Notes for Friday – October 28, 2016

This is the birthday of Eliphalet Remington (born 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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Today, we present another entry for Round 67 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 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 with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel 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, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. 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,
  2. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  3. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  4. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  9. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  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,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value),
  8. 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), and
  9. Fifteen LifeStraws from SafeCastle (a $300 value).

Round 67 ends on November 30th, 2016, 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 and How Do We Fight? That is the Question, by X. Liberal

This message is more on a serious note. Before we get started I want to make an attribution to Lavoy Finicum. My wife and I had the privilege of being present in Utah to pay respects to him and his loved ones as we were driving back from our final Redoubt Property inspection in Montana while traveling home to Nevada. His sacrifice sparks this message:

“THEY” say Lavoy Finicum and his cohorts were illegally occupying the Wildlife Refuge in Burns Oregon. THEY say nothing about the Occupy Wall Street Movement illegally occupying City Squares. THEY say that it was unsanitary to be at the Burns Wildlife Refugee without running water and working toilets. THEY say nothing about Occupy Wall Street protesters using drugs, fornicating, defecating, and urinating on city property. THEY say the Bundys and their cohorts overstayed their welcome when they slept overnight at the Refuge. THEY say nothing when the Occupy Wall Street protesters occupy an entire city block while camping out for days or weeks in unsanitary conditions. THEY say that the Wildlife Refuge protesters were armed [lawfully I might add]. THEY say nothing when the Black Lives Matters protesters in Dallas are armed with assault rifles. THEY shoot bullets with a premise of lethal force to be utilized against protesting in a Conservative light. THEY send news bites out with the premise of agitating black rioters, even to the extent of causing a dozen causalities at the Dallas Police Department, have the premise to hire them onto the police force . THEY call out the Bundys as “anti-government” people and lock them up in jail. THEY call murderers of police officers Civil Rights protesters and give police escort to their Black Lives Matters rioters down city streets the very day after police officers are gunned down, and that murderous act is not labeled “anti-government.”

Who are “THEY”? THEY are the Progressives who are progressing societal conduct past the boundaries God has written in His word. If you are outside God’s limits in human conduct and call that new truth a human right—you are into moral relativism. These misguided souls have even infiltrated the ranks of our government organs and now crafting legislation to go after the right wing, conservative voter pool, military veterans, and American moral values. Did anyone see what happened to Hitlery after a meeting with the FBI Director Comey? More to come folks, as the FBI is pivoting to expunge conservative values (note Lavoy Finicum’s death) and overlook Progressive crimes (Hitlery’s private e-mail server top secret codeword information in a home basement.)

My question is where is the line drawn before WE THE PEOPLE fight?  The quest is not “fight or flight.” Rather, it is when and how to do we fight?

Let me set the table and walk you into this gently for sake of this being on the Internet…

What I am driving at, is this nation once looked upon anti-American principled people such as Communists as the enemy of the United States. The Communist Party USA started out in the middle of the last century and was infiltrated by the FBI at inception. THEY got smart and have changed their group identifier a few times over the years and here are some of the morphed changes:  their name changes away from having the word Communist in the title to now calling themselves Socialists, Liberals, Democrats, Left-wingers, and now Progressives. In a few years they will call themselves something else to outfox their critics, the FBI and other government agencies.

FIGHT – RUN FOR PUBLIC OFFICE
We as conservatives need to run for public office. If that means as Town Council, Mayor, Judges, School Boards, City Manager, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Congress (Senate or House of Representative), and anywhere a policy could be derived or written—do it. Don’t believe that you need to run on a Republican ticket because at one point in the nation’s history the Democratic Party (though a bit left at times) were Conservatives. You can run for Congress as a Democrat and as a Conservative –believe me that these Progressives have already got the Democratic Party in their back pocket but they are slowly turning up in the Republican Party too. We need to fight—or else don’t complain about all the new laws to remove your family’s human freedoms such as speech, guns, low taxes, religion, being patriotic, waving the American flag, and a host of other freedoms currently etching away. Personally I am running as a Democrat when our Redoubt relocation is completed. (I am a conservative). My family are called to FIGHT!
 

FIGHT – SERVE IN OUR COMMUNITIES
Gosh as a CPA and having worked for city, state, and federal government entities, I can assure you that the benefits and retirement are second to none for the role of government. I am speaking of serving in our military (Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, or Coast Guard), police and fire departments at all levels, and even in not so visible roles in such organizations as in the FBI, CIA, or IRS. We need conservatives in these positions. I know their will be an outnumbering by about 10 Progressives to 1 Christian in government but at least God could use you as a whistle blower when an glaring bias is orchestrated on their behalf.

