Useful Tools For The Homestead, by Hollyberry

I love reading about homesteading back in the late 1800s thru the 1940s. I also like to study photos from earlier times, especially kitchens to see what they used. Back then there was no microwave, Kitchenaids or food processors. What you had was what you had and it better be durable as there was no Walmart around the corner to replace what you just broke. Most household kitchen countertops today are cluttered with all kinds of machines designed to make our lives easier. Today’s homesteader can spend a lot of money on “essential” tools only to sell them off for pennies at the next yard sale. Having been a homesteader for over 15 years, I will go over some of tools, appliances, and gear that have worked well for us.

Let me state right at the beginning here that I have not received any money or anything of value from the companies or products that I will be speaking about. My evaluations and opinions are based on my personal experience. Your mileage may vary! My goal is just to help out others. If I can save you time and money all the better. There are a lot of gadgets out there designed to save us time and money but some do not live up to their expectations and can be quite costly. Please learn from my mistakes!

IN THE KITCHEN

Let’s face it, this is where all the action happens. This is where everyone gathers around the table and visits. It’s the heart of the home and homestead. There are many gadgets out there that are designed to “help” us out and shortcut time and effort. Some of these gadgets require more time assembling, disassembling and cleaning that it would take for me to take a knife and cutting board and just get the job done. Good cutlery is absolutely necessary in our home. Years ago when mom asked what I wanted for Christmas, my reply was a set of Henckels knives. Mom did some research and got us the Henckels set with the 2 -Man logo on it. The two man logo represented the Zwilling line of knives. Zwilling is made by Henckels and is the higher end of their products. I was impressed by mom’s research as I was not even aware of this. I gave one of the knives a “test run” on a turnip. I have had turnips I could have used a chainsaw on they were so hard. The Henckel knife cut through that turnip like it was butter. I stopped, counted my fingers, no blood (a good sign) and was stunned at the difference a good quality knife versus a Walmart special can do! A good fillet knife is also essential in our kitchen. Rich saw a YouTube video about building a rotary sharpener from an old grinder motor. Our knives are surgically sharp now.Continue reading“Useful Tools For The Homestead, by Hollyberry”

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, news of another El Niño weather pattern.

It’s Official: World Enters El Niño Climate Pattern

SurvivalBlog reader Tracy M. spotted this, over at FoxNews: It’s Official: World Enters El Niño Climate Pattern. The article begins:

“Sea surface temperature anomalies in critical parts of the Pacific Ocean have warmed enough for NOAA to declare an El Niño event to be underway.

An El Niño is one of three possible phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and forms when sea surface temperature anomalies reach 0.5 °C or warmer than normal values. NOAA says their latest measurements recorded the anomaly at 0.8°C above average.

It is the first time the world has plunged into El Niño territory since 2019, and if past events are a telltale sign of what the future has in store, the global climate pattern will significantly impact the weather.

Some experts have dubbed El Niño to be the world’s ultimate “master weather-maker” as its influences impact everything from animal migrations to the amount of billion-dollar disasters reported around the globe.”

Gentle Cleansers Kill Viruses as Effectively as Harsh Soaps

Reader C.B. found this, at MedicalXPress: Gentle cleansers kill viruses as effectively as harsh soaps, study finds.

A 13-Year-Old Kept Her Siblings Alive for 40 Days in the Jungle

Michael R. sent this: How hero Lesly, 13, kept her siblings aged 9, 4 and just 12 months alive for 40 days lost in the jungle: Brave teen secured camps with hair ribbons, knew the safe fruits and even ground flour to eat.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Beto’s copy of the Bill of Rights goes from one to three. Mine includes the Second Amendment. But there are a whole host of people here in Washington… they would be happy to confiscate America’s guns. And if you don’t believe that, then you probably also still believe in Bigfoot.”  –  Congressman John Neely Kennedy of Louisiana

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — June 14, 2023

On June 14, 1645, the parliamentary New Model Army led by Oliver Cromwell defeated the royalists under Prince Rupert in the Battle of Naseby.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 107 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 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.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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.
  4. 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).
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. 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. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. 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.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $800,000 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 107 ends on July 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.

