Fixing a Canning-tastrophy, by St. Funogas

It was Bette Davis who famously said, “Old age isn’t for sissies!” When you’re 15, hearing this for the first time only makes you scratch your head. At 35, it’s pretty comical. But about the time you’re getting that first social security check it’s not so funny anymore.

During my recent first canning experience of this season, I made a mistake that fell firmly into the not-funny category. Fortunately, there was a way to fix the error. It wasn’t fun, but was still a fix.

Getting in the Canning Groove

I have a little hideaway cubby space under the kitchen counter where I keep all my canners and canning supplies during the nine months when they’re not being used. While getting those this year, as usual, I hadn’t thought about canning since last October when I put everything away for the season. Serious canners understand the importance of getting into the groove as quickly as possible when there are 100+ jars of produce to put up before the growing season is over. By the time late October rolls around and the last of the tomatoes are being prepared for tomato sauce, you can get the canning done with half your brain tied behind your back while reading SurvivalBlog and drinking coffee.

Unfortunately, for me, the first canning venture of the season always feel like I haven’t done any canning since the days when telephones still hung on the wall. This year was no exception and I had to start remembering all the key details of home canning trying to get back into the groove.Continue reading“Fixing a Canning-tastrophy, by St. Funogas”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, we look at the declining population of wild turkeys in the United States.

Why Are Wild Turkey Populations Declining?

I found this posted over at the Outdoor Life website: Why Are Wild Turkey Populations Declining? Here is a quote:

“Decades of research shows that predation is the primary cause of nesting failure in wild turkey populations—a fact Chamberlain cites in a recent study on turkey nest predators in Louisiana. In the study, feral pigs, armadillos, coyotes, opossums, crows, raccoons, bobcats, and foxes all preyed on nests. The abundance of these predators was dependent on the types of habitat the nests were in. In other words, nests closer to water suffered more harassment from raccoons while coyotes were more common in burned areas.”

Teamsters Notified That Trucking Giant Yellow Ceases Operations

Reader S.Z sent this news, at  Zero Hedge: Teamsters Notified That Trucking Giant Yellow Ceases Operations.

Eric Peters: They Just Outlawed Trucks

H.L. sent this piece by Eric Peters, posted at Lew Rockwell’s site: They Just Outlawed Trucks. JWR’s Comments: The pending Loper Bright Enterprises., Inc. v. Raimondo, 45 F.4th 359 (D.C. Cir. 2022) case before the Supreme Court should hopefully end Chevron Deference. That would stop federal agencies like the EPA, OSHA, NHTSA, and ATF from arbitrarily usurping congressional authority to create laws.
Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The glaring fallacy that always lies at the heart of pro-censorship sentiments is the gullible, delusional belief that censorship powers will be deployed only to suppress views one dislikes, but never one’s own views… Facebook is not some benevolent, kind, compassionate parent or a subversive, radical actor who is going to police our discourse in order to protect the weak and marginalized or serve as a noble check on mischief by the powerful. They are almost always going to do exactly the opposite: protect the powerful from those who seek to undermine elite institutions and reject their orthodoxies. Tech giants, like all corporations, are required by law to have one overriding objective: maximizing shareholder value. They are always going to use their power to appease those they perceive wield the greatest political and economic power.” – Glenn Greenwald, in The Intercept

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 9, 2023

August 9th, 1831 was the birthday of James Paris Lee (August 9, 1831 – February 24, 1904). He was a Scottish-Canadian and later American inventor and arms designer, best known for inventing the bolt action that led to the Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield series of rifles.

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Federal Premium (one of our affiliate advertisers), is running some great discounts on their ammunition — rifle, pistol, and shotgun. Federal offers free shipping on orders over $149.  These specials are running just for the month of August, so order soon! Also, note that Federal Premium has made available a free Ballistic app. With this app, you can calculate trajectory, windage, velocity, energy, lead, and bullet flight time for any valid range. This app is powered by the excellent JBM Ballistics computer.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 108 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. 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).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $840,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 108 ends on September 30th, 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.

 

Basic Home Safety Plans for the Duration – Part 2, by Michael X.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

Sadly, I have found that it is very easy to not use the proper protective equipment. If I happen upon a piece of work that needs doing, I have a tendency to just start it. If a person doesn’t think about the proper tools and processes used for a task, they may not use them. If they don’t think about the risks with the work, or they decide the proper tools and PPE is inconvenient to get, they may just start the job. I have learned some hard lessons in this area, mostly cuts, slivers, and sprains.

