Category: Contest

From Piglets to Bacon- Part 3, by Animal House

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I am a grandmother who decided to raise her own small livestock, including pigs, and then to butcher them. This is my story. In the first two parts of this article series, I have already written about selecting and growing the pigs as well as told my plan for butchering two female hogs. Slaughtering and Butchering (continued) I laid out my plan in the last part of this article series and included the specific tools and materials required. I expected to complete the whole process of killing, cleaning, butchering, and packaging within two and half days or a max of …


From Piglets to Bacon- Part 2, by Animal House

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This is my story, as a retired grandmother of raising small livestock and our experience of going from piglets to bacon. In part one, I shared about preparing the pen, selecting the piglets, and basically getting them set up and situated in their new space. But after that, it was time for them to grow. Growing the Piglets When the girls were young, we fed them twice a day. They got a varying mixture of healthy non-GMO swine pellets, soy meal, fresh eggs, and hot oats on cold days, any table scraps that the rabbits and chickens didn’t get, and …


From Piglets to Bacon- Part 1, by Animal House

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This article is about growing piglets, slaughtering, and butchering hogs. It covers everything we did from start to finish concerning piglets to bacon! Why a Retired Grandmother Raises Small Livestock But first, it is important to understand why in the world a retired grandmother would want to raise small livestock. While this article is not about the bad stuff in commercial pork products, I want to list the reasons why I make the effort to raise my own small livestock. Just for starters, “…synthetic preservatives are added to 70 percent of all factory farmed meat and poultry to prevent spoilage, …


Rethinking Federal Government Preparedness Resources, by J.P.

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The government can’t always keep you safe, but they can always get you killed. For a long time I’ve held that notion near and dear to my heart only to have it revalidated whenever and wherever calamity strikes our nation. I’m sure there are some bureaucrats that would agree with my opinion. Furthermore, it appears that some people within our government have fought the good fight for the preparedness community when they made available a number of free resources to add to any preparedness library. It just so happens I keep electronic copies of these publications on my smart phone …


Preparing for the Inevitable American Gun Ban- Part 3, by Rector

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I believe a full gun ban in the United States is inevitable. In the first two parts of this article series, I’ve explained why I expect this, through cultural, legal, and demographic trends. Part two discloses the first step for protecting your guns. Let’s move on to the second step in the plan. Protecting Your Guns (continued) Step 2: Prepare the Registered Gun Collection Your Amazon browsing history (now up to 15 years old), your credit card records, your membership in the NRA, your concealed handgun permit, your GPS tracked trips to the gun range, et cetera will provide investigators …


Preparing for the Inevitable American Gun Ban- Part 2, by Rector

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A full gun ban in the United States is inevitable. In part one of this three-part series, I begin to outline the cultural, legal, and demographic reasons I believe this is the case. Let’s continue looking into the changing demographics of the United States and its subsequent affect on the political landscape. The Enemy Has A Vote In my former life as an Infantry officer in the U.S. Army, we were fond of saying that “the enemy has a vote”, meaning that our best laid plans were likely to be undone by enemy action. Rest assured, the statists and gun …


Preparing for the Inevitable American Gun Ban- Part 1, by Rector

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A full gun ban in the United States is inevitable. Any honest reading of the cultural, legal, and demographic trends in the United States will confirm this thesis– the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall be infringed, and we will lose our firearms. Many of you are rightfully rejecting my premise and doing so on solid intellectual ground: the 2nd Amendment, the Heller decision, the rise of concealed carry, the election of Trump, and the power of the NRA. These are formidable weapons in the fight to retain our rights. Yet, ultimately, we will lose the …


What To Do and Not Do When a Pandemic Starts- Part 2, by Scientist69

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  In part 1 of this article series, I explained the difference between a pandemic and an epidemic as well as virus transmissions. We also went through some basic biosecurity measures, including items to have on hand and how to use them, including some detail on various disinfectants. Now, let’s move forward in our discussion on dealing with pandemic-causes viruses. Vaccination Vaccinations have gotten a bad reputation, unfortunately due to the occurrence of some rare issues such as allergies to vaccines, autoimmune responses, et cetera and a whole lot of misinformation. Generally, if you had regular vaccinations, you might have …