FIGHT – WRITE LETTERS
One of our favorite family times as now my wife and I set aside about four to six hours on Sunday evening which is coupled with our day of worship with the Lord, is to write letters to all types of entities. I am speaking about writing the utmost professional letters to organizations such as HBO, CNN, ABC, NBC, NPR, PBS, MSNBC, Disney, PETA, FDA, FBI, US military commands, Senators, Congressmen, the Oval office, foreign dignitaries, the United Nations, and a host of others that you are led by the Lord to write. Just turn on the 6 o’clock news and I’m sure the Lord might have you write to your local school board or university leadership. Let me caution you, in today’s age of a certain sect of people hijacking high leadership offices, they may paint you as “anti-government.” (just for holding an opposing view). So your salutation to a Senator in California would be “Dear Honorable Senator Diane Feinstein,” or “Dear Reputable FBI Organization—thank you for serving our country,” etc. You get the point. We always sign letters with “Anonymous” or “Concerned Citizen” [never our name or identifying marks such a certain letterhead of cinnamon smelling paper]. Never lick the envelope as your DNA is in your saliva, and never touch the letter, envelope, or even the stamp with un-gloved hands as I do not want Department of Homeland Security agents knocking on our door with our fingerprints in hand (even though the letters are written in the utmost professionalism Liberals are always boasting to be open to the opposite view, but then are offended and appalled that there is an opposing view). Lastly, keep the letters going and do not stop. I don’t like posting comments at blog sites, emailing, Tweeting, Facebook, Linked-In, or anything online / Internet as your IP address is always the same even in VPN logins which are traceable by authorities. Since I am like some of you, I travel out of town for my career and could be in New York City this week and San Francisco next week—so you can bet our letters are not mailed from our home town so the postage mark is foiled from pinpointing our home location. I know that this is tough to believe and maybe some of you are more risk takers than we are and wont go to all these measures to write a letter to a Liberal, but we actually had Department of Home Security show up at our doorstep—thank goodness we were on vacation and they never returned our voicemail from the business card they placed on our outside security door referring to call them back.  
 

FIGHT – CAREER AND JOBS
We live in a world were we no longer see the times of our fathers and grandfathers. That is, when they graduated high school, netting a good job, and whoa forty years later they are working and retiring from the exact same company they started. In those days the neighborhoods were stable because you knew all your neighbors for forty years and nothing changed. Families were stable with income, neighbors, benefits, community events, church fellowship, and it was a simpler time. It was also a time when feminists weren’t allowed into the workforce with leadership roles over men, but we won’t get into that here (I’m sure a liberal feminist is offended now—but true). Many of you readers have been fired, as I have been. Why? Because you don’t possess the correct signature in human conduct a Liberal is requiring at your place of employment. Just look at any of the mainstream media moguls and you would understand that they hire only employees that pull voting booth levers for Progressive candidates. Even the actor Tim Allen stated in and interviews with Sean Hannity of Fox news not to dispel that he is a conservative… his reasoning? He wont get any more work in Hollywood. It is a shame, but we need to start pushing through the ranks in Corporate America, Government, Military, and education and hire more Conservatives when we are in leadership. One glaring issue is Democratic donations out flank Republican donations for elections; this could be due to Progressives monopolizing the good paying careers. We need Conservatives to spread the wealth to other conservatives because we too need income to stabilize our families and also be in the fight! Support conservatives as you can rest assure Liberals are not! With Liberals allowed to have stable careers, due to their discrimination in Corporate America more and more now, they have disposable income to FIGHT. We Conservatives need that too, including full benefit packages for our families and retirement as Liberals do.
 

FIGHT – THROUGH INVOLVEMENT
When my family is settled in the Redoubt it will cost us about $400 a year in property taxes and another $1,000 per year in propane. Other than that it would be fuel for our vehicles and maintenance on our retreat. We will have a fruit orchard, garden, small and large farm animals for milk and meat and eggs, hunting and fishing galore, solar for electricity, septic for sewer, well for water, and a ham radio license for communications. It will be self-sufficiency as much as we possibly can. We will have disposable cash to join the fight! Hey Liberals have much disposable cash for their fights—why not us!  I am going to challenge myself that when I hear a Superintendent in a Mississippi Public School district expel a student for wearing an American Flag T-shirt, I will fly there and confront him fact to face, or I will file a lawsuit with a local attorney, or simply start a protest or rally outside the school district. One thing about Liberals is that when they see resistance coming, they back down right away. Remember these were the Tories during the Revolution that wouldn’t bear arms, fight for any just cause, and pleaded with the British that if they told them who the “rebels” were that the British would return a favor not to hurt them. They back down! Look at the NRA with the Obama Administration—it is one of the few wins in my opinion against this Liberal force to take America down a road of no return. We need to pray about what God would have us to do, but I believe He would like my family to FIGHT. That is fight with letters, hiring attorneys to sue, organizing pickets and protest, supporting financially conservative business and Made in America products, become politically activated, and physically getting into one’s face to drive home a point verbally and could even be in a private, such as a professional office setting.

FIGHT—BY KNOWING THY ENEMY
Progressives are winning through the advancement of their causes, due to hate. No, I’m not talking about them being a hate group or progressing society past the boundaries set in God’s word, but their HATE RHETORIC they pin on each one of us Conservatives. How many times did we hear Hitlery in her campaign speeches bring up Racists, Sexists, Xenophobic, Homophobic, Deplorable, etc.? We as Conservatives know that God is the one who is allowed to judge. DO NOT ever let a Progressive label you or your family as a hater. Because who’s definition of hate are they using? God’s or their own special concocted version? These individuals have no right to cast judgment on anyone in society. Be sure they don’t do it to you or your loved ones. Stop them in their tracks. Because they can push through any legislation if they demonstrate that Conservatives are full of hate!
 

FIGHT – EXPUNGE THY ENEMY
In her debates with Trump, Hitlery would utilize a Liberal tactic of offense referring to her as a woman and when Trump said something outlandish regarding a woman she played it as an offense against all women on Planet Earth. No! I’m sorry each individual is responsible for their own conduct and if a woman has no integrity or character you are allowed to call that out, and if we as conservatives are just supposed to respect her because she is a woman it is dangerous ground to stand on. We wouldn’t surely respect Jezebel in the Bible, as we would revere Mother Teresa just because they both are women. Be careful when they play this “group thing” on Conservatives. Liberals do it with the Black Group, the Woman Group, the Gay Group, and now the Islamic Group.  

