Noisy Cows and Other Animal Noise Issues, by B.O.C.

I will start this by saying my farm experience range from South Florida to Maine and in climates in between. I also have experience from hobby farming to production on a large scale. From rabbits, chickens, pigs to beef and milking animals. My tenure in these areas has encompassed about 30 years of my life in one form or another. A lot of this is some common sense as well, so forgive me if I dumb this down too much.

A few days ago I read an article on this site about the farms in Venezuela and their government taking them over. (The country is running out out of food.) So that brings me to how to conceal the presence of these animals. Whether you are in a remote location or living at a well-known farm, your animals will make noise. One of the purposes of this writing is to minimize this risk, from people finding your animals or more importantly you. Animal OPSEC, if you will.

Let us look at why your animals will make noises. Animals make noise when they are in pain, a lack of their required food or water, for communication with each other (mating or just “Hey I am here”), a danger warning, territorial warning, coughing, and so on.

Small animals like chickens and roosters and rabbits are common, and their noises are easy to recognized. Roosters crow as we all know but the reasons will vary. For the most part if you have one, everyone knows you have one. The crow of the rooster serves as a territory marker and to say ” Hey don’t go too far lady birds, because I am here.” If you have more than one rooster you will have much more crowing obviously, but what you may not know is this: A single rooster will crow at a normal rate, two roosters will increase their crowing by a factor of four or more. This is due to competition between them. Chickens can and sometimes crow as well, but it is not the norm for them. Danger sounds from chicken and roosters are on the higher end of the sound scale and do not travel too far, as far as us humans can hear. General chicken noises are clucks or bauks and for the most part just a small noise. When in danger these noises are much louder and have wing flapping along with them and the sound will travel farther. To help offset these noises you will have a few options but they are worth mentioning. The type of chickens you choose to have is the greatest impact on noise. Some breeds are naturally not as quiet as others. You will have to make these choices for yourself, based upon what it is you want your chickens to do–either for egg layers or for meat, or both.

Rabbits for the most part are very quiet animals. When in danger or in pain they can and do make a horrid noise, a screechy high pitch scream is the best way I know to describe it. All and all they are not a concern. [JWR Adds: Perhaps the biggest noise concern for rabbits is the sound of rabbits thumping on the floors of wire cages.]

Pigs and goats are among the noisiest animals we have on the farm. These two types of animals as very human social. They like you and want to spend time with you. Goats more so than pigs. You can train your pigs to keep the noise down, but goats not so well. Pigs for the most part are their nosiest at feeding time if they are not getting all the food that they need. These squeals are ear piercing and do travel a good distance. Pigs will also sometimes fight to establish there “pecking order”. This does not last long but it is still a problem when it comes to OPSEC. Feeding Sows can be a bit of a noise concern. They do emit a low grunt for the entire feeding time for their piglets, so just be aware of it. In general pigs aren’t an issue unless they see you. I can be outside our barn and never know there are pigs in there until they smell me or see me or there is a noise that they associate with me. So in general pigs grunt and squeal. For the most part they are calm and do well, but there are always a few very noisy exceptions to this and these exceptions may require a culling depending on the circumstances. You can train pigs. Yep, they are as smart as dogs if not more so. So you can train them to keep the noise down aswell but this is only if you have the time to do so. Training apig is just like training a puppy. I will warn you: make sure you are training the pig and that the pig is not training you. Again, they are smart animals.

Goats are very human social. They want to be near us and love to walk and talk with you, even if they are the only ones carrying on the conversation. Some breeds of goats will make their goat baying for just about any reason. Like the pigs this is increased if they know I or someone is around or think they hear me. This also goes for predatory animals as well. Goats will call if they are missing someone from their group, calling out saying “Hey this way, we are here.” This can be an issue when a tactical situations demands quiet. Goats are vocal. Keep this in mind if you want them. They are a versatile animal, meat and dairy products, but weigh the risks. The various breeds of these animals will differ in their noise levels. Their sounds carry very well and sometimes sound like a human child calling out to the “mama”. This can draw in people who maybe concerned for the well being of a child or to simply take advantage of the situation.

Some cows are quiet if you have the right breeds. I will take a moment to explain some of the breeds–beef and dairy. (I am more familiar with beef animals than dairy)

Dairy cows: The louder breeds are Holsteins and your other common commercial type milkers. Like most animals they want to tell you something, so this is the reason for the moo’s, well most of the time. For the most part they are saying “Hey, my udder hurts, so fix it.” Smaller family cow breeds do not typically have a mooing problem as long as they are not bagged full of milk. You know what your needs are so pick the type that best suits your family’s needs. If you are wanting extra milk for barter then try two cows of a smaller breed, versus one cow of the larger more noisy breeds. Just an added tidbit here” Larger breeds will eat more and will use more resources compared to two smaller breeds. Also having two smaller ones will allow you to rest animals before breeding again, like stock rotation.

Beef cows: When you say beef, I would bet that your mind goes right to Angus. After all it was the breed that was promoted by the National Beef Counsel with the slogan “Beef it is what’s for dinner”. Keep in mind that the price tag for that 17-month long promo of beef cost about $42 million, which was paid for by the “Big 4” in beef. I am sorry–I digress.

