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Letter Re: Brumby Compressed Air-Powered Well Pumps
Dear Captain Rawles,
Are you perchance familiar with Brumby Well Pumps? They work using compressed air and are being manufactured in Australia. From what I can tell, this is a good idea if you can get compressed air to the pump. This leads to the next question: Is there a practical way of operating an air compressor with either a wind turbine or a mechanical means not requiring the grid or a gasoline engine of some sort?
When I lived in Germany I saw a number of old Volkswagen air-cooled engines that had been converted to serve as air compressors. (These operated off of two cylinders and compressed air with the other two). That would work if you had gas, but after the Schumer hits, gas will be too valuable if it can be found at all.
I'd appreciate your advice and maybe some of the readers are familiar with a means of compressing air, off the grid. I know that you have extensive experience at water wells, pumping etc.
Best Regards, - Mike B. in Florida
JWR Replies: The Brumby design is fascinating. I don't yet have any experience with them, so perhaps some readers that do would like to chime in.
In answer to your question: Yes, it is conceivable that an air compressor could be powered by a wind turbine, but that might require a gearing arrangement to achieve the requisite compression. And I can't help but wonder about the relative efficiency of compressing air with a windmill to drive a Brumby pump, rather than using traditional direct drive to raise and lower a sucker rod. My gut level instinct is to opt for simplicity, and my suspicion is that adding another energy transformation is almost certainly less efficient--due to friction losses, if nothing else.
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Two Letters Re: Last Minute G.O.O.D. Versus Well-Considered Early Relocation
Jim:
The figure [cited by "Feral Farmer"] of 100 square miles per hunter-gatherer can't be correct. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles). So, at 100 square mile per hunter gatherer, would only support 95,400 natives. Considering that large chunks of the Arctic and desert are minimal in their resources, not to mention Greenland, this figure (100 sq mi) can't be correct.
Here are a couple of online references:
Agricultural practices and policies for carbon sequestration in soil By John M. Kimble, Rattan Lal, Ronald F. Follett
and,
Food, Energy, and Society By David Pimentel, Marcia Pimentel
These suggest about 40-200 hectares (a hectare is a 100 meter square). This would allow 12 million to 60 million people for the continent, which is much more realistic.
Clearly, though, this is not an efficient way of feeding population, and [given the current population] would quickly lead to both starvation and stripping of resources. - Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog's Editor at Large
Mr. Rawles,
If I might add a few comments to [Feral Farmer's] letter. Living in a rural and now recreational area of Wisconsin I have noticed several things. Unemployment is becoming a very serious issue here. Many businesses are simply folding or moving away. It is mostly the small one to five person business's that simply disappear. No big headlines, just quiet and slow.
1. Locals are fishing more than ever are putting up their Friday night fish fry in the freezer for future use. Friday night fish frys are almost religion here and have been for years. So if they cannot afford to go to the local bar for it, they will have the fixin's at home. This means that City folks may not be eating so well if they come here, expecting to live off the land or lake as it were. Small game is the same thing.
2. Mr. Feral's comment about taking 10 years to really know your land is so true. It cracks me up when I hear a city person ask: "What's so tough about farming? You just dig up some dirt, dump some seeds in and get some food at the end of summer." Yes, I have actually had that said to me. I have a field that is a bit lowland, and some what shaded by large pine trees. It was a pasture for the previous owner (perhaps for good reason). I have been trying for years to get a really good crop of anything off that field. The weeds seem to love it, but corn does not. This year we had a cold April, wet May and ups and downs in June. 90 for a couple of days and 60 the next. My corn refused to germinate. I view this particular field as a challenge and am determined to find a crop that will grow. I can do it because I have other very productive fields. My point is the same as Mr. Feral's. You cannot simply expect food to grow because you think it should, because you
read a book. Thank, - Carl R.
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Letter Re: An Outward Bound Prepper's Perspective
Hi Jim,
I’m new to your site and books but not to the concepts and precepts. My dad had a survivalist/self-sufficient mindset with a cool mix of Native American philosophy and know-how. I didn’t eat store bought meat or baked goods until I was 10 or 12 and thought processing shoulders of venison in the kitchen was the norm. We had a huge garden and fruit tree orchard. My mom was a master at canning; although I think it should be called "jarring" because you’re putting it in jars, not cans. He collected, traded, and rebuilt guns and amassed quite a collection. I grew up reloading cartridges and sanding/staining stocks and thought nothing of it at the time. He taught us to hunt, fish, camp, garden, live off the land and many other things that I took for granted at the time. He passed away last year but his lessons and way of being in the world still guide me to this day. From reading your novel I now know why he left us a 25 pound bag of really, really old silver coins.
As I have been reading your book and the blogs posts, I keep jotting notes to myself of things that have expanded my knowledge or ones that I would “pipe-in” on. I keep thinking I should read the entire archive of blogs first before piping in but realize that might take a very long time. I get bogged down in all the heavy duty technical talk and find myself putting it down or signing off for awhile. I feel very simplistic compared to a lot of the bloggers and find that I’m beginning to questions my own philosophies and preparedness. I’ve been stashing stuff for 20+ years but it has always been with the mindset of whether it can fit in a backpack or the back of my truck. I’m more of the Doug Carlton type. I can fill a backpack and disappear into the woods for many, many months and live very comfortably. And yes, shock-shock, I am a woman of small/lean stature.
I spent 10 years working for Outward Bound and 25 years backpacking/exploring North America . I’ve extensively scoped out where I would head and have created some caches along the way. I lived the majority of two years “out” and was amazed when I returned to “civilization” how much I appreciated instant fire, instant hot water, instant heat, real beds, not camping in snow, and not having to sleep with my boots in my sleeping bag to keep them from freezing overnight. Still, with all my experience and skill, the more I read of your book and blogs the more I’m wondering: Did I miss something?
I was reading through the Retreat Owner Profiles and kinda felt inadequate until some thoughts started hitting me. Could these people live/survive without the majority of all this stuff? If they had to choose 10 items, other than what they were wearing, to survive what would they be? (Hint: one of mine is heavy duty paper clips). If they had to choose three items what would they be? Do they know how to find dry wood and start a fire when it has been raining nonstop for two days? Could they curl up under a Ponderosa Pine without a tent and sleep a rainy night away? How would they react around bears, mountain lions, and the sorts? What if they got hurt out in the woods, could they handle it? How “tough” are they without their guns? The questions just kept coming and I started feeling less inadequate.
Since discovering your web site and starting all the reading my thoughts are definitely evolving. At my house I have been stashing for years what I call “luxury” stuff that would be part of a stable retreat. Within a year I will be getting a healthy inheritance and you now have me seriously considering creating a retreat at one of my “finds” from all the years of exploration. Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Washington and British Columbia have been my playgrounds for years. Over the last 20+ years of “playing” I have been honing in on where my bit of wilderness would be.
Also, thanks to you and your web site, I am now going to go back and take my brother up on some of his recent offers. One of which pertained to my dads extensive gun collection. I was home a couple of months ago and my brother took me into the “secret” room that housed a lot of my dad’s “toys”. We grew up calling them “toys” because my dad was somewhat adamant about people outside the family knowing anything about his extensive collection of guns, knives, arrowheads, old coins, et. cetera. I was staring at a room full of guns (amongst other things) and he told me take whatever I wanted. All I took was one small handgun because most of them are what I call “guy guns”. They were big, beefy, heavy, etc. Now I am thinking even if I can’t use them, I can trade them for something more my size. Without having me ingest an encyclopedia on guns, what would you suggest? I’m 5'5", 110 pounds, with small bones. I have access to most any new gun at cost or below cost. My brother would tell me not to by new but to go with unregistered older models, but some of the newer ones are seriously slick.
I have lots of thoughts and tips about living/surviving in the woods but it seems a lot of your web site is devoted to established retreats and I’m not there yet. So, I will keep reading and evolving my thoughts. You got me digging out all my old topo maps of the western states and going back through my experiences there. I am going to Oregon in a week, Utah in three weeks, and northern Montana in a couple of months. I had planned on just doing more re-exploration but will now have a more focused approach. So, thanks! Take care and keep your socks dry, - Sharon
JWR Replies: It is a pleasure hearing from a reader with extensive backwoods experience. You will find that invaluable. I often say that there is no substitute for hard-earned practical experience. It comes with some years, and with putting one foot in front the other, over hill and dale--chalking up considerable mileage off of pavement.
As for your firearms question: My wife is 5'4" and is under 100 pounds. Her primary rifle is a Valmet Hunter .308 semi-auto, which is a rifle generally carried by much larger shooters. The trick was having both the stock and barrel shortened, so that the rifle would fit her properly. She also had a Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad installed. That rifle has taken a lot of deer in the past 15 years, since it has also been used by our teenagers, while growing up. Don't miss some of the letters in the SurvivalBlog archives about gun choice for smaller shooters. Just type "small-statured and shooters" into the "Search Posts on SurvivalBlog:" search box at the top of the right hand bar.
Good luck with your search for a suitable retreat. For my selection rationale, and some detailed locales suggestions, see my book "Rawles on Retreats and Relocation".
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Two Letters Re: Cost Comparison: Factory Loads and Reloaded Ammunition
James,
Grandpappy isn't comparing apples to oranges correctly. His reloaded ammo pricing is for premium self defense bullets, which cost $150 or so per thousand. Most people are going to reload cast lead, which would cost $50 or 60 per thousand for a .40 S&W for example. If you price new premium self defense ammo, like Doubletap, it is going for around $700 a case. If you purchased new brass (why?) Hornady or Speer premium SD bullets, you would still be able to build your own (which we supposedly should not due to legal concerns) SD ammo for half the cost. And practice? Much, much cheaper with lead bullets.
Recent online ammo vendors (who have in stock) are trying to charge almost $500 for a case of .45 ACP 230 grain hardball (look at Natchez). You can load 230 grain lead roundnose (LRN) and duplicate the factory load for maybe $130 or so with good hard cast bullets included. Compared to today's ridiculous ammo prices, you can make up the cost of your reloading setup in a case or two of ammo. Anyone who wants to shoot more than 500 rounds a year should be reloading. Thanks! - M.S.
Jim:
Grandpappy had a great article on reloading, but what about time? Time is money. Reloading is very time consuming. Between [the time required for] collecting the fired brass, sorting the brass, cleaning [or tumbling] the brass, de-priming the brass, adjusting brass specs to factory (sizing, case length, primer pocket, etc…), this alone is a huge labor and use of time.
This, and my worsening eyesight that keeps me from enjoying precision hand loads, is why I gave up on reloading and sold all my equipment and supplies. BTW, I made a bundle of cash selling my new and used brass and primers. Wow! I quadrupled my money.
No one seems to factor in time. I don’t know about you, but have a long list of to-do projects and brass prep is not one of them.
I’m sure glad I bought hard and heavy in ammo back in the old days. I’m set for my life and probably the life of my kid too. - Robert
JWR Replies: I agree that reloading is time-consuming, but it is a valuable skill. For anyone that makes a six-figure salary, it is probably not worthwhile as a hobby at the present time. But for the rest of us, that don't make that much money, and a have a bit of time on our hands, it is well worth doing. It is particularly worthwhile for students and retirees. I love listening to music, and find that since it is a relatively quiet activity, reloading is a soothing, almost cathartic experience. But, of course, "your mileage may vary." Regardless, it is a valuable skill. I recommend that SurvivalBlog readers at least take the time to learn how to do it, and lay in the appropriate tools and supplies. Reloading capability might prove invaluable in a long-term collapse.
OBTW, don't overlook taking the same humidity precautions for powder and primers that you do for loaded ammunition. On that note, I should mention that I prefer using used Tupperware boxes for storing primer and percussion caps. They are airtight, yet they pose less of an explosion risk than metal ammo cans, in the unlikely event of a house fire. (I look for Tupperware containers whenever I go to garage sales, thrift stores, and farm auctions. Powder cans seal quite well by themselves. Again, for the sake of fire safety, they should be stored in a "blow open" plywood cabinet. Again, resist the temptation to store it in something confining like a 20mm ammo can.
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Cost Comparison: Factory Loads and Reloaded Ammunition, by Grandpappy
There are some significant cost differences between reloading shotgun shells and reloading pistol and rifle ammunition.
The following cost summaries illustrate these differences (all cost data collected in June 2009):
Pistol Ammunition Summary:
$0.270 = Total Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 40 S&W 165 Grain Pistol Cartridge.
$0.206 = Total Material Cost to Reload one Used 40 S&W 165 Grain Pistol Cartridge.
$0.064 = Cost Savings of Reloading one Used 40 S&W 165 Grain Pistol Cartridge.
Rifle Ammunition Summary:
$0.800 = Total Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 308 Caliber 165 Grain Rifle Cartridge.
$0.480 = Total Material Cost to Reload one Used 308 Caliber 165 Grain Rifle Cartridge.
$0.320 = Cost Savings of Reloading one Used 308 Caliber 165 Grain Rifle Cartridge.
Shotgun Shell Summary:
$0.240 = Total Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 12 Gauge 2.75-inch #7.5 Shot Shotgun Shell.
$0.410 = Total Material Cost to Reload one Used 12 Gauge 2.75-inch #7.5 Shot Shotgun Shell.
-$0.170 = Additional Cost to Reload one Used 12 Gauge 2.75-inch #7.5 Shot Shotgun Shell.
Shotgun Slug Summary:
$0.631 = Total Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 12 Gauge 2.75-inch One-Ounce Shotgun Slug.
$0.738 = Total Material Cost to Reload one Used 12 Gauge 2.75-inch One-Ounce Shotgun Slug.
-$0.107 = Additional Cost to Reload one Used 12 Gauge 2.75-inch One-Ounce Shotgun Slug.
A more detailed cost analysis that supports the above numbers appears at the bottom of this article.
The above data is based on average costs as of June 2009. I did not select the lowest possible cost nor the highest possible cost for each item. Instead I used the average cost.
If a person wanted to prove a specific point then he or she could easily select a set of extreme cost data that would support his or her point of view. For example, a person could compare the cheapest reloading materials to the most expensive factory-loaded ammunition and show a large savings. Or a person could compare the most expensive reloading materials to the cheapest factory-loaded ammunition and show a loss.
Since I am not trying to encourage or discourage reloading I used the average cost numbers for each material to provide a more balanced perspective.
The above data suggests that the average person could save a little money by reloading pistol and rifle ammunition.
On the other hand, the average person would save money by purchasing new factory-loaded shotgun shells instead of reloading empty shotgun shells.
The above conclusion is the same one I reached in 1974 when I first investigated the costs of reloading ammunition. In 1974 I could save money reloading both pistol and rifle ammunition but I would have paid a premium if I had tried to reload shotgun shells.
The above analysis does not take into consideration the cost of the reloading equipment. If a person were to invest $290 in reloading equipment plus $40 in one set of reloading dies in a specific caliber, then that person would need to reload the following number of empty cartridges to recover the cost of the total investment of $330:
5,156 Pistol Cartridges = $330 divided by $0.064 savings per pistol cartridge, or
1,031 Rifle Cartridges = $330 divided by $0.320 savings per rifle cartridge.
This clearly illustrates that a person would need to reload a lot of ammunition in order to break even on his or her investment of $330 in reloading equipment that includes one set of reloading dies. Therefore, the average person would probably be better advised to invest in new factory-loaded ammunition if he or she can still find it available for sale.
However, if factory-loaded ammunition becomes increasingly difficult to find, or if its price continues to increase, then a person might want to consider the reloading option as a viable alternative.
Some additional information about the reloading process is at the following page on my web site. This following web page also discusses the art of bullet casting and how to reduce your lead bullet cost to approximately $0.05 per bullet using clip-on lead wheel weights and ordinary solder that contains tin:
How to Get More Ammunition During Hard Times.
A general discussion on how to improve your marksmanship ability when shooting at paper targets is at the following page on my web site: How to Hit the Target Bull's-Eye.
The following detailed cost information is provided to support the cost data at the beginning of this article. This cost data is based on the average costs for each material as of June 2009:
Pistol Cartridge (40 S&W 165 Grain FMJ):
$0.030 = Primer Cost ($29.99 per box of 1,000 divided by 1,000).
$0.016 = Average Powder Cost ($15.79 per pound divided by 959 cartridges per pound).
$0.160 = Average Bullet Cost ($15.99 per box of 100 divided by 100).
$0.206 = Total Cost to Reload one Used 40 S&W Pistol Cartridge.
$0.270 = Average Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 40 S&W Cartridge ($13.49 per box divided by 50 rounds per box).
Rifle Cartridge (308 Caliber 165 Grain):
$0.030 = Primer Cost ($29.99 per box of 1,000 divided by 1,000).
$0.120 = Average Powder Cost ($21.99 per pound divided by 184 cartridges per pound).
$0.330 = Average Bullet Cost ($16.49 per box of 50 divided by 50) .
$0.480 = Total Cost to Reload one Used 308 Rifle Cartridge.
$0.800 = Average Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 308 Cartridge ($15.99 per box divided by 20 rounds per box).
Shotgun Shell (12 Gauge 2.75-Inch #7.5 Shot):
$0.039 = Primer Cost ($38.99 per box of 1,000 primers divided by 1,000).
$0.049 = Average Powder Cost ($18.49 per pound divided by 378 Shells per pound).
$0.290 = Average Shot Shell Cost ($50.99 per 11-pound bag divided by 176 Shells per bag).
$0.032 = Average Wad Cost ($7.89 per bag of 250 Wads divided by 250).
$0.410 = Total Cost to Reload one Used 12 Gauge Shotgun Shell.
$0.240 = Average Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 12 Gauge Shotgun Shell ($23.97 per case of 100 shells divided by 100 shells per case).
Shotgun Slug (12 Gauge 2.75-inch One-Ounce Slug):
$0.039 = Primer Cost ($38.99 per box of 1,000 primers divided by 1,000).
$0.107 = Average Powder Cost ($18.79 per pound divided by 175 Shells per pound).
$0.560 = Average One-Ounce Slug Cost ($13.99 per 25 Slugs divided by 25).
$0.032 = Average Wad Cost ($7.89 per bag of 250 Wads divided by 250).
$0.738 = Total Cost to Reload one Used 12 Gauge Shotgun Slug.
$0.631 = Average Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 12 Gauge Shotgun Slug ($9.47 per box of 15 slugs divided by 15 slugs per box).
The cost of the empty metallic brass shell case and the empty plastic shotgun shell is not included in the above figures because those items are being reused and therefore they may be considered a “sunk cost.” A sunk cost is an expense that was incurred in the past and it is not relevant for future purchase decisions. In other words, after you have paid for the factory-loaded ammunition, and you have fired that ammunition, then you have the choice to either: (1) discard your empty shell cases, or (2) re-use those cases. If you decide to re-use your fired shell cases then you do not incur any new additional expense.
Sales tax and/or shipping expenses were not included in the preceding data. These costs would be unique to your geographical location and they would equally impact all the above costs by the same ratio.
The above costs for new factory-loaded ammunition are based on the cost of that ammunition at a Wal-Mart in the southeastern United States as of June 2009.
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The Jump Kit, by Skyrat
Inside the trunk of my vehicle is a near duplicate of the “jump kit” or “Green Bag” used in my days with the Detroit Fire Department's Emergency Medical Service Division. When I come across a roadside collision before the local medics, everything I need to start patient care is in the green canvas bag I sling over my shoulder. The supplies in my personal vehicle are very much like those I carried in my street medic days, and reflect a strong basic life support/trauma bias.
Basic life support includes those interventions that do not go past the skin, and generally do not require physician direction to implement. Advanced life support, on the other hand, includes therapies that do go past the skin, and include medications, intravenous fluids (IVs), electrical counter shock, and airway intubation.
I do not include intravenous fluids or medications in my green bag for a couple of reasons. First, these items have a limited storage life under the best of conditions, and the rear of a passenger vehicle in Northern Michigan is not calculated to prolong it. Second, the statutes under which paramedics practice here in Michigan requires systematic physician supervision of advanced patient care. Fundamentally, that means that if you are not functioning within an established paramedic system, you are out of bounds should you perform advanced procedures on the street. Third, advanced patient care procedures are occasions of peril even in the hospital, let alone in the rear of an ambulance. This is so, even within a system of continuing education, continuous quality assessment, supervision, and the backup of both your partner, and the physician and clinical staff on the other end of the telephone or radio. Soloing at the roadside provides neither you nor your patient with these safeguards.
Firearms owners are likely acquainted with the “gun shop commando”, classically braying about the bogus “shoot 'em and drag 'em inside” philosophy of home violence management. Likewise, you might consider the existence of the “parlor paramedic”, who seems to reason something like, ”wait until the Schumer hits the fan, and I'll come out of the closet, birthin' babies and saving lives!”
In order to entertain this fantasy, you will need the tools of the trade. Medications are not without risks, do not keep forever, and are expensive. Additionally, there is the issue of convincing a physician that he or she ought to prescribe for you and that you can differentiate your Barneyfrank (ass) from a hole in the ground. If the expense is no problem for you because you have money to burn, please see me after class! If you think that the utility of your medication stash outweighs the other concerns, please contemplate these points: 1) In the absence of a catastrophe the likes of which America has never seen, it is both illegal and immoral to withhold professional medical care required by an ill or injured person. 2) During Schumeresque times, it is unlikely that the infrastructure will be in service which allows the delivery of complex, highly skilled care to those in need. Particularly, you will not have access to that infrastructure, and (if you have your head screwed on straight) you will have no desire to perform skills you are not trained to do, in the midst of a disaster, upon your vulnerable, hurting and injured loved ones.
By way of example, I have 30 yeas of EMS and nursing experience (in ICU, CCU, and ER), as well as licensure as a Physician's Assistant. I have used Dopamine, along with other invasive therapies, innumerable times to support the blood pressure of critically ill or injured patients. Dopamine has potent effects upon the heart, among other systems, and these effects are monitored by a cardiac monitor. I found a Zoll Automatic Cardiac Defibrillator, after a brief internet search, for $3,000, which appears after a casual review to allow monitoring. The question, however, is whether you can make sense of the tracing the monitor displays, identify adverse changes in cardiac rhythm, and respond appropriately. Additionally, do you know the adverse effects Dopamine may have, and how they must be managed? If not, you have no business trifling with it. I have done all these things for years in my Nursing practice, and I do not have Dopamine in my personal stores. You need to assume the risks you both understand and are comfortable with. I am reluctant to assume this risk for myself and my family.
My bias toward trauma derives from the fact that the stabilization and management of the medical patient, in contrast to the trauma patient, calls for assessments and interventions that I generally do not find appropriate outside of the hospital or advanced life support ambulance. Determining the source of the patient's distress will identify what treatment is required. While there are a few medical conditions that are responsive to basic life support interventions, I am not about to pretend that a few thousand words will equip you to make such judgments. Find an American Red Cross first aid class and master it. Better yet, become an EMT.
Just the other day, I came upon a rollover as my girlfriend and I were en route to attend some family function. There were half-a-dozen civilians clustered about, and things seemed well in hand. The first firefighter arrived shortly after me, and I deferred to him. Offering him wound care supplies, I was surprised to discover I could not find any gloves in my kit! Returning home, I undertook an inventory. Here is the result of that tally, and some discussion of my view of why each item belongs in my kit.
Training comes first. There is a story told of the early days of the Israeli state, when the emergency response planners had the budget required to train their personnel to stabilize and transport spine injured patients, or buy the splints (called backboards), but not both. The story relates that the planners elected to train their personnel, and subsequently noted a spine injured kibbutznik transported to the hospital by his comrades, secured effectively to an entire barn door.
I place a priority on training for several reasons. First, neither vermin nor adverse storage conditions have ever ruined training and rendered it unusable. Secondly, “they can have my training when they can pry it from my cold, dead mind”. Third, I have never ever (in my disorganized life) failed to pack my training. Fourth, there is nothing that will be displaced from my supplies in order to make room for my training. Fifth, in contrast to supplies, ability improves with use, and becomes more abundant when you share it with others.
Begin with CPR training. Three or four hours of your time will equip you with the skill that may save a life in the here-and-now. You will gain an introduction to patient assessment, and learn some of he fundamentals of first aid, and whatever dilemma confronts you, your response cannot fail to be more effective with some training to guide you. Effectiveness saves lives.
Look into local outlets for first aid training. The American Red Cross, the National Safety Council, your local community college, as well as perhaps others offer credible training which may serve as an introduction to further studies. The justification for the further expenditure of additional hours may be found in the preceding paragraph. Additionally, if you are more acquainted with what the medical conversation is about, the health care decisions made with regard to yourself and your family will be less mysterious to you, and better informed decisions tend to be better decisions. The better your health, the better your chances of coming out the other side of Schumer times intact, and therefore the better chance of bringing your family with you, likewise unscathed.
Consider EMT schooling. You will learn more emergency care skills (a good thing), and an introduction to elementary anatomy and pathophysiology (how things go wrong in illness and injury). Such education gives you the opportunity to be a more informed participant in your health care decisions, and that is itself a good thing, as well.
SELECTING YOUR CASE
It really doesn't matte what sort of container you employ for your emergency supplies, so long as it meets your particular needs for security, identification, accessibility, protection and convenience.
Some fire departments use plastic “totes” to organize supplies required for specific types of calls. For example, haz-mat supplies are packed inside specific totes, and the top secured with a cable tie or some such device. An inventory is attached to the top (sealed in plastic) to identify what is inside, as well as out dates of time sensitive components. When properly closed, such bins are drip and dust resistant, resist crushing or jumbling of the contents, and can be convenient to carry when not overfilled. On the other hand, they will not conveniently fit beneath a vehicle seat, may be unwieldy to retrieve and place into action, and may get buried beneath other stuff in a trunk or truck box.
Others of my acquaintance use ammo cans, or plastic fishing tackle boxes. These are generally more convenient to shlep about (unless your tastes run along the lines of a 20 mm ammo can) and are more drip/dust/duh! resistant than the tubs mentioned above. On the other hand, they may overturn with disappointing ease, spilling your supplies into whatever noxious fluid is abundant on your particular scene.
I use a green canvas musette type bag. It is not water resistant, is not neatly compartmentalized, and does not have an IR glint Star of Life embroidered upon it. On the other hand, I know how my stuff inside is organized, it is convenient to sling over my shoulder when the scene requires that I do so, and the local military surplus store will sell me another for $10-20 when that becomes needful. It will fit beneath a van seat, or in a tub in my trunk, and I can work out of it when I have it slung.
IN THE TOP, OR IN AN OUTSIDE POCKET
Items that I am likely to require promptly are either in the outside pocket or immediately inside the top flap of the bag. These are things that I do not want to be fumbling for as I approach a scene. I will not list what might be considered “everyday carry” items like pocket knife, flashlight(s), CS spray, sidearm, and a cell phone. While these tools help keep the rescuer from becoming a victim of an ambush laid for a 'Good Samaritan” , particularly when employed in concert with a Condition Orange mindset. (I did mention I started out in Detroit, didn't I?) These items do not seem to me to be rescue/first aid/emergency medical tools.
First up is several pairs of gloves. (well, now, anyhow!) I am allergic to latex, so I have nitrile gloves. Current practice is to wear gloves anytime you might reasonably anticipate exposure to blood or other bodily fluids: tears, urine, stool, saliva, gastric contents, or any other moist, body-origin material you might imagine (and perhaps a few you might not!). I have so thoroughly incorporated this into my life that I get uneasy caring for my own children (or, at my advanced age, grandchildren!) without gloving first. These are in a zip-lock bag, safety pinned (now!) just inside the top flap of my green bag.
The upside to all this is that scrupulous gloving and thorough hand washing have so far proven highly effective at preventing the spread of the most common blood-borne infections. Diseases spread via airborne droplets (for example, Legionnaires disease), of course, require additional precautions. Others are spread by organisms coming to rest upon environmental surfaces and then accessing a vulnerable host (just like you and I are vulnerable hosts to “the common cold”) by means of unconsciously touching our faces after touching a contaminated surface. For myself, after 30 plus years of patient contact the worst I have brought home has been an occasional upper respiratory infection due to my conscientiously applying the glove/hand wash/hands away from my face regimen.
The next item I'll feel a burning need to have in my hands is a bag-valve-mask (BVM). This is a manually operated ventilation tool. It is employed by sealing the mask over the unbreathing patient's face, squeezing the self inflating bag, and thereby forcing air into your patient's lungs. Repeat at a rate of approximately 12-20 times a minute. Advantage: no kissing strangers, required for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. You are able to maintain situational awareness of such things as evolving environmental hazards (like leaking gasoline), or indicators of your patient's improving condition (...he said, thinking positively!). On the downside, using a BVM is difficult in untutored hands. It is easier (compared to mouth-to-mouth) to force air into the patient's stomach, which will elicit vomiting. Aside from the aesthetic issues this presents, vomiting in a profoundly unconscious patient (such as one so unconscious as to have stopped breathing) presents the opportunity for aspiration into the lungs of that which has been vomited, which may be deadly.
Training in use of a BVM will be part of the EMT class I mentioned earlier. I'll wait here while you go find out when your local community college or rescue squad will be having their next class. Plan on being a part of that class. You will be making your community, and thereby your family, safer.
You can buy your own, and Gall's will ding your for around $15 for a disposable model. In the hospital, we use these once and discard them. You might choose to meticulously clean yours and re-use it. Your local rescue squad or ambulance may shop locally, and you might want to do likewise. Ya know, if you were to volunteer with your local rescue squad, you might be able to obtain things like this at your agency's cost. All this on top of the good karma from helping to provide a necessary community service. And,, besides, becoming known to the locals (police included) as one of “the good guys”. Your phone book likely will provide the contact information you require. I'll still be here when you get back.
One of the adjuncts to using a BVM is called an oral airway. Oral airways come in sizes, which may be selected according to the size of the patient. Their purpose is to hold the flaccid tongue of a profoundly unconscious patient forward, so that it does not sag against the rear of the throat and thereby block the passage of air into and out of the lungs. The problem it may trigger is, should your patient be other than profoundly unconscious, he or she will vomit. Among other disasters this may cause, the enzymes from the stomach, designed to digest proteins, will (unsurprisingly) begin to digest the proteins found in the delicate tissues of the air sacs (alveoli) of the lungs, with effects you are likely to be able to imagine on your own. Very Bad Thing. [JWR Adds: Plastic airways usually come in sets of six sizes, and usually color-coded these days, available for less than $5 per set on eBay. Buy a couple of sets. Someday you may be very glad that you did!]
Another way to fail when employing an oral airway is to bunch up the patient's tongue in the rear of the throat. This blocks air flow, strangling your patient. This device must be restricted to only profoundly unconscious patients, and only if you are schooled in its use. You can buy them individually, or in sets. Before shipping, they go for around $5.00/set. You might elect to buy them one at a time, but at $5 a pop, they aren't a particularly major investment.
When I'm confronted by an actively bleeding patient, I reach for a Carlyle dressing. Mine are the old style The Carlyle iteration includes muslin (cloth) ties to secure as any other tied bandage. The 21st century version is called an Israeli Dressing, and is available from various sources. (see my shopping list/spreadsheet for representative sources) It consists of a sterile dressing incorporating an elastic bandage to secure the dressing to the wound. Should you shop gun shows or surplus stores for your equipment, be wary of old dressings. They present potential issues of failed sterility as well as mustiness or mildew occasioned by improper storage or imperfect packaging. The contemporary Israeli Battle Dressings are available from Cheaper Than Dirt or from Gall's for $9.00 or $10.00 each.
Another wound care product is QuikClot . This is a mineral product, bound to a dressing, which enhances clotting, and thereby slows and limits blood loss in the bleeding patient (common in trauma, surprisingly enough!) One article (QuikClot Use in Trauma for Hemorrhage Control: Case Series of 103 Documented Uses. Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care. 64(4):1093-1099, April 2008.) reflected the occurrence of burns in several patients, but the manufacturer's web site reports that changes in packaging and delivery system have addressed this issue.
An alternative you might consider is Celox. It appears perhaps to be a reasonable alternative to QuikClot. It is derived from shrimp shells, although it seems to not produce allergic reactions in folks otherwise allergic to seafood. I have no personal experience with either product, but the reports are interesting. This goes on my “further research” list!
The preceding items are to be found in the outside pocket or very top of my jump kit. I don't want to be searching for them when I feel the need for them Right Freaking Now. Beneath the don't-wanna-wait-for-them items, I have supplies of somewhat lesser immediacy. These allow me to assess the situation in greater detail, or address issues that may come to light that are of less time sensitivity.
Triangular Bandages are useful for slings of injured arms, or may be folded into narrow strips and then used as a means to secure splints or dressings (as “cravat bandages”). If we were to consider them as a backpacker might, they may be used as expedient dust masks, bandannas, head coverings, or washcloths. I buy muslin by the yard at Wal-Mart, and cut it from one corner to the other, forming (surprise!) 2 triangles approximately a yard on a side. I keep 6 to 8 in my kit.
Bandage shears are the most obvious of the prehospital medic's tools. You can go with Lister style bandage scissors, often found as “nurse's scissors”, or the plastic and steel “super shears”. Prices range from $4.00 and up. Frequently employed to trim dressings to the proper size, cut away clothing from wounds, and to cut bandages.
Did you ever notice that a tongue blade/tongue depressor is almost exactly the width of a finger? And just a bit longer than your Mark 1, Mod 0 finger? Exactly like it were designed to be a finger splint, isn't it? In addition, should you tape three of them together one on top of the other, you have a dandy tool for tightening that “Spanish windlass” you are going to learn about, when your EMT class teaches you how to apply and improvise a traction splint for a fractured femur (thighbone). Finally, if you are unhappy at the thought of wiggling somebody's fractured femur (broken thighbone) so you may place ties (cravats: remember them?) for a splint, tongue blades are thin, stiff, and very helpful at limiting the wiggling as you place ties beneath the broken bone of your choice. I keep a handful handy.
You can pay a couple of bucks for them at the corner pharmacy, or you might be able to talk your way into several for free, like when you are volunteering at some public service event with your local volunteer fire department, emergency medical service, or amateur radio club.
Stethoscope/Blood Pressure Cuff. A stethoscope allows you to hear the sounds made as air moves into and out of the lungs, and note changes from normal. These changes might occur because your patient has a collapsed lung, or has pneumonia, or heart failure. When you get that far into your EMT class (hint, hint), you will learn how to evaluate these changes, and what sort of treatment decisions you ought to consider when you notice them. In addition, you will learn how to measure, and interpret, your patient's blood pressure.
I am certain you will know somebody who will go out and get the cardiology deluxe stethoscope, with the multi disc cd player, mag wheels, and gold trim. Do not join them in this folly. Spend $10-40 at the same place the local student nurses get their stethoscopes, and spend the difference on your spouse, whose enthusiastic support you will require, anyhow. If you can show your spouse how your expenditure of family money and time on supplies, education, and volunteering promote values that you both agree upon, the both of you will thereby make your family more crisis resistant. If your family is more crisis resistant, then you are not only NOT a drag on community emergency services during an emergency, you all might even be an affirmative community asset during bad times. That cannot fail to be a Good Thing when you get to explain yourself to The Jewish Carpenter. Me, I'm going to require all the help I can get. I'm volunteering!
Adhesive tape (1 inch, 2 inch) secures dressings, holds loose ends of bandages, and provides a single use notepad (tear off a length, tape it to your thigh, and jot notes. You will not lay it down somewhere to be forgotten). If you listen to some friendly and knowledgeable athletic trainer, you can learn how to use it to support sprained ankles or knees if the preferred treatment (rest, ice, elevation) is not possible. Before you employ these tricks, bear in mind that physicians frequently cannot differentiate a sprain from a fracture, even after an x-ray. In my view, except under the most dire possible circumstances, walking on a fractured (or sprained) extremity is a Very Bad Thing. Two rolls each are at hand when I open my green bag.
I keep 12 to 15 Gauze pad, sterile, 4x4 in my kit. I employ them as eye pads, padding beneath splints, or as (oddly enough) dressing for wounds. Occasionally I encounter a wound bleeding so enthusiastically that a couple of gauze pads will be overwhelmed. Fortunately, I haven't come across such a wound off duty, but in the hospital we use a “boat” of sterile gauze. This is a plastic tray of ten sponges in one pack. The tray also may be used as a clean basin for wound irrigation/cleansing solution. In the hospital we use sterile saline, you may elect to use the water from your retort pouch, or fresh from the bottle as you purchased it for storage. I would certainly give it some thought.
