Harmony Shepherdess

HURRICANE SURVIVOR SHARES 6 TOOLS FOR LOCAL EMERGENCY

I wasn’t caught in the pathway of Hurricane Helene, but I watched from a distance. I’d guess many of you were in the same boat… But if you were directly impacted by Helene —drop a comment and share what your experience was like.

As I observed the hurricane’s impact from afar, I had a thought that keeps rattling around in my mind: I might face a similar crisis in my own community someday. It may not be a hurricane, but disasters strike in all forms. And if that day comes, how can I be better prepared? Not only for myself, but also to serve others when the need arises?

To dig into this question, I turned to my private community and asked:

“Besides food and bottled water, what are 1-3 critical supplies or skill sets you’ve used in a difficult situation?”

I received almost 25 pages of emailed replies, with nearly 100 different supplies and skills mentioned.

For today, though, I want to highlight one email in particular—one that really stood out to me. It’s from James, a 64-year-old man from Louisiana who’s weathered every major hurricane in the state over the past 50 years, including Katrina. James shared the three critical supplies and corresponding skills he’s relied on through these crises.

James writes:

I grew up and live in Southeast Louisiana. I’ve lived through and responded to (when I got older) basically every hurricane to come this way since 1960, including Katrina, which went right over our house, and several others that affected friends and loved ones. So yes, food and water are critical, and you’ve got that covered. Here’s my top 3 supplies and corresponding skills list:

Supplies:

1. First Aid Kit – This should include everything from aspirin to items needed to splint a broken or fractured bone. We keep ours in lockable tough totes and 5-gallon buckets with Gamma lids.
2. Fire Starters – Cold food is fine for a bit, but a warm meal can make the difference between forging on or giving up when tasks need to be done. Propane stoves, burners, and BBQ grills are great as long as you can get the propane. But also have a supply of wood and a way to get it burning. I store 2-3 bags of charcoal briquettes and use a chimney-type charcoal starter (it looks like a tall tin can with a handle). You’ll also want lighters, strike-anywhere matches, storm matches, candles, etc. This way, you can get even damp wood to start burning quickly.
3. Basic Mechanic and Carpentry Hand Tools – A hand axe (hatchet), a cutting axe, a bow saw, and a chainsaw with maintenance tools (files, extra spark plug, extra chain, bar oil, gas, safety helmet, goggles, chainsaw chaps, work boots, gloves, etc.) are essential. Repair manuals and books on basic carpentry and engine maintenance will come in handy.

Skills:

1. First Aid Training – Basic and moderately advanced first aid courses can be lifesaving. The Red Cross, local fire departments, and community colleges are great places to find free or low-cost training.
2. Fire Building and Cooking – Learn and practice lighting fires, as well as cooking on open fires or propane stoves. You’d be amazed at what you can cook beyond burgers and chicken. I’ve cooked lasagna on a BBQ grill, made pies, cooked cakes, stews, roasts, even biscuits. Cooking over an open flame takes practice, so get a book or two on campfire cooking and start learning.
3. Tool Use and Maintenance – Learn how to use and maintain your mechanic and carpentry tools. You don’t need to know how to build a house, but basic repairs and troubleshooting skills are important. The same goes for using cutting tools—axes, hatchets, saws, and chainsaws. Limbs can snap back, trees can twist and split, and this can be hazardous work, so learn your limits and how to do the job safely.

Bonus Tip: Shelter
Most of us have a place to lay our heads, but many people lose everything during a disaster. I’ve slept in tents and cooked under tarps while responding to hurricanes. A small (or large) tent, several tarps, tent stakes, rope, a spool of parachute cord, a cot, sheets, blankets, and a pillow can be invaluable in the right (or wrong) circumstances.

I’ve used many other supplies and skills throughout my life, but these are my top three. If you master these, many other skills will flow naturally, and you’ll see where you need to improve. Some of the items aren’t cheap, so it might take time to accumulate them, but they will all come in handy when you need them. Hope this helps, and again, God bless!

James’ advice is a testament to the importance of preparedness, not just for ourselves but for those we care about. His focus on practical skills paired with essential supplies shows us how to be ready for the unexpected and how to serve when crisis strikes.

