Year: 2024

Backyard Chicken Tips, by Tractorguy

Keeping laying hens is an excellent idea for preppers, if you have the space and ability to do so. They are an excellent source of nutrition, particularly fats, which can be problematic to store in a grid-down or survival situation. Back in the early part of the 20th Century, during two world wars, the US government encouraged all households to keep laying hens. It is sage advice. Keeping hens to provide eggs is not hard, and does not require a large amount of time and attention. Much information is available online about raising chickens. This is not meant to be …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: “Why, Why?” Because the Majority of American Voters Don’t Live in Your “Woke” Fantasy World Video Link: (Warning: Turn down your speaker or headphones volume before playing): TikTok Liberal Meltdowns. Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 16, 2024

November 16, 1632: Battle of Lützen. A significant battle of Thirty Years’ War – Swedish and Saxon forces defeated the Holy Roman Empire, with the cost of the death of Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus. — November 16, 1841: Life preservers made of cork were patented by Napoleon Guerin, of New York City. — We are running a Week-Long Veteran’s Day Sale at Elk Creek Company. The prices of all of our in-stock military-issue rifles (and sporters) as well as our military-issue revolvers have been deeply reduced. Place your order before Monday, November 18th. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present …


Making Dosa the Old School Way, by E.P.

I have been making dosa — an unleavened fermented Indian bread — for more than 30 years. It has been a staple part of my diet. Years ago my sister-in-law, who lives in India, brought me two wet grinders that she purchased in India. Back in 2020 I wrote an article for SurvivalBlog explaining how these work and how to make dosa dough using them: Making Dosa – Indian Fermented Bread, by E.P. Since they have an electric motor, and because of the way they are designed, they are not usable without electricity. I began to think about a way …


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 …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord‘s anger come upon you. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord‘s anger. For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — November 15, 2024

November 15, 1763: Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon begin surveying Mason–Dixon line between Pennsylvania and Maryland. — The Battle of Morgarten was fought on November 15, 1315. The pike-armed Swiss militia defeated the army of the duke Leopold I of Austria. — November 15th was the birthday of David Stirling. (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990.) He was a Scottish officer in the British Army, mountaineer, and the founder of the Special Air Service (SAS). He saw active service during the Second World War. — On this day, Charles Dickens published the final installment of A Tale of Two …


Lessons From Hurricane Helene – Part 4, by A.F.

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.) After securing water and safety, climate control was my next concern. Prior to the storm, we had weather in the 80s and low 90s. Our home sits in a field along a north-to-south bearing. Morning sun isn’t too intense but the long evenings, lots of floor-to-ceiling windows and western exposure were making me nervous about getting the house cool enough to be comfortable in. I was also concerned about the potential for mildew to take hold given the humidity and lack of central air conditioning. Fortunately, the temperatures stayed mild and the …


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. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at Bitcoin’s record high value in U.S. Doilar terms. (See the Forex & Cryptos: section.) Precious Metals: Spot silver dipped down to $30.49 on Thursday morning (November 14, 2024.)  I consider a price anywhere below $30.50 a reasonable “buy” price. Stack it while you can. o  o  o Always a bit late to …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — November 14, 2024

On November 14th, 1882, “Buckskin” Frank Leslie (pictured) killed Billy “The Kid” Claiborne. — November 14th, 1985, the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano erupted in Colombia, killing over 20,000 as nearby towns were buried in mud, ice, and lava. Scientists studying the volcano believed an eruption was imminent and had recommended an evacuation of the area which was largely ignored, resulting in the high number of casualties. — And on November 14th, 1994, the first public trains ran through the Channel Tunnel (“Chunnel”) linking England and France under the English Channel. — An upcoming auction for a large wooded property in …


Lessons From Hurricane Helene – Part 3, by A.F.

(Continued from Part 2.) Other than cutting the fallen trees off of our state road to gain access to the greater community, the only additional sawing we did was to clear the brush from our access to the larger hen house. Seeing that a massive white oak was bearing down on the fair-sized pine resting on the chicken run, I used two adjacent stacks of 12-inch block tied together with lumber and ratchet straps to pick up the load until I could remove the tree.   I want to give a huge shoutout and thanks to Thomas Christianson for his …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, news of a positive court ruling, overturning an “Assault Weapons” Ban. Illinois Black Rifle & Magazine Ban Struck Down! Several readers mentioned this great news: Federal judge strikes …