Lessons From Hurricane Helene – Part 1, by A.F.

The following recounts some Hurricane Helene lessons learned from Western South Carolina.

Our power went off for the final time around 5:30 on Friday morning. It had blinked on and off twice earlier in the night, but I didn’t pay the warnings any attention. In the end, we were without power for nine days and only tonight as I’m writing this, 26 days post-storm did we get our regular Internet service back. I am fully aware that these are First World problems and compared to so many, Helene took it easy on us. Beyond ensuring that our vehicles were fueled, I didn’t make a single check, purchase, or additional preparation for Hurricane Helene.

In early August, I went through my storm checklists and made last-minute adjustments in preparation for Hurricane Debby. At least eight inches of rain from Debby were forecast yet we didn’t even see a storm cloud and could have used the “promised” rain. You could say normalcy bias kicked in because I dismissed the weather forecast for Helene since they had been wrong about the severity of storm impacts for our area all through the hurricane season.

When I last checked on Helene mid-day Thursday, it was still forecast to track through Florida and western Georgia to end up on the other side of the Blue Ridge mountains from us. Therefore, I went to bed on September 26th anticipating how to rearrange my work schedule so I could join one of our Disaster Relief teams helping out neighbors in a nearby state. I had zero expectation of Helene causing us anything beyond minor inconvenience. Lo and behold, we in upstate South Carolina awoke to wind damage galore, localized flooding, and the previously mentioned power and Internet outages. Most distressing of all, we had no ability to communicate by phone, by 9 A.M..Continue reading“Lessons From Hurricane Helene – Part 1, by A.F.”

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 located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. The emphasis of this week’s column will be on some American Redoubt election results.

Region-Wide

In the left-leaning Inlander: Election results 2024: Who won, and which races are too close to call in the Inland Northwest.

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Two Oregon counties reject measures to dial back ‘Greater Idaho Movement’ meeting rules.

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Did you Know A Train Once Ran From St. Anthony, Idaho, to Yellowstone?

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Some nice snaps, in the Spokane Spokesman-Review newspaper: Your Outdoor Photos: November 2024.

Idaho

Idaho election results.

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Note the tone of this news report from Boise State Public Radio News, an NPR affiliate: Southwest Idaho Health District Board pulls COVID vaccines from its clinics.  (Thanks to reader D.S.V. for the link.)

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Idaho Proposition 1, which would have instituted ranked choice voting, went down to a resounding defeat, in the November 5th, 2024 election. 69.7% of voters cast ballots in opposition to the liberal scheme.

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News from Sandpoint: North Idaho Town Rocked by Suspected Illegal Alien Rape.

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University of Idaho murders suspect expected to appear in Ada County Courthouse Thursday. A quote:

“The man accused of killing four University of Idaho students is expected to appear in an Ada County Courtroom Thursday morning.

According to newly filed court documents, the court will discuss the death penalty among other motions surrounding the case against Bryan Kohberger.”

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Insurgents do not just use asymmetric tactics; they do so in the context of asymmetric strategies. The insurgent’s most fundamental objective is simply to thwart the counterinsurgent’s objectives. We may think of this as “monkey wrench power.” Throwing a monkey wrench is a form of sabotage. The purpose of sabotage is to interfere with a competitor’s goals and interests and to create disorder. Disorder is the strategic friend of the insurgent and the foe of the regime.

Insurgent movements often do not aim for decisive victory, but rather to prevent the counterinsurgent from achieving victory. They seek to be winning, not necessarily to be victorious. To be winning, the insurgent need only to disrupt, break, and resist. He does not have to build, create, or sustain. In nearly every way, the insurgent’s burden is much easier than that of the counterinsurgent. Henry Kissinger noted nearly a half-century ago, ‘The guerrilla wins if he does not lose. The conventional army loses if it does not win.’ This asymmetry is the essence of resistance and it gives the insurgent an enormous advantage.

The asymmetries of constraint further multiply the insurgency’s power. The insurgent has much more tactical latitude to resist than the state has to quell the resistance. Insurgent tactics are constrained only by the ethos and popular support of the people. As long as the insurgent is able to take the people’s side, he can largely use any means they wish. The insurgent’s grand strategy of “not losing” involves persistently provoking, disrupting, and exhausting counterinsurgent forces. The insurgents provoke the state, hoping counterinsurgent forces will overreact with excessive force. The resisters then flaunt and leverage that regime’s response in order to mobilize their own popular support.” –  Randy Borum, Ph.D, in Seven Pillars of Small War Power

Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 11, 2024

November 11th is of course Veteran’s Day. If you value your freedom, then thank a veteran.

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This is the birthday of General George S. Patton, Jr. (born 1885, died December 21, 1945.)

