Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — November 12, 2019

1

November 12th, 1950 was the birthday of RLI Corporal John Alan Coey (died 19 July 1975). He was the first American volunteer soldier killed in Rhodesia.

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Today is the birthday of USMC Sergeant Major Daniel Joseph “Dan” Daly (born 1873, died April 27, 1937). He was one of only nineteen men (including seven Marines) to twice receive the Medal of Honor.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  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 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 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.
  3. 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,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 85 ends on November 30th, 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.

What I Learned From the Recent Power Outage – Part 1, by A.K.

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As I related in a previous article, I’ve been a “nomad” for the past couple of years since selling my home and taking off to travel, volunteer etc. This has resulted in my living in a whole lot of places, some in the US and some overseas. I’ve spent time camping in the US and time living in an urban apartment overseas in an area subject to earthquakes/tsunamis, terrorist attacks, and missiles. Add to that just ordinary homes of all kinds, from suburban sorts to urban apartments in the US. Much of this has involved pet-sitting so I might reside in these places anywhere from a few days to a month or more. So what’s a prepper to do?

My ability to “prep” in a normal fashion and to a level that I’d prefer hasn’t been possible the past few years due to living in other people’s homes and being so mobile. When I’ve had the use of my car (here in the US) I’ve been able to take more stuff with me but still, it’s a small hatchback so it’s limited. I’m pretty much dependent to a large degree on what other people have in their homes to weather disasters. It ain’t a pretty picture I can tell you after having lived in well over 50 places the past few years. Still, I tried to do my best given the limited circumstances.

Even overseas in an all-electric apartment I stored some water, food, had flashlights, a small rocket camping stove etc. That wasn’t a great situation, especially in terms of water as at least half the year there is no rain and there are no natural water sources in the area that aren’t salt water. At least heat wasn’t needed to survive; I never used any while living there, even in the winter. There were frequent power outages there but usually no longer than 4 or 5 hours; evidently there were a lot of bad drivers who would regularly crash into traffic light poles which necessitated shutting down power to the area to do the repairs.

But now that I’m back in the US, house hunting and continuing to stay in different homes while pet-sitting. It’s been eye-opening to consider the sort of “preps” that people in these homes have done in terms of any sort of preparedness for an emergency. This is interesting (I think) as it points out to me both the issues to be found while traveling if one is a committed prepper plus where the preparedness gaps are for others. As well, what do I learn from this that I can do better in my own home when I find it? And what should/can I improve in my own preps while traveling?Continue reading“What I Learned From the Recent Power Outage – Part 1, by A.K.”

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 the vlogger who produces North Country Off Grid. (See the Idaho section.)

Idaho

Citizen Alert: Meeting on a Proposed Prison in Kootenai County

o o o

Reader J.L.P. wrote to mention: “There is a YouTuber in North Idaho who has been having issues with county building permits. The channel is North Country Off Grid. As noted in the videos linked below, the permit is a “location” permit for a small (app. 320 square feet), temporary structure (no permanent foundation). It’s their “tiny house” (he hates calling it that – they were actually featured on a Tiny House show).
He has posted a series of videos, which include footage of a county supervisor meeting.

The description on their video page says: “We are a family of five, that is building our homestead from the ground up, with cash off grid, in North Idaho. We have three kiddos and a bunch of farm animals. We want a self sustaining, debt free farm and lifestyle.”

o o o

I was pleased to see that Herrett’s Gun Stocks in Twin Falls, Idaho is still in business, after all these years.  Here is their contact information:

Herrett Stocks, Inc.
P.O. Box 741
169 Madrona St.
Twin Falls, ID. 83303-0741
Telephone: (208) 733-1498 Fax: (208) 733-1632

Their shop hours are 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM Mountain Time, Monday through Friday.

o o o

Sandpoint 8-year-old reels in monster rainbow trout, breaks Idaho record

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“How to succeed: First, labor. Nothing can be had for nothing; whatever a man achieves, he must pay for it; and no favor of fortune can absolve him from duty. Secondly, patience and forbearance, which is simply dependent upon the slow justice of time. Thirdly, and important, faith. Unless a man believes in something far higher than himself, something infinitely purer and grander than he can ever become—unless he has an  instinct of an order beyond his dreams, of laws beyond his comprehension, of beauty and good and justice, beside which his own ideals are dark, he will fail in every loftier form of ambition, and ought to fail.” – Bayard Taylor

Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 11, 2019

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Today is the birthday of General George S. Patton, Jr. (born 1885, died December 21, 1945).

