The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain:

But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.

For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:

But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:

Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:

So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.

For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.

Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:

As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,

That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:

Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:

Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.

Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.

For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

For ye are our glory and joy.” – 1 Thessalonians 2 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — May 22, 2021

The War of the Roses began on May 22, 1455. From History.com’s description: “In the opening battle of England’s War of the Roses, the Yorkists defeat King Henry VI’s Lancastrian forces at St. Albans, 20 miles northwest of London. Many Lancastrian nobles perished, including Edmund Beaufort, the duke of Somerset, and the king was forced to submit to the rule of his cousin, Richard of York. The dynastic struggle between the House of York, whose badge was a white rose, and the House of Lancaster, later associated with a red rose, would stretch on for 30 years. Both families, closely related, claimed the throne through descent from the sons of Edward III, the king of England from 1327 to 1377. The first Lancastrian king was Henry IV in 1399, and rebellion and lawlessness were rife during his reign. His son, Henry V, was more successful and won major victories in the Hundred Years War against France. His son and successor, Henry VI, had few kingly qualities and lost most of the French land his father had conquered. At home, chaos prevailed and lords with private armies challenged Henry VI’s authority. At times, his ambitious queen, Margaret of Anjou, effectively controlled the crown.”

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 94 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. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. 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.
  6. 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. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. 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 94 ends on May 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.

On Irish Democracy – Part 2, by Born Free

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

As I stated in Part I, I favor massive non-compliance at every level possible without landing myself in jail.  This approach calls for the “Gray Man”, “Going Galt”, and true to my heritage, “Irish democracy”.  The important characteristics of such intent is to not organize, to not be heard or seen, and to not seek to massively disrupt the status quo. It’s all underground, under the surface, like small tremors that can’t be attributed to a particular earthquake fault line or dormant volcano.  Think of it, if you will, as undiscovered termites or carpenter ants chomping away on a wooden house.  The wooden house being our severely corrupted government, that without remedy will fail, collapse under the weight of it’s own rottenness.

First, what do I mean by “massive noncompliance”?  I personally do not wish to run afoul of law enforcement or the Internal Revenue Service, so I choose my battles wisely.  Knowing, that law enforcement has not always played fairly (reference Ruby Ridge, Waco, Bundy Ranch, Robert LaVoy Finicum, and so many others).  Neither has the IRS played fairly (reference Becky Gerritson, a founder of the Wetumpka Tea Party in Alabama, and Lois Lerner of the IRS, and so many more).  Don’t get me started on “eminent domain” and “asset forfeiture” and the “Environmental Protection(not!) Agency”, etc.  Many of our federal and state agencies have entirely too much power.  The idea of “innocent until proven guilty”, “due process”, and even the “Bill of Rights” don’t seem to apply anymore.  Or, they do apply, but only for certain people.  For instance, if you are a Mexican cartel member drug running in California, and you get pulled over and arrested by the California Highway Patrol, don’t worry!  The local District Attorney will get you released immediately so you can get back to business.  Why do the Mexican cartels have favored status in California?  I’m asking, for some friends.

I will, of course, always, shoot in self-defense to protect myself, my property, and my family, but I’m not going looking for trouble from any of these entities.  And yes, I realize how that may turn out – another topic for another day.  This article is not calling for an “armed insurrection” as Congress and the Department of Justice(not!) like to refer to any American who owns guns and discusses how to restore the Republic.  After listening to the FIB, oops I mean, FBI Director Christopher Wray testify before Congress, I find our situation humorous, sad, and insane, that we have reached this point.  But we have, and here we are.Continue reading“On Irish Democracy – Part 2, by Born Free”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make 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 this column, in the Odds ‘n Sods Column, and in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

This past week I had to re-establish an electric fence hot wire. Our bovine delinquents — especially our bull — have been disrespecting our fences too much. So the electric fence now goes entirely around the perimeter of our ranch. That required adding more than 500 insulators. Since some fir saplings had grown up and some cedar limbs had dropped down to touch the hot wire’s position, it also meant doing a lot of chainsawing and pruning. It was quite a chore!

We’ve had a larger number of Canada Geese come visit our pastures this spring. Not only are they messy, but they also graze prodigiously.  So, nearly every morning I have to hop on an ATV, and chase them off. I don’t go full Clint Eastwood (no swearing!), but close to it. Get off my lawn!  

