Preparedness Notes for Monday — June 1, 2020

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On June 1st, 1942, seven months after the extermination of prisoners began, the Warsaw underground newspaper, the Liberty Brigade, made the public announcement of the gassing of tens of thousands of Jews at Chelmno, a Nazi-operated death camp in Poland. The story came from a young man, Emanuel Ringelblum, who had escaped the Chelmno death camp after being forced to bury bodies as they were thrown out of the gas vans. The West then knew the horrific truth about the slaughter of Jews.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the first entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $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, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. 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. 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.
  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 89 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Announcing Writing Contest Winners (Round 88)

We’ve completed the judging for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog Nonfiction Writing Contest!

The following were judged prize winners:

First Prize:

First Prize is awarded to PapaP for: The $100 Homestead Grain Winnower.  It was posted in two parts on May 30th, 2020 and May 31st, 2020. He will received the following prizes:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $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:

Second Prize is awarded to Mark F. for: Converting Your Pedal Bike into an E-Bike. It was posted on April 29, 2020. He will received the following prizes:

  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, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

Third Prize is awarded to The Novice, for: Knives Under $50 That I Love. It was posted in two parts on May 12, 2020 and May 13, 2020. He will received the following prizes:

  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. 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.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $100 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!

Honorable Mention Prizes:

Honorable Mention prizes ($30 Amazon Gift Cards) have been awarded for these 10 articles:

A reminder: Round 89 ends on July 31st, 2020, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry.

Keep in mind that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

S&W Model 642, by Pat Cascio

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As many long-time SurvivalBlog readers will recall, I worked for the late Col. Rex Applegate from 1990 to 1993 as his assistant. It was one of the greatest honors that I ever had. The good Colonel taught me a lot over those three years. A small trip, back in time is in order: My wife was offered a teaching position, at a very rural two-room school in a place called Ash Valley, Oregon – at one time it was a large rural community, that stretched about 14 miles down a winding road, about 25 miles outside of Reedsport, Oregon. It certainly was a beautiful area, and very remote. And it had one of the few remaining two-room schools in all of Oregon – she and another teacher worked the school. It would have been a nice place to live – we lived across the road from the school, in the teacherage house. However, the valley was full of two types of people, the great, hard-working types, and the low-life scum druggies. And, that is a story unto itself…

The Applegates were very early settlers in Oregon, and one of the pioneer trails is named after them. When we moved to Ash Valley, I realized that Colonel Applegate lived in the area, and I found his address. I sent him a short note, telling him I was probably his biggest fan, and several days later, he called me and invited me to come for a visit. Applegate lived in a very large log home, with his wife Carole, a retired school teacher from my old home town of Chicago. He referred to her as the “Cat Lady” because she raised and showed exotic cats. She lived upstairs and the Colonel lived downstairs in his private bedroom/office. After several hours of visiting, Applegate invited me to the “Annex” – it was a log building next to his house.

Little did I realize that, the Annex contained his gun and knife collections. I was interested in seeing his prototype Applegate/Fairbairn (A/F) double-edged fighting knife. I hadn’t heard that he had a massive gun collection – at that time, there were more than 850 guns in his collection. I was blown away, especially with the many prototype firearms he owned. I had to keep wiping the drool off my face, while looking at all his guns. Upon leaving after my visit, Applegate gave me some books and videos to read and watch, and told me to call him when I was done with them. When I returned the material, Applegate offered me a position as his assistant, based on my knowledge of firearms and cutlery. What started out as a part-time job, turned into a full-time one, and over the years, I learned so much about Applegate that others didn’t know. One interesting fact was that, when he worked for Remington Arms in Mexico, as their sales rep down there, he was also working for the CIA doing undercover work. Additionally, at some point, he worked closely with the Mexican military and was appointed the rank of General. He had completely forgotten about that, until I found his commissioning papers in a box in the Annex.Continue reading“S&W Model 642, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Mulligatawny Soup

The following recipe for and East Indian Mulligatawny Soup 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 bonus items in the next edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. This 15th Anniversary Edition USB stick should be available for sale in the third week of January, 2021.

