Year: 2026

Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 15, 2026

On May 15, 1896 a tornado — now estimated as a F5 — killed 78 people in and near Sherman, Texas.  This was part of a multi-week tornado outbreak in the South and Midwest.  Pictured above is the first-ever photograph of a tornado, taken in 1884. — May 15, 1911: The U.S. Supreme Court dissolved Standard Oil and upheld the Sherman Antitrust Act. — And on May 15th, 1942, gasoline rationing began in 17 Eastern states as an attempt to help the American war effort during World War II. The main concern behind the rationing scheme was conserving scarce imported rubber, …


Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 4, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 3.) Calving I have been very fortunate that all my cows have calved without assistance until this last one.  I’m praying that disaster does not happen again.  I could not have saved that calf by myself, and there was only one available Veterinarian on call at the time.  She also could not have done it by herself.  I am thankful for good friends who would drop everything to come over and assist.  While we saved the heifer, we lost the calf.  The heifer has recovered beautifully due to our intervention, and she’s doing well.  I have three …


Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers. Today, a map showing the world’s trillion dollar  economies. The thumbnail below is click-expandable. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) Economics & Investing News and Links of Interest Spot silver jumped almost 7.09% on Monday (May 11, 2026) to an after-hours high of $86.88 USD per Troy ounce. By Wednesday, it was up to $88.27. Profit-taking took silver down to around $84.27 on Thursday afternoon. But, obviously, this bull is not finished with his quest to trample the residents …


The Editors’ Quote:

“We must distinguish between a man of polite learning and a mere scholar: the first is a gentleman and what a gentleman should be; the last is a mere book-case, a bundle of letters, a head stuffed with the jargon of languages, a man that understands every body but is understood by no body.” – Daniel Defoe ‘The Complete English Gentleman’ (written in 1728.)


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — May 14, 2026

On May 14, 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia to draft the Constitution of the United States. — May 14th, 1686 was the birthday of Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, who invented the thermometer. — We are running a two-week-long sale in all of our percussion revolvers at Elk Creek Company, with deep discounts. This sale will end on Monday, May 18th, 2026. Please note that there are cartridge conversion cylinders available for many of these guns — particularly the Ruger Old Army revolvers and the Pietta and Uberti brand clones of the Remington Model 1858. This provides a great opportunity to acquire un-papered …


Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 3, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 2.) Winter housing When I bought this farm, there was an existing small barn and a two car garage sized shed that the door had broken off of.  The property was completely fenced, and cross fenced, and there were even a couple of water troughs, which had to be replaced because they leaked.  But, all in all, there was some structure to start with.  Back then, I had no plans to obtain dairy cows, but I probably would not have gone with large livestock without adequate fencing and buildings.  There is no water or electricity to the …


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: Even more Agentic AI risks. An Agentic AI Destroyed a Company’s Database and Backups The Telegraph reports: AI ‘agents of chaos’ run riot inside companies. Could Claude Mythos …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — May 13, 2026

On May 13, 1916 the Lafayette Escadrille, a volunteer American air force unit under French command saw its first combat at the Battle of Verdun. — May 13, 1958: The trade mark “Velcro” was registered. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. This is the final round of the contest. There will not be a “Round 125”! The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value). American Gunsmithing Institute …


Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 2, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 1.) Feeding and Condition This year started out in drought, so I will feed hay until such time as the fields are abundant in grass.  Last year, I did not have to feed hay year round, but the year before I did.  I don’t know how this year will go, but so far the cows have plentiful hay available to them.  When I first started with dairy cows, I fed the cows square bales, but soon found that to be a lot of work and not cost efficient with more than one cow to feed.  I purchased …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — Video: Rep. Chip Roy: Government-Mandated Kill Switch in Cars Violates the Fourth Amendment. o  o  o For those of you with Smart Phones, I heard about an interesting new inventory control app for preppers: PPantry. o  o  o



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — May 12, 2026

On May 12, 1215, English barons served an ultimatum on King John. This eventually led to the creation and signing of the Magna Carta. –– May 12, 1942: A German U-boat sank a American cargo ship at the mouth of the Mississippi River. In 1942 and 1943, German submarines sank 56 ships in the Gulf region and damaged another 14. To prevent panic, the U.S. Office of Censorship limited press coverage of the sinkings. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. This is the final round of the contest. …


Small Farm Dairy Cattle – Part 1, by SaraSue

I believe I’m going into my sixth year raising dairy cattle on a very small scale.  Every time I think I’ve got this figured out, something surprises me.  I thought I would share an update, a general overview, of things I’ve learned so far.  Remember that I have a very small farm, and knew absolutely nothing when I started.  This is not a “How To”, as there are far more experienced folks than I am. My dad was an engineer and my mom was a school teacher, so I grew up in suburbia.  In my grandparents’ generation, the fathers were …


SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media 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. Redoubt News Links Yellowstone’s first bear attack of 2026 leaves two hikers injured and a swath of the park in lockdown. Glacier National Park’s First Fatal Bear Attack Since 1998 Underscores Anomaly of Lethal Encounters. JWR’s Comments:  Folks often ask me if I carry Pepper Spray when I leave my ranch house. Yes, sometimes I do. But I far more often carry Lead Spray. Thankfully, open carry and …