On September 8, 1565, the first permanent settlement in what would become the United States of America was formed. (St. Augustine, Florida)
Also, in 1943, on this day, Italy surrendered to the Allies in World War II.
o o o
There is less than a month left in Round 54 of SurvivalBlogs Writing Contest. Get your article finished and send it in!
I started my writing career reviewing Christian books, and my pay was that I got to keep the books. It was fair enough, as I was a young Christian and it helped build my Christian library. I specialized in Youth ministry books at that time. So, I’ve done a fair amount of book reviews in my life.
The new book Liberators by SurvivalBlog’s own Jim Rawles recently crossed my desk. Jim was kind enough to send me an advance copy of this, his latest book, which will be out October 21st. Like the other books in this series– Patriots, Survivors, Founders, and Expatriates, I couldn’t put down Liberators. It only took me two days to read through it. Jim didn’t ask me to review the book for SurvivalBlog, either.
{Warning: This review includes storyline spoilers.) One thing the reader of any of these books will quickly realize is that Jim lays out who all the main characters are in his novels right at the start of the book. I sincerely appreciate this, because it helps me keep all of the players in the game straight in my mind. Another thing that Rawles does, that I at first didn’t fully appreciate, is he goes into great detail on much of the gear that all of the characters use. At first, I will admit that I found this a bit frustrating, because I’ve been a prepper all my life; I know about this stuff and even wrote about it for two years, when I was the Field Gear Editor for SurvivalBlog. However, it dawned on me that those folks who are new to prepping couldn’t fully appreciate some of the gear mentioned in all the novels if Rawles hadn’t spelled out what it was and what it was used for. Great job, Jim!
Like the other books in this series, Liberators deals with the coming global financial collapse, and for now, all of these books are novels. Rawles has gone to great pains to lay out where everything takes places in his books– right down to naming roads, people, places, and things. Nothing is left to doubt about where everything is happening.
Another thing I like is that Rawles goes to great pains to list the strengths, as well as the weaknesses, of the characters in his books, and he also includes their backgrounds. Once again, the reader isn’t left wondering about things…no surprises!
For the most part, Liberators takes place in two areas, with the main one being in Canada, and the secondary one with a small group of survivors making their way across the USA to Idaho after the collapse. Many obstacles have to be overcome, especially for the small group in the USA, in order to reach their planned destination in Idaho. Nothing comes easy for them. The group in Canada are tasked with first fighting the French and then a much more difficult fight against the Chinese who invade Canada under the guise of being UN troops sent to help.
I have found, after reading all of Rawles’ novel, that I live the lives of all the characters in the book, when reading the books. I see what they see and do what they are doing. It is surreal to the reader. You are there, in the book. Once again, outstanding job, Jim. You brought all the main characters to life for the readers.
I won’t give away any of the details in Liberators. It’s too good of a read to not find out what happens for yourselves, but I will say that not everyone who is a main character lives in the end.
One thing I learned after reading all of these books is the fact that you aren’t just reading a novel. No! Instead, these are books designed to help you prepare for what is coming down the pike. They are actually survival manuals, cleverly disguised as novels. Jim shows you the gear needed, as well as the training needed, and planning, in order to survive what is coming our way.
For now and only for now, these are novels, but much of what is laid out in this series of books will more than likely come to pass, and in all likelihood things will get much worse than what is encountered by the characters in the books. One thing for sure is that if you live in or around any big cities, after reading this book and all of them in the series, you’ll want to seriously start thinking about getting away from any big city.
For now, this series of books are novels, for now…
Otis Technologies is a U.S. firm based in New York State, where they make all of their products. That’s good for them and good for us. The company was founded by Doreen Garrett in 1985 after a bad experience on a hunting trip. She took a fall into some cold mud with her rifle, which wound up with a plugged bore. She wasn’t able to clear it and had a long, wet walk back to their cabin. Making matters worse, it was her grandfather’s Model 94. As she sat warming up, she started thinking about something that could have saved her day. That led the 16-year-old to what she called her Whole Kit and Caboodle kit with a flexible cleaning rod as the centerpiece. Like many other entrepreneurs, she started making them for family and friends and then expanded. She got a patent and went to her first Shot Show, still at the tender age of 16. She admits to fibbing her way in as there was a minimum age of 18 to attend. When she named her company, she decided to call it Otis in honor of her dad, who she credits for much of her success in life.