Angus beef cows are meaty, and yes, they taste good. The breed as a whole has been over done on so many levels, but it’s about the noise here. Angus are very vocal. Even if all their needs are met, they will still moo, and moo loudly at you for no reason. If they have a reason, I have been unable to find it. Their mooing will travel for a good distance. I can hear them a mile down the road without any problem.

Belted Galloway cows (some folks like to call them the “Oreo Cows”) are also loud. But they are a good breed that is very hardy and thrifty on their feed. Other than their noise, they will do well in a post-SHTF situation. But they typically only make lots of noise when their needs aren’t met.

Simmental cows are not as loud as Angus but are still prone to mooing if they are not milked on a timely schedule. This breed is a multipurpose breed for dairy and beef. They consume more hay than other breeds because of their dual purpose.

Dexter cows are a kind of conundrum. They can be a multipurpose breed, but there is a trait that will pop up at times. Dwarfing, for whatever reason in their blood lines they will on occasions they will have dwarf calves. Generally, there is nothing wrong with the calf, it is just small and will be a dwarf. You can call it good thing or a bad thing depending on the needs at the time. They are a quiet breed and tend to stay that way even when food is low.

Charolais cows are my personal favorite beef animal for many different reasons and one of the breeds of which I have the most experience, besides the Angus breed. First, they are great for mixing with other breeds. A pure bred Charolais when bred with any other breed will tend to only pull the good out of the other breed. They are very cold tolerant and are very quiet. They grow fast and are very quiet. Good for eating and very quiet, they are also resistant to parasites and diseases. Oh and they are very quiet even if food or water is low.

Brahma cow are nice and quiet. They have been known to have an attitude towards their keepers/ Some have also said this about the Charolais as well. But I have not personally seen it in either breed. Brahma cows will not make a lot of noise as long as their needs are mostly met. Strictly, the Brahma is a beef animal, and they are bred for hardiness in hot and dry areas.

I would like to point out that the foregoing discussion was about cows, but bulls are entirely different altogether. The only time I have seen a quiet bull is when he is with the girls (his harem of cows). If you think cows are a noise threat to you, then trust me: bulls are twenty times as loud and will go on and on for hours–if not days. The only way to stop it is put him in with the girls and call it a day. This also comes with its own set of problems but he will be quiet none the less. So the problem is this, if the bull runs continuously with the girls then you will have them dropping calves at any time of the year. This is not desirable, for me anyway. If you were to have a calf drop outside in the middle of winter when it is 10 degree Fahrenheit with a wind chill and that calf will be done in a matter of minutes. A bull can smell a female in heat that is a mile away, and he will let you know it, too. The bull has a deep bellow which can travel far and wide. So  make sure that you can keep him quiet should the need arise or you may find out that he is calling in some trouble for you.

Weaning Calves. Welcome to noise headquarters. There is no way around the fact that when you wean calve there will be noise and lots of it. I have seen a calf stop bellowing after a few day and I have seen them take 3 weeks or longer. Of course you do not have to wean them but this will not allow the mother to regain her strength before winter or before calving again.

Do your research. Look at something and then look at it again. Think beyond the moment of it all, then look to the future at what could happen. Look at it again. Have a plan and another plan and then as many as you feel need to be addressed. Do not forget the “doing” part of it. Get it done. Look at it again to see further. If you ever think you have it all worked out as I once did, know that you are more than likely wrong. Thanks for reading, – The Old Farmer, in a Strange World

JWR Adds:  Readers shoulld keep in mind that dairy cows of any breed are noisy when separated from their calves.  If you don’t need to maximize milk production, then you can leave the calves in with their moms during the day, and just separate them at night.  This will mean that you’ll get just one productive milking each morning.  But as long as you get out to the barn promptly in each morning, in my experience this creates a fairly quiet routine.

Letter: Solar Fence Chargers as Alternate Power Supplies

To HJL and JWR:
I’m a dry land crop farmer, cattle rancher, and hog producer in Montana. Through my work I find things that make me think I could use WTSHTF. (Yes, I’ve read your books). One thing I wanted to offer up, if you haven’t tried it, is a solar powered electric fence charger. These charges cost from $170 to $500. But to charge a few small items the PV panels on the smaller $170 to $300 models are plenty large enough. The chargers work by solar powering a gel cell battery. The [battery] terminals can be changed with a couple tweaks to charge or power about anything. It’s a very inexpensive and simple way to have some power when needed and on a plus side a new gel cell battery has a shelf life of around 10 years, making it a very easy item to store for the future at your retreat. Thank you, – Troy

JWR Replies:  Keep in mind that most solar electric fence chargers provide pulsed power, using both an intermittent relay and a transformer. So for almost all of these charger designs, to get any useful power for various small electronics you will have to tap into the gel cell battery terminals directly–not attach your power cable to the unit’s fence-charging external terminals!