-the Shepherdess

“…but the people who do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” Daniel 11:32

Thank you to Savage Freedom Relief Ops (Swannanoa, NC) for the invitation to take a closer look at what is happening in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

18 Days After Hurricane Helene: A Ground Report from Swannanoa, North Carolina

Eighteen days after Hurricane Helene made landfall, my dad and I drove to Swannanoa, North Carolina. A viewer reached out to me about a relief center there, asking me to share what’s happening on the ground. This blog post covers my observations and conversations with relief organizers, as well as specific information about FEMA’s role in the ongoing recovery efforts. I’ll share that information at the end after giving you a look at what I found with my own boots on the ground.

This post will not only provide insight on how to support those affected by disasters but also offer ideas for strengthening your own homestead and community in case of a similar event.

Swannanoa: A Hard-Hit Community

Swannanoa is just 10 miles east of Asheville, right in one of the most devastated areas of North Carolina. Hurricane Helene dumped an estimated 40 trillion gallons of water across the Southeast. Some parts of North Carolina were hit with 24 to 31 inches of rainfall over just three days.

The massive volume of water flowed off the Blue Ridge Mountains, flooding an extensive river system that covers both Western North Carolina and Tennessee. Even the narrowest streams swelled into destructive forces, tearing through homes, buildings, roads, and trees in their path. In some cases, this water even carved out entirely new canyons.

Mainstream media is projecting a death toll of around 250 and a missing persons count of 100. However, people on the ground find these figures to be significantly underestimated, although the situation is far from funny.

A Relief Center on the Front Lines

At the relief center, I saw a collaboration between volunteers, the Coast Guard, and members of the military. Multiple helicopters—both private and Coast Guard—were taking off from this location to drop supplies to communities still inaccessible by road. As I arrived, a team of military personnel and volunteers were heading out with dog teams to search for missing persons.

Eighteen days after the disaster, search and rescue efforts had shifted to search and recovery. Now, the focus is increasingly on rebuilding.

Micro-Communities and the Challenge of Relief

Austin, an organizer at the relief center, explained one of the main challenges in the relief effort: the population pockets in this region are small and scattered. There are numerous isolated groups of 10 or 20 people spread across the area. These micro-communities are harder to serve than larger towns with hundreds or thousands of residents.

Interestingly, Austin mentioned that these small communities often act as their own first responders, helping each other before formal emergency services can even reach them. Neighbors are sharing resources, patching up infrastructure, and essentially stepping in to assist long before outside help arrives.

Donation Surplus: A Lesson in What’s Really Needed

As we drove to different donation drop-off points across Swannanoa, I noticed a massive surplus of second-hand clothing piling up. In fact, some locations had stopped accepting donations because there was so much excess that it covered the sidewalks.

This highlighted the importance of staying in tune with what’s truly needed. At the relief center I toured, essential items like fuel, camp stoves, heaters, and sleeping bags were being sent to communities without power as quickly as they came in.

Samaritan’s Purse and Local Efforts

Samaritan’s Purse had a large presence in Swannanoa, with volunteers distributing fresh water and clearing debris from homes. Much of the debris wasn’t just random piles but organized piles waiting for waste services to pick them up. It was a sobering reminder of how much destruction people were working through even weeks after the hurricane hit.

Water Purity Crisis

As I visited gas stations and restrooms, I realized that 18 days after Hurricane Helene, city and county water purification systems were still offline. Toilets looked like they hadn’t been flushed, but after trying to flush myself, I realized it was because the water coming out was filthy.

Water was running, but it was so polluted that it wasn’t suitable for anything other than flushing toilets. Austin mentioned that reports were coming in of intestinal diseases in households or communities that didn’t have backup drinking water and were forced to drink from unfiltered, unpurified sources.

A Widespread Power and Water Outage

While some of the worst damage was concentrated in valleys and along riverbanks, most of the population impacted by Helene still had their homes. The widespread problem, however, was the prolonged absence of power, communication, and clean water sources.

Some residents were able to get by thanks to wells or backup water purification systems, as well as generators, which allowed them to ride out the crisis relatively unscathed. Others, however, had neither and were still facing ongoing challenges as they waited for power and clean water to be restored.

The Truth About FEMA

Now for the information I was asked to share. Some of the relief organizers I spoke to wished to remain anonymous but wanted the public to know the situation with FEMA.

According to them, FEMA members on the ground are ready and willing to help, but their hands are tied at the bureaucratic level. This red tape is making it incredibly difficult for those on the ground to network and provide the level of relief that’s truly needed.