If you happen to be the purchasing agent for your entire survival community, ambulance service, or the entire Boy Scout Council, you might find the case price from Galls to be a useful bit of information. 1200 sterile 4x4 pads for $89.99 works out to around 7.5 cents each.
Triple padding/ABD padding, sterile, 5x9 inch. These multiple layer absorbent dressings are designed for wounds producing a lot of drainage of either blood or other fluid. They are my first choice for a bulky dressing or splint padding. I keep 6 in my kit. The frugally minded may note that “sanitary napkins” are designed to absorb drainage, are “medically aseptic”, and are available nearly everywhere.
And, on a related note, tampons from the “feminine hygiene” shelf at your local store are also constructed to absorb fluids, and contain them. Should you confront a penetrating wound, “tamponading” a wound is a widely known concept among inhabitants of the medical world. Packing such a wound with a tampon using sterile technique might prove to be life saving, and provide hemorrhage control options not otherwise available. (http://snopes.com/military/tampon.asp)
Roller Gauze, 4 inch is typically used to secure a dressing (see Gauze Sponge, above) to the wound. I pack 6 in my kit, and they have “found careers” as bandages to secure dressings, securing splints when I run out of triangular bandages, and upon occasion as packing/dressings for vigorously bleeding wounds. In fact, when one is employed as the dressing, and another as the bandage, I can not only dress the wound, but also (since the bulky roll provides a pressure point) apply direct pressure to the bleeding site. This provides an alternative to the Carlyle or Israeli Dressing, cited above
Vaseline Gauze (sterile, 3x9 inch) is intended to seal wounds penetrating the chest, in order to prevent collapse of your patient's lung(s). When you seal the defect in the chest wall, your patient will not draw in air through the wound when s/he inhales, and thereby not fill the space between the lung and the chest wall (the pleural space) with air. When you can avoid this, inhaling draws in air through the mouth, trachea and bronchi, and that inflates your lungs, and we think that is a good thing. Myself, I pitch the gauze and tape three sides of the foil package, sterile side towards the wound, forming a flutter valve sort of effect. In this way I allow excess pressure in the pleural space to vent to atmosphere (stopping further lung collapse, I hope), and seal the hole when the pressure inside the chest is less than atmospheric pressure (like when the patient inhales). The only way left to equalize that pressure is by inflating the lungs, already described with approval above.
The other use for Vaseline gauze is when my lips or hands are dry, in which case I use the Vaseline to remedy that little problem.
We all can think of uses for the common elastic bandage, 4 inch and 2 inch. Two inch is useful for sprains of your wrist or thumb, and the 4 inch is used for an ankle twist/sprain. In addition, I can use them to secure a splint (there is that rule of threes, seen in other posts on this blog, again!), as the “swathe” part of a sling-and-swathe to immobilize an injured shoulder, or as part of a pressure bandage over a dressed wound that does not want to stop bleeding.
Large Bulb Syringe (for which you can substitute a turkey baster) functions as an expedient means of removing fluids from the airway of someone who is not managing to do so effectively on their own. It will not work nearly as well as a battery powered or pump action suction, such as you might find on your local rescue squad rig, but it won't cost you $50-$60 (for the manually pumped version) either. Second best is superior to nothing.
Mylar “Space blankets” protect you or your patient from the hypothermia-inducing effects of the wind, slowing heat loss. Generally colored bright orange on one side and silver on the other, there are signaling opportunities as well. In a pinch, you can improvise shelter from one or two. Amazon sells the "Space Brand" blanket
inexpensively. Equip your jump kits, and each member of your family with one or two.
Any accident so severe as to convince suspicious old me (alumnus of Detroit's EMS) to stop and offer assistance will not be fixed with a couple of Adhesive Bandages (aka “Band Aids”). I have six in my jump kit, two entire boxes at home (and parceled out among my camper, car, and household kits).
I keep a couple of Ice Packs around, as assorted adventures may bring on modest orthopedic injuries. Ice is helpful for strains, sprains, or overuse of an over aged joint (...not that I would know anything, firsthand, about that...). Choices include “instant cold packs”, or that old picnicker's standby, a zip lock bag full of ice from the cooler.
Either option has drawbacks. I do not generally drive about with a cooler of ice at hand, although when camping I am likely to do so. Instant cold packs are kind of fragile, and you might find, when you go to place one in service, that you have a leaking mess on your hands. On the other hand, they are more likely to be there when you want one.
The foregoing lists the contents of my “jump kit”. I keep one kit in my vehicle, and another at home. In addition, there are Subordinate Kits, kept in camper, car and home, for lesser sorts of occasions. I have customized each by adding more dressings, triangular bandages, roller gauze, and gloves. In addition, I improved over the baseline “Wally World” $15 first aid kit, by adding zip lock bags of various household medications. I labeled each bag with the name of the med, the out date of that particular bottle, directions for use, and date of packing. I made my selections by inspecting my own medicine cabinet, and pondering which meds I had wished I had kept handy the last time I was out camping, for example. Most everything commonly needed is therefore in the Camper Kit, Car Kit, or House Kit.
The jump kits are reserved for “Holy Fertilizer!” sorts of events. They are not mere “boo-boo boxes”. Reserved in this way, I will not find myself hunting (and swearing) in crisis, as I need this or that widget, which some child (or adult) has used, and not restocked.
LONGER TERM CONSIDERATIONS
Some of us might contemplate longer term medical preparations. For those, I recommend Dr. Jane Orient's article. Once I get beyond the 20 year old pricing, the are only a couple of improvements I could suggest. One is in the arena of recently developed antibiotics (as in quinolones). Even in that light, it seems to me to be a very good basis for developing a longer term medical kit (and training plan) for your particular circumstances.
Another substitution I would make, is to delete surgical masks, and substitute NIOSH N-95 masks. I found a carton of MSA Safety Works No. 10005403, Pack of 20 Harmful Dust Respirator Model 10005043 for $18.97/each carton at Home Depot. You may find similar products locally.
Additionally, I would add loratidine (you may recognize the brand of Claritin) as a non-sedating antihistamine. (Personally, I would prefer my personnel pulling OP duty to be non-sedated.) I'd also add the most frugal of the following : ranitidine, famotidine, cimetidine, in lots of 1,000 tabs, as a superior stomach acid blocking medication, to supplement the antacid Dr. Orient suggested over 20 years ago. As the “big gun” for acid stomach problems or GERD, I'd lay in a supply of Prilosec OTC. This class of stomach medication is the yardstick against which all others are presently measured.
If you are planning establishing a longer term medical cache, it is imperative that you do so only in concert with a physician, or other personnel licensed to prescribe. The guidance you will receive will help you avoid causing more illness than you relieve. Medications are a double bitted axe, and may cut on the upstroke as well as on the downstroke. Be aware.
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Letter Re: It Will Be Skills, Not Gear That Will Count in TEOTWAWKI
JWR,
Skill is critical, parts and tools can be improvised.
While I agree with C.A.Y.: "... the combination of skills plus tools plus parts is what's needed", there are important exceptions. In some south asia villages, a highly skilled artificer [with a few assistants] can create a self-loading pistol, per day, without parts, and only the most primitive tools of drills, belt sanders and files. The steel is recycled from wrecked cars and trucks. The skill is what makes this possible. This town near the Khyber Pass makes one thousand guns per day. Look at minute marks 3:33 and 3:46 for the ammo and gun fabrication.
During WW2, Allied POWs [in German Stammlagers and Oflags] fabricated metal cutting lathes, shortwave radio receivers, photographic darkroom developing equipment and offset printing for counterfeit documents - all without the appropriate tools or parts - it was all improvised. The skill with working with the original equipment back home showed the way to the objective.
Conversely, in my fully-equipped machine shop, I have seen freshly graduated mechanical technologists and machine tool operators wreck instruments and equipment, ruin dies, moulds and tooling - and occasionally remove necessary appendages from their bodies. It was the skill [and common sense] that was lacking.
Skill is critical, parts and tools can be improvised. - Richard S.
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Seven Letters Re: Advice on Deep Water Wells in a Grid-Down Era
Hi James,
There is a mission-oriented web site with a tutorial on making valve leathers at this site. There is other useful water well-related information on the site, too.
Where John C. is living, if the static level is 400 ft., then he will be looking at needing a fairly deep well. If he gets by with less than drilling a 500 foot well I'd be surprised. Water wells here locally have a 350-400 foot static level and run 700-800 feet deep. The depth, quantity, and quality of water you find all depends on the area you live in, the underlying geology, and hydrologic conditions within the aquifer.
I agree that the submersible pump is the best choice for a deep well. In a grid down situation, a wind mill is probably your best bet. It is possible to install both systems in one well. Basically, you set the submersible some distance below the wind mill's pump cylinder. One thing you'd need to do is adjust the submersible pump so that the water level in the well is not drawn down past the top of the pump cylinder. One very important aspect to keep in mind when using a deep well with a sucker-rod type pump: use a open top pump cylinder (working barrel) where you can pull the rods, replace valve leathers and/or work on the pump valves, without pulling all of the tubing from the well.
As you mentioned, pulling up 400+ feet of 2-inch pipe from a well by hand is a challenge. It can, however, be done. Keep in mind that a 400+ ft. deep water well is actually much deeper than many early-day oil wells. Searching through old oil field related documents, photos, and museum displays can provide a wealth of very basic, mostly home built, technology that a water well owner can utilize.
Need a derrick to pull rods or pipe from your deep well? Check out what the Canadians used.
Tripod derricks were used in Canada and the U.S. in early oil fields. They were made from peeled trees, power poles, or pipe. Simple winches were used to hoist the rods and pipe from the hole.
Need a pumping jack to lift the rods in your deep well? You can't get much simpler than these or these.
Once the jack is balanced, it doesn't take a whole lot of power to lift the rods and pump the well. - Jeff B.
Hi Jim;
My wife and I are the founders of Woodhenge, an intentional community in the northern, rural part of New York State. We practice and teach self-reliance skills. One of the products that I've designed is a deep well hand pump that can be built from mostly off-the-shelf parts found in a hardware store. I sell the complete instructions for $20 and a pre-machined parts kit for $250. The kit contains all of the parts necessary for the 2" PVC cylinder and the modified pitcher pump. One of the things that makes this pump unique is that it doesn't use a rod to connect the piston in the lower part of the well to the handle but
a stainless steel cable and return spring. I do not include the cable or draw pipe...I don't know the depth of the well. I do not know if my pump design could handle the static depth of 400', but it easily handles depths of 150'. I recommend that the draw pipe diameter be reduced to keep the weight in the column of water to a manageable amount. I recommend that shallower deep wells (over 30' to the static level of the water) use 1-1/4" draw pipes, over 100' dropping to 1" diameter, etc. I will offer a big discount to the guy with the 400' well if he wants to experiment with my kit. The frictional losses of water in a smaller diameter pipe are the only factor I don't know how to calculate. My pump easily delivers about a cup of water per stroke. Further information on my pump as well as other things
we're trying to do are available on our Woodhenge web site.
I am "the King of Scrounge" mentioned in your blog a few months ago. My book "The High Art and Subtle Science of Scrounging" is now available through me. Inquiries and information are available by contacting me at jsjuczak@gisco.net. Thank you for what you do. - James S. Juczak
James,
I've a reasonable amount of experience in electrical engineering and pumps in general so perhaps could give John C. some additional advice on deep wells.
First just a general note:
The work an electrical pump or any other electrical device needs to do requires a certain amount of electrical power which is Voltage X Current measured in Watts. As James correctly points out, a 24 volt pump requires considerably larger wires than does a 240 volt pump (to deliver the same amount of work) since wire size is determined by current (amperage). In this case figure a 24 volt system would need roughly 10x the circumference of the wire that a 240 volt system would need. Note: It's the circumference of the wire that's at issue not the area since current flows mostly along the outside of the wire. A simple way to think of electricity is to compare it to a river. The speed of the river flow is the voltage. The size of the river bed is the amperage. Both together determine the power.
Now, regarding deep wells:
Most deep wells in the west have low infiltration rates so my advice is to use a fairly small size 110 or 220 volt AC submersible pump of good quality (Grundfos make the best). The water pumped out of the well goes directly into a cistern which can be most any tank of a few hundred gallons. Mine was a 1,000 gallon fiberglass tank in the basement, which I installed before the floor was put in. Anyplace is fine as long as freezing temps are taken into account.
A simple automatic fill system is installed in the tank to turn on the submersible when you use some part of the tank up. This system allows the well to refill and also allows the pump to work better and last longer by avoiding frequent starts.You also have a ready source of stored water, if needed. You have to know your well infill rate and the depth of water over the pump inlet to determine how much to pump at any given time. Never allow a submersible pump to run dry and always install protection in the pump start control.
Since the cistern tank is unpressurized [, unless you can position it up on a hillside] you'll have to provide a centrifugal pump to charge the household lines. You can then either pump out of the cistern tank into a small pressure tank or use a demand system that turns on a small centrifugal pump every time you open a faucet. Either way works fine and all of it is cheap to buy and easy to get at to maintain.
If there are any bacterial contamination issues a small ozone generator can be installed in the cistern. They killed 100% of bacteria and spores such as Giardia when I used one to clean a Colorado stream water source. They add nothing to the water itself since the ozone turns back to oxygen within seconds of it's being generated. An ozone system does need constant power, but it's a very small amount. Essentially it's just a small UV light in a box with a tube into the water. A venturi off of a tiny pump like those used in ornamental fountains pulls the ozone into the tank.
In this system the submersible pumps into the cistern tank at "zero head" and you can get away with a smaller pump motor than you would normally use for a pressurized system. That's not only a cheaper pump, but it's easier to pull if needed. Also, since a well pump is frequently the largest power requirement in a household if you go off grid a smaller pump means a smaller generator- or something like this http://www.solarpumps.com.au/category7_1.htm.
Don't forget that a pump requires a larger starting amperage than its nominal rating. Again check with the supplier. It's important to have the pump operating in it's ideal range which is based on total lift (head ) and water (GPM) required, so check that yourself too. The charts are easy to read.
In John C's case, the water is at 400', so he'll need a well that's around 500'. Put the pump at the bottom and that's a safe 50 gallons of water available to be pumped.
Based on a 5 minute Internet search, a Grundfos 10SQ 1/2 HP pump costing $600 retail would give around 6 GPM pumping into the cistern. A 1,200 watt generator could drive it. Add a 400 gallon tank, 1/4 HP centrifugal pump for pressure, controls and it's a done deal. The well itself is going to cost around 10 grand, and hopefully you'll find water down the bottom of it.
Kind Regards, - LRM, Perth, Western Australia
JWR,
I have some experience in this area in that our well has been solar powered for 5 years at our off the grid ranch.
We elected to put our well on top of a hill about 120 feet in elevation above the house. I did this because I did not want to pump my water twice and deal with a pressure tank in a separate building that I would have to heat and use additional solar power to keep up the pressure. Our four water tanks, 2,600 gallons each, are on a step, just below the well. A Pitless Adaptor allows water to be pumped into the water tanks at a depth of four feet underground for freeze protection. All pipe on the ranch is 3 feet underground, with freeze proof hydrants at key locations. There is enough thermal mass in the tanks that they do not freeze. There is 50 pounds of pressure at the house from gravity. Remember, it is always cheaper and easier to store water rather than electricity. Big water tanks are a good thing.
Our well is 300 feet deep and the pump is set at 240 feet. Static water level is 185 feet.
Having said that, a 400 feet deep well on solar power is no problem. There are two types of solar pumps I would recommend, www.lorentz.de/ and www.grundfos.com . I have a Lorentz pump. The Grundfos is also a very good pump. The Grundfos has the advantage in that besides solar power, you can hook up a wind turbine and have both wind and solar power going to the same pump. There are plenty of solar dealers selling these pumps. I have been served exceptionally wall by Dennis Austin at Solar Power and Pump Company. He always has time to help you out via phone with any questions. He does not publish his prices because they beat everyone else.
The controller on the Lorentz pump converts the DC power from the solar panels to AC power to go down the well to the pump. I am not sure how the Gurndfos system operates. Both these pumps are used extensively by aid organizations around the world to provide clean drinking water for less fortunate people in third world countries. They are pretty fool proof.
One additional consideration is that putting your solar panels on a dual axis solar tracker, will increase water output as much as 40% in the summer when you need water the most. We have a Wattsun dual axis tracker from www.wattsun.com . Their company has been around a long time and since they are active trackers with gears, they are not affected by wind like the Freon-balanced trackers.
Thanks Jim for all your hard work in helping us all out. - PD
Sir:
My water has been off the grid for 12 years and while my well depth is shallower I offer my experience. The system described provides 5 GPM at 50 PSI for household laundry, bathing, and kitchen needs but I would not recommended for lawn or garden use.
I have 360 watts of solar panel and 340 amp hour of batteries [storage capacity]. The head of my well is 160 feet and I use a Sunpump SDS series well pump that draws 2 gallons per minute (at 0 pressure) to fill an 1,100 gallon cistern. The current draw is 2 amps at 24 volts. The current price for the pump is approximately $900.
The matching pump controller/current booster is a must. Note that the Sunpump SCS series is rated for 700 feet. The good news is the water pipe is ½” plastic roll pipe, bad news is the pump will need major service after about eight years.
The house is pressurized by a Dankoff Flowlight booster pump that draws from the cistern. Standard well system pressure tanks and switches complete a very reliable system. You can find the recommended 10 micron intake filters here.
The Cistern is a tank made of potable water grade plastic (made from the same mold used for septic tanks). This gives me 1,100 gallons of water that is not hot in the summer, freezing in the winter, safe from bullets, and was a fraction of the cost of an elevated water tank.
Extra battery power feeds a Magnum Energy inverter that saves some on the electric bill. - Jon in Texas
Hey Jim,
I would like to throw in my thoughts on pumping water in a power grid down situation.the wide variety of situations with water sources makes for a wide variety of solutions. I am a retired water well contractor, over twenty years residential, farm and public supply, doing both the well drilling and pumping equipment installations.
First off, if no one reads further, the best [short-term] solution is a generator powering your present system, it's how it's done, by the homeowner, farmer, by contractors, and small utilities. Larger utilities use a direct drive to the gear head on a line shaft turbine, but you won't see that on smaller systems.
To get to the situation discussed in the article, a 400' water table is considerably deep, so many times, folks think that the depth of the well is related to the depth of the water table, that's just not so, I have drilled wells 300' with static water levels 20 or more feet above the well head, hence, a naturally flowing well, and by contrast, 300' wells with 150' water tables, but generally, most levels in the 60' range in deep wells in my neck of the woods. However, water wells are as varied as the land and aquifer you are looking to get the water out of.
So to go after the logistics of getting water out of the ground and then out of your faucet, you'll have to start with the source, deep well, most common for private water systems, and the subject here, but don't write off shallow wells, cisterns, lakes and rivers or rain catchment, it's just that water out of a deep well will be free of organic compounds and safe to drink, but you should have it tested, another subject all together.
Well depth is part of it, but most important for using that well is the water table and capacity in gallons per minute. The diameter of the well will affect production to a certain extent, but mostly the diameter will determine what pumping equipment you can use, deep wells for private use will tend to be 4' or 6' steel or plastic casing, with open hole in the rock below that picking up water by capillary action and fissures, or even a screen for loose formations that produce water. A typical well install for me would be around a hundred foot of 4' well casing, down to the bedrock, then open hole down into the floridan aquifer, ending up around 200', to produce 20 gallons a minute or better with a water table about 50' and a submersible pump set at least 10 feet below the water table, and another variable, if you pump more water than your well delivers, called "drawdown", you'll be setting your pump below that drawdown level of the water table.
Submersible pumps are a great way to get water out of your well, they "push" the water to the surface, and produce good "head" with their many impellers, "head" translating to how far up the pump is pushing the water from the water table, to theoretically how far above the point of use is, that's your water "pressure"a pump that makes 300' of head will pump from a 100 foot water table and be able to pump 200' more feet above ground level, that would be more than enough to provide you with 50 or 60 pounds of pressure in your tank and at your faucet. Very efficient, generally run on AC current, and either filled with FDA-approved oil or sealed with epoxy and such to keep the electricity isolated from the water. I have heard of DC submersible motors, but never saw one, let alone installed one, something to research, I guess, may be as much to do with having an AC power grid as the the drawbacks inherit in DC motors in general. Last word on that is submersible pumps can pump from very deep water levels and are reliable, but replacement would be tough without specialized equipment,
Above-ground pumps are less efficient, but easier and cheaper to fix, especially for the do-it-yourselfers, which would be very important in a grid down economy. most common are jet pumps, one or two impellers and a jet either installed below the water table or on the face of the pump if the water level is within 30' of the surface, very important distinction there, you can only lift water, "suction" 33 feet "'one atmosphere"} vertically. Beyond that, the vacuum required will cause air bubbles to separate out of the water and you'll lose the ability to pump the water. So, the "jet" a nozzle and venturi are placed in the well, with the pump cycling most of the water thru it, lifting an additional amount of water and producing the head pressure at the same time. I could envision a DC motor on a an above ground pump, imagine they're available, if even to have one as a standby, but then again, do the math, if you're wanting run a one horsepower DC motor that'll turn the needed 3,400 rpm and to do it on twelve volts, you'll soon see the cost and sizing differences are huge.but at least everything is right there where you can work it. again, a generator or a very large solar or wind system would work as well.
In a grid-down situation, a properly sized generator would run it, but to look to solar or wind power, just do the math, I did, by the time you size something that will start and run that pump, you've got a ten thousand dollar or more system, if you want to do your house or other uses, you could use the same system to power your pump when the need arises.
If you are lifting the water less than thirty feet, the possibilities wide and varied, a straight centrifugal pump or positive displacement pumps, such as diaphragm or piston, etc. which don't need the rpm's of the impeller pumps and can even be hooked up in multiples or series, depending on power source or what you want to do with the water. To have the ability to pump out of a shallow well, or even a surface water source, this would give you water, if only for irrigation or other uses, or to be purified and then used for drinking water, "potable water".
The most viable pump system in a grid down situation, in my opinion, would be a sucker rod pump, or a pump jack, I worked on many of them, but generally just pulling them out and replacing them with submersible or jet pumps, or to abandon the well by pumping it full of grout. They are the pump systems you generally see under the old Aermotor windmills, the tall long levered hand pumps, and the much larger pump jacks used in the oil fields. The smaller sucker rod pumps are very simple, the up and down motion of the rod is transferred down the well and into [a pump cylinder under the static level of] the water, where it lifts the water one stroke at a time, very simple, with multiple power options, directly from the wind, human power, or motor driven electrically, or other, which could include about anything you could dream up as you only need to turn a pulley, the amount of power required would be widely varied as the rpm can be varied so much and it'll still pump, less water, but water. One particular model I was looking for, but didn't find is the old Crane Deeming pump jacks, a staple on the old farms, designed more for a power source other than the windmill or pump handle, although you could hook it up if the power was off. it would run on about any motor you hooked to it, as far as horsepower and rpm, "revolutions per minute" within reason, including electric, piston, or even the power take off (PTO) from your tractor. Also of consideration is that with a very low yield well, the ability to pump to a cistern or other holding device, and then to pressurize the water from there with another pump, old technology from when people made do, before our era of throwing technology and money at it till you're happy.
Here's a link to an article on building a pump jack. It drives the sucker rod that's in the well, but depending upon where you're at, the terms are kind used interchangeably. Go to the home page, browse around, or do your own search, lot's of choices out there.
My thoughts on this, if I wasn't going to use a generator if the power is down, is to have a separate well with a pump jack, or if you have a six inch well or larger, with a submersible pump in it, install a pump jack right beside it, no, I have never done that, and the easy way would be to call your local well driller or pump man, but dual pipe well heads are available, and the two systems shouldn't interfere with each other, the two possible problems would be with the submersible pump itself, or the power wire to the pump, but then, I imagine I would set the submersible pump and then the sucker rod and pipe above it,
Anyway, if you're wanting alternatives, they are out there, sounding complicated, but actually quite simple, especially if you prepare in advance, the simplest power alternative is still the generator, I know I said it again, but I also have six solar panels at 175 watts each, and a wind generator at 400 watts, with all the controllers, battery bank six by 120 Amp Hour 6 volt and a 2,400 watt inverter, which would not be adequate to run my 1hp 220 volt submersible, but a 1/4 horsepower motor on a pump jack would work, too bad I didn't keep any of that old stuff, but anyway, short of the generator, or fuel for it, would have to go with the pump jack, or for shallow water, a positive displacement pump. Would be willing to continue this discussion, if you'd like. - Mickey
JWR,
I am a recent "convert" to the survival mentality. Thank you for this blog. All I can say is that it is excellent. On to my point: I too am grappling with this conundrum of how to pump water out of my deep well for my house water, although mine is more shallow (200ft). I currently have a 220 VAC 1/2 HP Gould deep well pump with a 33 gallon pressure tank to round out my water system. I've been researching the deep well pump made by Grundfos. The model is called the SQFLEX. According to the manufacturer, it can run on either AC or DC and will pump from depths of 650ft. Whole systems can be bought here http://solarwellpumps.com/solar.htm . I'm not sure if these are the real deal or not, but they have definitely piqued my interest. I spoke with one of the reps and she indicated that these pumps are used for residential use with a pressure tank (mine is 30gal). The pressure tank is also a problem. I would rather have an elevated storage tank like you recommend. The only problem with that is, for "flat-landers" such as myself, those who live in the midwest without hills. Then what do you do? Do you build a tower for all your neighbors to see (forget about OPSEC) or do you use a water storage tank and place it amongst your house rafters/trusses (which definitely won't hold up because they are of 2x4 construction and once you cut a large "idiot hole" [for post-construction passage of a large tank] you lose the structural integrity). So there I am. Not sure what to do. I would like to hear some thoughts. "Patriots" was an excellent and fast read. Sincerely, - JJ
JWR Replies: My only brief comment on installing a water tank in an attic is: watch out! When you calculate the weight of just 55 gallons, at 8.33 pounds per gallon, that is 458.15 pounds, not counting the weight of the tank itself! Definitely consult an engineer before installing any tank of substantial capacity.
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Letter Re: Advice on Deep Water Wells in a Grid-Down Era
James,
I know that I have seen posts about deep water wells, but when I search I really don't see that many applicable posts. I am looking at a property where water [static level] is about 400 feet down. In a "grid-up" scenario, this isn't really a problem, but I am looking for "grid-down" options for using a well at this depth. Not knowing much about the specifics of wells, I am not having much luck searching with Google, either. Would you be able to cover some deep well basics and some options for grid down/solar/backup pumping, specifically for deep wells?
Thanks so much for the blog. I have been an avid reader (pretty much daily) for two years and have several copies of your book to loan out to friends. - John C.
JWR Replies: As per your request, here are a few deep well basics:
Solar and wind power are the best solutions for deep wells in a grid-down collapse. If you live in an area with reliable winds, a windmill used in conjunction with a large gravity-fed tank or cistern, is relatively inexpensive and trouble-free. Photovoltaics are getting less expensive with each passing year, but system complexity is an issue, especially with systems that use a battery bank. (To maintain water pressure during hours of darkness, you will either need to store water in a gravity-fed cistern, or you will need a battery bank, so that you can operate your well pump. )
Deep wells can be pumped with submersible AC pumps, but not submersible DC pumps. This is because the "line loss" (voltage drop) in DC cabling is tremendous. Even with fat, heavy gauge DC cables, if you start out with 24 Volts DC (VDC) at your battery bank, you will likely be down to just two or three volts at 400 feet! Given that sad fact, there are two good solutions:
1.) Use a DC-to-AC inverter top-side, and run AC cabling down the well shaft to an AC well pump. (Note: Many of these pumps require 220 VAC, so you will either have to use a much more expensive 220-capable inverter, or replace the pump with a 120 VAC model. (You may be an electrical neophyte, and asking "What type of pump do I have?" Take a quick look at your AC circuit breaker box. If the breaker labeled "Well Pump" is a pair of breakers that are ganged-together with a wire loop so that they'll be actuated simultaneously, then the chances are 99% that you have a 220 VAC pump.)
or,
2.) Install a jack
("cricket") type pump or a windmill to
actuate the sucker rod pump cylinder. Traditionally, sucker
rods were made from hardwoods
such as white ash.
More recently they've been made with metal or fiberglass. Even with ash wood,
their service life is measured in decades. The pump cylinders are made of brass
and
will last
many decades.
However, the pump
leathers will eventually wear out, so you should consider buying a
couple of spare sets and storing them someplace safe from mice and moisture/mold.
Unfortunately changing all of the leathers on a down-hole sucker-rod actuated
pump means yanking the entire sucker rod and then the
weight of all 400 feet of your service line. That is a lot of
weight, requiring a heavy duty hoist and of course all the usual "mind your
head, fingers and toes" safety precautions and protective
gear. Lifting a 1-1/2"
or 2" diameter 400 foot long
pipe is no problem for a pump company, but it would be a challenge for a typical
rural
family working with an improvised hoist. I recommend that you watch your
pump company man carefully as he installs the pump in your well for the first
time. You will notice that the crucial piece required is the flange that catches
the
pipe
unions
on each 20+ foot long section of service line pipe as they are raised or lowered
in the well casing.
I've previously owned a jack type pump, and in my experience I
found them problematic. I would much rather use an AC
submersible pump.
Shallow wells (say, 50 feet or less) can be pumped with a DC submersible pump. I generally advise my consulting clients to "hang" both an AC pump and and a DC pump, one above the other in the same well casing, for the sake of versatility an redundancy.
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Two Letters Re: It Will Be Skills, Not Gear That Will Count in TEOTWAWKI
Jim:
I would like to whole-heartedly second Chris M’s article that skills are more important than stuff. A wide basis of knowledge provides you and your family new options as you develop courses of action to solve a specific problem during a crisis. While I’ve been stuck as a suburbanite in the Washington area for the last two years, I’ve exploited my access to military and civilian training to more than make up for my vulnerability. I’ve joined local weapon/hunting ranges, significantly improving my pistol, rifle and bow skills. I’ve become certified as a Level I Combatives Instructor. I’m scheduled to attend EMT training and certification in September. I’m getting my first batch of vegetables out of my garden in a few weeks….and then I’ll start some canning. To top it all off, I’ve gotten a basic workshop set up and I’m doing my best to do all my own small repairs. In the last two weeks, I’ve fixed problems with my car, my lawn mower and then my house. Hunting, well, that will probably be next year.
Besides the obvious benefit of saving money, I want to emphasize the feeling of self-empowerment every time I solve a problem myself. Sure, nothing goes right the first time, but I learn a lot and I do get it done (my wife would add the work “eventually” here). I recommend re-reading Mr. Kilo's “Letter Re: Learning the Details of Self-Sufficiency” and his description of the “conscious competence learning model.” It’s all about working towards self-reliance as much as possible. After twenty-plus year in the Army as a leader and supervisor using “soft skills”, I am working hard to build up many of the practical “hard skills” that Chris already has. Hats off to you Chris! (OBTW everyone, don’t forget physical fitness!) - Conn
Sir,
A friend of mine reminds me that skills are important, but also are tools. Hard to dig a hole without a shovel.
As a practicing locksmith, I discovered during a service call, that the combination of skills plus tools plus parts is what's needed. I can go to a locksmith call, and leave my hole saw home. Can't install deadbolts. Or, I can have my van, but not the right lock. And many people have tools and locks, but can't do the job. - C.A.Y.
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Letter Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009
Mr. Rawles,
Concerning the article: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009, by Bill in Chicagoland, I would like to add to these comments. My 20 years experience driving the county roads and the farmer ranch roads with the Soil Conservation Service have given me a perspective of the potential for choice this road system presents.
I have a considerable amount of experience driving cross country.
I have driven from the Northern Texas panhandle across the Oklahoma Panhandle into southeastern Colorado and north to the Colorado Springs area on mostly gravel and dirt roads.
Several times I have driven the 250+ miles from Denver Colorado to Salina Kansas mainly on dirt/gravel roads or county blacktop roads. This particular trip is paralleling the major river valleys throughout this area. The interstate roads basically follow the uplands/highlands avoiding the river/creek valley bottoms. That portion of the drainage system between rivers called the upland or divide area. Up on these area you have minimum drainage systems to cross. Only when the rivers and major creeks make a jog south or southeast do you find a major drainage system to cross.
Why are drainage systems death to bugging out? You can cross them only on bridges, and bridges are [logical ambush sites and hence potentially] death traps.
Here is an example: West of Oklahoma City, you'll see that I-40 strikes out to the west.
Now, let's clarify something. [Even in most plains states,] there are no paralleling roads to interstates that extend for extensive distances. Yes, there are some that may parallel for 20 to 30 miles. But as soon as the interstate jogs you get the paralleling road intersecting the interstate or its diverting away in a direction you may not want.
If you do not know your area well, you can get boxed in quickly.
West of Oklahoma City striking in a southeasterly direction is the Canadian River. The interstate crosses the Canadian river in the Hinton/Geary area. That is some 35 miles west of Oklahoma City. The next Canadian river crossing on the north side of the interstate is just northeast of Thomas. That is 23 miles west and 13 miles north of the interstate.
So…you come barreling out of Oklahoma City and find the interstate clogged. Look again at the map. The city of Oklahoma City has a major river running through it. The North Canadian River. You cannot get on the Interstate. The bridges going over the North Canadian River south are filled with traffic. You opt to set out west through Oklahoma City on a street that will take you west to El Reno and then on to points west following the Interstate. But you cannot do this on the north side of the interstate.
And the south side of the Interstate is closed off because of the bridges across the North Canadian River are jammed full.
The road system on the north side is a maze of closed roads, dead end roads that all end up down in the Canadian River valley. And in the 60 miles west of Oklahoma City only one bridge crosses the Canadian River on the north that can keep you on any kind of westerly tract. That’s at Thomas. The closer bridge only gets you down to the interstate and it will be clogged full at that point.
So you make it to Thomas overland on the secondary roads.
What now?
You now have a dozen or more large creeks all running southerly into the Washita River. You have to cross them if you continue cross country.
Yes, you can get on Highway 33 west but I would guess that many others will have the same idea.
You also have Foss Lake complex and its National Wildlife Refuge area to get around.
Another major obstruction.
Going west now on secondary roads you will notice the interstate drifting in a SW direction. You are getting further away all the time.
Backtrack: What did you miss on the map? By the way, what map am I now looking at?
A copy of a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer
[Get one for your state, and contiguous states].
You missed the railroad bridge. Where?
Find Bridgeport between Hinton and Geary. See the railroad track symbol where it crosses the river.
Now, the following separates the men from the boys. When I was 16 my buddy’s father was the Missouri Pacific’s depot agent in Larned, Kansas. We knew the train schedules. We conquered our fears and put my 1948 Dodge car on the rails. Yes you can drive down the rails. You do not have to let the air out of the tires. Just slow down when you go over road crossings and switches. We rode the rails for miles. We even crossed over the Arkansas River railroad bridge. That was scary to think about the wheels coming off the rails way out over that 150 yard long bridge. But we drove this way, and so can you.
You will need to be very cautious doing this. Sending people ahead with radios to the top of a close high point so they can see the tracks some miles away. Giving you time to cross. What speed can you expect to make? We used to cruise 10 to 15 miles per hour. My 1948 Dodge had a traditional hand throttle that you could set.
[JWR Adds This Proviso: Hy-rail pickups and dedicated speeder vehicles have been previously discussed in SurvivalBlog here and here. Please read those article and heed the safety and liability warnings. Riding rails on car tires without supplementary alignment aids is foolhardy. There is a lot that can go wrong in a hurry! Don't attempt improvised rail travel this unless it is an total SHTF disaster situation and there is absolutely no alternative, and only then with someone playing "ground guide", and with certain knowledge of the train schedule (or by doing so only on a rail line that is known with certainty to be inactive.)]
This is dangerous. Be careful. It is also illegal.
The thesis of this presentation is several fold:
1. There are no extensive long parallel roads along most interstates.
2. You must have a set of the DeLorme atlases or similar detailed maps for where you are going. Better to have a set for every state that surrounds you. If you live in the prairie states get a set for every state within two states in every direction.
3. You also need to have a map showing just the counties and the river systems.
4. You must drive you routes in advance on both sides of the interstate.
Note that Item #3 above is necessary to have a map of the rivers. You can plot a general route that will keep you on the uplands/divide between the river/creek systems when you cross country.
The system described here is good only for the plains states between the Rockies and the Mississippi River. It will work in the area between the Missouri and Mississippi further north in most of those areas. But once you get into the Ozark highlands, the southern deserts off the Rocky Mountains and in the swampy country next to seashores and the Southern States it does not work.
