SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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, more about Bush Pilots in the Lower 48.  (See the Region-Wide section.)

Region-Wide

Trent Palmer and his flying buddies finally get the mainstream media attention that they deserve, in Outside magazine: Winging It with the New Backcountry Barnstormers. (A hat tip to H.L., for the link.)

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An unusual new exhibit: Minecraft: The Exhibition (September 16-December 31, 2023) at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, in Spokane.

Idaho

Judge denies Kohberger request to throw out indictment in U of I murder case.

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Twin Falls woman sentenced to prison for role in fatal crash.

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Idaho Potato Commission debuts national TV commercial.

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

Preparedness Notes for Monday — October 30, 2023

Henry Tudor, who was crowned King Henry VII on this day in 1485, founded the Tudor dynasty, ended the Wars of the Roses, used his children’s marriages to build alliances, and signed treaties that increased England‘s power.

The Soviets detonated Tsar Bomba over Novaya Zemlya island in the Arctic Ocean; the largest nuclear weapon ever set off, it produced the most powerful human-made explosion ever recorded.

Orson Welles‘s radio dramatization of H.G. Wells‘s War of the Worlds was broadcast, causing great alarm—though reports of a nationwide panic were unfounded—as some listeners feared a genuine invasion from Mars.

October 30th, 1735 was the birthday of President John Adams. (Some sources cite his birthdate as October 19, 1735.

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Today’s feature article is a review written by Tom Christianson, of our own staff.

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We are seeking entries for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 109 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.

Three Pairs of Gloves, by Thomas Christainson

Gloves protect hands. When I am cleaning the outside wood boiler, gloves protect my hands from burns. When I am clearing snow, gloves protect my hands from frostbite. When I am using a chainsaw, gloves protect my hands from cuts and scrapes.

Overview

In recent months, I have had the opportunity to test three different pairs of gloves under a variety of different conditions. Mechanix FastFit Coyote Gloves and Gardenline Heavy Duty Work Gloves protected my hands from abrasion, laceration, and cold. Igloos Men’s Leather Driving Gloves protected my hands primarily from cold. The Mechanix gloves were on sale for $15.19 at www.mechanix.com at the time of this writing. The Gardenline gloves were $9.99 at www.aldi.us back in November of 2022. The Igloo gloves had a manufacturer-suggested retail price of $12.99 whenever they were first tagged for sale.

I like the Mechanix gloves the best of the three even though they provide very little insulation value when wet. They are comfortable, they allow good dexterity, and they seem durable.

The Gardenline gloves run a little small and don’t seem to reflect the shape of my hands very well. I don’t really like them at all even though they are warm.

The Igloo gloves are a bit slippery for driving gloves, which kind of defeats their purpose of giving the driver a good grip on the steering wheel. The leather looks quite thin, so I am not optimistic about the long-term durability of the gloves. On the plus side, they are quite attractive and are reasonably warm. I was not overly impressed with this pair of gloves at first, but they are kind of growing on me.Continue reading“Three Pairs of Gloves, by Thomas Christainson”

Recipe of the Week: Storage Oatmeal Pancakes

The following recipe for Oatmeal Pancakes is from SurvivalBlog reader Joanna E.  She writes:  “Do you have more oats than flour in your food storage supplies? No worries!  Make oatmeal pancakes…”

Ingredients
  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 cup milk, regular or non-dairy
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, and some more for cooking
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
Directions
  1. Whisk 1 cup rolled oats and 1 cup milk together in a large bowl.
  2. Let stand for 10 minutes for the oats to soften.
  3. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter and set it aside to cool.
  4. Add the butter, 2 eggs, and 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar to the oats, and whisk to combine.
  5. Add 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, if desired, and whisk until just combined; do not overmix. Let stand for 5 minutes more.
  6. Meanwhile, heat a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
  7. Add 1 teaspoon butter to the pan and swirl to coat.
  8. Drop the batter into the pan in 2-tablespoon portions, cooking 3 at a time.
  9. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface, the edges begin to look dry, and the bottoms are golden brown, about 3 minutes.
  10. Flip the pancakes and cook until the other side is golden-brown, 2 to 3 minutes more.
  11. Transfer the pancakes to a warm oven or plate. Repeat cooking the remaining batter, using 1 teaspoon if butter for each batch.
SERVING

Serve ’em hot!

STORAGE

These oatmeal pancakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to five days or frozen for up to two  months, and be thawed and re-heated.