Basic Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that every active location needs to have on hand includes safety shoes (always wear good protective foot gear), safety glasses (best to wear for virtually all tasks), goggles (for messy tasks with flying debris), head gear/helmets (to protect from falling objects, chainsaw chaps (to prevent leg cuts), lifting belts (for heavy loads), a safety harness for working in elevated areas, and gloves (for any task with potential for slivers, cuts, etc.). Add the list of PPE required for the task to your process documentation for each task.Continue reading“Basic Home Safety Plans for the Duration – Part 2, by Michael X.”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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Reader C.B. sent this: 8-year-old survives ‘extraordinarily rare’ cougar attack inside Washington’s Olympic National Park.

o  o  o

From Mike D.: New Evidence Suggests Vaccinated Can Transmit Covid-19 Vax Antibodies Through The Air.

o  o  o

Avalanche Lily alerted me to this article at The Hill: High school boys are trending conservative.

o  o  o

Wikipedia Founder Larry Sanger to Glenn Greenwald: “CIA and FBI Use Wikipedia for Information Warfare”.

o  o  o

At Reason: Say Goodbye to Permissionless Travel. Starting in 2024, Americans will need to pay for a visa to visit Europe. This might take up to two weeks.
Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Socialism has no moral justification whatsoever; poor people are not morally superior to rich people, nor are they owed anything by rich people simply because of their lack of success. Charity is not a socialist concept – it is a religious one, an acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty over property, a sovereignty the Left utterly rejects.” – Ben Shapiro

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 8, 2023

On August 4, 2000, the sunken wreckage of the Hunley, a Confederate submarine that was lost during the American Civil War, was raised from the ocean floor near Sullivans Island, South Carolina. It had been the first submarine to sink (1864) an enemy ship, the Union sloop Housatonic.

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SurvivalRealty.com is running a special late summer promotion for any new property advertising customers. You can use coupon code “summer23” for 20% off your first two months of advertising. The promotion is available to both real estate agents and “for sale by owner” sellers.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 108 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. 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).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $840,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 108 ends on September 30th, 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.

Basic Home Safety Plans for the Duration – Part 1, by Michael X.

With the current state of decline afflicting many of the institutions of our country, many people may feel our country is at a tipping point and our lives will revert back to near-pioneer status. Those who feel they are prepared to continue living on separated from the sagging society and decaying government may soon be isolating themselves at their preferred location, whether it is the bug out location, homestead, suburban ranch, or even a bug-in location in a populated area. Once you are at your preferred location it could be for the long haul and things will get harder and harder as time goes on. Good health and being able to maintain a healthy, strenuous lifestyle will be extremely important. Over the long term a person must depend on themselves and be in top form physically.

Preppers often focus on how to do first aid and treat injuries. But in the event of an injury, even with good care the recovery time may be very problematic. This article will focus on personal safety and safe behavior for day to day living to prevent injuries and safety incidents.

Very recently my wife and I were sitting on the couch, doing nothing. The reason? I had strained ligaments in my foot while doing some chores, and she had put a deep cut on her left pointer finger, while cutting some cloth. So, we wasted the better part of a day making no progress on any of our usual tasks. I hope we are both more careful going forward.

If you get even a small injury and are unable to perform your normal tasks, you will be in trouble. Doctors may be hard to find, and travel to and from a remote location to a doctor’s care will be difficult or impossible. Many preppers have good first aid skills, but it is best to avoid the unsafe and risky situation altogether. And the way to avoid that type of situation is – PREVENTION! Ensure you have a safe environment to do all your work tasks around your place – AVOID THE INJURY!Continue reading“Basic Home Safety Plans for the Duration – Part 1, by Michael X.”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, some more attacks on the Redoubt  movement.  (See the Region-Wide section.)

Region-Wide

‘A spiritual war’: Are Christian nationalists threatening to turn the US into a religious state?

JWR’s Comments:  I was surprised to see the SkyNews run this blatantly biased piece. Quoting a strident axe-to-grind anti-fundamentalist liberal like Bradley Onishi was the journalist’s first mistake. (Onishi, an “ex-evangelical minister” is the co-producer of a podcast titled: “Straight White American Jesus.”)

Note the way this paragraph is phrased, to make me seem to be some sort of racist:

“First coined in an online essay posted to a survival blog by former US Army intelligence officer James Wesley Rawles in 2011, the so-called American Redoubt refers to a mountainous area where around 90% or more of the people are white.”