FIGHT –THROUGH VOLUNTEERING
Understandable that the Republican Party is one that is more conservative but more and more members have been promoting the radical Leftist policies, which fall along the lines of the “isms”: Marxism, Communism, Feminism, Gay and Lesbianism, Socialism, Statism, Fascism, Environmentalism, etc. etc. etc. But we need to volunteer in our communities and in the political arena. Even placing a sign outside your home for a candidate (as long as you’re not fined by your HOA as we were—then this is a good time to fight your HOA especially if they don’t allow you to fly the American flag), handing out flyers, organizing community events, or simply discussing with a Marxist why they have that Democrat on their bumper sticker in the form of a destructive message (for instance: WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER. Tell that to the peace activists entering Nazi Germany- WAR WAS THE ANSWER! To stop the gas chambers). After witnessing the Tea Party identified as members assaulted by the IRS in the form of audits, shakedowns, and denial of non-profit status on corporations they filed, it is apparent we need to be in this FIGHT. If we continue to do nothing and watch Fox News we will all be fighting in another arena real soon.
 

FIGHT – WITH PHYSICAL FORCE
Folks I needed to cover this one as it about fighting in the same stance as our Forefathers. First of all, don’t think for one moment that these Liberals who have never held a gun in their hands, but are demanding your guns to be removed by their elected officials [Democrats but some Republicans now], is all about community safety. It is not! No, that maneuver of Obama who just ratified the Small Arms Treaty with the United Nations is all about removing any sort of FIGHT from an opposing view. Remember that our Founders placed freedom of speech and religion as the First Amendment and the right to bear firearms as the Second Amendment. I’ll even take it one step further and illustrate that our human freedoms were doled out by our Creator in Heaven and government embodiments are supposed to uphold those God given freedoms. Our Founders’ gun barrels obtained that premise and our freedoms have always been upheld through a threat from those barrels of guns we as citizens bear. The answer to 1984 has always been 1776. Some of you might say, “They won’t take my guns!” But so-called Assault Riffles will be all gone in four years if Hitlery is elected President. Also, Liberals would never go door to door to remove firearms since that would most likely start another Civil War. However, they will do what Liberals do and that is turn the heat up on the frog in the pot until it comes to a boil and the frog is dead. Meaning, gradually the guns will be removed. Once assault riffles, suppressors, and 30-round magazines are removed by Hitlery’s Executive Orders there will be a registration of your remaining firearms. This might not sound so bad, just letting the government have a database of gun owners, correct? Wrong! After this act, those registered guns would require a fee, much like your automobile annual registration, and lets say $50 per gun annually. The next year it would go up to $500 per gun annually and then the third year $5,000 per gun annually. You see they will take the guns without ever knocking on a door. Getting back to topic here, in my family we strictly believe, and this is just my family belief, that the Second Amendment is not written for home defense clause in human freedom but is written to subdue a tyrannical government. I will leave it at that. Also remember that with God all things are possible. Who would’ve believe that the outnumbered, outflanked, out-trained, out-supplied, Patriotic Continental Army would win by utilizing harassing tactics against the then modern day authorities.  Also, in moving up to the Redoubt and speaking with neighbors, they too are like-minded with my family, but some are not and don’t not want any part with firearms [or maybe they are just keeping a low profile]. Be sure you band together and know THY neighbor well.

CONCLUSION – TEAMWORK
In any rate, you need to befriend your like-minded brothers and sisters across this Union and understand that going about all this FIGHT by yourself is foolish. There was a talk in recent years, espousing the Lone Wolf who could do more FIGHTING than a banded pack. Is that what happens in the wild with Wolves? No! We need to band together as like-minded Christians and come to the aid of each other even if that means hiring someone or buying from their farmer’s market instead of Wal-Mart. Maybe some of us can just write letters, some can fly across the country to join in pickets, some can hire attorneys, some can run for public office, some can attend tactical training and defensive driving courses, but we can all pray and open our hearts towards our fellow Conservative—it is not going to get any easier for us Conservatives unless we FIGHT—and then it would be easier for our offspring. Let’s not forget what our Founding Fathers established for us and our American Freedoms which are currently on the chopping block by Progressives. Let’s not forget Lavoy Finicum who gave his life for this FIGHT and did it for all of us. Our Founding Fathers are proud of us! God Bless…



Economics and Investing:

Making this up, as they go along: Deutsche Bank’s Dominic Konstam on Making Negative Rates Work (Video)

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Jim Willie: Broken Central Banks: 4 Quick Pix

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Amazon is failing to steal Costco’s customers

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Sterling hits a two-day high after positive ‘Brexit’ comments, but is this just a short term opportunity? (Joseph Wright)”  (Some analysts like Karl Hammer in Sweden predict a strong British Pound in the long term.)

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.