The core of what she came up with is now called the Memory-Flex cleaning rod. As the name implies, it is flexible and can be rolled up into a small coil. When you take it out, it remembers that it wants to be straight, and it uncoils. They are made from steel cable and covered with nylon. Most of the variants have a connector on each end, so you can attach slotted patch holders or cleaning brushes to one end and a handle to the other. They say these things will handle a 750 pound pull. I didn’t have a way to measure it, but one of them certainly held up my overweight body– 210 pounds– without any sign of stress. I, on the other hand, did show a bit of stress.
They make a plethora of these rods in lengths ranging from just eight inches up to 55 inches in two diameters. One is for .17 caliber weapons, and the other is for everything else.
One feature I REALLY like about these rods is they give you an attachment so you can use a cross piece on the end to pull it. This gives you the leverage you need to pull a tight patch or brush through the bore. It is far better than a little loop you stick a finger in. I’ve seen things you pull through the bore like this that were hard to pull. These aren’t.
One of the key features of these rods is the ability to clear an obstruction in the bore, like what Garrett experienced on her ill-fated hunting trip. Besides plugging a barrel with mud, another common problem is a cartridge case getting stuck in the chamber. This is a bit too common with the AR platform when, among other things, extractor springs get weak, buffers are too light, or buffer springs wear out. The wrong loads can cause it, too. The final bore obstructions we commonly encounter are bullets stuck in the barrel from squib loads.
Unfortunately for the purposes of this review, I didn’t have any of that happen, so I had to simulate it. That’s not the same, but it was the best I could do. I took a fired case, slightly mashed the case mouth and shoved it into an AR chamber with a dowel. It seemed pretty stuck. I was able to get it out with the Otis kit, but, truthfully, I can’t say if this really replicated a real stuck case in an AR chamber. I wasn’t willing to pound a bullet into the bore, so I didn’t test that, either. I’ll report back if I get a chance to use this in a real situation.
In case you wonder about how a flexible rod can push out obstructions, think for a moment. You have a column of steel and the bore keeps it straight. I don’t think it would work as well as a rigid rod, but I think it can do the job.
Otis has a number of kits ranging from their Micro Kits, which cover one caliber, to what you might call macro kits that can do an assortment of calibers. They have three product lines for hunting and sporting, military, and law enforcement. There are also kits for cleaning optics. There is even a kit aimed at young shooters with .22’s and .410 or 20-gauge shotguns, which I thought was a great idea. There are kits for shotguns, pistols, rifles, and air guns. It is a very comprehensive line and too much to describe here, so it is best to poke about on their site. It is unlikely you have something you can’t clean with one of them.
The kit I got to try is their Tactical Cleaning System. I asked to see this kit due to its versatility. It can handle rifles, pistols, shotguns, or air guns. It includes the following items:
It weighs about 10 ounces and is in a sturdy round soft carrying case. If you envision two large cans of shoe polish stacked together, that’s about the size. There is also a tube of their O85 “all-in-one cleaner, lubricant, and preservative (CLP).”
Since most everything in life is two-edged and has both good and bad sides, the desirable compactness of this kit means you can’t carry a bunch of cleaning and lubricating products in it. Otis supplies us with their O85 CLP product in most of their kits. CLP products became popular when the military started issuing them in the post-Vietnam War era. Having one product that does everything has a big appeal, as it means less stuff to stock and carry around. Today, there are many brands of CLP with a number of different formulas. While a CLP is perfect for this kit when you carry it in the field, I think you should also have some more products on your bench at home. CLP, like any “Jack of all trades”, is not the master of any. O85, like most CLP’s, does a good job of removing carbon, but there is more than carbon fouling in your barrel. There could be lead, copper, or plastic from shotgun wadding. I’ve not had much luck getting all of that out with any CLP.
This is also a good lubricant, but I think you need something heavier, like grease, for some of the heavy friction spots on a firearm, such as a pistol’s slide rails. CLP’s often dry off, leaving a thin lubricating film, and some components just need more than that. Bear in mind to be sure to choose grease with a temperature range suitable for your climate. It stays pretty warm where I’m at, so I don’t need to be very particular, but folks in other areas need to pay attention to this point. Cold weather can turn some grease solid. A German veteran of the eastern front in 1941 could tell you a lot about this point.
Like most CLP’s, O85 seems to do a good job of protecting weapons from rust. Otis didn’t have any data from salt spray tests to share, however.