Economics and Investing:

Watching this conversation is well worth an hour of your time:  Mike Maloney & Harry Dent – The Great Deflation (YouTube video.)  JWR’s Comments: Dent and Maloney concur with my prediction that we will see a deflation followed by mass inflation. Their discussion of personal strategies to prepare to live through a deflationary reset begin at the 21 minute mark.   Heed their advice:  Avoid debt! In the unfolding deflationary depression, cash will be king and any debt will be painful. Then, as the inevitable mass inflation follows, cash will become trash, and silver and gold will be the new royalty. (We will still be in the depths of a depression, but it will have transitioned into a painful inflationary depression, following massive bailouts of the banks.) Depending on how American lawmakers react (or over-react) it may be 20+ years to a full economic recovery.

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Reader R.B.S. spotted this over at Zero Hedge: “We’re In Trouble”: Alan Greenspan Delivers Stark Warning Comment from RBS: “[Greenspan] has no axe to grind and no products to sell.  He pretty well says it the way it is… And based on his lifetime experiences he should have a pretty good Bravo Sierra filter to prove it.”

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

Economist for the Nanny State (Mises)

Facing Record Oversupply, US Oil Looks for a Home in Europe(Reuters)

International News

Economist: For the ECB, It’s No Longer About Oil (Bloomberg)  …and an additional article from The Telegraph tracking developments in the EU on the question of expanding the union to include unified fiscal governance in addition to monetary policy:  EU Superstate Would Have No Democratic Legitimacy, Warns EU Architect

UK Hit by “Triple Whammy” as Brexit Looms Over Economy (The Telegraph)

Emerging Market Debt: The Well Runs Dry (The Economist)

AEP:
Brazil’s Ruling Party Aims to Tap Foreign Reserves as Policy Fight Escalates (The Telegraph)

Brazil Recession: I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This (CNN Money

Personal Economics and Household Finance

10 Skills to Survive a World Without Oil (Just Plain Living) Whether the wells run dry, the companies simply stop producing or the price becomes unaffordable, it’s instructive to imagine a world without oil and the skills necessary to live in an environment so different from the one in which we live now that it might seem truly alien. This article includes several good ideas for the diversified low-tech skill building that will be necessary in a world without oil or with more restricted access to oil. The same ideas apply well to other scenarios a well.

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SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader MtH highly recommended a free 58-minute documentary film produced by JPFO on the history of gun control and genocide in the 20th Century: Innocents Betrayed. (Don’t miss the bonus interviews, following the credits.)

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The oft-stated goal is to slow the inflow of illegal immigrants into Europe. But, now this?  Migrants in Greece to be handed cash in envelopes to ‘maintain their dignity’ under £550million EU disaster fund.

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GunsAmerica, one of the two largest Internet gun classifieds web site in the U.S. (the other is of course GunBroker.com), recently introduced a new program to promote person-to-person private gun sales. It is called Free Local. Under this program, all sales within a 50 mile radius (ZIP code to ZIP code), will have no posting fees and no after-sale fees. Local FFL dealer offerings also show up there, but I have always been a big proponent of buying guns without filling out a federal Form 4473 (“private party”), whenever and wherever it is legal.  This new service might help you add some guns to your battery, sans papiere. – JWR

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SurvivalBlog reader “Longreach” suggested a long but interesting read The Guardian, especially in light of the storyline of my novel, Land of Promise, about an independent claim of sovereignty: Welcome to the land that no country wants

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” – Philippians 4:4-8 (KJV)

Notes for Saturday – March 05, 2016

March 5th is the birthday of Momofuku Ando (born, 1910, died 2007) the Taiwanese-Japanese inventor of instant noodles and Cup-O-Noodles. He born in Wu Baifu, Taiwan.  His inventions have saved counted thousands of American college students from starvation.

This is also the birthday of Howard Pyle (1853-1911) an influential American book illustrator, painter, and author. He was the mentor of many great American artists including Thornton Oakley, Frank E. Schoonover, Allen Tupper True, and of course N.C. Wyeth.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knifemaker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading
    for Beginners     DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 63 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Community Risk Mitigation, by T.P.

I hate it when I see statements on prepping site that make assumptions of our fellow citizens that are overly broad and frequently demeaning. You know the things I’m talking about. “They assume the government will save them.” “Sheeple.” “They refuse to prepare because of their narrow mindedness.” There is certainly a small subset of people who fit that mold. Most however are of the “ignorance is bliss” variety. They simply haven’t woken up to the risk.

Prepping is simply a form of risk mitigation. It’s insurance. When my family woke up to the risk, we didn’t suddenly realize the world was going to end. We realized that the consequences of not preparing were beyond what we were willing to bear. I remember distinctly thinking about a grad-school course on finance where we discussed futures. A future buys a commodity now for set price to be delivered later. In other words the price may go up and it may go down, but you know exactly what you have is at the price you can afford. Isn’t that exactly what prepping is – risk mitigation. We’re buying supplies and learning skills now not because we’re sure we’ll need them but because living without them isn’t something we want to do should disaster strike.

Most people in the US do have blinders on, but these blinders are not usually of the willful variety. They simply do not understand the risk. Look at recent events. When the terrorist attacks in San Bernadino occurred, firearm sales nationwide spiked. This happened because many people woke up to the risk of not owning firearms and decided they couldn’t handle the potential consequences of not
owning firearms.

