Preparedness Notes for Thursday — February 11, 2021

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February 11th is the birthday of the late Burt Blumert (born February 11, 1929 in New York City, died March 30, 2009). He once owned Camino Coin Company. Dr. Ron Paul also once owned the same company. Burt is seen at left, in the photo above.

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The two variants of the 15th Anniversary edition of the waterproof 2005-2020 SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick are selling quickly.  (One of them is a limited edition in a keepsake tin box, with a keychain. There will be just of those 500 made, and more than 450 of those have already sold! Be advised: I expect that this limited edition variant will sell out today or Friday. Once those are gone, there will be no more produced.

Also, please note that in all, we’ve taken pre-orders for more than 1,150 archive sticks in just the first five days. Orders will be shipped in the sequence that they are received. If your order comes in after the first batch sells out, then there will be a 10+ day delay, while we are waiting on the manufacture of the second batch.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 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. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. 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).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 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!

Round 93 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

The Fleecing of History – Part 1, by Lazer

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For those of you who follow The Book, we are all described as sheep, called to follow our shepherd in life and beyond. For those that are wondering “what is he talking about?”, I’m refer to the Bible…the most reviewed and historically fact-checked book of all time. I am writing this because I feel bound to. You see, my children are asking some good hard questions, and I am betting that a lot of others are asking you as well. We best have accurate answers to relate to our children if we do not want them growing up to be empowered selfish baby goats that head butt everything and anyone, then complaining when they have a headache.

Okay, let’s jump in. History – check, Psychology – check, coffee – oh yeah I’m going to need it.
Let’s take a good look through the lens of your social media account or favorite media channel. Chances are, at least once in the last six months (weeks even) you have noticed an event(s) or piece of information that you could have sworn were there, but now is not. You may also been greeted with a: “We are sorry, that is Fake News”, or went to see something someone shared only to get the famous “404 error – item not found”. Welcome to censorship folks, it’s on turbo mode right now….especially prior to and after the election.

I break you in to the thought process that: ‘your desire to freely and openly gather (accurate) information to control your decisions and the way that you live your life’…cannot be allowed. There is (and has been) a force at work around the globe that says that your control of your own life…is not allowed. Facebook oddly mirrors a Pentagon project called “Lifelog” which was axed some hours before Facebook was founded.  Private sector program my rump! Our Bill of Rights prevents government intrusion to this magnitude, so they farmed it out to the private sector. Some may say that this is gloomy, and it is. But like a bowl of oat bran, we can sprinkle some sugar (hope) on top and add milk (preparedness), and it goes down a little easier.

As I have accepted that I am not in control of what happens around the world, I am not afraid… I am hopeful. I am hopeful that my fellow mankind will see behind the curtain, peek behind the stage, and maybe even throw a rotten apple or two at those horrible actors until they leave the building.

The truth is that history is not only repeating itself, but it is reinforcing every past wrong by righting itself in social prowess. I, of course, refer to the will of “some” to dominate “others” against their will. You see it in your cities, you see it in your sports, you really see it in a Home Owners Association (HOA). Human beings have fallen into the illusion that every person is generally good when averaged and left to their own devices, and those that do not do as others do are the troublemakers. This could be nothing than further from the truth – people act in their own self-interest. Let’s swing open the history books for a dive into the study of subjugation.Continue reading“The Fleecing of History – Part 1, by Lazer”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— 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. Today, we look at the importance of buying some extra AR-15 lower receivers.

Top Five Guns to Buy Before a Potential Ban: 2021 Edition

Reader Paul D. sent us this insightful Iraq Veteran 8888 video: Top 5 Guns to Buy Before a Potential Ban: 2021 Edition. JWR’s Comment:  Their advice parallels the advice on buying AR-15 lower receivers that I’ve been giving repeatedly since 2005. Stack them deep. (Oh, and you should obtain them as private party purchases, if you can–even if it means paying twice as much.)