Otis does sell a number of specialized cleaning products (O12-GP), but they weren’t included in this sample, so I can’t speak to how well they work. I suspect, however, that they will do a fine job.
All this aside, you can keep your gun running pretty well with a CLP. You just aren’t going to get the bore as clean as possible, and you will need to pay attention to lube points by making sure they stay lubed. You can keep the bolt on an AR properly wet, too. CLP is great stuff in the field, but you can do better when you are home.
Many of the Otis products specialize in allowing you to clean a weapon without disassembly. They rightfully, in this case, discourage you from flooding it with solvents and oils. I like to disassemble and flush things out with a lot of solvent. Otis does make products that can do this, but they are things you would need to add to the kits. There are, in fact, weapons that are best not disassembled frequently, and the Otis approach is perfect for them. An AR or 1911, though, can be. I often drop as many of the parts from these sorts of guns as I can into an ammo can full of solvent and then blow the excess off after scrubbing and before lubing properly.
The stuff in the kit worked fine. The brushes are good quality and tight enough to do the job. The rods also worked well. One point to mention is that you can use a larger brush than the bore size to clean the chamber of your weapon. You can use the short Memory-Flex rod with the T handle to give it a good scrub. Semi-auto rifles will really appreciate this. Since the rod flexes, you can easily get into the chamber of a Garand, Mini-14, or M1A. One of the Otis videos shows how to clean chambers effectively as well as why to do so.
Otis very correctly makes a big deal out of breech to muzzle cleaning. You insert the flexible rod through the breech and pull it through the muzzle being careful to keep it centered. The muzzle is easily damaged, and when damaged, it can badly affect accuracy. A conventional rod tends to flex as you shove it through the bore, and if you start it at the muzzle, you can easily cause wear and damage your barrel. You can also damage the barrel cleaning from the breech with improper use of a conventional rod. There are some weapons that don’t give you access to the breech with a rod, like the Mini-14 or Garand, but the flexible rods allow you to have the cleaning brushes and patches start at the breech, which is a very good thing. These will probably become my standard tools for these sorts of weapons.
I have always made a point of using rod guides, when available, when cleaning weapons, but you don’t need them for this system. Since you are pulling the rod out, it isn’t going to flex and rub against the bore as long as you are careful to keep it centered.
The Otis 12 gauge brush uses the same threads as rifle and pistol brushes, but they give you an adapter so you can also use standard shotgun cleaning attachments.
One of the interesting issues with this system is that since you are pulling the patch through the bore, it trails the rod tip. This means the patch isn’t supported by the tip and pressed against the bore. Otis takes care of that with a clever system of slotted patches that are tucked back through the tip to create a swab that is dragged behind the tip. A very cool aspect of this is that you can create swabs that handle everything from a .17 caliber to a 12-gauge shotgun with just two sizes of patches. You can also easily flip the patch over and use it several times, which helps save a bit of money.
I saw a review that criticized this system (though they admitted that it worked well) as you are supposedly forced to use nothing but Otis patches. Otis may not be happy with me for saying this, but you can very easily convert any patch to work with their system. All you need is a utility knife to cut some slots in it. Presto, instant patch!
Another criticism I saw of this system is that the ejection port on some firearms is too small to admit the rod with attached cleaning tips. Otis points out, however, that you can sometimes insert the rod and then attach the tip when the rod is in the weapon. It is more trouble, but it can work in some cases. They add that the .17 caliber rod has a permanently attached patch slot, which makes for a much shorter assembly that will fit into many small ports and allow you to pull a patch through. I found that I could not get a brush through a Ruger 10/22 without disassembly of the rifle, but I had no problems using the .17 caliber rod to pull a patch.
One of the few problems I found with the system is that it is so small, it was hard for Otis to get the type on their instructions big enough for me to read. I went to the Otis web site and watched some of the excellent videos. I found the ones on using the patches especially helpful.
I was especially intrigued with the little rubber donuts that you use to adapt their patches to shotguns. They slip over the slotted tip for the patches to increase the diameter of the swab and to apply pressure to the bore. I found they really worked well in both 12- and 20-gauge barrels.