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Do you have a well-tested 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 recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the rising price of gold. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals:

Up, up, up: Spot gold jumped to $2007 USD per Troy ounce on Friday, and spot silver followed suit to $23.12 USD per Troy ounce. Seeing precious metals prices this strong in the face of an ostensibly “strong” U.S. Dollar tells us that the fiat Dollar is looking increasingly suspect.  The Dollar has only relative strength vis-a-vis the fiat currencies of other nations — not any inherent strength. We may see a full-on currency value reset for all of the world’s fiat currencies, before 2040.

o  o  o

Adam Hamilton had this piece at Gold-Eagle.com: Gold’s New Major Upleg.

Economy & Finance:

From the pro-Bidenista CNN: The US economy grew at a blistering rate despite high interest rates.

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Over at Zero Hedge: Retail Credit Card APR Hits Record 28.93% Average. A quote:

“Now, a new report from Bankrate reveals that the average retail credit card APR (as opposed to overall credit card rates) just hit a new record high of 28.93%, up from 26.72% in 2022 and 24.35% in 2021, according to their annual Retail Cards Study published on Monday.”

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Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Savings Rate Plunges As Spending Soars; Inflation Slows As Govt Wage Growth Nears Record High.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — October 29, 2023

On October 29, 1618, British adventurer and writer Sir Walter Raleigh was executed for treason.

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October 29th is also the birthday of fighter pilot Vermont Garrison, an American who fought in three wars– WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was born in 1915 and died on February 14th, 1994, in Mountain Home, Idaho.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. 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).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  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. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 109 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.

Thinking About Resilience, by C.H. in Kansas

Introduction

I would like to direct this article to new SurvivalBlog readers. Perhaps you were referred here by a friend or coworker. Perhaps you stumbled into SurvivalBlog through an internet search. However you arrived, if you’ve taken the time to poke around, you may be overwhelmed by the abundance of information on preparedness both here and at other sites.

As of this writing, the war between Hamas and Israel has entered its third week. The death toll continues to rise. Dead and wounded among the victims—the Israeli citizens and other nationals—number in the thousands. Violent demonstrations against the US have started in many countries and the State Department issued a rare worldwide travel alert for Americans.

We are confronted with spiraling debt, out-of-control government spending, a tepid economy, rising Fed interest rates, falling return on investments, falling wages in real terms, and a de facto open border. I don’t think anyone will question that we are living in uncertain times.

One of the many problems with a 24-hour news cycle and the internet is that it is easy to be overwhelmed with information. It is too easy to begin following so many things that may lead to “The End Of The World As We Know It” (TEOTWAWKI) that “doomscrolling” becomes a habit. It is important to realize that there is probably little or nothing you can personally do to avert TEOTWAWKI.

So, what can you do if eventually the disaster hits, whether national, worldwide, or personal? Where to begin?

I suggest a strategy and lifestyle focused on resiliency. There are many books on this subject, so I’m not going to do an exhaustive treatment of the subject. Late in the Aughts decade, resiliency became a buzzword in the Army, largely focusing on troops facing multiple deployments and breaking themselves and their marriages under this stress. If I recall correctly, the Chaplain Corps held quite a few seminars and wrote about it. There is no secret to what resiliency is—simply it is landing on your feet after the carpet is snatched out from under you.

Developing Resiliency

Here are a few ideas to develop greater resiliency:

Get your finances in order. Avoid personal debt as much as possible. I’m not talking about business debt where you are financing business assets and earning an income. And I’m not suggesting breaking the budget in the near term to pay off a 3% mortgage. I’m speaking specifically about credit cards. Interest on these things is approaching 25%. As it is said: “The borrower is slave to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). Other financial gurus have written extensively on emergency funds, savings, and investments, and those are important, but get out of debt first.

Get yourself in shape. This is different things to different people. Essentially, be healthy and make better choices in food. Lose weight and be more active. This will help build muscle. You don’t have to hours upon hours at the gym to begin. Take the steps instead of the elevator. Park further away from the door, you’ll burn a few more calories and are less likely to get a door ding.

Never stop learning. Skills can never be taken away. Common examples within the preparedness blogging community are: First aid, fire starting, land navigation, and weapons. These are all important, but how about learning to cook? I don’t mean heating up Hot Pockets in the microwave. You shouldn’t be doing that if you’re out of the college dorms. Learn to use raw ingredients and spices to create nutritious meals. This will be much easier on the wallet and much easier on your arteries. There is a wealth of information online that will show you how to do this. I have a sister who works for a well-known “big box” store. She is consistently appalled by the garbage food that people buy and put into their bodies.

