From the journal of Nathan Sanchez, May 13

May 13 2017

We hit the building supply place three days ago and we drove away in our vehicles and a big rig truck from the place with enough supplies to build twenty greenhouses. It went smooth and nothing unexpected happened. We were in and out in a couple of hours and no one was watching us, at least that our people could see. Consuela and Maria were so happy when we got back, they had already planned a huge feast and we were treated like conquering heroes by all the kitchen crew. I guess the thought of having fresh food just excites them.

Then a couple of days ago something started happening. We have several scouting parties, trained and constantly searching out new locations to consider for future scavenging. Twice in the last couple of days, these groups have spotted fresh footprints, a person ducking into a nearby building or behind a tree, or other signs of people. This has put us all on high alert and we have upped the number of patrols on the perimeter of our ranch property. The scouting groups have also put new protocols in place to better catch the people they are finding evidence for. We need to know more about them and we need to know it now.
We can't just assume they are nice people checking us out. We can't even assume they are always the same people. For all we know, there could be multiple groups that have found out about us and are trying to learn about our people. We are going to have to find them and find out what type of people they are. They could be like the bikers we had to take out or they could be nice people. I am hoping for nice people in their twenties and thirties. That would solve the problem of needing new blood for family members to have kids with.
For now, we are all taking extra patrols and filling all the lookouts all the time. When Darren and I are not on one of these duties, we are training with our teams, discussing new locations to watch, or building the greenhouses. Yes, greenhouses, not just greenhouse.

Consuela, Maria and some of the others have come up with plans for how to grow the most variety of food in the most efficient way they can come up with. One for vegetables, one for fruit on the bush or vine, one for herbs and lettuces, and a larger one for trees. At least, that is all they are requesting for now. I'm sure there will be other buildings they want constructed as we go, but thankfully, we have the supplies now and we have family with the experience the make the buildings strong.
Consuela even talked about us finding a beehive and moving it to the ranch to see if we can keep them alive. I reminded her that old man Ford had some hives in his orchards and Darren and I have been assigned the task of taking a scouting party over there to see if they are still around. Even if the bees are gone, we can bring the hives back in case we find other bees.
We are now making plans for the furture here, making this a real community and not just family. We have started a school for all the kids, even the teens. They gripe about having to go, but we need to make sure they have the knowledge they need. We have added some classes that they never would have had before the shit hit the fan, like firearms training and safety. They will also learn to cook and give basic medical aid. We need to get them prepared to survive, even if there are no more adults around. Hopefully, this will never happen, but better safe than sorry.
We have also set up a medical clinic. In our family, we ended up with one doctor, two RN's, three LVN's and four MA's. They take shifts, along with other duties, and the we set it up in one of the modular homes we brought back to the ranch. It has three bedrooms that have become exam rooms and can be used like hospital rooms if needed. Most of the medical supplies have been put there. We kept some in the basement of the main house, just in case we ended up having to use it again to hide in, in case of emergency or invasion, but most of the stuff went to the new clinic.
One of the larger trailers has become the food bank. It is right next to the house and is organized and cataloged so Consuela, Maria and their crew know exactly how much of everything we have on hand for food. They let the scouting parties know when we start to run low on stuff and we add the supplies to our list of supplies to search for. The system seems to be working really well.
This place is coming together now. Like I already said, it is turning into a community. We have a school, medical clinic, food bank, a trained peace keeping force, cooks, gardeners, people who take care of our livestock. Next thing you know, we'll have a fire department, as soon as we can find a working fire truck. This is where civilization is surviving during this pandemic. Thank god we have such a huge, extended family, to draw from.
Well, back to work.

As a writer and artist, I appreciate any readers and their comments. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Please, come read the other blog I write for our artisan collective, Raven's Castle Creations, on our website at www.ravencastlecreations.com. It includes posts on art, the mythology of symbols we use in our art, history and more! Also, come see the art we produce in our Etsy store at etsy.com/shop/RavenCastleCreations. Follow us on Twitter at @ravencastleart and on Facebook at @ravencastlecreations.