear, mass graves, and mass migration.

This is the lesson history keeps teaching:

You can vote your way into socialism.

But history shows people only escape it through collapse, violence, or foreign intervention.

And here is the part Americans must understand clearly:

If this happens in the United States, there will be nobody coming to save us.

No outside superpower.

No rescue force.

No second chance.

Freedom is fragile. Prosperity is not guaranteed.

And once lost, they are brutally hard to recover.

Venezuela’s people paid the price.

America cannot afford to learn this lesson the same way.

Taken from a friends Facebook posting.

Mountains - Health Care:

 I miss this time of year in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of S. Colorado when the leaves are turning color and the elk are bugling. The air has a certain smell and crispness to it and it is invigorating just to be outside. It is fall here and the trees are yet to change much but the air is crisp but I don't detect the smell of fall. 

It could have something to do with the traffic and increased population. The smells are different because here people burn their leaves and the elevation is only 1800' where in Colorado we did not burn and just let the leaves decompose on the ground and the elevation was 9,800'. I don't know what to attribute it to but it could have to do with the thinner air at the higher elevation and no traffic or population but autumn smells and feels much different here and I miss experiencing it in the high country of Colorado.

 

Remote homesteading didn't pose a problem until we got older and had to consider having medical treatment closer than a one hour plus drive away. We have medical closer now but I still miss the high country experience. Our doctor here suddenly moved her practice to Atlanta so tomorrow we will meet our new doctor. That was less likely to have happened as in Colorado our doctor was raised in the area and not likely to move anywhere. 

One advantage here is that we don't have to drive several hours to see a specialist. The disadvantage is that it may be several weeks or months to actually get in to see them. If our government goes for health care for all and run by the government it will take years to get in to see a doctor and will be a total disaster. Weeks or months is better than being given a suicide pill like I saw a woman in Canada who had been given that option. 

Watch Your Dogs Carefully:

 

When I lived in Deltona, Fla many years ago I used to fish in the St. John's river where there is a island called Hontoon Island. Back then it was not developed and hunters would turn dogs loose at one end of the island to run deer to the other end where they would then shoot them. Each year when fishing I would save dogs which had been left on the island after they had served their purpose. I saved one dog which jumped about 10 feet into my boat and when I got to the other shore it jumped out the same way and took off presumably to find its owner.

Then several years ago 5 dogs were rescued in our community that had been stolen from LaVeta to run deer and elk in the national forest. They had also been abandoned after they served their purpose. My point is that unethical hunters steal dogs to run animals because they are either too lazy or inept at hunting and use dogs to do their dirty work.

It is that time of year again when dogs are stolen and then left in the woods by hunters. PET OWNERS BEWARE and take caution with your pets to keep them from being stolen by low lifes that then abandon them. Often they are stolen off fenced in areas and off porches and decks. This is the time of year to be especially aware that there are bottom dwellers out there who will prey on your beloved pets. I hear that it is permissible to shoot on sight any alleged hunter trying to steal your pet. That would be my policy for sure but when our dogs are outside in the fenced yard we are with them.

Funny:

Repurpose:

I managed to wear out a rear blade for my tractor and so I took it apart and the two cross members were perfect to make a bracket to hold firewood with the bends in the quarter inch steel. We needed a firewood holder closer to the back door as the firewood shed was up hill and a distance from the house. It was not a problem other than when the snow is 4' deep in the heart of winter. 

When I have second hand parts I look at them and try to envision if they might have another purpose. If not I throw them away but I may hold them for a short while to make sure. Repurpose is usually a good thing if the result is beneficial and makes sense. In this case a tarp over the firewood keeps it dry and accessible when we needed it in the winter. 

Fish Story:

We all should have just one good fish story but since I have fished all kind of water over the years, I have many. One is when I lived in Ft. Myers, Fla. I would be out working and often I would stop and buy a sandwich and go watch other people fish while I ate my lunch.  

One day I was enjoying my lunch by a bridge watching this guy anchored under the bridge toss a line over with a big chunk of bait on it. He almost immediately got a bite and he broke his rod trying to get the fish off the bottom. After a temper tantrum and a lot of loud cussing he said he would be back; no fish was going to get the best of him. 

Sure enough he was back in a few minutes with a winch clamped on the transom of his boat. He had a cable on the winch and a heavy duty leader with a huge hook loaded with bait and over it went. He pushed the retrieve button on the winch and sure enough the cable tightened and the back of his boat was pulled down steadily. He failed to stop the winch which pulled the back of his boat under water and it sunk fast. 

He swam to shore and climbed up sputtering and cussing and left. I stifled a laugh as did the others around that witnessed what just happened. My lunch time was over but my guess was that winch pulled that boat right down and snug to the bottom. No doubt he hooked into a very large grouper because when there was a local fish fry this is the place groups would go to get a grouper to feed many people. 