Odds ‘n Sods:

Several readers sent this: Miami treehouse grandma Shawnee Chasser keeps up fight for home. JWR’s Comments:  This illustrates the essential problem in the very nature of government: 

This is an age when someone must apply for a “license” or a “permit”,  or make themselves subject to a “building code” and “inspections” to live our everyday lives. This is an age of legislated tyranny. In 21st Century America, we have too-willingly abandoned our essential freedom to live our lives unhindered. Most people don’t stop to think that a government-issued license or permit is: “permission to do something that would otherwise be illegal.”  By instituting government and by electing representative with the power to legislate against malum prohibitum  (i.e. declaring some activities or objects legal and other things illegal), we’ve enslaved ourselves. In discerning our government, it is crucial to distinguish between malum in se (which are sinful behaviors that are inherently criminal–like murder, rape, theft, and arson), as opposed to malum prohibitum which are purely legislated and often arbitrary “crimes”. (Such as going 45 m.p.h. in a 40 m.p.h. zone, or owning a shotgun with a 17″ barrel instead of an 18″ barrel.)  It is only when enforcement of the myriad of made-up malum prohibitum laws reaches absurd lengths that the fundamental flaw in the system becomes apparent, even to the sheeple. There are now so many arcane laws on the books that virtually every American is unknowingly a repeated “criminal”, daily. Even worse, Federal agencies such as the EPA, BATFE, and OSHA now create their own administrative “rules” (with criminal penalties), without acts of congress. This must end. It is clear that we now need far less government! We need to return to a government by, for, and of The People.

Pray for Mrs. Chasser, and pray for far less government.

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Zika virus birth deformities:  Why have nearly all of them been in just one part of Brazil?

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Claire Wolfe  alerted us to this troubling article: Private Eyes: The Little-Known Company That Enables Worldwide Mass Surveillance. (Claire’s comment: “There should be a special hell — a very special hell — for so-called private companies that thrive by enabling mass, unlawful government surveillance.”)

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Perhaps a bit gadgety, but here is something for dedicated Glocakaholics to consider: Personal Defense Weapon Kit for Glocks. (This page has a good included explanatory video.)  If Gabe uses them, they must be more than just a gadget.



Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“We’ve got to go after this, and here again, the Supreme Court is wrong on the Second Amendment. And I am going to make that case every chance I get.” – Hillary Rodham Clinton, September 2015



Notes for Thursday – October 27, 2016

I was saddened to hear of the death of Bob Hoover, one of the world’s most skilled pilots. He was a fighter pilot, test pilot, exhibition flyer, and airshow promoter. He was 94 years old. When Bob put on his flying exhibitions at air shows, it was often in a Shrike twin engine passenger plane–a plane that was not designed with aerobatics in mind.  Most of those flights were done with one of the engines turned off and the prop feathered, and then he shut down the other engine, and continued to do aerobatics, often landing dead stick!  He absolutely knew the limits of that aircraft. The Smithsonian hosted a fine tribute to him, just five months before his death.  Here is quote that sums up Bob’s spirit: “Having been shot down over Nice, France during his 59th mission in World War II, Hoover spent 16 months as a POW, spending much of the time in solitary confinement as punishment for two dozen escape attempts. Finally, he succeeded just before the end of the war by stealing a German fighter.” Hoover later flew the chase plane and was the backup pilot for Chuck Yeager when he first broke the sound barrier.  What an amazing guy. He will be greatly missed. 

October 27th 1858 was the birthday of President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. (He died January 6, 1919.)

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Today, we present another entry for Round 67 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 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 with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel 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, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. 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,
  2. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  3. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  4. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  9. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  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,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value),
  8. 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), and
  9. Fifteen LifeStraws from SafeCastle (a $300 value).

Round 67 ends on November 30th, 2016, 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.



Lessons Learned in Livestock – Part 2, by C.K.

(Continued from Part 1)

The following are the varieties of livestock that  I would not consider for a prepared homestead:

Guinea Fowl. I raised over 300 per year. Feed requirements can be met with them running loose, but that also meets the cat’s requirements on little keets. Also a guinea looks for the best hiding spot for eggs. And if allowed to roost outside they will help your owl population by supplying a midnight snack. And they wander to far from home and make way too much noise. The amount of bug reduction is nice but, chickens and ducks also love to eat insects. The butcher weight is no better than a Leghorn rooster.

Horses. Have you feed a horse with what you cut by hand and store? If you do not have the horse drawn equipment to cut and haul hay, then how are you going to feed them? What is the value to riding compared to the cost and time of upkeep? Now you horse lovers don’t be mad. Just think: what I can you accomplish by hand? My family used mules up till the early 1950s for the gardens, and we had horses up till the mid-1980s. Feed requirements are very high, hence the phrase: “eats like a horse/”

Beef Cattle. I sold my last cows three years ago. We had over 120 head of cows back in the 1980s. I’ve been around them all my life. The reason I do not recommend then for homesteading is that I plan on having no outside help. They are far too big to butcher in non-freezing weather, and the hay requirements for areas that have snow are just too high.

Milk Cows. I liked the Jersey milk cows that I had growing up but you need a place for all that milk. It is just just too much in a non-survival situation. Also milking requires a lot of time. You can leave the calf on and have the cow as a backup. That is the best choice. My grandparents milked through the 1960s. Everyone favorite was the Jerseys they have great attitudes, and are smaller than many other breeds of milk cows. If I went back to a milk cow then they would be it.

So if you consider cows or horses a must then think about the hay requirements. If you get a team of mules or horses (I prefer mules) and the horse drawn equipment you can meet the hay requirement. But is the time and expense worth it?  You have to work to keep animals trained and meet their daily feed requirements. The only way I see to keep big animals is owning lots of land. And you’d need an old diesel tractor (EMP-proof) and large sheds to store hay. Make sure you have lots of water that is easy to get to in winter. For the average Joe who has a job and family, it is too much time and expense to keep a horse. It’s a much better plan for a living-detached version of the modern world.