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November 11th is of course Veteran’s Day. If you value your freedom, then thank a veteran.

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Today is the birthday of Hugh Everett (born 1930, died July 19, 1982), the American physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation (MWI) of quantum physics, which he termed his “relative state” formulation.

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November 11th also marks Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), in 1965. Remember Rhodesia.

—

Ready Made Resources is running a big Veteran’s Day sale on White Phosphor AN/PVS-14 night vision monoculars. These are top of the line full mil-spec units made by L3 Communications! “Package Contents: Monocular, headmount, transfer arm, soft case, shoulder strap, eye cup, objective lens cap, lanyard, de-mist shield, sacrificial window, lens tissue, AA Batteries (2) & ops manual.” Buyers will also receive a bonus of a free box IR chemlight sticks. Be sure to order before midnight on 11/11/2019.

—

There are just two weeks left in the current round of our non-fiction writing contest.  Please get your entries in, soon! The prizes for the top three writers are amazing.

Taurus Spectrum .380 ACP, by Pat Cascio

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While the .380 Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) round  might have been a good choice for the fictional James Bond in some of his earlier movies, it still isn’t the first choice for me, or most other shooters. In later movies, Bond was shown carrying some 9mm handguns, which was a smart move. However, for my use, anything chambered in .380 ACP isn’t my first choice in a concealed carry handgun. Now, that’s not to say that in the past I didn’t actually did carry some .380 ACP handguns. I can only say I was young and naive. Keep in mind that the following are my opinions, and mine alone – and we are all entitled to opinions. They are just that, and opinion. So, save the hate mail, if you like your gun in .380 ACP. I’m not going to try and change your mine. I must also mention that my own wife often carries some kind of .380 ACP concealed – for many different reasons.

Needless to say, the .380 ACP is a lot better than throwing rocks and sticks at someone who is trying to harm you. And, with today’s ammo, there are great choices in self-defense loads, too. In the past, you were pretty much limited to a Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) round, if you wanted your pistol to feed reliably. Many .380 ACP JHP rounds simply wouldn’t feed. Today’s handguns are designed to feed just about any kind of ammo, including JHP rounds.

In the not too distant past, anything in .380 ACP was pretty much a “compact” or mid-sized handgun, and “compact” had a different meaning back then, than it does today. Many of the compact guns in the past are now considered mid-sized by many users. With better technology and better designs, we have more tiny handguns chambered in .380 ACP than ever before. In the past 10 years, many gun makers have been turning out “itty-bitty” handguns chambered in .380 ACP – and they work, with just about any type of ammo. I personally carry a Ruger LCP .380 ACP in an ankle holster, as a back-up to my main gun – whatever it may be, that I’m carrying or testing at the time. The Ruger LCP is tiny, no doubt about it. But it is intended or up-close and personal self-defense. And needless to say, because of it’s size, it is a bit hard to shoot accurately – you need lots of practice with it.Continue reading“Taurus Spectrum .380 ACP, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: K.M’s Sausage-Apple-Walnut Stuffing

Reader K.M. kindly sent us a recipe for a Thanksgiving sausage-apple-walnut stuffing. This can be cooked entirely as a side dish, or stuffed in your turkey, or both.  If cooked inside the turkey, then the sausage and onions must be sautéed, first.

Note: If baked as a side dish, then this should be started just 90 to 120 minutes before the expected serving time for your turkey.