Make reading a habit. It is the single most efficient way to gather theoretical knowledge to put into practice. This includes reading for pleasure. I’ve had a lot of inspiration come from reading fiction and put that inspiration into practice.

Gather the things you need. As with much in this column, there will be a wide variety here between individuals. What you need, rather than want, will depend on where you are and your specific situation. At one time I thought I would be “bugging out” to a different location in the event of the SHTF. At the time I had multiple plans to Escape and Evade (E&E) from where I was living to the family homestead in the Ozarks. One of the plans I developed (not the primary one) included carrying a pack and a rifle and traveling on foot a couple hundred miles to my destination. “Things” in the plan included (among a great many other things) a small tractor, tiller, plow, pioneer tools, and the like. Now it is thirty years later and multiple days of walking with a pack is simply out of the question. I’m now married and have responsibility for others. Now, I’m looking at staying put, or “bugging in” as much as possible. My list of “things” has changed accordingly.

Eliminate addictions from your life. There are quite a number of these.

Tobacco. There is no reason to smoke cigarettes or chew tobacco. You are paying people to kill you. In 1993 I worked at a nationally known convenience store. Premium cigarettes were $1.95 a pack. The other day the person in line ahead of me bought several packs at $8.95 a pack. This is a health and financial drain.

Television. I enjoy watching the local weather forecast, as there are things that your weather app cannot tell you. Beyond that, however, television can be an extremely depressing waste of time. Especially when watching the news.

Social media. Similarly, people waste countless hours of pointless scrolling on various social media apps. Research is showing that early exposure to “screen time” can literally rewire the brain in the very young. For those of us in the prepper community, there can be a tendency toward “doomscrolling.” Stop it. Strike a balance between being informed and “the sky is falling.” Besides, on social media, you are the inventory.

Doomscrolling. Related to television and social media is doomscrolling. This is spending hours reading the most horrible of stories, whether about war, crime, or the economy. Try to limit this, as what you fill your mind with is what you become.

Pornography. This may well be the biggest mental addiction in the country today. The internet has made this accessible to all ages. Adults can do what they want, of course, but repeated exposure does lead to a rewiring of the brain. Regular use over time leads to the need for higher levels of dopamine to achieve the same level of pleasure. Even without that, see television. Waste of time.

Alcohol. Some people are tea-totalers and that is fine. I am most definitely not and think one of the high points of civilization was when humans learned how to distill whiskey. However, if you are spending your evenings in an alcoholic haze, you are not taking care of your responsibilities to your family or to yourself.

Stock up on food and supplies. The LDS Church (Mormons) suggest a year’s supply. Most people have about a week’s worth. No, do not go buy Kroger out of toilet paper. That isn’t the point. Don’t put yourself in debt buying six months or a year worth of survival foods. That doesn’t fit with getting your finances in order. What you can do is pick up a case of beans or an extra package of rice, or another staple, with each paycheck. This won’t strain your budget and will slowly build up a pantry. Take baby steps.

Do you need to relocate? Look at your local area, whether urban or smaller. Years ago, a framework came out of the counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and the doctrine folks at Fort Leavenworth called PMESII. This was a framework to look at the Contemporary Operating Environment in terms of Political, Military, Economic, Military, Social, Information, and Infrastructure aspects. While the military applied this to countries or regions within a country, you can adapt this to your community, city, or county.

Here are some PMESII factors to consider: Does the county commission or city council listen to the citizens? Are you near a military installation? What is the relationship like between the police and sheriff and the people? Do they consider themselves law enforcers or peace officers? Does the State have pre-emption for firearms? Who are the major employers in the area? Is the economic base primarily retail, industrial, or agricultural? Do most people commute and how far? What religious, social, or fraternal organizations are available? Is there a local paper or cable television access channel? How does local government get information out to the people or do they? Are there grocers, doctors, dentists, hospitals, plumbers, electricians, and emergency services? Does the community where you live now or where you are considering relocating to lead to more or less resiliency?

Consider changing jobs. Most people are dependent upon a paycheck. Changing jobs is difficult, particularly if you have been employed at the place for a long time. You may need to do so, if you have decided that the move mentioned above is more beneficial than staying put. Which is more beneficial?

Protection. This includes protecting yourself, your family, and your home or retreat, and the tools to effectively do so. Know the laws in your area, because they are not the same in Kansas as they are in New Jersey.

Find the like-minded. This has been called networking or developing a mutual support group and many books written on the topic. I don’t think it is as complicated as all that. Know your neighbor, whether the people on your block or the next farms down the road. Know the sheriff. Find the good and like-minded people in your community. They may be family and friends. They are likely people you know. Most importantly they are the people you trust.

