Category: Contest

My Recent Emigration to Israel, by Yorrie in Jerusalem

Some background: As a student during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and as a tourist, I’ve been in Israel for four years over the course of six decades. I made Aliya (migrated back to my ancestral homeland) a week ago. Aliya is the Hebrew word for “To go up.” I arrived just as missiles were fired towards Jerusalem. Israel’s two international airports subsequently closed (entirely or partially) due to incoming missiles and unpredictability of future missile attacks. As I’m writing this, I can hear sirens coming from the direction of the eastern part of the city. It has been that way for 60 out …


Scared to Health and Preparedness, by J.A.

This is my take on Surviving The World As We Know It (TWAWKI). After previously writing a brief article for SurvivalBlog, I found that I really enjoyed taking the time to sit down at a keyboard and bang away and put my scattered thoughts onto some semblance of organized digital ink. I found that I enjoyed it enough that after the first submission, I realized I wanted to write another article for submission. After pondering for a bit, I thought had a basic idea about what to write next, but I knew it was going to be deeply personal, and …


The Honeypot Survivalist, by Gnorizon

Surviving virtually any event largely comes down to resource availability, planning, groups and perhaps most critically thinking. Thinking is the one innate ability that separates humanity from the wild and, arguably, from other humans unable or unwilling to adjust to new events; history, particularly noted in war, is replete with such examples ranging from the macro level down to the individual. The ability to leverage thinking can compensate for a weakness in resource availability, planning and groups – such as cohesion of individuals in the group, its longevity and so on. The purpose of this article is to present information …


Growing Your Own Food in the Inland Northwest – Part 4, by D.F.

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.) Harvesting I have tried several contrivances for hand harvesting grain or lentils etc., but each time I have been disappointed. Inevitably I have resorted to pulling a clean plastic garbage can behind me while I manually grab the grain heads and jerk or strip them off and deposit them into the garbage can. Surprisingly this procedure has been “perfected” such that I can harvest about a bushel worth of wheat per day. A bushel of wheat weighs 60 lbs. Because wheat and dry legumes have about 1,500 calories per pound a person …


Growing Your Own Food in The Inland Northwest – Part 3, by D.F.

(Continued from Part 2.) Little marvel peas were the usual variety planted for shelling. They also had a bad year in 2020 for some unknown reason. Some of my dry field peas were picked while green and shelled to substitute for this bad year. They are a satisfactory backup to the garden varieties. Shelled peas can be stored frozen or dried. Rehydrating dried ones has been acceptable but is not yet perfected. Oregon sugar pod peas for eating the pods have been planted. They generally produce acceptably, but suffered this last year with the other garden peas. They taste great …


Growing Your Own Food in The Inland Northwest – Part 2, by D.F.

(Continued from Part 1.) What to grow I have tried quite a variety of plants, and have learned some that I like and others that I don’t. The Heavy Hitter Plants: Pinto beans appear to be the best bean variety for my situation. I tried black beans, grex, and navy beans. Routinely pinto bean plants look less robust than the others, but they surprise me with yields that are just as good; and they seem to get ripe and dry down for harvest sooner than the others. This is important if the fall rains are on time or perhaps slightly …


Growing Your Own Food in The Inland Northwest – Part 1, by D.F.

My Background I grew up on a family farm in the Midwest where at one time or another apple orchards, field crops, cows, pigs and chickens were raised. I assisted my parents in nearly all these endeavors and in the process drove several different farm machines. This experience caused me to feel significant confidence in my gardening skill. However, I subsequently realized that I really only learned how to do farm work as instructed by my parents rather than actually learning how to farm. I am surprised sometimes at things I know that others don’t, but at other times I …


Simple Photovoltaic Power, by A. DoItYourselfer

This article presents my photovoltaic power experiences to give fellow do-it-yourselfers an understanding of what it takes to use the sun for energy. I am a 69-year-old carpenter with experience in residential, commercial and industrial construction. I abhor relying on others for needs. So that is what drove me in the area of energy, especially stored energy. By “stored energy, I mean propane, solar battery systems, stored food, and so forth. I live in Arkansas which is considered a subtropical climate in late spring to early fall. The heat in summer coupled with humidity from the Gulf of Mexico is …


