Recipe of the Week: Berry-Pecan Platter

The following recipe from SurvivalBlog reader Granny M. is for her Berry-Pecan Platter. Ingredients  3 cups granulated sugar 1 cup rough-chopped pecans 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup of heavy cream 1 1/2 cups each of chopped fresh strawberries, whole blueberries, and whole raspberries 1 tablespoon lemon zest Mint garnish Directions Place berries in a bowl and fold in one cup of sugar and lemon zest. Refrigerate until well chilled. In a medium saucepan, add butter and 2 cups of sugar over medium high heat. Stir constantly until butter turns a caramel color. The pan will be very hot — be …




Preparedness Notes for Sunday — April 20, 2025

On April 20, 1918, Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, shot down his 79th and 80th victims, marking his final victories before his death on the following day. — April 20, 1920: Tornadoes killed 219 people in Alabama and Mississippi. — And on April 20,1993, Uranus passed Neptune, as it does once every 171 years. — Today’s feature article is a guest post by fellow blogger and American Redoubt resident Brandon Smith. It is reposted with permission. — We are seeking entries for Round 118 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $950,000 worth of prizes have been …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: Six Wealthy Women Take An 11-Minute Space Junket “For The Beautiful Earth” And They Release 498 Tons Of Carbon And 1,812 Tons of CO2 News Links: Gayle King and Blue Origin’s all-women crew return after historic space launch. The depressing reality of that ‘historic’ all-female Blue Origin spaceflight. Blue Origin NS-31. 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 …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day: 

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — April 19, 2025

April 19th is always the most heavily laden date of the year for our Top Notes. I do not believe that this is mere happenstance. Some events appear to have been orchestrated by folks with an obsession for numerology. April 19, 1506: The Massacre of the Jews:, in Lisbon. On April 19, 1591, the French city of Chartres surrendered to King Henry IV. Today is the original Patriot Day which marks the multiple anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, known as “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”, on April 19, 1775. Note that due to corporate bureaucracy, the Patriot …


Avoiding the Worst Case Scenario – Part 4, by M.B.

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.) More Stupid Things “This ain’t Dodge City, and you ain’t Bill Hickock.” — Quigley Down Under (1990 movie) The most obvious stupid thing is willingly getting involved in illegal or immoral activity. I’ve watched several people destroy careers, relationships, and everything they cared about by involvement in what at first probably looked like a quick and easy way to make some extra money. The majority of these cases involved the illegal drug trade, and their families often suffered even more pain than the individuals committing the illegal acts. Another bad mistake that …


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:

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — April 18, 2025

On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode from Charlestown to Lexington warning: “The regulars are coming!” — On April 18th, 1906, the San Francisco earthquake struck northern California, killing hundreds of people as it toppled numerous buildings and started fires that engulfed whole neighborhoods. The quake was so powerful that it knocked down chimneys in the Anderson Valley, 120 miles north of the city. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 118 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at …


Avoiding the Worst Case Scenario – Part 3, by M.B.

(Continued from Part 2.) There isn’t room here for detailing all the things to look for to see trouble coming, but violence does not usually consist of a bad guy leaping out of the bushes to attack someone. More commonly, the assailant looks for a way to get close to an intended “mark” and to size them up for their suitability as an easy victim. The idea is to gauge your reaction, and to see if it’s safe to victimize you. Marc MacYoung calls this “the interview”. The criminal interview may be as simple as asking for change, or for …


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, some explanation of the Basel III Agreement.  (See the Precious Metals section.) Pictured above is the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. Precious Metals: Basel III Endgame: what you need to know. JWR’s Comments: One little-known provision of Basel III is that beginning in July of this year it will require banks …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“When I joined the Army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all of my boyish hopes and dreams. The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on the plain at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished, but I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barrack ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that ‘old soldiers never die, they just fade away.’ And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an …


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 17, 2025

Jan-de-Heem (Jan Davidszoon de Heem) was born April 17, 1606 in Utrecht.  From the InfoGalactic Wiki: “Jan-de-Heem was a stilllife painter who was active in Utrecht and Antwerp. He is a major representative of that genre in both Dutch and Flemish Baroque painting. De Heem was born in Utrecht as Johannes van Antwerpen. He studied first under his father David de Heem the Elder (1570–1631), then under Balthasar van der Ast. His ‘middle name’, Davidsz, is a patronym referring to his father’s name: In Dutch a name ending in -sz is like -son in English and Mac- in Scottish, meaning …