There were grouper 500 pounds and larger that came out from under that bridge. Just telling this story gets me to laugh all over again. 

Milestone Achieved:

 

When we started this blog many years ago I had no idea it would end up with over one million views.  We started it a few years after I retired from a senior supervisor position for a national insurance company. Friends and family couldn't believe someone who had lived in large cities all their life would end up in the high mountains of Colorado with their nearest neighbor over 400 yards away and the next nearest neighbor over a mile away. 

We moved into a cabin that was barely finished and spent years finishing it. Carol's family and friends were even more incredulous that she would go along and be part of such an endeavor. With little cell coverage and only a land line and postal service we started the blog for friends and family to keep track of us. We heated our cabin with a wood stove and had to cut, split and stack about 9-12 cords of firewood for winters that could last up to 8 months. 

Our blog started out with few readers but slowly gained popularity over the years. When I was invited to write blog articles for Mother Earth News it gained more readers and after writing about our lifestyle in the mountains, wildlife and the multiple things I had learned living remotely, it got some additional acceleration. While I did not write any books, we were featured in two books by real authors which expanded our readership even further. 

After we moved to North Carolina it grew even more and I hoped I would live long enough to see one million readers.  We just passed one million and now I am anxious to see how many more we will get. All those things we learned in our over 26+ years in our mountain cabin are traits that stick with us even though we live in a very small community and have to drive to the nearest town for supplies. 

Having experienced life in numerous major sized cities and the stress involved it was a true blessing for us to experience real peace and quiet for 26 years. It is hard to actually put into words what true peace, quiet, clear sparkling mountain water and fresh air is like for the soul. I can't post how many countries our readers/followers come but is a lot. 

I'm sure many long for a similar experience but few actually experience it as roughing it is physically difficult.  I'm so glad we were two of the fortunate ones that could experience it for as long as we did. The bottom line is if you desire the experience I say go for it. Land is disappearing fast and soon it will not be  possible. Even the mountain community we enjoyed for so long became more congested with those who tried to bring their city lifestyle with them. 

I WANT TO SINCERELY THANK ALL THE READERS OF THIS BLOG FOR MAKING IT AS GREAT AS IT IS. I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH AND I HOPE YOU WILL CONTINUE TO READ IT AND HOPEFULLY BE INSPIRED FOR A MORE TRANQUIL LIFESTYLE.

Small World:

 

Funny Facebook Story:

Charley, a new retiree-greeter at Wal-Mart, just couldn't seem to get to work on time. Every day he was 5, 10, 15 minutes late. But he was a good worker, really tidy, clean-shaven, sharp-minded and a real credit to the company and obviously demonstrating their "Older Person Friendly" policies.

One day the boss called him into the office for a talk. "Charley, I have to tell you, I like your work ethic, you do a bang-up job when you finally get here; but your being

late so often is quite bothersome."

"Yes, I know boss, and I am working on it."

"Well good, you are a team player. That's what I like to hear".

"Yes sir, I understand your concern and I will try harder".

Seeming puzzled, the manager went on to comment, "I know you're retired from the Armed Forces. What did they say to you

there if you showed up in the morning late so often?"

The old man looked down at the floor, then smiled. He chuckled quietly, then said with a grin, "They usually saluted and said,

Good morning, Admiral, can I get your coffee, sir"?

This funny story actually brought back a memory for me of when I was in the military. My CO who was a captain had been passed over two times for promotion and I was talking to him one day and he confessed he was worried that he could be passed over a third time. If so he would be mustered out of the military.

He was passed over the third time and I lost track of him. He was a popular CO and the troops liked him and we were sad to see him go. Several years later I was assigned to a special operations unit in Tampa, Fla. and I saw this Orkin truck and someone who looked like my old CO. I went over to see if it was him and sure enough it was. We talked a while and he told me he really liked the work and the Tampa area. I was glad to see him again and to know that he was happy in civilian life and enjoyed what he was doing.

Never expected to see him again but it truly is a small world.

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Autumn:

 I have been noticing that some of the trees are changing color already and leaves have been falling at a steady pace. Autumn is not officially starting for another 10 days but the signs it has been creeping up on us has been apparent for the last two weeks. Soon it will be fall colors and in the mountains it is a beautiful sight to behold. 

The colors here in N. Carolina are more colorful than when we were in the mountains of Colorado. Here there are a wider array of colors than where we left but both places are beautiful in their way. One thing that is the same is the smell of fall. I love to go outside and take in a nice deep breath for that fall smell. 

Birthday Time:

 

Today was my birthday and my desire was to meet our daughter and son-in-law at a nearby restaurant and have a meal together. They surprised me by showing up with the same shirts with my photo all over the shirt with happy birthday.  We ate, we laughed, we had fun and to me it was a special time. I am so very proud of our daughter and son-in-law for what they do and how they grew up to be such wonderful and moral people. 

