JWR,
While digging through a web page associated with Grandpappy’s SurvivalBlog article on making home-made-soap, I found some other interesting information. In particular I was reading about survival cooking on the run in this online short story.
So I did a search on “Thermos cooking” and found that Kurt Saxon has published an online article about this topic. (I had looked at his front page before but hadn’t dug much further.)
This may be a valuable item for a Bug-Out Bag (BOB) or a get-home-bag. Plus the aforementioned short story while maybe not written too well is chock full of survival goodness, [so it has an instructional aspect] much like “Patriots”!
Oh, and I have a question for you and others. How do you deal with grass, weeds, etc. that can occlude your line-of-sight, fire sectors, etc.? Cut grass would definitely indicate an active presence in a retreat but un-kempt areas could allow concealment for assaulting forces. Was there something in “Patriots” about this? I often thought about it while reading [David Crawford’s] “Lights Out” since they developed a distinct fenced perimeter. Just curious. I’m not sure how I’d handle it so I would love some input on it. My apologies if it’s buried in your archives and I haven’t found it. – Tanker
JWR Replies: Thanks for your input on Thermos cooking.
Regarding grass and weed control, my answer is short and sweet: sheep. Some of the smallest breeds (such as miniature Shetlands and Miniature Cheviots) can be contained with a fence only 20 inches high, so you can construct unobtrusive fencing. If you leave galvanized woven wire out in the weather for a couple of years it loses its reflective sheen. Steel “T” fence posts can be painted with botches of flat green and brown spray paint. Remember that pasture fences do not need to be constructed in straight lines. Low fences with these features are difficult to detect from a distance. Electric fences can be even less obtrusive. For Grid Down preparedness, you would of course install a photovoltaic (solar) fence charger, such as the Parmak brand. Be sure to follow the fence charger installation instructions carefully, especially those regarding grounding rods.