 

Modern Civil Defense – Part 2, by 3AD Scout

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

Let’s Assume

Let’s assume that that Washington determines the need for renewing civil defense, when would it happen and what might it entail?  Based on FEMA’s most recent “guidance” found in “NUCLEAR DETONATION RESPONSE GUIDANCE- PLANNING FOR THE FIRST 72 HOURS” released on March 2023, upon a nuclear attack warning being issued, state and local officials should “issue immediate shelter-in-place notifications”.  That is great except for this little thing called “reality”.

In FEMA’s own 2022 National Household Survey, that polls people about their level of disaster preparedness, only 33% have assembled supplies for a disaster.  Based on other past disaster preparedness surveys by others, the poll should read 33% feel that they are prepared.  Having a plan to basically just tell people to seek shelter when the missile are already in the air won’t win any best practices awards.  Before we go on, the old civil defense system was not perfect by any means but at least there was a genuine effort by government to get people to understand the need to be prepared.  The current plan does not take into account a number of limiting factors.  One, FEMA’s planners assume that people have any inkling of how to “shelter” from radiation, let alone the blast effects.  In the analog days we had AM radios with radio stations that were prepared to keep broadcasting emergency information in a post-nuclear attack world.  Not sure how many millennials could even find an AM station.Continue reading“Modern Civil Defense – Part 2, by 3AD Scout”

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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SurvivalBlog’s Editor-At-Large (and much-published sci-fi author) Michael Z. Williamson has just launched a new series of videos on YouTube, named after his side business, Sharp Pointy Things. The first video is: USAF Air Crew Survival Knife. Note that Mike still does some custom knife and sword making, but he has a  backlog of orders.  Also, note that the videography for the USAF survival knife segment was by the great Oleg Volk.

o  o  o

A quite useful prepping recommendations video from City Prepping: 10 Books To Get While You Still Can. (Actually, he mentions a lot more than just 10 books!)

o  o  o

California Bill Would Charge Any Parent Who Doesn’t Affirm Transgenderism With ‘Child Abuse’.

o  o  o

Reader L.E. wrote:

“Mutual Assistance Group Planning was an excellent article by Survivorman99. I would just like to add a couple things to ponder:

What I did, initially (because you can’t do this after people already know your new location, so don’t excitedly blabber to friends and relatives about your new bugout location) is- I got a post office box in another nearby town, then told “extraneous” friends and relatives IF THEY ASKED, that I lived “near”
 (insert vague location of city park or church in another town). Most folks are not interested enough to search your actual address location out on county property websites, and if you were smart enough to title the property in other than your name, they won’t be able to locate you. Data strip all location info off of any photos you might send them as well. My very close friends/relatives that I have known for years and seen them in all kinds of tense situations and know we could get along and I would share with them regardless of whether they arrived empty-handed but because we are like-minded I know they would not-I would welcome. Whew, long-winded. But, we have all already made assumptions and “sorted” out in our minds who we would help. Every family has those few moochers, leeches, whiners, addicts, and layabouts, and if you are far enough away from them in any kind of situation, most likely they aren’t going to be able to make it to you anyway, and if the weather is bad, the first year will eliminate those not fully prepared. If perchance on of these sort do arrive, you should have prepared a tent and rocket stove and water bucket, and you can hand these out, so you don’t have them actually living in your home and eyeballing your preps and weapons. I have one storage shed set aside for this purpose alone. Harsh I know but these folks have had the same opportunities you had and they chose to spend their money on frivolities. Start now prying them loose from your circle by repeatedly informing them they are on their own and that your store is now closed. Even the ark only took in two of each kind.”

o  o  o

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Since the earliest colonial days, Americans have been busily manufacturing and repairing arms. In the colonies, the ability to defend one’s home and community, hunt, fight wars, and ultimately win American independence depended largely on the ability to produce arms. For the newly independent nation, arms production was critical to repel invasions and insurrections, and eventually, to western expansion. The skill was always valued and in demand, and many Americans made their own arms rather than depend on others.

