Preparedness Notes for Sunday – June 04, 2017

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On this day in 1944 United States Navy Task Group 22.3 captured U-505. It was a German submarine with 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.

Note that we’ve improved the blog’s Search Box. We have also expanded our discussion guidelines. Please take a look before you post a comment. Thanks, – JWR

Homestead and Financial Ledger Books- Part 2, by S.T.

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We have been looking at the use and benefit of Homestead Ledger Books. In Part 1, we looked at documenting activities, items harvested, canned or dried, and items sold or orders received. We have looked at a possible scenario from January through September and left off at September after participating in the farmer’s market. Furthermore, let’s look at what activities we might record in our ledger for October.

October

In October, the family could take time to plan out the next year’s garden and locate free buckets. The buckets that could be used to expand the garden output by growing additional plants in these containers. The family could try to locate other containers to use for the plant starts for which we took orders. The children could log information into their own Homestead Financial Ledgers. They then plan out any future income producing projects they wanted to work on. This economics exercise could of course be part of homeschool. The children’s planning should include the items, material costs, sale price, profit, et cetera. They should locate and purchase the materials needed. Success as well as failure are lessons that need to be learned.

Continue reading“Homestead and Financial Ledger Books- Part 2, by S.T.”

Letter: Gaining Familiarity With Your Prepping Equipment

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Having basic camping supplies is a great insurance to have, just in case. It can be both camping and prepping equipment. Your tent, sleeping bag, outdoor cooking supplies, and forms of electricity-free entertainment, are all ripe for testing, as well. The last thing you want to do, in an emergency, is realize that there’s something you need and/or have overlooked. And testing your equipment doesn’t have to be a complicated ordeal. In my case, I had a friend invite me over for backyard camping, for their birthday. Great! So I brought my camping equipment in order to test it out.

My Tent Experiences

The tent was small, quick, and easy to assemble. You may decide to buy for comfort, or get a larger size, in order to accommodate a family. In my case, I decided that ease of set-up was what I was going for. It may be helpful to set up the tent without the anchoring spikes, so as to test how well it does without them. Next, I unrolled my sleeping bag and threw it in. I got everything done in about ten minutes or so.

But then, that night, I slept in the tent, and realized that I’d be much more comfortable with the addition of a few things – an inflatable pillow, and a camping lantern. So I subsequently bought them online. As for the lantern, I managed to find one that was powered by hand-cranking, and included both a lantern and radio.

Seeds

At home, you can gain familiarity with seed storage, by planting your seeds instead of just saving them. When you plant them in your garden, you get to see how quickly or slowly the plants develop, how much space they require, how hearty they are and what conditions they like best. A garden gives you the opportunity to figure out how to save seeds of your own, that you’ve harvested. There are many videos online, for the novice in this, and growing your own seeds often means that you’ll get a whole lot more than you’d get in a store, by simply buying seed packets. But the knowledge of how to save seeds will be much more valuable to you, in a crisis situation.

Continue reading“Letter: Gaining Familiarity With Your Prepping Equipment”

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”. Today’s focus is on Terrorism.

Terrorism

First, the eyes of the world are on England, which just suffered more Islamic terrorist attacks.  Please pray that the nation will display the same resolve on terrorism that they did in fighting Nazi aggression in World War II. See this article by John Moody, posted over at Fox News: London terror: Saturday attacks a tipping point in campaign to destroy the West

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More terrorism news, from Manila: “In a most bizarre explanation, local police and government officials insist a gunman carrying an assault rifle broke into Resorts World Manila from a parking lot entrance, fired at a TV screen, doused a gaming table with gasoline and set it on fire. He then proceeded to steal the equivalent of $2.3 million dollars in casino chips, break into the adjoining Maxims Hotel, and then burned himself alive...”

o o oContinue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:17-20 (KJV)

Homestead and Financial Ledger Books- Part 1, by S.T.

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Looking back in time, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and the other founding fathers of the United States all maintained Homestead and Financial Ledger Books of one kind or another. Some, like George Washington, had one for each of his businesses (grist mill, whiskey, et cetera). With the advent of computers and the move to city life, these ledgers have gone out of fashion. But they remain an important tool, and it is to sad that families do not use them anymore. We would spend less on unneeded items if more of these were used.

What Are Homestead Ledgers?

Benjamin Franklin was a printer of many of these Blank Ledger Books .