Introductory Note: This Mulligatawny Soup recipe provides a substantial dish that will serve as the main part of a dinner. A lighter soup can be made without the veal by using the carcass of a chicken or turkey, and a ham bone may be substituted for the piece of ham.

Ingredients
  • 2 pounds veal
  • 1/4 pound ham
  • 2 quarts water
  • 1 onlon
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 turnip
  • 2 cloves
  • 2 peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon butter or butter substitute
  • 1-1/2 tablespoon curry-powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 3 apples, sliced
  • Salt and pepper

This is an East Indian soup. It may be made with either veal, calf’s head, chicken, or rabbit, or with two or more of these in combination. It is highly seasoned with onions, curry-powder, and sour apples, lemons, or some other acid fruit. The best portions of the meat are removed as soon as tender, and served with the soup.

Directions

Have bone of the veal well broken, and place the veal in the soup kettle with the ham and the water. Sauté the onion a light brown in a little butter or butter substitute, and put them with the meat, adding at the same time the sliced apples, vegetables, cloves, peppercorns, and the curry-powder and sugar mixed to a paste with a little water. Simmer gently for five hours, then strain the soup and set away to cool, reserving pieces of the veal. Remove any fat that forms, and return the soup to the range, placing in it a piece of the veal for each plate. When the whole is thoroughly heated, season with salt and pepper and serve.

SERVING

Boiled rice should always accompany Mulligatawny, served separately.

—

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!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

16

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 further examine the boom in rural real estate. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Commerzbank: Swiss data confirm weak Asian demand but strong ETF demand for gold

o  o  o

Citi sees gold price grinding to $2,000 by 2021

o  o  o

Gold ETFs and Record Levels of Platinum Buying by Retail Investors

Economy & Finance:

JPMorgan’s Dimon Admits Fed Liquidity Is Propping Up Stocks… Deutsche Bank CEO: Markets Too Optimistic About Coronavirus Recovery: Deutsche Bank CEO…

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: 18 Million Jobs At Risk Of Permanent Loss: What Happens To Small Businesses When The Bailout Money Is Spent

o  o  o

Another from Tyler Durden: Bankruptcy Tsunami Begins: Thousands Of Default Notices Are “Flying Out The Door”

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: Catastrophic Plunge in Jobs & Labor Force in Los Angeles, San Francisco/Silicon Valley Smacks into Housing Bubbles

o  o  o

It Starts: The Corporate Mega-Bailout Bonanza in Europe, Germany on Top

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“You can say ‘stop’ or ‘alto’ or use any other word you think will work but I’ve found that a large bore muzzle pointed at someone’s head is pretty much the universal language.” – Clint Smith

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — May 31, 2020

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Happy 90th birthday, Clint!  May 31, 1930 was the birthday of actor/director/producer Clint Eastwood.

—

On 31 May 1970, an earthquake off the coast of Peru caused a substantial section of the north slope of Mt. Huascaran to collapse. The avalanche moved downhill at a speed estimated at 100 MPH. with a mass of roughly 80 million cubic feet of ice, mud, and rock. The avalanche traveled nearly 11 miles, burying the towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca in up to 300 feet of rock and debris. It is estimated that this earthquake and avalanche killed more than 20,000 Peruvians. It is the deadliest avalanche in recorded history.

—

May 31st, 1895 was the birthday of George R. Stewart. Prior to his death on August 22, 1980, he was a novelist, university professor, and toponymist. In the preparedness community, he is best remembered as the author of the classic post-pandemic novel Earth Abides.

—

We just got this update from Brad Stieg, the owner of Harvest Guard Reusable Canning Lids: “All orders at canninglids.com have been on back-order status since April 24th due to Wuhan Virus-related manufacturing issues/delays at our reusable gasket supplier in Indiana.  Today we received word they are finally shipping us product and we will commence shipments early next week. We increased the SurvivalBlog discount from 10% to 20% during this period of turmoil, but all good things must come to an end.  We will continue to honor the 20% discount code “survivalblog” through June 7, 2020, after which it will return to 10%.”