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We’ve started a Week-Long Veteran’s Day Sale at Elk Creek Company. The prices of all of our in-stock military-issue rifles (and sporters) and our military-issue revolvers have been deeply reduced. Place your order before Monday, November 18th.

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Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog staffer Tom Christianson.

Cleveland Kydex Axe Sheath, by Thomas Christianson

I have a Cleveland Kydex Axe Sheath for my Fiskars X27 Super Splitting Axe. The sheath does an excellent job of protecting the blade from damage. It also protects surrounding objects from being damaged by the blade. The sheath is tough, has stood up well to a year of hard use, stays on the blade well, and is easy to slide on or off.

The primary advantage of a Kydex sheath over leather is that Kydex does not attract and hold moisture as leather is often prone to do. It is also more wear and weather-resistant than leather.

Cleveland Kydex has a large selection of axes for which they have already designed a standard sheath. If you have an axe for which they have not yet designed a standard model, you can send them the axe and they will make a custom sheath for it. Surprisingly, the cost of a custom sheath is the same as for their standard models.Continue reading“Cleveland Kydex Axe Sheath, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week: Granny M.’s Granola Bars

The following recipe for Homemade Granola Bars is from SurvivalBlog reader “Granny M.” This recipe makes a more chewy-style granola bar.

Ingredients
  • 4 ½ cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour (you can use regular white flour.)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup butter
  • 2/3 to 3/4 cup of honey
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • Optional Additions:
    • Chocolate chips (1 cup) and miniature marshmallows (1 cup), or
    • Chocolate chips (1/2 cup) and peanut butter chips (1/2 cup), or
    • Craisins, coconut, chopped almonds (to taste), or
    • Cinnamon and raisins — I  suggest no more than 1/2 tsp of cinnamon mixed with the other dry ingredients.)

     

DIRECTIONS
  1. Mix the oats, flour, baking soda and salt.
  2. Stir in any additions.
  3. In a large saucepan, melt butter and stir in honey, vanilla, and brown sugar. Pour this over the oat mixture and mix it well. (If the mixture seems too dry, then add a little more honey.)
  4. Press the mixture into a raised-lip cookie sheet (or just a 9×13 inch pan if you want really thick bars.)
  5. Press the mixture down firmly with a buttered spatula. It is okay if it doesn’t fill the whole cookie sheet.
  6. Bake at 325 F for 18-to-22 minutes. (Allow less time for thinner bars, and more time for thicker bars.)
  7. Press the bars down again with a spatula after taking them out of the oven.
  8. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan.
  9. Cut into bars of whatever size you prefer.
  10. Let the bars cool completely in the pan before removing. Note that the bars will crumble if you take them out too soon or if don’t press them firmly enough.
STORAGE

You can wrap them individually or place them in an airtight container. They also store well in the freezer. They actually taste pretty good frozen too!

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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 Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The only proper purpose of a government is to protect man’s rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence. A proper government is only a policeman, acting as an agent of man’s self-defense, and, as such, may resort to force only against those who start the use of force. The only proper functions of a government are: the police, to protect you from criminals; the army, to protect you from foreign invaders; and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud by others, to settle disputes by rational rules, according to objective law. But a government that initiates the employment of force against men who had forced no one, the employment of armed compulsion against disarmed victims, is a nightmare infernal machine designed to annihilate morality: such a government reverses its only moral purpose and switches from the role of protector to the role of man’s deadliest enemy, from the role of policeman to the role of a criminal vested with the right to the wielding of violence against victims deprived of the right of self-defense. Such a government substitutes for morality the following rule of social conduct: you may do whatever you please to your neighbor, provided your gang is bigger than his.” – Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — November 10, 2024

On November 10, 1885, German engineer Gottlieb Daimler unveiled the world’s first motorcycle, Der Reitwagen.

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November 10th is remembered in the United States as the “birthday” of the U.S. Marine Corps.

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And November 10th is the anniversary of the sinking of the Great Lakes ore ship Edmund Fitzgerald, in 1975.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 115 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 $2,000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value). Their catalog includes their new Survival Gunsmithing course.
  3. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $250 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
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. A Laptop EMP Shield and a Smartphone Faraday Bag (a combined value of $200), courtesy of MobileSecSolutions.com.
  4. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  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. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  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 $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $925,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 115 ends on November 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.

Are You Prepared? For What?, by Mrs. Alaska

Throughout the country, kind people volunteer their time and talents to help others harmed by natural or personal disasters.

However, we can only help others if we are first prepared to take care of ourselves and our families.

The following are real situations that have happened to us, or people that we or our friends and relatives know. What would you do in this or an analogous situation where you live? Perhaps these questions could prompt useful and interesting discussions among family or other groups.

In ice-fog conditions, your car goes off the road and down into a ditch where people cannot see you. You are injured. What do you have within reach to call or attract attention for help, keep warm, and care for your injuries?

