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 possible Federal body armor restrictions.

Senator Schumer Wants Body Armor Restrictions

Several readers sent this: Senator Chuck Schumer Now Wants to Regulate the Sale of Body Armor, Too. JWR’s Comments:  Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer is a notorious anti-gun career politician. Now, he also wants to require background checks to buy purely defensive items. This proposed legislation clearly illustrates how statists want to empower and insulate themselves while leaving the general citizenry defenseless.

Some Device Privacy Tips

The folks at DuckDuckGo have posted a web page with some Device Privacy Tips.

C. Diff Bacteria Now in Two Distinct Strains

Reader C.B. sent in this interesting news: Diarrhea-causing bacteria adapted to spread in hospitals. A quote:

“Scientists have discovered that the gut-infecting bacterium Clostridium difficile is evolving into two separate species, with one group highly adapted to spread in hospitals. Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and collaborators identified genetic changes in the newly-emerging species that allow it to thrive on the Western sugar-rich diet, evade common hospital disinfectants and spread easily. Able to cause debilitating diarrhoea, they estimated this emerging species started to appear thousands of years ago, and accounts for over two thirds of healthcare C. difficile infections.”

Gondola Cable Cut in Canada, in ‘Deliberate Act’

Reader Tim J. sent us this: Gondola cable cut in Canada, sending cars crashing to the ground in ‘deliberate act,’ police say

Body Posture Affects Confidence in Your Thoughts

A hat tip to DSV for spotting this: Study: Body posture affects confidence in your own thoughts

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Intellectual freedom is essential — freedom to obtain and distribute information, freedom for open-minded and unfearing debate and freedom from pressure by officialdom and prejudices. Such freedom of thought is the only guarantee against an infection of people by mass myths, which, in the hands of treacherous hypocrites and demagogues, can be transformed into bloody dictatorship.” – Andrei Sakharov

Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 19, 2019

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August 19th is the birthday of Philo Taylor Farnsworth (1906-1971). Farnsworth was an American inventor who is best known for his image pickup device that formed the basis for the first fully functional and complete all-electronic television system. Among his many other inventions was the Farnsworth-Hirsch fusor, a small nuclear fusion device that remains a viable source of neutrons. At his death, he held over 300 patents, mostly in radio and television.

—

Thirty years ago, on August 19, 1989, Hungarian border guards allowed East German citizens to cross freely into Austria for the first time. This was the beginning of the end for the Iron Curtain, culminating a few months later, with the fall of the The Berlin Wall. Liberal journaliists are now ballyhooing about the supposed irony of Hungary erecting barriers against illegal aliens from the Middle East. But there is a huge difference between keeping foreigners out, and a government keeping its own population in.

Fivejoy Compact Shovel, by Pat Cascio

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I’m not quite sure where the name for this compact folding shovel came from – but its called the “Fivejoy” for some reason – I’m sure there’s something behind the name. There are a lot of compact folding shovels out there on the market, and many are absolute pieces of junk – not worth having in an emergency, even if they were free. I’ve tested a lot of folding shovels over the years – and I mean a lot. There are some poorly made copies of the tri-fold military shovel, and they look good, but are junk. There are some small, fixed handle shovels, and they are much better in many respects, we’ve tested and reviewed them here on SurvivalBlog.com over the years.

Long-time friend, Jeff H. sent me the Fivejoy compact shovel. I was more than a little excited when I pulled this shovel out of the carrying case it came in. By far, this isn’t the most compact emergency shovel, nor does it have a folding handle, instead, the handle is in pieces and you screw those pieces together. The shovel head itself folds, and you can fold it at 40-degrees, 90-degrees and 180-degrees, for your digging or trenching needs. The shovel spade itself is made out of carbon steel, not stainless steel. I’m not quite sure where this product is made, but some claim China, others claim Vietnam. However, it is a quality-made tool. I noticed some negative comments on the Fivejoy, but I don’t take everything I read as truth – so keep that in-mind. If you read any 1911 forums, you will come away believing that there are no good 1911 pistols made by anyone. Some people have nothing better to do with their time, than write and post product slurs.