Otis also sent me one of their Ripcord one pass cleaning rods for .223. It uses the same cable as their Memory-Flex cleanings rods, but it has a rubber layer that is then covered with Nomex fabric. Ten inches of the Ripcord are larger in diameter to provide more aggressive cleaning. I have used similar products that worried me, especially after one broke in an AR. I was lucky; enough was left hanging out the breech to get it out. I don’t see that happening with the Ripcord, with its really strong core. A very nice feature of the Ripcord is that you can attach tips to both ends. You can use the handle on one end and a patch on the other. This looks like something that would be great to keep in the range box and use before you case up your weapons. The Ripcord will get out the loose stuff, and if you pull it through with a patch soaked in CLP on the end, by the time you get home, the CLP will have loosened a lot of the fouling. If you are bad and don’t do a full cleaning, the CLP will protect the bore until you do (unless you were shooting corrosive ammo)!
I shocked some of the residents of my safe by cleaning them with this kit. I really don’t like cleaning guns that much, so I often simply patch the bore a couple of times with CLP and wipe down the exterior with some more CLP and lube the appropriate parts after shooting. The problem with this method is that the grime accumulates, layer upon layer, as time goes by. When I finally get around to cleaning, it is usually a real chore. I was pretty surprised at how well the Otis CLP worked. It did a great job of getting lead out of the 12 gauge I cleaned. I suspect it has something in it to help it penetrate under lead deposits so they lift out. I’m looking forward to trying it on a leaded-up revolver, but unfortunately mine were clean at the moment (a rare event). The CLP was also very good at removing carbon and powder fouling. I’m not convinced, however, that it is the best choice for copper fouling. When I tried it on a rifle, I was still able to pull out copper with another product afterwards. Perhaps more time would have allowed it to do better, but copper is hard to remove. I have no doubt, however, that using their CLP will allow you to get your guns clean enough to store without problems.
These are good products. The strongest point is that you can keep a cleaning kit with you virtually any place you go. I think it would be a wise idea to carry one with you whenever you are in the field. They also work fine at home, though as I said above, I would add some more cleaning and lubrication products to supplement what is in the kit. I’m still torn as to whether I like conventional rods better at home; I was surprised to discover that these worked so well, and they are making me think about switching. The kits take up a lot less space than one with conventional rods, even those with sectional rods. One of them would be a great gift for a starting shooter, as you can do so much with it for less money than a kit with a comprehensive set of rods. I would probably throw a wipe down cloth into the kit too. You could moisten it with some CLP and seal it in a zip bag to be ready to protect your gun after hunting or a range trip. Even if I decide not to use the rods at home, I think I need one of these kits for my range box.
Otis has a number of discounts for instructors, military, and law enforcement. They also do a lot of community outreach as well as support for the shooting industry. They have made a major effort to support our military. I find it a pleasure to do business with this type of company. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor, Scot Frank Erie
Here is a recipe that has wowed people for a few years now, including the hardest group to please– little ones.
I prefer to use a large crock pot, as it is cheap to use.
Brown 2 to 3 lbs of hamburger adding salt, pepper, onion salt, et cetera. When the meat is well done add 1/4 cup (or more) of taco sauce (not salsa), and simmer for another 10 to 20 minutes. Let the sauce change to a deep red color with the burger juices. You want the flavor in the meat.
Combine the cooked burger in the crock pot with the following:
Cook in crock pot on low for 2 to 4 hours. The smell alone will require a traffic cop in the kitchen. This soup is by far the most favorite one at my casa (house), for a hungry t-rex meat lovers crowd. Even the veggie lovers, who won’t admit it, will chow down on this one, as the late Mr. Food used to say ” It’s oh soooo good.” I made the mistake of making this for the locals, and they keep coming back with the “When are you making the Taco Soup again” comments. That is when you know you got a great recipe.
o o o
Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlogreaders? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!
I did not enjoy logging on to Survival Blog this evening and reading about how ignorant we are according to “R.R.” Can’t he just educate their customers about the safe handling and proper cleaning of a firearm. I just can’t imagine why R.R. would continue selling such deadly weapons to us imbeciles. Please publish the name of your shop so we can know never to bother you there again. Thank you ever so much, – D.R.
HJL Responds: I think you have missed the concept that R.R. was trying to portray. I was a scoutmaster for 11 years as my boys progressed through the program. During this time, we went on campouts every month. As I taught the boys “the scouting way”, my second biggest problem was dealing with fathers who were self taught “experts” in camping. They may have been camping their whole lives, and what they did may have actually worked well (though most times it didn’t), but they resisted “the scouting way”. Things as simple as building a fire became work, as I dealt with the arrogant attitudes of those who believed they knew better. There is no doubt that there are many ways to accomplish tasks, but I simply wanted them to learn the way the scouts taught it (straight from the manual), so that everybody would have a common method. Once they learned the basics, they could modify it as they wished.
