The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,

To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men

But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;

Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.” – Titus 3: 1-11(KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — June 6, 2020

3

The 6th of June is remembered for both D-Day and for the birth of Dieudonné Joseph Saive (born 1899.) He was the designer of many well-known firearms including the Browning Hi-Power, the FN49 and co-designer (along with Ernest Vervier) of the very popular FN-FAL, which was issued to the militaries of more than 90 countries.

Also on this day in 1949, George Orwell’s novel of a dystopian future, Nineteen Eighty-Four was published. The novel’s all-seeing leader, known as “Big Brother,” became a universal symbol for intrusive government and oppressive bureaucracy.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another 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.

Relocation In Catastrophes – Part 1, by J. of T.

24

Editor’s Introductory Note:  The author has a Christian worldview, and many years of experience as a missionary. He applies these to his family preparedness. Whether you are a Christian or not, you will probably find this article useful.

—

Lot was Abraham’s brother. He is mentioned in Genesis 14-19. He also receives honorable mentions in the New Testament. The Holy Scriptures don’t even hide his failures or his sin. I love God’s Word because its is brutally honest. It’s like having a best friend tell you the good and the bad about our life.

Lot’s life is an example of how God can keep and save families bearing His name. Albeit, Lot’s strategic relocation is “cutting it close.” That’s an understatement. No one should ever put off or procrastinate critical decisions involving family security and safety.

Lot’s family was saved by God. Our Lord has mercy upon all who call out to Him. He is our solid rock. All other ground is sinking sand.

History of ANCIENT CITIES Has MODERN APPLICATION

It’s important to note that cities like Ninevah, Sodom and Tyre had prosperity. They also had vice and moral extremes. To see an important Biblical insight on the city states of Sodom read Ezekiel 16:49 (posted below). The Biblical prophets deeply probed the roots of moral and spiritual decay. No other words are higher or trustworthy than Scriptures apostles and prophets. They have no equal. No one can overturn or outdo their true calling. Their words and their lives speak forever. (See Hebrews 11).

Lot knew the dangers of living in a populated area with moral extremes. The cities are like magnets that allure and attract. Youth and college kids love metropolitan areas. This presents a formidable challenge to us in modern times. The lessons from Genesis 19 display the unparalleled wisdom and God’s mercy. In the VERY same story! The New covenant also declares Lot’s history and sudden relocation.

Many people live like Lot, 2020. Lot knew the spiritual and physical dangers in the cities he frequented. He chose to ignore God’s prior warnings. Even though he knew the rampant lawlessness governing the regions. Lot’s family was suddenly extricated by angels. Truly, none of us want to experience such sudden loss or forced relocation!  (See Genesis 19:12 and 2 Peter 2:7)

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO HEAD FOR THE HILLS!

We live in exciting times. More dramatic transformation has occurred in the last 10 years, than the previous 500 years. After two full decades in foreign missions (North America, Alaska, Canada, Africa and the Middle East), my attitude has changed. I’d also state that the point of foreign missions is to transform the missionaries, not just “save souls.”

I’d say that overseas missions work is similar to strategic relocation or homesteading. The only difference is how much you talk (or declare) the Gospel. Some people are not called to be talkers, but doers of God’s wisdom. These can be more persuasive than many pulpit ministers. We are all invited to live lifestyles that embrace God’s Word, in humility. God doesn’t coerce or enforce like Marxism and global collectivism. He invites, He woos and He gently forewarns. He guides and He protects. But when God’s gentle proddings are ignored, He later sends visible judgements or cataclysms. This was seen in Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19). Sometimes those judgements are overt, but other times its just “sowing what was reaped.” Indirect consequences of decades of disobedience, all reaped suddenly.Continue reading“Relocation In Catastrophes – Part 1, by J. of T.”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

80

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, while out of state to gather inventory and to assist an elderly relative, I’ve been keeping busy. Starting on Wednesday, I have been stripping, sanding, priming, and painting the very heavy duty deer guard bumper on our SUV. The bumper was made by the skillful folks at Reunel, down in California. This bumper has served us well for more than eight years. It has surely saved us from thousands of dollars in collision repairs. (Deer collisions are very common, in our region.)  But it was starting to show its age. So it was time for this rust removal and repainting project.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

3

“And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.” – 1 Chronicles 12:32 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — June 5, 2020

2

On June 5, 1851, Harriet Beecher Stowe published the first installment of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in The National Era. She was the sister of firebrand abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher.