The Democrats Are Pursuing a Palpatine Strategy

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: The Democrats Are Pursuing a Palpatine Strategy. Here is a quote from the essay:

“The Democratic Party is like a Trojan Horse for the far Left. Palpatine is a cover for Darth Sidious. Joe Biden has the avuncular façade of a forgetful grandpa, but he is allowing a radical, globalist, anti-American agenda to metastasize.

The Democratic Party used to be the party of the working class. It used to be the party for everyday Americans. There are still millions of Americans who vote for the Democrats because of this heritage. But now, the Democratic Party has been captured by billionaire tech and finance titans, pro-LGBTQ, anti-Christian, pro-illegal alien and anti-U.S. wage earner, pro-critical theory, and anti-traditional American values, pro-globalist and anti-nationalist special interest groups.”

NBC Mask-Shames a Florida Grocery Store

Matt Christiansen: NBC Mask-Shames a Florida Grocery Store on National TV — Without a Shred of Evidence.

40-Year-Old Mountain House Meal Taste Test

Video from the good folks at Simple Living Alaska: 40-Year-Old Mountain House Meal Taste Test.
Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Tyrants would distribute largess, a bushel of wheat, a gallon of wine, and a sesterce: and then everybody would shamelessly cry, “Long live the King!” The fools did not realize that they were merely recovering a portion of their own property, and that their ruler could not have given them what they were receiving without having first taken it from them. A man might one day be presented with a sesterce and gorge himself at the public feast, lauding Tiberius and Nero for handsome liberality, who on the morrow, would be forced to abandon his property to their avarice, his children to their lust, his very blood to the cruelty of these magnificent emperors, without offering any more resistance than a stone or a tree stump.” – Étienne de La Boétie. (From Harry Kurz’s 1942 translation of ”Discours de la servitude volontaire ou le Contr’un,” or, in English, “The Discourse on Voluntary Servitude, or the Anti‐Dictator.)

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 10, 2021

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February 10th is the birthday of Zvi Zvika Greengold (born 1952), a Centurion tank commander who was one of Israel’s most notable heroes of the Yom Kippur War. He was awarded the country’s highest military honor, the Medal of Valor.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 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. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. 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).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 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!

Round 93 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Garden Bed Weed Management, by Southern Trapper

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Working a 9-to-5 job, I don’t have time to pull weeds every day so I sure won’t be able to do so during TEOTWAWKI when time and operational security are scarce. So, I have spent a lot of time experimenting with techniques to reduce weed growth and improve soil conditions that require minimal inputs and labor. Here I present three methods of preparing new garden beds and maintaining existing beds that require only hand tools. These techniques are particularly suitable for individuals who want to turn existing sod into high-intensity gardening as happened in March of 2020 when many suburban and urban homeowners frantically tried to turn lawns into beds when they realized the fragility of the food chain.

In addition, these techniques eliminate the use of small engine noises. During situations like the breakdown of civil order or hyperinflation, it may be very important for operational security to minimize small engine noises so as to not signal the presence of abundant food at a particular home. And for the elderly or ill, these techniques do not require much physical labor besides bending over.

1. Sheet Composting

The most popular of these no-till methods enrich the soil while providing weed suppression by blocking sunlight. I originally used this method of sheet composting to convert portions of my lawn into rich garden beds without a tiller or tractor. Also called lasagna gardening, the sheet composting technique uses layers of carbon and nitrogen biomass. Begin with a heavy layer of cardboard or if not available newsprint. Layer more carbon materials onto this layer. Leaves, [some types of] sawdust, [some types of]  wood chips, or [some types of] rotten logs are ideal. Then cover with nitrogen-rich material such as kitchen scraps, lawn clippings in small amounts, or animal droppings. Keep layering nitrogen and carbon until you have at least 2’ of material. I have found that you want at least around an 8:1 ratio of carbon to nitrogen. And also, be careful not to put “hot” nitrogen materials like chicken litter immediately on top of your base cardboard layer as it will quickly reduce the ability of the base to block sunlight. In arid climates, water occasionally.

