Day 5 Divergent
No phone calls back
No emails back, except for the auto responders and one late auto server message stating that the email could not be delivered.
No Ham Radio and no Police or Ambulance Channel communications of any kind.
‘CB, damn never thought of that one I had totally forgotten the CB, most people might think of it as it was so popular due to truckers using it and being used in movies for most of the 80s and 90s. Well Zeldy lets dig out my CB from the storage area and mount it up here on the Dash of the camper so I can try this one out now. There is not a lot of room left though, maybe I should stack the Ham and CB together and mount the handheld units from the Police and Ambulance services on the side, move the solar panel chargers for the batteries for the Camper and Deep Cycle battery to the front of the dash. I wish my head was not still so foggy, all this thinking is giving me a headache again. ‘
Waking Divergent, seems appropriate as I have diverged from normal, any normal anything, any person normal. Seems appropriate to me actually.
It was so late last night and I was tired and groggy, sleepy and a little numb, when I heard the cows I just did not put 2 and 2 together. Today I woke at 5:30 am angry with myself! Quickly I hoped out of the camper and went over to the barnyard area, Yup, no people, no water and no food. Those poor cows, they were never scared of me, but they keep their distance from people normally except when they want a scratch on the forehead. O they will follow you around like a dog watching what you do and of course wondering what people do in general. This morning they heard me and came right over, noses sniffing and pushing at my arms and hands for attention. Had to push them back just to get the water turned on and flowing, then while they were slacking their thirst, forked some hay down to them. Judging by how much they are eating in this 5 min period, I will have to feed them again in a couple of hours. Since they may not have had any food for 4 or 5 days now, I am a little worried about them bloating up. If they do that the kindest thing I can do for them now is shoot them though, there is no way I can manage to help a 800 to 1000 lb Red Angus Cow by myself, or Aberdeen Angus as it is called in most parts of the world
Plans let’s make some plans for the rest of the day;
go check for people and free animals so they do not stave to death! Damn what a waste all these animals trapped in pens, barns and fields by humans. Now there is just ME so far. Zeldy will be able to help get them out of the barn or pasture for me, sort of reverse to what is normal with the Dog helping to get them into the pasture or barn. Yes, they will be more susceptible to predators like the Coyotes and Lynxes around, but otherwise they stand no chance at all !
List to look for;
Chickens and other bird coops
Barns, fields, paddocks, stock yards
dog kennels, animal shelters
List to bring with me;
Ham radio handheld with scanner
Police radio handheld on scanner mode
Ambulance radio on scanner mode
put normal FM and AM on scanner mode, someone might be broadcasting that way
Water for the Dog and myself, maybe someone else if we find them so 2 Gallons should be good for the day
Grab some quick to eat food, eat it right out of the can, so can opener, plastic fork and spoons
Dog food for two days, in case I keep one of the dogs, or am gone longer than a day,
– note: get some more food for me too.
Bolt cutters, large
box cutter
small tool kit
sledge hammer
roofing hammer
belt knives
45 cal pistol
44 mag revolver
tactical vest
combat belt with the knives and holsters
shotgun slung on my back with tactical harness (my favourite shotgun of all time, Winchester Model 1200 defender with interchangeable barrels, short, long and long rifled, such a great tool)
.308 rifle with scope in seat besides me,
Why the weapons, well animals can get very ticked off when they are fenced in like that, starved and they take it out on the closest person even at the best of times. I think the bold cutters will be the tool used the most though and am hoping to not have to kill anything or anyone today. (Much watch out for Zombies.. LOL,, just kidding, I hope!!!)
Let’s go Zeldy, we have some saving to do, let’s go save some Cows, Horses, Chickens and pigs ok. Zeldy she looks at me funny like, she recognises the words cows and chickens and starts to head to the barnyard. Good start I say, lets give them some more feed. Open up the paddocks and let them wander around now, ok? Now she bounds over to the fence and grins at me, she likes the cows next door, although she does not normally chase or hurt the chickens, she likes to play Dog and bird, if they run, she gives a short chase, if they just wander around her, she does the same.