Similarly, the prepping industry is a growth industry over the last 15 years. Why is that? September 11th, Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. Having seen the consequences of others living without preparing, many people decided that they didn’t want to be in that circumstance. Think about the number of blogs, food storage companies, and other businesses which support prepping that have started in the last five years.  One source estimated that in 2013 there were an estimate 3.7 million preppers in the US. Add in those who may not identify as preppers but who certainly live some of the principles–for example, the 7 million Mormons in the US–and we’re starting to talk about some serious numbers. We’re part of a growth population and part of a growth industry but we tend to view ourselves as backroom stepchildren. We’re not that at all and need to step out of our caves and help others to understand what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.

We as preppers need to be open minded about the blindness of our neighbors. It’s not because they’re stupid, it’s really because they are unaware of the risk. It’s obvious that we would all be better off if everyone put aside supplies for three weeks of food and water and a 72-kit / bug out bag. We should be the gentle nudge our neighbors need to take these small steps. I’m not saying we should throw open our doors and invite everyone in to inspect our homes. I’m just saying that we should take opportunities to spread the word that small preparations can make a big difference.

How can we spread the word? Here are some things I’ve done or seen done:

  • Be up front about some things when asked. When my neighbor noticed that I was making trips to the range with what was obviously a rifle bag he asked why I bought a gun. The answer: “I realized that I wasn’t prepared to be the protector in my home should I need to be.” No lecture on the second amendment, no discussion on the merits of 9mm versus .45 ACP – just pointing out that I wanted to do the right thing.
  • Next time you see a neighbor doing a project. Offer to help. By lending that tool or offering your generator for use in the backyard, you invite conversation about why you have those things. The answer: “They’re really handy… plus if I ever need power in an outage, I’m covered. We do live in tornado country after all.”
  • Reach out to your community through the organizations you serve. I am a Boy Scout leader. We are holding a Preparedness Fair for the community which will focus on 72-hour Kits. We’ll probably only get the boys neighbors and the people in the church who sponsors our troop to come. That will be 100 more people, boys included, who know why they should have these kits than before. That’s a win.
  • Along the lines of the above – volunteer in your community. There are many opportunities to help people and help them prepare at the same time. Be a Boy Scout leader or a youth leader in your church. Work in the community storehouse. You shouldn’t be surprised that the topic of preparation for economic events will come up while helping those who are suffering from economic events.
  • If there is ever a small crisis in your community. Selectively help close neighbors with food, water or supplies. Point out that you only want to help and the only thing you ask in return is that they be prepared for the next similar crisis. This is ideal because it simultaneously shows the value in being prepared while calling your friend to action.

Notice that the only case above which addressed a large audience was done through an organization. All others are personal encounters with those you know and who you think you can trust. You can be selective and sufficiently secretive to keep your operational security while at the same time helping people understand that risk mitigation is great thing.

The other benefit here is creating community. A prepper community is a group of like-minded people who plan to work together in preparing for and dealing with a crisis. Let’s be honest. How many of you have this sort of arrangement? I don’t. I know 3 or 4

Creating circles of community is a great idea for all preppers. If you think about it, we’re creating this just by living in a community. Recognizing that we are creating circles of prepping communities and helping the process along is a good thing. Think about some of these circles:

  • Your prepper group, if you have one, is the closest set of like-minded people you’re likely to meet and is at the center of your circles.
  • Your close friends and neighbors know some of what you prepare for. Share a little more with them and encourage them to be minimally prepared.
  • Your work friends probably notice that you always have water and granola bars on hand and can be counted on to know first aid. Several of my work associates have asked questions. A couple of them now come regularly with me to the range.
  • Members of your Church or volunteer organization already share the same values as you. They are an easy group to share basic principles of prepping with. This group is the most likely to understand why you prep and to think about why they should prepare as well.
  • Your fellow volunteers. That could be the coach of your kids soccer team, the dad on the scout camp out, the guy working to stock shelves at the local homeless shelter, the guy you meet at the range, or the security officer or EMT at your kids school.

These are concentric circles of associates. Some may belong to more than one group. Perhaps none of them will go into full-blown prepper mode. Let’s face it, that’s probably a good thing. We all have to live our lives now as well as prepare for and uncertain future.

If more of the people in your circles understand preparedness, they will wake up to the risk and prepare more for themselves. As they prepare, your security increases and you’ll be better prepared locally for any potential crisis.

It’s no accident that people who have lived through significant crises point out that the most important preparation is having a community. All the supplies and all the skills in the world are useless if you don’t have someone to watch your back. Even worse, the more people around you who are unprepared, the worse your situation will be.

You really can’t do it all by yourself. It’s unlikely you have six neighbors with two years of food storage, a bug out vehicle and a small armory. However, if you have six more neighbors with a bug out bag and three weeks of food and water, you’ll all be better off. The more people who understand the risk and make some preparations, the better off we all will be. You can improve the circumstance of those around you… all while improving your own.