How long it will take for the compost to cook will depend on your area, but we have been able to plant in 4-6 months after laying down all the material. Sheeting composting in fall or winter when you have access to leaves is a perfect time to prepare for spring planting. When it is time to plant, simply take a spade and dig right where you want to put the transplant or direct seed. Leave the rest of the bed undisturbed. When beginning sheet composting, it is easiest to plant transplants or tubers. However, it is certainly possible to direct seed. You can work the seeds into the layer of compost without disturbing the soil, though in our experience this may result in uneven germination. Or, simply dig a 1” deep by 3-4” wide trench with your hoe. Plant seeds in a trench and then, after thinning, throw compost heavily around the small plants as you have disturbed the weed bed in the trench. For plants like watermelons that grow best in a mound, I’m not shy about pushing the dirt around, but I then place sheets of newspaper to cover the mound except where the seed was placed.Continue reading“Garden Bed Weed Management, by Southern Trapper”

Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are our Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers.  Most of the following came from our readers. We try to emphasize small companies that make hand-crafted goods, here in the United States and in Canada.

In January, 2021 we quit the Amazon Associates program because of Amazon’s censorship. So we are no longer posting any new links to products via Amazon.com.

Please shop with our paid (banner) advertisers first. If they don’t have what you need, then take a look at SurvivalBlog’s many Affiliate Advertisers.

Many of these recommendations will soon be included in a static page that I’m developing.

This week the focus is on Seeds. (See the Gardening section.)

Books & Audiobooks:

Please order your books, DVDs, BluRay discs, and music from BooksAMillion.com (BAM). Your orders from BAM will earn commissions to help support SurvivalBlog.

Second Hand Books

Bookshop.org

Audiobooks

Thriftbooks

Precious Metals:

Gainesville Coins

Silver Gold Bull

Police Gear, Body Armor & “Tactical” Clothing:

LA Police Gear

AR500 Armor

Cabelas

Gardening:

Seed For Security

Seed Savers Exchange

White Harvest Seed Company

Adaptive Seeds

Winter Squash 'Burpee's Butterbush'

Uprising Organics

A TMEN article: Chinese-Style Greenhouses

Forest Gardens and Foraging:

Reader R. suggested:

“Galloway Wild Foods. This is a Scottish guy who has a wealth of experience in foraging and wild foods. While most of his examples are of UK/Scottish plants and animals, there is also a lot of general knowledge about foraging to be found on his website.

Also, for people building up their own garden, I can recommend two books by Martin Crawford: Creating a Forest Garden and How To Grow Perennial Vegetables.

Martin specializes in edible food forests, i.e. self-sustaining ecosystems (large or small) which consist mostly of perennial plants/perennial vegetables. For somebody with even a bit of space (besides veggie beds), this is an interesting approach to food security, with comparably little effort in the long-term.

Again, Martin is located in the UK, but he covers plants from all over the world, and also explains extensively about their climate requirements et cetera, so that these books can be used in most locations.”

Foods & Beverages

Valley Food Storage

Thrivelife.com

Herb, Spices, and Teas: Starwest Botanicals

Herbs and Teas: Frontier Coop

Clothing:

A reader mentioned a company in Whitefish, Montana, so I signed up as an affiliate: For Love of Hunting (FORLOH). It is a new 100% made in the USA premium hunting apparel brand. They are the only technical apparel company that is 100% designed, sourced, and manufactured in the USA. They also just stated a collaboration with a Montana knifemaker.

Your New Search Engine:

Qwant. (Unlike many others, Qwant does not use the Google search engine in the background. And it claims to keep no tracking history files for users.)

Communications/Banking/Web Hosting:

Virtual Private Network (VPN) — to conceal your location and search/browing history — or just to stream your favorite BBC TV shows from the U.S. or Canada. We recommend NordVPN. (A SurvivalBlog affiliate advertiser with a great track record for maintaining your privacy.)