Damn she is a fine dog and too think she was rejected so many times by people, that the shelter was ready to put her down. She is just a big teenager puppy dog, a big fur kid who was let down by so many people that she was having some personality issues. I know a lot of Humans who acted a whole lot worse when rejected by even a few people let alone 5 families, plus the two foster families and the shelter family. All in all it only took me two weeks to train most of the bad stuff out, then another month or two to make her trust me and to accept her new little pack. Me, her and the workers who worked for Mick that came to the work yard on my side of the farm. Her little pack actually, she thinks they are all her pack mates if they come here more than a few times, it is funny to watch, or was funny to watch anyways, hmmmmm.
11 am, First off, I have just been driving around in my old Dodge Caravan, but with what I have to do and the Tactical Vest, weapons, bolt cutters, shotgun, and all the rest, I think that an upgrade is in order. Well I did not come to this decision lightly I do not like thieves and looters, but so far there is nobody else. I need to get out and about here as fast and as quick as I can and since I have just spent the last 2 hours, climbing in and out of this small van, with the small doorway getting hung up and wasting time, wasting time I do not have to free these animals there is nothing else that can be done about it.
Ok girl, this is taking to long I say to Zeldy, let’s go and get us another vehicle that’s easier to manoeuvre has 4×4, easy to get in and out and will be versatile as well. Into Town we go.
Since the area is switching from farmland to sub-division land, there are not a lot of working farms in the area. Although I have been zooming up and down the roads as best I can in the Dodge Caravan and most have been back roads, wiggling around the few vehicles left on the roads, it has not been to too bad, but sometimes it would have been easier with a 4×4 for sure. The top of Oshawa has a few Car Dealers, lets head there I say to the wind. Getting in and out of this door, so close to the ground with all the gear on is not so much fun either.
So, even though it is GM town I want a Dodge Diesel truck girl, I like my Caravan and have liked Dodge in the past as well, lets just see what is in this dealership, ok. Well this dealership is a Dodge pickup truck dealer, yahoo, everything I want for a vehicle, here is a brand new 2012 Dodge extended cab, diesel 4×4 with extra wheel and body clearance, front end package that includes a winch, trailer towing package with a hidden hitch and nice dark, black rim and trim detailing. Perfect I say out loud, I will take this one. Hmmm never a salesperson around when your actually ready to make a sale, too bad for you, no commission for you! Now lets find the keys I chuckle and whistle inside the show room.
Finally 20 minutes of looking around and the keys are on the keyboard in the sales managers office behind the parts desk, well that would have saved some time if I had gone there first. Lucky for me, I had grabbed the tag off of the Truck and matched up the keys fairly quickly. Boom, brummppppffff, the diesel starts up just fine, I climb in and out a few times much relieved to not catch on anything. Even holding the shotgun and bolt cutters at the same time I do not get hung up on anything, love this side step up side guard as well, dark finish, round bar and the underneath has the ground clearance shielding package as well. Just in case I need to do some puddle jumps and not get hung up on rocks and stumps. Sweet, let’s get going girl.
Zeldy looks a little confused and well I do not want to keep letting her up and in all the time, so I grab a 4×8 sheet of plywood to throw down on the deck of the box so she can stand without slipping on the coating in the back. I do not like dogs normally hanging out in the back of a truck as they might jump out or fall out by accident, but today is let animals out day, and I am wasting too much time.
She does her part in helping me unload the Dodge Caravan of the tools and equipment and transferring them over, she is standing there wagging her tail and holding her pink Teddy Bear. O so tough I laugh out as I look at her, I toss most of the tools, water, weapons, food and stuff into the back seat area for now, put the rifle, shotgun and bolt cutters on the seat besides me. Man this is so much larger than the Dodge Caravan, I am goanna have to think up a name for the truck. Zeldy up into the box now ok and bring baby with you. She looks and then just jumps up, wow, I would still be climbing up there, O to be so young again!