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.

And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister:

And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee.

Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister.

And there shalt thou build an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.

Thou shalt build the altar of the Lord thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord thy God:

And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the Lord thy God.

And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.

And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the Lord thy God.

Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the Lord thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.

And Moses charged the people the same day, saying,

These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:

And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice,

Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.

Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife; because he uncovereth his father’s skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Cursed be he that lieth with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.” – Deuteronomy 27 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 21, 2021

The last day! The Jeff Cooper’s Birthday Sale at Elk Creek Company ends at 6PM, Eastern Time, tonight!  The sale began on May 10th (Cooper’s birthday.) This is the time to round out your collection of pre-1899 Federally-exempt guns!  I’ve reduced the prices on more than half of my pre-1899 gun inventory, and all of my replica percussion-fired revolvers.

—

May 21st is the birthday of weapons designer John Douglas Pedersen. (Born 1881, died 1951.) His name is almost synonymous with the short-lived Pedersen Device — a conversion kit that turned a Model 1903 Springfield bolt action rifle into a semi-automatic “trench broom.”

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 94 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. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. 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.
  6. 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. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. 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 94 ends on May 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.

On Irish Democracy – Part 1, by Born Free

Ah yes, there’s a little Irish in me.  I had forgotten about my heritage until one of my offspring did a 23&Me genetic test and after looking at the test results asked “Who’s Irish?”  She is the only one in the family with tons of reddish blonde naturally curly hair paired with blue eyes. That question triggered memories, history, and I shared the information that would have been forgotten.  My father’s mother’s family hails from the hills of Tennessee, the Appalachians.  My father insisted that they were Scots-Irish and at one time he traced the American family tree back to 1760.  He was quite proud of that heritage, although he was English from his father’s side.  They say that the Scots-Irish are stubborn and hard working, and that I would be, as was my father.  It would also explain why my favorite meal was corned beef and cabbage!

I have fond memories of my little gramma who lived to almost 100 years old.  I have some of her handmade quilts, that look as if she pieced them together by hand with scraps of fabric from old clothes.  My mother was never fond of her mother-in-law, as often happens in families.  My mother recalls being called a “hussy” because she had bleached blonde hair, fashionable back then, wore red lipstick, and had a college education.  My grandmother came from a strict line of fundamentalist Christians and I recall being shocked when I saw her once with a smattering of rouge on her cheeks.  I can’t recall the occasion.  She had an expansive garden and I remember walking through it as a little girl and wanting to just sit and play in the garden.  Since my father up and moved to California for a job, I didn’t get to see my grandmother in Tennessee very often.  I can only grasp at the few memories I have.  But, I remember she was spunky as all get out, stubborn, funny, and committed to living a frugal, Christian, life.  Although, it was rumored that she hid a couple of cigarettes in a linen hanky and would sneak a smoke on occasion in her garden.  Most likely, her only rebellion.

I remember that my gramma grew up poor and came from a very large family.  I’ve seen pictures of her family, sitting on the porch of an old wood house, barefoot, simple clothing.  Her husband died from a heart attack when in his late 50’s.  She was the mother of two sons, and one was my father and the other was a disabled son.  He was severely handicapped and she cared for him until she could no longer lift him at an advanced age.  There’s so much to be admired in this tiny woman, that if I could speak with her now, I would tell her how wonderful she is. I don’t know how she made it on her own all those years without help.  I recall my father lamenting her situation, having his hands full with his own family of six children.  I recall my mother being adamant about not being able to care for an adult handicapped person (my father’s brother).  It makes me sad when I look back now.  I know that Gramma had an active church family, and that she involved her son in activities with the “crippled society” (as it was called back then), and that she loved growing Irises and would enter her flowers in competition, or at least she talked about doing that.  But, oh, she must’ve been stubborn as heck to never give up and never give in to the burdens on her shoulders.  I think I’m a lot like her.  I even look more like her than my other relatives.

Whether or not different peoples from different lands are more stubborn than others is probably due more to their suffering than their genetics.  But, I’ll tell ya’, I was born stubborn.  My mother reminded me frequently, and liberally shared that hated characteristic with her friends and family, so much so that I often was treated more harshly than my siblings (for good measure, you see, to stamp out my stubbornness).  That used to really bug me, but now I realize that my stubbornness has helped me survive, and hang on, and laugh in the face of adversity.  I’m more Scots-Irish than English or German or Austrian or Swiss – my other genetics.  And I am thankful, because we need “stubborn” in this country right now, more than many other characteristics.

