Bad as a Bullet: Tick and Mosquito-Borne Diseases, by D.K., DVM

We have SCUBA friends from Canada who do a lot of camping, and one year the wife came down with a debilitating illness that put her out of work for many months.  The medical system there did not make it easy to consult a specialist, especially one familiar with arthropod-borne diseases.  She showed all the symptoms of Lyme disease, including weakness, fever, sore joints, lethargy, headaches, and muscle aches.  Plus she had been exposed to ticks while camping.  She suffered for over a year before she slowly recovered.  Though it was never confirmed to be a tick-borne illness, odds are …


Make Yourself Worth Saving, by John G.

The end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI) has probably crossed your mind lately. It might have been just a brief news flash about a silly Mayan prophecy, or maybe you have an uncle who still thinks the Russians are gonna nuke us. More likely in our generation, our societal bonds could disintegrate thanks to erosion of our financial system. If you have not given this situation much thought, it is high time to start. The first step is to take the possibility seriously. If you cannot handle this basic prerequisite, well, Devil take the hindmost. Once you …


The Commerce Model of Prepping: A Personal Re-Evaluation, by B.H. in North Idaho

Introduction: Over the years since I first read the novel Patriots by James Rawles and made the decision to embrace prepping my idea of prepping has changed.  It started when I recognized that friends, acquaintances and strangers all had varying ideas and degrees of preparedness even within very similar prepping models.  The greatest characteristic of Survivalblog.com is that there is something for everyone presented in articles and information.  Regardless of your station you’ll find information pertinent to your specific situation to help you improve your own preparedness level. I realized that my own prepping mindset was slowly shifting over time …


Insulin Dependent Diabetics When TSHTF, by AERC

About five years ago, my husband started worrying about many things happening to our country and the world in general.  Bird flu, inflation, resource grabbing, bank bail outs, government policies, Peak Oil… and more provided fuel for his concern.  As I listened to him talk about what was happening in the world, I began to think about what to do in a situation that would dramatically alter our “way of life”.  We already had goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits and chickens.  We already had a nice sized garden and I already canned what we didn’t eat fresh, but it wasn’t done …


Helicopter and Fixed Wing Drones for Retreat Security, by Long Jim

I recently stopped by our local farmers market, and while ambling along with a fresh home-made fig newton, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw what one vendor offered. There amongst the crafts, and farm produce, was an enterprising fellow standing behind a table with a large three rotor drone helicopter. Marketed as the “Draganflyer” it has 3 dual sets of rotors stacked in pairs atop each other. It was equipped with a gyroscope-stabilized digital video, and still camera, set-up. He was contracting with folks to fly his drone over their property and take very detailed pictures of …


Cooking the Farmyard Fowl for Modern Eaters, by Irishfarmer

In an austere situation, or even an economically challenged one, what do you do with those old hens, the ones eating more than laying, and especially, extra males, like all those roosters that hatched or came with the hatchery order?  We’re not talking here about raising broilers from the hatchery, feeding and sweating over them for the required number of weeks, doing the killing all in one or two days and then packing them into the freezer. This article is for the person who is facing eating real barnyard birds.  It is also for the person whose family is used …


A Widow’s View of Preparedness, by Catherine T.

I am a widow of over three years whose youngest son was serving our country in the Middle East when my husband’s death happened.  My husband lost his job and was forced into early retirement before his death.  I will not go into the details of all the turmoil then and of having a child home with injuries of war.  In a SHTF situation there will be many people with war injuries in our own neighborhoods.  My other children and I are so glad he is still alive.  My income dropped further not long after this.   It was the end …


Observations on Bugging Out By Foot, by J. Smith

I simulated bug-outs on foot in a variety of environments in order to test gear, test myself, and to learn from that single best teacher: experience. I walked with various loads, pack configurations, and equipment through stretches of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. I walked on every type of road imaginable, from the shoulder of bustling interstates to rural roads with a stripe of grass growing in the middle. I walked on railroad tracks, by rivers, in desert, mountains, forests, prairies, and more. In more than a month, I walked around 200 miles while testing various …


The Family Cow, by Faith S.

How can a family cow be an ideal addition to your food storage and survival plan? We started our self-reliance plan with gardening.  Then we planted a few fruits and added chickens.   One day we realized that if we had a cow, we could truly be self-sufficient with our food supply.    We now raise family sized milk cows with grazing genetics in Virginia.  This article should persuade SurvivalBlog readers who own two or more acres, of the wisdom of owning a family cow. It should also answer questions we frequently hear. Why a Cow? Owning a cow produces milk, cream …


More Tips on Prepping on a Budget, by S.T.

How do you manage the extra expense of prepping when you are already cash strapped? After all, it is like buying for two households. When you are cost conscious you are able to purchase more. I am going to share my experience with you. I am a single Mom of three and started prepping about a year ago. I would clip coupons and pick up extra cans of veggies a couple of times a month. When I started looking a sites on the internet that listed all the items to have on hand, I became concerned that my cans of …


A Corn Chronicle, by ShepherdFarmerGeek

This spring I purchased Painted Mountain Corn seed from two suppliers following the stirring encouragement of New Ordinance (“Rocky Mountain Corn: The Secret Weapon”). In spring of 2012 seed was selling for around $20/lb. This fall I see it’s commonly selling for around $30/lb and up! I’m planning on saving a lot of seed, selling a little, and experimenting with cooking this amazing field corn in a variety of ways. (Remember, it’s field corn, not sweet corn. You dry it and grind it into flour to make tortillas, tamales, chips, and much more!) GROWING Using a marked measuring line, I …


Global Economic Collapse: Causes and Some Potential Outcomes, by C.D.W.T.

I believe the global economy stands on the brink of meltdown. The immediate trigger of this collapse is the European Debt Crisis, but the build up to this catastrophe has been building for years and decades. Three of the major drivers of Global economic growth: the US, Europe, and mainland China , are all on the verge of economic slowdown, if not outright collapse. Usually, if one region of the globe is contracting other regions are growing and able to take up the economic ‘slack’. For the first time in modern history, all regions are slowing at once. This is …


Grow Your Own Nutrient-Dense Fruits and Vegetables, by C.F.B.

Let’s face it.  When we get to point that you can’t call out, use a computer, or find a stop light that is working, our stash of stored food will eventually become depleted.  We will all become more and more dependent on local produce.  Even if food is available for purchase, many people will want to grow some of their own.  For most of us, growing our own fruits and vegetables in an efficient manner will be a challenge.  How successful we are in gardening will very much depend on our individual knowledge and skills.  If you have never gardened, …


The Complete Cycle Of Life, by Terry I.

Imagine a market place in your back yard for fresh homegrown fish, herbs, fruits and vegetables.  Best part of this is that you grew it and know what’s in it.  No pesticides or unwanted hormones and additives.  Plus the market is open 24/7. My Hawaii Experience  Living on an island  and having everything shipped into it makes for the worst case disaster when mother nature or human nature turns bad.  From total communications failure to coastal ports devastation, Hawaii would suffer the worst of all the states in the shortest amount of time.  A large population on island Oahu would …


Letter Re: Prepping with Fangs: Dogs for a Survivalist

Dear JWR: I have read the previous thoughts on this and I see someone has mentioned several different breeds. I would like to add for those considering a dog to also consider Great Pyrenees. These dogs have the very thick double coats that protect them from attacks, are well known for their ability to take down bears and mountain lions when kept in packs, and are some of the best herd dogs on Earth. If you are wanting to breed them you will have to get the dogs about two years before you are expecting to have pups as generally …