Ingredients
  • 3/4 lb. mild ground sausage.
  • 1 medium sweet onion, peeled and chopped
  • 2 medium apples, cored and chopped
  • 1 c. celery, chopped.
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced. (More or less, to taste)
  • 1 c. toasted walnuts, chopped.
  • 2 tbsp. fresh sage
  • 1/4 c. Fresh parsley, chopped.
  • 1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped or ground.
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. fresh-ground pepper (more or less, to taste)
  • 12 c. of bread cubes–either fresh or crusty. (Cornbread can be substituted.)
  • 2 1/2 c. low-sodium turkey broth or chicken broth
  • 1/4 c. melted butter
  • Fresh parsley (garnish), to taste
Directions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
  2. Sauté the sausage and onion in a large skillet over medium heat for 7 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink.
  3. Add apples, celery, and garlic. (And apricots and/or raisins, if desired.)
  4. Sauté for 5 more minutes or until the apples are tender.
  5. Stir in the walnuts, sage, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper. (You may vary the quantities, to taste).
  6. Transfer this to a large bowl, and let it cool for 10 minutes.
  7. Fold in the bread cubes and broth, until bread cubes are moist and it is well-blended.
  8. Spoon mixture into a greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan (or any other 3-quart baking dish).
  9. Brush the top generously with butter.
  10. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes or until top is crusty and brown.
Variations
  • Cornbread can be substituted fro regular bread cubes.
  • If you want the stuffing a bit sweeter, then you can add some chopped apricots –canned or dried–and/or raisins to the apples.
SERVING
  • Keep this stuffing covered and on low heat, until serving.
  • Serve this stuffing hot.
  • Garnish with parsley and/or a few very thinly-sliced raw apples, if desired.
STORAGE

This stores well, refrigerated for up to 72 hours. It does not store well, frozen.

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 how The Fed is diving in to the Repo market feet first. (See the Economy & Finance section.)

Precious Metals:

Interview: The reasons for gold price to test the $3,000 range; rally isn’t over yet

o  o  o

Gold Falls 3% In Week To One-Month Low At $1,464/oz As Banks And Hedge Funds Sell COMEX Futures Aggressively

Economy & Finance:

Fed Goes Nuts with Repos & T-Bills but Sheds Mortgage Backed Securities

JWR’s Comment:  The Fed now finds itself in a jam.  Since the Lehman Brothers fiasco, the Fed built an economy that appeared immune to the business cycle, but at the cost of creating Debt Crack Addicts. And then when they attempted to unwind from QE, they found it impossible. So the Fed is now committed to Liquidity to Infinity. The Fed is diving in to the Repo market feet first. This of course must end someday, but it will probably be an spectacular implosion of the credit market. That implosion will also bring down the equities markets, the commodities markets, and the Dollar itself.

o  o  o

The Los Angeles Times reports: So much for a cashless society: Currency is popular again, especially the $100 bill. (Thanks to Joe B. for the link.)

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: What Heavy Trucks Are Saying

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — November 10, 2019

November 10th is remembered in the United States as the “birthday” of the U.S. Marine Corps.

—

Coincidentally, the 10th is also the birthday of the late Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov, born in 1919, died December 23, 2013. He didn’t design a lot of different guns, but one of his few designs was the prototype for what turned out to be the world’s most widely produced assault rifles.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  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 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 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.
  3. 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,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 85 ends on November 30th, 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.

How Plastic Saved Our Homestead – Part 2, by H.P.

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

For covering all of the crop rows, we use a black on white 1 mil UV stabilized poly film. This versatile material must be replaced every year after the grow season ends. Depending on which crop is being planted, we roll it out either white up or black up. The white, best for greens and brassicas, has a cooling effect on the soil by reflecting sunlight. The black warms the soil by absorbing sunlight and is used for the majority of crops. When used in the hoop house, drip tape would be installed first on the row before the film. Using this film has several benefits besides weed control including moisture retention, erosion control, and temperature regulation.

Another unexpected benefit is that using the film prevents the plant leaves from touching the soil. Plants stay much cleaner and less at risk for soil borne disease because of that barrier. Anyone who’s cleaned garden lettuce will appreciate that. The film is easily cut with a small putty knife when it’s time to plant the soil blocks or direct seed. There are implements used to apply this film in commercial applications, but we do it easily by hand. Once the film is down, we border it with the mulch cloth to complete the install. This method serves to channel rainwater to the base of the raised rows which wicks up into the roots.

Using these weed control methods will eliminate all weeding chores for your row crops and trees. The big exception is mound grown crops like raspberries, asparagus, and potatoes. Our asparagus is finally doing great, but it requires frequent weeding due to the exposed soil requirement. A ground covering tip we’ve learned is that having loose bricks (like those left over from a chimney repair) laying around is very helpful when installing the cover material.Continue reading“How Plastic Saved Our Homestead – Part 2, by H.P.”

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 America’s Food Supply Chain.