Nor in the Appalachian mountains. The west coast is another whole problem.
The central portion of the US, the prairie states have a grid road system laid out in township and sections. This allows a great amount of choice for travel. Areas that do not have this system are much more constrained as to overland travel.
Driving cross country you will find [some straight] dirt and gravel roads that can be negotiated at 45 to 60 miles an hour. Be cautious and slow down at every road junction and at the crest of all hills that you cannot see over. Some where out there you will crest a hill and find a slow tractor pulling a swather or a large combine with a 20 foot wide head on it suddenly in your way. You must use caution on these back roads. Do not assume that all dangers are marked. You may find dead end roads just over a crest with a 4 foot tall wall of dirt and a deep ditch in front of you at 55 mph. Crash, end of journey. Be careful of bridges. There are still may bridges out there with wood decking. It can be weak, have nails sticking up and or tire wide gaps in them. I have also seen concrete bridges built by the WPA in the 1930s with holes in the deck more than two feet across and not marked with any warning signs.
Vital equipment for cross country driving:
1. Binoculars or spotting scope
2. Weather scanner
3. Maps
4. Jacks with wooden blocks to put under them for support.
5. Shovels
6. Tow chains
7. Tire chains.
8. Bolt cutters and wire cutters
Beware of sudden rain showers on dirt roads. Soils high in clay particles will shed rain and appear to be shiny. They are called ‘slick spot’ soils. You will not sink into them. But rather your vehicle will just want to slide over into the ditch if the road is not flat. These roads are slick! It is possible to put a vehicle into a low gear; get out and walk along the side steering and pushing or pulling sideways to keep it in the center as you walk along. Better when there are several people to help. I have accomplished this for stretches of road further than one quarter of a mile when I worked as a District Conservationist with the Soil Conservation Service.
Avoid showers in the distance. Drive out of their way if possible. Stop on a stable section of road and wait for the sun to come out. Slick spot roads can dry out in one hour or less and be drivable as if no rain fell there for days.
Genuine cross country driving:.
If you find roads blocked with wreckage, power poles, washed out bridges, trees and or a group of freebooters who demand tribute, then you need to have thought of an alternative.
There is an alternative to simply turning around and being chased.
Cut the wire on the fence and drive away out across the land. Best done out of site of the freebooters. Wire the fence back up so it is not too obvious that someone has exited the road at that point. You will need bolt cutters. A 24 inch pair will suffice. For chains at gates or locks you need a 36 inch-long set and a hacksaw blade with extra blades. Carry along several locks. If you cut off a lock replace it. If you have to come back you can open it quickly and lock it putting a good barrier between you and any belligerents that want to discuss the situation with you.
If you lack a lock that looks like the one you have cut. Super glue it shut. You can always re-cut it a second time if necessary.
Carry with you two 2x4s that are 10 feet long, each pierced with 20 penny nails arrayed close together. Drill holes that are just small enough to provide the friction to seat the nails so they will not come out easily. Drill two 5/8 inch holes in each end. Cut half inch rebar stakes 12 to 16 inches long and sharpen then to a decent cone shape on one end. You will need a 4 pound hammer to seat them into a roadbed.
So, say that you approach a hill crest slowly and glassing the road ahead, you see a group of freebooters down the road. They see your heads and cab of a pickup sticking up over the crest. Whooom, here they come. Get out the spiked 2x4 and nail it down across the road with the rebar. Leave and when they come roaring up over the crest their tires will have lunch with the spikes. Flat tires have a way of ending pursuit.
If you encounter groups of people who are belligerent but appear not to be shooters. Place a spiked 2x4 across the front of your steel safety grill and make a run for them. They will not want to get spiked as you go by. It will keep them away from the windows and doors.
[JWR Adds This Proviso: Caltrops have been used as a defensive
measure for centuries. I have my doubts about their utility in
daylight, but they might prove useful at night. To be useful in daylight
for defense against vehicle-borne looters approaching a retreat slowly,
caltrops or tire
spikes would have to be concealed, which is a huge
legal liability.
Because we live in very litigious times, I DO
NOT recommend
using caltrops or tire spike strips in in anything but an absolute
worst-case TEOTWAWKI situation,
where you
are completely
on your own to defend your retreat, and there is no longer a functioning
law enforcement or court system. Using them in any lesser situation
is an invitation to a hugely expensive civil lawsuit and possible
criminal sanctions. An ambulance-chasing attorney would have a field
day, and the likely result would be that you would lose everything
that you own in settling a lawsuit. Ironically, this is an example
of where using
deadly
force
against
an intruder (namely, a firearm) is less likely to result in
a lawsuit than a non-lethal weapon. Civil court juries tend to be very
sympathetic
to
"maimed"
plaintiffs,
and are prone to award disproportionately huge "pain and suffering"
damages. Caltrops and tire spikes are banned in some states in the US, and
Australia. With all that said, commercially
made caltrops are available, as are tire
spike strips, although most manufacturers will only sell them
to law enforcement agencies ordering on department letterhead. The
best
of these use hollow spikes, so they can defeat even self-sealing
tires. And example
of this type is the HOllow-Spike
TYre Deflation System (HOSTYDS), manufactured in the UK.]
Crossing Interstate Highways
All interstate roads will have at some point a significant water gap.
It will be big enough for you to drive through. Be very careful. These can have plunge basins formed on the down stream side that are many feet deep. Can be clogged with old fence wire and tree limbs. They can be swampy and full of washed in silt that is solid on the top and unstable to support weight underneath. You can get stuck and never get out.
Scout these places carefully.
Remember you may be driving under the interstate that is packed above with people who have gotten desperate.
And you may be able to just drive up to the interstate, cut a fence on one side and drive across weaving through parked cars, perhaps, if you are lucky.
Get the maps. Study them. Drive the [primary, secondary, and tertiary] routes. Anything less is a modified death wish.
Rule #1: Leave early.
Rule #2: Remember, you can never schedule an emergency.
- JC in Oklahoma
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It Will Be Skills, Not Gear That Will Count in TEOTWAWKI, by Chris M.
The topic I will cover is one I have not seen on SurvivalBlog. Everybody is caught up in the equipment side and not concentrating on the training. I have two examples several months back our dryer started squeaking & we had to stop using it. I am a trained air conditioning technician. At first I thought about going out and purchasing a new dryer and then I had a thought: I have fixed multi thousand dollar air conditioning units, how hard could it be? After two days it was back up drying clothes and for a lot less money than a new dryer would cost.
The other example was Saturday night a week ago I killed a feral hog and with some help from the friend that owns the land where I killed the pig, we quickly had it in the chest freezer. You ask, “how do these two examples apply to TEOTWAWKI preparedness?”
I am 50 years old; things I take for granted younger people do not understand or do not have the ability to do. Can you sharpen a knife? Can you tune a small engine? How about sharpen a chainsaw? I have been trained as an equipment mechanic and then trained as a HVAC tech. I have also taken first aid training, I am not an EMT but I know the basics. I have fixed several small appliances. My father was a carpenter. He taught me the basics of construction, such as how to build a wall and how to hang sheet rock. I had a small business that repaired rental properties in Texas.
Do you hunt? And are you planning on hunting to supplement your meat supply if not how do you expect to put meat in the freezer after TSHTF? By hunting you learn where to look for game. Small game hunting can teach you where to find rabbits and squirrels are at certain times of the year. Also when you make your first kill you will have a hands-on butchering class. You can not make a mistake that can not be repaired before it gets to the table. I remember the first feral pig a friend killed I was at my parents' house when a friend called and ask if I had butchered a hog? I said no but I have sure put enough deer in the ice chest that a pig could not be that hard.
I have also gar
dened quite a bit. When I was a child some of the first memories are of working in the garden. We did not raise all of our food but we raised a significant portion. We had a cow and chickens. I helped my mother can vegetables from the garden. I have caned tomatoes I have raised in my back yard. I can make my own soap. I also know where to get the lye with out going to the store. (Wood ashes).
What do you read? Back Home, Backwoods Home, and Mother Earth News magazines--although Mother Earth News is not as good as she once was. I keep all the Back Home and Backwoods Home that I pick up. I also found several books that will be passed on once I go to my final reward. I have books on a variety of topics from engine repair to gardening and other topics.
Do you reload the ammo you practice with? You can store more powder, primers and bullets in a given space than loaded ammo. Then when you shoot some you can reload to re-supply. Shotgun ammo is very economical when you reload. I would not suggest that you use reloaded ammo to defend yourself. Use store bought. I talked about the pig I killed a couple weeks back I used a Savage model 40 in 22 Hornet. The cartridge I used was reloaded and in fact was a case that had been reloaded several times. I have reloaded a variety of calibers and presently I can keep my guns shooting for awhile. I also cast lead bullets for a number of my guns and I am planning on getting a few more molds for different calibers. Also think about this I have in my gun safe a. 22 Hornet, .223 Remington and a .22-250. They all take 223 caliber bullets. I have bought a lot of .223 caliber bullets, mostly 55 grain weight. I can use the same bullet in all three. I also I am going to purchase a shot maker and will be able to produce shot for my own use and barter. I am stocking up on primers and bullets.
What do you watch on television? I watch Discovery and the Science channel. People talk about gas powdered tractors gasoline has a shorter shelf life than say diesel or propane for that matter. I have not seen propane discussed much on the blog for a motor fuel. Propane has a "forever" shelf life. Also, you can still find Ford Model 8 or 9N tractors that were powered by propane. As long as the propane did not leak out it was good and the tractors could sit idle for a long time and did not have to have the carburetor cleaned.
The reason I mentioned television shows is this one program I watched 2 to 3 years ago had a teams on an oceanic island. The team had to do some projects, one of which was they had a diesel powered go-cart. Both teams were given some sesames seeds and a machine that could make oil out of the seeds. The first team to start their go-cart and get it to run a course distance won the event. This got me to thinking that all trucks, generators, tractors should be diesel powered. You can make your own fuel!! The inventor of the Diesel engine was Dr. Rudolf Diesel, a German who envisioned a system where German farmers were not dependant on fuel sources that came from outside Germany! Remember the pig I killed? If it had been a survival situation. I would have rendered the fat to oil and could have used it in my truck and drove 20 or so miles or used it in a generator or plowed the garden with a tractor.
The upshot of the foregoing is that what you have in your hands is not as important as what you have between your ears. Learn all you can. Take classes at your local community college. Read all the preparedness’ magazine’s and books you can. Concentrate on survival skills. Learn to start fires without matches and to build a temporary shelters. Learn to maintain your car or truck, local community colleges are great places to learn vehicle repair and you can save money in the short run. Imagine if something broke and you needed it to survive. Could you fix it? Stockpile spare parts for the most important items. Ford 8 of 9n tractors are great and look simple. But if the clutch went out, could you replace it? I have done that and it’s not as easy as you might think. Repair manuals are not an option, in my thinking. They are a must.
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Getting Started With Dairy Goats, by The Memsahib
Getting any dairy animals is a very big commitment. However, I believe that they are
a valuable part of your livestock preparedness. Even more importantly I believe
goats are the best dairy animals for the survivalist.
Here are my reasons to recommend goats over cows for a survival situation:
1. A dairy goat is about one fifth the cost of a dairy cow.
2. Five goats can be fed one the same amount it takes to feed one cow.
3. If your your one cow dies you are out of luck. But the odds of losing all
your goats is small.
4. Goats browse rather than graze and can make use of a wider variety of forage.
5. Goats are easier to handle
6. Because of their smaller size, goats are less likely to cause injuries
or damage fences. Getting stepped on by a goat is trivial. Getting stepped on by a cow is not.
The downside is that it will take more time to milk five goats than to milk
one cow. You'll have to get five animals in and out of the stanchion, Wash
five
udders,
milk five does (female goats), strip five udders, etc. But I really believe
that the benefits of having the insurance of multiple dairy animals far outweighs
the extra effort.
The main drawback is that the cream does not separate readily in goats milk so that
you will not be able to skim the cream off. And therefore you will not be able
to make butter. On the other hand, goat milk is much easier to digest, and
many people who cannot drink cow's milk can drink goats milk. And of course
you can use goat's milk to make yogurt, cream cheese, hard cheese, and ice cream,
as well as use it in recipes just like cows milk.
As I mentioned earlier dairy animals are a big commitment. This is because
they are traditionally milked twice a day, at the same time every day. Perhaps
your current schedule doesn't allow for this? There are ways to get around
this and still being prepared. You could for instance milk in the morning but
let the kids nurse during the day. You could also have a small herd that you
do not milk at all, but instead just let them raise offspring until your family needs the milk. Or maybe have a small herd but don't even breed them until TEOTWAWKI. (Needless to say, they will not produce milk if they do not give birth.).
For greater detail on raising goats, I recommend the book: Storey's
Guide to Raising Dairy Goats: Breeds, Care, Dairying
by
JD Belanger.
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Sprouting is Key to Good Nutrition in TEOTWAWKI
If you were to take an inventory of all your preparedness supplies, would
you feel quite confident that you are in fact “ready”? Your supplies
might include a good, well thought out long-term, food storage program, complete
with a variety of dehydrated and freeze-dried legumes, grains, vegetable, fruits,
dairy and meats. If you’ve gotten this far, you are to be commended for
taking two giant steps toward emergency preparedness. But have you also considered
the very process by which these foods are preserved to give you the benefit
of long-term food storage? Did you know that both the dehydrating and freeze
dried process destroys the essential enzymes your body needs to utilize the
nutrients in the food itself? That’s what may keep the food from spoiling
thereby giving you the benefit of long-term storage, but your body still needs
these essential enzymes.
To give you an example of how enzymes work and why they are so important for
your health, consider this: Have you ever dropped an apple and noticed a bruise
form? Have you ever watched what happens to that bruise over time? Underneath
the skin, enzymes are busy at work breaking down that apple until there is
nothing left. The exact same thing happens with the enzymes in your digestive
tract: These mighty, enzymatic “powerhouses” perform their magic – breaking
down the food to its constituent parts - vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates
and protein - so the body can ultimately use it for life and vitality. Without
them, we are borrowing from our body what it was never designed to do. To use
the old adage, if I may, we are "robbing Peter to pay Paul".
Yes, the body is thankfully equipped with the means to also digest these essential
nutrients with a flood of digestive enzymes, from amylase in your saliva, to
gastric lipase, pepsin and rennin in your stomach mixed with hydrochloric acid.
The partially digested food (chyme) then empties into your small intestine
where liver bile and pancreatic enzymes continue to breakdown the food so the
nutrients can be absorbed. There is a kink in this unreliable system, however.
Over time and with abuse, when the body is forced to pump out all the enzymes
needed for digestion, eventually the body breaks down. Hence, we see the rise
of all these horrific, degenerative disease like diabetes, coronary heart disease
and cancer – to name a few. Instead of the food enzymes breaking down
our vital nutrients, our bodies are breaking down and we wonder why.
Although this article cannot possibly cover the scope of the need for enzymes
incorporated into our everyday lives, it must cover the inevitable concerns
we face in preparedness. We know the time is near and we need to prepare. One
only has to watch the “real” news to realize we’re headed
for some tumultuous times. And for many of you who read and support the Survival
Blog, you already are prepared and continue to prepare. But now you’re
faced with this dilemma: Your long term food storage is depleted of enzymes.
It contains all the necessary nutrients, but nothing to deliver them to your
body. Now what?
That was a question we faced as individuals, and as a self reliant, emergency
preparedness business: We sell good, wholesome dehydrated and freeze-dried
food products from some of the best companies out there with all the necessary
nutrients for survival but void of the enzymes needed to break it down. So,
from our personal interest in nutrition, to my naturopathic studies, to the
realization that Americans are in imminent danger with their casual approach
to health, we decided to take that leap of faith. We had to do something that
would not only provide the enzymes needed for everyday living, but for our
long-term food storage as well. So we made a drastic shift in the way we eat
now by choosing healthy, unprocessed food and incorporate a lot of whole grains,
fresh fruits and vegetables in our diets, including sprouts.
Did I say sprouts? Could it really be that simple that we could live off our
food storage and enjoy good health with the simple usage of sprouts? Sprouts
are living foods packed with living enzymes ready to take food to its next
level. In fact, alfalfa sprouts are one of the healthiest foods available to
man with such vital nutrients as calcium, copper, folate, iron, magnesium,
manganese, phosphorus, potassium silicon, zinc, vitamins B, C, D, E and K.
Not only does it possess all these nutrients, it’s alive and full of
enzymes. By the simple application of sprouts in your long term food storage,
you too can not only enjoy the fresh crisp taste of vegetables but employ every
nutrient for the health of your body from otherwise, “dead” food.
Sprouting is so easy, anyone can do it. It requires no special knowledge or
complicated equipment, just the seeds, a sprouter
kit, some moisture, warmth,
darkness and maybe ten minutes of your time daily. They not only store well,
but a little goes a long way! In fact, just one pound of alfalfa seeds can
produce 10-14 pounds of sprouts. Just simply soak the seeds in water overnight,
drain them and lightly water for a few days. Then watch them grow! Soon you
will have a bountiful crop of healthy sprouts to incorporate into your long-term
food storage plan. - Roxanne L. Griswold, Ready Made Resources
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The Anti-Bug Out Bag, by Jason C.
Have you heard of a Bug out bag (BOB)? If you have read even a few articles on urban survival then you have heard of this mysterious thing. Loosely defined, it is a bag packed with supplies and equipment for a few days to a week. It is intended to be something handy to grab, if you have to get out of where you are quickly. The thousands of items that could possibly be packed in a BOB are often a source of great debate among people building, packing, and storing their own bag.
But what about the times when you won't need to evacuate your residence, home, business, or other location? Then you will need what I humorously term an Anti-Bug Out Bag (ABOB.) If, like me, you work from home or are not traveling out of town, you are rarely more than a few miles from where you spend most of your time, your home. It is often overlooked that you will more than likely be at your home, or close to it, should something happen. Some events like bad weather you may even have a few days notice of the threat.
So let's start with the big picture of maintaining your gear.
When planning your Anti-Bug Out Bag (ABOB), you are only limited by your storage space and budget. However, for the average person, a big closet, basement corner, or wall of the garage should do fine. After deciding the location, it is time to identify the contents. I will not even begin to list individual items, but will attempt to address the logical process of determining what is most important for you.
The very first consideration of any item is: how many uses does it have? One? Two? Each and every item should be able to serve at least three uses. And yes, I do realize there are a few items that may be very specific, but those rare items will be obvious if you try to find other uses as you evaluate each piece of gear.
An example would be a basic tool kit. Instead of a regular hammer, what about a dry wall hammer with a hammer head and hatchet back. This type of hammer also has a nail-pulling notch under the blade of the hatchet. This adds an extra purpose and increases its value and usefulness. Another great example is types of rope. We all know the value of heavy rope, para-cord, twine, and even bungee cords. But you can add 1" tube webbing to your supply and it can serve many more needs. Straps for packs, slings for tools and weapons, and even belts for your clothes. The heavier type designed for rock climbing and mountaineering is fairly inexpensive and is strong enough to pull a car out of a ditch. Try that with nylon rope from Wal-Mart!
The important part is to add the items that will help you in as many ways as possible to reduce waste and increase efficiency in your work.
The next major consideration is quality and durability.
With today's wasteful use of resources we have all become conditioned to throwing things away and replacing them when they break again. This has the bad effect of putting a lot of junk equipment to be on the market. I do caution you against just using price as an indicator of quality. We all have things we paid almost nothing for that will outlast the most expensive piece of equipment.
The fact that many of these items simply are not made to withstand daily use in a rugged environment will be a disaster when you need them to work the most. Make sure you get the best you can afford. Learn to take care of them, and be able to repair them if needed.
For an example of this, take the spade shovel in my garage. I saw it on sale at a bargain store for under $10 dollars. It has a solid wood handle, with strong rivets to hold it all together. I have had it for almost seven years and put some hard use on in my landscaping days. I had another one that was bought as extra equipment for one of my crews at a name-brand hardware store for over $30. Within a month the cheap aluminum rivets twisted out and the handle came out. After repairing it with large stainless steel bolts, a weld came apart on the handle assembly. This shovel just couldn't take the abuse we were putting on it. But the less expensive one thrived on the rough use. So evaluate each piece in your ABOB based on quality and craftsmanship.
After filtering your selected items throughout the first two steps it is on to the third. How many of these do I need? Everything has it's limit of usefulness. And everything can wear out and break no matter how good the quality. So you must determine how many of each item you need. Do you need two pry bars? Probably not, because other items can be used if needed. Do you need two pick axes? If you plan on doing a lot of farming with no tractor, then you might. How about an extra sewing kit to repair clothes and packs? Most assuredly.
So determining the items life span in a survival environment is critical to deciding how many to have as back up.
Of course I haven't discussed weapons yet, but this is one of the most crucial things to evaluate with the above rules. My preference has always been the 12-gauge shotgun. And as a hunter and outdoorsman I own enough guns to make my wife roll her eyes every time I open the safe. But when I applied this to my own supply, I realized that in a survival situation I need to look for which ones would I be most reliable. The autoloaders? Great on the dove fields but can be prone to jamming on occasion.
I choose the pump shotgun as reliable and simple. But I had to add another because I wanted two of them in case one is damaged, I always have a backup. It is the same model so that there are spare parts. Also I decided to go one more step and add a single-shot 12-gauge break action. So now I feel I will have one that works.
This also includes ammo. How many of each caliber you need is your choice, but I would be thinking in the thousands, not the hundreds. So whether you are looking at just one extra box or dozens, you have to decide before you need them, because after you realize you needed them, it will just be too late.
These three rules are designed as guidelines to help you prepare your supplies. If you apply each one to every selection you make you will most likely have an edge if and when it is time to use your ABOB. The most important part of any item is knowing how to use it. So as you add equipment, take the time to learn to use it. Just that simple step can help you increase your odds of survival in difficult times.
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Letter Re: Walking Tractors and Similar Powered Farming Implements
James
I have gardened a lot. The topic of tractors is one that you need to think about before you purchase one. If you have one acre to plow a Ford 8 or 9n is to big to utilize in fact I would not think about a riding tractor unless the plot size reaches three acres or more. There are tractors that will plow that you walk behind and then utilize a tiller.
SurvivalBlog reader
LRM is right in the fact that a tiller can be hard to use if you do not prepare the ground before you crank the tiller up. Before you plant you will need to break the ground with a fork to loosen up the ground, then till, irrigate the ground. Then you will either spread out fertilizer either commercial or compost you have manufactured. Then you till a second time mix in the fertilizer or compost,now you are ready to plant. Once you have worked a garden plot the ground gets easer to till and not as much work is needed to put in a garden.
The other factor you need to think about is if you are not doing it now it will be much harder to do once TSHTF. The learning curve is very steep. Get to gardening now, learn all you can. Store seeds in the refrigerator. Start a compost pile. Raise chickens. Their manure makes great compost, combine chicken manure with lawn clippings and compost for 14 days then turn the pile then compost another 14 days and turn the pile and about 1 week you are ready to use. [JWR Adds: Chicken manure just by itself is too "hot' for use as fertilizer, in most cases.] Keep a compost pile going and you'll have an endless supply of fertilizer.
What about container gardening they work great for Tomatoes and Potatoes and there are raised beds. Raised beds will produce more per square foot than rows. A two- acre raised bed garden will produce more than a three-acre row garden.
There is a lot more to gardening than plowing with a tractor. - Curtis M.
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Two Letters Re: Walking Tractors and Similar Powered Farming Implements
Hi;
The ongoing discussion about tractors is interesting. I was recently able to
purchase a fully restored 1952 Ford 8N for $3,500. The tires, front end bushings,
everything is new, and the motor is rebuilt. This is a deal of a lifetime to
be sure. But, there are plenty of other good deals out there, this is the time
to look. Check with farmers to see if they have an extra tractor to sell. Many
farms own multiple tractors and if they need money you might get lucky. And
if you get real lucky you might find an old one restored. The farmer is more
likely to want to keep the bigger newer air conditioned tractor over the smaller
old one.
It is pointless to debate which tractor is best. But allow me to point out
a
few things that I have learned about these Ford 8Ns. Any part you could want
is available online. Many parts are in stock at Tractor Supply and similar farm
stores. I have never used a tractor before, and I'm not a good mechanic. But
this is such a simple set-up that it is very easy to learn the mechanics. The
manuals are available online or stocked at Tractor Supply. There is nothing to
them, a huge advantage over a modern computerized tractor that will be fried
by EMP. And there are countless 8N and 9N tractors still being used, and a potential
future source of parts. Common items have a big advantage.
In the past we have worked a garden by hand. We added a hand plow and then a
big rototiller. But we were able to increase the speed of tilling with this
tractor beyond measure. It is not very noisy, and certainly quieter than a lawnmower
or rototiller. In less than a day you can easily plow and disk a small field.
And we used very little gas the entire day, never having to refill the small
tank. We used 3-4 gallons of gas to put in a massive garden. We plowed up ground
that was last plowed over 50 years ago, and it was fast and easy. With the rototiller
it would have taken days, more fuel, more exposure outside. We hope to grow more
food than we can eat, preserve and root cellar and still have plenty left to
donate to others.
A person can get into a decent used tractor with used plows and other implements
for a few thousand dollars. Compare that to some of the other things people buy
and it's a cheap investment. If you don't overspend, they will likely keep their
value. Stock up on fluids and basic spare parts in advance. For a few hundred
dollars you can fill your shelves with any fluids and common parts that could
be needed. 5 ounces of gold will get you set up. Maybe less. You can plow for
neighbors in exchange for a few loads of firewood, or something else you can
use. You will have a machine that can help you and your neighbors out and keep
everyone from being hungry.
Get all non-hybrid seeds and learn to save them and you never need to buy seeds
more than once. Extra seeds are excellent barter items. Learn what plants can
cross breed and avoid this. You can grow a lot of corn to grind for animal feed.
If you save your own seed to grow this, your animal feed will be almost free.
And for those of us that aren't getting any younger, sitting on a tractor all
day compared to running a rototiller, well, there is no comparison. - Don in
Ohio
Dear Mr. Rawles,
As a landscape contractor and private gardener who during the last several
decades has worked on three continents and used more types of equipment than
I'd like to think of, I feel qualified to stick in my 2 cents regarding the
proper equipment to use on small holdings.
Landscape contractors cannot afford to waste time of money on unreliable or
unsuitable equipment so we chose with care. We do any type of work you can
think of that's exterior to a home, commercial building, park or highway. While
our work is mostly decorative, it is the same type that would be necessary
in a post apocalypse world. Planting bed prep, irrigation, retaining walls,
etc.
A few lessons I've learned:
The equipment used for a particular job must maximize power, reliability and
agility into one unit. In my opinion, most walk behind tillers, trenchers or
tractors lack both power and surprisingly, agility. You will wear yourself
out doing the work the machine is supposed to be doing and you may injure yourself
in the process. Holding onto one of these things is like holding onto a bucking
bull. A twisted ankle, back or badly pulled muscle means a few days off work
in this world. During the bad times it means a lot more. Personally I hate
em.
While 5-10 acres is mentioned as the size of a survival garden, the reality
is more in the range of 1 acre. 1 acre is a lot of ground to prepare, plant,
water, weed and (hopefully) harvest. A heavy duty real tine tiller could probably
do a decent job if the ground had previously been cultivated but a 20 horsepower
(h.p.) or so tractor would do it in a fraction of the time and do a better
job leaving
time for other things. Front tine tillers are toys suitable for backyard kitchen
gardens. The same goes for ATVs and their "farm" implements. Why
ruin a perfectly good ATV by dragging a plow at 1 mph? You wouldn't hook up
your SUV to a plow would you? Well at least I wouldn't.
So I'm recommending you find yourself a good 4 wheel drive hydrostatic drive
medium size tractor.
These tractors do have a tendency to roll over,but they have roll bars and
if your smart enough to wear the provided seat belt, you'll be okay. Anyway,
all the gardens I've seen are dead flat so if you run one along the side of
a hill you're not gardening but doing what I do. If you are on a slope, go
up and down not sideways, keep your front loader bucket low and don't do anything
rash. It isn't much of an issue.
Four
wheel drive is obvious. They work great anywhere there is loose dirt sand,
mud or snow. They also save wear and tear on the tires (less tire slip) and
less drive train stress. I used one to plow my Colorado mountain driveway which
was both long and steep and frequently had several feet of snow in it. If you
do get stuck the front bucket will work you out.
Hydrostatic drive means the engine runs a variable pump which drives the hydraulic
system that does all the work. It allows you to set the engine speed for power
and vary your speed, both forward and reverse, by pressing your foot on a floor
mounted rocker arm. No shifting or clutch involved. In my work that means we
can do 300% more than if we used the older style tractors. These pumps never
seemed to wear out although we did have one failure on a new tractor. Unless
you just plan on plowing the back 40, it's the only way to go.
The engines were 18 h.p. on up and all were diesel. We never had a problem,
ever. A 18 h.p. .tractor will work hard all day on 5 gal or less of fuel. Anything
under 18 h.p. is a toy.
The rear implement on each was usually a 5' tiller. With it we could do most
anything. Need to cut some hard rocky ground? Just back till. The rocks would "hook
out" (be careful) and we'd be left with 8" of soft rock free soil.
When we needed to amend the soil, which was always, we'd spread a few inches
of peat/manure with the front bucket, then run the tiller over it a couple
of times. Back dragging the bucket would firm it back up for planting. What
took one guy 3 hours would have taken four guys all day to do with a rear tine
tiller and wheelbarrows and they would have done a poorer job of it. If a backhoe
wasn't available, we would use the tiller/bucket to dig holes in hard ground.
The front bucket makes a great dirt mover, snow plow or firewood carrier or
anything else you could fit in it. You can use it to hoist the tractor into
a trailer or pick the front end up to change a tire (with a block under the
axle pivot point of course.
In my experience light tractors make poor backhoe platforms and semi-okay
trenchers with the proper attachment on the 3 point.
Now here's the real key. The manufacturer. I've used all of them. Most are
not up to task and are a waste of money. I've broken more than one in half.
Several
others just died or were put out of their misery. Sadly, the "American "made" ones
never were any good. A few Asian manufactures weren't any better (Yanmar was
one that broke in two). In fact the only brand I ever buy now is Kubota. They
are rock solid and the only one to buy (and no I don't have anything to do
with them except give them money on occasion.) I'm also partial to MF40s but
they're somewhat large for the work we're talking about.
Cost: Well... they're not free, but they do enough work that every neighbor
around will want something from it and that's not a bad thing, now or during
the bad days. Charge about $75 an hour and a cold one. Kind Regards, - LRM
(from Perth, Australia)
JWR Replies: Your comments add credence to my assertion
that a large family garden plot (at least one acre), makes the most sense for
a self-sufficient garden. Not only
will you have room for more crops, but you will also have the room needed to
maneuver a tractor. One important note: When fencing your garden, plan ahead:
You'll need at least one large
gate for tractor ingress/egress. Even if you don't own a tractor, chances are
that you can borrow or rent one, especially for the first time that you turn
the soil. Without a tractor, that first turning is often a monumental effort.
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Letter Re: Many Weeds are Actually Edible Wild Plants
Mr Rawles,
I read the article "Many Weeds are Actually Edible Plants" with much interest. I am a
botanist not a horticulturist. I was trained in the taxonomy of native plants
not commercial flowers and such.
Taxonomy is the identification of plants. I did three years work at my school's
botany department doing field research continuing the longest prenuclear botany
studies of native plants in the US. I was required to be able to identify by
sight more than 1,000 native plants. My taxonomic mentor was Mr. Howard Reynolds,
Ph.d., University of Nebraska and former Marine Corpsman, in the Pacific Theater of
Operations in WWII.
The article you displayed was commendable and accurate using the correct scientific
names.
However it should be noted that common names are a minefield.
The absolute reference book to correct common names is the National
List of Scientific Plant Names. [A two-volume set,published by the Soil
Conservation Service.]
One of the plants you displayed I know under a different common name.
This is the problem of common names.
Many are regional and have become accepted as correct...
Example: Throughout the plains states there are many thousands of trees called "Chinese
Elm".
This is an incorrect common name.
These trees are in reality the "Siberian Elm".
Siberian Elms bloom in the spring and the true Chinese Elm tree blooms in the
fall.
Because the public has heard these trees called Chinese Elm by their grandparents
they assume the name is correct.
Copies of the National
List of Scientific Plant Names are available through Amazon.com.
I would like to see all articles that describe plants for some use to identify
the source used for the scientific name and the common name.
This is the way diverse people can talk about a common plant and know they
are both focusing on the same entity.
Yes, names do change. Regularly-held botanical congresses hear the evidence
for projected changes. A panel of taxonomists can recommend a change.
But that happens only once in a blue moon. It is not a common occurrence. With
the ability to identify the sequencing of the DNA molecule plants that appear
to have small taxonomic differences are frequently given a subspecies
identifier.Or noted that they are the "variety described by and a name
of the researcher is given". But DNA analysis can solve this problem and
if the differences are significant the two subspecies or varieties are given
separate scientific names and the
subspecies/variety gets a new common name.
Two ways to be sure a plant is correctly identified:
1. Contact a trained taxonomist or your county agent. who in turn can send
your plant specimen to the state university for identification.
2. Learn how to use a real taxonomic key .... which took me two years of classes
and many hours in the field to really master
Using common books with pictures can be very frustrating.
Native plants represent a long lost resource that could again become important
in a resource stretched world.
Just do not let the complexities of plant identification keep you from learning
this skill.
But it takes practice to build a working knowledge of the local plants...so
get going now.
Local: here in our town several businesses are showing significant increases
in prices, especially groceries. The local lumber yard is having significant
problems getting "hardware
items", many being back ordered...but lumber and building materials seem
to be plentiful at this point.
I read your postings every day if I am not too tired. Every day I do something
to get us ready for a coming time of significant conflictual change. We have
facing us a kind of "coercive consensus" descending on us
like an upside down tornado. I will be 68 years old on Saturday and never suspected
that I would see these kinds of events in the U.S.A.
Best Regards, - JWC in Oklahoma
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Letter Re: Many Weeds are Actually Edible Wild Plants
Dear Mr. Rawles,
I read your blog every day and enjoy all of the helpful information that you
and your readers post on a daily basis. I just wanted to pass along this
information on edible weeds that can be found in ones backyard or about anywhere
where plants can be grown. To most people weeds are just that, weeds that
need to be destroyed to keep the yard or their property looking nice. But
some weeds can also be eaten if a person knows how to identify them and cook
them properly. In the event of a worst case scenario these 'weeds' can help
sustain a person or a family for a brief period of time or be a nice addition
to stored food, providing needed fresh veggies and nutrients.
The following is a list of some of the most commonly found 'weeds' in a yard
or field that can be edible:
Burdock (Arctium lappa) Cultivated as a vegetable in Japan where it
is known as gobo. The stalks are scraped and cooked like celery. The roots
can be eaten raw in salads or added to stir fries.
Cattail (Typha latifolia)
The pollen can be used to enrich flour. The unripe flower spikes can be cooked
as a vegetable and the young shoots and inner stems are eaten raw or cooked.
Century plant (Agave americana)
The flower stems and leaf bases can be roasted and eaten. Certain species can
be made into alcoholic drinks such as tequila.
Chickweed (Stellaria media)
Can be added raw to salads or cooked as a vegetable.
Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
The roots of this plant are used as a coffee additive. The sky blue flowers
are also edible and make a terrific addition to salads.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
The flowers can be made into wine or jelly. The roots are sometimes used as
a coffee substitute. The young leaves make a nice addition to salads.
Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides)
A tropical American weed commonly used in Mexican cooking to flavor corn, beans,
mushrooms, seafood, fish, soups, and sauces.
Garlic mustard (Alliaria officinalis)
The young leaves add a mild garlic flavor to salads, sandwiches, and soups.
JWR Adds: Exercise caution when gathering weeds on any land--whether
public or private--that is outside of your personal control. Don't overlook
the risk
that you could collect weeds that have been recently spayed with herbicides!
Also, just as when mushroom picking, be absolutely sure that you are
gathering the intended item. A mistake could prove fatal.
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Two Letters Re: DIY Baking Powder Solves a Shelf Life Dilemma
Mr. Rawles,
Regarding the letter "DIY
Baking Powder Solves a Shelf Life Dilemma", Baking soda can
be used alone with any acid, whether powdered -- like what's added to baking powder --
or liquids like buttermilk (the fermented kind, not the leftover liquids from
sweet butter),
yogurt, kefir, sour cream, lemon or lime juice, vinegar.
