Category: Note

The winner of Round 7 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest is SF in Hawaii, for his article “Wheat Sprouts and Wheatgrass as Survival Foods” which was posted on November 6, 2006. The second prize goes to “Warhawke”, for his article “Selecting Barter Goods” which was posted on October 30, 2006. Congratulations to both of you. Because there were so many great entries in this round, I decided to award some free books as “Runners Up” prizes. These go to: Making Traditional Cordage in North America, by Ron (posted November 16, 2006) Bullet Casting: A (Relatively) Simple Introduction, by AVL …

The recent early snow cover and unseasonably cold weather at the Rawles Ranch has changed the habits of the local deer. Now they are visiting our feeder to browse on some grass/alfalfa mix hay, even at mid-day. It looks like this may be a hard winter. Hopefully we won’t lose too many young deer, elk, and moose. The eating habits of the Rawles clan have changed too. There is definitely more interest in Chili con Bambi, Clam Chowder, and Hot Cocoa.

The cold spell here in the vicinity of the Rawles Ranch is continuing. Last night’s low was -11 degrees Fahrenheit. (Or, as they call it here in The Un-named Western State: “Shirtsleeves Weather.”) My sincere thanks to the less than 1/2 of 1% of SurvivalBlog readers that have signed up for 10 Cent Challenge subscriptions. You 63 people know who you are. Subscriptions are entirely voluntary, and gratefully accepted.

Wintery weather has come to the Rawles Ranch. The low this morning was 2 degrees Fahrenheit. I love splitting wood at this time of year. There is nothing quite like splitting wood on a crisp morning when the temperature is under 10 degrees. When it is frozen solid, the wood practically explodes when the splitting maul hits it. And for the record, my favorite woods for firewood are oak, tamarack, and red fir.

Given the lead time for “print on demand” at XLibris, the next two days will probably be your last chance to order a few copies of the new edition of my novel “Patriots: Surviving The Coming Collapse” in time to present them as Christmas gifts. The cover price is $22.99. You can order them at 15% discount ($19.54 + postage) by ordering directly from XLibris. Starting January 10, 2007, I will be selling autographed copies for $18.99 + $3.01 postage. ($22 each, postage paid, or $21 each if you order 2 or more, or $20 each if you order 3 …

We got our first significant snowfall yesterday and last night at the Rawles Ranch. Snowballs were flying fast and furious. The Rawles kids are looking forward to sledding, but it may be a few more days before we get an accumulation sufficient for their sleds.

The high bid is now at $245 in the latest SurvivalBlog benefit auction, This one is for a big batch of 16 survival/preparedness reference books with a combined value of more than $250, courtesy of the fine folks at Ready Made Resources. Please submit your bid via e-mail. The auction ends on January 15th. I have expanded and updated the SurvivalBlog Glossary. Because I get lots of inquiries about the Rawles Ranch, I have added entries to the glossary, such as the un-named western state (TUWS), the un-named river (TUR), and the un-named range of mountains (TUROM). Today we present …

The high bid is now at $200 in the latest SurvivalBlog benefit auction, This one is for a big batch of 16 survival/preparedness reference books with a combined value of more than $250, courtesy of the fine folks at Ready Made Resources. Please submit your bid via e-mail. The auction ends on January 15th.

Happy Thanksgiving Day! In the United States, today is set aside to give thanks to God for His blessings. Here at the Rawles Ranch we do, indeed, most earnestly. God is provident. Praises to Jehovah Jireh! The high bid is already at $45 in the latest SurvivalBlog benefit auction, This one is for a big batch of survival/preparedness reference books, courtesy of the fine folks at Ready Made Resources. (They are one of our first and most loyal advertisers. Be sure to visit their site and give them some business. BTW, they have additional copies of each of the titles …

We had three nice days of weather in succession here at the Rawles Ranch, giving us a chance to get into town in comfort. The nearest large grocery store is more than 50 miles away. We saw several large flocks of wild turkeys while en route. Even though I try my best to show restraint, I usually end up with two or three times the canned goods that I had planned to buy. (I can’t resist sale prices on staple items, and the “squirrel” in me always wants “a little bit more” to keep on hand for winter.) Invariably the …

Our goal is to double the readership of SurvivalBlog by the end of 2007. Reader R.A. mentioned that there are already 719 different web sites that link to SurvivalBlog, but we could use a lot more links! If you have a web site or blog and don’t yet have a link to SurvivalBlog, then please do so. It is quick and easy to add a SurvivalBlog link logo or link text. That would be greatly appreciated!

I am pleased to report that the new expanded 33 chapter edition of my survivalist novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse” is finally now orderable from the publisher, XLibris. Sorry about the long delay, but the publishing process is agonizingly slow. Until recently, the earlier 31 chapter edition of the book from Huntington House had been out of print, and it was getting very scarce. Prices range from $29 to $345 each! (The book went out of print when the publisher went out of business.) Now is your chance to order a few copies of the new edition in time …

Our thanks to “RSF”, the high bidder in the recent auction for the autographed first edition of Survival Guns, by Mel Tappan. Today we are starting a new auction, for a big batch of survival books, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. Today we present yet another article for Round 7 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. …

The high bid is now at $150 in the current SurvivalBlog benefit auction, It is for a scarce autographed first edition copy of the book Survival Guns by Mel Tappan. The auction ends an midnight, eastern time tonight (November 15th.) Please submit your bid via e-mail.

We woke up this morning to yet another power failure. It was the third one in just a week. These are just something that you have to get used to, when living out in the hinterboonies. I look at each outage as a small shake-down exercise, in anticipation of an eventual long term grid-down whammy. Today we present yet another article for Round 7 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is a copy of my …