How to Teach Situational Awareness to Children – Part 1, by T.Y.

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(Part 1 of 5)

Until I was four years old my family lived in the “old house.” It was a wooden, four-room cabin overlooking a mountain stream. My grandfather built the cabin in the 1940s. When we wanted a drink of water we walked to our spring, filled a bucket and toted it home. If grandma needed hot water she had to start a fire first.

While my sister and I played outside in the dirt, grandma cleaned clothes on a washboard in the creek and wrung them dry. She let us “help” when she churned butter or shucked corn, then taught us to start a fire for the wood stove while she killed a chicken for dinner. After dinner we “got to” feed the pigs, harvest the garden and stack the jars of food on the shelf that grandma canned. For fun, I would sit on the porch and practice knife skills by whittling away on a piece of hickory.

As it turns out, my childhood was the original “prep school”—the one that prepared me for life.

By contrast, most of today’s parents (and even their parents) didn’t grow up learning those skills. Instead, they were born into a life of dependence on modern conveniences. As a result, today’s children are only taught modern survival skills—such as flipping a switch that turns on lights and turning on a faucet to get drinking water.

Today’s children can navigate with technology, but not with a paper road map. They can find Wi-Fi in any city, but ask them to purify water from any source and they can’t. They can use a microwave, but they can’t build a fire.

But, what skills do today’s children have to prepare them to face the all-too-common threats of violence and disasters we see on the news? For that matter, what skills and resources do their parents have?

Beyond the basic survival skills that today’s society is failing to pass down to our children, our world has many more violent threats than it did a few generations ago. In addition to common natural disasters, our society is becoming increasingly and indiscriminately violent. Unspeakable tragedies include abductions, sexual assaults, and deadly shootings at schools, from kindergartens to universities.Continue reading“How to Teach Situational Awareness to Children – Part 1, by T.Y.”

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 a possible deal in Wyoming, where Occidental Petroleum is selling land and mineral rights covering 7,800 square miles. This is an area larger than Connecticut. (See the Wyoming section.)

Idaho

Authorities working today to recover two more victims following deadly airplane collision over Lake Coeur d’Alene

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Rock slide on US-95 between Riggins and Pollock forces second closure

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The Good Simple Living vlogging family is making great strides in building a “Barndominium” tiny house in the back of their shop. They now have 105,000 subscribers, and I recommend subscribing to their channel.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The cause of economic despair, however, is human nature’s propensity to sway from fear to euphoria and back, a condition that no economic paradigm has proved capable of suppressing without severe hardship. Regulation, the alleged effective solution to today’s crisis, has never been able to eliminate history’s crises.” Alan Greenspan – Financial Times, 2008

Preparedness Notes for Monday — July 6, 2020

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July 6th is the anniversary of the 1994 Storm King Mountain wildfire that took the lives of 14 firefighters. Weather changes, resulting in 45 mph wind gusts, caused a modest wildfire to erupt into a blazing inferno, which threatened homes in and around the town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Firefighters from around the country were called to assist in fighting this wildfire. We will never forget the young men and women who lost their lives battling this fire:

Prineville (Oregon) Hotshots: Kathi Beck, Tamera Bickett, Scott Blecha, Levi Brinkley, Douglas Dunbar, Terri Hagen, Bonnie Holtby, Rob Johnson, Jon Kelso

Missoula Smokejumper: Don Mackey

McCall Smokejumpers: Roger Roth, Jim Thrash

Helitack firefighters: Robert Browning, Jr., Richard Tyler

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Today we present another product review by our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

Century Arms C308 Sporter, by Pat Cascio

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If you’ve been on the firearms scene for any length of time, you will surely know the company called Century Arms. Century used to import a lot of military surplus long guns and handguns, at quite good prices. Then, some years ago, they started making AK-47 style rifles – using a mix of used mil-surplus parts and some brand-new parts. Now, if you know anything about the AK-47 rifle, you know it is simplicity at its best. They were designed that way, so they were easy to maintain by fighters in Third World countries, who didn’t know anything about firearms. The AKs were used and abused, and rarely cleaned. However they had a reputation of working without any lube or being cleaned – not the most accurate battle rifles, but they worked.

It has been widely reported that Century Arms, were using trained chimps to assemble their semi-auto only version of the AK-47. There were a lot of problems with Century Arms AK-47s not functioning. I know, I owned a few of them myself. Fortunately, I was able to do a little gunsmithing on those guns and get them up and running. On one gun, it simply needed the gas piston rod straightened out – who would have been so stupid to install a bent gas piston rod? Obviously, Century doesn’t test-fire the guns they assemble The good news is that Century Arms has improved their quality control. They are now taking extra care in assembling the military pattern rifles that they are selling.

Many years ago, I purchased a used Century Arms rifle that was marked “C308” and it looked very similar to the H&K Model 91 (“HK91”) battle rifle, with only a few slight differences. One difference was it had a faux flash hider on it, not a deal-breaker. And, whoever owned it before I did, performed a fairly decent spray paint can camo paint job on the entire gun – again, not a deal-breaker. And, best of all, used, but as-new Aluminum light-weight paratrooper 20-rd magazines were selling for 99-cents each. That was a give away price on magazines. I believe I had at least a hundred spare mags for that C308.