Since baking powder is made with baking soda,
I didn't understand why some people claim they don't like the [alkaline] baking soda taste.
But then I found
this
on the Ellen's Kitchen site:
"The problem with baking soda is that it releases the gas all at once!
So if the cake batter sits around for a while before you get it in the oven
or it you beat the batter too much, the leavening will be lost and your baked
goods will be flat. You don't want to add too much either, because the taste
is rather salty and you'd have to add more acid too. If you don't have enough
acid to react with the baking soda [then] you won't release the gas, plus
your cake or muffins will have a bitter or soapy taste because of the unreacted
bicarbonate."
Since I live in a humid area, I store mine in a Mason jar that's been put
into a vacuum device similar to this
one at the Instructables site. [JWR Adds: A jar lid
ar adapter can be used with a Food Saver vacuum sealer, to the same effect.]
Thanks for your info, - Shreela
JWR,
The recent discussion of baking powder prompted me to remember a book I inherited
from my Father titled "War-Time
Guidebook for the Home" published by the Popular Science publishing
company.
This out-of-print book is in in my opinion is second only to the Bible as the
next most necessary book a citizen devoted to serious preparedness needs to have
available, rating even higher than the Foxfire series.
Though some formulae in the first part of the book are archaic, many are virtually
lost to "modern" society and relevant if or when the supply chain most
rely on collapses, including how to make glues, cosmetics, poultices, beverages,
etching compounds, cements, medicines, etc.
The second part of the book is a general fix-it guide for the home and farm and
covers woodworking, plumbing, painting, electrical, heating, furniture and is
a how to guide to "make do or do without" Thank you for your helpful
web site. - E.C., Whitefish, Montana
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Learning to Cook on a Wood-Fired Stove by Deborah
When my companion and I began our 18-month transition period of moving to and
living in the woods, we also began a period of education. We discussed and
planned much. We bought books and magazines and took classes on everything
from solar collecting to gardening.
One subject evaded me: cooking on a wood-burning stove. Every time I saw a
magazine that flashed headlines on wood stoves, my hands would tremble in anticipation
as I reached for it. However, the wood stoves in question were for heating,
not for cooking.
Since we were looking at a self-sufficient lifestyle and wood on our 160 acres
was virtually free, there wasn't even a consideration to use anything but wood
for heating and cooking. Our land is approximately 95 percent maple, a steady
source of excellent quality hardwood. Labor intensive yes, but since we were
quitting our jobs, we had the time.
Initially, we tried to find a real antique stove for our kitchen. Since the
20' by 24' kitchen/dining/living room was to be the main focus of our new house,
we wanted the stove not only to be functional but attractive as well. The antique
stoves we found were either attractive but of questionable functionality, or
functional and downright ugly.
Deborah's wood-fired cook stove
We bit the bullet and bought a brand-new, old-fashioned looking Enterprise
King from Lehman's (if you ever have the chance to visit there, do it!). To
this day, I'm glad we spent the extra money. Not that there aren't good old
stoves out there, but we never found one.
Our stove has a warming oven overhead, a tip-down butter warmer, a washable
porcelain clad oven with thermostat and an optional water jacket. The firebox
has a side lifter lid and easily takes a 20-inch log. And it looks good.
But I still didn't know how to cook on it.
Being an experienced cook (translation: I love to cook), I figured I was tough.
I was smart! I was inventive! I was lost. So I learned the hard way, by trial
and error, lots of practice and even more patience. I've burned a few things,
but only because I wasn't paying attention.
The functioning of the stove is really quite simple. They will last for generations
with proper care, since there is so little that can go wrong with them.
One end has a firebox, and outside the firebox are vents. Mine has four "dials" which
regulate how much air is fed to the fire. The more you open the vents, the
hotter the fire. The ash door can also be opened for a surge of air, but this
needs to be watched very carefully.
There is a sliding mechanism towards the back of the firebox. This diverts
the smoke coming from the fire to go around the oven box before it escapes
up the chimney. This heats the oven more consistently. The position of the
slide unit is most important before lighting the stove.
Because a draft needs to be created when first firing up, the slide needs to
be directed to the chimney. The positioning for my stove is to the right to
light, to the left to bake. If you forget to reposition the slide, the result
will be a roomful of smoke.
You can't set it at 350 º and walk away! The biggest challenge is keeping the
oven heat even. Unlike a gas or electric stove, when you put something in the
oven to cook and the temperature drops as the food absorbs the heat, nothing
kicks in to compensate. What to do? Feed the fire wood that will burn quickly
and offer more heat.
As the food begins to cook and its internal temperature rises, a longer, slower-burning
piece of wood will maintain the heat. Open the oven door if it gets too hot
- but not for long. Your oven may even have "hot spots" like mine.
During baking, I turn bread or cookies 180 degrees halfway through the baking
time. Stay in the kitchen when there is cooking to be done. In winter, it's
the best place to be.
Range top cooking is similar to a gas or electric stove, but you have more
room available. The entire surface is hot, not just four little burners.
No, those circles are not burners, as I once thought.
The surface area can be divided into three major temperature zones. The hottest
is right over the firebox, whether it is on the right or left. The next warmest
would be in the center, and the coolest is the front of the side opposite
the firebox. After the coffee perks over the firebox, it stays warm sitting
on
a far corner.
Everything needs to be watched carefully, as the heat can drop or flare in
a very short time. Don't be discouraged. Once you get used to the heat always
being there (it doesn't shut off with the twist of a knob), cooking on a
wood stove is easy
Grilling takes some patience, but it can be done. You can get pretty good
results by removing one of those little circles over the firebox and placing
a heat-resistant
grate over the flame. I use half of a hamburger basket meant for grilling.
I also lay aluminum foil around the opening to keep splatters to a minimum.
Since most barbecuing is done inches above hot coals, some adjustment is
necessary. I let flames do the grilling rather than coals. Since the grate
is so much
further from the heat, I use a hotter fire.
The cleaning and care you give your wood stove is important. Most cook stoves
have three types of surfaces. There is cast iron, porcelain or enamel-finished
sheet metal and decorative trim. A wet rag or sponge wiped daily on the
decorative trim should suffice. For baked-on spots, a bit of non-abrasive
cleanser like
Soft-Scrub works very well. Prevention is the best approach to cleaning.
Avoid spilling or splashing, since you can't wipe it up right away.
Don't put a wet pot on the stove. Remember, the surface is cast iron and
will rust, even when hot. The least of your cleaning worries will be the
rust ring,
but the worst will be the ring underneath the rust that is there forever.
Spots that are left on too long will pit the cast iron. By first taking
a razor blade
to spills, you can scrape up lots of gunk and save your buffing pad and
shoulder.
Scotch Brite Very Fine is a metal sanding pad that is unsurpassed for cleaning
even the toughest spots on cast iron surfaces. Always buff back and forth
in one direction, from front to back, or you will get a scratched look.
Always let the surface cool before buffing, or you will melt the cleaning
pad.
Once the entire surface has been buffed, use a soft flannel cloth and wipe
a thin layer of cooking oil over the whole surface. This seasons the top
and makes it easier to clean the next day.
A word of caution: The oil has to be spread thinly. I've used too much,
and when I lit the stove the next morning, the kitchen smelled like cooking
popcorn.
When necessary, you will need to wipe down the metal back splash and warming
oven. Warm, soapy water or a non-abrasive cleanser will do the trick. Clean
the soot from under the oven monthly in the summer and weekly in the winter
when the stove is constantly running. There is a small opening concealed
by a decorative nameplate directly under the oven. Use a long-handled scraper
to remove the blackish soot and hardened chunks. It's best to do this when
the stove is cool, or the draft will keep pulling the soot back in. Don't
forget
the sides of the ash compartment. Cinders don't always fall into the ash
pan.
One of the most overlooked areas for cleaning is the top of the oven box.
Remember, you keep diverting smoke around the oven. If enough ash collects
there, it
will have an insulating effect, and your oven won't heat properly.
A friend and neighbor (around here, a neighbor is anyone who lives less
than 10 miles away) complained that her recently purchased antique stove
was giving
her fits when she tried to maintain a steady temperature. I didn't hear
another complaint after making this suggestion: The cooking surface is
made up of
two to four panels of cast iron. Remove these panels when the stove is
cold and
set them on newspapers, as they are sooty.
This exposes the top of the oven box. The first time I did this was after
a year of cooking, and I had over two inches of ash. Carefully brush this
ash
into the firebox, where it can fall into the ash pan. Do this too quickly
and you'll raise an ash cloud.
Then take your long-handled scraper and scrape the sides of the oven box.
Soot will fall to the bottom, where it can be removed through that little
hidden
door. The whole process should take about 15 minutes, and it will make
a world of difference in your oven temperature. This cleaning should be
done
monthly
or bimonthly in the summer and weekly in the winter.
The gasket around the top of the stove should be carefully inspected every
year and replaced if it is too worn. I never concerned myself with the
gasket. Two and a half years later, there was no gasket left! My stove
had lost its
air tightness, and I hadn't even noticed.
Most stove gasket packages I've seen include 84 inches of material, but
my stove requires 100 inches. There is no loss of efficiency when material
is
pieced
together. Just scrape the old stuff off, lightly sand, wipe off, glue and
install the new gasket. This takes only 15 minutes and a few dollars, but
what a difference
it makes. Back when we started thinking about Y2K, we realized that it
would be wise to keep a few gaskets in storage. You never know if they'll
be available
in
a
few years.
Cast iron pots and pans are nice, but certainly not necessary for wood
stove cooking. Ceramic casserole dishes are great. Use common sense with
pots that
have plastic or wooden handles. Don't put anything into the oven that wouldn't
go into a conventional oven, and don't position handles over the cooking
area that you couldn't expose to a gas burner. Never put a plastic bowl
on the stove,
even if you think it's cold.
I purchased two pieces of cast iron cookware for $5 at an estate sale last
summer. They were valued at over $80 new in a catalog. The old pieces cleaned
up quickly and are among my favorites. One major advantage of cast iron
is that it stays hot. That might not seem like a big deal until you serve
a
pot of stew or spaghetti on a cool evening.
Use the warming oven to your advantage. I keep four plates (two meals)
and two soup bowls in my warmer. Having a pre-warmed plate at mealtime
can make
a big difference. I also have a biscuit stone (a terra cotta disk that
is heated and put in the bottom of a basket of biscuits or rolls) that
I rarely
remember
to heat up on time, so I just leave it in the bottom of the oven.
What I cook since we moved to the woods has changed, but that's because
we've changed the way we eat. We eat less meat and more home-grown vegetables,
more soups and bread. I now have the time to bake, and homemade, fresh-baked
bread
tastes like heaven. Soup is easy to simmer on the stove.
We have very little waste, because everything goes into a soup jar. This
is something every cook can do. If you open a can of mushrooms, pour the
juice
into a jar and freeze it. After you cook vegetables, pour that liquid into
the jar. I even save the liquid from soaking the roasting pan. To prevent
overeating, put the last few mouthfuls of veggies, rice or potatoes in
the soup jar. It
makes for some very interesting, economical, healthy and work-free soup.
For me, it's a conscientious thing to do, as I care about not wasting things.
Here in the Upper Peninsula, the weather is fairly cold all the time, so
the stove is always running except in mid-summer. The first thing I do
in the morning
is light the stove. While the kindling is catching, I feed Muffin, our
15-year old cat. Then I add three or four pieces of wood, light the kerosene
lamp,
check the temperature outside and add larger logs to the fire. Now it's
time to put the coffee pot over the fire box. Then it's back to the warmth
of
the bed. It takes about 20 minutes for the water to boil and another 20
minutes to perk. By the time the coffee is ready, the room is also warm.
I bake something almost every day. Since our refrigeration (an antique
ice box) is limited, I bake only one loaf of bread at a time. Cookies and
biscotti
are favorites around here. Dinner is usually started around 4 P.M., and
I let the fire go out. The coals are ready to be knocked down into the
ash
pan by
9:00. Since I don't want to mess with all the details when it's cold in
the morning, I lay a new fire, clear the stove top and fill the coffee
pot at
night. I'm ready for a new day.
Note: This article was first written more than 10 years ago. Here is an update:
the cat is gone, the companion is gone, but the stove and I are still together!
- Deborah in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
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Baking and Simple Cooking After a Disaster, by LCHS
Cooking as you once knew it, from cabinets bulging with a variety of packaged
items, store bread and cookies, or a quick trips to the store for box cereal
and meat in a neat packages, with an armful of deli tubs and rotisserie chicken – just
ended. Think about this statement for a minute. If you have never learned
to cook with simple ingredients and don’t have the right kinds of cookbooks
you’re not only going to have trouble using that stored grocery staple
food, it’s going to mean a steep learning curve at a time when you
need it the least. You’ll have a houseful of kids usually in school,
perhaps people sick; sporadic or no electricity and few of the conveniences
modern kitchens run on, but the ‘three squares’ will be marching
on every day and need to be nutritious enough to keep everyone healthy and
keep a breath of normalcy in life.
The family that has allowed everyone to ‘do their own thing’, eat
whatever and wherever they like with no care for anyone else in the family,
will have a far worse time than the family that has learned to cook, wash and
dry dishes together, help each other, compliment good cooking and pitch in
as things get hard. These traits are made, not born, and can be worked on now,
before the need is critical. The scariest thing about life after TSHTF for
me is not home invasions, it’s the homes already invaded by selfish,
unskilled individuals used to having someone else stock the larder, who are
allergic to work and worst, have no loyalty to the family or its well being.
My first recommendation: start cooking now and learn to make breadstuffs especially.
Then set a date with your family for a home-cooked meal at least once a week
and stick to it. Solemnly determine that these will be good times, with no
arguments, ‘tudes and volatile subjects – make a separate time
for family ‘meetings’. Make it old fashioned – get out the
kerosene lanterns and wash the dishes by hand. After the Disaster, especially
if it means being stuck at home (as in a quarantine or bad storm scenario)
this will be one of the hubs of normalcy for family life if you’ve made
it that way before you needed to.
Recipes included in this article are mine, come from the cookbooks recommended
at the end of the article, or (in the case of simple breads, muffins and dumplings)
can be found in any practical, pre-1970 cookbook. I have used all the techniques
and recipes listed.
If you’ve been awake to issues in modern America, you’ve stored
what your family can and will eat, thought through simple family recipes and
have the ingredients on hand. Rotation of old to new goes without saying.
Know about your ingredients: what they can do and how to use them.
- Baking Powder does not have a long shelf life and will let you down if
it’s
old or improperly stored, but some things cannot be made without it.
- Baking
soda has multiple uses; besides the original anti-acid and an ingredient
in toothpaste, adding some to the filling of pies will cut the need for sugar
as it cuts the acidity. It cannot, however, be substituted for Baking Powder.
- Vanilla will cut the need for sugar in recipes such as cornbread, in half.
Vinegar is a good cleaner as well as essential for pickling (see below).
Spices aren’t really optional if you hope to lessen the sense of deprivation,
and some, like cinnamon, have medicinal uses (it is an anti-fungal). Spice
merchants will tell you storage time is one year, but I have used older ones
to good effect. They don’t seem to go bad but flavor may fade.
- Besides
the many cooking uses of Kosher salt, it can be used to make normal saline
for[medicinal] irrigation (1/4 tsp to 8 oz water plus 1/4tsp baking soda).
.
- Sugar is
a molecule almost miraculous in its ability to produce many different things.
The same 2 Cups of sugar is a staple of fudge, the basis of fondant,
the icing on a cake, the basic ingredient of peanut brittle, mixed with alcohol
will preserve a fruitcake for over a year, keep fruit from oxidizing and
make fruit last for a long time in the form of jams and jellies. See the
book ‘On
Food and Cooking’, listed below, as a primer for knowing your ingredients
and what they can do.
Although we have long-term grain storage, I have a year’s worth of flour
stored in large, air-tight, screw top containers for convenience and because
one family member is on a low-fiber diet. I wrap each bag of flour separately
to segregate any infected with grocery store meal moths from rest (although
this has never actually happened), marked each one with the date bought, and
NEVER stored any other item (especially ones with a strong smell) in the containers,
as the entire batch will absorb the smell over time. We learned this by storing
soap with other items. FYI, the best plastic bags are the oxygen-impermeable
ones that cereal comes in. Although it’s hard to find ones big enough
for a 5 lb bag of flour, other items keep well in them if your budget doesn’t
extend to a machine for extended storage. Wash these, discard any that still
smell of fruit, etc., after a washing, and use the rest.
We have several 1940 era cookbooks, Mennonite/Amish cookbooks and a thin book
of ingredient substitutions as well as good, basic ones at least 30 years old.
They’re priceless for simplicity, economy and few ingredients. This will
mean going to the used bookstore or surfing Amazon. Avoid modern cookbooks
that assume access to lots of ingredients and avoid cookbooks from the 1800s
because they do not have standard measurements and assume things you might
not about how to assemble ingredients, cooking times, pans and temperatures.
We’ve stored sugar for years in airtight containers, buying it when
it is on sale. But don’t store white and brown sugar together, since
brown sugar tends to begin to smell as if it’s fermenting after a while
and will make the whole lot smell the same. Instead store molasses and make
brown
sugar
if you
need
it
by adding
about 1/8 C molasses per cup of white sugar. Molasses is useful in many other
ways, too, for syrups, for flavor and for pies. Sugar is also a preservative – fruitcakes
made and glazed properly will keep a very, very long time – I used to
make them for two years storage when the family was larger and keep them in
an old fridge in the cellar, tightly wrapped. That last cup of canned fruit,
mixed with an equal amount of sugar and simmered, will make a quick jelly.
Simple candy is easy to make and good therapy for bored and frightened kids.
Soured milk products are easy to make from starters and will last a very long
time if kept cool or made often – this is why they were originally invented.
The ‘good bugs’ keep ‘bad bugs’ at bay as long as conditions
are kept constant. A cup of buttermilk put into a quart of fresh milk will
thicken, in a day or so at room temperature, depending on how hot/cool the
ambient temp is. A new starter is made with the last of the old and put into
a jar newly sterilized with boiling water and then allowed to cool a bit so
as not to fry the starter. This is where you get buttermilk for pancakes and
myriad recipes from your old cookbooks that call for ‘sour milk’,
and the bonus is that all ‘sour milk’ recipes use baking soda.
Heating homemade ‘sour milk’ makes it ‘clabber’ like
starting the process of cheese making and it can be drained to make a simple
cheese very like ricotta. Yogurt is a bit trickier, requiring more careful
temperatures to make it thick like the commercial product, so I no longer make
it.
When everything has to be made from scratch, get used to less variety. You’ll
be baking bread for sandwiches, for example. To conserve fuel, plan your baking
with the items that need the hottest temperatures to be cooked first, and multitask,
i.e., start the yeast dough that needs to rise before beginning quick
breads. Cook in the cool of the day in summer; use the stove to augment heat
in the
winter. Consider dual bread recipes, i.e., those usually sweeter sandwich bread
doughs that can be made into sweet rolls, sticky buns, coffee cakes, etc.,
to get two birds with one culinary stone.
With no refrigeration and no preservatives, your baking should be used up before
the next batch. The leftovers are never wasted: crumbs from the end of bread
become the topping for a casserole, (grate the bread like a lemon on your hand
grater) or can be used to thicken a dish, made into croutons or added to stewed
tomatoes.
Some items last well in air-tight containers: biscotti and springerle for example,
or bagels, and can be made less often. The same dough will make French bread
or bagels; the difference in texture and shelf life is in the boiling bagels
get before baking. Careful rotation of your recipes will help keep the sense
of deep deprivation at bay.
Let’s say, that in your store you have Crisco, flour, sugar, baking power,
baking soda, salt, cinnamon, yeast, and powdered milk, potato flakes and eggs.
Beginning with those things that use the simplest ingredients here are some
suggested products: from flour, salt, yeast, water and a small amount of sugar,
you make French style bread to bake for bread and rolls. Add a boiling to formed ‘donut’ shapes
and you have bagels. Same dough: roll out flat, top with whatever you have
to make pizza or focaccia – these can be baked on a covered grill, by
the way. Keep them small and bake on the highest rack, remembering that these
types of breads don’t have to be round. Don’t forget doughboys,
fried in oil, for quick energy if you have hungry people working the land or
keeping the perimeter of your homestead safe, especially in cold weather.
Flour, yeast and water in a different ratio gives you soft pretzels. The addition
of potato flakes, milk and an adjustment of proportions gives you English Muffins.
Adding more sugar and milk gives a silkier, sweeter dough for sandwiches, coffeecakes,
etc., as previously mentioned.
. So far we’ve used no shortening, except perhaps to grease the pans
or fry bread we needed in a hurry. So, now, with Crisco, flour and salt you
make
piecrust, which can also be dusted with sugar and cinnamon and baked or rolled
up, slashed and baked to make a delicious, primitive cookie. Add milk and you
have biscuits or dumplings. Add sugar, eggs and cinnamon, and you have the
basics for quick breads, muffins, donuts and simple (one egg) cakes, plus non-fruit
fillings for pies. (Lancaster Crumb, Chess). Add potato flakes (or leftover,
sieved potato) and you have English Muffins and can also make light, sweet
breads. Some of these doughs will keep in a cool place for a few days. Check
out ‘refrigerator dough’ in your old cookbooks. Since boiling and
baking are major cooking techniques, be prepared for several ways to do these.
I have an old tin oven that belonged to my grandmother. It
looks like a big black box with a thermometer in the front, (similar to those
round ones people have on their wood stoves), and some grates inside. Special
small pans were made to go in it. The box sits over the burner on a stove and
creates an environment one can bake in. Very handy if your gas stove has an
electric glow-plug and you don’t have electricity, or you have only the
cook top on your wood stove.
English muffins are made on a grill, like the one used for pancakes, or in
a large fry pan. I’ve done this when it was too hot to bake. A big, cast-iron
pot with a grate in the bottom and a small pan that fits inside will also serve
as a makeshift oven. We college kids made Bisquick coffee cake in small quantities
using the old style popcorn popper, with the ‘popper’ as the ‘oven’,
a piece of wadded up tin foil to keep a small pan off the bottom and a careful
eye through the glass lid as it baked. (This was a fire hazard, but it shows
what can be done in a pinch.) If you have to resort to this, you will have
to bake in small quantities or the item won’t be done in the center before
it starts to burn.
If you want to boil food at various heat levels on a wood or coal heating stove,
you’ll need a set of graduated trivets to move the pot closer or farther
from the heat source. Just before Y2K I suggested this in a ‘back to
basics’ magazine and created a run on trivets. Now, I see that a couple
of the main suppliers stock them in more than one height.
People have lived through disasters before, have eaten tough meat, have gotten
along without eggs or milk. Your 1940s-era cookbook will have wartime recipes
for these circumstances, and your substitutions pamphlet will tell you how
much water or applesauce to substitute for an egg if you don’t have one
and what recipes will take this and which ones won’t.
Old time recipes make food go a long way, deliciously. Example, you have a
chicken that you’ve decided to sacrifice for a dinner for 6, or some
tinny chicken in cans you bought during a stock up phase. Impossible? Try croquettes.
Simmer the old girl slowly until somewhat tender about two hours. Use the broth
for soup. Pull off the meat and grind, chop or otherwise process until very
fine, the texture of tuna. Add fresh breadcrumbs (your bread, grated on an
old-fashioned flat grater, the kind used for cheese) in a ratio of 1 to 2 of
meat (you can go up to almost 1 to 1) and chopped, cooked leftover or canned
vegetables, hold all together with your basic white sauce, season carefully.
Form into balls or patties; fry. Make enough extra white sauce for a ‘gravy’ to
go over (don’t forget that broth can substitute for milk). Rolling the
balls in egg and more crumbs is nice if you have them. It’s incredible
how far that bird will go, and it tastes good because the old chicken makes
up in flavor for what she lacks in tenderness.
Venison cookery is an art I don’t pretend to, but we make a simple tasty
stew here by browning the meat in oil, deglazing with wine or broth, then covering
the pot tightly and cooking at the lowest possible setting until tender. (Think
trivet here.) Since most lids don’t fit tightly, I use a folded strip
of aluminum foil around the edge of the pan, then press the lid down tight.
I find this an essential cooking technique for tough meats. Add veggies later.
Don’t forget you have the ingredients for pickling, if fresh things become
available, and it only takes minutes to get a batch going. Green Beans, for
example, in a solution of vinegar and sugar, will last six months in a cool
place. (The ‘Three Bean’ salad. It can be made from just green
beans, green and wax, or add cans of drained shell beans and a small amount
of onion.)
Not only are such recipes big time-savers when you have to cook everything
from scratch; they are a quick way to preserve items if you have storage of
40 degrees. On our little homestead, pickling cucumbers, beans and fish have
become valuable additions to canning and freezing because they are quick to
prepare at a time when we have a glut of the food, but then keep until the
following summer if not eaten, first.
I will include here the recipe for pickling fresh fish, because
we could not find one and developed it here with the help of some elderly Swedish
ladies
in our church. We used herring until our state's Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) said you couldn’t
take them, now we use small bluefish. The result is like Vita herring you get
in
a jar.
The main problem with the Swedish recipe was that it called for salted fish,
and we had fresh. We had to find a way to safely salt our fish and did it by
borrowing from the techniques for making corned beef.
Read the whole recipe before starting. Obtain 14 –15 fish 8” to
12” long. Clean fish very well, fillet and scale them. Bones don’t
need to be removed from the fillets. Salt them liberally with Kosher salt in
a large glass container, alternating fillets and salt. Let stand overnight,
weighed down with a plate. Liquid will form. Mix: 1 gallon water, 2 Cups Sugar,
1 Tablespoon baking soda. Pour this mixture over the fish and weight down again.
Let stand 7 days at 38 degrees. Turn the fillets every day or so. Some salt
will just lie on the bottom, this is okay. Remove fillets, rinse. Fish will
now be translucent on the edges like gummy candy and skin easily, and the side
bones should come off with the skin. Skin fillets and cut into pieces on the
slant. Mix: 1-/1/2 Cups White Vinegar, 1 Cup Water, 1-1/2 Cups thinly sliced
Onion, 1 Cup Sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. You will also need: 7 whole
allspice,
6 bay leaves [remove after cooking], 8 peppercorns, and 1-/1/2 teaspoons mustard
seed. Place herring and spices divided between large jars and pour the solution
over
them.
Place
one clove at the top of each jar (this makes a big difference in the final
flavor, adding sweetness.) Make sure no fish or onions are above the liquid
level – I use cut up plain (clear) plastic lids for this and weigh them
down. Let stand at 38 degrees for at least two weeks. Fish will become softer
and more flavorful with time. After 6 months, fish will become soggy, so use
it up. Don’t use any plastic container for brining or storage you don’t
want ruined, and do not use metal lids unless you put plastic over to protect
the lids from the brine or they will rust.
My favorite picks for cookbooks:
- Mennonite Country-style Recipes and Kitchen
Secrets by Esther H. Shank, Herald Press.
- Substituting Ingredients by Epstein/Klein,
Globe Pequot Press, Old Saybrook, CT.
- The Victory Binding of the American
Woman’s
Cookbook, Culinary Arts Institute by Consolidated Book Publishers, Chicago,
1942 ed. with Wartime chapters.
- Amish Cooking, Deluxe Edition, Herald Press,
Scottsdale, PA.
- On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee, Collier Books, MacMillan
Pub. Co. (useful for understanding ingredients and cooking
methods.)
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Two Letters Re: Dealing with Uninvited Guests
Dear Mr. Rawles
I would like to add one last letter in response to “Uninvited Guests” and
to let your readers know that the only effective means to control head lice
is by “mechanical” removal. We were unfortunate to live, for a
time, in an area of the country where head lice had become resistant to the
OTC treatments.
This is because most people did not realize that in addition to the application
of something such as Rid, one must also clean one’s
living quarters, as well as systematically go through the lice sufferer’s
hair—strand, by strand, by strand…. Now this may seem very laborious,
but it is amazing how easy this becomes if you do this once a day for at least
a week along with the essential oil treatment that I have listed below. It
took my daughter having lice twice, and the school where my children attended
to tell me that they had, during certain times of the year a 45% infection
rate! Through several conversations with the local health department, and doctors,
the conclusion was reached that the lice had become resistant to the OTC preparations,
which are also not good for anyone—this stuff is poisonous!
Once I came up with my own treatment, my daughter never had lice again, and
thankfully
we moved back to Texas away from the lice infested area that we had lived in.
Here is the treatment that I recommend, and have given to several people I
know. For the most part, the supplies are readily available and plentiful—for
now and everything is non-toxic!
Supplies
-One very fined tooted comb—a metal one with a handle (like a rat-tailed
comb) if you can find it-plastic will not hold up as well
-One regular comb(don’t use this one for lice removal)
-A set of metal hair clips (about 4 or 5)—like the ones hair dressers
use to separate hair when they are cutting it
-Plastic wrap or a hair cap
-a coffee can with a lid-- with olive oil in it—so when you find a bug
or a nit, you can place it in the can to smother it
-a pair of pointed hair trimming scissors
-a pair of pointed tweezers to pick up individual hair strands
-a bright light to shine on your work
-a couple of bath towels
-Essential Oil Mixture- 1 oz of olive oil, 5 drops of tea tree oil, 5 drops
rosemary oil, 3 drops oregano oil
-Plain Olive Oil
When I was going through my daughter’s hair, I would have her sit on
the floor with her head resting on a pillow covered in plastic on the coffee
table. That was she was comfortable, and could read a book, or watch a video—we
are not connected to trash TV). I would sit on the couch with her body between
my legs
Step One: Infuse the hair with the Essential oil mixture, making sure to coat
the scalp, and all the hair strands. Place the plastic cap on the coated hair
and leave on the hair for 30 minutes. This has a two-fold purpose-the body-heat
helps the oil to soak into the strands of hair for ease of running the very
fined toothed comb through the hair, and the heat also helps to kill the bugs.
Step Two: Part hair down the middle and clip each side with the hair clips
Step Three: Beginning with one side of the head, separate and comb out a very
small section of hair from the clip (it is better to go through fewer strands
of hair at a time), and run the fined-toothed comb through each strand of hair
Step Four: As you inspect each strand of hair, look for nits at the base of
the hair near the scalp. Lice lay their eggs at the base of each hair strand—it
is important to get all of these since these are the viable ones and missing
one may start the lice-cycle all over again—any nit higher up is more
than liking not a viable one, but these should be removed as well.
Step Five-If you find a nit on a hair strand single it out with the tweezers
and cut it as close to the scalp with the scissors. Same for a bug( adult lice)
No you will not make your child bald—even if the infestation is severe!
Lice attach their nits with a glue that makes it almost impossible to remove
without losing the nit in the environment—it is best to clip the hair
strand with the nit attached and place it in the olive oil in the coffee can.
Step Six- After each small section of hair has been inspected, use another
clip to twist the hair and separate the now “clean” hair from the
rest of the hair that needs to be inspected. Depending on the amount of hair—my
daughter has very thick hair—you might need to use several hair clips
Step Seven-after finishing with the first half of the scalp, repeat steps four
through six on the other half of the head
When I got the hang of it, I could go through one half of my daughter’s
head in 20 minutes
Step Eight-when the process is complete wash hair a couple times to wash out
the essential oils. Then massage a few drops of plain olive oil into the hair
and comb from the scalp to the tips (Remember—don’t
use the nit picking comb—you do not want to accidentally re-infest) If
the child’s
hair is long enough braid very tightly! The one thing that I was told that
lice do not like oily hair, or hair that is tightly bound—they cannot
attach themselves as readily!
Step Nine-clean and vacuum your house. Any stuffed animals placed an airtight
plastic bag. Any nits that hatch have to have a human host soon, or they will
die. Keep non-washable items in a plastic bag for about three weeks. Wash bedding
daily, and if possible, hang out on the clothes line in the sun to drive.
Repeat this process daily for one week, and then do a preventative once a week.
It is better to catch an early infestation, than to have to deal with a full
out battle! The olive oil also makes hair very shiny!
Although lice infestation may seem like a curse, my daughter and I certainly
made the best of it, and enjoyed our “nit picking” time together!
Best Regards, - Susan M.
Dear Mr. Rawles,
As a Registered Nurse, during my tenure at a local hospital, a nurse practitioner
showed me a simple test to determine if scabies were present in a patient
showing
possible symptoms of an infestation.
Use a Sharpie marker to draw lines between a person's fingers. Allow this to
dry. Take an alcohol wipe and wipe off the dried ink. If dark, narrow lines
are left after the surface ink has been wiped away, it likely indicates the
presence of scabies. The reason is that the critters tunnel under the skin,
leaving a narrow track for the ink to penetrate.
All the best to you and yours, - Publius
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The Pressure Cooker: An Overlooked Preparedness Tool, by N.J.
[Introductory note from JWR: I have made some changes to the following text, regarding safety issues. ]
Storing food is an important
part of preparing for disasters, natural or man-made. Much has been written
about survival foodstuffs: what to store, how long it can be stored, and what
foods are needed to form a balanced diet to aid in living through a TEOTWAWKI scenario.
How to prepare food is almost as important as what sorts of food to
store. In a disaster scenario, circumstances will change radically from the
every
day life of today, and food preparation and consumption will also change.
One common characteristic of many crisis scenarios is this: fuel shortages.
In any significant societal collapse, economic breakdown, or military conflict,
re-supply of fuels will be difficult or even impossible. Grid power and piped-in
gas might be intermittent or unavailable. All cooking will be done using wood
fires, wood stoves, camp stoves, solar ovens, and other “non traditional” (for
21st century first world individuals) methods. Unfortunately, the staple foods
of survivalists, which are beans and rice to that make a complete protein source,
usually require long cooking times. These long cooking times mean that large
quantities of scarce fuels would be needed to prepare them.
This is where a handy and mostly unconsidered item is most useful: a pressure
cooker.
Water boils at 212 degrees F (100∞ degrees C) at sea level. When the air pressure
is higher than it is at sea level, water boils at a higher temperature. The pressure lowers the boiling point, but enables higher temperatures. (Liquids won't generally go above their boiling
point because they turn to vapor.) This creates superheated
steam that forces heat through the food to be cooked. A pressure cooker at
usually has fifteen pounds of pressure inside it when in use; at these pressures,
water boils at 257 degrees F at sea level. This super heated, steam filled,
environment inside the pressure cooker quickly cooks the food.
Pressure cookers have the following characteristics: A four-, six-, eight-quart,
or larger saucepan has a clamp down lid; it may, or may not, have a rubber
gasket used to generate a seal between the lid and the saucepan body; a ‘vent
pipe,’ a small weight known as a pressure regulator [or "bobbler'];
and a special plug that serves as an over-pressure valve.
A small amount of water is placed in the cooker, along with the food to be
cooked. For foods that can ‘foam,’ such as rice and beans, they
may be placed in a small bowl inside the cooker. Food and liquid will be placed
in the bowl, and additional water placed outside the bowl, to a depth of at
least half the height of the bowl. Be sure to use a metal bowl, or a glass
bowl that can easily handle the thermal shock of cooking, such as Pyrex or
pre-1999 Corningware dish. Before sealing the lid on the cooker, look
through the vent pipe and be sure it is clear. This step is extremely
important;
if the vent pipe is not clear, pressure can build up dangerously. This will
cause the overpressure valve to release, spewing the hot contents of the pressure
cooker over the walls, ceiling, people, stove, and anything else in its range.
The lid should be sealed on the cooker, the pressure regulator placed on the
vent pipe, and the cooker set on a heat source. The heat source may be a stove,
a camp-stove, a barbeque grill, or a wood fire.
As the liquid heats, it boils and then makes steam. The steam fills the cooker,
and pressure builds in the pot. When it reaches a level where it is equal to
the force needed to ‘rock’ the pressure regulator, it will start
to do so. A steady (but not fast) rocking of the pressure regulator indicates
that the cooker is up to temperature, and so timing of the recipe may begin.
The pressure regulator should have a steady rocking motion. If the regulator
stops rocking, and the heat under the pressure cooker is constant, immediately turn off the heat and leave it alone until it cools. The vent pipe
may be clogged. Once the cooker cools, it should be opened and checked. If
the vent pipe is clogged, clean it with a threaded sewing needle; pass the
needle through the vent pipe and remove the clog.