—

A reminder:  The SurvivalRealty Berkey Water Filter Giveaway will end with a drawing on Sunday, June 7th. So get your entries in, soon.  Note that there are ways to qualify for multiple chances to win this great stainless steel water filter.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another 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.

Introduction to Beekeeping – Part 3, by K. in Tennessee

6

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)

V – The Bees

Apis milifera is the Latin name we’ve given the bug we call the “Honeybee”. Not to be confused with the bumble bees, wood bees, sweat bees, and other pollinators we share this planet with. It is a specific breed and different than the other small bees you come across in your environment. It took me several years before I could visually discern the difference, and there are even differences within the types of honeybees. Much like dog breeding, it is becoming a whole additional avenue in the hobby.

All bees produce honey. It is their food store for winter (and what they feed their kids!) Apis milifera has been domesticated because of its willingness to, docile nature, abundant honey production, and ease of management. These bees have been bred and maintained around the world for centuries. As with most domestic animal supply there are concerns about in-breeding. Lately there have been some new varieties introduced, and several other ‘strains’ being monitored and developed. It really is an exciting time to be in the hobby as there is a lot of new research and information coming out. Far beyond the scope of this article, it is one of the things that I find entertaining: there is a lot of new information coming out constantly.

The most affordable way to acquire bees (capturing swarms aside) is to purchase a package. Bees are usually offered as packages or Nucs (short for ‘Nucleus Hive’), with a queen marked or un-marked. The local clubs here do a group-buy of package bees every spring, or you can order them shipped to your door. A package of bees typically includes ~ 3 lbs. of mixed bees (all ages) and a queen in a separate container called a “queen cage”. The ‘package’ is a cage about the size of a shoebox, wood framed with wire mesh or plastic, and buzzing like all get out! If you have them shipped to you, call your local shipper’s office ahead of time to let them know. They will be very appreciative of you picking them up ASAP (and you’ll want to get them quickly too, rather than bouncing around in the back of your local delivery vehicle all afternoon).

Nucleus hives are small little hives (typically 4 frame mediums) where the bees and queen are already mixed and established. With the current precautions due to the Chinese Kung-Flu I would not ship at this time – people are receiving dead packages because the carrier applied disinfectant to the entire container. I’ve only ever purchased packages that were picked up and never once had a problem. I recommend purchasing a package through your local club or find a distributor reasonably close and make a day of going to pick them up! I recently took a 3.5 hr. ride over the mountains to pick mine up, it was a fantastic day trip, gorgeous countryside! The dog and I had a blast!Continue reading“Introduction to Beekeeping – Part 3, by K. in Tennessee”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

56

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 small business owners choosing to not re-open. (See the Economy & Finance section.)

Precious Metals:

We’ll start out wit this news from Zero Hedge:  “The Largest Ever Physical Transfer Of Gold”

o  o  o

Arkadiusz Sieron: Will The Fed Trigger Inflation This Time, Boosting Gold?

o  o  o

Just as I predicted, the silver-to-gold price ratio has recently dropped from 118-to-1 down to around 97-to-1. But I still consider silver a relative bargain. Therefore, I recommend that my readers do some comparison shopping to find a local dealer that sells silver a low premium, over spot. Ideally, find one that is willing to directly ratio trade your physical gold for their physical silver in one transaction. Don’t wait until the ratio drops to 70-to-1, to do this!

Economy & Finance:

NBC Chicago reports: Small Businesses Suffering After Riots, Coronavirus Pandemic. JWR’s Comments: Put yourself in the shoes of a typical “Mom & Pop” small business owner, who is now looking at a fire-damaged store with smashed windows, empty shelves, a huge mess on the floor, and a new, much higher business insurance quote. What is the motivation to rebuild, re-stock, and re-hire?  I suspect that many will just choose to retire early, or switch to Internet-only sales, or simply take up another line of work.

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge:  Bill Dudley: “The Fed Is Basically Creating A Little Bit Of Moral Hazard”

o  o  o

At Forbes: Inside The $2.5 Trillion Debt Binge That Has Taken S&P 500 Titans Including Boeing And AT&T From Blue Chips To Near Junk

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: From Ice-Cold to Hot: Daily Pending Home Sales in May so Far, 15 Cities Around the US

o  o  o

College Enrollment in the Spring Fell for 9th Year in a Row, and Now Comes CovidContinue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — June 4, 2020

5

This is the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, in 1989.