There is of course no mention that I’ve consistently denounced racism in all of my writings, from an early age. For the record: I chose the Redoubt region for its low population density, not its racial makeup. I get along just fine with all of my neighbors, regardless of their skin tone or their religion. Notably, I have had a little disagreement with our valley’s one outspoken liberal. And he is a fellow Pale Face. Liberals are the minority that chafe me. Thankfully, liberals like him are outnumbered by about 90-to-one locally, so his vote won’t be shifting the polls. He is an irrelevant nuisance. But I should also mention that my opinion of his kleptocratic politics doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t help to tow his car out of a ditch, if he slides off of an icy road. He is still a neighbor that lives just a few miles away, and I treat him with courtesy.

o  o  o

And here is yet another liberal hit piece: Oregon’s Greater Idaho movement echoes a long history of racism in the region.  JWR’s Comments:  Note how this article attempts to conflate The American Redoubt Movement with the long-defunct Aryan Nations bigots. Liberal journalists are incredibly consistent in evoking the memory of that racist group that left Idaho 23 years ago. This is what I refer to as the “guilt-by-non-association” smear tactic. I suppose that they’ll still be mentioning those Aryan Nations clowns another 20 years from now, to try to tar the image of North Idaho and Redoubters.

o  o  o

The cost of a state line: Eastern Oregon wants to join the state of Idaho. But can Oregon afford to shrink?

Idaho

Kohberger Attorney: He was taking a ‘long drive’ the night of the Idaho murders.

o  o  o

Idaho Republicans establish March presidential caucus, tighten ranks during summer meeting.

o  o  o

Process Begins to Extradite Lori Vallow Daybell to Arizona.

o  o  o

Level 1 evacuation issued for Ridge Creek fire near Hayden Lake.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

Hand Sanitizer-Fueled Stove, by Thomas Christianson

My wife, “Kari” and I have some good friends with whom we have a Bible study each week. These friends, “Cool Hand Luke” and “Betsy Ross”, have become concerned about the direction our society is taking, and the potential disasters and disruptions that might result. They have begun stockpiling food and other supplies in order to help them better weather these potential disasters and disruptions.

During a recent Bible study, Betsy mentioned that although they had begun stockpiling food, they did not yet have a good way to cook that food in a grid-down situation. That comment served as a catalyst for a project that I had been contemplating about for quite some time.

I have previously written in SurvivalBlog about liquid hand sanitizer as a fuel for alcohol stoves. If it contains at least 80% ethanol, liquid hand sanitizer seems to burn just as well in alcohol stoves as the denatured alcohol marine stove fuel for which they are designed. The hand sanitizer can also be used for a host of other purposes such as disinfecting wounds, cleaning oral thermometers, treating athlete’s foot, thinning aftershave, and even sanitizing hands.Continue reading“Hand Sanitizer-Fueled Stove, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week: Amy’s Simple Alabama Corn Pudding

The following recipe for a simple Alabama corn pudding is from SurvivalBlog reader Miss Amy. She says: “With our summer corn nearing harvest nearing, I wanted to share this recipe. This recipe is best with freshly-harvested corn but frozen corn will do.”

Ingredients
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons of flour
  • 1/3 stick of real butter, melted
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups of corn off the cob
  • Salt and pepper, to taste.
Directions
  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs.
  3. Mix in the sugar.
  4. Mix in the flour.
  5. In a small saucepan, melt the butter.
  6. To the egg mixture, add milk, corn, salt, pepper, and melted butter.
  7. Mix it all, briefly.
  8. Pour the combined mixture into a small (1-quart) casserole dish.
  9. Bake at 375 degrees F. until the pudding has set — about 45 minutes.
SERVING

Remove the pudding from the oven and serve it while it is still warm.

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Do you have a well-tested recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long-term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

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, we look at the prices of gold, silver, and platinum. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold and silver prices have been surprisingly strong. Typically in the summer months each year, the precious metal prices have slack sails, drifting around in the doldrums. But because we are seeing prices this strong in early August, I suspect that there will be bullish markets in the fall. Gold could possibly be going north of $2,075 per Troy ounce, by late October. If it does, then silver will rise, correspondingly.

Oh, and if there is “recession” in the headlines, then don’t expect much of a return from your platinum, since it is more of an industrial metal than monetary metal. – JWR

o  o  o

A rise in U.S. money supply will drive gold, silver prices to new highs – Wells Fargo’s John LaForge.

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At Gold-Eagle.com: Fears Of Recession Support Gold Price?

Economy & Finance:

Fitch Downgrades US Credit Rating to AA+.

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Biden Blames USA Downgrade On Trump.

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The reservoir of ‘helicopter money’ is drying up.

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Forbes: Deutsche Bank’s top minds put U.S. recession chance near 100%—and say avoiding a hard landing would be ‘historically unprecedented’.

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Over at Zero Hedge: Yields Surge After Treasury Boosts Auction Sizes More Than Expected, Sees Debt Issuance Tsunami On Deck.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”