Considerations: Cell service is spotty in large swaths of rural America, and often depends on line of sight to cell towers. Take note of locations in your vicinity where cell service is unavailable. Do you have any other means of communication in your car, such as whistles, flares, or ham radio? Radio?Continue reading“Are You Prepared? For What?, by Mrs. Alaska”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR, based on a suggestion by SurvivalBlog reader Mike R.:

Meme Text:

Artificial Intelligence

Natural Stupidity

News Links: 

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” – Galatians 3:1-14 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 9, 2024

The Great Boston Fire of 1872 occurred on November 9th, 1872. Nearly 1,000 buildings were destroyed in the fire.

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November 9, 1938 was “Kristallnacht”. Be forewarned, folks: Once a group in any society has been singled out for ridicule and persecution, then they can be systematically attacked, physically. Someday it may be “Constitutionalists” who are targeted.

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After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on November 9th, 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the Wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 115 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 $2,000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value). Their catalog includes their new Survival Gunsmithing course.
  3. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $250 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
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. A Laptop EMP Shield and a Smartphone Faraday Bag (a combined value of $200), courtesy of MobileSecSolutions.com.
  4. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  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. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  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 $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $925,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 115 ends on November 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.

Post-Election Report From a “Blue” City, by Dalkon

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF):

-Report from blue neighborhood in mid-size blue city in blue region of blue state
-Much quieter than expected… unsettlingly quiet
-No preps, contingency plans, or daily routine changes ended up being needed
-Suspect private planning happening for future event(s)
-Suspect collective action actors may be drawn to larger cities, for now

I’m going to keep details vague for privacy, but will give you enough to sketch out some context. Even though both my spouse and I have been SB readers for over a decade, we live in a blue neighborhood in a blue city in a blue region of a blue state. Our city is in the top 7 for population in our state. Our neighborhood has historically been considered an alternative lifestyle neighborhood, to be euphemistic. Briefly, we’re living here because my spouse has a minor child from a previous marriage, that former spouse lives in this city, the minor child (MC) spends time with both parents, and my spouse is committed to being part of MC’s life. This neighborhood was cheap (cost of living is insane in our area) and close to the other household, so for MC’s best interest we have to be here for the next few years. I might, in a future article, detail how we’re surviving what is likely your nightmare scenario. Although we’re making it work pretty well for now, we are very much counting down the years until we can get out of here and into a rural area in a friendlier state.

Here’s my report on the last ~72 hours in our area, with speculative conclusions. I’ll be your man on the inside so you don’t have to be here.

Leading up to Tuesday 11/5:

We’d put out an invitation to fellow firearms enthusiast to do a watch party Tuesday evening. He’s a big guy so we knew it wouldn’t just be my spouse and I if something went down. MC was at the other parent’s house, which is in a neighborhood less likely to be affected by unrest.

I charged power tool batteries and staged the pet carrier, and my spouse had checked water storage.
We’d already prestaged gear (food, water, camping stuff, weapons, etc) a few weeks ago with likeminded farming friends who live a day’s walk from the city center. We also have some gear stashed with friends a few miles up the road from us, still in the city but with easier defense and exit. Additionally, because of my involvement with a workplace safety group, I have a duffel bag of medical and PPE gear (including a full face respirator) at work, in addition to essentially another BOB of gear (food, EDC stuff, full change of clothing plus extra leather hiking shoes).Continue reading“Post-Election Report From a “Blue” City, by Dalkon”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

With winter weather fast approaching, I had a few outdoor projects to complete. One of these projects was hauling some rotted-down cow manure compost, to form mounds for future squash and pumpkin gardens.  Eventually, we plan to have about a dozen of these mounds within 150 yards of the ranch house. They will all be either in sunny openings in our woods, or at the edges of treelines, alongside pastures. Each mound will be roughly 2 feet tall and 10 feet in diameter. By widely separating these mounds, we hope to minimize the cross-pollenation of squash varieties. Because our livestock and the local deer don’t seem to bother squash and pumpkin plants, we don’t plan to fence around these planting mounds.  (Your mileage may vary.)

Because we want our 24′ x 24′ bullpen to be more versatile, I added welded wire cattle panels (typical hog panel gauge) to the existing heavy-duty tubular steel panels. So it is now truly “bull strong and sheep tight.” I also constructed a temporary 6′ x 8′ foul weather shelter in one corner of the bullpen. I built that out of pallets, scrap lumber, and four driven T-posts.  The sides and top of the shelter were all covered with tarps to keep the rain out and also to help protect the critters from any high winds.

I did the semi-annual “drain and clean” for our Redneck Swimming Pool, this week. This was the latest in the year that I’ve ever done that chore, so it was a chilly job!  It feels good to have that checked off my “To Do” list.  It is now clean, re-filled, and heavily dosed with chlorine. The pool is ready for winter.  It will probably start icing-over soon.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”