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $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, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. 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. 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.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $100 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 88 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.

The $100 Homestead Grain Winnower – Part 2, by PapaP

6

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

The “L” was constructed from a scrap piece of 1″ thick pine board which was about 9″ long and cut 7/8″ wide. The longer side of the “L”was about 6″ long and the smaller piece about 3″ long. The 3” piece was then screwed to the longer piece to form the “L”. This “L” provides the gap between the two plywood sides, allows a piece of metal strapping to encircle the plastic inlet, and holds the blower securely in place.

To secure your particular blower assembly you will have to design and assemble your own custom cradle structure or find a way to secure your blower to a base of some sort.

The plastic inlet of the blower was installed in the cut outs of the blower cradle and the metal strap placed over the housing to secure it in the cradle. Before screwing the strap in place, a small piece of bicycle inner tube was placed between the plastic inlet and the metal strap to help secure the inlet in the cradle. This also allows the angle of the blower to be adjusted during the final assembly.

I constructed a small platform of plywood and pine scraps to hold the cradle assembly with the blower installed. This was clamped to my work bench to secure it while performing the trial assembly of the winnower. To repeat, the plans give no specifications on how to complete the final assembly, secure the blower, or support the winnower body.

Fabrication of the blower cradle, the blower adapter, and the platform were easily completed in an afternoon.Continue reading“The $100 Homestead Grain Winnower – Part 2, by PapaP”

May 2020 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

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Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance, and the factors that affected gold prices.

What Did Gold Do in May?

May was a volatile month for gold. Multi-day rallies were ended by big single-day losses on several occasions.  Prices for both gold futures and spot gold started May at $1,700.

June gold futures hit a monthly high of $1756 on May 15, while spot gold hit a high of $1748 on the 20th. The May lows for gold were $1,688.50 on futures, and $1,684.10 for spot, both on May 6th.

Spot silver and silver futures began May at the $15 level. Both spot silver and silver futures hit their monthly highs on May 20th. July silver settled at $18.06 an ounce, while spot silver closed at $17.58 The lows were it on the 4th, with futures settling at $14.77 and spot silver closing at $14.75

Precious metals prices went flying on the last day of trading. Safe haven demand spiked after President Trump announced that the US would be revoking Hong Kong’s special trading status.

Silver futures had their best month in nine years, gaining almost 24% for the month. July silver ended May at $18.50 an ounce, up 53 cents for the day. Gold futures grabbed a gain of $23.40 to end the month back over the $1,750 mark. The $1,751.70 settlement put gold up 3.4% for the month

Factors Affecting Gold This Month

CORONAVIRUS
The coronavirus pandemic was still the #1 factor facing gold and the economy as a whole. Arguments over lockdown restrictions played a part, but updates on vaccine trials had the greatest effect.

Several clinical trials reported encouraging results in May. Previous estimates were looking at at least another year for a vaccine. Stocks took the news as an excuse to rally strongly. Dr. Anthony Fauci said there is a “good chance” of a vaccine by the end of the year.

He also noted that the success in “flattening the curve” makes it safer for states to end lockdown mode. “I don’t want people to think that any of us feel that staying locked down for a prolonged period of time is the way to go.”

CHINESE TAKEOVER OF HONG KONG

China was condemned by nations around the world by taking direct control over Hong Kong. The move allows the Communist government to extradite dissidents and opposition politicians to the mainland for prosecution. On May 27th, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that Hong Kong was no longer a free democracy, and recommended that its special trading status with the US be revoked. President Trump agreed, and revoked that status on May 29th.

The Chinese government has raged at the move, accusing the US of interference in its domestic affairs. Analysts note that the blowback from this provocation by China could snuff out any economic recovery they may be hoping for.Continue reading“May 2020 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

66

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 new trend of Covid Camper buyers.