Final Thoughts

Despite the challenges, my visit to Swannanoa left me feeling inspired. Seeing how communities, volunteers, private organizations, and donors were coming together to meet the needs of the people was heartening. It reinforced the importance of relying on local communities during a crisis and reminded me to think about ways to make my own homestead and neighborhood more resilient in the face of potential disasters.

In times like these, it’s local cooperation, not government reliance, that makes the biggest difference.

-the Shepherdess

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

AMISH FARMER PLAYLIST

PHILIP HAMBURGER INTERVIEW

In recent years, bureaucracy has become a reign of terror within the USA. Departments, agencies, and administrations have increasingly been used as tools to grab essential civil liberties. The Amish farmer case, which I covered in-depth on this channel, highlights the extent to which bureaucracy (both state and federal) has taken hold of the food industry. (If you missed any part of that coverage, I will link the playlist in the description of this video.)

Cases like that of the Amish farmer leave many of us asking, “How have administrations and unelected officials attained so much authority over private citizens and businesses?”

The answer lies largely in what is known as the Chevron Deference, a legal doctrine that was the result of a 1984 Supreme Court ruling. This doctrine mandated that judges within federal courts submit (or defer) to an agency’s interpretation of silent or ambiguous statutes within a law, so long as the interpretation was deemed reasonable.

Fortunately, 12 weeks ago, after 40 years of precedence, the Chevron Deference was struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States as being unconstitutional and “fundamentally misguided.”

However, 40 years of precedence was enough time to leave a serious mark on patterns and behaviors within the U.S. government. Behaviors that, thankfully, are no longer hedged by legal precedence but must be reshaped by the demands of a properly educated American public.

This video is going to tell you what the Chevron Deference was for 40 years, how Chevron covertly funneled a dangerous level of power to the executive branch, and finally, I am going to suggest what will be required to turn what is now (in my opinion) neutral ground into positive territory.

I will also break down how this will impact food freedom cases like that of the Amish farmer.

What is the Chevron Deference?: Chevron v. NRDC

The Chevron Deference was established in 1984, in a case involving Chevron Oil and the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC). Ironically (in light of my previous upload on the hidden dangers of climate control policy), the case involved the regulation of emissions from Chevron oil facilities. The NRDC was enforcing the Clean Air Act of 1977, but that particular act contained fuzzy (or ambiguous) language with respect to how emissions were to be regulated.

Long story short, that lawsuit resulted in the Chevron Deference and its subsequent legal doctrines. The ruling stated that when a law or statute is ambiguous or silent, federal courts must give deference to a government agency’s interpretation of what that silence or ambiguity means. As a quick definition, deference means “to submit to.” So, judges in federal courts were obligated under Chevron’s precedence to submit to a federal agency. This created problems on several levels, one of which being the fact that federal agencies are often the ones filing suit against individuals and businesses. For a litigant to receive deference is technically a bias.

Not only were federal agencies allowed to interpret, but they were also permitted to create rules around silence and ambiguity within the law.

You are probably already seeing it, but the Chevron Deference has been labeled “the Lord Voldemort” of administrative law. While I have never watched the movie (nor would I ever endorse it), a quick Google search revealed to me what people meant by that label.

Chevron became a picture of administrative evil, ultimately funneling power to the executive branch that it was never intended to have.

How the Chevron Deference Became a Power Grab

And here is how: (Keep in mind, this is a very simplified look. If you would like a technical analysis, I would recommend Epoch TV’s 1-hour interview with Philip Hamburger, an American legal historian and a scholar of constitutional law.)

As we all learned in middle school, power within our federal government is divided into three branches:

• The Legislative Branch is where Congress resides. Elected officials from each state come together to discuss and agree upon laws or rules. The Constitution is the parameter within which new laws or rules are made.
• The Executive Branch is where the President resides. The President and his team give the stamp of approval to the laws that come out of the legislative branch.
• The Judicial Branch is where judges and the court system reside. Here, the laws are enforced at the ground level. Judges (elected officials) make judgments as to how to apply the law on a case-by-case basis.

These three branches work together under the authority of the United States Constitution and the accountability of the American people (who can vote them in or out during various election cycles).

Chevron became ugly because it funneled legislative and judicial power to administrations within the executive branch, creating a covert system of centralized power at the federal level.