Map of America’s Food Supply Chain

Reader D.C.H. suggested this, at Fast Company: The first map of America’s food supply chain is mind-boggling. The article, based on a Environmental Research Letters study, begins:

“My team at the University of Illinois just developed the first high-resolution map of the U.S. food supply chain.

Our map is a comprehensive snapshot of all food flows between counties in the U.S.—grains, fruits and vegetables, animal feed, and processed food items.

To build the map, we brought together information from eight databases, including the Freight Analysis Framework from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which tracks where items are shipped around the country, and Port Trade data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which shows the international ports through which goods are traded.”

Your DNA Records Aren’t Private

Your DNA Profile is Private? A Florida Judge Just Said Otherwise

UK Burglars List Where They Look for Valuables

Reader DSV sent this from The Mirror: Burglars explain the first place they look when trying to steal your valuables.

Hawaii’s Big Island is Riddled with Lava Tubes

Linked over at the great Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Hawaii man dies after falling into lava tube on his propertyContinue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.” – Revelation 9 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 9, 2019

1

November 9th (1938) was “Kristallnacht”. Be forewarned, folks: Once a group in any society has been singled out for ridicule and persecution, then they can be systematically attacked, physically. Someday it may be “Constitutionalists” who are targeted.

—

I just got word that Palmetto State Armory (one of our affiliate advertisers) is having a Veteran’s Day Weekend sale on their M4-style Complete AR Lowers with MagPul MOE Edition black furniture with six-position buffer tubes, for just $149.  If you can afford to, then I recommend that you buy several. This is a great deal. Just type “7065” in their search box, to find this item.  Note that this sale ends at 12 Noon on Monday, 11/11/2019.

Oh, and I see that they also have MagPul 30-round PMAGs on sale at $7.99, with free shipping if you buy 10 or more. Just type “MAG571-BLK” in their search box, to find those.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  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 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 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.
  3. 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,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 85 ends on November 30th, 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.

How Plastic Saved Our Homestead – Part 1, by H.P.

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A Disclaimer: I have zero commercial interest or connection to the plastic industry or any link contained herein. All links and references below are provided for informational and educational purposes only. I strongly encourage readers to use locally owned suppliers and make your purchases face to face for all of the products I recommend. Or better yet- source them via second hand, scrap, or salvage. All photos are originals and taken at my property.

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Plastic has been getting a lot of bad press lately. Plastic pollution in our waterways is certainly a problem that deserves our attention. Leaching of toxic compounds from plastic containers into the food supply should concern us all. However, what if plastic could save farming by reducing the need for toxic pesticides and herbicides? What if plastic could increase yields and help feed you and your family? Plastic as a material, is widely available, lightweight, relatively shelf stable, and easy to work with. Plasticulture is an agricultural practice that deserves consideration.

What is plasticulture? Wikipedia defines it as:

The term plasticulture refers to the practice of using plastic materials in agricultural applications.

The plastic materials themselves are often and broadly referred to as “ag plastics.” Plasticulture ag plastics include soil fumigation film, irrigation drip tape/tubing, nursery pots and silage bags, but the term is most often used to describe all kinds of plastic plant/soil coverings. Such coverings range from plastic mulch film, row coverings, high and low tunnels (polytunnels), to plastic greenhouses.

In his book Plasticulture | Farming for Everybody, Otis Lester Bray presents plasticulture as an opportunity to transcend the problems associated with modern agriculture.

What is plasticulture to me? Plasticulture is abundance in my pursuit of maximizing food production for my family. Embracing plasticulture has been the single biggest difference maker for the development of our homestead (buying a tractor being a close second). Being the co-owner of a commercial building firm and father of two, my spare time is quite limited so I need every edge I can get as we develop our homestead.

First, some background

Shortly after moving to our rural homestead 7+ years ago, my wife and I hastily began building our garden on the site of what was once a pole barn. Completely overgrown and waterlogged, the site was the sunniest area of the yard. Once the remnants of the barn and surrounding rubbish was (mostly) cleared, we set out to see what would grow. Without any plan whatsoever and using basic hand tools, I built rows and beds and Mrs. P planted them. Many long sweaty evenings later, things started to grow! It was fun and exciting to experience the fruits (pun intended) of our labor, albeit with modest results.Continue reading“How Plastic Saved Our Homestead – Part 1, by H.P.”