Since most of the city does not have any farms that I can think off, North is my answer, let’s go to the west of Simcoe street, I will go up and down the back roads, from farm to farm up to Port Perry today, maybe I can get over to Hwy 57 by the end of the day.
Yaw right lets get all the over to Hwy 57, it is now 3 pm, I am exhausted, Zeldy is exhausted the Viking is exhausted, well probably not but she is a very dirty girl. That is my new name for my new Power Wagon Dodge 4×4, it seems to fit as she is dark and sleep with dark detailing that I love and none of that wet chrome stuff that is so popular. We have been going up the back roads, up fields, around vehicles, up yards, across yards, moving out herds of cows, moving pigs out of pens, mostly on foot but sometimes in the Dodge Viking as well. This 4×4 is paying for itself very quickly… he he.. hmmm.
Today was full of; Snapping bolts, snapping locks, opening up and propping open doors, gates in fences, propping open barns, being chased by ticked off cows and bulls but honestly some of the cows are much more aggressive than the bulls are. I guess the bulls have been taught to fear humans if they attack them but the females have not had that happen to them probably. Two female cows were swatted with a piece of a 2×4 to get them to stay away from me and Zeldy, they were just too aggressive. One of the milking cows I think had gone rangy from the milk swelling her teats and attacked us, luckily I had strapped the shotgun on my back again this time as it was a very large Dairy Farm operation, quite the sprawl with animals in different areas.
This time there was no time to do anything else, she just charged bellowing from about 20 ft away mad with Milk Fever, I barely had time to whip the model 1200 Defender Winchester shotgun around and fire the slug into her head, but due to my training, I had fired and reloaded as fast as I could and did a version of a shotgun double tap, bang, slide, re-chamber and bang fire again. The second shotgun round was the 00 buck and it hit her in the head as well as she had not gone down yet and was 6 ft from me on first blast and 3 ft on the second round. Way too close, way to close.
I think she was dead from the first round and it was just momentum that was still propelling her towards me, but honestly a 800 to 1000 lb or so Cow, that is charging at you, just shoot again and think about it once, versus shoot once and never think anything again! So lessons learned, I need more practice, it has been way too long since I have done any combat shooting training with the handguns or shotguns, but luckily for me, the primitive mind once trained takes over in a crisis mode and the shot and re-load, re-shoot is instinctive due to all my previous training. She the Rangy Cow traveled that distance bellowing, charging, I was lucky. Luckily she had been acting strange and Zeldy and I had been keeping a close eye on her, Zeldy was about 40 ft away and started to bark and run at the cow, when I turned and drew the shotgun.
Zeldy is a brave teenager, since she is only 2 yrs and a bit old, she is in her teenager stage, not even an adult yet, but her guarding and personal protection skills seem to be coming to the forefront. Zeldy did take a while to calm down, stop barking and looking from the dead cow to the shotgun and at me. I calmed myself by going to the Viking and getting some dog treats out for her, she earned that and much more today. I think she knew how close a call it had just been for her and I and she is now only about 5 ft away at any time, getting lots of pets and loving for sure for the rest of the day.
Time 7 pm, If I was tired after having to shoot that cow, I am way too tired now, in and out of the Viking, up and down, doors, food, bolt cutters, tactical vest, so much weight to carry and move around, so much to do, so much in and out and all just days after coming too from this weird sickness which was preceded by 7 weeks of a lung infection. Man I am so exhausted. Shot my first Bull today as well, just about an hour ago. Zeldy gave me warning and the bull was farther away when it decided to charge, even though I had let it out, gave them all water and food, that I was a threat, it charged. Charged from 70 ft away, Zeldy was mad with warning, running towards the bull, bouncing up and down fur out, growling and barking at it.