The Pandemic Luxury Travelers

Reuters: Wilderness camps to $50,000 RV rentals: Luxury travelers in pandemic ready to pay for privacy

Americans Desperate to Travel Are Buying Up ‘Covid Campers’

T.L. sent this: Scared Americans Desperate to Travel Are Buying Up ‘Covid Campers’. Here is a snippet:

“For decades, sales of motor homes and travel trailers you hitch to your car were a reliable indicator of the beginning—and end—of a recession. Sales would dip as a downturn approached, and rise right before a recovery. But this time, it’s different: sales are rising as America enters its worst contraction since the Great Depression. While more than one in five workers has filed for unemployment, some people are shelling out upwards of $100,000 so they can hit the road while staying away from everyone else.”

Brace for Blackouts in the Summer of COVID-19

Peter sent us this: Brace for Blackouts in the Summer of COVID-19.

The 10 Senate Seats Most Likely to Flip

Over at The Hill, some conjecture on November election races that could have huge implications on the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Amendments: The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip.  Remember: It is the U.S. Senate that confirms Supreme Court nominees!

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

2

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.

Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8: 16-39 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — May 30, 2020

On May 30, 1626, an explosion at the Wanggongchang Gunpowder Factory in Beijing, China destroyed part of the city and killed an estimated 20,000 Beijing residents.

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I’m back on the road and gathering merchandise, so I have temporarily shut down ordering at the Elk Creek Company store page. We will resume taking orders after I return from my travel. Ordering will be reactivated on or before July 2nd. In the interim, you can still assemble your Wish List. Please note that I have not been able to keep up with the demand for pre-1899 cartridge guns. In February, I had nearly 100 guns in stock. At last count, I had only 59. If you have any antique that matches our want list that you’d like to sell, then please consider selling them to us, or selling them on consignment, through us.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $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, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. 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. 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.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $100 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 88 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.

The $100 Homestead Grain Winnower – Part 1, by PapaP

One of the pillars of homestead food production is growing small grains such as wheat, barley, oats, etc. The classic text for homestead grain production is Small-Scale Grain Raising, by Gene Logsdon (1977). His focus is on using small-scale or appropriate technology, usually human powered. For example, harvesting small grains would entail the use of a scythe for cutting the grain, a flail for threshing the grain followed by tossing the grain into the air to winnow or separate the grain from the chaff.

I was raised on a traditional farm in the 1960s and 1970s where we used farm-scale equipment and I understand the process of raising small grains. However, the scale of homestead grain raising doesn’t justify the purchase or operation of the traditional farm equipment used for grain production. If only a few acres or less is dedicated to wheat for personal use on a homestead, buying an expensive combine which is only used once a year is not a prudent use of financial resources.

Logsdon recommends the purchase of small threshers which were usually sold to seed companies as a substitute for large combines. A check of the internet shows that small threshers are still available but cost hundreds of dollars and are built in China or India. With the current pandemic and the decrease in imports from those Asian countries this equipment may not be available in the near future.

For those who want to raise their own homestead grains and process them at home, one part of that process – winnowing – can be made easier by building and using a homestead-scale grain winnower. I recently built and modified a grain winnower from plans available on the internet. These plans, “Small Electric Winnower“, were designed by Allen Dong and Roger Edberg and are in the public domain. The plans are a bit dated (circa 1998) and somewhat rudimentary. But I found that the basic unit could be easily assembled from commonly available materials using hand/power tools, hacksaw, jig saw, etc. for about $100. (Not including the Black and Decker Workmate stand, where I mounted it.) This was a pleasant project to work on and required me to improvise and make adaptations to the original plans in order to complete the final construction.Continue reading“The $100 Homestead Grain Winnower – Part 1, by PapaP”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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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. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

This week was a flurry of activity, as I prepared for more out-of-state travel: Chicken slaying, firewood cutting, hay hauling, slash piling, building a new chicken tractor, erecting a sun shade for the bull pen, a post office visit, various errands, and packing for my trip. My hands are still sore–several days later–after slaughtering, skinning, and butchering 8 young roosters, and then 10 more, two days later. I should reiterate that we have never been “plucker” types. Since we only rarely eat  chicken skin, it makes more sense to skin our chickens. We then either freeze them whole, or immediately boil them and save the broth and bone out all of the meat. This was the first batch that we’ve cooked, de-boned and then immediately pressure-canned.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”