After the cooking time is finished, the pressure cooker must be removed from
the heat and cooled so that it may be opened. The only safe way to cool the cooker is to set it
aside, where it will cool slowly. [DO NOT it in cold water or under a running cold water faucet, which could cause a dangerous rupture.] Typically, items such as green vegetables,
which need only to cook for 1-2 minutes, should be cooled quickly. Root vegetables,
such as beets, may cool slowly. If you are using a pressure canner, it should
be cooled slowly. If it is cooled quickly, the contents of the jars in the
canner might be drawn -out by the rapid change in pressure inside the canner.
The cooker is cool when the pressure gauge bottoms or when no pressure is indicated by the bobbler.
This article is not an article about canning and much more information is needed
before you can pressure can safely. Please consult other reference material
that will explain the process for pressure canning in detail, including the
precautions needed to do it safely.
A pressure cooker is useful in a survival situation because it saves a huge
amount of fuel and may be used with ‘canned heat’ sources that
were mentioned previously. If you are trying to maintain a low profile, you
want to avoid much smoke from a cooking fire, the odor of cooking food, and
cooking fumes, and other byproducts of every day life.
Rice and beans are considered a staple food for survival situations, as together
they supply a complete protein. To cook rice and beans in a pressure cooker
is straightforward:
Take a small bowl of the type described above, and place 1 cup of white rice
and 1 1/2 cups of water in it. Add salt as desired. Place the bowl in the pressure
cooker, add water around the bowl, seal, and place on the heat. When the pressure
regulator begins rocking, start to time for four minutes. At the end of this
time, remove the cooker from the heat, and place to one side, allowing the
pressure to drop naturally. To cook beans such as navy beans or cranberry beans,
soak one cup of beans in 4 cups of water overnight. Place in the same metal
bowl, cover with 1-1/2 inches of water, place in the pressure cooker, seal,
and heat. When the pressure regulator starts rocking, cook for ten minutes.
Let the pressure release slowly. It is possible to cook beans without pre-soaking
them, but presoaking them yields much better results. If you do not pre-soak
the beans, they may not soften properly no matter how long you cook them. An
additional tip: do not salt the beans and rice until after they are cooked.
Adding salt to cooking beans makes the skins tough.
If not using a bowl to contain the beans, do not fill the pressure cooker more
than half full, and add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil per cup of beans to prevent
frothing and subsequent clogging of the vent pipe.
It is possible to use bowls that will nest, to cook the beans and rice at the
same time. Experiment with this, to discover what tastes best to you, as it
is easy to end up overcooked rice or undercooked beans.
Total time required for cooking when cooking rice and beans separately: 14
minutes, with time required to allow the cooker to cool.
Brown rice and navy beans both take ten minutes to cook – but as brown
rice gas a shorter shelf life than white rice, many people concentrate on white
rice in their long-term food storage setup.
The fuel savings in using a pressure cooker is huge: It takes 20 minutes to
cook rice, and several hours to cook beans with a ‘conventional’ stove
and pot. But by using a pressure cooker, you can both the beans and the rice
in less time, using less fuel, than conventional cooking of the rice alone.
Additional Resources:
Cookbooks:
Numerous pressure cooker cookbooks may be found in your local library, or at
an online bookseller such as Amazon.com. Popular cookbooks such as Joy
of Cooking
(Rombauer, Becker, and Becker)
often have sections on pressure-cooking.
Note: Most pressure cookers come with recipe leaflets when
you buy them. If you find a pressure cooker second hand, such as at a Goodwill
store, then contact the
manufacturer and they will more than likely send you all instructional material
free of
charge.[JWR Adds: Many of these manuals are now also available
in PDF, and can be found with web searches.]
Food Preservation:
Greene, Janet, Hertzberg, Ruth, and Vaughan, Beatrice. 1992 (Fourth Revised
Edition).Putting
Food By. Plume Books: This is the best reference that this author
has seen on the topic of food preservation. It covers many types of food preservation,
including boiling water bath canning; pressure canning of meats, vegetables,
and seafood; freezing; curing with salt and smoke; drying; root-cellaring.
.
Hupping, Carol. 1990 (Revised Updated Edition). Stocking
Up: The Third Edition of America's Classic Preserving Guide
Fireside
Books: Another invaluable reference to home preserving of foods. More recipes
that use honey,
rather than white sugar to sweeten canned items. Not my favorite flavor, but
others may like it. Very complete work, covering canning, freezing, juicing,
drying, root cellaring, and preserving dairy products.
The Ball
Blue Book of Preserving
may
be found where canning jars are sold. This book is another ‘bible’ of
home preservation.
Internet Resources:
MissVickie.com: This
web site has many pressure cooker recipes, and ‘Beginner
Basics.’ It is an excellent resource.
There are many other useful canning and cooking web sites, too numerous to
list! Use your favorite search engine to seek them out.
Available Brands of Pressure Cookers:
Two classic US companies, Presto and Mirror, have made Pressure Cookers for
many years. In researching this article, I discovered that both companies have
moved their manufacturing to Asia.
The All American company makes a pressure canner that may also be used
as a pressure cooker, in sizes from 10 to 41 quarts. Their
web site indicates
that they are still made in the USA., and "[u]nlike other cooker/canners,
these do
not have rubber gaskets that will eventually
wear out, but instead are machined to have a metal-to-metal seal and a positive
action clamp to lock the cover to the base."
Disclaimer: I have no commercial interest in any of these
companies or suppliers.
JWR Adds: Used pressure cookers and pressure canners are
often available quite inexpensively, or even free, through Craigslist and Freecycle.
One important proviso: Make sure that your pressure cooker's "bobbler" (weighted
pressure release valve) is working properly. Without it, you essentially have
a
bomb on
your stove. If your cooker has a pressure gauge, make
sure that os functional.
It also bears mentioning that a pressure cooker is particularly useful in
extending the life of stored dried beans. Once beans have been stored in excess
of six years, they become so hard that even days of soaking beans
will not soften them. But two viable solutions to this problem are grinding them,
or cooking them in a pressure cooker.
« Economics and Investing: |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Four Letters Re: Dealing with Uninvited Guests
Mr. Rawles,
I have read and enjoyed your blog for some time now and thank you
for it daily.
Regarding the recent post on control of head lice, I have found simple light
cooking oil to be startlingly effective. Massaged through the afflicted's
hair and scalp and left for a few hours the oil is meant to suffocate the lice and eggs.
I have used this several times, once I needed to repeat the processes to be
effective,
but in most previous infestations, once was enough.
This treatment can be made apparently more effective by including some Tea
Tree oil in the mix. Hope this helps, - Regards, JeMe.
Jim:
I keep getting such great info that I would not usually think of. Thank God
that your readers are thinkers as well. Regarding, the letter dealing with
uninvited guests I saw in my local Florida newspaper about using Listerine
for lice.
It reportedly
works the first time. SurvivalBlog readers should do Internet searches on
herbal or all natural
cures
for
dealing with these uninvited guests, for the pets as well. Thank you for
the web site. - Dawn
James,
With reference to "Dealing with Uninvited Guests", there is
an easy way to get rid of head lice. Using copious amounts of cheap hair conditioner
on hair, then leaving it in, stops the nits from being able to cling on to
the hair shaft. You must comb it through well to ensure every hair is coated.
Once they drop off they don't survive long without a host (a matter of hours).
You need to treat the whole family otherwise it just passes on the problem.
When my daughter was young, we spent a small fortune on head lice products
and nit combs, until my local hairdresser told me about the conditioner trick.
To help prevent infestations, add a couple of drops of tea tree oil to a final
hair rinse.
Blessings and prayers for your Memsahib, - Luddite Jean
JWR:
I have "been there, done that" with head lice and my daughter. Toxic concoctions
like “Rid,” “Kwell,” etc
are costly and worthless. When my daughter was 8 years old she would come home
from school scratching her head. We finally figured out it was head lice. I
went on internet and read up and decided that getting “Rid” or
some Permethrin based solution would be best so we tried it. The lice would
just swim around in the “killer” liquid on my daughter's scalp.
We tried another brand with Lindane and the same result. Be aware that many
of the “Lice Information” web sites are fronts for a particular
(useless) product. I went back to the internet where there were many “kook” solutions
like suffocating the lice in olive oil – what a waste of olive oil. There
were other “green” concoctions which were designed to suffocate
or poison (naturally) the head lice. I concluded that all the kook remedies
were worthless and were debunked on most of the mainstream web sites as worthless – good
luck trying to suffocate the nits and adult lice. It really drove me mad to
think of my beautiful daughter with her beautiful long hair having “bugs” crawling
around on her head. I wanted them dead and I wanted them dead now. I was desperate.
Then I read some where about merely using plain old hair conditioner – i.e.
putting it on after a shower in copious amounts and leaving it in – and
mechanically removing the noxious lice with a metal nit comb. I was tired of
poisoning my daughter (read the labels – it is poison) and from what
I read the prescription medication was way more toxic. So we tried it - we
bought two quality metal nit combs and slathered on the hair conditioner and
carefully followed the instructions that came with the nit combs. We mechanically
removed the nits and the live adult head lice. You get a cup of hot water and
dunk the nit comb and watch the “body count” of the adult lice
add up. It is satisfying to physically remove them one by one. After two days
there were no more adult lice to be found. The nits were another matter and
for the next couple days we went through my daughter’s hair strand by
strand and pulled out each nit with our finger nails as the nit combs were
ineffective in removing all the nits. It took a total of three to four hours
over the course of three or four days to remove the adult lice and all the
nits. Victory – free at last. A few months later when we found the early
stages of a new infestation we knocked it down quickly in just two days.
Another
aspect of this is the extensive instructions on the web sites and written instructions
about how to treat bedding etc. If you followed all the recommendations you
would spend hours on decontamination and spray toxic poisons around the bed
and house. Thankfully. head lice can only live in hair/scalp otherwise they
die fairly quickly. We found that merely washing the pillow case and sheets
was sufficient without spraying poison in the carpet and all over the place
another bad toxic idea. I shudder when I remember one of the coaches of my
daughter’s baseball team spraying lice “killer” in the batting
helmets and when I asked it was because of widespread lice in the local school.
Nice. My daughter had her own helmet and we told all the other kids it was
only for my daughter to use. Notes: Where we went wrong – we took our
daughter to her pediatrician early on to have her head checked out and we told
that the nits were old and there was no current problem. Wrongo bongo. The
full blown outbreak occurred days later. We called back to request the heavy
duty prescription medication and were told to try the over the counter stuff
as the prescription medication was really toxic and they only prescribe it
when absolutely necessary. Lice have adapted and have developed immunity
to the over the counter medication so aside from it being toxic it is worthless
and expensive – I saw this with my own eyes. I tried it over and over
- to the limits on the warning instructions. Also, when you go on the Internet
you read a bunch of politically correct nonsense about how kids who spread
head lice are not “dirty and unkempt” but some parent(s) at my
daughter’s school were sending a kid(s) to school with head lice – It’s
not the kid’s fault but I disagree, the parents were dirty,
inconsiderate slobs in my opinion.
So, bottom line – get two or more quality
nit combs, slather on the (non-toxic) hair conditioner, follow the combing
instructions
and remove the adult lice and as many nits as possible and then physically
remove all the remaining nits one by one with your finger nails as those nits
really glue themselves to the hair. Carefully dispose of the adult nits you
remove – I treat them as if they were black plague contagions – and
wash the bedding every day until you don’t find any more adult lice and
have removed all the nits. Mechanical removal has several advantages – it
is non-toxic, it uses common hair conditioner (easily stored), it is inexpensive,
and most importantly it works. It may be the only method that actually works.
In a true survival situation you could substitute olive oil or some other similar
substance in place of the hair conditioner. Hopefully we will never have to
deal with the problem again but all the dread is gone and we are equipped,
once and for all to deal with this problem because we have lots of hair conditioner
and three quality nit combs. Simple solution – the best solution - Keep
is simple.
On another note, I just finished reading "Patriots"
.
It was a great
read, and I could not put it down. Thank you - John M.in California
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Three Letters Re: Deer Ticks - The Threat Within Your Perimeter
Jim,
Good post about Lyme Disease today. I live in Connecticut and caught Lyme in
1995. Took me years of antibiotics to get it into remission. Also, please
note that on 50% of people get the classic "bulls eye" rash. I
didn't, and as a result I was misdiagnosed for five months while it established
itself
in my neurological system.
I recently purchased some special undergarments from Rynoskin which
the ticks and other bugs can't get though. Maybe some of your readers would
be interested. Cabela's sells their own version, called Bugskins but I'm not as familiar with it.
Keep up the great work. I enjoy the blog out here in Blue country!
All the best, - Joe from Connecticut
James:
I found your post on deer ticks and Lyme Disease of much benefit. I would
like to share with you a brief account of a man I knew who contracted
a
very peculiar illness. He suffered from severe malaise (general
weakness) which was misdiagnosed by the local doctors a number of times.He
was diagnosed with anything ranging from influenza to Rocky Mountain Spotted
Fever and even cancer. As it turned out, he had Lyme disease contracted via
a deer tick
His symptoms were not much different from what Bill S. described in his letter
but apparently at the time, it was not recognized for what it was. there was
as
much early
suspicion of Lyme disease as there is now.
My point is that we cannot be too cautious when it comes to our health. even
with competent doctors, things can get missed.
This gentlemen endured quite a long recovery, partly due to lack of early
recognition and partly because Lyme disease is a nasty one. It was years before
he was "right" again. - M.D.T.
Hello Mr. Rawles,
The definitive studies on ticks were concluded in Oklahoma some 30 years ago,
in detailed deer habitat/population studies. (See the reference below.) The
results of the studies indicated that 90% of the ticks occur only in a small
portion of the outdoor habitat. Perhaps as little as 5% of the habitat.
That particular habitat is the area where deer bed down regularly.
I live on five acres and in contact with the vegetation outside daily, in waist
high shrubs, knee high grass and under some heavy growth of trees. Rarely do
I find a tick on me, here in western Oklahoma.
Generally the potential occurrence for ticks on humans is overstated. Because
people simply do not regularly pass through, work in or visit the bedding areas
of deer.
This does not however belittle the fact that just one tick can pass to a human
a disease condition that can impact health negatively. Fear of ticks from outside
activities is generated when warnings are described to the public. If you stay
away from deer bedding areas your chances of having a tick transfer to you
are very low.
The other environmental condition for ticks to gravitate to is a yard with
outside penned dogs. Watering tanks serviced by windmills or solar pumps for
livestock will also be used by deer, bobcats, coyotes and many small mammals.
Watering places frequently will have over runs of water leaving behind pools
of water
on the ground.
These areas may have higher concentrations of ticks.
Beat the odds:
- Always inspect yourself for ticks after being outside.
- If you have an outside
dog in a fenced yard treat the dog's sleeping area with insecticides.
- Stay
out of deer bedding habitat.
But for the first time in more than a year yesterday I picked a crawling
tick off of my neck heading for the hairline.
If in a bugout situation stay away from deer bedding areas for sleeping or
rest stops. You can spot these areas. The deer will leave behind a mashed
down area of vegetation [usually] in brush and/or under low trees. You can
also see the imprint of where deer rest and sleep under trees where there is
less
vegetation.
Distinctive well-used trails will lead to these areas.
Type of habitat that is based on ecological descriptions of a community of
plants have a significant effect on the ability of ticks to maintain a population
of individuals.
Reference: White-Tailed Deer
Utilization of Three Different Habitats and Its Influence on Lone Star Tick
Populations, by Carl D. Patrick and Jakie A. Hair, The
Journal of Parasitology, Vol. 64, No. 6 (Dec., 1978), pp. 1100-1106. Published
by: The American Society of Parasitologists
Understanding ticks is more complex than just understanding the potential
for disease transmission. Cordially,-
JWC in Oklahoma
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Maximizing Use of a Backyard Greenhouse, by Kathy Harrison
Here in Western Massachusetts, with its short, cool growing season, a backyard
greenhouse is a real boon for those of us concerned with providing our families
excellent food, even when supply chains are shut down during a time of crisis.
We have spent three years figuring how to maximize the relatively small interior
space of our rectangular, rigid-walled greenhouse in an efficient manner.
Early on, we realized there were steps we could take to increase the interior
temperature during our cold, windy winters. My husband rescued an old thermal
pool cover that was headed for the landfill and cut out sections to fit against
both the north and west sides. By doubling this cover, we now had both a wind
break and heat sink that held sun-generated warmth. He also made a double 6
ply plastic cover that is raised during sunny days but can be lowered to about
a foot above the ground at night. This essentially makes an interior cold frame
that protects crops from frigid night air. We added a stone walkway down the
middle of the greenhouse that captures heat as well as keeps the area cleaner.
Our final step was to ring the exterior of the greenhouse with bales of hay,
stacked two deep. It is an easy matter to move the hay away from the door so
we can enter as long as we keep the area free of snow. On the coldest nights,
we bring out the day’s ashes from a wood stove, captured in a metal bucket.
With these measures in place, we have never had the ground freeze on the interior,
in spite of nights that dip to -20 degrees.
The next step is to ensure that the soil inside is as healthy as possible.
This means liberal applications of compost and bi-weekly applications of a
weak fish emulsion fertilizer.
Finally, we developed a plan of crops and crop rotation that makes the best
use of our available space. We were looking for crops that provided maximum
nutrition and dietary bulk. We were surprised by some of the things that did
quite well.
In mid February, we plant several varieties of lettuce seeds. They start slowly
but by mid-March, we harvest a salad a day. This was an early spring
for us and I can’t guarantee such good results every year. We started
our seedlings inside in early March. My early April, we were able to harden
them off in the greenhouse. We have never had such healthy and vigorous starts.
As the lettuce starts to bolt in the heat, we will be removing those plants
and replacing them with some miniature melons, something we could never grow
in our climate, as well as root crops such as carrots, turnips and beets. We
ate turnip and beet greens late into January and we were pulling the roots
throughout the winter as the ground never froze. We planted hardy greens such
as bok choi, tat soi, chard and spinach in August. By October, we were eating
the first of those greens and they continued to produce well into winter.
As the root crops develop below ground, a shelf above hold individual pots
of salad greens and cherry tomatoes grow in suspended planters. We started
these later than our garden tomatoes and we were enjoying fresh salad tomatoes
weeks after frost had done away with the main crop. We did not have luck growing
bush tomatoes in the soil. We got all vine and no fruit.
Other important considerations are water, pests and heat control. Greenhouse
plants need a lot of water. In early spring, I water seedlings every day. As
it gets warmer, it is not unusual to water twice a day so having a source of
water nearby is terrific. A rain gutter that drains into a bucket would be
helpful. Our greenhouse has two roof vents that have to be opened early in
the day, before the sun gets too high. Unopened, the temperature can reach
110 degrees by 10:30 in the morning, a temperature that will fry any tender
plant. Even in mid-winter, the greenhouse is so warm we are able to eat lunch
out there. Some greenhouses have solar operated vents that open and close as
the temperature fluctuates. It is an upgrade we wish we had invested in. We
do have a black shade cloth to keep the interior cooler in extremely hot weather.
This is seldom necessary in our climate but a more southern location would
find that useful.
Pest control is vital as aphids can be a real problem. We find that a squirt
of soapy water followed by a clear rinse does a good job of keeping them
under control although at one point the infestation was severe and we had
to pull
out the Asian greens, which were the biggest problem. If you plan to bring
any plants from the greenhouse inside, check closely for these pests.
We have been so satisfied with the productivity of our greenhouse that we
are planning to invest in another one, further enhancing our ability to feed
ourselves
throughout and food, energy or weather crisis. - Kathy Harrison, author of Just
in Case
« Letter Re: Gun Show Report--A Window of Opportunity? |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
More About Depression Proof Jobs--Consider the Three Ks
In these perilous economic times, marked by increasingly frequent corporate
layoffs, I'm getting a correspondingly large number of question from blog readers
and
consulting clients
about "recession proof" jobs. I've already mentioned quite a few
possibilities, but there is one whole category that doesn't require much (if
any) special
training:
In
Japan, these are called the ""Three-K" jobs: kitsui ("hard")
, kitanai ("dirty")
and kiken ("dangerous"). If you are willing to take on any
of the Three K jobs, do cheerful and hard work, and have exemplary attendance,
then you will likely have a job that will carry you all the way through a deep
recession or even a depression. If times get truly Schumeresque and
you get laid
off,
then please
be
willing
to "think
outside the box", and consider taking a Three K job. Some of these are low
level
city and county payroll jobs. And by low level, I mean things like sanitation
worker,
animal
control
officer, sewer technician (BTW, when did that become "technical?),
solid waste transfer station worker, highway maintenance worker, and so forth.
Think about it: If you get laid off
and can't find work in
your chosen field after several months of searching, then you ought consider
taking a cut in pay, to take a far less
glamorous job. When corporate layoffs are happening recurrently, a
steady job beats
no job. Don't let your family starve, or end up homeless. There is
no shame in accepting good old-fashioned hard work. If you take a job that
brings
in only one half of your existing income, consider that you'll actually come
out ahead of any of your contemporaries that are laid off more than half of
each year. Further,
you will have uninterrupted
benefits,
such as health insurance, that they will also lack. A menial and low-paying
job is better than no job.
« Note from JWR: |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Letter Re Advice for College Students Living Abroad
Hi,
I'm a student from Singapore studying overseas in Australia and I'm also a
Christian. I have been following your blog for quite awhile, and there are
some things I would like to ask.
First, what advice can you give to students studying overseas? As a student,
I stay on my own in a rented place, and probably will have to move every six
months or so, so stockpiling food and goods are only feasible for about a month
or two worth of food, as I will have to shift everything I own on my own to
my new place whenever I move. That being said, I have roughly about a month's
supply of food stored up, but it is mostly in rice. If things go bad, I won't
be able to eat well, but will survive (I stocked up on some vitamins as well.
Not healthy I know, but better than nothing.). Additionally, what kind of food
should I buy and store? Currently, I am thinking about baking hardtack, as
they are easy to make and store well. I also have about 20 liters of water,
and am able to purify more than 100 liters of water using water purification
tablets and I also have a bottle of plain bleach.
As I am not in my home country, and if anything happens, I have no 'safe' place
to go. Other than going into the bush, which will not happen, as I have no
bush skills, the only choice I have is to hunker down and try, if possible,
to get a flight/ship back to Singapore. With such limited options, I am worried
about what to do WTSHTF,
which is ever more likely, given the current swine flu going around. While
I do know a family staying in a relatively rural area,
I do not know if I am able to get there as their acreage is quite a distance
away from my place and I have no transportation. Also, I am not sure if they
are prepared and stocked up for any crisis, so there is no guaranty that they
will be able to take me in. I would greatly appreciate some advice over this
issue, as it is the most important issue, and also advice on whatever you think
I am lacking in below.
Supplies: I have managed to gather some stuff over time, some medicine/first-aid(learned
some first-aid when younger, and still know the important stuff), lights (some
military stuff, since I have done my national service, a couple of wind up
torches as well for backup/indefinite use), fire starting equipment (lighters,
matches, fire starters, candles, no flint due to being unable to find someplace
that sells it), lightweight cooking equipment (billycan, metal bowls and tins,
utensils). Not much, but been trying to convince my parents to send over some
more supplies I have, which are mainly military stuff (nothing illegal, but
will raise some questions; excuse is they are for paintball, etc). Additionally,
for food I have about 10 kg of rice, plus enough canned food for a week (or
more, if I ration it), 6 liters of packet milk, about 20 packets soups, cooking
spices (very good for making whatever you have taste better), salt, etc. For
toiletries, I got plenty of toothpaste/toothbrushes, toilet rolls (about 2
months worth), soap/shampoo, etc.
Self defence: Nothing much, since there are strict airport rules, and can't
get a gun over here or in Singapore either. I keep a Swiss army knife on me
all the time, but that is mainly for use as a tool, as normally there won't
be any time to take it out. I learned tae kwon do when young (almost
got my black belt, but was unable due to circumstances), and am trying to learn
more
methods
and techniques of fighting. If it comes down to a fight, I am fairly confident
that I can hold my own against one or two people, but I have been trying to
improvise weapons that will allow me to escape. I have been trying to find
a place to learn Krav Maga, which is an Israeli martial art designed to teach
you to fight anywhere, any how, and
any time, against multiple opponents that may or may not be armed, with various
weapons. They focus on being ready to fight at all times using whatever it
takes to survive (aka all the dirty fighting techniques). I think that it is
a very useful martial art to learn, as it is the most realistic form of combat,
and teaches you how to improvise on the spot (They have two rules: 1. survive,
2. Try not to hurt your sparring partner.). In any case, I think the most important
thing to have is to be aware of your surroundings and people that are around
you. An armed man is hard to be beaten, unless taken by surprise, and an alert
man is hardly ever taken by surprise. As a side note, I recently bought a slingshot,
not that I expect it will be of any good for defence, but rather more for hunting
small animals if things really go south. Just need to get around to practicing
with
it.
Day to day carry: I carry with me a Swiss army knife, some medicine/first-aid,
water purification tablets (for 20 liters), a small LED light, a lighter and
some money in small notes in a small pouch close to me everywhere I go. Planning
to add on another pouch with more medical supplies, especially for this swine
flu outbreak. I also have a SOG multi-tool that I can add on, but chose not
to as people will really question what I am doing with 2 knives and all those
stuff. Also, wherever I go, I also bring along at least 1 liter of water, a
torch, a poncho, additional first-aid supplies, hand sanitizer, a bar of soap
and a couple of cereal bars. If I am on a long trip (more than a day or a few
hours by car), I would bring along additional stuff, like more fire starting
equipment, extra food, extra water, a spare torch, and a spare change.
Skills: I learned basic first aid when young, learned tae kwon do,
crude fire making (not too good), cooking, sewing (very basic, mainly for repairing/modifying
clothes) and cycling (although my area is very hilly, so I hardly cycle). I
am trying to learn more skills, like bushcraft, Krav Maga, hunting (doubt I
will be able to), and brush up on my fire starting skills, although in light
of the recent bushfires, it may be a bad idea. Also I am handy with simple
repairs (mainly a crude temporary fix), and like to innovate and make new stuff.
Swine Flu: I have been trying very hard to raise my stock of food and medicines
ever since I heard about the swine flu, but due to time (university) and financial
constraints, I can only stock up so much. I have been buying paracetamol tablets,
aspirin, face masks (box of 100, plus various other dust masks), anti-bacterial
hand gel, hydrogen peroxide, and am looking for surgical gloves, proper N95
equivalent face masks, Sambucol, more water purification tablets, antibiotics,
Betadine, bandages, etc.
Economic crisis: I have been looking around for a place to purchase silver
bullion with whatever spare cash I have, but have been unable to find a dealer.
I am hoping to get at least 150 ounces of silver in 1-ounce to 10-ounce bars
before the economy gives way, which I suspect won't be long. I pray it doesn't
happen,
as my home country will be hit really hard as it is focused heavily in the
financial sector, but being a realist, I think eventually my family will have
to move over to Australia, as at least it has farmland, natural resources and
a very social welfare-focused government as well.
Thanks for all your effort to educate people about the coming world situations
and how to prepare for it. What you are doing can mean life or death to many
people in the future when the world crashes and burns. - DieReady
JWR Replies: By all means, do team up with a rural family,
if you can. If you cache a large quantity of food with them, you will be assured
of being welcome there WTSHTF,
since you will be a benefactor for the family. In such circumstances, food
is a much better investment than silver! If you can pre-position your storage
food and
most of
your gear
there, you can
plan
to
bug out via
mo-ped.
There are two ways of looking at obstacles to preparedness: 1.) As reasons
to give up,
or 2.) as
challenges
and opportunities
for
growth. For example, your hilly terrain can be seen as an opportunity to build
strength
and endurance, rather than as an excuse for not bicycling. And just because
you can't find a local martial arts center that teaches Krav Maga, don't lapse
into inactivity.
Study whichever art is available locally. Just be sure to
find the best full
contact dojo in town. Furthermore, don't look at airport
security restrictions as a the lowest common denominator for
your
self defense preps. If you are going to be in Australia for an extended period
of time, then there is no reason why you shouldn't go ahead and purchase a
few key "dual use" self defense items, such as a half dozen 15 minute
road flares, a machete .,
and a six-C-cell
black MagLite ..You might also see if these is a local archery club--perhaps
affiliated with your local university. Practice at least twice a week with
your slingshot! They can
indeed be quite useful if
you
take
the
time
to
practice.
For your silver
purchases,
be
willing
to look
further
afield
for
dealers, or if
need
be, to
buy from a
reputable
mail
order dealer. Concentrate on the positive aspects of prepping, shepherd your
available funds, train consistently, and you'll make
progress!
« Letter Re: Another "Patriots" Book Sighting |Main| My Experience with a Field Gear Invention, by Mike B. »
Letter Re: Bike Frame-Mounted DC Power Generators
James,
Just a follow-up to the question about bicycle power: If you do a Google
search on the phrase "bicycle power generator" then several interesting
options come
up.
One
is a web site that
offers
free plans.
JWR Replies: Just keep in mind that every hour spent trudging
away on a bike frame generator is an hour that you could also use doing something
else productive. Dollar for dollar and hour for hour, photovoltaic panels are
the way to go--they make power every day with minimal maintenance. I consider
bike-frame
mounted
generators fairly specialized devices for peculiar circumstances, such as when
someone is cooped up in a fallout shelter. My general advice is: Yes, go ahead
and build one, but make it readily adaptable to multiple purposes, by using
perforated box beam construction for the back half. This is similar to the
construction method often used for hobby-built electric go-carts and similar
projects. With perforated steel box beams, you will minimize the amount of
welding needed to fairly quickly reconfigure the back half. For example, you
could attach various pulleys and V-belts that can in turn be attached to a Country
Living grain mill, a meat grinder, or a metal grinding/sharpening
wheel.
« Letter Re: Learning the Details of Self-Sufficiency |Main| Letter Re: Save Money, Get Prepared, and Eat Healthier with Intermediate Term Food Storage »
Letter Re: America Stone Knife Sharpeners
Dear Mr. Rawles,
I am an everyday reader of your blog and greatly appreciate the information
posted there. That said, I'd like to thank you for your recommendation of
the America Stone.
I do a lot of wood hand carving, most of which is small and intricate work.
I have a few wonderful and reliable knives, but I've usually been disappointed
with most sharpeners. Either they are too rough on the blades or are a pain
to use.
The America Stone is the most wonderful tool I've used since I can't remember
when. It puts an excellent edge on a blade in very little time and doesn't
cause excessive wear down of the edge. The blades are super sharp after using
the stone, right to the very tip, especially important for my use. My blades
also seem to keep their edge longer, saving me time and effort. I don't have
anything to do with the company, but I would recommend the product highly.
Thanks again for all you do. Extra prayers also for the Memsahib's return to
health. - MBC
« Economics and Investing: |Main| Letter Re: America Stone Knife Sharpeners »
Letter Re: Learning the Details of Self-Sufficiency
Jim,
None of us here can know the hour when 1 Thessalonians 4:16 -17, will come
to be. There are Prophesies that seem to indicate that that time approaches.
But we don't know. We are not Prophets ourselves. We can just know to be ready.
But until that time comes, there are also many other possibilities for which
to prepare. We are in the early stages of a world-wide economic meltdown.
As
that grows worse, it can lead to all sorts of interesting events. Unemployment
will likely lead to increased crime and even food riots. That can lead to the
break down of systems. And that can cause the loss of health care, electricity,
sanitation, water and so on. And that will inevitably lead to epidemics.
The Sun is the "quietest" it has been in many, many years. The last
time Earth experienced so little sun spot activity, hundreds of thousands died
from cold and lack of food because it snowed during the summer. The Yellowstone
Caldera, a super volcano, is 40,000 years overdue to blow. When it does, it
will spread ash across the entire US and block sunlight for years. There is
an undersea volcano off Africa that is in danger of collapse. That could cause
a tidal wave that would take out the entire east coast of the US. ...And then
there is the ambitions of our governments "new friends" in Venezuela
and Iran, and Al Qaeda and N. Korea. An EMP attack
will surely make us all take notice that being "friendly" and acting
weak is no solution to bad behavior by evil people. ..Not to mention what the
closing of the Hormuz Straits
will
cause, if certain folks decide they can get away with it.
And all that is just some of the possibilities as televised on PBS shows in
the last week. Not even alarmist conspiracy theory or doom and gloom, just
Public TV science and reporting.
I am of the opinion that the "first world" industrial societies are
so complex, that they could collapse fairly easily. It's just like my tractor.
For lack of grease, the bearing spun. For lack of a bearing, the field didn't
get plowed. With no turned earth, there was no garden and no food.
In these kinds of economies, small events can have remarkable consequences.
Several years ago, a tree fell against a power line in Ohio. That small outage
spread. Power went off in parts of Canada and as far away as New York. A couple
more trees, and there could be no power anywhere. And then who would there
be to help Florida or Texas, after a hurricane.
So what are we to do? Certainly reading survivalblog everyday is a great start.
Acquiring knowledge thru books is absolutely necessary. Getting training and
practical experience at such schools as Front Sight and Midwest Native Skills
Institute is crucial. You can also volunteer at any of many the open air museums,
and learn about appropriate non-electric skills and tools. But, there is more.
We really need seven day, everyday, experience.
For example, there has been a good bit of discussion lately about "city
retreats". Some folks believe they can make it in a well equipped "abandoned" factory
or warehouse. They will hide in plain sight. That may work for a time, but
what happens when the power goes out, and your stored fuel is used up? You
might have bullets and food stored to last three years, then what? In my opinion,
if you are concerned enough to be reading survivalblog, you ought to be realistic
enough to get where you need to be to survive. And, IMHO, that ain't the city.
You simply won't learn the practical skills needed to be self-sufficient, if
you live on cement
It is remarkably complex to be self-sufficient. Without daily experience, you
are unlikely to make it. It can easily take three years to successfully cultivate
and grow an organic garden. It can take years to really learn to save seeds
or prune a fruit tree. If the electricity goes out, you'll need to be able
to do that and much more. If you can't, your children will suffer. It may take
you a season or two to learn to get your fences built before the deer eat your
crops. (They can clear a garden in one night). It can take years to learn what
you actually need to run a farm. Little things like having lots of nails and
screws on hand. If the big box stores close, how are you going to build shelter
for city family refugees if you don't already have the supplies? And do you
know construction? Do you have the tools? Or, without lots and lots of files
and hack saw blades, how will you work metal when the gas runs out? It takes
more than just having an anvil and hammer. Do you know the simple things like
stacking hay bales on their sides, instead of "strings up"? If the
hay gets wet, the water will run through the bale if it's on its side. The
hay will much more likely mold if you store it with the strings pointing up.
Right now, we all have the time to make such mistakes. It's not yet life or
death. But soon, it may be.
In a crisis, being efficient also becomes much more important. You'll waste
all kinds of time until you learn to carry a tool box on your equipment when
you go to the field. It can be pure aggravation to need a wrench, screw driver
or piece of wire, and have to walk all the way back to the barn. A simple fix
can easily turn into a wasted hour, if you don't have the experience and tools
to know better. And an hour lost is a job undone. That can be very costly.
It's taken me quite some time to learn to consistently keep certain things
lined up by the back door. If I turn on any lights at night, a raccoon or coyote
going after the chickens will run. I've learned, if I hear a noise, to get
up in the dark, put on my boots, which are always where they need to be, have
the other necessaries in easy reach, and to get out the door, silently, to
take care of business. That's not something learned easily or quickly. Just
developing night vision and how to see in the dark, and how to listen to the
sounds of night in the country, can take a lot of time. Not knowing that can
mean losing half your chickens in one night. It happened to me.
It can also take some time to learn which neighbors are reliable and which
farm equipment dealerships are best. You don't want to buy major equipment
from a dealer that has poor service and inventory. And asking for help from
the wrong neighbor can be worse than no help at all.
It can take many seasons to learn the weather of your farm. I know that there
is always a dry week in April when I can till the gardens. If I miss it, and
it rains, it may be May before the ground will again dry out enough to plow.
And when snow comes from certain directions, it may mean I need to clear a
roof before it falls under too much weight. ..It's happened.
It's taken me some time to learn to put a broody chicken in wire cage inside
the hen house. I put as many eggs under her as will fit, put in a bit of water
and food, and shut the door. I've had many a hatch of eggs go bad because the
chicken got up and didn't find her way back. With this little trick of confining
the chicken, I get chicks every time. That's not something you learn just bugging
out from the city.
It's also taken some time to learn that its hard to read by candle light. An
oil lamp is better, it can give between 2.7 to 4.4 candle power, depending
on how wide the wick is. And having an oil lamp with mantle, which gives 40
candle power, (or the equivalent of a 60 watt bulb), is really important if
you have any medical needs at night. I know I much more appreciate sewing myself
up when I can see where to stitch, instead of kind'a poking around by candle
light.