What are Homestead ledgers? Homestead ledgers are nothing more than simple ledger books that chronicle the every day life on a homestead. They show what is grown, what is made, what is preserved, and what is sold. They also show the income and expenses and net profit.

Continue reading“Homestead and Financial Ledger Books- Part 1, by S.T.”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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As preppers work to make progress to achieve prepping goals, we took some actions this week too. The SurvivalBlog editors made plans earlier in the week and now reflect upon these. At this time of year, gardening is at the top of our lists. Below, the editors share what we each accomplished. Please write to us in the comments and tell us what you did this week to get your preps in place and to be ready.

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers,
My, what a busy, wonderful week!  We had beautiful weather during the beginning of the week and rain at the end of the week.

Outdoor Skills Acquisition

First of all, we worked on boating safety and paddling skills in the river that flows through the Rawles’ Ranch, several times.  One of those times was with friends.   That day was a beautiful day and a wonderful time spent with them and their children.  The young ones are becoming proficient in maneuvering the canoes and Kayaks.  They are doing well with front strokes, front and back sweeps, J-strokes, draws and push-aways, and other strokes. Fun!

No, we didn’t hike this week. We were too busy. Maybe next week…

In The Garden

Every year gardening is a great experiment to see what will grow.  There is always all kinds of variables that interfere or enhance the ability of plants to grow.  Some years, some crops go gangbusters and the next year they do very poorly.  Lily enjoys the sowing process and waiting with expectation to see what grows, and how it yields.  It is always exciting to see the seedlings break through the soil looking so healthy and promising.  Currently the zucchini, other squashes, and asparagus planted last week have pushed their cotyledon leaves out/shooting up stalks.  They’re looking good.  So do the onions.Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Today’s focus is on EMP.

Prevent Drowning Deaths!

Clark H. sent this important article link: Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning

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G.G. suggested this at Popular Science: Special forces are getting a stealth motorcycle that’s silent and deadly

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

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.”  – Psalm 32 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday – June 02, 2017

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On June 2, 1774, Parliament renewed the quartering Act allowing British military to stay in private homes if necessary, completing the Coercive Acts. The Quartering Act, in conjunction with the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Boston Port Act, were known as the Coercive Acts. These Acts were Parliament’s way of asserting their control over the colonists after the Boston Tea Party and were one of the main motivations for the 3rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Basic Rifle Marksmanship- Part 2, by Mark Bunch

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Natural Respiratory Pause

One of the hardest things to teach new shooters in basic rifle marksmanship is the concept of not holding their breath. When you hold your breath, your body’s autonomic system kicks in. You start to experience rising blood pressure, pounding heart, and an ever rising heart rate. Your body does this in attempt to get you to breath. Obviously with all of this going on, your ability to aim and exercise proper trigger release becomes very difficult. This usually results in a shooter jerking the trigger and missing wildly. A typical adult at rest will take a breath every four to seven seconds. This window of time is referred to as the natural respiratory pause. This is the window you have to get your aimed rifle shot off.

Once in position, take a breath and let it out. You now have 4-7 seconds to get your shot off before you start experiencing these autonomic symptoms. If you can’t get your shot off, no problem, take another breath and reset. It takes some practice, but once you master this technique you will be amazed how much better your aim will become.

Continue reading“Basic Rifle Marksmanship- Part 2, by Mark Bunch”

Economics & Investing for Preppers

Today  we have some special insight on natural resources, in the long term. Here are the latest 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 most of these items reflect the quirky “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor):


Precious Metals:

First, some predictions from Frank Holmes, over at Bullion Vault: Just So Bullish for Gold


Commodities Economics:

Looking ahead, there is some interesting reading in this 2013 ODNI/NIC white paper, to which an old friend of mine contributed: Natural Resources in 2020, 2030, and 2040: Implications for the United States

Continue reading“Economics & Investing for Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day

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“Over the years, Americans in particular have been all too willing to squander their hard-earned independence and freedom for the illusion of feeling safe under someone else’s authority. The concept of self-sufficiency has been undermined in value over a scant few generations. The vast majority of the population seems to look down their noses upon self-reliance as some quaint dusty relic, entertained only by the hyperparanoid or those hopelessly incapable of fitting into mainstream society.” – Cody Lundin, in his book When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need to Survive When Disaster Strikes

Preparedness Notes for Thursday – June 01, 2017

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