By the way, to celebrate their 9th birthday, NordVPN is having a special sale, with 68% savings on a two-year subscription, and additional service time.  Here is how it works:

  • Get the 2-year plan with 68% off and automatically get extra service time as a gift. Depending on your luck, you’ll get 1-month, 1-year, or 2-year extra subscription time, which will be automatically added on top of the plan you’ve bought. 
  • If refunded, both the additional free service time and the regular subscription are canceled.
  • The campaign launches today (the 10th of February) and will approximately last for one month.
  • You don’t need to do anything to retrieve the gift – when buying the 2-year plan, you will be notified about the gift via email. You will immediately see how much extra NordVPN service time that you got  on top of the 68% discount and can enjoy it right away!

Reader “Klaude Flaugstein” had these great suggestions:

1. Brinks Prepaid Card in lieu of PayPal. If someone only accepts PayPal, there’s nothing we can do.
2. Linux in lieu of Windows or Mac (for seven years now.) Linux Mint is so much better than either Windows or MacOS, and this saves us thousands a year on software). And no, it’s not any more difficult than Windows or Mac. It’s actually easier. My 80+ year old grandmother uses it, as does every member of our family. For those programs that MUST use Windows, I run a Virtual Machine inside Linux that runs a free version of Windows 10 since it does not need to be registered in order to continue to use it, unlike previous versions.
3. Gab, Mewe, Minds.com, or Telegram in lieu of Facebook and Twitter.
4. Brave in lieu of Firefox.
5. MEGA.NZ (aka Mega.io) in lieu of Dropbox.
6. The phone is not so easy. Dropped the iPhone, and bought a ruggedized Ulefone. This is a very nice phone, pretty inexpensive, and heavy. I never have logged into Google on it. Alternatives for Google Play are to download the APK files and install them manually. You can find instructions on DuckDuckGo, although looking for a good alternative search engine.
7. Protonmail in lieu of Gmail.
8. Mailfence in lieu of Gmail calendar.
9. Openphone in lieu of Google Voice.
10. Epik in lieu of GoDaddy
11. Webstaurantstore.com in lieu of Costco for many items.
12. Wire.com in lieu of Whatsapp or GV. [JWR Adds:  I now use Wire instead of Skype for family and consulting video calls. You’ll need to install the Wire app on your computer or smartphone.]

Radios

Send a list of radios you are looking for in an e-mail to buytwowayradio.com.

Icom IC-F6021-51B UHF Base Station Radio

Mobile for a vehicle:
Icom IC-F6021-51 Mobile Two Way Radio

(If you are off grid already and have 12VDC, just use this mobile as a base station radio and save lots of money.)

Olympia P324 Two Way Radio

Heavy coaxial cable for UHF base station. (Determine length and order by the foot. To be exact, use a piece of paracord as a dummy for the cable run.)

High gain and easy to mount on a roof Slim Jim antenna

Instructional Videos & Vlogs:

Reader Tim J. suggested:  The Forgotten Truth About Pickled Eggs

o  o  o

Inside The Gun – How to build your AR lower receiver

Featured Antique Gun of the Week

Our featured antique gun of the week is a S&W Safety Hammerless double-action .38 S&W.  Like most other pre-1899 guns, it can be mailed or shipped directly to your doorstep without any paperwork or FFL dealer involvement. (Be sure to check your state and local laws before ordering.) Take a look at the many recently-added guns at the Elk Creek Company store.

Make a Suggestion

Want to suggest Recommendations of your own? Then please send them to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks!

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The instant you mandate that every person-to-person sale have a federal review and regulation, the only way to enforce that is a national gun registry, and a gun registry is how a confiscation plan is carried out.” – Senator Ted Cruz

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — February 9, 2021

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February 9th is the birthday of Major George Charles Nonte Jr. (Born 1926, died June 30, 1978.)

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 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. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. 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).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 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!

Round 93 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Forest Foraging: The Noble Oak, by Prepared Pamela

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Nearly 500 species of oak trees populate five continents. In Greek mythology they were a symbol of Zeus, the “God of Thunder.” The botanical name Quercus means “beautiful tree.” The acorn or nut usually contains a single seed enclosed in a tough leathery shell and borne in a cup-shaped capsule. Acorns are 1 to 6 centimeters long and 0.8 to 4 centimeters wide. They take between 6 and 24 months to mature depending on the species.