Letter: Advice on Learning Morse Code

Dear Editor,
I have noted that the main characters in your novel Survivors use continuous wave (CW) Morse Code on occasion to stay in contact, around the globe. As a relatively new ham radio operator I am fascinated by CW Morse and have been trying to learn it for a couple years without a lot of success. Any words of wisdom or proven “best method” to learn CW especially for the over-50 age group? – J.S.

HJL Replies: There are a variety of inexpensive Morse code instruction tutor apps that will run on your smartphone or personal computer. While there are many methods of learning, I think one of the best is the “Koch” method. I’d highly recommend that you get a tutor program based on that method. Also, the skill of a straight key and a keyer do not really overlap. I really struggled to transition to a paddle keyer. It is probably easier to learn on a keyer and then shift to a straight key if you need to. For me, the straight key is intuitive, but the keyer is not.

Letter Re: Fitness for Success When the SHTF

HJL & JWR,
I am writing to give a brief comment on whether crunches or sit-ups, are important or relevant to the back.  The spine is a series of over 50 joints.  Those joints are “capsular-synovial” joints.  (just like your knee, hip, and shoulder, just smaller)  To say that a  crunch, or sit-up is good or bad is way too generic… to the point that it is irrelevant.  It is popular, often repeated, but not correct as it relates to its benefit, or detriment to the spine.  Most joint pain is intra-capsular (within the joint).  It is often a result of poor joint health, and bad “wearing” of the cartilage surface.  Generic crunches, or sit-ups won’t help, or harm the joint. 

All joints have 3-options.  Normal movement (or joint-play), hypomobility (something is hindering normal motion), or hypermobility (slip/sheer….think blister).  If a joint has degeneration (usually due to joint hypermobility) the cartilage surface is worn down.  Forcing the surface to “rub” more, by doing a crunch, or sit-up, may make it worse, but more than likely won’t do much at all.  A hypermobile joint can benefit from strengthening of muscles, but the abdominal muscles are at best, half of the solution.  There are small muscles that follow your spine joints, and look sort of like the branches of a Christmas Tree going up your back called the Multifidi.  These little muscles “literally” cross the small spine (facet or zygapophyseal) joints.  If strengthening is needed, these little muscles are what’s really important. 

Acute spine injury can be muscle related, but if it is very sharp, and one-sided (left side or right side of the spine), it is frequently a meniscoid pinch, or “entrapment”.  Both crunches and sit-ups will drive this acute injury crazy, and make you hurt for a long time. 

If the pain is starting in your back, and going down your arm or leg,   anything into significant flexion (crunch movement), or extension (back arching), will likely make the radiculopathy much worse. 

So, there’s nothing wrong with a crunch, or sit-up, if performed in a pain-free range-of-motion.  If you have an injury, and cause a “new” sharp pain with your exercise, and keep performing the exercise, then you will be worse..  If you want to stay core-strong, great.  That is good for prevention.  If you already have back pain (or shoulder, knee, ankle, finger), that is now “pathology”, or traumatized, damaged tissue.  Fitness exercise doesn’t ever fix pathological tissue. – D.W. (Physical Therapist & Athletic Trainer for 25 years)     

Economics and Investing:

Avalanche Lily (Mrs. Rawles) recommended a  great piece by economist/commentator Ann Barnhardt:  The Mark of The Beast Explained: MV = PQ, With Totalitarian Control
of V(elocity)

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G.G. flagged this:  Food Stamp Users Near Record High Despite Low Unemployment Rate

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Fresh recession will cause eurozone collapse, warns Swiss bank

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By way of Paul Caron’s TaxProf blog, we read:
The IRS is using a system that was hacked to protect victims of a hack—and it was just hacked

Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

A Conversation with My Neighbor “Sam”(Mises) 
Bank of America Revs Up Auto Loans Business Despite Warning Signs (Reuters)

Obamacare Enters Final Stages of Collapse (Government Waste Fraud and Abuse) …and an additional article tracking Obamacare concerns as these unfold from Townhall — Catastrophe: Last Remaining Obamacare Exchanges Teetering on Total Collapse

International News

Brazil On Course for Worst Recession in Century (Yahoo News)

Gold No Longer Glitters in Canada’s Official Treasure Chest (Bloomberg)

Fresh Recession Will Cause Eurozone Collapse, Warns Swiss Bank (The Telegraph)

Schaeuble Hints Germany May Be Ready to Give Greece Some Leeway (Greek Crisis) The EU may have finally recognized that Greece is truly on the precipice and the refugee crisis may provide the push. Here’s an additional related report from the Washington Post: The Astonishing New Numbers Behind Europe’s Refugee Crisis 

Personal Economics and Household Finance

Are You Buying Too Much Car for Your Budget? (Clark Howard) Excerpt: “Simply put, people are buying too muccar for their budget. If your payments per month are too high to knock out the loan in 42 months, you’re buying more car than you can afford. Forget about those 60 month and 72 month loans that people love to do.”

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SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Virginia Governor Signs Concealed Carry Reciprocity Bill, Concealed Carriers Rejoice

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Commander Zero, the Editor of the Notes From The Bunker blog, mentioned this fascinating little collection of photos, with brief descriptions: In Heinlein’s Bomb Shelter.