R.R. has pointed out a problem that plagues prepping. How often have you seen “Doomsday Preppers” and thought that the people interviewed gave prepping a black eye (for the moment we will ignore the bias of the producers)? I personally would have added a fourth category that crossed the boundaries that he laid out. Several firearms instructors I know will not deal with police and those civilians that think they know everything. It becomes too much work to convince the person to let go of what they know and follow instructions. Most veterans have a pretty good training. Most police have dismal training for the hardware that they carry. Still, those two groups at least have a management structure that encourages training (or should). The average citizen has no such motivation. Often they don’t even know enough to know what questions to ask. Those that are self taught generally come dangerously close believing that they have all the answers. I initially tried helping those whom I practiced with. Then I started wearing a vest when I wasn’t certain of the skill level of the person I was with, but I have been flagged by so many who have no muzzle discipline that I eventually gave up out of concern for my own safety. Now, I refuse to practice with anyone unless either I am confident in their skills or they are willing to submit to my authority on the range. Rather than take offense at what R.R. has pointed out, we should make sure that we don’t fit into the “ignorant” category. Whether it is being forward enough to ask questions (or at least admit that we don’t know what questions to ask), or making sure that we are not so arrogant that we refuse to listen to someone else, we need to encourage learning. I’m certain if you visited R.R.’s store, he would be happy to instruct you in the use of that shiny new AR15 or at least point you in the right direction. If you engaged him in conversation, he would be able to ascertain just where you needed to start your training at.
Also, living in a state and county that has more firearms than citizens has a tendency to jade my thinking. It is easy for me to forget that it is inconvenient for many to practice or even follow through with training after having purchased a firearm. Even here, there are many who purchase because it is popular. What they know of combat is what they learned on the Xbox or PlayStation. As any combat veteran can tell you, video games may be an effective tool in desensitizing a person to violence, but there is a world of difference between the T.V. and real life.
—
For those that were wondering, the biggest problem I faced as a scoutmaster was the babysitting issue. BSA does not stand for Babysitters of America. For those who are still parents of teenagers, the BSA may no longer be the program of choice, but whatever the program is, get involved with them.
What $1 Used to Get You vs. What It Buys You Today. – G.P.
HJL adds: Bear in mind that this infographic does not indicate the relative “value” of the items; it only addresses their worth as designated by the U.S. dollar. The relative value of the items has not decreased much at all when you use a denominator that is generally not affected by inflation (such as precious metals).
o o o
Labor Participation Rate Drops To Lowest Since 1978
o o o
Items from Mr. Econocobas:
Most People Don’t Believe It, But We Are Right On Schedule For The Next Financial Crash
Everything That’s Wrong With Banking Summed Up In One Bonehead Advertisement
I was thrilled to hear that Scotland might soon regain its independence. This is the chance “just one chance” to set things right and establish an independent nation with a sound currency and perhaps the right to keep and bear arms. The people of Scotland deserve it! – JWR
o o o
The West Without Water. – JMC
o o o
This guy is an old hippie but has some good information on stealth camping. Also, it’s obvious that he’s read a couple of military manuals that apply. Video: Secrets of Stealth Camping. – J.H.
o o o
A massacre survivor tells his tale. – B.B.
o o o
From the desk of Mike Williamson, SurvivalBlog Editor At Large: Stop and seize
“Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy.” – Robert Heinlein
September 7th is the 99th birthday of Richard Cole, one of just four living Doolittle Raiders. He was General Doolittle’s co-pilot. This is also the birthday of novelist Taylor Caldwell, who was born in 1900 and passed August 30, 1985.
Today is also the birthday of Dr. Ludwig Vorgrimler, who was born 1912 in Freiburg, Germany and died in 1983. Vorgrimler was the designer of the Spanish CETME rifle, from which sprang a plethora of roller-lock descendents from HK, including the G3, HK21, and MP5. His bolt design was also copied by the Swiss for their excellent PE57 and SIG 510 rifles. (Although the Swiss felt obliged to mount a “beer keg” charging handle on the right side of the receiver, for the sake of familiarity to Schmidt-Rubin shooters.)
o o o
Today, we present another entry for Round 54 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,100+ worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
Second Prize:
Third Prize:
Round 54 ends on September 30st, 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.