And so it goes. We all know something is coming. Most of us believe it in our
cores. We wouldn't be here otherwise. So, what are you going to do? I believe
the time has come to take action. It may not be comfortable to leave the city
and a well paying job. But you have so much to learn, and so little time. You
really need to get moving. Because the mistakes you will certainly make today,
just may do you in, tomorrow. - Jim Fry,
Curator, Museum of
Western Reserve Farms & Equipment, Ohio
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Letter Re: A Flat Tire as Learning Experience, by Rock O.
James,
My truck and my wife’s van both have extensive “WTSHTF” kits,
for use in case of an emergency. The following was a simple, unexpected yet
common occurrence that was the real eye opener for me. At 5:30am the other
morning.
I decided
to drive my fairly new diesel VW to
a gun show in the area. We only use it for around town drives and it is garage
kept. Halfway to the gun show, on a
major highway, I had a blowout. 'No big deal'. I’m thinking. I’ve
changed lots of tires in my 64 years. Wrong!
Pulling off the highway I assess my situation, and I quickly realize several
things: It’s darker than a coal miner’s rear end, I don’t
have my “oh s**t” kit or even a flashlight and I’ve never
changed a tire on this type of car. Thankfully, a deputy sheriff and a “road-ranger” both
came to my aid and prevented what could have been a nasty situation.
Lessons learned: Familiarize yourself with your car. I had to go exploring
to locate the emergency flashers switch on the dash!. The factory tool
kit [supplied by VW] is a joke. The provided tire-iron requires an extension
bar to use; unless you are Superman. A small can of Blaster [aerosol penetrating
oil] will also go a long
way
to
loosen
lug nuts that were installed with an impact wrench. A 2”x12”x12” block
of wood is a must to put under the jack--for soft sand or mud. Also it helps
to locate the “Jack-point” in the daylight before you try
to find it in the dark. At night they aren’t easy to locate. A really
good flashlight is a must. Trying to change a tire in the dark is very difficult.
The final two items are a must: a pair of gloves and a “hazard vest” will
also help keep your inner child be at peace on the side of the highway.
A small handgun that will slip into your pocket isn’t a bad idea either.
You might not be lucky enough to have a deputy stop when you have a flat in
a “bad area”. Those that come aren’t there necessarily there
to help you. You other choices are to stay in your car until daylight or drive
on the rim, which will result in major financial damage to your wallet.
Lessons Learned: Fifteen minutes of daylight practice and a few small items
would have made all the difference when faced with this common, but unexpected
situation.
« Letter Re: The Mexican Drug Wars Come to the United States |Main| Letter Re: Bicycles as Bug-Out and Utility Vehicles »
Letter Re: Pedal Power for Electricity Generation and Water Pumping
Hi Mr. Rawles:
Thank you so much for your efforts on this blog as well as Rawles Gets You
Ready. I have a question that I haven’t seen addressed. Are there products
out there based on pedal power? Meaning, I can’t afford a real alternative
energy system or a large storage area for gasoline. What I’d like is
a way to keep a few deep cycle batteries charged to power my rechargeable AA-size
batteries (do they make rechargeable batteries in any other size?), my cordless
power tools and other objects. There must be alternator/bicycle systems to
do that but I can’t find any. Also, I’d like to power a water pump
by bicycle so that I can draw water from my well or the creek a couple of hundred
yards away. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks, - Joe F.
JWR Replies: Yes, there are several proven products. See the
SurvivalBlog archives. For battery charging, it is probably best to use
a fairly large generator to charge a pair of 6 volt DC deep cycle batteries.
Then, you can use that battery bank as a 12 volt power source for an
automobile-type charger for AA Batteries
. As I've mentioned in the blog before, I recommend standardizing with 30
amp
Anderson Power Pole Connectors
for all of the small (low current) 12 volt DC devices at your retreat and in
your vehicles. These genderless connectors are vastly superior to cigarette
lighter-type plugs and jacks.
« Letter Re: Recommendation for Kinder Goats |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: The Importance of Spare Parts and Maintenance for Preparedness
James Wesley:
One subject that I think is under rated in preparedness discussions
is spare parts. We all are focused on our armaments and basic survival materials
to
the detriment of being able to continue to use our tools and equipment when
they inevitably break. Even in the best-case scenario of a sever depression
spare parts will be often unavailable through normal channels. A good example
of this is to be found in cars. When I was young in the ‘50s and early ‘60s
there was an abundance of cars made in the late ‘20s and ‘30s in
remarkably good shape that were shoved into barns because of breakdowns, often
minor, for which parts were not available during the depression. These cars
were hauled out by enterprising young men returning from WWII and Korea and
turned into hot rods or just driven into the ground when parts again became
available in the ‘50s. As our economic system becomes ever more complex
and specialized, and as that built in disaster of “just in time” production
and distribution is used more and more, the inevitability of interruptions
in materials and basic goods becomes even more probable. Having spent a lifetime
living on farms, and particularly here in the western Upper Peninsula ("U.P.")
of Michigan where the nearest farm supply stores are down in Wisconsin a day's
drive away,
I have developed an acute appreciation of the necessity of having a good inventory
of parts on hand. So combine a disruption in supply with a remote refuge location
and the problem could become insurmountable and be very inconvenient if not
life threatening. So think in terms of two different plans: parts and
maintenance.
Spare Parts
In the parts department do you have spare wicks and globes for your oil
lamps? And lots and lots of mantles for gas lights which I do not recommend
for the reason that they are so fragile that bugs break them. Do you have extra
leathers for your water pumps? And handles for your axes, splitting mauls,
hammers and saws? These have a way of getting broke when used with regularity;
particularly when you are tired or exhausted which we will be if we are in
this situation. I heat with wood and do not own a wood splitter. I do it by
hand and have never broken a maul handle except at the end of the day when
I am tired and miss the block of wood with the head and hit it with the handle.
So count on breaking things when you are tired or in a hurry. Do you have extra
chains for your chain saw and blades for your bow saw. A good bow saw [or bucksaw]
is definitely a tool to have if gasoline is scarce or unavailable, or if you
want to cut wood without attracting attention. And do you have the files and
sharpening stones to keep them sharp by hand and the teeth properly set? You
might also want to practice these skills because they are skills. And boot
laces, gloves, wool socks and other warm and durable clothing that you do not
often use and replace but that will become something that you will use every
day under adverse conditions. Anyway you get the point. Stock up on daily used
items. For instance, last week the local hardware store had leather palmed
work gloves on sale at two pairs for a buck so I bought 50 pairs. I’ll
use them eventually even if nothing goes wrong, and if it does I’m covered
and I’ll have some great bartering material. Buy what you know you will
need and may be able to trade to those less provident.
Maintenance|
Maintenance is always a neglected area of planning. Most people
are poor at maintenance as a matter of course and some cannot even seem to
consider
it. Look at your home, equipment and tools and determine what you need to do
to keep it working, particularly under adverse conditions. Do you have the
tools, manuals and knowledge to fix things. Is your shop supplied with lubricants
and grease to keep the place running. My granddad liked to say “grease
and oil are cheap and parts and labor are expensive”, During the 1980s
I was a Trustee for the United States Bankruptcy Court and I handled most of
the farm cases here in the U.P. because I knew the business and could milk
cows. One of the things that struck me most was the almost universal lack
of grease guns on these bankrupt farms. It changed my feelings about my fellow
farmers plight to a great degree in many cases. A lack of daily maintenance
is a precondition to disaster. I own a lot of old equipment that gets used
hard, but it is well maintained and seldom breaks down because of grease, oil
and general maintenance. And maintenance of the area around you is also important.
Recently a most excellent article was posted in SurvivalBlog dealing with
keeping
the place neat and clean. It is well worth re-reading and considering.
A neat
environment helps keep you safe from injury and has an important psychological
component. Which leads to another point about neatness. Keep your stored goods
organized so you can find them. Plastic bins and totes with labels make things
easy to find and protects them from vermin, dirt and corrosion and makes taking
inventory a snap.
So get the spare parts you will need, and some to trade, and get them organized.
And maintain your home, tools, equipment, mind, body, marriage and family and
we will get through this time to come. And if we are wrong about the future we
will still be the better for it. - Ken S.
« Letter Re: Good Fences Make Good Neighbors: Reinforcing Your Retreat for Long Term Survival on the Cheap |Main| Letter Re: Offshore G.O.O.D.--Do You Have Your Papers? »
Letter Re: Highly Productive Home Gardens
Jim,
Take a look at the
YouTube videos on the Dervaes family. These folks are a bit granola crunching
and leftist/idealistic for me, but there is a great deal to be learned from
their efforts. 6,000 pounds of produce from 5,000 square feet of yard is
pretty impressive. Admittedly, they have a 365-day growing season and no
deer to worry about, but we are adapting the strategies for our own situation.
I do agree with them that producing your own food is a profoundly subversive
act. If the link does not work work just go to YouTube and then search "Dervaes
family".
Also, I have lately been listening to the daily offerings from The
Survival Podcast, which I burn to CD or load on my MP3 player to listen
at my leisure.
« Three Letters Re: Why Survivalists Should Buy Local Organic Food |Main| Letter Re: Viability of Central America Retreat Locales? »
Letter Re: Backpackers of the Apocalypse: Selecting and Ultra-Lighting Your Bug-Out Bag
Hello Mr. Rawles,
I would like to comment on the recommendations for Bug Out Bags:
Do not include an axe. It is a crude cutting device prone to making
copious whacking noise while in use. Bugging out must be accomplished almost
silently...
But do carry an Ontario
18" Machete
. It cuts branches up to 1.5 inches
thick in a single cut when sharp. My Ontario Machete is now more than 30
years
old. It has been thoroughly used during military operations and during a tour
of duty in Africa with the Peace Corps. Get a good flexible sheath with a hard
tip inside on the bottom to nestle the sharp end into.
Collecting wood should always be done quietly. Be like the indians and gather
[what in less politically correct days was called] 'squaw wood'. Wood that
is dead and still attached to the tree. It will already be dried and aged.
Perfect for a [small, low-smoke] campfire. In dry areas it can be picked up
off the
ground.
You can make a wood carrier out of a piece of old cloth tarp or heavy
cloth. make it 24 inches square with a handle on opposite sides.
Lay the branches parallel to the handles and pick it up and you have a nice
bundle of wood, easy to carry. You can also use this carrier as a ground
cloth for laying out cooking utensils on.
During a bug out situation never burn up body energy cutting wood. [When moving
quickly to get to your intended retreat,] you do not have the time nor the
caloric reserves to do this.
Gather [cotton] lint from your home dryer and use it as fire starter. Store
it [compressed] in a plastic bottle for inclusion in the bug out bag.
Bugging out must be accomplished silently and stealthily. No noise and stay
out of sight.
Have a nice Easter. Cordially, - J.W.C. (A backpacker from the 1960s and 1970s.)
« Economics and Investing: |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Why Survivalists Should Buy Local Organic Food, by Chad L.
I know the name of the woman who raises the chickens that lay the eggs that
I
eat. Do you? I know about her daughter’s college plans and her vacations
and how she got into the business of raising chickens. This might not seem so
important from a survivalist perspective, but I think it is and I’ll explain
why in the following paragraphs.
Now think about where you get your eggs. Chances are they come from a big
chain grocery store. That means they are raised in a huge factory farm, staffed
by
underpaid workers of questionable legality, and overwhelmingly dependent on Chinese
produced chicken feed. Which of these eggs do you think is better for the long-term
goals of a preparedness minded individual? I thought so.
What I’m getting at here is that an American preparedness culture should
be supporting small, local, organic farms whenever possible. In this essay I
am going to avoid environmental arguments in support of local, organic foods.
Although, I will confess that I believe that environmental issues are one of
the largest threats to American personal and national security and that a dedication
to environmental solutions will ease many of the problems that threaten us, especially
including dependence on foreign oil and government corporate welfare in the form
of unnecessary farm subsidies.
I started thinking about this topic because I work at a Farmer’s Market
in Northern California and I rarely see customers that exhibit some of the tell
tale signs of the “survivalist” crowd (Ruger hats, NRA T-shirts,
etc.). However, many of the farmers can be seen wearing “the signs”.
Small farmers are, as a whole, very hard working, practically minded, conservative
leaning people who care deeply for their families. They would mostly fit right
in at any Preparedness gathering; even the really Left of center politically
leaning ones.
One morning a man walked up wearing an NRA hat and we got to talking. It turns
out he had never really been to a farmer’s market because he thought it
was full of overpriced vegetables and dope-smoking hippies. He was having a good
experience and was really impressed by how knowledgeable the workers were about
what they were selling. I could certainly offer no counter to his concerns over
the hippies (it is Northern California after all. Although, to tell the truth
there aren’t that many of them left). The counter to his cost concerns
is more complex.
Organic food costs more than non-organic food. It is certainly more expensive
to make food grow like this and the cost is passed on to the consumer. There
have been plenty of recent big agriculture financed studies showing that there
is little nutritional difference between organic and factory produced food which
leads a consumer on a budget to validly wonder “why should I buy this if
it isn’t better for me?” Even if these studies are true, they do
not tell the whole picture.
Organic has become a major buzz word and a major marketing tool. Plenty of the
stuff that’s labeled organic gains a lot of its cost from being shipped
from South America and the big grocery stores (especially the big health food
stores) are more than willing to tack on high prices for perceived value. It’s
the same thing that goes on with the designer bags my wife covets. They might
not do anything special (they hold stuff the same as my backpack does), but they
look nice and are sought after by a particular and demanding consumer that is
willing to pay extra for premium.
But this isn’t the whole story or even the segment of the food producers
I’m suggesting we as survivalists support. There are huge hidden costs
to the production of cheap factory food. First of all, cheap food requires cheap
labor. When people in South America are sick of being sprayed by pesticides and
working for next to nothing, where do you think they are going to go?
Your hard earned dollars should not be supporting factory farms that are abusing
humans (a Christian issue if ever there was one if that concerns you) or creating
an economic climate that gives incentive to millions of desperate people to illegally
enter the country. The cost of supporting these South American factory farms
is inestimable when you factor in all of the issues surrounding illegal immigration,
issues that should be on the minds of all Preparedness minded citizens. |
Second, factory farming requires the use of fertilizer made from oil, largely
derived from the Middle East. Ask anyone with a child serving in Iraq what the
cost of oil is and you are not going to get a dollar amount. I’m not suggesting
that we should not use oil or that our actions in Iraq are unjust or unnecessary,
far from it. I am suggesting that supporting a food production model that uses
very little oil-based fertilizer is in the best interests of Americans. Small,
local farms that utilize crop rotation and sustainable practices do not destroy
the land at the same rate (often the land is replenished) and do not need to
pump Saudi chemicals into the ground.
A trip to a farmer’s market is far different than a trip to a place like
a Whole Foods store. Vegetables and livestock that are in season and not delivered
very far (the Locavore rule of thumb is to try not to eat food from more than
100
miles away if you can help it) have a negligibly higher cost at the register
and virtually no societal costs associated with factory farms.
This is really just the tip of the iceberg of the issues surrounding the ways
factory farming weakens national security. The more you dig, the more you see
that true freedom and liberty depends on the yeoman farmer so celebrated by Thomas
Jefferson. The Jeffersonian agrarian ideal is alive and well and you can help
it survive simply by shopping.
Think about this: if the stuff really hits the fan and the country goes to
h*ll, whom do you want to be friends with? I want to be friends with hard
working men
and women that know how to grow food and make their land work for them. Shopping
at farmer’s markets is a great way to make community connections that are
both personally rewarding and potentially life saving. I know the names of many
of the people I buy my food from and if I’m lucky I just might get to be
a farm hand if things go bad.
Thankfully there seems to be a shift away from the “hoard away somewhere
with guns and MREs
and ride it out” model of survivalism. Those MREs
are terrible and will eventually run out. If you had to survive on them for
any period
of time you would likely add a great deal of depression to what is likely going
to be a stressful situation. I want to be in a position to eat real food. That
requires knowing how to grow it, something that is well beyond even moderately
accomplished hobby gardeners. Even the gnarliest “I’m gonna drive
'the last of the V8 interceptors' and pump .50 caliber rounds into any desperados
I see” survivalist is likely including gardening books in their personal
survival library.
If you want to learn how to do something, a book can be a great source of information,
but it will likely never replace hands on learning from someone that knows
what they’re doing. If you want to be able to grow enough food to live on you
should know a farmer. It’s real easy to meet them. Just go to a market
and ask them about their product.
Being able to grow food is more important than even being able to properly operate
a firearm (and many who can do the former know the latter simply by cultural
osmosis). If you are willing to buy premium American made firearms, learn from
the knowledgeable through conversation and classes, and enjoy them, you should
be willing to do the same with your food.
Like all the best survival preps, gardening is fun and rewarding on its own
and provides a wonderful opportunity to connect with your family. It ranks
right
up there with teaching your kids how to fish and shoot, but it has unfortunately
fallen out of vogue in the last fifty years. When you’re picking up a
head of lettuce from your new friend that grew it for you, ask him how you
might do
the same. It could save your life.
Shopping at farmer’s markets protects national security interests, builds
important connections with like-minded people able to withstand hard times, and
provides a way for families to connect with the traditions of one of America’s
most hardworking and iconic professions, the farmer. Much lore and utility
can be learned from those that actually know how to do things and no thing
is more
important than being able to produce food.
« Letter Re: How to Spot a Front Sight Graduate |Main| Note from JWR: »
Good Fences Make Good Neighbors: Reinforcing Your Retreat for Long Term Survival on the Cheap, by Q.T.
We've all heard that particular proverb. For those of us reading this venue,
we all have a specific mindset that probably keeps that at the forefront of
our minds. We have our space. We have our preps. We have spent time and effort
placing a lot of emphasis on keeping ourselves one step ahead. So how do we
keep out everyone else?. Better yet… how do we keep prying eyes out?
Still best, how do we create our sanctuary without drawing any attention to
ourselves whatsoever?
We can build a fence, but a fence can be cut. Fences cost money. …Money
that perhaps we would like to spend on other things. We could conceivably dig
a moat, but if our land isn't flat (let's face it, it's probably not). A moat
also isn't much of a deterrent unless it's filled with something particularly
unsavory, like crocodiles or piranhas. Furthermore, a moat is going to take
a lot of effort, probably employing heavy equipment, and again, costing a great
deal of money.
What we really need is something that serves as a hardy physical and psychological
barrier, screens what is behind it, costs very little, and mostly takes care
of itself. Maybe it could even get more robust as time goes on… Impossible,
you say? Perhaps not.
In Europe, one long standing tradition of creating a fence against neighboring
property is to plant a hedge. Now before you scoff, push out of your mind the
juniper bushes freshly trimmed at waist height. What you want is something
a bit more robust. Something wooly and wild and impenetrable…
A customary European hedge is initially a row of one particular type of woody
shrub or tree planted about 1-2 feet apart. Once the tree reaches approximately
10 feet in height, an axe or hatchet is used to notch the tree at the base
so that it can be bent over, and it is laid over at about a 35 degree angle
from horizontal. When the entire row is done this way, the branches are woven
and tangled together to form a rough and difficult to penetrate screen. As
time passes, new vegetation grows up through the toppled trees and adds height
to the hedge, further screening from the neighbors. This was primarily designed
to contain livestock.
What we need is a system to keep out a much more ingenious invader than neighboring
livestock. We want something that will stop anything short of a bulldozer or
perhaps a tank. And best of all, if it's all the same, we want something that
looks nondescript and uninteresting to the passerby. If the hungry refugee
has nothing to stop and look at, he likely will keep on going. The roving gang
isn't even going to slow down if they see nothing of interest. So what we need
is something much more robust than the European hedge.
European hedges are often grown from the local native shrubs and trees. Locally,
here in the midwest US we have several tree species that would work especially
well for this type of application. Your local flora may differ a great deal
where you are. My particular favorites for my location are the honey-locust,
Osage orange (notably named the "hedge tree", locally), and western
red cedar. All three of these are known throughout the region as a pest. They
are all fairly prolific and fast growing. The best bet is to look around and
see what grows where you don’t want it to. Those will grow into the most
robust living fence you can imagine.
I have not made these three tree choices lightly. These trees are chosen because
of their quick growth ability, resistance to insects and blights, and ability
to interplant very closely with other trees. Hardwoods such as Oak, hickory,
and especially walnut, tend to crowd out other trees with chemicals secreted
by their roots. However, you can interplant fruits such as mulberry, apples
and pears among the locusts, Osage, and cedars.
Now, plant your trees spacing them out in a row approximately 12 to 18 inches
apart. Water them. Fertilize them if necessary. Let them grow to about 5 feet
in height (tree tubes may help them achieve this height but are by no means
necessary). Make sure that all trees are trimmed of most side branches and
splits split trunks are pruned to one side or another. This makes the final
arrangement easier.
Once the trees have reached the appropriate height ( I said 5 feet, but this
is not necessarily the case) you will need to notch the trunks approximately
3 inches above ground level. To notch the trunk, you should take a sturdy knife
and carve approximately 2/3 of the trunk out. Alternate which side of the tree
you notch, as you will be weaving the trunks together.
Once you have notched your trees, beginning with one pair, lay your trees over
to about 30-to-45 degrees crossing in the middle. Go to the next set, doing
the same, making sure that you achieve a true weave (in front of one, behind
the
next, etc). Once done, make sure that where the trees cross the second row
is done in the same manner. What you end up with should look a little something
like a chain link fence.
Next you need to wait for the tree to grow some more, and repeat the process
as it gets taller. Since trees don't grow at angles, it's likely that either
your initial stem will grow straight up, or perhaps a side branch will take
the initiative to take off. But either way, you will be trimming from a ladder
and weaving in the same way.
Obviously, one should grow other things outside the wall. Poison ivy, stinging
nettles, thick brambles and rose bushes all serve as a primary deterrent long
before anyone actually comes to the hedge. Making it look natural helps all
that much better. Eventually your hedge will bush out and look less like a
giant lattice and more like an impenetrable wall of vegetation.
Like anything, this process can be as big or as small as you want it to be,
and it's all about how much you put into it. I envision two hedges side by
side about ten feet tall. The inner hedge mostly fruit trees and honey locust,
while the outer hedge is made up primarily of cedar and Osage orange. Between
the two is a wall made up of old tires with one sidewall cut out, filled with
sand. The tire wall is about 5 feet tall and serves as a bullet stop for stray
small arms fire. Above the tire wall the two hedges have been intertwined to
hold it all together. The occasional observation post (OP) has been fashioned
into the design and only accessible from the private side (inside) of the wall.
With a setup like this and an alleyway to a locked gate, access could be controlled
in such a way that the vagrant who wandered in would automatically be covered
and unable to escape. In the same respect, anyone who attempted to raid a place
reinforced in such a way, would encounter a lot more resistance than they would
want to, if in fact they even knew it existed.
Obviously this process takes time. Lots of time. And that is its primary downfall.
Time may be something we all lack in these uncertain and trying times. It also
takes a lot of work. Hard work. Expect to have scars. Consider that as better
than the alternative.
For those of us who may have that place in the woods, and are just biding our
time, this might be a thing worth doing, even if just for facing a public road.
If one life is saved because of this information, then it has all been worth
it. Good luck and God bless to all of you.
« Economics and Investing: |Main| Good Fences Make Good Neighbors: Reinforcing Your Retreat for Long Term Survival on the Cheap, by Q.T. »
Letter Re: How to Spot a Front Sight Graduate
Jim,
I get e-mails from Front Sight students all the time reporting to me how they
often draw a crowd at shooting ranges as people marvel at their marksmanship,
speed, and gun handling. The question they are always asked is,
"Where did you learn how to shoot like that?" Of course they respond
with "Front Sight!"
Well here is a twist on that experience from someone who recently e-mailed
me:
Dr. Piazza,
I just wanted to send you this e-mail and let you know
about an experience I had several months ago.
I work part time at a shooting range in Wheat Ridge, Colorado and my sister
hosts Ladies' Night there.
I was invited as a guest speaker teaching the ladies how to clear rooms in
a structure with a weapon and a light.
During a break, one of the ladies went into the range to shoot her handgun.
I was walking by and glanced in the window and noticed her well placed shots...
two to the thoracic cavity and one to the ocular cavity.
Immediately after her shots I saw her blonde pony tail swing from side to
side, demonstrating an obvious
trademark of fine training... She was doing an After Action Drill.
I put on some "ears and eyes" and went into the range to observe her flawless
techniques.
When she was done she turned and saw me watching her and smiled.
I said, "You've been to Front Sight, haven't you?"
She replied, "Yes. How did you know?"
I told her I could tell from the professional techniques she was using.
She started talking to me about how proud of herself she was and her increased
self confidence since attending your Four Day Defensive Handgun Class.
She told me about the Color Codes of Awareness that you teach and that she
is now always in Condition Yellow... relaxed, but alert.
She said that she didn't want to brag but she felt she had now reached a
level of Unconsciously Competent in her weapons handling-- meaning her skills
were now reflexive.
I told the other ladies to watch her and learn, or better yet, attend Front
Sight.
I just wanted to pass this along to you.
Keep up the good work.
Kelley "Badger" Sands
Wheat Ridge, Colorado
Well there you go... If you want to spot a Front Sight graduate look for
the smiling, confident, relaxed yet alert person with the well placed shots
and flawless, professional technique!
And if you want to be that person, (or you
want your spouse to be that person) take advantage of my "Get
a Gun" training & gear offer before the price increase. - Dr. Ignatius
Piazza
« Two Letters Re: Knob Creek Report on Ammunition, Magazines, and Parts |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Letter Re: Home-Made Super Cat Alcohol Stoves
Dear Mr. Rawles,
First, I would like to commend you on your "Patriots" novel.
It is a "must read" for any American who believes in our Constitution
and Bill of Rights. I bought the book a few months ago and have read it twice
so
far. The "crunch" scenario outlined is self-evident today, and a
very real possibility.
I have never been of the "survivalist" mindset, however with the
NWO now upon us - and my becoming 'awake" as to the threat of the NWO
and TEOTWAWKI - I am starting my preparations in earnest. Your book, and others,
are now quickly becoming part of my reading in order to catch up on what I
have to do to protect my family and myself when the Schumer hits the fan.
I have read many articles on your blog and the internet regarding what the
contents of a G.O.O.D. bag should carry. Of interest is the subject of portable
cooking stoves. I have found a quick and free option for a lightweight and
portable "camp stove" that I would like to share. It is called the "Super
Cat" Alcohol Stove found at the
Jim Woods Base Camp web site.
This "stove" is simply a cat food can that can easily be transformed
into an denatured alcohol (or similar) fueled cooking stove that is a simple
to make, takes up minimum space, and is fueled by easily carried and procured
denatured alcohol. I find that carrying one or two of these stoves in a zip-loc
bag takes up minimal space in a backpack. Denatured alcohol is readily available,
and can be cached for future use in large quantity. The
downloadable PDF file for the "Super Cat also shows the various ways
that that the fuel can be carried in small containers for a backpack. There
are also downloadable files on a windscreen and stove
stand that are also easily self-fabricated.
I know that most of the folks that read your blog are more prepared than I
am at this point, but I feel that all options should be presented for evaluation
and testing in order to find out what best suits their needs. And the best
thing about the "Super-Cat" is that it is free!
Thanks for your Patriotism and everything you do. - W.M.
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Two Letters Re: Backpackers of the Apocalypse: Selecting and Ultra-Lighting Your Bug-Out Bag
Hello Mr. Rawles,
Thanks again for this blog; it's my nightly reading before bedtime. Regarding
the letter from John the Midwestern Hiker, here are some other possibilities/opinions
about bug-out bags. Naturally, edit as you see fit, should any of this merit
mentioning....
Because I live in a large metropolitan area in the eastern US,
I try to remain prepared for just such a bug-out event. I know approximately
how much time I would need and how much fuel I would need in order to arrive
in "Free America"--my fuel tank is never less than 3/4ths full. I
have at least two places along the way where I have a stash of related items
for
addition
and/or replenishment (at friends/relatives places) and I also now keep a few
MREs in
my vehicle, no longer only as part of the winter travel kit. I am familiar
enough with the middle third of the USA that I would not really need
even a map. In a bug-situation, my hardest decision would be the first decision:
leave immediately or wait?
Although I try to keep active year 'round, I do most of my hiking and backpacking
in the 6 months that are not winter. In my opinion the most important items in
my packs are (listed in order of importance) 1) water filtration and/or purification
2) non-folding hunting knife 3) rain gear, including water-proof and insulated
gloves and clothing items 4) basic compass 5) basic First Aid kit 6) food items
with a good mix of high carbohydrates, fat and protein 7) finally, a good sleeping
bag.
Some down bags now have waterproof material; non-down bags (such as Wiggy's)
will have insulating function, dry or wet. The investment in a good, well-fitted
pair of hiking boots is a given.
In addition to the above, I do carry a tent for the appropriate season/elevation
and MSR gas stove with the familiar red fuel canister and other odd miscellany,
like a drinking bottle and a spork. While the small canister stoves are light
and convenient, if one were to do much backpacking at all, a small fortune will
be spent on fuel, in addition to finding a place to properly discard the empties.
If I were ever to get into the ultra-light mindset, I wouldn't even bother---use
fuel tablets such as Esbit. Probably not even have much of a tent either.
I have two packs that are always packed--one for early-/late-season/winter
conditions, the other for normal summer. As a precaution I always plan for winter
conditions
and wet weather when in the mountains--elevation is everything! I've
been in below sub-freezing conditions at high elevations in August, not to mention
the
usual monsoon season in the Rockies in the fall. Upon returning I take care of
all cleaning, washing, repairs and re-packing of items, including freeze-dried
foods, which usually have a long shelf life. With everything pre-packed, it is
possible for me to grab two packs, toss 'em into my vehicle and bug out. A Google
search [on "ultra-light backpacking"] will come up with many sites providing
lots
of
information.
However,
I
highly recommend the wonderful, good ol' standard "The Complete Walker" by
the late Colin Fletcher (may his Welsh hiking soul now hike in peace!) and the
still-very-much-alive Chip Rawlins. This book is at least in it's fourth version
by now, and makes for wonderful reading, especially by the fireplace in winter!
Everything you'll need to know about having your "house on your back" is
covered in great detail in this book.
While I don't expect to be faced with a bug-out situation any time soon, I
do believe that backpacking, in addition to being a fun way to see the world,
is
also a good physical and mental preparation if such an event were to happen.
History is full of "unexpected" events! Cheers, - Mark S.
Mr. Rawles;
I agree with John about the ultralight camping equipment. A Sil-Nylon Cat Tarp,
sleeping quilt from Jack's R Better, Pad, Food, Water, personal hygiene,
and cooking gear for 3 or 4 days can easily be put together under 16 pounds,
including the pack. The days of the 50 pound (or heavier) one week pack are,
thankfully, long gone.
Now, if you want to talk Super Ultralight, like my nine pound three-day
load, (which includes my clothes and boots on my feet), you have to be willing
to make much of your gear...but there are patterns all over the S/UL
blogs and sites on the net. - Mike on the Res.
« Economics and Investing: |Main| Two Letters Re: Backpackers of the Apocalypse: Selecting and Ultra-Lighting Your Bug-Out Bag »
Letter Re: Where to Find Quality-Made Hand Tools?
Hello,
Let me tell you about an experience I had the other day and my frustration.
I recently purchased some tools from Sears and got the "higher quality" Craftsman
brand. One of the items purchases was a bow saw. I did not look closely at
the quality of the item purchased because I thought to myself, "It is
a Craftsman, they have a life time warranty." Well, a few months later
the saw broke because of bad construction. Some little nubs that were punched
through the very thin sheet metal that held the saw blade in place. It does
not take an expert to see that they broke soon after I started to do some hard
work. Very disappointing. Sears exchanged it, and I see that they have a new
model with a rivet instead of a nub. But I am not sure that it will las very
long. I asked the clerk if all of their stuff was Made in China. She said "No," and
stated it surprised her that the saw was made in China.
On the way out I looked at a vacuum cleaner, it was a wet-dry "shop vac".
Craftsman and Made in Mexico. I guess that "Mexico" is not China so she was
technically right. I purchased a Kenmore about two years ago because it was
rated the highest
in Consumers' Reports. It is all plastic and does not work that well.
The suction is pretty low. My grandmother has a vacuum cleaner that she purchased
over fifty years ago. My brother and I call it "The Pig" because it looks like
a pig (complete with a snout) from behind. I can not seem to find a vacuum
cleaner that will last. They are all cheap and made as disposable items. I
would rather purchase one good vacuum cleaner to
last me 50 years instead of one cheap one every 3-to-5 years.
Where does someone
buy Made in the USA products that are made out of good metal? I know a place
must exist somewhere. Thanks, - Brent
JWR Replies: This topic has been raised before in SurvivalBlog.
In my opinion, the best quality for your dollar can often be found in used American
and European-made tools. For details, see this post from late 2008: Letter
Re: Recommended Sources for Gardening Hand Tools.
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Backpackers of the Apocalypse: Selecting and Ultra-Lighting Your Bug-Out Bag, by John the Midwestern Hiker
When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to get out of Dodge,
a decent respect for the integrity of one’s spine demands that every item
in your bug-out bag be submitted to a candid evaluation. Forgive me for cheekily
paraphrasing the Declaration of Independence, but it does make a point that every
preparedness minded individual needs to consider:
if and when you need to get out fast with only the items you can carry on your
back, what are you going to take, and what are you going to carry it in?
The first major consideration that you need to, um, well, consider, is the type
of pack you will want to select (If you already have a pack and know how to use
it, then, please, skip a paragraph.) There are two types of packs popular today:
internal frame and external frame.
As the name implies, an internal frame pack has a rigid metal frame buried
deep within the bowels of the pack. Internal frame packs are designed to perform
well
on rugged and treacherous terrain. They ride close to the body and are heavily
padded for comfort. The actual stowage space on an internal frame is the long,
narrow pack body. All your goods are accessed from the top, which can be a
problem if the item you’re trying to find is tucked away in the bottom
corner of the pack.
An external frame pack is essentially a metal frame with hip belts, a pack,
and some convenient nylon mesh pockets attached to it. External frames are
designed
for easy access and a large carrying capacity: if something won’t fit
in the pack itself, just lash it on to the frame and off you go! The drawback
of
external frame packs is that they tend not to be nearly as self-contained and
well balanced as internal frame packs.
The selection of a pack really depends on your personal preference, and the environment
that you anticipate you will be carrying it in. As I live near mountainous terrain,
I favor an internal frame configuration. Go to a local sporting goods shop and
try on a couple of different packs to find one that fits your body and the climate.
After you’ve selected your pack and figured out the straps and buckles
(can’t help you there, every pack is different.) you will need to determine
what to pack. Camping stores offer plenty of fun-looking, lightweight gadgets
like origami snapware and ‘backpacker’ camp chairs. Resist the
urge to buy these. Your pack will be quite heavy enough just carrying the essentials.
The human body needs three elements to survive in the outdoors: these are, in
order of importance; water, shelter, and food. When you pack your bug-out bag,
focus on these three essentials.
Water: Without water, even the toughest individual would be dead in a matter
of days. Pack three means of purifying water: a hand-pump filter, preferably
an easily cleaned ceramic model, water purification tablets, and a fuel efficient
backpacking stove to boil water for drinking, cleaning, and cooking. Of course,
you can usually build a fire to boil water with, but you may not always have
the time or energy. Always, always filter water before drinking, it may look
clean, but if it’s not [free of microorganisms], you could wind up ‘running’ out
both ends.
Shelter: In most climates for most of the year you will want to have a tent
along. Most backpacking tents are sturdy enough for hiking and camping in spring,
summer, and fall, but are inadequate in heavy snow or cold-weather conditions.
My advice
would be to have two tents: a lightweight, well-ventilated backpacking tent
for summer situations and a heavy duty ["four season"] dome tent for winter.
Change the tents and
clothing in your pack, seasonally.
Food: You will be limited in how much food you can carry, regardless of the
size and weight of your pack. My personal favorite is Mountain House freeze-dried
food. Pound for pound, freeze-dried
food weighs less and tastes better than any
other
backpacking food I have ever used. An additional bonus is that, being dehydrated,
all you have to do is add water, swish it around and eat it right out of the
pouch. I have experimented with many other kinds of food over the course of
my
backpacking career, and none has matched the convenience, weight, taste, and
portability of freeze-dried
food.