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Finally, some progress on Servergate: Justice Dept. grants immunity to staffer who set up Clinton email server.  I hope that a jury puts Hitlery in prison, where she belongs. 

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Golly! I just saw that $32 will now buy you a tiny 128 GB memory stick that is USB 3.0 compatible. That is some serious Secret Agent stuff.  128 GB is the equivalent of the contents of 4,480,000 HTML web pages. Or think of it as 9 full uncompressed copies of everything in Wikipedia. By the way, I vaguely remember paying around $75 back in 2004 or 2005 for my first 64 MB flash drive that was physically five times that size. So I’d call this progress. (Oh, and if you don’t need to tote around an entire encyclopedia, and if you don’t need 3.0 compatibility, then you can now get a very compact 16 GB USB 2.0 stick from Kingston for just under $6.)  One proviso: Keep in mind that with higher component density comes more heat generation and dissipation problems. The 64 MB sticks tend to run hot, and the 128 GB sticks even hotter. For daily use, I therefore recommend using flash drives no larger than 32 GB. Your mileage may vary. – JWR

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the Lord. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the Lord.” – 1 Kings 7:51 (KJV)

Notes for Friday – March 04, 2016

March 4, 1678 was the birthday of Venetian Baroque violin virtuoso and composer Antonio Vivaldi, best known for Le Quattro Stagioini (The Four Seasons). (He died in 1741.)

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The good folks at Always Empowered have announced that they are now offering a special 10% discount for SurvivalBlog readers. Just enter the discount code “prepared” at checkout.  They also now offer a clever new transportable 500-watt wind power generator called the “Tactical Turbine.”  Anyone living in a windy but cloudy region (or planning an expedition or a bugout to such a locale) should check out those turbines..

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I see that Safecastle is having a big sale on Mountain House long term storage foods, with discounts up to 39% for members of their buyer’s club, with additional gift certificates and reward point bonuses.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knifemaker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading
    for Beginners     DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 63 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Bees and Lavender: The Perfect Symbiotic Relationship Yielding Health and Healing, by K.T.

Many survivalists have found their bit of land, and it is deeply inspiring to read online the various journeys of men and women turning those plots into small Edens, into havens of self-sufficiency, or even into comely places to make a final stand. But for those of us who will not be planning to bug-out, or who aren’t lucky enough to have an extended guerrilla skillset, it is wise, I think, to find activities or projects that are multi-faceted in their rewards.

I would like to suggest that anyone who can, consider the pairing up of two simple elements whose whole is far greater than the sum of their parts. I will share with you a richly rewarding pursuit that yields benefits for the kitchen table, the medicine cabinet, physical health, mental health, community benefits, and perhaps, in a Home Alone sort of way, even self-defense…

Honeybees and Lavender. It sounds so simple—and in many ways, it is. Keeping honeybees, of course, has its challenges, but no one can deny the numerous benefits that can come from having hives in your own backyard. Just to quickly name a few benefits of the products given straight from the bees:

  • The wonderful, silky bee’s wax is safe and kitchen grade! (Have you thought of all the ways you will need wax or other lubricants or emollients?) But there are many other uses for beeswax. One interesting use is as a perfect sealer for cheese. And you probably know that beeswax candles are different from other candles…they drip far less.
  • Propolis, the resinous stuff collected from sap flows, tree buds and other plants. Bees mix it with a little wax and use it to seal tiny spaces (a quarter inch or less). A review of the science shows that propolis (and its 300 active compounds) aids health of the the brain, pancreas, kidney and bladder, skin, prostate, breast, colon, liver, blood, and more. Propolis is also antiseptic and repels invaders like mice and snakes. Propolis: Greek, meaning “defense of the city.” It should also be mentioned that propolis has antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties. It speeds up healing of wounds and burns and has been found to prevent or assist in healing respiratory tract, dental and gum troubles, and middle ear disorders. Many of us are not surprised that studies show this natural product is more effective than the high priced drugs used for identical purposes. Propolis eliminates some parasites and can even be used for wart removal.
  • Bee pollen is a miracle. It is richer in protein than any food. I won’t belabor the point, but consider that this little gift is an energy enhancer, has antibiotic properties, is high in B vitamins, calms psoriasis or skin problems, is high in anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, clears asthma and sinus problems, packed with digestive enzymes, corrects blood problems such as high cholesterol, and has even been found to treat difficulties with the prostrate, urination, and fertility.
  • Honey. Don’t get me started! Okay, I’m sure I don’t need to educate you on all the benefits of honey and bees, but I did want to get you a little excited.

So—next I will give you the low-down on starting your own hives. But let me take a quick side jump and tell you a key reason why some hives fail.

The bees are at the mercy of the Nectar Flow. In a perfect world, there are timely waves of nectar flowing, and the bees are dependent on wave after wave. Depending on where you live, certain plants will be flowering in March, then a new range of plants begins flowering in April as the March flowers end nectar production. Throughout the summer beekeepers are quite aware of nectar flow. Most beekeepers—all that I know—supplement their hives with sugar water or some form of sugar food. One can buy “candy” to lay atop the hive, or fondant—a soft, sugar-rich substance—which will keep the bees producing when there is no nectar flow. And—there is often no nectar flow. Even when the fruit trees are flowering, if there is insufficient rain, those flowers and the nectar they hold become almost useless as a food source for bees.