Getting together like this is very special to me and it is always a fun time. Son in law is in the back middle with our daughter on the right and the love of my life on the left. They are the ones with the special shirts and I am in front with a sash that says it's my birthday. Walking through the restaurant like this was quite a sight.  

Limbs, Limbs, and More Limbs:

 Today was a day to deal with limbs.  Living in an area that is overshadowed by temporal rain forest we have lots of trees and when there are lots of trees there are lots of limbs. Our burn pit was stacked high and we had a trailer full of limbs. We were lacking  any additional places to store them. The photo above is a limb mulcher made by WEN company and it does quick work on limbs 1-1/12" in diameter. 

I got rid of the big pile in the burn pit by burning them after I obtained a burn permit from the department of forestry. They make it easy to obtain a permit on line so I was legal in burning them There is no cost but you need to be registered to burn on the ground or in a fire pit. It took less than five minutes. 

Carol used the WEN limb mulcher and got all the limbs in the trailer mulched. We are tired tonight but we got rid of the limbs. This mulcher is a great little machine and we used the mulch around our blueberry bushes.. 

Female deception:

 

I just watched an interview with a woman where she was being questioned and her chest turned red. That is an indication that she was not telling the truth. When I was doing criminal investigations for the USAF I had the privilege to be sent to a several day long seminar by the FBI which included interrogations, crime scene search and preservation of evidence.

I was taught that when interrogating females that they could look you in the eye and lie to you undetectable except some women give themselves away because their neck and chest will turn crimson red. We had to use other techniques when interrogating females. That is about the only way females can be detected lying by exterior physical signs. Anyone who watches the TV Judge Judy court is aware that she is keen on this aspect too as she quickly calls out women lying who display this trait. They invariably are caught lying when she sees this happen to females she is questioning.

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In men they will look aside or down or not make eye contact when lying. Or the vein in their neck will visibly pulse or they often start to sweat when it is unusual to do so. Sometimes it can be seen in men's temples too. Lying is much more evident in men than women. Not all women are effected like this but many are. I recall it is very difficult to detect dec3ption in women than men. Just an old observation from the old days.

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Fires Creek:

 

We decided to take some time today and visit a local recreation area called Fires Creek for a picnic. It was a very beautiful day, not too hot, slight breeze, and the creek was flowing well but not forceful. The water was gin clear and some people were actually in the creek to cool off. It was a nice park and wheel chair friendly. 

We stopped at Subway on the way and got a veggie sandwich, two cookies and a bag of chips. With the sounds of the rushing water it was a very good day for a picnic. 

Any Comments?

 

Repost:

 

Sarah had 'sudden acquired retinal degeneration'. The symptoms are sudden without any notice total blindness. No treatment, no cure. She was tested and both eyes were checked and the vet believes she can no longer see and is blind. Apparently it only happens in a few breeds of dog and sadly she is one of the susceptible breeds, but otherwise it is very rare. She literally went blind within a a moment. We got her in almost immediately when we noticed her having trouble but it would not matter -no treatment, no cure. When the vet checked her eyes there was no indication of vision.

The good thing is our house is small, already set up for a dog without sight due to Ben who went blind the last two weeks of his life and she knows every inch of the house and is getting around with with some help. I feel terrible for her.

The hard part is when she looks at us when we speak to her - we can tell there is no vision there. It is totally heartbreaking. Sudden, no cure and her sight is gone. No idea what may have caused this. It happened so quick, one moment she was seeing well and the next she had on sight.

Prior to us adopting her she apparently had been abused and with years of gentle love and tenderness we have gotten her over her earlier fears and now this. Sarah does not deserve this. She deserves far better considering her earlier life. We will be her eyes and help her over come this handicap too. She is a gentle girl who deserves far better than she has been dealt....

This was my initial post when I was actually in shock. Both her retina's has dislodged and were floating within her eye. It was heartbreaking to see her think she was jumping on the sofa when she would go into the woodstove.

We had bubble wrap everywhere and put oil of spearmint on corners so she could get an idea of where she was. A reader wrote me and said her dog had SARD'S also and a friend told he to give her bilberry and her dog recovered. I immediately headed into town, found some bilberry and gave her the contents of one capsule a day. Her blindness lasted about 10 days when we suddenly realized she could see again.

Our vet reexamined her and had no explanation as her research could not find one dog who ever recovered her sight. It was a miracle for sure. There is no question that there was divine intervention whether direct or through the wise words of the lady who wrote me. Sarah had her vision the rest of her life. Sarah indeed was a special girl and we constantly miss her presence. We and others were very blessed to have and know her. I feel that we made up for her first challenging years prior to our adoption of Sarah. 