As is the case at times, I got stupid, and traded that rifle off, and I regretted it the moment I did the trade. The rifle never had a malfunction of any kind, using a good variety of military surplus 7.62 NATO ammo – and it was plenty accurate, too. A few weeks later, I was back in that same gun shop in Boise, Idaho and spied my old C308 – no one had bought it. So I bought it right back, and was happy. But then I fell on hard times and I was forced to sell it – not trade it. And, that was the last I saw of it.

My regular gun shop that I now haunt in Oregon bought a large gun collection. And in that collection was a brand-new Century Arms C308 – I did a quick trade and brought it home. It was assembled with a mix of brand-new and surplus (used) parts. The barrel and upper receiver are brand-new – made by PTR, who produces some outstanding clones of the original H&K 91 battle rifle. There are a few more U.S.-made parts, to meet the requirements of the Federal Section 922(r) import law. The remainder of the parts are used military parts – from military surplus HK and CETME rifles from around the world. The H&K Model 91 is a civilian version of the select-fire G3 rifle. All of the parts should be interchangeable – but some are and some aren’t. The main differences are in the fire control group — to prevent illicit conversion to full auto.

But a C308 could be made up of military surplus parts from a variety of countries – you just don’t know. The pistol grip and trigger housing holds the trigger. The variety used on mine is called a “Navy” lower – it is made out of polymer. The innards are partly military parts and partly civilian parts, to keep this rifle strictly semi-auto.Continue reading“Century Arms C308 Sporter, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Potatoes Persillade

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The following recipe for Potatoes Persillade (Parsley) 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.

Potatoes Persillade

Ingredients
  • 1 dozen small new potatoes or 6 medium-sized old potatoes
  • Butter or butter substitute
  • Salt, to tatse
  • Juice of one-half lemon
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
Directions

These are dependent upon finely chopped parsley, not only for their name but for their attractive appearance.

  1. Scrape new potatoes or pare old potatoes and cut the size of a small egg.
  2. Boil until tender
  3. Add salt just before cooking is completed.
  4. Drain, place in a saucepan with sufficient butter or butter substitute to coat all the potatoes.
  5. Add the lemon juice.
  6. Sprinkle with minced parsley.
  7. The potatoes should be well coated with parsley when served.
SERVING

These are excellent with boiled fish.

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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!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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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 the ill-fated Zimbabwean Dollar. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold price to hit $1,950 in Q2 2021 – Natixis

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Egon von Greyerz: History Tells Us To Own Gold When Central Banks Run Out Of Control

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Gold & Silver Forecasts: Both Shining

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Goldman hikes gold price forecast on debasement fears and a weaker dollar

Economy & Finance:

U.S. banks are ‘swimming in money’ as deposits increase by $2 trillion amid the coronavirus

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At Zero Hedge: Americans’ Biggest Financial Regret Is Not Saving Enough Before The Coronavirus Hit

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Governments eye new taxes on cigarettes, homes and tech giants to pay for budget shortfalls

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First published in The New York Times: ‘We could be feeling this for the next decade’: Virus hits college towns

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — July 5, 2020

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On July 5, 1810, P. T. Barnum, the great American showman, was born. He died on April 7, 1891. He is often credited with the phrase “There is a sucker born every minute.” While the actual attribution of the quote is suspect with many versions of the story abounding, the concept remains valid, especially when one considers the economic state of the entire world. Only in a world of fools could the economy of entire nations, indeed the vast majority of the world, be driven solely off of debt.

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The big Independence Day sale for Elk Creek Company ends this evening, so get your order in soon!

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We’re Short of Articles!

We are short of articles to post for the current round of the writing contest. So here is a special reminder for the kind folks who have recently left some long comments, in our Comments section. Many of those comments range from 800 to 1,200 words in length!  You might as well combine two or three of your comments, re-edit them and send that in as a feature article, for posting and judging in the writing contest. Am I begging?  You bet I am!

Round 89 of the contest ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

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Today’s feature article was too short for consideration for judging in Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum.  Thanks!

Is It Time To Worry?, by Jim S.

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All the readers of this blog have been preparing. Prepping for disasters, both man-made and natural. We even prepped for Financial Crises and Economic collapse.

But were we anticipating an insurrection? Not really. We all on this blog believe in America, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. We also believed the American Dream and that our way of life would survive almost any disaster.

Now come groups, mostly college-educated that say America is 100% racist, amoral, evil and their solution is to destroy it. “BURN IT TO THE GROUND” says the BLM New York City leader.

Last week I saw a video of a couple in a grated neighborhood that had to stand in front of their home holding an AR-15 and a pistol to protect their family and home. Rioters/protestors had broken down the grate to their private community looking for their mayor. Several were armed with weapons.