Acorns were used as an important source of nutrition for thousands of years. They have been a treasured perennial plant fiercely protected by indigenous people in North America. The average life span of the oak is 200 years while some trees have survived to 400 years and more. An important participant in the ecosystem of our planet, they help to moderate the climate. In the photosynthesis process they produce oxygen. One mature tree can remove 6.6 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year. Stored in the tree’s tissues, the carbon helps to create its bark, branches, leaves and nuts. The tree is a source of fuel, lumber, habitat and food for animals and for humans.

Oak trees produce acorns at 20 to 40 years of age. They require a multi-step process from the initial harvest to final food consumption. Each fall I collect hundreds of acorns from my 200-year-old Holly Oak which thrives in my backyard in California. A single tree can produce more than 2,000 pounds of nuts. My own tree was once defended for many decades by local Serrano Indians as their important food source. I continue to treat it with the respect and care it deserves as an elder on the land.

Perhaps the earliest well-known person to appreciate acorns as food was naturalist John Muir. He depended on acorn cakes to sustain him during his long treks throughout the Western United States. He called them “the most compact and strength-giving food” he had ever experienced. Acorns are a nearly perfect food on which to thrive. Many indigenous tribes obtained 50 percent of their annual calories from acorns which contain protein, carbohydrates, fat, and fiber. They have a low glycemic index and are considered a good food source for diabetics. During World War II, more than one million tons of acorns were collected by the Japanese to help feed their people as their supplies of rice and flour diminished.

Collecting and Processing

The process of acorn food production starts with harvesting. They are typically collected during late summer and autumn with August through September being ideal. It is best to pick the acorns before they drop to the ground. Care must include discarding any that are cracked or contain dark circular holes. They likely have worms. Dropped acorns could become infected. Green acorns still attached to the tree are milder in flavor. The best oak species from which to harvest acorns are the White Oak and Live Oak, for they contain the lowest levels of tannins. The least preferred are acorns of the Red Oak, which have a very high level of tannins. After one collects the acorns, they need to be cracked open, shelled and peeled. They have a consistency similar to chestnuts. Cracking can be easily accomplished with the aid of a nutcracker or hammer. Submerge the acorns in water soon after shelling and peeling to prevent them from becoming discolored through oxidation.Continue reading“Forest Foraging: The Noble Oak, by Prepared Pamela”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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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, we focus on some feloniously fictitious cattle. (See the Central & Eastern Washington section.)

Idaho

New bills addressing emergency powers emerge from Idaho Statehouse.  JWR’s Comment:  The Republican majority has clearly decided that Governor Little went more than a little too far!

o  o  o

I just noticed that The Good Simple Living vlogging family (vaguely near Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho) just surpassed 200,000 subscribers. My heartfelt congratulations.  BTW, If you haven’t already subscribed, then you should!

o  o  o

Three Idaho National Guard personnel killed in Black Hawk crash

o  o  o

FCC Fines Former Idaho Resident Nearly $10 Million for making racist calls

o  o  o

Blackfoot Man Facing Multiple Charges After Accident on I-15

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Let us not despair in the face of terror nor lose faith when we witness the death of the innocent. The darkness around is indeed great. But our task is not so hard as it seems. Still your hearts and remember. We don’t have to create the Light. We only have to give witness to it.” – Frank Klaassen, from the Quaker publication Canadian Friend, Vol. 97, No. 5.

Preparedness Notes for Monday — February 8, 2021

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On February 8th, 1963 the Kennedy administration issued an order prohibiting travel to Cuba and banned financial transactions and commerce with Cuba, by U.S. citizens.

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Two variants of the 15th Anniversary edition of the waterproof 2005-2020 SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick are available for pre-ordering, and selling quickly.  (One of them is a limited edition in a keepsake tin box, with a keychain. There will be just 500 made, and more than 300 of those have already sold! Be advised: I expect that this limited edition variant will sell out by Friday. Once those are gone, there will be no more produced.