What caused the Irish to journey to America?  The first wave came in the 1720s and they mostly had Scottish Presbyterian roots.  By 1790, the American population was around 3.1 million and it was reported that approximately half of the population had Scots-Irish roots.  They came for the opportunity to farm and afford a better lifestyle.  The Great Hunger caused by the potato famine saw an enormous increase of Irish (1840’s) who were mostly poor and Catholic.  Interestingly enough, there was a rift between the first arrivers and the poor, starving, Irish who arrived later on.  It seems as if it was Protestants and Presbyterians versus Catholics. I really don’t know because none of my grandparents ever spoke of such things, but I did notice a dislike of all things Catholic early on, and then a softening towards other denominations later on.  So much so, that my parents considered it a part of my informal education to attend services at various churches, including Catholic mass and the Pentecostal church, in order to understand how different people worshipped God.  From what I’ve read, the more prosperous Scots-Irish had attained a “middle class” status and they looked down upon the poor Irish immigrants who couldn’t speak English, were illiterate, and just needed a job, any job, no matter how menial.  During boom times, these immigrants were welcomed.  But, when there was a downturn, they were resented, which apparently caused social unrest.Continue reading“On Irish Democracy – Part 1, by Born Free”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at prospects for the Swiss Franc. (See the Cryptos and Forex section.)

Precious Metals:

First up, for today: Gold surges to 4.5-month high on safe-haven demand.

o  o  o

John Rubino: Charts For A Crazy World: Inflation And Other Screw-ups

Economy & Finance:

Charles Hugh Smith: Inflation or Deflation?

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: This Is Not The Inflation You Are Looking For, Move Along

o  o  o

Credit Card Debt Keeps Falling. Banks are on Edge.

o  o  o

Greyhound Canada to cut all routes, end operations.

o  o  o

Gun Maker Leaving Massachusetts For Pro-Gun Tennessee

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — May 20, 2021

May 20th, 1942 The birthday of Carlos Hathcock (died February 23, 1999.) He was a United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills.

—

Our Jeff Cooper’s Birthday Sale at Elk Creek Company ends tomorrow!  The sale began on May 10th (Cooper’s birthday) and ends on May 21st, so order soon. This is the time to round out your collection of pre-1899 Federally-exempt guns!  I’ve reduced the prices on more than half of our pre-1899 gun inventory, and all of replica percussion-fired revolvers.

—

Happy birthday to my old pal, Brad C.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 94 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. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. 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.
  6. 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. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. 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 94 ends on May 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.

Improving Heavy Clay Soil and Maximizing Potato Production, by Tunnel Rabbit

This video: How to Make Inexpensive Garden Container Mix: Organic Fertilizer, Lime, Peat Moss, Compost & Dirt shows us the proportions of the basic materials discussed that can be used to make an ideal soil, but it is only a starting point when working with clay.  Last year I was able to incorporate heavy clay as an unmeasured part, using similar methods demonstrated in the video.  The proportion used is unknown as it was my first attempt, and the goal was to produce as much usable soil with the least amount of manure. Ordinary topsoil was used in the video, but we must contend with clay, that is a different animal. A little bit of clay can go a long way to messy up the quality of soil needed to grow a garden, yet it can provide valuable nutrients as well, and is needed as a binder.  It is not all bad, my worms love it, but my potatoes do not.  In other words, additional amendments are needed relative to average topsoil to adequately dilute clay, or add enough organic matter.

In my opinion, a higher percentage of peat moss or manure will be needed when mixed with heavy clay. Yet is the price of peat moss worth it? A local commercial source quoted me $70 per cubic yard.  My neighbor has a small pile for $25 per yard.  Peat moss is excellent, but spendy.  To make soil that is good enough, and not ”awesome” soil, as I did last year using clay, required lots of composted cow manure as the primary material to dilute, or reduce the presents of clay and it’s undesirable characteristics. Any manure should be thoroughly composted before being used.  I simply mixed it into the clay until it was lighter and looser paying no attention to proportions.  It was not awesome, but good enough, and it produced lots of potatoes and a bumper crop of tomatoes. We do not have to attain the high standard, or ”awesome” soil level for our soil mixture to be ‘good enough to grow a meaningful amount of veggies. However, potatoes and other root veggies need as light and fluffy soil as possible to maximize their growth.