This has nothing to do with the murder of Mr. Floyd. These people think every white person is privileged and that even African American police are evil too. The hatred espoused by these groups is at an all-time high and they are backed with large sums of money and corporate support…Coca-Cola, Google, and others.

Several conservative radio hosts have called for everybody in the middle (my father’s Democratic Party) and on the right to stand up and peacefully protest and push back for patriot freedoms and liberties.

But we fear being called a racist…if you don’t drink 100% of the Kool-Aid, even if you disagree with any of their philosophy, then you are dubbed a racist, period. These groups have even threatened liberals who want to debate the issues and they are called racists and that they need to be boycotted and destroyed.Continue reading“Is It Time To Worry?, by Jim S.”

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 polo shirts and AR-15s.

Slow Earthquakes in Cascadia are Predictable

Reader C.B. spotted this over at Phys.org: Slow earthquakes in Cascadia are predictable.

Armed Couple Fends Off Gate-Smashing Rioters

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Armed St. Louis couple who defended their home from angry mob speaks out. JWR’s Comment:  I wonder if he picked that pink polo shirt, so that the rioters would think he was a sensitive AR-15 owner. You know what they say… Guys who are secure in their masculinity, don’t shun wearing pink.

Moldova Shuts Down Bootleg Helicopter Factory

Our Editor-At-Large Mike Williamson sent this: Moldova Shuts Down Bootleg Helicopter Factory

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;

That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.

So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.” – Romans 1: 8-19 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 4, 2020

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Happy Independence Day!  Today, Americans go through the motions of celebrating the remnants of our once preciously cherished liberty.

July 4th is the birthday of both Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) and General Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882)

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Today’s feature article was too short for consideration for judging in Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Note that we are presently running out of articles to post, so if you’ve been dawdling in finishing up an article, this is a good time to complete it, and send it in. Round 89 of the contest 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.

Prepare Now for Post-Election Chaos, by A. Deplorable

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The days that followed the presidential election of 2016 were incomprehensible to most Americans. Protesters filled the streets with shouts of “He’s not my president,” a statement that was echoed by a member of congress. Only a few months before the end of his term there are countless persons who refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Trump presidency.

Things will be worse after Election Day on November 3rd, 2020 if Biden fails to win. The protests, rioting, looting, and murders that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis were only slowly beginning to diminish after more than two weeks. What followed after Floyd’s unjustified death is a preview of what will happen if Donald Trump is re-elected. The fury that will follow will be deadly.

There are several reasons for this disturbing prediction. Protesters are no longer random collections of disgruntled voters whose candidate lost; they are a well-organized force, funded and directed by those groups and individuals, within and beyond our borders, who seek to destroy the United States.

Mayors, city councils, and governors have emasculated the police. Looters, if they are arrested at all, are released within hours and no bail is imposed. Businesses are allowed to burn with no attempt by firefighters to save them. Government officials literally have stated that rioters should be allowed to vent their frustrations. When the president suggests that he might send in federal troops to stop the insanity he is told that the Constitution does not allow him to do so, even though presidents have done just that at least a dozen times since the founding of our nation.Continue reading“Prepare Now for Post-Election Chaos, by A. Deplorable”

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:

I’m now back at the ranch and have plunged into a flurry of activity. Presently, I’m cataloging, packing Elk Creek Company antique gun orders, and catching up on the “Honey Do” list.

Our Independence Day Sale is still in progress and ends on the evening of Sunday, July 5th.  So that has me very busy. We’ve already had seven orders, so please get your order in soon! All of the guns are “first-come-first-served.”

On Monday, in addition to packing some orders, I plan to fire up one of our pair of Stihl Farm Boss chainsaws.  The Husqvarna size-equivalent is the Husqvarna 455 Rancher. I consider them comparable, and from local reports, the Husqvarna is slightly better. So, if I had to do it all over again, I’d buy Huskies.

Remember our motto: “Two is one and one is none.” Some folks like to have one small saw for limbing and for dropping small trees, and a larger saw for serious felling. But I opted for two of the same model saws each with 20″ bars. That is because we don’t have many trees on our ranch that are more than 24″ in diameter. So I can “make do” with 20″ bars. The big bonus for me is that the two saws use identical bars, chains, spark plugs, recoil starters, et cetera. In my book, interchangeability of parts trumps.  I also still have a smaller, lighter Makita electric chainsaw with a 16″ bar, but it is of course limited by the reach of extension cords.

Thankfully, I am nearly done with laying in our winter firewood supply.

A reader in north-central Idaho saw my request in the blog for a set of shelves to house my antique revolver inventory and offered me a very generous trade for an autographed book, a blog archive USB stick, and some consulting time. He has a seven-foot-tall set of shelves with adjustable slots that should work nicely. Lord willing, I’ll be picking that up, this coming week. My thanks to him, in advance!  And thanks to the half-dozen other readers who responded. The only problem with most of those was the long driving distances required if I had bought any of them. Nothing personal, but diesel fuel is spendy!

And now, over to Lily.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”