Also on this day, June 4th, in 1944 United States Navy Task Group 22.3 captured U-505, a German submarine and with it an intact Enigma cypher machine. This was the first time since the USS Peacock seized HMS Nautilus in 1815 that the USN had captured an enemy vessel at sea. The sub, reunited with its periscope a decade ago, is displayed at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another 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.

Introduction to Beekeeping – Part 2, by K. in Tennessee

5

(Continued from Part 1. )

III – The Hive

The Beehive is the home you provide for the bees. It is supposed to make your task of managing the hive easier, while giving the bees what they want for a home. This is where you show your mettle and what you have learned. If the bees don’t like your home, don’t worry, they’ll just leave! The signs are all there if you know how to read them (an experienced mentor can help immensely). There are several styles of hives out there. Top Bar and Langstroth hives are the most common styles, Langstroths are the most popular, and what I would recommend new people get. They are affordable and interchangeable. While other versions offer advantages to some beekeepers, the ubiquity of Langstroth style hives makes them the beginner’s choice in my opinion.

Langstroth style hives are the wooden boxes you typically see (in the field, or as seen at the top of this article). The boxes house the frames of honeycomb, where the bees store honey and grow their young. Developed by Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth in approximately 1851. He discovered the magic of “Bee Space” and revolutionized the field. It turns out bees are very particular about the space they occupy. They do not like open spaces, so the equipment in Langstroth hives is all designed to fit together and give you the appropriate bee space between components. This is important to managing the bees successfully – they can live just about anywhere, but your ability to successfully manage them is greatly improved if you pay attention to bee space. Langstroth hives come in 2 sizes – 8 or 10 frames (e.g. the wooden box is sized to fit 8 or 10 frames inside); and 3 depths – Shallow, Medium, or Deep. The boxes hold the frames, the frames hold the honey and baby bees.

Langstroth hives have a few sections, and different vendors have come up with different ideas on the same function. I urge you to not get confused by the variety available – it can be overwhelming to the novice; it was for me. Look at the starter packages available or ask your mentor or a club member to help you choose. I will offer my suggestions below.Continue reading“Introduction to Beekeeping – Part 2, by K. in Tennessee”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

77

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 how the current riots seem to be spinning out of control.

WRSA Site Shut Down by WordPress

The latest round of the censorship war:  On Tuesday afternoon, the Western Rifle Shooters Association (WRSA) web site was shut down by WordPress — ostensibly for “content violations”.  The WRSA site has always been outspokenly pro-2A. I find the timing of when their site was axed very suspicious. You see, most recently, they re-posted the late Mike Vanderboegh’s serialized book titled Absolved, all in one piece.  Apparently that raised the ire and invoked The Author-I-Tahh of the leftist, anti-gun WordPress gnomes.

Other conservative and libertarian people and organizations that use WordPress for site hosting should take note, and make immediate plans to migrate to other servers!  Be proactive, or you too may end up “down the memory hole.”

Fear not. The WRSA’s primary writer has already begun posting on GAB. They can’t stop the signal!

Looters Kill Retired St. Louis Police Captain on Facebook Live

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Looters fatally shoot retired St. Louis police captain on Facebook Live video

The Widening Gyre: Louisville BBQ Business Owner Killed

Reader D.S.V. suggested this troubling news: ‘My son didn’t hurt nobody’: David McAtee, Louisville business owner, killed by authorities. JWR’s Comment: If there are too many incidents like those in St. Louis and Louisville, then the current protests and riots could spin out of control into urban gun battles and insurgency. Please pray with fervor for a return to civility, in America.

Virginia Refuses, Maryland Agrees to Send National Guard to DC

Several readers sent this headline, over at The Hill: Virginia refuses, Maryland agrees to Pentagon request to send National Guard to DC

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — June 3, 2020

10

On June 3rd, 1539, Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto claimed Florida for Spain.

June 3rd can also be considered the “birthday” of the U.S. Army. (It was established by Congress on June 3rd, 1784.)

Also on this day, in 1911, actress Ellen Corby was born. She is often remembered for her role as Grandma Walton, in the television series The Waltons.