Therefore it might be worth the effort and expense of creating soil specifically for potato production, and use more compact soil for other veggies.  As a staple crop, potatoes are very important, and peat moss is the antithesis of clay, and best for the job.

That said, this year, I am attempting produce ”awesome” soil as an experiment, and will attempt to grow as many potatoes as possible using only one raised bed that is 12 inches deep and 90 square feet. The results of the experiment will determine whether, or not there is a significant improvement when using ‘awesome’ soil, versus good enough manure/clay mix.  For ‘awesome’ soil, one part of homemade compost was added to one part of last year’s soil to produce ”awesome” soil texture, and maximum nutrition in an attempt produce a maximum yield from my home-grown seed potato. It is an attempt to grow as many spuds as possible, using the least amount of space possible.

Continue reading“Improving Heavy Clay Soil and Maximizing Potato Production, by Tunnel Rabbit”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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 increased risk of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and even X-Class solar flares during solar minimum periods.

Newsweek Outs the SigRed Infrastructure

First up, the integrity of a large multi-layer Sources and Methods (SAM) sensitive cover for status/cover for action operation was just put in jeopardy by controversial journalist William M. Arkin of Newsweek: Exclusive: Inside the Military’s Secret Undercover Army.  If this snowballs, then it could put thousands of lives at risk!  According to Frank Gaffney, has a reputation for revealing state secrets.

Racing the Sun to Protect America

Over at the NextGov news site: Racing the Sun to Protect America. (Thanks to readers Paul B. and D.S.V. for suggesting that article.)  Here is a quote:

“Especially powerful CMEs are rare but recurring phenomena. Scientific research has uncovered one in 1770. The first recorded was the famous 1859 Carrington Event that set early telegraph offices on fire and lit the night skies with aurora far into the tropics.

A powerful CME passed through Earth’s orbit in 2012. According to NASA, if it had happened several days earlier “we would still be picking up the pieces.”

The most recent science tells us these events are not as rare as once thought.

Dr. Scott McIntosh, deputy director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, is one of the nation’s leading authority on solar activity. He warns that the next decade or so will be a particularly dangerous time.”

Earth’s Magnetic Field Just Struggled With a Weak CME

Andre sent this, over at Electroverse: Earth’s Magnetic Field just Struggled with a Weak CME: Sign of the Times.

Drones Now Help Thieves to Survey Rural Properties

Drones Now Help Thieves to Survey Rural Properties, California Farm Bureau Federation Reports. (A hat tip to blog reader C.B., for the link.)

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“You could say that the paparazzi and the tabloids are sort of the `assault weapons’ of the First Amendment. They’re ugly, a lot of people don’t like them, but they’re protected by the First Amendment – just as `assault weapons’ are protected by the Second Amendment.” – Charlton Heston

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — May 19, 2021

On May 19, 1796, the first game law was approved in the United States. The law created penalties for hunting or destroying game within Indian Territory. Modern American fish and game laws make “living off the land” nearly impossible, outside of Alaska.

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Today we present a guest article from a blog reader that is too short to be included in the judging for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

Round 94 of the contest ends in just 12 days (on May 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.

My Recent Emigration to Israel, by Yorrie in Jerusalem

Some background: As a student during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and as a tourist, I’ve been in Israel for four years over the course of six decades.

I made Aliya (migrated back to my ancestral homeland) a week ago. Aliya is the Hebrew word for “To go up.” I arrived just as missiles were fired towards Jerusalem.

Israel’s two international airports subsequently closed (entirely or partially) due to incoming missiles and unpredictability of future missile attacks. As I’m writing this, I can hear sirens coming from the direction of the eastern part of the city. It has been that way for 60 out of the last 90 minutes. I’ve been avoiding that part of the city. The main market complex, Machane Yehuda, has been quiet.  As the late great Ol’ Remus preached, “Avoid crowds.”  As soon as I got my Covid antibodies verified as positive in Israel and could end quarantine, I stocked up on bottled water, emergency lighting, food, toilet paper, and a stronger door lock.

Continue reading“My Recent Emigration to Israel, by Yorrie in Jerusalem”