A car I did not recognize drove up the long, bumpy, dirt driveway to the camper trailer that was our home. We had not been there a week yet, but we were gradually making things comfortable. My husband and I, with our four children and an old friend of ours, had decided to go off the grid. We bought five acres in rural Tennessee, purchased a camper trailer out of a farmer’s field for $100, and started living on our land.
We had set up a table made of pallets under a tarp-style pavilion and cooked our meals on a Coleman stove. Toilet facilities were a latrine in the edge of the woods, hidden behind a fallen log, complete with a roll of toilet paper hanging from a tree branch. This day, a man in a suit got out of the car and introduced himself. He was from the Department of Human Services. They had received a call notifying them that a family was living with young children under primitive conditions. (That would be us.)
“Do you have running water?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “We carry wash water from the creek, and we get drinking water from the store in town.”
“What do you do for toilet facilities?”
“We have a latrine up in the edge of the woods,” I explained. “However, that’s just temporary until we can build an outhouse. We’ve only been here a few days.”
I did not mean to whine, but the man in the suit made me nervous, and I was angrier than I could let on that one of our neighbors had ratted us out to the government. This time around, though, the government guy was on our side.
“Well, your children look healthy and happy,” he told me. “You need to get the outhouse built. I’ll check back in about six weeks to make sure you’re getting that done, but I don’t see any problem. Some people just don’t want to see other people trying to get ahead.”
In under a week, we had a functioning outhouse built on a grassy slope about 50 feet behind the camper. I never saw the government man again.
When people talk about surviving a major catastrophe, they discuss bugging out to a safe place off the grid, with no standard utilities or city services. They think of food storage, medicine, heat, and water, but they often neglect one of the most essential preps– toilet facilities.
If you plan to set up a bug-out location or if you intend to rough it in the woods when the SHTF, you need to plan on building a good outhouse– one capable of handling the amount of human waste your family or small group might produce.
When we built our first outhouse, we were rank amateurs. We just did what seemed logical. We dug a hole in a location where there seemed to be plenty of topsoil to dig into. We dug it about four feet deep, but knowing what I know now I probably would have made it six feet deep. A household of seven people quickly fills up an outhouse hole. We built a small building over the hole. The hole was about 2.5 feet wide, and the building constructed over it about four or five feet long on each side.
Laws regarding the construction and use of an outhouse, or “earth-pit privy”, vary from one state to another. If you intend to use the facility now, you might want to check into what your local laws are. After the SHTF, I doubt anyone will say anything about it.
The little building was made up primarily of wood scavenged from pallets and some scrap plywood. It had a tin roof with some overhang, a little longer overhang on the front, and it sloped from front to back, to allow runoff of rainfall. We built a door and hung it on hinges with a little handle and a hook closure on the inside.
The “stool” was a wood box that took up about half the space inside the building. The box had a hole cut in the top and a standard toilet seat tacked over that. We put in a wooden floor and a nail to hang the toilet paper on. The men built the stool to their specifications (about 2.5 feet high), which left the kids and me swinging our legs when we sat down! Two feet high would have been better for us.
I honestly don’t remember who “christened” the new facilities, but I do remember how we all hated being the first one to warm up the seat on the cold winter mornings that followed. Sometimes there was frost on the seat!
One time I was sitting there in the outhouse, looking out the crack in the door, when I saw a very large bird walking down the road on the other side of the bridge about 200 yards away. I could not tell from that distance what kind of bird it was, but there appeared to be smaller creatures following it. I finished up my business pretty quickly and hurried down the hill to take a closer look. It was a turkey hen, with a dozen young ones following her!
Not long after we built the outhouse, we bought a small herd of dairy goats. We fenced in the two cleared acres on our property, which included the place where the outhouse was. The goats and the Jersey calf we got later on were gentle and posed no problem to people going back and forth to the outhouse, and since the door swung shut, there was no danger of them getting inside the little building and tap-dancing on the seat.
However, we did run into a problem one time due to the amateur construction of our outhouse. We had a really strong thunderstorm one night, and when we got up in the morning the electric fence that separated the pasture from the woods was off. Thinking that a branch might have fallen across the fence wire, I started trudging up through the pasture, searching the fence line with my eyes. I pulled stray bits of grass and twigs off the wire, looking for that big branch that might have completely grounded it out. I was just a few feet from the outhouse, intent on examining the fence, when I looked up and realized the outhouse door had blown off and had fallen across the fence!