Right now, I know I have three compact shovels in my pick-up truck…not excess, but they can be used for different chores – they just happen to be in my truck, because after testing them, I never removed them. I think my wife has two compact shovels in her e-box inside her SUV. I like to keep duplicates of different tools and other emergency gear in my rig – remember, “one is none, and two is one” – in the event one breaks or gets lost. It always pays to have a back-up, when it comes to survival tools. Just makes real good sense to have more than one tool on-hand, if you are caught out in the middle of no where.

Continue reading“Fivejoy Compact Shovel, by Pat Cascio”

Letter: COMPSEC Warning on Windows 10 Updates

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Dear Editor:
I used to have respect for Kim Komando, but after reading her article about the recent Windows 10 update, I have moved her to my “don’t trust” list. Let me explain:

For my own COMPSEC I only connect to the internet wifi while I am actively using it and even then I monitor the data and CPU usage in real time using task manager. That way I know which program(s) are active. About 10 days ago, I detected the Windows 10 update in progress. It eventually took Four Hours of machine time (6X the usual time) and ate 5 gigs of data–more than enough to completely reinstall an operating system.

When the time stretched on, I became curious about what it was doing and I caught it doing a full scan of every file and program on my hard drive. This was a detailed scan and I could determine that it had actually changed at least one program (McAfee Web Advisor of all things) in addition to adding restrictions to the Windows features. (Komando touts a your ability to pause windows updates now for 7 days. Before the update, you could pause them for a month.)

After the scan was completed there was a period where the data flow was FROM my computer to Windows. That has never occurred during an update before.

The update also changed the IP address on my computer which set off security alarms when I checked gmail.

I don’t know whether that is now a standard procedure or targeted, but I do know that the SurvivalBlog bookmark is prominent.

Some recent searches have made me suspicious that there is also new tracking of internet activity through Windows 10–irrespective of the browser being used.

I thought I’d give you a heads up. After all, as you know Windows has declared itself a “service” (not a software company) and the similarities to some of the other “services” (YouTube, etc.) that have censored/blocked users for “undesirable” content, I am quite uneasy about their intent and will be taking steps to move to an alternate (open source) operating system.

I am not generally a fanciful person, but too many pieces are beginning to fit together. With the new 7-day limit for blocking “updates” you cannot deny the corporation access to your own computer for any longer period. I have to wonder whether it has less to do with updates than with monitoring. – Mr. C.

Recipe of the Week: Pete’s Garden Pasta Sauce

Reader Pete S. kindly sent us his recipe for a summer garden pasta sauce. Pete says:  “I like a lot of garlic, but you might want to tone down the garlic and garlic pepper, if you aren’t garlic fans.”

Ingredients
  • 1 pound pasta — preferably small diameter tubular pasta, but larger diameter or spaghetti can be substituted
  • 1 cup sliced yellow summer squash
  • 1-1/4 cup sliced zucchini squash
  • 3/4 cup sliced green onions
  • 1 cup julienned bell peppers (green or yellow)
  • 1 cup julienned sweet red pepper
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 4 to 6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thinly (depending on taste)
  • 1-1/2 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
  • 2 teaspoons garlic pepper (optional, depending on taste)
  • 1 teaspoon salt (optional, for those on a low-salt diet))
Directions
  1. Cook up your selected dried pasta, using a bit of oil in the water.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the yellow squash, zucchini, peppers, and onions in butter until slightly tender.
  3. Add garlic. Cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth and chopped tomato; bring to a boil.
  4. Cook and stir until liquid is reduced by half.
  5. Drain pasta; stir into vegetable mixture. Cook a couple of minutes longer, until all heated through.
  6. Transfer to a large serving bowl.
  7. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic pepper (optional) and salt (optional).
  8. Toss briefly, to coat the pasta.

SERVING

Serve this hot.

STORAGE

Left-overs keep up to 48 hours, refrigerated.