Review: Cambridge University Press KJV Large Print Bible, by The Novice

I have heard it said that preppers should stockpile beans, bullets, band-aids, and Bibles. Beans, bullets and band-aids are easy to understand: in a disaster, we may need something to eat, something to defend ourselves with, and something to provide for our own medical care. But why Bibles? In Mark 8:36, Jesus said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” The best stockpile of tools and supplies, even when well utilized in the most effective possible manner, cannot prevent someone from being eternally lost. In 2 Timothy 3:15, …


Reusing Can Canning Jar Lids, by St. Funogas

One of the entertaining but frustrating things about the internet is how much incorrect info is out there, and how often that same wrong information gets recycled on hundreds of web sites, often verbatim. So, let’s put one of them to rest once and for all: reusing canning lids. It would never cross your mind to do an internet search, “Do peaches taste better when they’re hard or after they soften up?” Obviously, it’s very simple to test it yourself by trying one of each and drawing your own conclusions instead of relying on the opinions of others. The same …


Cash and Your Credit Score: Often Forgotten Preps, by Dave S.

In this article, I’m going to extol and often forgotten, but top-tier prep. I like to read a lot of self-reliant and prepping blogs and articles, as we all likely do. Toward the beginning of my self-reliant venture, these articles and blogs were critical in my education. I am in no way an expert in this field, but I am comfortable enough that a lot of this information for me now is review, and it is always good to review the basics. I love reading articles and blogs simply for the fact that there is usually more than one way …


Speed Up Your AR-15 Lower Builds, by R.F.

A Parts Organizer Helps You Several Ways I find it a bit of a challenge keeping all of the thirty-plus AR-15 lower receiver parts organized when building a lower. The lower parts kits (LPKs) arrive packaged in many different ways. It’s a treat to have them come nicely blister packed or tray packed if you’re lucky enough get it that way or were willing to pay extra. But it is far more typical to have them arrive in one or more plastic poly bags packed in a larger bag or even in a blister pack like the example shown, from …


Alternatives to The Evil Black Rifle, Part 2, by Randy in S.C.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Marlin got into the lever-action market in 1881, improving its initial offering with a stronger locking mechanism in 1888. These were top-ejecting actions like the Winchesters and came in the same calibers. In 1889 Marlin went to a solid-top design with side ejection. The Model 1894 was an improved version. It eventually fell out of favor but was reintroduced in .44 Magnum in 1969. Since then it has been offered in .218 Bee, .22 Magnum, .32 H&R Magnum, .357 Magnum, .38 Special, .41 Magnum, .44 Special and .45 Colt as well as …


Alternatives to The Evil Black Rifle, Part 1, by Randy in S.C.

To borrow a phrase from a popular television series, “Winter is coming.” By the time you read this, the Leftists in Congress may well have passed, and their puppet in the White House will have signed, a new bill restricting the production, sale, and ownership of so-called ‘Assault Weapons’. By ‘Assault Weapons’ they mean America’s most popular semi-automatic rifles, used for recreational shooting, competition, hunting, and home defense. That none of these meet the textbook definition of ‘assault weapon’ means less than nothing to them. Nor does the fact that the new law will have absolutely no effect on crime. …


The Innate Value of an Apple Tree – Part 2, by Northwoods Prepper

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Developing a pest-reduction process is better when understanding your enemy. For example, the Apple Tree Maggot can be found in the lower 48, while the San Jose Scale is limited to California. Use the internet to evaluate what insects are in your area. Traps are often multispecies and can significantly reduce infestation. There is a great article on Rural Sprout (https://www.ruralsprout.com/apple-tree-problems/) regarding apple tree problems with pictures identifying insect infestation and the damage they can do to apple trees. One last thing to say about infestation and insects and that is it …