Americans continued producing their own arms in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, leading to some of the greatest technological breakthroughs in the history of firearms and ammunition. The freedom to build personal arms enabled innovations that allowed Americans to better defend themselves and their country than ever before.” – Joseph Greenlee, in The American Tradition of Self-Made Arms

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — June 13, 2023

On June 13, 1777, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette landed in the fledgling United States.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 107 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 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.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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.
  4. 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).
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. 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. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. 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.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $800,000 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 107 ends on July 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.

Modern Civil Defense – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

What might a revived civil defense program look like in the United States?  What may trigger the Federal government to implement civil defense actions and what impacts might those actions or inactions have on you, your family or your preparedness group’s plans for survival?

Where Civil Defense Ended

To understand what the federal government might do in the future for civil defense we need to start by looking at the past.  In the 1950s through the 1970s American Civil Defense (CD) centered around “protecting” the population through fallout shelters.  A massive undertaking surveyed building across the United States to deem them worthy of protecting occupants from the radiation caused by a nuclear war.  After these shelters were identified and marked with signage, the federal government, in partnership with state and local governments started stocking the shelters with water, “food”, medical supplies and radiation detection equipment.  Local Civil Defense organizations were established, and people were recruited and trained to manage theses shelters and how to use radiation detection equipment.  Nearly all the standardized “food” supplies stocked in these shelters were just crackers made from bulgar wheat that did not last very long.  The other “food” was a carbohydrate supplement, also known as hard candy.  The US was now supposedly ready for an attack, or were we?Continue reading“Modern Civil Defense – Part 1, by 3AD Scout”

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, more updates on the Greater Idaho movement.  (See the Region-Wide section.)

Region-Wide

Dr. Steve Turley outlines the implications of how Oregon’s “Portland majority” disenfranchises the state’s rural counties: Is Over Half of Oregon Really Joining Idaho?

o  o  o

Greater Idaho movement wins Wallowa County by 7 votes, avoids recount.

o  o  o

Crook County has scheduled a Greater Idaho vote in 2024.

o  o  o

Video: Idaho and Montana Cost of Living Compared.

Idaho

Forest service firefighter rescues 91-year-old man from vehicle in Lochsa River.

o  o  o

Bonneville County Sherrif’s Office releases statement after truck drives into Snake River.

o  o  o

Arguments over media access in Bryan Kohberger trial conclude.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“We’ve always been one catastrophic failure away from the end of it all, and this just makes everyone conscious of it. Maybe that’s not a bad thing. Makes you appreciate the day you have.” – Will Patton as Deputy Marnes, in Silo, Episode 3, Machines. (Screenplay by Ingrid Escajeda, based on the novel Dust, by Hugh Howey.)

Preparedness Notes for Monday — June 12, 2023

On June 12, 1991, a series of major explosions began inside Mount Pinatubo, a volcano in western Luzon, Philippines—its first eruption in 600 years.

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On June 12, 1987, during a visit to the divided German city of Berlin, President Ronald Reagan publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.”

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On June 12, 1981, the action-adventure film Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark—directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford—was released in theatres; a huge success, it spawned numerous sequels. The most recent sequel, scheduled for release in late June, is reportedly going to be a box office flop.

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If you are one of the millions of Americans with an arm-braced AR-15 pistol and are wondering how to reconfigure it to be legal under the new ATF ruling, I have a suggestion:  Simply buy a replacement upper with a 16-inch barrel. One nice option is this, from our affiliate advertiser, Palmetto State Armory:  PSA 16″ Mid-length 5.56 NATO 1/7 Nitride Dissipator Upper – Black- No BCG or CH. For just this week, these Dissipator uppers are on sale for just $199.99 each! To find them at the PSA website, put this SKU in their search box:  “5165449779“. Once you have a 16” barrel in place, you can of course swap the arm brace with whichever style buttstock you prefer.

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Today, in place of our usual feature article, I’m instead posting a special reminder about our writing contest rules.

 

A Special Reminder About Our Writing Contest Rules

Well, it happened again! We’ve been threatened with a lawsuit. This time it was over photo licensing.

