If you have been giving him bullets for Christmas, next year give him some powder and primers to go along with them.

Stockpiling food and essentials may be a good idea. However, what has been one of my greatest concerns is power going out, in winter, for an extended period of time.

Looking out this window, it appears as if I still have around eleven cords of split oak, ready for fireplace or stove. My kerosene supply for lamps needs to be checked, as kerosene is notorious for water building up. And, I'm darn close to out of candles.

Too much of my meat supply is in freezers. I need to start canning and salting/smoking a goodly amount of them.

Rice is nice. People warn of storing brown rice due to it going rancid. I've yet to find that a problem, however, I don't believe that I have ever stored brown rice for over a year. And, for some reason, most dry storage grain, no matter how well it's sealed, eventually develops a moth problem.

But, food is one thing. Heat and light, for winter months is another. Most can go over two weeks without food, assuming plentiful water supply. But, try facing sub zero weather without heat.