Cultivate a positive mindset. This is the most important thing you can do. Radiate positivity and be hopeful. It is not the same as a Pollyanna-ish attitude. But if you are without hope, then why not lie down and die? Last year, I was in a conversation with a colleague that covered many of the topics here. A young woman was listening nearby and interrupted saying, “[if that happens]…I only need one gun and one bullet. I am not a survivor.” She seemed quite angry about having heard the whole conversation and I think it was one of the most horrible things I’ve ever heard someone say. A well-known talk radio host is constantly saying “Let not your heart be troubled.” I think this is good advice.

Conclusion

All of the principles listed above can help you become more resilient. The nature of the disaster is irrelevant, whether economic, war, or simply the loss of a job. However, remember that none of it matters if not put into practice.

Resiliency and preparedness have a lot of overlap and neither is a destination so much as a journey. Yes, you may have a lot of work to do, I know I do, but it is not insurmountable. Get started, prepare, and be of good cheer.

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

 

Meme Text:

I Bet He’s Thinking About Other Women

Why Can Some Guys Tell a 1/2-Inch Bolt from a 9/16ths, Just By Glancing At It?

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

 

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” – Ephesians 3:11-21 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — October 28, 2023

On October 28, 1726, Anglo-Irish author Jonathan Swift anonymously published Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World (later called Gulliver’s Travels), a keystone of English literature that helped give birth to the novel form.

Today is also concidentally the birthday of several gun designers:

Wilhelm Bubits (born October 28, 1954) in Lutzmannsburg, is an Austrian handgun designer and creator of the Caracal Pistol and Steyr Mannlicher M and S model pistols. As a hobby shooter and former police officer, Wilhelm Bubits used his experience and ideas about handguns to advance modern pistol design. Bubits worked for the Glock firearms company and in 1997 joined another Austrian weapons maker, Steyr Mannlicher. At Steyr, Bubits created the Steyr M and S pistols which were released to market beginning in 1999. In late 2002 Bubits worked with weapons experts from the United Arab Emirates in a UAE government sponsored “Small Arms Project” to develop a series of modern pistols. The result of the collaboration was the Caracal Pistol. Weapons manufacturer Caracal International LLC was incorporated in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2006. Wilhelm Bubits currently heads Caracal’s research and development team.

This is also the birthday of Horace Smith (October 28, 1808 – January 15, 1893) was an American gunsmith, inventor, and businessman. He and his business partner Daniel B. Wesson formed two companies named Smith & Wesson, the first of which was financed in part by Oliver Winchester and was eventually reorganized into the Winchester Repeating Arms Company

And this is also the birthday of Eliphalet Remington (October 28, 1793 – August 12, 1861), who designed the Remington rifle and founded what is now known as the Remington Arms Company.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. 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).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  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. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 109 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.

Choose Your Friends Wisely, by Hollyberry

Now, more than ever, it is important to have a good network of friends and family you can rely on in a time of crisis. That crisis may be a health issue that only affects your immediate family and friends or a natural or man-made disaster that is encompassing a large portion of the community. The saying goes that you can pick your nose or pick your friends but you can’t pick your family. Our own immediate family members are over 500 miles away and elderly, and have some minor health issues. They would do their best to support us in a crisis but it would be from a distance. We couldn’t pick better family members than Mom and Bob and would do anything for them. Choose wisely who you allow into your life and family.

Choosing good friends is critical. Let me tell you what happened in our neck of the woods to several people we know. A very charismatic man moved into the next town, about 12 years ago. He began to gather folks by merely chatting with anyone in line at the grocery store, hardware store or post office. He would then start complaining about current affairs and government and see what reaction he got. If it was favorable to his views, then the conversation continued and an invite to discuss solutions further was offered.Continue reading“Choose Your Friends Wisely, by Hollyberry”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both 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 your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

Early in the week, I put the snow tires on our pickup. Time will tell if this El Niño winter will be snowy, or just rainy in our part of the Redoubt region.

Here in the Redoubt rifle deer and elk hunting seasons have either recently opened, or will soon open.  Since all of our freezers are presently full, I may not even get tags this year.

Now, Lily’s report…Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Lord, remember David, and all his afflictions:

How he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;

Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed;

I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids,

Until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.

Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood.

We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.

Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.

Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.

For thy servant David’s sake turn not away the face of thine anointed.

The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.

If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.

For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.

 This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.

I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.

His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.” – Psalm 132 (KJV)