Sunday, February 20, 2011

A few updates

We've made it back to North Jackson. Actually, we got in yesterday afternoon, but I was busy overseeing the unloading of our supplies, so I didn't have time to post anything about making it home safely.

It turns out that my concern for the people here apparently outweighed my estimation of their hearts. I guess being away for a few days has given me some perspective, because I'm seeing a society in motion before me. The residents are so much more interactive with one another, going out of their way to include those who haven't been as social in the past as most. It's a hell of a thing to see such an outpouring of community spirit as it happens.

The warm weather is coming and going, but temperatures have been pretty steadily trending upward. That means we'll be able to start some of the work we've had to put off for a variety of reasons. Our very first effort is going to be building the fence that will protect us as we go back and forth between the main compound here and the building we're going to use as a hydroponics bay. A lot of work has been going on there, turning the roof into a water collector, altering and adding to the sprinkler system to carry the water in for irrigation. The biggest part has been the constant construction going on inside, creating levels of boxes and troughs to put soil in. It's huge and impressive. Now all we need is the soil (which is easy) and the fence (which isn't) and we're ready to roll.

Thought the zombie population has adapted to the cold, while it was here they were still a lot easier to kill. It made them sluggish and slow. Now that it's getting warmer, the same number of them poses a more serious threat. Not anything we can't handle and haven't dealt with before, but months of having it relatively easy worries me. Before you all start getting red in the face--I said "relatively" easy. I know it's been hard, but we have to face the reality that with the return of warm weather, the zombies are going to become just as dangerous as they were before the winter. I just don't want anyone falling prey to habit and getting killed.

I haven't heard anything from Patrick since he and the girls saved Dodger and Jamie's asses. I really can't wait to give them a hard time about that in person, being saved by a guy with one hand and three little girls. Big, bad survivors, aren't they. HA!

In seriousness, I understand why Dodger and Jamie left the rest of their group (which includes some of my family) behind when they went in to rescue Pat and the girls. The risks involved for a large group heading into an area writhing with zombies are just too high. That's totally ignoring the fact that their group has kids with them and that they are running low on ammo. I'm glad that things worked out, though I'm curious to see how Pat, his girls, and the gallant heroes that "saved" them are going to get out and join up with the my brother and the others.

Jeez, this is just kind of a newsy post, isn't it? Guess I've gotten so used to being upset and writing to get it out that I don't know what to do when things are actually OK. I really don't have much else to say today, other than this: I feel really positive right now. About the future, about the way things are going in NJ. About the steps we've taken to secure what we need to survive. I've been all over the place lately, but it's starting to feel like I have a path, a plan that I can follow. It's a good feeling, let me tell you.

It's a hard thing not knowing which way you're headed, always surrounded by uncertainty. I've got mine set...now it's just a matter of getting my feet moving.

No comments:

Post a Comment