Turkeys. I’ve raised over 15 varieties. The only differences between them can be broken down into three types: the wilds, the butcher breeds and the heritage breeds. My goal is quiet and none of those breeds meet that requirement. The heritage varieties are all pretty good mothers. There is not much difference between the various heritage breeds other than colors and small amount of weight difference. They are fun to have around and get about 2/3 of their food in the summer from free range. But in the winter plan on a full diet of grain. Its that worth it to you? As for the other breeds forget about them, in a grid down situation.

In conclusion these are my life experiences with animals. My warning to you who envision the “perfect” homestead with chickens, cows, milk goats and all the other animals is: Don’t do it. Real life is not not Facebook. Animals take a lot of time and money. I suggest that you keep only a few to breed into production within a year’s time and store enough feed for the first year. Time is money. Spend your time on building cages, sheds, making raised garden beds, and finding time to live and enjoy life.

I’d like to add a lesson learned in life about buying at auctions: Living in a rural community and not too far from the cities is the perfect place for auctions. Why buy used? Most of us want the most bang for the buck. A new scythe is around $200 but at a auction the other day I paid just $10 for one. And Mason type canning jars were $1 to $ 2 a dozen. I go to an auction on most weekends. We have a consignment auction about 20 miles from my house. Why go every week? You will never know what is there, and old hand tools are inexpensive since nearly everyone seems to now want the latest power tools. We make trips to the thrift stores and antique malls when in town. There is no reason not to have enough clothes and shoes and boots stored for a number of years. The only problem is storage space. Have you tried to make a work coat for a $1, or make a pair of boots?  You probably cannot do it. Take advantage of what is out there now and how inexpensive things presently are. Used items at auctions are at all-time lows in price. Think ahead:  Can I use it or repurpose it?  Will it save me money and time?

My last recommendations for your garden are: If you have the space and a roadway to your garden site to buy an old dump truck. Mine cost me $600. I use the farm tractor to load it. Haul everything you can into the garden, old hay (free) manure (free) deciduous wood chips (not from coniferous trees!) available from the power line people (free). Make your soil the best, and it will pay dividends. Also go with as many raised beds as you can, they are proven effective here on the farm. I use logs for borders on them and can sit when pulling weeds. Also if you can make a pond uphill from the garden go for it, as a pipe is a lot easier to move water than a bucket. The best garden tractor for small farm work is the old walk-behind Gravely. I have many of these tractors with magneto ignition, (no battery, and EMP-proof) and every implement you can think of. I recommend finding the gear reduction wheels, tiller and sickle bar and 40” deck and sulkie. If you are mowing heavy brush 1” or bigger use the 30” deck because if you drive over it you can cut it up. This set up will run anywhere from $600 to $800 for everything. These tractors have already probably outlasted two owners and with care they will also outlast you.

As for the vegetables try the ones you like now. I love squash but try and raise them without spray and you feed the bugs. Do you have enough chemicals on hand for a decade of no stores? You will not have a safety net or store to go buy anything if your crop fails, and bugs will kill vine type vegetables in only a few days. I’ve transitioned to planting more root crops. Lots of Rutabagas, Turnips, Sweet Potatoes and regular Potatoes. The storage life of most root crops make it well into spring in the root cellar. I’m drafting this on August 13th and we are going to can the last of the sweet potatoes to make room. My root cellars are made from twelve thousand gallon fuel tanks. The round shape is a pain but they work and are inexpensive.

My last pieces of advice are: buy an old points ignition chain saw. Also buy books on herbs, healing, cooking and anything that relates to living without the modern world. And if someone older gives you advice, think about this: have they done it. The reason I wrote this article is I want you to succeed, since there are not enough Christians preparing. Yours in Christ, – C.K.



Letter: Advice for Disabled Suburban Retiree Preppers

HJL and JWR,
I’m seeking links or tips on how a 77-year-old disabled person can defend his property in case there’s TEOTWAWKI. My wife is 72.

We live in a middle class subdivision 45 miles from Cleveland, Ohio. Because of physical disabilities (neuropathy, bad knees and legs) I am not very mobile.
I use walker/cane most of the time.

We are moderately prepared (food, guns, ammo, junk silver, etc. A retired Marine lives at the other end of the block but says he will bug out if SHTF.
Nobody else on the block seems even to be aware of the dangers of a potential disaster (natural or man-made).We are one block from main artery, one mile from an interstate.

Finally, where is the best place to shop for potassium iodide?

Thank you for what you do on the blog.  We have been following you for a number of years.

Blessings to all,  – Daryl in Ohio

JWR Replies: It is probably best for you team up with someone who owns a rural property, somewhere nearby, but farther away from expected lines of drift for urban refugees.  To make this a viable retreat, you would pre-position the vast majority of your gear and food there, and you then would have to make just one trip by car to “bug out”, when disaster strikes or appears imminent.

At your stage of life, your “group” contribution would be primarily financial and logistical, rather than “sweat equity.”

To answer your other question: Several SurvivalBlog advertisers sell potassium iodide or iodate at competitive prices.  These (among others) include: Camping Survival, KI4U, Readymade Resources, and Safecastle.



Economics and Investing:

Obama administration confirms double-digit [Obamacare] premium hikes.

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Signs of the times: America’s biggest banks are closing hundreds of branchesJWR’s Comment: Whenever The Powers That Be get around to instituting their long-dreamed-of Cashless Society, there will be no need for brick and mortar banks. Nor will there be any privacy about what you buy and sell. Every transaction made with electronic currency will be permanently cataloged and cross-correlated with your social media interactions.  Thus, the entire lives of most citizens will be transparent to police and intelligence organizations. To mitigate this, I recommend both: A.) Creating a bland and thoroughly apolitical “vanilla” Facebook account, where you only “like” a few pop culture stars, and develop no friendships with your real world friends.  And, B.) Hedging into compact, durable, and fungible barter items. As I’ve mentioned many times before, silver coins and common caliber ammunition are at the top of my list, for barter. – JWR

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Charles Hugh Smith:  Two Sets of Solutions as the Status Quo Crumbles

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.