What To Do and Not Do When a Pandemic Starts- Part 1, by Scientist69

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The Basics (Science is Awesome) What is the basic difference between an epidemic and a pandemic? In an epidemic, an infectious disease spreads quickly between people; however, this will be relatively confined to a geographic area, country, or even a continent. The Ebola epidemic in West Africa is an example. On the other hand, a pandemic means that this infectious disease spreads quickly to other continents, basically causing disease globally, most likely resulting in high fatality rates. Examples of infections that can potentially cause a pandemic are the bird flu (avian influenza), SARS or MERS like infections that are caused …


Reindustrialization After The Fall- Part 2, By Redneck Granddaddy

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Yesterday, we took inventory of the situation two years after the balloon went up after the fall, and we realized that things could be pretty challenging. However, with charcoal and a forge, the problems we mentioned wouldn’t be such a dilemma. Yesterday, I shared several options for how to make charcoal. Today, I will share how to make a forge and more tips for smithing. So, let’s get started. Masonry Forge Boy you are ambitious to look at a masonry forge! That’s okay. Depending on your particular situation, this might be easier and or better for you. A masonry forge …


Reindustrialization After The Fall- Part 1, By Redneck Granddaddy

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Okay, the balloon went up, but you were prepared enough that two years later, you and your family are still alive at your retreat. Great! Right? Well, maybe. Let’s take inventory. Post-Balloon Evaluation Food Storage Your food in storage is about gone. You have been gardening for the last ten years and thought you were golden, but the first year wasn’t near big enough. The second year you went way big and plowed more land while the tractor still ran, but you didn’t have the seed or fertilizer. Still, you carried on with composting and seed saving, but most of …


Clarity of Mind and Survival- Part 2, by The Recovering Feminist

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This is the second part of an article that focuses on the reality of forgiveness in a person’s survival mindset. It is not approached from a psychological perspective but recognizes that having a clear and sharp mind is critical not only for making good survival decisions but for making good decisions in general. In part one, we covered how forgiveness is essential to survival, vengeance v. mercy, and the sexual assault epidemic, including the harm of the “me too” trend. Let’s continue on. Confront Evil Some of the worst acts of betrayal happen to those in positions of vulnerability who …


Clarity of Mind and Survival- Part 1, by The Recovering Feminist

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Survival and a Clear Mind Survival necessitates recognition of both outer and inner realities, both material and immaterial truth. We tend to think externally about survival. For instance, we think of addressing food storage, first-aid, efficiency, self defense, physical preparations, et cetera, but we fail to realize that all of these decisions are influenced first by a clear and sharp mind. We all have an inner life. Whether we acknowledge it or not, the inner life affects every decision we make. Harboring bitterness over past scorn or wallowing in the life experience of betrayal influences a person’s clarity of mind. …


Life Before SHTF Was a Problem But It’s Getting Worse, by Old Bobbert

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Okay, the title about life getting worse says it all. We need newer methods, procedures, styles, and formulas– stuff about problem solving. We need new ways to look at finding workable solutions to new people problems, new situations, new limitations, new responsibilities, and new rules of survival. And we, all of us, especially need new ways to maintain our sanity in the insane world of post-SHTF, and we need it in advance and in full measure. New Needs Yes, it is possible that you already have all these new needs in your fully stocked and tagged kitchen pantry. But I …


The Long View- Part 3, by J.M.

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I try to have a long view, one that is both near and far in perspective. We are in the final part of this article, taking a look at the preparations required for a long-term scenario, in the event of a major societal break down. This is part of my routine, as I evaluate my own preparations compared with risk assessments. We have looked at repairs, food, water, weapons, and medical topics in the previous two portions of this article. Now let’s move on to how we keep warm and prepare our food. Heating and Cooking If you don’t live …