The bull changed from attacking straight at me towards her, she gave me more time being a big brave girl. I shot him with the .44 magnum in the head, slightly behind the ridge plate, beside the eye socket, with the first bullet, the second hit it in the heart or lungs there abouts, he was starting to go down, but I did not take any chances, double tap like I have been trained, fire and quickly fire again, take up quick aim, as fast as possible for the third shot if needed and look around, for other threats. None, no threats all the other bulls, cows and babies were beating a hasty retreat as far away from the Human with the smoking thunder stick and the angry Dog. I hate feed lots, slaughter lots, so inhuman, so full of animals and no room, fattening them up before the slaughter. The slaughter house just up past Port Perry, the second slaughter house had been the last target for the day, that I had remembered. I thought I can save so many animals there, it would be a good last stop for the day, then rest and kip out for the night.
Well it had worked out almost perfectly, no Humans, no dogs, lots of Cattle, some horses, lots of chickens, some pigs, exhausted, and now a dead bull. I can not leave the bull here though. It will draw too many predators too fast and with the cattle too weak to defend themselves it will be a slaughter. So I hooked up a rope around the bull’s head, over the stumps of the horns, I guess he was soon to be processed by the plant, then pulled him out of the yard, down the drive and over the crest into a valley with no farms in sight, un hooked him and left him there. Why not process him myself, well there is no time really, and by leaving him there for the predators it will buy some more time for the Cattle and Horses to recover from their ordeal in the feedlots so they might just have a chance. I have food for now, so does the dog and eating freshly killed cow, is not that tasty it needs time to hang and age before you eat the meat or it is too tough. Dragging the dog away from the fresh kill was not so easy though, a 110 lb female Cane Corso Cross Breed with a Great Dane is strong as well, luckily she is obedient though.
Just for your info if you’re wondering I used the Ruger 44 mag New Model Super Blackhawk with Ammo .44 Remington Magnum American Eagle Jacketed Soft Point 240 Grain 1270 fps out of a 50 Round Box.
Time 9 pm Salad, beans and fish, light fair tonight I do not feel like have meat after today. Not sure how long the power will be on so eating things from the fresh veggie and fish sections before they go bad from the grocery stores just seems right. I just go in and grab something, most have at least one door open, as there were night crew working, some do not, so those I take the power drill, and open up the lock to the employees entrance. Sure I could drive a vehicle through the glass doors, but that would be a waste now wouldn’t it.
Lets see, no phone messages, no emails, nothing on the Ham/Police/Ambulance radios, listen to the Oldies station for a bit to wind down, thankfully it is still playing, I must thank whoever set it to play their entire selection on the hard drive. I miss my bed in the back of my Van though, I will go back and grab it as it was comfortable, actually since the van started good, I will be moving it back to the farm somehow in a few days, I can use it for a much better and quieter generator. All the generators are fine, but loud and they do not get good fuel efficiency. My plan is to use the van for a gen-set, to help me do this I am going to write it out now so I do not forget later. The bed was for when I went up North to work, so not having to stay in a Hotel/Motel saved me money.
I will grab a pair of wheels or better yet a pair of rims from somewhere to put on the van. I will lift it up, block it up, change over the tires to empty rims and run some heavy v-pulley belts down to some pulleys or just a straight rod. This rod will be mounted with some bolt down bearings, so that it will remain rigid and at a set height, but allow the rod to spin freely. I will next run either v-pulleys or alternator belts to Chevy alternators, and charge up batteries. The alternators will be mounted with the mounting adjustable brackets to a 4×4 wood frame, so again, keep it easy, the KISS solution, keep it simple stupid. So cheap easy, quick way to charge up batteries and not have to worry about charge controllers or anything else. The Chevy have charge controllers built into them, the fords are mounted on the firewall and since I am not a mechanic, this is an easier solution. Damnation, OK brain, shut down your too tired and all you do is go from one problem to the next, let us get some sleep shall we.
O man I am so tired, this ends my journal for day 5 of Divergent Waking
Tomorrow I need an even quicker method of working by myself to get as many animals out and freed as possible, some were already dead in the pens and barns. Each time, I pulled them out with the winch, then dragged them away, not very nice to the dead animals but quick and efficient.
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More to come soon ….
Dare to think outside of the box! 
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wild_E 