Odds ‘n Sods:

On a recent road trip through Ontario, Canada, I noticed a surprising number of houses equipped with photovoltaic (PV) power panels–both roof-mounted and ground rack-mounted. I suspect that these these PV systems were nearly all both:  A.) Grid-tied, and B.) Partly paid for by generous incentives. One of these incentives is called the Feed-in-tariff (FIT), wherein a grid-tied renewable energy producer is paid a premium for excess power fed back to the grid, for a limited number of years. For small producers (under 10 kW) the available term is 20 years for PV, and 40 years for hydro power. – JWR

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Internet Crashes Will Be Hard To Stop After Obama’s Internet Giveaway

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A neighbor reminded me about the continuing publication of Farm Show magazine. Think of it as Makezine, for country folks.  The creativity of some of these farm and ranch projects is astounding.  Many of these devices are constructed with little more than scrap metal,  welding rod, and a bit of duct tape. Their three published “Encyclopedia of Made It Myself Ideas” compendiums are highly recommended.

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Video: 23 Incredible DIY Projects From Pallet Wood

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Choosing a Liveaboard Boat



Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question.” – Thomas Jefferson, in his first Inaugural Address



Notes for Wednesday – October 26, 2016

October 26th is the anniversary of the death of American-born RLI Trooper Joseph Patrick Byrne, in Rhodesia, in 1978.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 67 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 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 with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel 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, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. 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,
  2. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  3. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  4. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  9. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  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,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value),
  8. 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), and
  9. Fifteen LifeStraws from SafeCastle (a $300 value).

Round 67 ends on November 30th, 2016, 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.



Lessons Learned in Livestock – Part 1, by C.K.

Editor’s Introductory Note:  Some details in this article were deleted or slightly altered, to protect the anonymity of the author.- JWR

A brief history of my background and education: My family has been farming since they came to this country in the 1840s. My Father was a farmer like all the previous generations, but also started working livestock auctions in 1961. Now I work auctions only on a part time basis, and attend about thirty auctions a year. My life took a change on my second marriage. Not only did I get a beautiful wife; she also came with the word of the Lord. So after much prayer my journey began. Like most people I’m bottom middle class. Fortunately I have a farm, rural location, unlimited water, and some good ground for gardens. My Grandmother told me many stores of the shortages of WWII and raising six boys on the farm. I took her life lesson to heart, and knew what needed to be done. That is where the journey began. We have 160 acres on a side road that’s thirty miles from a mid-size town, so we have chosen to be cautious and quiet and self-sustaining. The goal is no outside support for the animals, only what can be produced here. No heat, no lights for eggs, no meds, and only what my hands and land are capable of producing. Hence, you will see the reasons and order of the animals mentioned below. So where to begin? Like most men, for me meat is the primary meal everything else is just extra. After many trials and errors, we have succeeded. This article lists of animals comes from from a lifetime of experience in northeastern Kansas. We’ve raised livestock and exotic birds from Button Quail to Ostriches and everything in between, for only one objective: to make money. Raising animals to butcher went by the wayside in the 1980s, as it was cheaper to buy them wrapped in cellophane, and more so today. Raising animals for personal consumption is a losing endeavor. Time, land and feed, are worth more than the animals. Now, if you treat it like an insurance policy with added benefits that you get to eat the excess, then it’s still not profitable but serves a safety net for the future. When you drive down the back roads look around. Do you see any small livestock? They are almost all gone, since no one wants the work or expense. Now think: If I have no refrigeration what meat can I have for dinner on a hot July day? The answer is small stock.

Rabbits
My primary meat will be the lowly rabbit. Why you ask? It is a proven success, you can have unlimited meat in a small package to cook daily with the benefits of no noise, great fertilizer, useful hides, quick reproduction, cold weather tolerance, no grain needed, and the waste parts fed the dogs daily. Those saying rabbits need frozen water bottles and fans to live in hot weather are not true. I’ve lost no rabbits due to heat, Mine are in outside wire cages under deep shade. I use a hand scythe like your grandparents used. I cut two Garden Cart  loads of weeds per night which feed around 75 rabbits (A push Garden Cart  measures 3’x4’ with large wheels, They were popular in the early 1980s. You must get one or better yet, two). Plant your yard in yellow clover, alfalfa, or lespedeza, all of which are good for honey production, fixing nitrogen, and are high in protein. Back when I fed only weeds that came from the garden and around the Blackberry rows to my rabbits, I noticed a slight decrease in growth rates and the amount they ate was considerable. But now, feeding legumes the feed quaintly has been reduced by ½ and butcher times are shorter by several weeks. This has proven a rewarding, renewable and cost effective feeding system. The majority of rabbits are crosses, most being ¾ New Zealand and ¼ Blue American, with some Harlequins and Silver Fox. The mixed breeds are a tad smaller, but they tend to eat every weed from Button to Ragweed. I am running a warren system and individual cages. We’ve not had the problems of mothers taking over other nest boxes. The pens are a 5’x14’ cage 3’ in the air with wire bottom on skids that can be moved by two men. There has been no problems with the kits they just go everywhere and are ignored by the other does. My recommendation for nest boxes is a drop down box lower than the floor by 4” and built on the outside of the pen for easy access with wire bottoms of 1/4″ mesh hail screen or 1/2″ mesh wire, with at least 2” of hay bedding in them. The end of the cage is a full width feeder for weeds and grass of 2”x2” wire 6” off the bottom in a “J” shape. For the little rabbits you will have to feed the weeds on the floor of the cage. You will be surprised how soon they are eating. The best size wire for the floors is ½ x 1” (Galvanized After Welding aka GAW) and under the feeder. I run 1”x2” wire mesh. Grow out pens are also 5’x14’ which house all the young. from 6 weeks to butcher age. There have been no problems running the mixed ages together; with around 25 per rabbits cage. You can run more, but both ends of the cage will have to be feeders. If you plan on feeding a lot of people, then the warren system is easier. If you’re only planning on feeding a few people stay with individual pens. I will keep both systems as we are planning on feeding ten people. Best source for information on raising rabbits is a web site called Rise and Shine Rabbitry. The owner, Boyd Craven, Jr., also co-authored a couple of books on raising rabbits. One of those books is titled Off the Pellet. I’m giving credit where credit is due. Remember: Any rabbit that is trouble makes very fine jerky no matter how old. Remember this enterprise is life sustaining for you and your family. These are not pets.