In the past few years I became concerned with the amount of purchased sugar needed to provide sugar water. Putting the cost aside (between 5-12 pounds of sugar per week to feed 4 hives during low nectar flow), I was concerned about sustainability: what will happen if I can no longer buy sugar?

Here is where the Lavender comes in.

Blue or violet is the top color choice for a bee. Lavender, borage, and marjoram, along with certain clover, are the flowers most attractive to bees. Okay, so bees like lavender—but lavender is spectacularly special in its own right.

  • We now have reliable physical research showing the remarkable health and healing properties of essential oils. And lavender is the mother of all essential oils.
  • Lavender oil has a range of healing benefits that once understood and practiced, will make a true believer out of anyone. It is the most important item for healing burns (along with vitamine, aloe, calendula, and ice). A drop on the temples can calm, steady, clarify, and focus thinking when awake, and a drop under the nose promote restful sleep. There are entire books devoted to the important medicinal qualities of lavender.
  • If you have not already added several bottles of lavender essential oil to your preps, do a little online research, print out some guidelines, and do so! Of course, everyone reading this already has a little case full of essential oils, right? At least some tea tree, and peppermint. Well, that’s another article.
  • Lavender plants will not need any type of insecticide (very bad for bees!) as it is a self-protecting plant. Rabbits and deer stay away. It is a hardy, potent plant that shares its aroma with your entire farm. Each year, the perennial plants grow bigger and stronger with a bit of pruning.
  • Lavender is a tough plant that produces lots of flowers, over-winters well, and is drought resistant. Most importantly for the bees—Lavender can flower from spring through the end of fall. The long flowering spikes are full of nectar producing buds that laugh at drought. That is, your lavender field will be nectar-producing all season long.

Lavender and Bees

My purpose of this little essay is to propose that if you are able, that you keep yourself a hive or two of honeybees. And, to ensure that they have a long, sure, steady flow of nectar—that grows larger and stronger each year, God willing—plant yourself a half acre or more of lavender. The more, the better. The honeybees flock to the lavender, which benefits from all the attention. So, not only will you have a sustainable food source, you will have two arrays of powerful medicinal substances in your own back yard.

The Lavender Field

Here are my suggestions for optimizing your success in starting a lavender field:

  1. Check your geographical location against the USDA Plant Hardiness Map. My experience is in growing (both bees and lavender) right smack dab in the middle of the country. If you are north, (hardiness zones 1-4), you may select different lavender cultivars. Obviously those who live in the more southern zones can have a bit more leeway in choosing lavender types, as the winters are not as harsh. Spanish Lavender, with its enormous flowers, is very popular in Texas. Any decent greenhouse and many online sites are dedicated to providing good information about lavender choices exactly right for your specific area. DO NOT WASTE TIME AND MONEY buying types that are incorrect for your climate zone location. Start with the proven varieties and add new “testers” each season
  2. Also, I suggest that while you DO want to buy several cultivars for variety, stick with True Lavenders (not hybrids). True lavenders (Lavandula angustifolia) are able to withstand winters better. English lavenders are a good place to start. Angustifolia varieties, which bloom either continuously or multiple times, offer a greater opportunity for bees to have a regular ‘diet’ of lavender pollen and nectar. Importantly for beekeepers, lavandin hybrids (L. x intermedia) are poorer nectar producers. So, you do NOT want to get fooled by the pretty flowers.
  3. To grow lavender, one needs soil which is ideally just slightly alkaline, has good drainage, and not too rich. The field must get at least 8 hours of sun. Long, super-hot days = Good! You will not need to fertilize. Think rocky Mediterranean poor soil…
  4. Don’t bother with lavender seeds. Plants are usually propagated from cuttings. So if you plant 20 plants, you can take 2-5 cuttings from each plant and double, triple your field quickly. I first started by buying several flats at a local greenhouse. Three-inch plants in the spring became 2-3 foot flowering mounds by the end of summer. (Actually, first I did try to propagate with seeds. I babied those little suckers like they were gold seeds–all 600 of them. They sprouted well but could not survive a transplant.)
  5. The plants like to be watered when dry but will die or mold if left sitting in water. That’s why you see the mounded rows—so the water will drain off quickly. I found that those mounded rows made for easy weeding, tilling, watering (watering is rare—when needed, mainly when young). I also mulched with wood chips in the winter, which kept the snow from getting the soil soggy.