—

On Tuesday afternoon, I heard from a couple of readers that the Western Rifle Shooters Association (WRSA) web site had been shut down by WordPress — ostensibly for “content violations”. The WRSA site has always been outspokenly pro-2A. I find the timing of when their site was axed very suspicious. You see, most recently, they re-posted the late Mike Vanderboegh’s serialized book titled Absolved, all in one piece.  Apparently that raised the ire and invoked The Author-I-Tahh of the leftist, anti-gun WordPress gnomes.

Other conservative and libertarian people and organizations that use WordPress for site hosting should take note, and make immediate plans to migrate to other servers!  Be proactive, or you too may end up “down the memory hole.”

Fear not. The WRSA’s primary writer has already begun posting on GAB. They can’t stop the signal!

—

Reader R.L. wrote ask why we no longer post a banner advertisement or generic link to Amazon.com. To explain: Amazon has discontinued “Amazon Stores”. We are still in the Amazon Associates program, but we are no longer allowed to post a generic “Associate” link for Amazon ordering. We can only advertise individual products, with links. But the good news is that if you click on any blue Amazon product link at SurvivalBlog and then search and order it or anything else from Amazon, then we still earn a commission. So, for example, if you see a link to book that we recommend — such as The Encyclopedia of Country Living — and then from that page you find something else on Amazon that you want to order, then we will still earn a commission. Each Wednesday, we post new recommendations, many of which include Amazon links. Henceforth, I will try to include at least one Amazon link for you to use, either in my Top Note, or down in the Quote of The Day. Thanks! – JWR

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another 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.

Introduction to Beekeeping – Part 1, by K. in Tennessee

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I – Introduction

I started researching beekeeping as a hobby for several years before I got my first bees, mostly due to life’s circumstances. Once I settled down and had a piece of land to call home, I was able to get some bees and find it rather enjoyable. It’s quite unlike any other hobby, not the same as gardening, or NASCAR. Keeping wild animals in a wooden box isn’t for everyone. It has challenged me and I’ve learned a lot, and that’s what I find alluring – the more I learn about it, the less I know.

Beekeeping has been unpredictable, frustrating, weather dependent and has a steep learning curve. What little excess honey I have been able to capture from my bees, has been very warmly received by friends and neighbors. If it turns out you have the knack, good for you – don’t’ hold back! If you’re thinking this may be a great way to turn up a few extra bucks on your homestead – don’t count on it (though it may be possible). Initial setup costs and learning curve would make it a challenge to stay profitable. I’m fairly cheap by nature and tried entering into the hobby cautiously. I learned a few things along the way I hope to share here. This is by no means an authoritative treatise on the subject; my goal is to give you enough advice to feel comfortable starting down this road. I was very hesitant to pull the trigger on starting up in this hobby as it seemed so foreign and strange. Research and reading before hand certainly helped, but acquiring a hive and some bees, and spending time with them and working them has provided substantially more experience. I think you need a solid foundation of knowledge before starting, but hands-on experience has really made the difference for me. I decided to write this article with the hope that it will give some Survivorblog.com readers enough confidence to give it a try.

II – LIFE CYCLE AND HISTORY

Honeybees live in a colony with 3 types of bees: Worker bee, Drone bee, and Queen bee. The Queen bee is female, and there is only one per hive. The queen bee lays all the eggs, which become either workers or drones (and sometimes new queens!) Worker bees are typically +95% of the type reared, and are also female, but never reproduce. Drone bees are the only males and will fly outside the hive and attempt to mate with other queens. They provide no benefit to their own hive but do use resources/food. At the end of the season, the drones are all kicked out as the hive prepares for winter.

All bees start out as an egg laid in the bottom of a cell of honeycomb. After a few days of growth, the worker bees in the hive will cover the cell and the egg will pupate into a bee. Worker bees take about 18 days to cook, drones 21, queens take 23 days to develop, and she is fed a special diet called “Royal Jelly”.

Worker bees go through a variety of roles in and around the hive as they age. They start as nurse bees taking care of other young and cleaning the hive. Then guard bees and finally foragers going out and about to gather resources to bring back to the hive. Most bees typically live for about 40 days, and it takes 18-21 days to be reared from an egg. A complete lifecycle for most bees is about 60 days (egg to death). As winter approaches, the hive will begin rearing nurse bees to over-winter with (they live longer). All egg and honey production will shut down, and the remaining bees will attempt to cluster and keep the queen warm over the winter months. Stored honey and supplemented sugar are their only food. They will ball up around the queen and shiver, vibrate and flap their tiny wings to generate heat all winter long, attempting to keep the queen alive.

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