The use of what appeared to be an unlicensed photo in a 2021 article submitted by a reader resulted in me getting an “unauthorized use” photo licensing bill from Germany for €963 ($1,038 US Dollars) with the threat of a $150,000 USD lawsuit if I failed to pony up the license fee. The photos were provided by the reader/author.

Therefore, I need to post a reminder about our writing contest rules. The posted rules clearly state — including some huge bold type:

To be eligible, an article must be an original work of at least 1,500 words. This is a merit-based competition, judging the skill of the writers and the practical value of the content of the articles. It is not a game of chance.

You can write on any topic related to preparedness that you think would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. To be eligible, an article must be an original work of at least 1,500 words. (A 3,000-word to 7,000-word article length is ideal. We do allow very long articles (up to 10,000 words), but we will serialize them, as the editors see fit.)

Be sure to thoroughly proofread your article, and have at least one friend or relative proofread it, as well!

All writings and illustrations must be original works and the copyright will become the property of SurvivalBlog.

Once your article has been submitted to  SurvivalBlog, you cannot submit it elsewhere! Do not send us articles that you have already posted or submitted elsewhere. (Unless you own–or have regained–full copyright.)

Once your article (and illustrations, if any) have been posted at SurvivalBlog, the copyright belongs to SurvivalBlog.

All photos and illustrations that you send us with your article must be your original work unless you obtain a signed hardcopy copyright release letter, OR you find pre-1927 public domain (noncopyrighted) illustrations.

If you send photos or illos, keep in mind that our template calls for a wide horizontal photo for the main illo.

So, I now also have to ask for copies of the image permissions that you received (past tense), to be sent along with your article submissions, for any image that you did not personally photograph or draw.

It pains me to do this, but I simply cannot afford to get sued. SurvivalBlog is not some corporate-sponsored publication. I’m just a middle-class guy that lives out in the woods. I don’t have an attorney on retainer.

Many of my interactions with attorneys have been positive. A few have not.  All in all, I’d rather not hear from them at all.

So, again please, folks, DO NOT send me any photos to post unless you took them yourself, or you have specifically obtained permission.

With Sincere Thanks,

James Wesley, Rawles (JWR)

Recipe of the Week: Beef, Turkey, or Chicken Meatballs With Zucchini

The following recipe for Beef, Turkey, or Chicken Meatballs with Zuchinni is from SurvivalBlog reader B.P.. He says: “This recipe is my variation on one that was passed around a couple of years ago. It is one way our family uses part of our summer bounty of Zucchini.”

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:

  • 2 pounds of your choice of ground beef, turkey, or chicken
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 cups zucchini, finely grated and twice squeeze-drained
  • 1 small red onion, grated

For the Sauce:

  • 1 (28-ounce) can of crushed tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Directions

For the Meatballs:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).
  2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
  3. In a large bowl combine ground turkey meat, olive oil, minced garlic, eggs, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, zucchini, and onion.
  4. Using your hands mix the meat mixture until the ingredients are evenly combined; the mixture should be very moist but still hold its shape when rolled into balls.
  5. Scoop two tablespoon-size balls of meat from the mix, roll into a firm ball, and place it on a prepared baking sheet.
  6. Repeat with the remaining meat.
  7. Place the baking sheet in the oven to bake for 20-to-25 minutes, or until they’re evenly brown and cooked through.
  8. While the meatballs are baking, prepare the marinara sauce.

For the Sauce:

  1. Warm the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in the garlic and sauté for one minute, or until the garlic is just golden (don’t burn it!).
  2. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes.
  3. Mix well to combine.
  4. Simmer the sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
  5. When meatballs are done baking, add them to the sauce, stir to coat, and serve.

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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!

The Crypto Crackdown Has Begun

Today, in place of my regular column of Economics and Investing news items, I’m concentrating on the nascent crackdown on private cryptocurrency holders.

To start, please take a few minutes to read these two articles, and pay particular attention to their tone:

Binance.US suspends USD deposits after regulators crackdown.

and,

SEC’s Gensler Likens Crypto to ‘Fraudsters, Scam Artists, Ponzi Schemes’ of 1920s.Continue reading“The Crypto Crackdown Has Begun”