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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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…
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”
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.
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
“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)
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.
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”
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):
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
“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
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.
Any article submitted but not published will automatically be rolled over to Round 71. Here are the winners:
First Prize goes to J.D. for “Austere Dentistry and Temporary Fillings” published on April 1st, 2017. He will receive the following prizes:
Continue reading“Round 70 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!”
For most of my life I have been a rifle shooter, competitor, and instructor. I have also carried a rifle in combat when people I didn’t know shot at me. I know a fair amount about the subject and would like to share some of the things I have learned about basic rifle marksmanship along the way. A man or woman with a quality rifle and the training to use it is a formidable combination indeed.
Just as with handguns, a prospective buyer needs to know what he/she is going to use a rifle for in order to choose the correct tool for the job. You generally get what you pay for in life, although there are some pretty good value priced rifles. There is also the option of buying a good quality used rifle from a pawn shop or gun dealer.
Continue reading“Basic Rifle Marksmanship- Part 1, by Mark Bunch”
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 “HJL”. Today’s focus is on Islam.
The Christian world received unwelcome but expected news this week. Pew Research Center released a study that projects the Muslim population in America will double by 2050 and is on track to become the world’s dominant religion by the end of the century. This news comes on the heels of two acts of mass murder perpetrated by Muslim extremists last week. It’s not good at all.
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Trump spent time last week hawking the idea of an “Arab NATO” to opppose the Sunni Islamist terrorists in the Islamic State and al-Qaeda as well as Shi’ite Islamist Iran. Apparently, the concept was well received with a diplomat stating that the plan is moving forward and being studied. It will be called the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO). Oh, how we have short memories in the political world. In 1955, Great Britain, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Turkey, backed by the U.S., founded the first METO dubbed the Baghdad Pact (to oppose Soviet influence in the region). The end result was the violent overthrow of the British-backed Iraqi monarchy by Arab nationalists only three years later.
“The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.” – Theodore Roosevelt, The Kansas City Star, May 7, 1918
May 31st, 1895 was the birthday of George R. Stewart. Prior to his death on August 22, 1980, he was a novelist, university professor, and toponymist. In the preparedness community, he is best remembered as the author of the classic post-pandemic novel Earth Abides.