For food preparation, consider carrying a lightweight stove. You can survive
without one, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Some models of stove can run
on multiple fuel types, and if you are planning on roughing it long term, a
flex-fuel model is a smart choice.
Personally, I use the Jetboil, because it is self-contained, lightweight,
easy to clean, and very, very fuel efficient, which is good, because it runs
off of
a specialized fuel mix.
If you want to eat the food you prepare, bring along an insulated metal mug and
a fork/spoon/knife combination utensil. Do not, under any circumstances, pack
or buy origami eat ware. Although it is lightweight, it is also ridiculously
flimsy. So, unless you want to be eating out of your bare hands, go with a good
old fashioned mug and spork.
Some items are not absolute essentials, but are very, very nice to have. The
first and most important nonessential item is camper’s toilet paper. Some
locales, especially in the west, lack herbage with soft, fluffy leaves, so unless
you want to use pine needles (very strongly not recommended.) or hay (again,
from personal experience—don’t try it.) bring along camper’s
toilet paper, which is essentially super-absorbent toilet paper on a streamlined
roll.
Supplement
this supply with natural substitutes whenever you can.
In that same vein, bring along a sturdy plastic garden spade to bury your waste
with. Make sure you store this shovel in a sealed plastic bag.
A tough, sturdy plastic tarp is another useful nonessential. A tarp can serve
as the footprint for your tent, or you can use it as a ground cloth to sleep
out under the stars in nice weather. Bring along a spool of medium-weight nylon
cord so you can use the tarp as a cooking fly or to augment your tent in heavy
rain.
A sturdy, closed-cell foam sleeping pad will make your nights much more comfortable.
Avoid generic brands if you can, because they tend to be much thinner and are
more prone to tearing. I have a Thermarest Ridgerest foam pad that has lasted
me for five years and is still in good shape. Although inflatable sleeping pads
are more comfortable than foam pads, they tend to leak, and are generally more
prone to failure.
Another item that should probably be an essential is a good knife. A sharp cutting
tool is essential to human survival. Bring along a sharpener that is effective
and that you are comfortable using. If you are planning on making a fire, a hatchet
is also useful, but not essential.
Well, that’s it. This is all the essential gear that you will need for
your bug-out bag. Remember, these are the essentials. You will want to pack other
items in order to fill out your bug-out bag; things like ammunition, a slingshot,
and duct tape (of course.) After you assemble your pack and gear, make sure that
you go on at least one week-long trek, so that you can practice packing and carrying
your bug-out-bag. Keep your bag packed and ready if you don’t live at your
predetermined retreat site. You may be carrying it sooner than you think.
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Letter Re: That Leaking Body in Your Living Room
Sir,
There have been innumerable discussions on this web site, and others across
the internet, about the mindset, preparations, training and physical responses
to the use of deadly force. Every gun owner (or would be owner) has had to
ask themselves if they have what it takes to kill another human being. We
all know the argument. When it comes down to life or death, you or them,
could you pull the trigger? Let's assume, for the sake of this segment, that
your
answer is yes. Now let me present you with a hypothetical situation:
It's TEOTWAWKI. Infrastructure is nonexistent. Government collapsed. You've
bugged out to your retreat, or hunkered down in place. Late one night, an
intruder enters your home. He is armed, and threatens your family. You confront
him,
and shots ring out. When the smoke clears, you get a SITREP, just like you
practiced. You and your family are unhurt. The intruder is dead. What do
you do now? Normally, if no one had already done so, your first step would
be to
call the local police or sheriff's department. They would send out uniformed
officers who would interview your family, gather evidence, take photographs
of the scene, fill out an incident report, and then the coroner or ambulance
would cart off the intruder.
There's only one catch. It's TEOTWAWKI. Even if the phone would ring, there
are no police on the other end. No one is coming to help. There will be no
uniformed officer, no incident report, no photos, no evidence taken. It will
be completely up to you to discern how he gained entry, and repair any damaged
caused by his entry, and the ensuing firefight. Do you know how to fix the
door he kicked open? The window he shattered? The fencing or gate he drove
over? More importantly, do you have the parts and tools needed to repair
or replace them? Another door? Door frame? Door knob? Deadbolt? Strike face?
Spare
keys to new locks? Window pane? Window frame? Whole window? Fencing? Fence
posts? Gate? Do you have anything to just cover the hole where your window
to be?
Oh, and there's one more little detail you may have overlooked. There will
be no coroner to call. . There will be no trained, experienced,
seen-it-all-nothing-shocks-me-anymore medical examiner to rid you of your
recently deceased criminal mastermind.
So, what do you do with the dead guy in your living room?
Honestly, how many of us have ever actually gone so far as to consider the
possibility that one day we may find ourselves in a situation like this? An
intruder in the home, certainly. A firefight, probably. Taking a life, likely.
But who has actually come up with a plan for dealing with the aftermath, the
body growing cold between your comfy chair and coffee table? I highly doubt
your spouse and children would be keen to leave it where it is, playing the
role of "lumpy, rather morbid area rug/ottoman." And that would be
ignoring the fact that corpses have this annoying (and stomach-churning) habit
of, well, evacuating on themselves. And rotting. Never forget the rotting.
So what do you do with it?
Do you drag it outside and bury it? Burn it on a funeral pyre? Throw it in
the nearest body of water and hope it floats downstream? Stake it up on the
lawn like some macabre scarecrow, a warning to others? Feed it through your
wood chipper? What sort of treatment or rites (if any) do you give during the
internment of your would-be murderer? Does he get a pine box, a pit just deep
enough to
keep the wildlife from digging him up by morning, or unceremoniously dropped
in a heap next to your mailbox, waiting for a trash pickup that's never
coming?
Can you even stomach the idea of handling a dead body (and its various fluids)
for the length of time required to actually dispose of it? Including transport
to burial site, preparation of burial site, internment, and blood stain/brain
matter/bowel contents cleanup? Do you even have a cleaner that can get blood,
brain, and bowel contents out of your carpets, drapes, clothing, and upholstery?
Are you going to be reminded of the life you took every time you sit in your
favorite
chair? Will you spend hours staring out the back window at the patch of turned
earth that marks his final resting place?
Do you relocate? Has his presence (and subsequent death) revealed you to the
masses? Can you afford to take that chance? How many of his associates may
know of your whereabouts? Will they try to avenge him? Can you repeat this
whole process again? Do you have the materials to replace another door, window,
or fence? Can you bear the mental strain of taking more lives? Is your yard
big enough to bury them all?
I do not have the answers to these questions. I know my own self, and how
I react in a situation not all that dissimilar. This is one of those rare things
you really can't properly train for, unless you happen to be coroner or mortician
by trade. There are precious few opportunities to be near the recently deceased
for the rest of us (for which I am profoundly grateful), and I doubt you will
find a mortician willing to loan you a body to practice with. If you do, I
suggest you report them to the authorities. That's just not right.
I guess it boils down to a question of fortitude, much like the Deadly Force
issue that would precede it. Can you set aside your personal feelings about
the dead, the living, what he intended, what you did, and what that smell is,
long enough to do what needs to be done? If you think you can, I suggest you
figure out now what you're going to do when the need arises, rather than figuring
out what you're going to do once the need has risen. Like that old saying goes; "Forewarned
is Forearmed." Food for thought. - C.M., Maine
JWR Adds: While it is difficult to predict post-SHTF circumstances,
and even more difficult to predict how long they might last, it is
safe to assume that eventually things will get back to some semblance of normalcy--hopefully
within weeks or months. At that point, there will be some backtracking, to
account
for what crimes transpired during the emergency, and to insure that everyone
is living at property that is legally deeded to them. Therefore, in the sad
event
that you are forced to take
a life to
defend
your
own, or
to defend the lives
of
your
loved
ones, it is important to "cover yourself in paper" before you
go burying any bodies. It is crucial get an official--preferably a sworn law
enforcement officer--but failing that, any official to
sign an affidavit of the circumstances of the shooting. Even if the only "official"
that you
can
locate
is a retired police officer or a dog
catcher or the head of the local water district, get them to sign an
affidavit, and have it witnessed by by at least three or four neighbors who
will also be walked-through the scene--and be presented the "play
by play" after-action report. (Relying on just one or two witness signatures
might
be a mistake, since people are likely to relocate or assume room temperature
in
large numbers
during
a crisis.) Also, before touching anything in the room(s), be sure
to take pictures showing the location of the
body (or
bodies),
weapons,
spent
brass,
bullet holes in walls, et cetera. Also photograph the body in the grave,
before you back-fill it.
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Old Frontier Forts as Alternative Bug Out Locations?, by R.D. in Wyoming
I wish to present an alternative prep situation that I have not really seen talked
about on your blog and at other other sites. First a small bit of biographical background and anecdotes to explain
my reasons for what I (now recently we) are doing.
Ten years ago, I retired from the military (26+ years, Life Scout (in a younger
form) and an ex-scout leader (both Boy and Girl Scouts), fixed income with a
part time job, never lived at one address longer than three years (requirement
of
military
lifestyle), hobbies oriented to colonial/fur trade eras (see anecdote), recent
earnest prepper (caused by that feeling in the pit of my stomach and head that
things really aren't right and not going to get better). Fiscally responsible
but bought the "earned your retirement" false dream long ago--that
can't be changed now.
While in the military a lifestyle of semi-preparedness was necessary because
of my low income. (I suffered through the
Carter and Clinton administrations). We canned food from our garden wherever
we
were
stationed
to
stretch
the food budget and teach our children how to make their own food; we cut firewood
for heat in some locales; we relied on kerosene lamp back-up lighting and camp
stove cooking because of unreliable base power grids. At one base I was even
visited by the Public Works officer to find out why my quarters had lights during
a power outage. Imagine his surprise to find both lights and heat off the grid,
plus all my neighbors and their children warm and well fed.
At times, while in the service, we qualified for assistance food and
based upon those experiences have reached some unconventional decisions. Assistance
food usually meant a five-pound block of USDA cheese, #10 cans of dehydrated
soups or powdered eggs, surplus breads and very large containers of dried milk.
When
you
open these it becomes a use-it-or-lose-it menu even for a family of four!
My colonial/fur trades hobbies came about with involvement in Scouting, teaching
merit badges, Indian skills and camp crafts. They are both enjoyable and practical
from a barter-trades aspect: hide tanning/leatherworking, moccasin and footwear
making, non-manufactured clothing making (no zippers or buttons) and
using trade cloth/blankets), primitive cooking and camping skills and pioneering--the
art of using logs and rope to construct bridges, platforms and watch towers,
cranes and jack-legs, and other basic heavy lifting rigs. I highly recommend
adding Scouting handbooks and merit badge books (older printings) to family
preparedness libraries. There is a
wealth of information there!
Last year, while looking for our current home, I was really taken with a 1950s
home that still had a primo Civil Defense specification bomb shelter in the
back yard, primarily as a safe place for my reloading and weapons storage.
It was
the
high end style
that
was connected to the basement of the house with a concrete tunnel, doored at
both ends, and three feet underground. It was in mild disrepair: vent system
damaged and entrance sealed off at the house, but repairable. We passed on
that house because it was in the end too small for our needs and in a shall-we-say
"unstable" neighborhood.
Six months after purchasing our current home my wife, out of the blue, says
that
maybe we should have bought the other house! This from a woman that has made
disparaging remarks when I have added to our LBE kits and checked the status
of our "homeland defense" items.
She seems to have had an epiphany after our taxes were prepared when she wanted
to know why we had not taken the $3,000 credit from our small investment nest
egg
before and I explained that we had never lost over half of it to the economy!
When the "boss" changed
her attitude and became interested in my "below the radar" preps,
I started to include her in the decision and prioritizing of what to buy and
the impacts on our limited budget.
"Below the radar" preps means passing off a purchase as some other
need (diplomatic when not everyone is on board with the idea): a small generator
was
for our tent camper, food items were for this summer when our grandson visits
or to replace things lost in a move, water jugs were because of the places
where we camp, extra gas cans were for the lawn mower (a stretch but it worked),
the
FRS radios
were an aid when we are out hiking, though there was no need to disguise the
increase
in reloading components when the election results were in.
All this brings me to our different style of prepping.
While I would like to be able to stock up as is generally noted and advocated,
our finances and storage space do not permit the expenditure of the amounts
necessary to buy in bulk. Also from my experiences in the military I don't
like to place all my eggs in one basket. I will admit that while
it is more expensive per unit cost, it is also more "do-able" in
an on-going practical sense on a fixed income and has an unforeseen future
benefit.
We make our storage food purchases with only the two of us in immediate mind,
to aid in use and rotation, by buying individual serving packages for most
of the items that we get: boxes of rice sealed in boil-in-bag pouches, powdered
milk in boxes that have quart size servings inside, individual packages of
Ramen
style noodles, small cans of fruits and vegetables (the type with the pull-off
lids), non-refrigerated microwave meals that serve one (these are very practical
as they go in our lunches on a daily basis), individual packet boxes of instant
oatmeal, and normal sizes of canned meat, chicken and fish. Some items naturally
are bought in what would be normal sizes but for only the two of us they seem
to last forever: Five pound bags of flour, sugar, cornmeal, coffee and pancake
mixes. The primary factor in these purchases is getting the longest expiration
dates
that we can find. All this gets put into 22 gallon Totes that have latches
for the lids but only one container of each item per Tote: a box of rice, a
box
of milk,
salt, coffee, etc., 4 each of the fruits and vegetables (36 total), 4 rolls
of toilet paper and towels, strike anywhere matches, sets of durable plastic
knife, fork and spoon, zip-lock bag of 28 individual size soap, 4 empty plastic
bullet boxes that hold
4 Bic style [disposable butane] lighters, 2 packets each type garden seeds.
This list is not complete, but you get the idea. The content of each Tote equate
to one
month's
food and paper needs and is movable by even our 13 year old grandson. We currently
have six totes filled, after only four months of serious additions. We are
trying to add
one Tote a month in addition to the other things that we are getting. My part-time
job provides the funds for this so what we can get depends on what else is
on a priority that month. We do have an additional Tote that holds 36 MREs
and is
marked for priority loading. Our water is stored in the newer G.I. five-gallon
plastic water cans, available at flea markets. These are stored in a dark storage
room.
Our
small
camper
is
always stocked and ready to go no matter what season of the year.
Now for the reasoning behind this method. If TSHTF or TEOTWAWKI occurs
it may be gradual or a traumatic event requiring different tactics. If gradual
and
we can hunker down while finishing up necessaries, only one Tote at a time
needs
to be opened to augment what we have. If traumatic, anyone can carry/load the
Totes into one of several available G.O.O.D. vehicles or the trailer while
another watches their "six". The urgency of a bug-out may dictate how much
can be loaded
in the time available. The more Totes that can be grabbed, the longer we can
make do but the MRE Tote and water is always loaded first. This is in addition
to B.O.B.s and
homeland defense items.
Now for the unforeseen future benefits that I mentioned. As you have noted
several times and places, I too could not turn away others that are in need
if I can
help. But giving someone a #10 can of beans or soup will not really help them.
A grocery bag of individual servings that they are familiar with and provide
variety and full meals for one or two days plus a means to heat it will help
while not depleting our stores. Secondly, if a bad guy finds a single Tote
with a few of everything in it, they may assume that's all there is
and not attempt to engage in a protracted search for more.
One last item that may not meet with approval but is out-of-the-box thinking
in the selection of several fallback retreat sites that most others probably
will not think of. If we cannot stay in the city, as small as it is,
I have found a couple of locales that would prove ideal. One is a semi-restored
1870s military post. Yes, I know that I don't own it in the
traditional sense though I have paid for it through my taxes, but if there
is no more
authority in force, it could prove useful. The fort is already set up to function
without power as we are used to, just coal
or wood heat and cooking (there is no electricity on site), bulletproof buildings
and pre-determined fields of fire, close to a year round water source, small
homes
for families
and barracks for singles and designed by some of the best military minds of
their times. Even has a powder magazine and jail! It also has a very low visitor
count.
If it is occupied or contested, no problems, as there are others at regular
distances closer or farther. If not, then it allows for a rally point and the
expansion of a
Group as others arrive that are aware of my thinking. And they are not unique
to our Area of Operations (AO).
I have been to some really complete ones back east, in the south, and
on the west coast. Let your mind do the walking.
I didn't realize how long this became. If you find it suitable for
others to see to help them achieve their goals with limited or minimal means,
please feel free to chop it as necessary.
Very Respectfully of your efforts to aid others, - R.D. in Wyoming
JWR Replies: That is an interesting concept, but implementing
as you describe would require a quite unique set of circumstances. Namely,
it could only happen if there were
a sudden an near total collapse of society, and if all law
enforcement evaporated overnight. It is far more likely that we will witness
a "slow slide"
from recession
to
depression, (and then, much less likely) to collapse. For most that continuum, your actions would be seen
as criminal, and you'd quickly attract the attention of government. So then
you might end up behind some other very
stout walls. And BTW, any of these forts that are on National Forest or National
Park land are considered Federal property, so any occupation deemed "trespassing"
would be a Federal offense and likely carry a much more severe penalty than
trespass on state or county parklands. So it is best to make this a "very
low likelihood"
contingency plan.
In my estimation the only pragmatic way to occupy an old
fort in the midst of a slow slide situation would be to include representatives
of county, state or perhaps even Federal government as part of your planned
cadre, and characterize
it all
as a "continuity
of government" (COG)
endeavor. Bureaucrats often enjoy thinking (or pretending) that they come up
with original ideas. Given the promise of safety for "selected"
people, this should not be too difficult to orchestrate, especially as the
economy worsens and the crime rate escalates. Creating a nexus with a governmental
organization could be as complex as getting qualified as an EMT, or as simple
as joining a
Sheriff's Posse,
joining a County
SAR team,
or becoming a RACES-affiliated
ham radio operator.
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Letter Re: Some Practical Lessons From Daily Concealed Carry
Jim,
I am on my third concealed carry license and have been carrying at least one
concealed weapon every day for about 15 years. I have learned a number of
lessons I thought I would share with AceHigh and any other recent CCLs holders
among your readers.
First, choose a gun you can carry all the time because a small gun in your
hand is worth two big guns back in your safe. Wearing a gun only sometimes
means that you will sometimes be unprepared. Wouldn't you feel really stupid
I the one time you needed your gun you didn't have it because it was too heavy,
too awkward or too uncomfortable to wear or carry?
I started out with a Glock [Model]
23 [compact .40 S&W] as my primary weapon in an inside the waistband (IWB)
holster. My backup was a .38 Special snub nose revolver. 15 years later, these
roles have reversed. I carry an Airweight (alloy frame] .38 revolver
loaded with +P ammo in a Kramer pocket holster and is in the left front pocket
of
my cargo
pants with 10 spare rounds in my right cargo pocket.
I can carry this gun concealed in my pocket without any additional clothing
or other requirements. I can wear shorts or take off my shirt, and it is still
concealed. It is much easier to carry than a larger automatic, and
as a result, it is always there. From the moment I get dressed in the morning
until I go
to bed, it is in my pocket and within easy reach. So I don't have to run and
get it if the dog barks or I hear an unusual noise.
My backup gun is now the Glock 23. It rides securely in a backpack, which I
carry with me almost everywhere I go. It goes with me to work; it rides in
the car if I go out. Inside the backpack are two more speedloaders for the
revolver and four loaded magazines for the semi auto. Of course, there are
other survival related supplies in the bag as well as a few work-related items
to add legitimacy.
If I do not have my backpack handy, the plan is to use the revolver to fight
my way to the backpack, or to the nearest long gun. Remember, hand guns are
relatively puny, and we carry them not because we expect trouble, but because
we want to be prepared for the unexpected. Heck, if we were expecting trouble
when we left the house, the smart thing would be to not leave the house! If
you had no choice, then you would probably go heavily armed with a bunch of
heavily armed friends.
The nearest long gun is likely to be an FAL locked
in the contractor box on the back of my pick up truck. I picked .308 caliber
because if I am in a vehicle
and need my rifle, I figure that I will need one that will be more effective
against other vehicles than a .223. It is an ugly pre-ban gun, but it is one
that I do
not mind leaving in the car. At home, a 12 gauge is available if a pistol
is not enough gun for the job and there are rifles in the safes.
Second Lesson: Clean your carry guns, even if you don't shoot them. I remember
going to a Glock sponsored pistol match years ago and they had an armorer who
was doing free tune ups. He checked out all three of mine, held up the Model
23, and asked: "This is your carry gun, isn't it?" he asked. I wondered
how he knew. He pointed out the lint under the slide. Carry guns get dust and
lint
inside them, especially when they are worn inside your clothes. I also learned
to always clean my gun after I used a chain saw or did similar work. Sawdust
gets everywhere too.
Third lesson: Have extra ammo in your car or anywhere you might need it. I
have a spare loaded magazine and a box of ammo in each vehicle. My wife carries
a .380, so I have .380 ammo in my truck, just in case. I also have extra magazines
and ammo at work and, of course, at home.
I once flew to another state to meet my wife who had driven up to her parent's
house a week or two earlier. I checked my pistol, but they would not let me
check my ammo because it was not in an "approved" container, so I
had to discard it. After she picked me up at the airport, I reloaded my magazines
from the box of 50 rounds in my wife's vehicle and was back up and running.
BTW, at least once a year, you should go to the range and shoot all your carry
ammo, replacing it with new stuff.
Fourth lesson: Don't take just one course, and never stop training. I have
taken two or more classes from the following trainers: Massad Ayoob, John Farnham,
and Lewis Awerbuck. I learned from each of them, every time, even through I
had previously read their books. I still take a one day refresher course from
Awerbuck once every year or so.
Fifth lesson: Never tell anyone you are carrying. You may know when to shoot
and when not to, but that does not mean the idiot you are with does. They will
get you in trouble or possibly shot. If you cannot avoid stupid people, you
can at least avoid telling them you are armed. That is one reason I am not
enamored by fanny packs and photographer vests; they broadcast that you are
carrying. That means the bad guy will shoot you first, before you get a chance
to realize what is going on. Better to be low profile.
Sixth lesson: Decide ahead of time if you are going to carry in a place where
it may not be legal for you to do so. For example, in our state, it is illegal
to carry a concealed weapon anywhere that they charge admission. While some
well-meaning legislator probably proposed this aspect of the law to prevent
gun battles in night clubs, it applies equally to movie theaters, sporting
events, the country fair, etc. You need to know what you are going to do in
this situation before you walk towards the door. Same with carrying in schools
and, post offices, bars and places that are posted "no guns allowed."
Seventh lesson: Learn to swallow your pride. When you are carrying gun, you
have to ignore every insult, every middle finger, and every rude comment because
you have an added burden of responsibility to avoid trouble when you carry
a gun. If you escalate a verbal argument into a physical confrontation, you
could be liable if you have to shoot the other fellow, even if he pulled a
knife on you.
I remember one time when I was stopped at a red light and the idiot behind
me wanted me to make a right turn on red that I didn't think was safe. This
guy actually drove up on the sidewalk along side of me and proceeded to yell
and gesture out the window at me. I really wanted to see the look on his face
when I pointed my gun at him. I mean, I really, really wanted to see how quickly
his behavior changed. But I just grimaced and waived him on around me. Because
I knew my action would have potentially escalated the situation to an unnecessary
fatal confrontation. And because two stupid guys don’t make one smart
guy.
Finally, be emotionally, intellectually, and legally prepared to shoot someone.
Don't carry a gun unless you know with absolute certainty that you could shoot
someone who was threatening you or your loved ones with grave bodily harm.
Be prepared for the aftermath as well. That means, find a good criminal lawyer
who knows what an affirmative defense is before you are in a situation where
you could be arrested. Know what you will say in, during and after a confrontation.
Know what you will
say when you call 911. Know what you will say to the responding officers (preferably
as little as possible).
Know also what you will do if you get shot. First, stay in the fight and finish
it. Second, scan for other threats. Third, check yourself for wounds (you may
not feel them at the time) and stop any bleeding. That same backpack that houses
my Glock carries a tactical first aid kit that includes QuikClot and an Israeli
battle dressing. If you carry a gun, you owe it to yourself and your family
members to carry the appropriate trauma gear as well.
So far, I have never had to pull my gun, but there has been an occasion or
two when I have been glad to rest my hand on it. I count myself lucky and hope
I can live a long life without having to shoot anyone. But at the same time,
I am prepared should my luck should run out or circumstances change. - D. in
North Carolina
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Disaster Preparedness--Of Lists and Preparation in Depth, by Ed C.
I would like to offer my own experiences in the hopes that they may provide
some small amount of practical advice to others. Here in Oklahoma, of course,
we face tornadoes, but many do not realize we have also suffered from paralyzing
ice storms - three within the past ten years. Lessons gleaned from practical
experience are:
- Have inventory lists;
- Have 'Oh-Schumer Lists' of items
and chores for each type of contingency situation
(tornado, flood, ice storm, etc.)
- Prepare 'in depth' for each major
need, such as heat and light, food, water, shelter, and protection
- Calmly
think
through scenarios on the before-hand, in terms of what would be needed,
how long one can survive, and what the deciding factors in your response
would be ('fight or flight')
- Most importantly, be prepared to take care of your own, whether family
or
friends or neighbors.
First things first. Just a week or so ago, Oklahoma
was ravaged by several tornadoes. While keeping an ear on the weather
report,
I calmly
gathered up medications,
identification papers, windup lights and radios. I made sure there
was at least one conventional telephone working. We have had experiences
with cell
phone
towers being down, or the cell phone networks being overloaded. I
placed a full face motorcycle helmet, winter gloves, and parka within reach
to put on (for some marginal protection against debris)
in case
the tornado swung in our direction, something they can and
have done before.
Thankfully, we were spared, though one tornado came within two miles
of
our home.
The purpose of relating the above is to illustrate the
importance of pre-planning for an event, having what we call an 'Oh-Schumer
List' of
items and tasks, so that one keeps panic at bay while calmly following
a pre-planned, prepared
list so that one keeps busy and feels somewhat in control of the
situation.
The second situation is one that we have experienced
several times; and yet I am still amazed that many neighbors still do not
prepare
for them; ice
storms. Again, we have items stored which were deemed necessary
to overcome the emergency
situation, as well as an 'Oh-Schumer List' of items and tasks
(chores) which we can calmly follow. In our case, we have winter clothing
cleaned, organized,
and stored;
various tools and outdoor items prepped (snow shovels, chain
saw (and spare chains, oil,
etc.), generator (and gasoline, oil, spark plugs, etc.), tarps,
lumber; food, water, and medicines stocked; Vehicles serviced and fueled;
and Call
Lists of Family,
Friends, and Neighbors so that we can be sure they are warm,
fed, and safe.
One thing I must stress is that we prepare 'in depth'
as much as we can.
Meaning that while we have a generator and gasoline, we also
have propane lights, heaters,
and stoves in case the generator fails. We also
have candles, Esbit stoves, windup lights and radios, and firewood.
Similarly, my wife
will cook up large batches of food if she knows we have an
incoming storm front, but we also have canned goods, MREs, and freeze-dried
goods.
For water, we
have bottled water, Katadyn water filters, bleach, water purification
tablets, collapsible
water containers, and a small 10,000 gallon swimming pool.
A
few years ago, Oklahoma City was paralyzed for about five
days by an ice storm. We had no
electricity from the grid, but we had our furnace and a few appliances
running
on a generator. We also had relatives and neighbors who stayed with us, as
they had not prepared. It was no matter, we had homemade chicken pot
pies, wine, card games,
lively conversation, and were all safe, snug, and warm. Sadly, while outside
cutting up fallen trees that blocked the roads, I encountered a neighbor that
needed
the cut-up wood to heat and cook for his elderly father and himself. I offered
him our propane lights, heater, and camp stove; but he did not take us up
on the
offer. I wanted to ask him, that since we had gone through this numerous
times, why he had not prepared for this. But, I knew it was hard enough for
him just
to ask for the firewood.
In closing, let me recap. Have inventory
lists. Have 'Oh-Schumer Lists' of items and tasks for each type of contingency
situation. Prepare 'in
depth' for each major need, such as heat and light, food, water, shelter,
and protection Calmly think through scenarios on the before-hand,
in terms of what would be needed, how long one can survive, and what the deciding
factors would
be. Most importantly, be prepared to take care of your own, whether
family
or friends or neighbors. Sadly, this last point is overlooked by many. Good
luck to all.
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Two Letters Re: Livestock for Survival
Jim:
I would like to clarify a point in the article, "Livestock for Survival" by
Bobbi A. Regarding hens going "broody" - Probably not. There are very
few breeds in which the hens will sit on their eggs, and even among broody breeds
(such as Buff Orpingtons, which I raise) only a few hens will become broody.
The broodiness trait has been intentionally bred out of chickens because a
broody hen does not lay eggs. If you plan to raise your own chicks, have an
incubator and power source as a backup.
Also, a suggestion: I have made arrangements with others in my area who
also raise chickens. If I were to lose my rooster or all of my hens for some
reason,
my friends will re-supply me with chicks. I will do the same for them if the
need arises. Having a backup arrangement like that could be crucial. - Stephen
in Florida
JWR Replies: Here at the ranch, our no-tech solution has
been to buy a couple of Bantam hens, for use as
adoptive brooders in any year that we want to raise chicks
from eggs. Since they are raised mostly for "show" rather than egg
production (ha!), banties are notoriously broody.
James,
I don’t know any farmers (or any other group for that matter) who agree
completely on everything. They may agree on a point, but place different values
on the importance of that point. Bobbi knows what he is talking about and his
solutions fit him. I do think he didn’t cover one point well.
I am in the process of bugging out to a very isolated area. (No roads within
miles, etc.) I also suspect that the various municipalities, states etc will
be hard pressed to keep some services such as water going. Cleanliness is next
to godliness as far as disease is concerned, so I expect the filth produced by
lack of water and garbage collection to produce a huge vector for disease. In
a very isolated location, most human to human transferred disease will be unlikely
to be a problem.
Studies have shown that rabbits convert pound for pound of food into about the
same amount of protein as chickens per annum. Certainly no cook would consider
doing without eggs, and rabbits just don’t cut it there. On the other hand,
rabbits are not very prone to getting bird flu either. That is one disease that
my isolation will not help, with crows, etc. having unrestricted license to fly
where-ever they please. I haven’t yet totally decided to have no fowl,
but I am concerned enough to give it very serious consideration. Now chickens
are a much lower priority than rabbits in my book. In my location, getting land
cleared and a first year crop off is easier with hay than seed grains, and rabbits
eat hay. However, your mileage may vary. - Allen
« Letter Re: Should We Still be Saving Nickels? |Main| Note from JWR: »
Livestock for Survival, by Bobbi A.
With a cynical eye on the rapid downward spiral of events, it seems prudent
to plan for a very long time of sustainable living. In this case survival depends
not only on your stockpiled preps, but also in your ability to sustain food
production past the end of your stored supply.
Let’s assume, to begin with, that you have reasonably stocked retreat.
I’m not talking a stock to the level described in “Patriots”,
but rather one that includes a year (or more) of food, basic ammo, firearms,
reliable water, heat and power source … the basics.
Now it’s time to look past the first year or so and decide how you will
continue to produce food and supplies for your family. Hunting is often an
option, but it can’t be considered a long-term complete food source,
as it is not nutritionally complete.
Much has been said about keeping heirloom (open pollinated) seeds, and this
cannot be stressed enough. But you have to plant and harvest a crop each year
to continue to re-supply your seeds. Most retreats seem to be in colder climates
as they tend to have a lighter year-round population load. If you’re
up in the mountains, altitude will play a significant factor in what you can
hope to grow. Staples such as corn require heat days in order to properly pollinate
and “set”. You generally want to lay in a supply of varieties that
have the shortest maturity date. That means from the time you plant that seed
to the time you harvest the crop is the shortest possible number of days.
Using “short season” varieties gives you two advantages. First,
if you have a crop failure for some reason, you can often have time to replant.
Secondly, if you’ve harvested your first crop, you have time to put another
crop in the same space.
As summer approaches, consider a great time to practice crop production, if
you haven’t already. It is not as simple a poking a seed into some dirt.
Get a couple of good gardening books, or better yet, books on basic farming.
Carla Emery’s Encyclopedia
of Country Living and
the Reader's Digest Back
to Basics are
both excellent reference books that cover everything from farming to livestock
to making basic necessities.
Having a huge variety of seeds is not as important as having plenty to the
right seeds for your needs. If you just can’t live without brussel sprouts,
by all means, lay in some seeds. But stick mostly to the basics: wheat, corn,
squash/pumpkin, beans, peas, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, peppers, and your
basic herbs. If you haven’t planted fruit trees, now is the time to get
started on that. It takes several years for trees to be come productive. Also
give consideration to other perennials such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries,
blueberries and grapes. Again, it take a few years for these (except for strawberries)
to get into full production.
Besides your garden, fields and orchards, you’ll need to take a serious
look at what sort of livestock will fit in to your situation. Eventually, you
will probably need some sort of animal power for transportation and heavy work.
The most efficient feed-to-food converter is a chicken. One hen will lay approximately
one egg every other day. Peak production (during the summer) generally is an
egg a day. Winter drops to an egg every third day or so without significant
extra light in the chicken coop. You can expect to raise two or three sets
of chicks each summer. Hens will get “broody” and sit on eggs to
hatch them once the weather is warm. In order for the eggs to be fertile, you
of course must have a rooster. The best ratio is one rooster to every ten hens.
A family of four would do well with 25 laying hens and three roosters. The
extra
eggs
produced during the warm months can be frozen or used for feed for other animals.
You can even feed the [well-pulverized and unrecognizable] eggshells back to
your chickens to give them adequate calcium. During the spring, summer and
early
fall, you
don’t
even have to provide chickens with any feed. They are excellent consumers of
all sorts
of insects and bugs. “Free range” chickens pretty much feed themselves
during the warm months. If predators are an issue though, you’ll want
to keep them in a moveable cage (called a “chicken tractor”) so
they don’t become a snack for some varmint. Raccoons are especially fond
of chickens, as are weasels.
If you know that the stuff is hitting the fan, try to order 50 chicks or so
[and buy a 50 pound sack of chick starter feed at your local feed store]. Chicks
arrive in the mail. Ideal Poultry and Murray McMurray are two excellent sources.
If
you
order “straight
run” chicks,
you’ll
get a mix (about 50/50) of hens to roosters. The best all-round chicken in
my opinion
is the Astralorp. They start to lay early (at about five months of age) and
consistently, they are good mothers and are big enough to still be a reasonable
source of meat. The roosters tend to stay calm and usually are not aggressive.
Chicks will cost you around $1.50 each. The price varies with the breed, the
supplier and the time of year. Ideal tends to have good sales, which you can
keep up with by signing up for email alerts.
Another excellent feed-to-food converter is the basic goat. I’ll say
right off that they are tough to keep fenced in. Goats are terrifically intelligent
and are phenomenal escape artists. If you keep goats, make absolutely certain
that your gardens, crop grounds and trees are well fenced off and well protected.
Goats can decimate fruit trees in minutes. Goats produce milk, meat and leather.
A doe can kid as early as eight months old, but it’s best to wait until
they are yearlings. Goats’ gestation is about five months and they tend
to only breed in months that have “R” in the name (Sept, Oct, Nov,
Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr). There are some aseasonal breeders, but don’t
count on it. If your does are bred in early September, you might be about to
get them bred back again in April, two months after kidding. Goats usually
have twins and triplets. Bucks can be smelly and can be aggressive during rut.
The breed of goat really is an individual preference. Goat enthusiasts will
extol the virtues of their particular breed, but mostly it comes down to basics:
good dairy does will give about a gallon of milk a day. Goat milk, properly
processed, is indistinguishable from fresh cow’s milk. If you have never
consumed fresh milk, you ought to give it a try. It is completely different
from what you purchase in the store. It makes store-bought taste like water.
Goat milk is white, it does not separate as easily as cow’s milk (it
takes longer to skim enough cream for butter), and it is often well-tolerated
by people with lactose issues. During grazing months, a goat will produce milk
just with pasture (grasses, clovers, and browse). A small amount of grain is
nice at milking time so the does will be excited to come in to the milking
area. It beats chasing them all over Creation. IN the winter, they will require
hay and a little grain if you intend to keep milking. Some people “dry
off” their does in the winter in preparation for kidding. You have to
allow about two months of no milking before the doe kids so that her body has
time to produce the colostrum the kids need in order to survive.
Goats are capable of pulling small, fairly light carts and helping with basic
garden work (muzzled, of course). They can work individually or as a team of
no more than two. They are also good packers capable of carrying about 30 pounds
(for a full grown adult goat). For a family of four, two or three does and
one buck is plenty. And yes, you can keep doe kids and still breed them back
to
their sire (or their brothers).
