Month: February 2023

It Is Chick Season!, by Hollyberry

I open the mailbox and oh… there it is! Nothing perks me up from the winter blues more than getting the McMurray Hatchery chick catalog or a garden/seed catalog. I spend hours pouring through the pages of the catalogs and planning and plotting where I can add more chickens or growing space! I really don’t need any more birds in my flock but that will not deter me from adding at least 4-5 more this season out of our incubator. The first time I purchased chicks I ordered 50 meat birds and 50 Leghorn layers figuring I would kill at …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, a couple of updates on the Moscow college student murders. (See the Idaho section.) Region-Wide A video news segment from The Epoch Times: 30% of Counties Vote to Secede From Oregon. o  o  o Idaho House passed the “Greater Idaho” intrastate discussions bill. From a …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — February 20, 2023

Today is the birthday of novelist and screenwriter Richard Matheson (1926–2013). He wrote many sci-fi television scripts. His novella I Am Legend later was adapted into three different movies over the course of five decades, and his story Bid Time Return became the charming movie Somewhere In Time. — Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — A new listing that I spotted over at my #1 Son’s SurvivalRealty.com website, near Sandpoint, Idaho: Off Grid Custom Home + Cabin on 37.7 Acres With 3 Year-Round Creeks / Borders BLM Land.


Keen American-Built Boots, by Thomas Christianson

I recently bought a pair of Keen American Built Boots at a consignment store. They cost me $44.99. These Braddock Waterproof Mid Soft Toe Boots run $220 per pair, new. The Keen Braddock mid-cut boots are very sturdy, though the soles are somewhat stiffer than I prefer. They are also extremely warm, making them most suitable for cool weather use. All in all, they are decent boots, and American-made. But they somehow lack that measure of comfort that gives a pair of boots a place of affection in my heart. It may just be that my feet are a funny …


Recipe of the Week: Chocolate Drizzled Popcorn

The following recipe for Chocolate Drizzled Popcorn is from Mrs. Alaska. She writes: Popcorn deserves a place in long term food storage pantries. It is inexpensive, lightweight, long-lasting, filling, and a versatile, easy snack that can be enjoyed sweet or savory, pleasing almost everyone.  Archeologists have determined that the popping form of corn was domesticated 7,000 years ago! My family goes five+ winter months without resupply.  We maintain a good supply of popcorn. Benefits: • Unopened bags and containers of plain, unpopped kernels can last several years (not microwavable packages that contain oils and other flavors).  Opened packages can be …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, we look at rising new car prices. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Price pressure on gold, silver on worries Fed hawkish for longer. o  o  o At Gold-Eagle.com: Andy Schectman: De-dollarization Continues Amidst High Inflation. Economy & Finance: US risks default as soon as July, will add $19T to national debt, agency estimates. …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“When Christians are under a universalizing and totalizing non-Christian regime that wields implicit powers against true religion, how is this not tyranny? Is this not an assault on the people of God, who are forced to live in a public square that wars against Christ’s kingdom and against the nature of true humanity? The natural spheres of life, each with its own God-ordained power, are ordered against God and his people. This certainly is tyranny, though there isn’t, at first glance a clear tyrant. We see a modern regime made up of politicians, bureaucrats, Hollywood, public intellectuals, academics, corporations, HR …


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — February 19, 2023

Today is the birthday of Lee Marvin (1924–1987), who you may remember from The Professionals and The Big Red One. — Today’s feature article from The Rutherford Institute is a guest post, selected by JWR.  It is reposted with permission. — We are still seeking entries for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $775,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 105 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for …


America Is a Prison Disguised as Paradise, by John & Nisha Whitehead

“If all that Americans want is security, they can go to prison. They’ll have enough to eat, a bed and a roof over their heads. But if an American wants to preserve his dignity and his equality as a human being, he must not bow his neck to any dictatorial government.”— President Dwight D. Eisenhower The government wants us to bow down to its dictates. It wants us to buy into the fantasy that we are living the dream, when in fact, we are trapped in an endless nightmare of servitude and oppression. Indeed, with every passing day, life in …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: The Ohio Train Wreck Has Contaminated Several States But Biden’s D.C. Train Wreck Has Contaminated All 50 News Links: Fact Check: President Biden’s Rhetoric Doesn’t Match His Results, Economy Continues to Fall Short of Expectations. Pax­ton Sues Biden Over New Rule that Increas­es Bur­den on Amer­i­can Tax­pay­ers From Ille­gal Immigration. As Americans are Paying Nearly $6,000 for Biden’s Inflation Tax, Democrats Plan to Raise Taxes More on Those Making Less Than $400,000. A Rise in Unfunded Mandates on State and Local Governments Could Spur Calls for Regulatory Reform in the 118th Congress.


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — February 18, 2023

Today is the birthday of astronaut Theodore Cordy “Ted” Freeman (February 18, 1930 – October 31, 1964.) Ted Freeman and his wife Faith were friends of my mother and father. Both my father and Ted Freeman were stationed at Bryan Air Force base in the early 1950s, and they rented houses three blocks apart, in College Station, Texas. About ten years later, while training as an astronaut in the Gemini space program, Ted was killed in a birdstrike flying accident, while flying a T-38 Talon jet trainer. He was the first casualty of NASA’s manned space program. Fittingly, Ted Freeman’s …


A Word Of Warning On Preserving Your Wealth

At the risk of sounding repetitious, I’m issuing this brief warning to SurvivalBlog readers: The average American income is not keeping pace with inflation. This chart says it all. Take a look at that chart. The brief positive blip in 2020 is attributable to the combined effect of people reducing their expenses by staying at home and receiving the veritable helicopter drop of economic stimulus checks. But since then, we’ve been collectively blindsided by inflation. Do not expect inflation to get back under 5% for a decade or more. The Federal Reserve”s recent credit tightening has been insufficient to stem …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n …