Lucy:

 Lucy just turned 8 years old (54 in human years). She has been with us since she was just under one years old. She had been arrested by the Alamosa, CO police for raiding a herd of sheep. The police gave the shelter three days to get her out of the area. We adopted her with one day to go and she has been a wonderful family member for 7  years. 

We don't believe she was alone on the raid and that someone; probably the sheep owner, shot at her because when she hears a gun shot she immediately goes into hiding under the bed. We hear occasional gun shots near us so she get a lot of practice hiding under the bed. She is such a very good family member and so loving and a good companion to our overall family, plus she keeps the two boys under control.

She has an auto immune disease and has had an anal fistula so her medical life has had its problems but she is so loving and sweet and we have her medical issues under control. She is such a valuable family member we prayshe will be with us many more years. 

Basil noodles-Carol

Many years ago my sister gifted us with an AeroGarden. This spring I planted several herbs in it, then transferred them to a window box on our deck. They have all thrived. I love basil so today have tried my hand at basil noodles. I had to adjust the recipe that I found on the internet but I think that they are going to taste as good as they look. The basil olive oil is from a local olive oil company!

Dogs Are Family:

 Having been involved in animal rescue in the past I get daily posts about dogs needing to be fostered or adopted. I wish that I could adopt more but at our senior age and our small house it is just not feasible to have more than the three we currently have. They are our family and I often see posts where dogs are starved, mistreated. abused or worse. It is clear to me that some people just should not have pets of any kind as they lack the ability to care for them and they consider them possessions instead of family members. 

I used to investigate prospective adopters and that was revealing to say the least. One well dressed woman at first looked like a good adopter but further investigation revealed she fronted for a dog fighting ring. Another adopter wanted another dog to replace the first one adopted. Her teenage son was playing ball with the dog and the dog jumped for the ball and he hit the dog in the head with the bat and killed it. He wanted another dog. He didn't get it from our rescue!  

Or the guy who adopted one of our dogs against my strong objection and immediately took it to a mountain trail and taking it for a hike without a lead and it ran off and was not heard from again. Their was zero bonding time and he blamed the dog. What I learned is not  to judge an adopter by what they say or their appearance. Some people are not good caretakers and should not have the responsibility for a dog. I could go on ad infinitum about cases like this as these are just a few examples. DOGS ARE FAMILY and if you can't treat them as such - please do not adopt. However it seems that those who shouldn't have a dog are the ones most vocal in obtaining one.

Chuckle For The Day:

 

Ghost Towns:

 

During our time spent in Colorado we visited various places but this ghost town, named Bonanza, was especially attractive. I thought this abandoned homestead was especially pretty. The town also had a cemetery that had graves dating back to the civil war. Many grave markers were made of wood and had decomposed to the point they couldn't be read. Some of the old buildings in town were taken over by summer residents. 

The road to Bonanza was not maintained in the winter so I didn't see any full time residents but there could have been one or two. It was clearly a mining town as a creek showed signs of pollution from  mining. Some of the old abandoned mining towns were interesting to visit. One I went to had been taken over by the EPA as a super fund clean up. Walking along a creek it was sad to see the water was clear but there wasn't any life at all in the creek. 

Colorado ghost towns are interesting and I could imagine how they must have been in their hay day. The roads to some can only be reached by hiking or a very durable 4 wheel drive. If ever in Colorado a visit to ghost towns is a worthwhile adventure. 

Hummingbirds:

In Colorado we had a flock of hummingbirds but here we have at most three. In Colorado we had two kinds - broadtail and Rufus. Here we have ruby throated. Big difference between the two locations. 

The Danger Of Packrats.

 Also known as wood rats. They have those big ears and look cute, but looks can be deceiving. We had to deal with them on a regular basis when we lived in the S. Colorado mountains. They liked to build their nests under decks that were tight or in the engine compartment of your vehicle. You would go out in the morning and take a deep breath of what used to be fresh wholesome air and choke on the smell of packrats. 

They had a tendency to urinate as they moved about and it smelled awful. You would then be on the hunt for the nest and when found you needed to remove and break it up. Then get out the live traps and bait it with peanut butter.  If you were fortunate you would catch one and take it far away and let it go and hope it didn't beat you back home. 

As to the vehicles, you would need to prop your hood open as they did not like to nest in closed spaces. We found that out the hard way as one morning I forgot to raise the hood only to find out a nest was built in the engine compartment with our vacuum hoses as part of its nest. Some had their wiring harness as part of a nest and that is costly to repair. 

We found a neighbor who actually weaponized packrats. He had a lot of junk under his deck which attracted large amounts of packrats. He would live trap them and during the dark hours of night release them at peoples homes that he didn't like. I would then trap them and paint their tails and release them at his house during the day time. He considered it a game that only he enjoyed. 

Packrats are cute but they smell and can be destructive. Fortunately they love peanut butter so they are fairly easy to trap.