author « Robin Writes

It’s no secret that I’d like to have more land; who wouldn’t? Even another 25 acres or so. And I’ve been wondering about the parcel next to us . . .

Finally, I looked up the owners to see if they’d be interested in selling. The answer was apparently yes, as the taxes were delinquent and, indeed, it had been sold two years ago but the new owner never filed the deed or paid taxes since. That meant that the property had reverted back to the original owners.

Who were deceased.

I’d like to thank Google and the Internet for their invaluable help in this matter. Ha.

Since when are the Whitepages NOT free?? I was going nuts trying to find phone numbers. Seems those don’t exist any longer, unless you want to get an account and pay a fee. No, thanks.

First, I searched for the name of the couple, which is when I found out he was a rather famous literary agent—how weird is that—and that he’d died in 1993. His wife, too, had passed away in 2006 or 2007. Since Mr. M was very well-known, his obit was still available online with only a cursory search. And they had two children . . .

So I emailed the agency, which still exists. Surprisingly, they answered right away but had no information to contact the family.

No, they did not offer me representation or a contract.

Next, I looked for the last known address. It had been sold in 2007.

But, the children’s names and addresses were on the deed transfer documents—bingo! However, people do move; we’ve done so several times since 2007. Four, to be exact.

So far, this search had spanned the eastern half of the country: New York, New Jersey, Missouri, and Illinois.

I went on Facebook (duh) and found someone who may have been the daughter; she hadn’t posted since 2009. I found several possibilities for the son, too, but hardly any of them had posted in years either. I mean, come on—once in a blue moon I’ll see something on TimeHop that tells me I didn’t post on Facebook THAT DAY. DAY, not years!

Finally, I found someone that I thought was a match for the son—so I emailed him and asked.

And he wrote back and said yes, he was, and he noticed I was a writer so, he asked, is that how I knew his father?

I WISH! This guy repped Arthur C. Clark and Philip K. Dick, among others. Holy smoke. I WISH.

But no, I told him I was interested in buying the property in Missouri. We exchanged a few emails. He’ll actually be in the state in a month or so, and he wants to come see it.

Keep your fingers crossed!

You’re never done prepping. You could have all the gadgets and tools, all the skills, all the food storage and everything else, but you still carry on. Why?

First, because the work is never done. Oh, sure, you can store MREs and shelf-stable food for months or years, but you probably want better than that, right? So, a garden doesn’t plant and weed and harvest itself, it doesn’t prepare its own soil for the next year, and I can certainly testify that it doesn’t build its own deer-proof fence!

Thirty rows of crops this year, plus a six-tree orchard, a couple grape vines, and some strawberries and blueberries—and, if it came down it, that would maybe, just maybe, be enough to feed us throughout the year until the next harvest.
Of course, yes, we do have stored supplies, things that aren’t easily made from scratch and a few treats, not to mention supplies to make other things. But those are supplements, not three meals a day. Providing we have a good crop, along with our storage, we could likely hold out for a year or so . . .

If we’re willing to eat ketchup sandwiches.

I jest. But food is only one thing to keep up with:
You’ll always have housework and laundry and cooking. And gardening.
Assume you have a security system, fencing and whatnot. You have to check that fencing, and probably repair it from time to time. Along with that, you have defensive skills to practice, knives, guns, your weapon of choice.
Vehicle and tool maintenance.
Clearing and cutting firewood. That’s a chore, and it takes a long time because you’ll need a ton of firewood if you have no power—it gets used up quickly, especially if you have no other heating or cooking sources.
Learning and practicing other skills, like baking or canning or small engine repair. We have a lot of those, it seems.
Plus, if you have animals—which we don’t, yet—there’s daily feeding and training and care, besides medication or first aid when needed.

Of course, if you’re like us, you’re still in the developmental stage. There were things here, yes, like a house and a barn, but we haven’t quite finished remodeling the house, and that barn, remember when it was packed full, and then empty?

Um, it’s kind of filling up again!

My point is that while you’re building, you’re also maintaining. And maintenance will be a bit easier when the building is finished.