Three branches of federal government still existed outwardly, but the executive branch gained a level of power it was never intended to have.

And in case it is not entirely clear how, here is a quick summary:

• Where Congress (the legislative branch) used to hold the somewhat exclusive right to make laws and write rules, under Chevron, federal agencies now had permission to make rules where the law was silent or ambiguous.
• Where judges in the court system (the judicial branch) are tasked with executing judgment without bias, under Chevron, judges were obligated to defer to federal agencies in the courtroom “so long as their interpretation was reasonable.”

According to SCOTUSBlog.com, “Chevron has become one of the most important rulings on federal administrative law, cited by federal courts more than 18,000 times since 1984.”

Chevron not only provided a strong legal precedent for bureaucracy within the court system but, according to Philip Hamburger, it reshaped the behavioral patterns of Congress.

Hamburger claims that Congress has become “infantilized,” as for four decades it has “handed off” its responsibility for rulemaking and interpretation to various federal agencies.

The Chevron Doctrine has profoundly influenced our modern political climate. To again quote Hamburger: “When all of the regulatory power of the federal government is in the hand of agencies under some degree of control or restraint by the White House, then everything turns in a presidential election. Too much turns on it. This is one reason why presidential elections have become warfare.”

Impact on Food Freedom Cases

Now, keep in mind, Chevron was a federal ruling, which means it technically has no precedence in state courts. For this reason, it will not provide any direct relief for state cases like Pennsylvania v. The Amish Farmer.

However, I suggest that there has been tremendous spillover to the state level. I base this on sitting in a courtroom in Pennsylvania last February and watching a commonwealth judge defer to the Department of Agriculture’s interpretation of a raw milk permit.

Neutral Ground Into Positive Territory

Now this brings us to today:
As of June 2024, the Chevron Deference was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the USA, after two private fishing boats in New England challenged regulations from the National Marine Fisheries Service. The regulations required the private boats to carry and pay for observers who would collect data about their catches and monitor for overfishing.

The private fishing boats initially lost, as under Chevron’s precedence, deference was given to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The ruling was appealed and taken to the Supreme Court, where Chevron was struck down as being unconstitutional and “fundamentally misguided.”

This is a major victory, and to an extent, bureaucracy has been dethroned. However, bureaucracy still exists—and in the proper context, it is a legitimate player in government. It should not be making rules or receiving bias in the courtroom, but administration does have a legitimate function in the executive branch.

But here is what I would submit for conversation: We are now on neutral ground from which advancements for either the negative or positive can be made.

Here is what I mean: I believe that the administrative state (bureaucracy) will be very quick to re-enthrone itself and re-establish its authority to make rules and influence the judicial system.

Unless individuals and businesses become proactive in putting legal counter-pressure on the encroachment of federal agencies, similar to how those private fishing boats challenged the Marine Fisheries Service, we will lose this ground.

We will also need to be proactive in awakening Congress to its obligation to not only write the law but to provide Constitutional definitions where ambiguity and silence present themselves.

That is, in my opinion, the immediate action that will be required to turn this ruling into a win. Give me a thumbs-up if you agree, and leave a comment with your opinion: Is Chevron a major win, or is it a return to neutral? I look forward to reading your comments.

And if you missed it, watch this video next, where I discuss the negative impact of climate control policies and the knowledge necessary to combat it.

The conversation around carbon emissions is often marked by false predictions and emotionalism. Despite this, the policies and taxes stemming from these discussions are increasingly burdening our three essential industries: energy, agriculture, and transportation.

Fundamental realities are being laid by the wayside, and in today’s post, I want to take a moment to refocus on some of these fundamental realities.

My goal here is to clarify three terms frequently used to promote climate alarmism: carbon, methane, and emissions. Then, I’ll introduce two critical elements that are often left out of the conversation: sequestration and methanotrophs.

By the end, I will combing all five to give you a complete look at the carbon cycle.

Upcoming are five basic and universally accepted facts, but I do want it to be understood that I am coming at you from a distinctly Christian worldview. You are free to use the comment section to bring opinions to the contrary, but it is my firm belief that acknowledging Christ as creator is the key to maintaining clarity in a time when much of the population is exchanging truth for a lie.

Please share this video once you are done watching and especially consider sharing with children.

3 Terms in the Climate Crises Debate

Let’s start by defining three frequently used terms within the climate-crisis debate: carbon, methane, and emissions.