Also, please note that we’ve taken pre-orders for more than 600 archive sticks in just the first three days. Orders will be shipped in the sequence that they are received. If your order comes in after the first batch sells out, then there will be a 10+ day delay, while we are waiting on the manufacture of the second batch.

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Today, we present a review written by our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

Rock Island Armory GI Standard 1911, by Pat Cascio

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Most folks don’t realize that more 1911 style of handguns are manufactured in the Philippines than are now being made in the USA. There are actually three main companies making most of the 1911s that come out of the Philippines, but there are a few other smaller manufacturers. Owning 1911s made in Philippines isn’t new to me. I’ve owned more than a dozen, and they came marked with various names on them. Today, we are looking at the Rock Island Armory 1911 GI standard model 1911. It is imported by Armscorp in Nevada.

For many years, I carried stock (full-size, 5-inch-barreled) Model 1911s, in various forms, and never gave it a second thought. My biggest complaint then, as now, is the tiny sights – front and rear. Now that I’m getting much older, my aged eyes have a difficult time focusing on the small sights, especially the front sight. The sights on the Rock Island Armory GI Standard 1911 are larger than the original Colt M1911 pattern. These are called the M1911A1 pattern. To be sure, these sights are rugged, and meant for war – the same sights have been on M1911A1s for many decades because they would stand-up against any kind of abuse.

This Rock Island Armory, GI standard 1911 isn’t quite all “GI”. Of course, we are looking at the full-sized Government Model, as it is called. We have a 5-inch barrel and full-sized steel frame. This is a big gun and it weighs in at 40-ounces unloaded. The finish is good ol’ Parkerizing – not the most durable, but it is functional. The slide has fine serrations on the rear of it (only). We have a standard GI hammer as well. Moving down to the frame, we have a serrated, not checkered, mainspring housing. The grip safety is also GI – no memory bumps or anything like that. This gun came with a nice stainless steel USA-made 8-round magazine – a nice touch. The magazine well is not GI. Rather, it is slightly beveled for faster reloads. The magazine release is all GI. I didn’t care for the plain wooden grips that came on the gun – they were smooth – not checkered. The slide release/stop is standard GI – not extended. The trigger is the short, GI style, but it broke at 5-lbs 2-ounces. This is a great trigger for street carry if you ask me. We also have the GI recoil spring set-up, nothing more, nothing less, and it works for me.

Here’s where we have some changes from the GI model, and the first thing I noticed was that the ejection port is flared and lowered, this is a good thing – makes ejecting empty brass or even loaded rounds more positive. Then, we move on to the barrel itself. The barrel is not GI – it has been very nicely throated and polished, as is the feed ramp on the frame as well. So I was sure this 1911 would feed anything I fed it. In the past, I throated a lot of 1911s barrels – opened them up – and polished the feed ramps. I found that it was time-consuming, and meticulous work, to say the least.

Nice Hand-Fitting

The frame/barrel/slide are expertly fitted, you have to really feel how tightly those three parts are fitted together, and this contributes to better accuracy. There is just a hit of “play” between the slide and frame, and no “play” between the barrel fit at all. Look, I’ve owned several high-end 1911s over the years, that were not this well fitted.Continue reading“Rock Island Armory GI Standard 1911, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Spanish Eggs

The following recipe for Spanish Eggs is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924. A professional scan of that 724-page out-of-copyright book will be one of the many bonus items included in the next edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. This special 15th Anniversary Edition USB stick should be available for sale in the third week of January, 2021. The 14th Edition sold out quickly, so place a reminder in your calendar, if you want one.

Ingredients
  • 1 slice of onion
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 tablespoon butter or butter substitute
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions

Rub the onion over the inside of a frying-pan. Pare the tomato and cut it into small pieces. Melt the butter or butter substitute in the frying-pan, add the tomato and cook for five minutes, stirring it now and then. Beat the eggs well and add to the tomato, then add salt and pepper and cook slowly, stirring constantly, until the eggs thicken like scrambled eggs.

SERVING

Pour into a hot dish and serve at once.

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Do you have a favorite 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 and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!