—

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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at investing in reloading components. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

At Zero Hedge: “Everything Has Changed” – Gold Is At An All-Time High In 73 Countries

o  o  o

Gold, Silver Up Amid Risk Aversion Worldwide

Economy & Finance:

Audio from Wolf Richter:  Fuel for the Next Mortgage Bust?

o  o  o

Asia: How the world’s economic center of gravity is shifting.  The article’s tag line:  “Asia is on track to top 50 percent of global GDP by 2040 and drive 40 percent of the world’s consumption, representing a real shift in the world’s center of gravity.”

o  o  o

Reader H.L. like this piece at Zero Hedge: Germany Stalls And Europe Craters

o  o  o
Trade War Chaos Collapses Farm Equipment Sales Across Midwest
Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — August 18, 2019

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August 18th is the birthday of Meriwether Lewis, an American explorer, soldier, politician and public administrator that is best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. An interesting side note is the Girandoni Air Rifle carried by Lewis during that expedition.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 84  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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. 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 84 ends on September 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.

When Kids are Old Enough to Prepare, Part 2, by M.K.

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

Teach By Reading and Watching

Books

My youngest son loves to read. My oldest will do it when he has to. One way I get them both on board with reading is by finding them books to read that keep them engaged and that is often with a book about the outdoors. As we all know, books can be both entertaining and educational. The best way to teach your kids through books is to find ones that are both!

I know that Bear Grylls is a polarizing personality in the survival world. Yes, I get that most of what he does on his television shows would get common people killed. Yes, I get that he has help when he does makes his productions (something that, by the way he has always been up front about). Say what you want about the guy, he writes good books.

My sons got into survival by reading Bear’s stories that he’s written for young readers. There are two series based on a character named Beck Granger who gets into all kinds of wild situations. He often uses survival skills to get through the books. Bear goes into detail when he gets to the survival situations. These books have generated conversations around our dinner table when my boys will say, “Dad, did you know that…” and they will state something they read in a Beck Granger novel.

Get your kids reading, and not just the books they tell you to read in school. If your library doesn’t have the right books, talk to the inter-library loan employee and they may be able to order books for you from other libraries (at least here in Michigan).Continue reading“When Kids are Old Enough to Prepare, Part 2, by M.K.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

14

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at the ongoing Hong Kong protests.

Hong Kong Protests: It’s Now a Revolution

By way of Whatfinger.com, comes this: In Hong Kong, It’s Now a Revolution. The article begins:

“Defying stern warnings from both the local government and Beijing, people in seven districts in Hong Kong—most notably teachers, airport workers, and civil servants—participated in a general strike Monday, shutting down portions of the territory. For instance, more than a hundred flights were cancelled.

The strike followed weeks of sometimes violent protests in the territory, a semi-autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China. Youthful demonstrators over the weekend surrounded and attacked police stations, and enraged residents drove riot police from their neighborhoods.

Roving protesters, dressed for urban combat, created a series of confrontations across the territory, even closing the main tunnel linking Hong Kong Island with the rest of the territory. A beleaguered police force, demoralized and fatigued, was unable to keep up with the mobile bands of radicalized youth.

Some of the protest messages were impossible to miss. In Wanchai’s Golden Bauhinia Square, a magnet for tourists from other parts of China, kids spray-painted a statue with provocative statements such as “The Heavens will destroy the Communist Party” and “Liberate Hong Kong.”

In Hong Kong, revolution is in the air. What started out as an unexpectedly large demonstration in late April against a piece of legislation—an extradition bill—has become a call for democracy in the territory as well as independence from China and the end of communism on Chinese soil.”

Hot Shots: The Impact of Hot Weather on Your Rifle

Reader C.B. sent this from Shooting Illustrated: Hot Shots: The Impact of Hot Weather on Your Rifle.Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;

Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” – Titus 2 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 17, 2019

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While salmon fishing near the Klondike River in Canada’s Yukon Territory on August 17th, 1896, George Carmack reportedly spotted nuggets of gold in a creek bed. His lucky discovery sparked the last great gold rush in the American West. His two companions later agreed that Skookum, Jim–Carmack’s brother-in-law, actually made the discovery.