1. Carbon
Carbon is not the villain it’s often made out to be. According to World Book, carbon is one of the most familiar and important elements, making up the living tissue of all plants and animals. The form of carbon discussed in the news is primarily atmospheric carbon, also known as carbon dioxide or atmospheric CO2. Humans and animals exhale CO2, and it also enters the atmosphere when substances containing carbon, like wood, coal, or gasoline, are burned.

2. Methane
Methane (CH4) is a natural gas that forms when plants decompose in environments with little or no oxygen. This is why cows, when digesting plants in their rumen, belch methane. Humans also emit methane, though not at the same rate as a 2,000-pound cow.

3. Emissions
Emissions refer to the release of substances into the environment. When a train burns coal, the smoke from the smokestack is a carbon emission. When your car burns gasoline, the exhaust is a carbon emission. The power grid, when it powers your home or charges your electric car, burns fossil fuels, and that too results in carbon emissions. When humans and animals exhale, the gas released is a carbon emission.

Considering the millions of pounds of CO2 and methane emissions entering the atmosphere daily, it’s easy to paint a bleak picture. These compounds can indeed increase atmospheric temperature under certain conditions, though research within the climate conversation on this topic is conflicting.

Carbon Sequestration & Methanotrophs

Here’s where we introduce two critical aspects that the climate change movement often overlooks: carbon sequestration and methanotrophs.

1. Carbon Sequestration
Carbon sequestration is the process of removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Plants, much like humans rely on oxygen, depend on CO2 for survival. As grass sprouts from the ground or trees put out leaves, they’re pulling carbon out of the atmosphere. When pasture and cattle are managed mindfully, and root systems deepen, they pull even more carbon from the air. Grasslands, forests, wetlands, and oceans are the only natural means by which CO2 can be removed from the atmosphere.

2. Methanotrophs
Methanotrophs are microscopic bacteria that consume methane. These bacteria live in the soil, pulling methane out of the atmosphere. Fascinatingly, scientists have recently discovered methanotrophs in tree bark, prompting further research into where else these bacteria might exist and help reduce methane levels.

Population control as a solution?

You may have heard arguments suggesting that overpopulation creates a massive carbon footprint, implying that humans are responsible for destroying the Earth and that population control is the solution. However, even the UN acknowledges that man-made environments, such as industrial areas and urban centers, only occupy around 1 to 3 percent of the Earth’s total land surface. In contrast, 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in vegetation. When we reject the notion that humanity is the problem, the picture becomes much more hopeful.

Where legitimate concerns exist over excess emissions, whether methane or CO2, humans have the capacity to steward natural resources in ways that exponentially increase the removal of these gases from the atmosphere.

My Experience with Regenerative Agriculture

I speak from firsthand experience. I manage 30 acres of grassland in Northeast Texas using a method called regenerative agriculture. I was introduced to this farming method and its benefits four years ago. It offered me the chance to improve my land while growing healthy food for my local community. With no prior farming background and limited resources, I started with a few sheep and some electric fencing.

Four years later, my land boasts 200 to 300 percent more vegetation than neighboring pastures. This vegetation pulls carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, while the soil life pulls methane out. This productivity wouldn’t be possible without the animals on the land. The sheep and cows graze 24/7, fertilizing the pasture with their manure, which naturally contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These nutrients accelerate plant growth and support the methanotrophs that consume methane.

I use electric fencing to rotate my livestock across the pasture, allowing each section to rest and regrow. This rest period not only promotes healthier grass but also enhances carbon sequestration and methane reduction. Some of the grasses on my pasture have root systems that are two to three times deeper than the grass growing above ground.

Ask yourself:

With what you now know of the carbon cycle: is it wise to tax cattle or make it more expensive for farmers to raise them? Will covering 10 million acres in solar panels really help with carbon sequestration? Is the push to end fossil fuels driving us toward an energy crisis?

These are important questions to consider. I hope this discussion helps shed light on the broader picture and encourages thoughtful dialogue on the best ways to steward our planet.

If you found this information helpful, please share this post. Consider subscribing to my newsletter using the link in the pinned comment to stay connected, regardless of what happens to my content on social platforms.

Check out my video on “Micro Ranching for Profit,” a documentary I made for the National Grazing Lands Coalition:

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” Colossians 1:12-17