The Honeybees

  1. Join a local Honeybee Keeper’s Association. This was the best move I could have made. Experts were there to help, and saved all us newbies from many mistakes. I discovered there are associations all over the country, and they appear to be real fine people. I have made real friends through our association, people who tend to have similar outlooks on life…
  2. A real benefit from joining an association is the availability of used equipment. New equipment is great but used equipment is much cheaper and sometimes free! At times beekeepers will need to get rid of their entire hives; for example, if they are moving or discover their spouse has an extreme bee allergy… Extracting honey can be done more efficiently using the shared resources within a club, and information about nectar flow, wintering issues, local insecticides, and other important data is shared.
  3. You can learn how to start hives through good books and from several archived SurvivalBlog articles. And you can go to online sites such as Kelly’s or Brushy Mountain, and they will send you the equipment you need right away. But I had the help of my association, so I am unable to say how easy this path would be.
  4. After a year or two, belonging to an association is less critical. I do suggest that if possible, at least 2 in your household learn about the bees, as it is great fun and much easier as well to examine the hive and do the maintenance needed with four hands. Still, there is no reason that even a solitary honey-lover can’t raise honeybees all by her or his lonesome. It is actually kind of a romantic image…
  5. Warning: Bees are amazing. Their intricacy, stunning activities, impossible feats, and general sweetness will make you believe in the Ineffable Divine. You will also pray for them, because you will fall in love with them. I could go on and on with stories and advice about bees, but you get the picture.
  6. For your library: The Hive and the Honey Bee, circa 1850, expanded regularly,
    and published by Dadant and Sons of Hamilton, Illinois. 1,300
    pages.

Lavender fields and honeybee hives will give you gifts in one season. You can start in early spring, and by fall are reaping blessings, to say nothing of the actual joy involved in the work. Both of these endeavors can, with good fortune, increase naturally year after year.

So, there it is. My little way of keeping bees happy without buying sugar: plant a lavender field. You could also plant a clover field, which will also come back strong each year (God willing). But the benefits of having the most important medicinal herb right at your doorstep—along with the $25 to $50 a quart for Lavender Honey—and the scent of Pure Well-being surrounding your little Eden. Well, need I say more?

JWR Adds: Keep in mind that lavender flowers are mildly toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. If you own horses, make sure that your horse pastures are isolated from your lavender fields!

Letter Re: Low-Carb Paleo and Primal for Preppers

Dear Editor,
Regarding the article “Low-Carb Paleo and Primal for Preppers, By T.Z.”, there are a few points of this article that should be clarified. The low-carb diet can be used to great effect, however you need to be aware that you can overdue it and cause yourself harm. Symptoms of harmful ketosis are thirstiness, feeling tired, peeing a lot, feeling sick to your stomach, belly pain, throwing up, dry or flushed skin, trouble breathing, confusion, and fruity smelling breath.  The main benefit of the ketosis diet is the lack of hunger your body feels when on the diet, making it easier to eat less. When done correctly there is no danger to your health.

The Inuit Indians of the previous century are often used as the model for the modern Paleo diet. The research shows that the Inuit consumed only meat for most of the year. The research also shows that they averaged 15-20 percent carbohydrates in the form of muscle and fat glycogen (a form of glucose), from the raw meat they consumed. The glycogen levels of seal blubber can be as high as 30% when eaten raw, immediately after the kill. Once rigor mortis sets in or the fat is cooked, the glycogen disappears and you only have fat. Protein toxicity is also a problem, if not enough fat is consumed in proportion to the protein. Protein toxicity was a problem many native people had in late winter, because the animals they relied on for food were depleted of their fat stores after a hard winter.

In the article T.Z. stated that “The only macro nutrient you need is protein”. Fat is also an essential macro nutrient that you can’t live without. There are nine essential amino acids and two fatty acids that your body cannot make on its own and need to be part of the food you eat. It is easy enough to do a web search to see which foods can supply the essential amino and fatty acids necessary to live. If you only consume protein and do not consume the proper amount of fat you will suffer from protein poisoning.

When I read the article it seems to suggest that a five-pound jar of Whey protein and some vitamins in a bugout bag, will last the average person three months.  Five pound of Whey contains roughly 9000 calories. If you are on the march you will need at least 3000 calories a day, which translates to a three day supply of energy for every five pounds of Whey protein. If someone were overweight, then consuming the Whey protein would maintain their muscle mass while they were using their stored body fat for energy. Depending on the degree of obesity and activity, five pounds of Whey could last much longer. For the five pounds of Whey to last 90 days you could only consume 25g a day, which is half the recommended daily requirement for protein. Vitamins take up very little room in a bug out bag and would be an excellent choice to include.

There is little doubt that we eat too many carbs. In my opinion the best Paleo diet that avoids both ketosis and protein poisoning, would be to consume 30% of your calories from protein, 50% from fat and 20% from carbs. Once your body uses up the carbs it will convert the protein into energy through the liver, by a process called gluconeogenesis. This is the same process that an athlete’s body employs when available carbs are depleted. Gluconeogenesis is the not the same as ketosis and ketosis is not necessary to convert protein to energy. The Inuit diet was not ketogenic and multiple researches were unable to detect any evidence of ketosis resulting from the traditional Inuit diet. My suggestion would be to use the ketosis low carb diet (less than 30g of carbs a day) until you reach your target weight and then increase your carbs until you are no longer producing ketones in your urine. You can buy urine test strips that detect the presence of ketones. Figuring out the proper diet now may change what you decide to grow and store in the future. Best Regards, – M.J.