—

The Philadephia police have fessed up to what really happened, in triggering a shootout and lengthy standoff earlier this week. They now admit that while exercising a court-issued warrant at one address, they decided to do a so-called “safety sweep” on a different house in the neighborhood, rented by a man named Maurice Hill. They entered without a warrant, because of some vague suspicion. Clearly, they did not have probable cause to enter and search that house. Merely living in the same neighborhood as a narcotics trafficker does not give the police carte blanche to bash in your door. I predict that some of the charges against Maurice Hill will eventually be dropped or at least greatly reduced. The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine may also come into play, making anything found in the search of Hill’s home inadmissible as evidence. And the end result of the police over-reach is that the media and police are now screaming for more “gun control.” This is the worst police fiasco in the City of Brotherly Love since the time they firebombed the MOVE squatters, back in 1985.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 84  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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. 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 84 ends on September 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.

When Kids are Old Enough to Prepare, Part 1, by M.K.

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When your kids are old enough to learn to prepare, then I suggest that you make it fun, and make it worthwhile.

I may be kind of weird. I love it when the power goes out. Where we live, we’ve had a lot of power outages for one reason or another. In Michigan, weather can change quickly. If you know someone who lives in our great state, you’ve probably heard jokes about how we can see all four seasons in one day. Unfortunately, it’s actually true. I remember days where it would start with relatively warm weather and rain, turn to sun in the afternoon and then snow in the evening. Being surrounded by the Great Lakes sure can swirl things up.

One positive consequence of such events is that it helps you to prepare for a large number of catastrophes. In my life I’ve been through floods, tornadoes, straight-line winds, blizzards, ice storms, and extreme heat, just to name a few. I’ve even felt a couple of earthquakes. Some strange part of me thrives off of all of this. Not that I want tragedy to strike. I do not want anyone to be hurt in such events. It’s just that it gives me the chance to test my preparedness.

At times, my wife has questioned why on earth I need all of the “stuff.” I’ve explained it several times, and she never complains when I get out the water jugs or lanterns in time of need. Being prepared has helped us through a few situations. It has also helped to teach my two boys–who are now teenagers–the importance of planning for the worst.

I want my family to always be safe. There are so many things that could happen that can put them in danger. As my boys have grown older, I’ve begun prepping them for many sticky situations. They may find themselves in a flood, or other natural disaster. It’s possible that they could find themselves lost in the woods, or worse, in a city! The political climate could cause a number of difficult circumstances that may end up in any number of negative scenarios. As a result, I have worked with them to prepare for whatever may come their way.Continue reading“When Kids are Old Enough to Prepare, Part 1, by M.K.”

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. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I now have just two weeks left before my nonfiction book manuscript is due to Carlton Publishing, of London. So I’ll make this entry brief.

Our nearest neighbor (only 1/4 mile away) reported seeing a large adult male black bear near his house, so we’ve been on high alert, for the safety of our livestock. In our region bears can be real pests. Folks like us who living outside of city limits have to leave their trash cans indoors. And the county trash collection dumpsters have to be kept inside of special fences. Often, these fences are electrified. (See the photo above this column. That one–seen on a recent road trip that took us up the length of Idaho–had a particularly tall fence.)

I’m nearly finished with my annual firewood cutting project. I really feel blessed that we can cut all of the wood that we need, just on our small ranch. I’ve never had to go get a U.S. Forest Service domestic wood cutting permit. (But if need be, they are readily available, at minimal cost.) Just our wind-fallen and dead-standing timber is usually enough for us each year.  I’ve also gradually thinned out a few trees that would never be marketable, or that were detracting from the eventual marketability of the other timber. Those culled trees were all either oddly-forked trees, ones with snapped-off tops, the weaker-looking halves of Siamese Twin trees, wood ant-infested trees (with big Pileated Woodpecker-notched holes) or a few trees that were apparently snow-damaged as saplings and that have subsequently grown up at odd angles or otherwise disfigured. Now, after more than 12 years of thinning, we have a very healthy-looking stand, with more than 10 tree species.

Lily has lots to report as, she is nearing the peak of harvesting, in her garden. Over to her…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”