Guinea Hogs
My second favorite animal with the requirements of, feed, noise, housing, pen, reproductions and sustainable protein taken into consideration is the Guinea Hog. It is a small, rare breed of pig. There are many web sites on these hogs. Some of my favorite things about them is they come home every night from the pasture running with the goats, they are friendly and easy keepers, not tearing up the fence or pastures. I feed mine one pint of grain each in the winter which equals three ears of corn and a round bale of hay in the lot, this meets all their requirements. These are lard hogs so there are three things to think about on them first and most importance is the lard. (Try to cook without oils!) And next is the meat, oh yeah! It is marbled, like Kobe beef. Third is once again the lard, but to make soap. On a web site was a breakdown of a full grown sow being butchered if I remember right it was 5.5 galllon of lard. thirty pounds of grinder meat and forty pounds of larger meat/ cubed. The lard matches the average use of oils for a year in our diets, something to think about is: How do I cook without oils? And pressing your own sunflower seeds is not going to be enough, with the way birds love them.

Goats
Number 3 is goats. We run a heard of around a 100 with many different breeds. I’ve had a very expansive lesson learning how to keep these animals alive. Worms are your biggest threat, even more so in wetter climates. There are several types of worms with different medicines for each. My other problems with goats are that  they roam over a lot of ground to graze. The young make noise quite often when they become separated from their mothers. No fence is good enough when the grass is greener on the other side. Our solution was we went with chain link bought from auctions and hedge post with barbed wire on top and bottom. And if there is one place to get out of the fence they will find it.  For meat there is no other breeds with fewer problems than the Savana, Kiko, and Spanish. Mine are all crosses–just getting a little better every year. If you are thinking about Boer goats my advice is to stock up on wormer lots of it and plan to babysit when the kids drop as a lot of first-time mothers are not very good.

For milk production I’ve had about every type of goat there is. My goal is the least amount of outside meds or care needed. Alpines have proven the toughest, with not really a close second and generally the quieter of the milk goat breeds. Nubians are not bad but they tend to get worms, as they tend to eat the grass closer to the ground. They are also are really vocal. For first time mothers they are not as good nor are they as pasture smart as the Alpines. In a herd setting of mixed breeds, they tend to be bullied more easily. I also have LaManchas. They are not as resilient as most European breeds, and usually not very good first time mothers. They also tend to get worms more often. On the noise level I have one that is quiet and one that is just plain annoying. So it comes down to the individual animal. The saving grace about them is they are very friendly and usually easier to milk by hand than most other breeds. In the past, my favorite little milk goat breed was the Oberhasli, but with small udders they are hard to milk, and suffer quickly from worms. So they are now discontinued from the farm. For those who think the small breeds are the way to go, my question is have you is:  Have you ever milked a goat, and how much milk did you get? With my big milk goats the production is a gallon or more a day per goat [combined, from morning and evening milkings]. The thing to remember with goats is you have to have space and pasture rotation. Also make sure you can feed them in a grid-down situation. I keep a three years supply of hay on hand in sheds, and a barrel of salt. So think about what you can keep up if things go haywire.

Bees
Number 4 is Honey bee. Their advantages: a small amount of wax, medical uses of honey, and low maintenance, and the best thing the reward of liquid gold–the honey itself. Think what life would be like without honey to sweeten and to cook with, as sugar cane doesn’t grow in most places. There are many sources for information to learn about these little insects. My recommendation is to find a good Bee Club and also use YouTube to learn. My favorite YouTube channel is operated by Don The Fat Bee Man. He offers many ideas for substantial bee raising. The cons to bee keeping are few if you have the dollars to buy the equipment and a little time available in the spring and summer.

Chickens
Number 5 is Chickens. They are low on my list because you have to feed your chickens grain. I’m in northeastern Kansas where we have freezing weather and snow. So my dilemma is, I have to grow everything by hand, how much corn or milo does it take to keep them alive for a year? Can I raise them free ranging, or will they be in some coyote’s belly. Two other issues are how much noise the roosters make and hen house building requirements. So what are the pros of having chickens? You get eggs seven months of the year and a few roosters to eat. I’ve owned about every type of poultry knows in the USA. So with all the breeds out there, we raise Red Cochin Bantams. These little chickens have proved the best sitters, with the highest number of eggs out of the 12 breeds that we tried. These little broody machines will hatch two sets of eggs per year if given the chance. Granted, individual blood lines will be different, so start you’re testing today. Your best Cochin bantams might turn out to be buffs or some other color, so keep production records. My advice is Forget the Old English, Silkies, Games, Wyandottes or Japs. Lesson learned: Cute or pretty does not equal sitting or laying capability. Now these are not the primary laying chickens, my favorite for running loose during the day and least amount of feed for the egg is the plain old Leghorn. But the Leghorn will not sit on eggs. I suggest brown leghorns, so as not as easy for predators to see.