Over the course of three years, that outhouse served us well. Our toddler learned to “go potty” in an outhouse, never having a single “accident.” Having potty-trained three before him, I was amazed that he was the easiest to train.
With use, the outhouse hole began to fill up, and as it did we could see something moving down there! It turns out there were lots of grubs down there, composting everything that came their way. Recent research that I’ve done convinces me these were Black Soldier Fly larvae, which are highly valued by people that compost organic matter for their gardens. Apparently BSF larvae can turn kitchen scraps into fertilizer faster than common earthworms.
Whatever they were, the creatures down in the outhouse hole were a blessing, because our outhouse never had a bad smell.
That first outhouse of ours served its purpose for the three years we lived on our five acres. Since then, our family has built two other outhouses, each time improving on the model, but if you don’t want to go the trial-and-error route like we did, there is help. The federal government includes Earth-Pit Privy specifications in their Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, to guide dairy farmers in building an outhouse:
EARTH-PIT PRIVY
The earth-pit privy offers the most suitable type of excreta disposal unit for the dairy farm where water carriage systems of disposal cannot be provided. While there are many different designs in use, the basic elements are the same in all cases.
http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/Milk/ucm064274.htm
Hugh,
This is very helpful information. Some of the comments made me think of something I learned from another person. In everyday life, we deal with three kinds of information. Level 1: Things that we know and are familiar with and do without giving it any thought, such as brushing our teeth. Level 2: Things that we do, but we suddenly realize we need help, so we ask for help or use a manual, such as when changing a part on a vehicle. Level 3: This is the one that will get you killed. Information that we don’t know, and we don’t know that we don’t know. In the post, the Shopkeeper referred to the people who had brand new AR-15’s that still had the factory grease in them. Apparently, these folks knew nothing about guns. They didn’t read the owner manuals that came with their guns. They had no “skills” in this area. They never thought to ask for help. As preppers, we need to practice alertness. My definition of alertness is: Being constantly aware of the things taking place around us. We need to recognize when “something is not right here” in every situation. We must practice evaluating the situation as time permits and then take the appropriate action. Sometimes that means we just stop and think. Other times it means back off to a safe distance and observe. Other times, ask for help from those around us with more experience. WE need to be constantly learning and increasing our knowledge base and our group’s knowledge base. These levels of information saved my life and the lives of my co-workers in an industrial incident that had never occurred before where I worked. Because I had learned these “levels”, I was able to move from Level 1 to Level 2 and then realize that I was in a Level 3 situation. We stopped what we were doing and investigated and discovered that we could not continue safely. We needed more resources and help to complete our task. Because of this, I am still alive to write this note. Thank you for this blog and all the info that you share. – MER
Currency reform in Ancient Rome . – A.D.
An excellent read! One of the most remarkable things about Rome was that as her currency was debased, there were reformers that attempted to bring back the stability and glory to the Roman status. Every one of them was assassinated after a short reign, due to their unpopularity, either from the masses who no longer got “free stuff” or from the generals who were held back from war. It sounds hauntingly familiar to me. ~HJL
o o o
Financial System Upside Down-Blame Game on Coming Crash-Bill Holter. – J.W.
o o o
Items from Mr. Econocobas:
The Seven Year Cycle Of Economic Crashes That Everyone Is Talking About
Europe Crisis Is Resistant to Drug of Low Rates
Argentina Goes Full-Venezuela – Plans To Regulate Prices, Profits, & Production
53 Million Temps: All You Need To Know About The “Jobs Recovery”
Family security? The buck stops with you. – Avalanche Lily
o o o
Well said! An Open Letter To My Friends In Law Enforcement . – P.H.
o o o
Would Russia’s president really be willing to start World War III? . – D.S.
Note: A “free” registration is required to read this article. SurvivalBlog has no affiliation with Foreignpolicy.com. Sign up at your own risk.
o o o
For Sale Soon: The World’s First Google Glass Detector. – T.P.
o o o
Judge Sets Hearings for Illegal Alien Minors–4 Years From Now. – T.P.
If that is a speedy trial, I’d hate to see what dragging your feet will get you!
“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Luke 23: 39-43 (KJV)
Today, we present another entry for Round 54 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,100+ worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
Second Prize:
Third Prize:
Round 54 ends on September 30st, 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.