[JWR Adds:  The advantage of raising separate flocks of a large non-broody breed and a smaller flock of bantams is that that the bantam hens can be used as foster moms to set on the eggs produced by the other non-broody flock.]

You might ask: What about the “dual purpose” breeds? Look at feed input and egg output; they make some very costly meat and eggs, now butcher a big dual purpose breed and look at the breast size this will be a very big disappointment. When whole fryers are on sale for 79 cents a pound and eggs are 85 cents a dozen. To start your chicken flock look to: exotic bird clubs or auctions, Craigslist, or swap meets. It is best to talk to the breeder and listen to what they have to say about their birds, because every bloodline will perform differently.


Ducks and Geese
Number 6 is Ducks. I’ve raised a lot of the exotic ducks, best just forget them. We now have Runners, Khaki Campbells and Welsh Harlequins. Building requirements are almost none. They are tough, Water, wind and snow are no problem. The big problem is raccoons. Now the cons: Lots of eggs early in the year and none later through the summer. These laying breeds will not sit reliable, because they are to flighty, they require a lot more grain to keep going then you will plan on feeding, and corn will not keep them laying into the summer. The laying breeds are not worth eating being so small. I have brought in Muscovy ducks and they look promising. Here is why I decided to add them. As For Geese, I’ve raised everything from Cracklers to Giant Canadians and everything in between. The plain old Canadians didn’t require much food but they also do not produce many goslings or butcher out very large. The domestic geese; what do you get beside the need for water and a lot of noise? Well, quite a bit of grain for the young and in the wintertime. My Ducks and Geese will be the first things eaten in a Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF) situation unless its early spring and laying season. Grain will be too precious.


Cats
Number 7 is Cats. Try to have a farm without cats and you’ll have more mice and rats than you can imagine. The amount of damage that mice do to equipment and stored grain makes the cat the most valuable animal on the farm.

Sheep
Number 8 is Sheep. My views of them are from the 1970s and 1980s.My father had over 300 head of ewes. I remember lambing season was a 24-hour a day job. Shearing was all done with electric clippers. I’ve seen the antique clippers so hand shearing is an option. The hair sheep seem like a better idea than dealing the work of shearing. I prefer eating lamb over goat by a large margin, and they make less noise, and are easier on the fences. They also graze on totally different grasses than goats. [Goats prefer brush and the leaves, needles, and bark  on saplings.] But you will not be milking sheep, and the market value is 1/3 less than goats, for butcher animals.

In Part 2, I will discuss livestock that I discourage, and explain my reasons why.



Letter Re: Water Storage Options for Suburbanites

Hi,
I was reading SurvivalBlog’s special page with info for newbies and I realized we are behind the eight ball. But my husband and I are Christians and we are both over 50. I am on disability but I am a retired Registered Nurse and I also sew, crochet etc.

You mentioned that we needed to have an underground water tank and I don’t see that as possible for us, however we do have a pool just off the back deck. Any advice?  Thanks, – Carol C.

JWR Replies: My mentions of underground water storage tanks were intended for people with country properties, and primarily those who have wells or springs with low gallons-per-minute production, or water that is pumped with photovotaically-powered pumps that operate only in daylight.  (Hence the need to capture water for later use.) Typically water is pumped up hill (or up to a tower-mounted tank, in level country), to provide gravity-fed water, under pressure, to operate a shower or sprinklers.

If you are on city-supplied water then your water needs will be met nicely if the power grid stays up. But you would have huge problems if the power grid goes down for an extended period.  (Since most civic water supplies have electric pumps, somewhere in the supply chain.) In your case, since you already have a swimming pool, you should hope that there will only be intermittent disruptions of the power grid. When there is a crisis and an upcoming interruption of the power grid looks likely, you should drain your pool completely and then refill it with fresh tap water. (As I’m sure you know, typical pool water chemicals render water unpotable, even if it filtered.) Then, just lightly chlorinate it, with plain hypochlorite laundry bleach.  The concentration of the chlorine should be such that you can just noticeably be able to taste the chlorine.  Depending on the size of your pool, this will provide you a reserve of water for drinking, washing, and flushing toilets that will last several weeks. Your pool should then be kept covered and of course be kept off limits from swimming. 

You should run any water from your re-filled pool that is intended for drinking or cooking through a gravity ceramic water filter in your kitchen, such as a Big Berkey or a similar clone.



JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Books:

Rand McNally 2017 Large Scale Road Atlas

Blue Book of Gun Values

Movies:

Ender’s Game

RED 2

Music:

Sounds of Summer: Very Best of The Beach Boys

The Blues Brothers Original Soundtrack

Podcasts:

The Mountain Medicine Podcast

The Survival Podcast: Episode-978-Fall Gardening Primer with Tips and Tricks for 2012

Instructional Videos:

Firewood cutting rack DIY

Firewood Storage From Pallets

Gear:

Nitecore i4 Intellicharge Universal Smart Battery Charger with 12 VDC Cable

Israeli Battle Dressings