Line breeding is not recommended over the long-haul, but it’s perfectly
fine until things stabilize and you can trade genetics with a neighbor.
Sheep are extremely important, in my opinion, but are rarely discussed. They
don’t have a terrific feed-to-food ratio, as they require a bit more
protein. But for what they give you in return, they are an excellent survival
animal. Besides meat and terrific hides, sheep produce wool. Wool is one of
the very best natural fibers. It is somewhat flame retardant, retains its warmth
even soaking wet, and is incredibly versatile. It can be spun into yarn, felted,
woven, and even worked with “raw”. Lanolin is the “grease” on
the wool. Once cleaned, it is an excellent, lasting softener for badly chapped/burned
skin.
Sheep are not very smart, and so they really require looking after. If you
have a predation problem, you’ll want to keep sheep close-in, or have
some sort of guardian (human or animal) with them at all times. Sheep are similar
to goats in breeding and birthing habits. In fact, you can keep sheep and goats
together without any problems. They do not interbreed (although you may see
the males trying it anyway).
Merino sheep are the best for fine wool production: the kind of wool you can
wear next to your skin and not feel “itchy”. They are hard to find
in the United States. Virtually any sheep, except “hair sheep”,
will work for survival purposes. Larger breeds such as Columbia, Suffolk, and
Corriedale will have more coarse wool, but they will produce bigger (meatier)
lambs on less feed.
Like goats, you’d want two or three ewes and one ram. Rams can be dangerous.
Repeat: rams can be dangerous. There is a product available called a “ram
shield”. It is a leather piece that fit over the ram’s face so
that he can’t see straight ahead to charge. However, his vision is fine
for eating and wooing the ewes. (By the way, it works on goat bucks, too).
After one Suffolk ram kept charging me, it is standard on our rams except for
the Merinos. I’ve never had an aggressive Merino ram. Not to say it couldn’t
happen; it just hasn’t happened yet. Merinos are smaller and when the
rams fight during rut, the Merinos can take quite a beating. With the other
rams wearing shields, it helps keep the Merinos from getting clobbered. It’s
best to have a separate ram area away from the ewes once the girls are bred.
It’s just safer for the shepherd/ess during feeding and lambing time.
Hogs are not for everyone, but they are one of my favorites. They produce a
lot of meat, they are smart and easy to manage if you treat them decently,
and they can grow fat on table scraps, roots, and forage. One sow can produce
20 or more piglets in a year. That a lot of meat and useful fat (soap-making).
My experience is that colored pigs do better on pasture and forage than white
pigs. I have no idea why this is true, but it seems to be. I don’t think
the breed makes much difference, as long as the pigs aren’t white. Contrary
to the stories, pigs do not like to be dirty. However, they cannot sweat to lower
their body heat, and they must be provided with a place to cool
off. A shallow concrete “pool”, access to a creek or pond, or even
occasional hosing off will work. If pigs cannot get cooled off any other way,
then they will wallow in a mud source.
Pigs “root” (dig) almost from the minute they are born. This is
a terrific help in the fall when you want to get your garden turned over. They
are omnivores and will graze, browse, and yet still consume table scraps and
meat. Pigs are a good way to dispose of any accidental animal carcasses that
you can’t eat yourself. Pigs are extremely smart (some say smarter than
dogs). Boars can be dangerous, just like any other male, especially when he’s
chasing a female. If you see the boar slobbering (white foam), stay out of
the pen. He’s wooing a lady. We tame our pigs by hand-feeding eggs to
them. After a few days, the pigs will come when you call. I have never even
been charged by a pig, and I feel comfortable around ours. However, I never
forget that they have razor-sharp teeth and that they weigh about 600 pounds
when full grown! I never let the kids go into the hog pens unless I am standing
right there. We’ve never had a problem, but I don’t believe in
being foolish either.
Sows’ gestation is 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days. Sows will have between
8 and 15 piglets per litter. Many times, sows will have fewer “faucets” than
piglets and you’ll have to make sure every gets their fair share of food
in the beginning. Within a week, the piglets will be running everywhere and
helping themselves to whatever Mom is eating. Piglets can be weaned at one
month, but we generally leave them on until the sow weans them herself. The
nutrition they receive from the sow doesn’t cost me anything and it helps
the piglets get an excellent start.
Pigs can be butchered at about 160 pounds, which will give you about 80 pounds
of meat and 20 pounds of lard. Pigs raised on pasture have much less lard and
more lean meat. A little corn each day will help them gain weight faster, but
much of that weight gain is fat and is probably a waste of valuable resources.
One sow and one boar will keep your family fed and provide lots of meat for
trade.
As for larger stock, cattle and horses are generally what most people think
of. They have great benefits but also great draw-backs.
Cattle produce milk, meat and hides. They also have a poor feed-to-food ratio
compared to smaller stock. However, cattle can provide muscle as oxen for pulling,
farming, and carting things around. Oxen can be male or female, so even your
milk cow can be your ox in a pinch. Cows eat a lot. Figure on a milk cow eating
30 to 50 pounds of hay a day in the winter time. That’s a lot of hay
if you’re putting it up by hand. Bulls are dangerous, but necessary to
keep your cow bred (unless you can trade for the service a neighbor's bull).
It takes about a year or so to get a calf to butcher size, which means you’re
going to be feeding that calf over the winter (more hay). However, your cow
will
produce
five to eight gallons of milk a day (on average). That’s a lot of milk
for your household, for trade, or for feeding chickens and hogs. Cow milk separates
easily.
A cow’s gestation is about nine months and they will breed any month
of the year. You can continue to milk the cow up until about two months before
she calves. Cows usually have just one calf. Dairy cows produce far more milk
than beef cows, but they have less meat. A good solution is to have a dairy
cow and a beef bull. The resulting calf will have more meat at butcher time.
However, if you’re trying to raise a replacement milk cow, this won’t
work in the long run.
There are many breeds of dairy cows. Dexters are excellent dual purpose (milk/meat)
for a small group. They are little cows, about the size of a pony. They consume
half the feed of a full size cow, produce two to three gallons of milk daily
and have a beefier carcass. They dress out at about 65%. The down side is that
they are still relatively expensive ($1000 for a cow/$800 for a bull). If you
look carefully, especially in this down economy, you can probably find them
quite a bit cheaper. Dexters are docile and make excellent oxen.
Jerseys are another “homestead” favorite due to their smaller size
and high percentage of butterfat in the milk. Jerseys are 800-1,000 pounds
full grown and produce 5-to-8 gallons of milk daily. The milk is rich in butterfat
and slightly sweet. I think it’s the best milk. We have a Jersey cross
milk cow for our family’s use.
Horses are a huge help, but not necessary to survival. They consume a lot of
feed without producing any food in return. Most of the work horses do can also
be done by oxen. However, I’d rather ride a horse than an ox any day.
If you have plenty of pasture, plenty of feed and plenty of shelter during
storms, then by all means keep a couple of horses. Again, a mare or two and
a stallion keeps things sustainable.
It’s unlikely that most people would be able to keep each of these animals,
or even that they would want to. The idea is to carefully consider what you
need to supply for your family over a period of years. What livestock can you
add to your retreat planning to help insure a sustainable food supply? Other
possibilities include rabbits (meat/hides), geese (down/eggs), ducks (higher
protein eggs) or domestic turkeys. Both of the books mentioned above for farming
practices have a wealth of information for small-scale livestock production.
The other thing to consider is mobility. If you’re already living at
your retreat, adding large stock is relatively simple. If you’re going
to have to bug out, you’ll have to consider what you can take. I know
that I can put three goats, three sheep, six piglets, and 30 chickens in and
on the back of my Suburban. I know because I tried it. It took me 30 minutes
to
get
all of them safely loaded and/or crated. [JWR Adds: My #1
Son mentioned that you should have videotaped this exercise--it would be very
popular on YouTube!]
I’d
have to leave my cattle and horses if I had to bug out, but I could take enough
livestock
to
keep us
going
for the foreseeable future.
So give consideration to what you will do when your stash runs out. How will
you feed your family, your neighbors, your group if hunting is difficult or
impossible? What can you do that is sustainable and practical? Think about
what works for you in your situation. It’s easy to butcher poultry. It’s
a bit more complicated for sheep or goats, and it takes some serious planning
for a 600 pound pig!
Think ahead and be prepared.
« Economics and Investing: |Main| TEOTWAWKI Medical Skills: Thoughts on Becoming a "Woofer" (Wilderness First Responder), by Richard B. »
Four Letters Re: A Well-Rounded Skillset Requires Both Range-Based and Force-on-Force Training
Jim:
SF in Hawaii seems to have written in haste. His assertion is based on merely seeing the introductory courses at Front Sight. Just read this
course description of Front Sight's Advanced Integrated Handgun course.
This course offers exactly what he's complains is lacking at shooting schools.
- Tantalum Tom
Mr. Rawles,
In response to SF in Hawaii's comment,. I returned this past week from
a four-day defensive handgun course with the one day 30-state CCW [permit
qualifying] class at the end. SF is incorrect in several
areas, but I will mention two specifically. First, while we may have been stationary
during the initial shoot, we were quickly moving after the actual shots were
taken - this movement was called "after action" movement. In fact,
at one point, I had an instructor standing next to me reminding me to "move,
move, move ....don't stand still."
During our one day CCW class, our instructor gave us an idea about what the "Tactical
Handgun" class consisted of - We were literally running along side several
targets and shooting from the running position with the instructor attached
to us ensuring that we did not stand still - reminding us the entire time that
we must continue to move. Secondly, we were taught how to shoot one handed
- and at close range without using the front sight.
We learned so much in five days that will be valuable should the skills ever
be needed in a real life scenario. I was so impressed with the level of skill
and professionalism of the Front Sight instructors. I was also amazed at the
number of military and law enforcement officers attending the class right beside
me, some for the second or even third time in an effort to earn their "graduate" or "distinguished
graduate" certificate. I also learned from our instructor that they have
trained some of our military special forces. If that is not an impressive endorsement,
I can't imagine what would be.
The four-day defensive handgun class may be Front Sight's entry level course,
but with that training, I am able to share information and skills with my husband
who has been in law enforcement for 30 years, defend myself and my family should
that need arise and will look forward to a second chance at earning my "graduate" certificate.
- TC in Washington
JWR:
[My advice to SF is that] if you want to practice moving while shooting try
IDPA or IPSC. They are both games and have varying amounts of "reality",
but both allow even require moving while shooting. In fact, IPSC is called
the "run and gun" sport and IDPA's standard classifier requires
moving while shooting and moving between positions between engaging targets.
The first time out you will be surprised at how hard it is to hit a target
while moving, but you will get better with practice. Both sports also require
reloads while on the clock, another skill that isn't practiced enough.
Mostly one can use their day to day carry rig. Pocket holsters are generally
out. Having said that one of my local clubs did have a "back up gun" side
match every month which allowed all sorts of holsters. My
local club let me use my Wilderness Tactical holster that I use while biking
and hiking, which was great. If you use your carry hardware you get to shake
out any problems you might have and learn exactly what you can and can not
do with your pistol. Most people will be surprised. But with a bit of practice,
great improvements will be made.
Learning pistol skills are why I started going, but the people were the reason
that I started to spend every weekend at one of these events. They are like
minded (at least on the firearm side of ideas), friendly, safe, and very helpful
with new shooters.- Tacmars
Jim,
All the high speed, low drag tactics in the world don’t mean a thing
unless you hit with your first shot. Until you know how to shoot consistently
and accurately under time pressure, and develop the discipline to stay on the
front sight in a fight, which the
range training engrains in you, force on force training is a complete waste
of time and a gimmick for those trainers who can’t put hundreds of students
into their courses week after week. Most gun owners are not
ready for force on force training because they can’t shoot accurately
enough under pressure to benefit from force on force training. Front Sight
offers force on force
training for those students who are ready for it in our advanced tactical scenarios
courses.
- Dr. Ignatius Piazza, Founder and Director of Front
Sight
« Product Review: AmericaStone Knife Sharpener |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: A Well-Rounded Skillset Requires Both Range-Based and Force-on-Force Training
Jim,
I agree with a recent post, Front
Sight offers excellent training,
and will get the beginning shooter to feel comfortable with their weapon and
build in quick and automatic malfunction clearances, but it has shortcomings
that
all range based training classes share. By default, range based
handgun training teaches us:
1) Stand still while you shoot
2) Use two hands when you shoot
3) Focus on the front sight
This type of shooting is a very specialized form of shooting. It is perfect
when you are:
1) Target/competition shooting
2) Shooting at the edge of your accuracy range from cover
It is terrible when you are:
1) Dealing with someone shooting back
2) Dealing with potential multiple aggressors
3) Dealing with close range shooters
Why is this? Force on force teaches us that we need to move when we shoot.
If you stand and take a traditional weaver stance, you will get a great shot
off... and so will your opponent. Of course, neither Front Sight nor any other
traditional range will allow you to shoot while you are running, but this is
exactly what
you need to be able to do.
Force on force teaches us that when we explosively move off the X, we will
typically have only one hand on the gun. Why? It's easier to run that way.
It's instinctual. In a class with Gabe Suarez, after a group Airsoft scenario,
he asked the students, "who took a traditional stance?" This was
a seasoned class and we all looked around sheepishly. None of us had
done it.
I had this assumption that since I had trigger control and sight picture and
training, I would be able to outshoot any gang member with his one-handed running
shooting. Yes, this is true for distances past 15 yards. Within that distance,
(the distance most gunfights take place in) the street style was better. At
distances of three yards, a sight picture will just slow you down. Even an
untrained gangster at 10 feet shooting as fast as he can pull the trigger
will likely
put hits on you at the distance despite his lack of professional training and
sight picture.
Finally, the traditional sight picture of looking hard at the front sight creates
tunnel vision. This is perfect for a sniper shot and stupid for a close range
gunfight. You have just traded your peripheral vision for tunnel vision. In
one scenario, I was able to put six rounds into my opponent: four body shots
and two head shots in under two seconds before he got a shot off at me. Unfortunately,
I didn't even see the second bad guy at my 3 o'clock only 5 feet away as he
shot me two times in the side of my torso. Tunnel vision does that.
Game over.
You should seriously consider taking a force on force training, not just to
learn the skill set, but also to unlearn some range-based behavior that will
get you shot in an gunfight. If you can't get to a class, then buy some Airsoft
pistols, [wrap-around] eye protection and a
DVD from Suarez International on
the subject. - SF in Hawaii
« Letter Re: TEOTWAWKI Medicine and Minor Surgery |Main| Letter Re: A Well-Rounded Skillset Requires Both Range-Based and Force-on-Force Training »
Product Review: AmericaStone Knife Sharpener
Several months ago, I received a sample product that languished on the back
off my desk, just for the lack of time available to test it. This is a novel
sharpening stone design, dubbed the the AmericaStone. It was not until this weekend that I finally had the chance to try
it out. And now I'm glad that I finally did. In the modern parlance, it is "way
cool".
Let me start by saying that the AmericaStone is the best compact knife
sharpener that I've ever used. For my test, I used my current primary everyday
carry pocketknife, a tanto point CRKT Carson M16-02Z. I must admit that this
knife
gets more than its share of hard used around the ranch, some of which borders
on abuse. My only excuse is that this knife is often the only tool
available, particularly on the days that I don't carry my Leatherman Wave.
In the past year, this knife has cut umpteen pieces of bailing twine, been
used as an impromptu horse hoof pick, a utility scraper, letter opener, and
even tasks far beyond its intended design as a wire stripper and as a screw
driver. (Yes, I'm guilty of almost habitual expediency!) Its original factory
edge
was gone,
and in fact the knife was downright dreadfully dull. Before my sharpening stone
test, this knife was good for little more than a letter opener. But just
ten minutes later, it had an edge that was good, if not better than
the edge that came from the factory.
The AmericaStone design is unique. It has a patented double beveled edge
on one side. I don't know why someone didn't think this up years ago. It really
works.
Take a look at the video at the
AmericaStone web site. This is an excellent product. They are quite
compact, and they come with a useful belt pouch. The only suggestion
that I can make is that for use when at home, it would be useful to have
a detachable handle, perhaps with a thumbscrew clamp. But even without that,
this is a product that is well worth buying!
« Letter Re: An Impromptu SurvivalBlog Meet-up at Front Sight |Main| Letter Re: A Carrington Event Space Storm--A Natural EMP Equivalent »
Letter Re: Barnyard Junk: The Things that You Do and Don't Need for TEOTWAWKI
Jim
Much has been written in all the various books, discussion groups and forums
about acquiring the best G.O.O.D. bag, BOVs and medical kits. Much has been
said about what garden seeds to get and the best lead delivery systems to have.
There's been endless discussions about setting up the most survivable retreat
and packing the maps to help get you there. ...But I recall very little talk
about what you don't need.
I've lived on the family farm all my life. I've also spent a great deal of
time delivering survival supplies to Indian Reservation all over the US. I'm
currently managing a Farm Museum. And I spend a good deal of time visiting
several Amish communities nearby. In all these endeavors, I've had occasion
to visit people living on the land. I look closely at how various folks and
cultures manage how they live.
On many of the Reservations, there's trash along the roads and cars up on blocks
in many fields. It's common for someone to take a tire off a vehicle because
they just need it until they get a new tire for a different car. Then they "borrow" the
battery, then maybe a headlight/radio/other tire/gas tank etc. Next thing you
know, there's a permanent memorial to G.M. sitting in the drive. It all contributes
to an environment of futility and hopelessness.
In Amish country, some farms are neat as a pin, and others are just falling
apart. I stopped by one yesterday that was just depressing. Not a blade of
grass, not a flower bed, dirt and chicken manure everywhere. The signs advertising
maple syrup for sale, were hanging akimbo. I stepped in the house to talk to
the family, and the clutter was an accident waiting to happen. The man of the
farm was as messy as his farm. I doubt he gets up in the morning thinking how
much he is looking forward to going out to the beauty of his place.
On the many "English", (Amish term term meaning anybody not Amish),
farms I visit while collecting for the museum, it's much the same. A friend
of mine lives on a diary farm not far from here. There's several falling down
buildings full of grand dad's rusty stuff, none of it useful any more. There's
discarded and rotting feed sacks inches deep in the milk house. And lots of
unused and unusable equipment scattered across the yard. He farms, he makes
a profit. He has pretty good hay for sale. But his working environment,...ughh
! Where he works and how he works holds him back. He can't get as much done
for all the junk in his way. Other farms are models of efficiency.
What I've learned over many years of "farming", is that farming gets
harder or easier depending on how organized you are. If all your tools are
well kept and organized in one place, every repair job is much easier, ..there's
no need to spend half your time searching for a misplaced wrench. If what you
look at, as you walk to the barn, is neat and cared for, it tends to help you
feel more like doing the next job. If your place is a mess, with lots of undone
chores to do, it can get so overwhelming that you to just want to say the heck
with it, there's too much to do.
Right now our society is still functioning fairly well. Most places, the government
does its second most important job fairly well. Once a week the trash gets
picked up. After the SHTF, getting rid of junk will be much more difficult.
When you are getting your retreat ready for what seems more likely every day,
consider
this.
If
the economy collapses, what you have is what you will have. The more helpful
stuff, the better. The less trash, the better. I suggest you be rigorous, right
now, about getting rid of the things that won't help you survive in tough times.
Right now, it's fairly easy to do.
If a dead washing machine is sitting out back, cut out the metal side panels
for use on some other project and maybe save the motor if it's working. But
get rid of the rest of it either thru a scrap yard or trash pick-up. If you
don't, it's just going to rot away and cause you trouble later on. If the power
goes off and there's no more gas, consider using the last half pint you have
to move your BOV to some out of the way place. Once it's parked, it's going
to be there a very long time. You'll be tempted to keep many things, thinking
that someday you'll need/fix them. But if you can't get them running now, it's
less likely you will when the electricity goes off. You might think of it like
inner city graffiti. The first day you see it, it might have some "artist
value". But as it deteriorates, it just drags the whole neighborhood down.
The environment you live in really does effect the way you feel and work. Right
now, get rid of what you don't need. Arrange your retreat as neat and clean
as you can. It will make all the thousand other jobs of self-sufficiency easier.
Give it a thought, what you don't clean up now, may be a real hindrance later
on. The neater you are now, the more efficient and happy you will be now, and...later. -
- Jim Fry, Curator, Museum
of Western Reserve Farms & Equipment, Ohio
« Letter Re: TEOTWAWKI Medicine and Minor Surgery--Part I: Ingrown Toenails |Main| Note from JWR: »
TEOTWAWKI Medicine and Minor Surgery--Part II: Skin Infections, by Dr. K.
Introduction
The skin has three layers.
1. The epidermis is the outermost layer. It protects our bodies from the environment
and has pigment cells.
2. The dermis is the middle layer, and it contains hair follicles, sweat glands,
oil glands, and capillaries.
3. The hypodermis (or subcutaneous layer) is the inner layer, and it contains
layers of fat that provides cushion and insulation for our body… some
more than others.
Any of these layers can become infected, in whole or in part. In a TEOTWAWKI scenario, that minor scratch could lead to a painful death. Knowledge is vitally
important. Understanding how to prevent and treat a skin infection is relatively
straightforward, and it could be a matter of life and death when TSHTF.
Signs of a skin infection are pain, redness, swelling, warmth and/or drainage
of pus.
Definitions
Cellulitis: a diffuse infection of the dermis and subcutaneous tissues. Signs
of cellulitis are red, warm, swollen, and tender skin.
Erysipelas: similar to cellulitis, but this infection is more superficial and
has very clear borders.
Skin abscess: a collection of pus that is in the dermis and subcutaneous tissues.
An abscess presents as a tender mass just under the skin. It is pink to red
and may be warm to the touch.
Furunlce (or “boil”): an infection of the hair follicle that causes
an abscess.
Carbuncle: a collection of several boils that grow together. This looks like
a very large abscess.
Causes
These skin infections can develop in any individual and most are caused by
bacteria. Having minor scrapes and cuts, insect bites, rashes, burns, swelling,
or being around another person with a skin infection can increase your risk.
Having diabetes, being immunosuppressed (HIV,
on chemotherapy medicines, autoimmune disease, etc.), or having a history of
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
infections also increases your risk.
Complications
If an infection is left untreated, it can keep spreading into the surrounding
tissues and into the bloodstream. This may lead to local tissue damage, a body-wide
infection, and even death in a worst case scenario.
Prevention
All skin wounds, no matter how minor, should be cleaned and dressed immediately.
Changing the dressing when it becomes wet or dirty will aid in prevention.
In a TEOTWAWKI scenario, you cannot afford to brush aside that thorn scratch
or knife nick. Take the time to clean it right away. Skin infections don’t
care how tough you think you are.
Antibiotics
Cellulitis and erysipelas are sometimes watched and not treated with antibiotics
right away. However, if these infections become severe (which can happen quickly),
IV antibiotics are the best choice. In a TEOTWAWKI scenario, IV antibiotics
will be much harder to store and/or obtain. Because of this, I recommend using
oral antibiotics with cellulitis and erysipelas immediately.
Antibiotics are typically not needed with a draining abscess or after an incision
and drainage (I&D). Once the pus pocket is ruptured, your immune system
usually takes care of things rather well. However, I would start antibiotics
if a growing redness and warmth develops after the wound has been drained.
Also, I would start antibiotics right away if the patient has multiple skin
infections, the patient is immunosuppressed, the patient has previous MRSA
infections, or if the patient has signs of body-wide infection (feeling ill,
fever, nausea and/or
vomiting, increased heart rate, low blood pressure, etc.).
Any of the following oral antibiotics (unless there is an allergy) should be
used for 10 days minimum, but can be used longer as long as the infection is
improving (search past Survivalblog posts for medication procurement):
Adults
Cleocin (clindamycin) 300 mg every 6 hours (currently treats most MRSA)
Dicloxacillin 500 mg every 6 hours
Keflex (cephalexin) 500 mg every 6 hours
Children
Cleocin (clindamycin) 30-40 mg/kg per day divided in 3-4 doses (treats most
MRSA)
Dicloxacillin 25-50 mg/kg per day divided in 4 doses
Keflex (cephalexin) 25-50 mg/kg per day divided in 3-4 doses
Non-Surgical Treatment
Small boils and small abscesses may respond very well to non-surgical treatments:
* Keep the infected area elevated.
* Warm compresses (a clean wash cloth soaked in hot water and wrung out) and
warm water soaks will help promote drainage.
* If it comes to a head, continue with warm compresses until it ruptures.
* Wash with antibacterial soap.
* Continue to use warm compresses until the pus stops flowing.
* Apply antibacterial ointment (such as Neosporin) over the wound.
* Keep a clean and dry dressing in place over the wound.
* Wash the wound and change the dressing 2-3 times a day.
* There should be improvement in about a week.
* If there is a growing area of redness and warmth, consider antibiotic treatment.
Surgical Treatments:
Incision and Drainage
Larger boils, larger abscesses, and carbuncles require incision and drainage
(I&D)
to heal.
Note: A surgical option, regardless of the problem, is always best treated
by someone who has been trained to perform the procedure. You don’t want
to be patient number one in a survival situation. Finally, while I am explaining
how to do this procedure, I only recommend that you attempt this in a post-TEOTWAWKI
scenario where there are no other healthcare options. Proceed at your own risk.
Supplies
Light (a bright headlamp works well. Consider working outside in the bright
sunlight.)
Non-sterile gloves
Sterile gloves
Alcohol or povidone-iodine solution (sold as Betadine)
Gauze pads
10-mL syringe
25- to 30-gauge needle
12- to 18-gauge needle if desired
Lidocaine 1% or 2%
No. 11 or 15 blade scalpel or sterile razor blade
Curved hemostats (small device that resembles scissors but has curved clamps
instead of blades) a pair of needle nosed pliers (sterilized) can be used in
a pinch
Packing material (such as iodoform gauze which are thin medicated gauze strips)
Scissors
Dressing Materials:
Antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin
Gauze for wrapping the wound
Roll of 1-inch tape
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Have the patient get into a comfortable position. Have them lie down if
possible just in case they pass out - it can happen to anyone! [JWR
Adds: Vasovegal and other fainting responses are highly unpredictable.
Just the sight of spurting blood can induce a faint in even someone that big
and macho. In two separate incidents, I've personally witnessed two "manly
men" who claimed "no problem, it won't bother me" pass out,
unconscious, within moments of seeing their own blood.]
2. Clean the wound. Put on non-sterile gloves and clean the entire wound and
surrounding tissue with povidine-iodine or alcohol.
3. Numb the wound with medicine: The easiest method is a field block. Inject
the lidocaine around the base of the wound on all sides. If the wound is not
on a small body part, you can use lidocaine with epinephrine.
Note: Make sure the lidocaine does not have epinephrine in it if the wound
is on a small body part. Epinephrine is a vasoconstrictor, meaning it clamps
down blood vessels. This can prevent circulation. If you stop circulation with
medicine, you have no idea how long it will last, and you could kill tissue.
Your patient won’t feel the procedure, but they may lose a body part!
Bottom line: Never use epinephrine on the fingers, toes, ears, penis, or nose.
Note: Please read how to load lidocaine and inject it in Part I: Ingrown
Toenails. [JWR Adds: Of course check for contraindications and potential
drug interactions before using any "-caine" drugs!]
Note: Please read how to dull the pain without medicine in Part I: Ingrown
Toenails
4. Make an incision. Using the scalpel blade or sterile razor blade make a
straight cut the entire length of the abscess (the deepest red central portion
of the abscess). The cut should be deep enough to go to the subcutaneous tissues.
Try to follow the natural skin folds for a more cosmetic healing (do an online
image search for “cleavage skin lines” to see an illustration).
For small infections, you may be able to drain the abscess by perforating it
with the large bore (a 12-18 gauge) needle.
5. Probe the incision if large enough. If there are no pain meds, this will
be painful. Insert the curved hemostats to slowly spread out the tissues under
the cut. This will break up some of the connective tissues that may be holding
pockets of pus. You also may find a foreign body (thorn, glass, etc.) that
was actually causing the infection.
6. Express the wound. Provide gentle pressure to the sides
of the wound to squeeze out any extra pus and blood. Do not be aggressive here.
7. Pack the wound. If the wound is big enough to leave a pocket, then filling
the wound with a medicated packing material (iodoform gauze) will aid in healing.
Using the hemostats, stuff the material into the wound until full. Leave about
a half inch hanging out of the wound. This tail aids in drainage. Trim to size
with a pair of scissors.
If the wound is not very large, you do not need to pack it.
8. Dress the wound. Apply antibiotic ointment over wound. Apply a bulky gauze
wrap, but do not wrap it too tight. It will throb as sensation returns. Use
acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain.
9. Check the wound after 24 hours. If there continues to be more pus draining,
remove the packing material, repack the wound, and change the dressing. Keep
checking every 24 hours. When the drainage stops, perform warm water soaks
3-5 times daily, change the dressing, and apply topical antibiotic ointment.
Healing should occur in 7 to 10 days.
Surgical Complications
Infection: The wound will have some initial throbbing, but should start to
improve dramatically in a few days. If your patient is having an increase in
pain, swelling, redness, warmth, or drainage, there is likely a continuing
or secondary infection. If this occurs, start antibiotics as described above.
Consider probing the abscess a second time to make sure no pockets of pus are
hiding.
Things to consider
If the wound involves the hand or the abscess is very large, it will be very
difficult to treat without IV antibiotics and potentially major surgery. This
would be a case where attempting to find a physician may outweigh the risks
of leaving your retreat. In rare cases a skin infection can spread to the facial
tissue (this is called necrotizing fasciitis or “flesh eating disease”).
Signs of this infection are intense pain out of proportion to the wound, fast
swelling, spreading redness, fever, and vomiting. This would be a case where
lack of immediate surgery by highly trained physicians will mean death.
Training
It will be difficult to acquire hands on training for this procedure unless
you work in the medical field. However, this is a fairly straightforward procedure.
If you see it once, most people should be able to repeat it. One way to see
how it is done is to go to the doctor with a friend or family member who has
an abscess or boil. Another option is to do an online video search for “I&D”.
There are currently a few videos up that give a nice demonstration.
« Economics and Investing: |Main| TEOTWAWKI Medicine and Minor Surgery--Part II: Skin Infections, by Dr. K. »
Letter Re: TEOTWAWKI Medicine and Minor Surgery--Part I: Ingrown Toenails
Jim:
In Part I of his article, Dr. K. mentioned some options on do-it-yourself cautery.
My suggestion is to consider buying new tips [not contaminated
by solder metals and rosin]
and a butane soldering torch for times when no electricity is available. For
example, see:
Pro-120
Tectra Tools
UT-100
TS600
Regards, - Craig W.
« Letter Re: Recommendation for the Book "One Second After" |Main| Note from JWR: »
Tantalum Tom's Front Sight Extravaganza
About 250 people were there the recent week that I took the four
day Defensive Handgun course at Front Sight. I was the only bozo
who slept in their car outside their gates the whole four days. I couldn't
afford
a hotel.
That
budget item was
a "make
or break" issue for my trip. I learned that a zero degree rated sleeping
bag might be an overly optimistic rating. But, there is basically unlimited
unimproved
camping
space there on BLM land.
Bring your RV,
or a much better sleeping bag for winter camping there. There is even a dirt
airstrip on the charts a couple of miles
away if you're a pilot.
I'm not a professional pedagogist, but I can recognize extremely high quality
teaching methods. This place has it. Technical vocabulary
was not used unless defined and explained earlier. One step built on the preceding.
Two steps forward,
half step back to review, continue, unrelenting and informative. I believe
I was mostly in the category of unintentionally incompetent. I knew a thing
or two, but came to realize, there is more to learn than I realistically can
foresee myself learning. I'll try though. I believe they left out many basic
firearms details for sake of time. (e.g., “This is a cartridge, primer,
gun, etc...)
Two guns used by classmates broke while I was there. Both were M1911 style.
For one, they gracefully loaned him a gun to continue, as he had no backup.
One
other
gun
(Glock .45)
was malfunctioning
often. I blame that squarely on the user though, as he was the only one who
had mistakes during dry practice. Bang when there should be click.
The lectures were eye-opening, lively and fun! The lecturers have definitely “been
there done that.” Imminently knowledgeable in all matters of handheld
weaponry. Cops, Sheriff's Deputies, EMTs,
Paramedics, etc. One rangemaster there had 30 years in Army special forces
training. Not a single Mall
Ninja.
I have never had a gun on my person for any extended length of time. I learned
a great lesson, It feels great to be armed.
There were more women there than I'd ever seen at any weapons venue! (I haven't
been to many though.) My guess (not an estimate) about 30-to-40.
I met R. from Utah. I
recognized the story they shared in a lecture to one that I'd read here at
SurvivalBlog! Their story will now be incorporated into
the Front Sight lectures!
While there, malfunction drills are taught. Live rounds are discarded on the
firing line during this procedure. Our range master said it was undesirable
to re-use those rounds, but he wasn't going to stop us from retrieving them.
He called them “range carp” Good to fish for, but not to eat. [After
the range closed, with permission] I was able to secure several hundred 9mm
rounds, about one hundred .45s and about thirty.40 S&Ws,
and I could have left with many many more had I been even a
bit more aggressive in their collection and also scrounged at the other firing
ranges. Great barter item, Great price.
Their claim to teach people how to shoot better than 95% of the people who
carry guns may be outdated. The FBI special
agent in my class mentioned that the things they were teaching at Front Sight
are
now taught in many police academies. He could
be wrong, I don't know. [JWR Adds: Imitation has always been
a high form of flattery. In fact, many of the techniques taught at Front Sight
are derivations of what was taught by the late Col. Jeff Cooper, back in the
days of Orange
Gunsite. Front Sight has refined and updated them, and has had the opportunity
to teach them to a much larger audience, ]
Everyone in my class improved. The “ragged hole drill” with
five rounds live fire, five clicks dry then five rounds live fire again really
worked, for everyone. Dry
practice
is the way to go!
Count one through five, prrress!
As they said, paraphrased and modified, “90% of shooting is getting
the gun out and pointing in”
I graduated! After not visiting a shooting range in more than 1-1/2 years,
I think that's a decent achievement.
I have just purchased a Glock 22 in .40 S&W. This is due to the fact that
I rented their gun, a Glock 17. These guns are almost identical, except their
chambering. I now have muscle memory for that frame, and I don't want to re-train!
Also,
because I just shot 600 rounds though a Glock with no malfunctions
whatsoever. The Glock 22 .40 comes standard with a bigger boom than
the Glock 17 9mm. Sadly, however, I still live in California, so I am limited
to and 10 round magazines. [JWR Adds: I recommend that California
residents go a step further and buy a Glock or XD pistol chambered in .45 ACP.
As long as you are limited to 10 rounds, then you might as well have a more potent
caliber. There is something just wrong about having a gun originally
designed
to hold 15 to 19 cartridges neutered into a 10-rounder, by legislative edict!]
I plan on prepping my resume to see if I'm up to the greater challenge to
take their instructor development course. - Tantalum Tom
« Letter Re: Jared Diamond Predicts the End of Cheap Oil and an 85% Global Population Decline |Main| Note from JWR: »
TEOTWAWKI Medicine and Minor Surgery--Part I: Ingrown Toenails, by Dr. K.
Introduction
Onychocryptosis (ON-ee-ko-krip-TOE-sis), an ingrown toenail, is a very common
problem that usually affects the big toe. This occurs when the corner of the
toenail grows into the soft tissue on the side of the toe. This can cause pain,
redness, inflammation, and even an infection. Signs of an infection are warmth
and drainage of pus. Prevention and treatment of an ingrown toenail is relatively
basic, and it is a valuable skill to have at TEOTWAWKI.
Causes
An ingrown toenail is caused when the nail curves down and grows into the skin
at the nail border. The most common causes of an ingrown toenail are improperly
trimmed toenails and poorly fitting footwear. Other causes include unusually
curved toenails, excessive sweating, trauma, fungal infections which cause
the nail to grow abnormally, cancers, and even obesity.
Complications
If an infection is left untreated, it can spread into the toe bones. This may
lead to amputations, and even death, in rare, worst case scenarios.
Prevention
If you are working outside a lot, which would be most of us in a TEOTWAWKI
scenario, then study boots are recommended; consider steel-toed boots if you
don’t already have them. Regardless of the footwear you use, make
sure that they fit properly! There should not be too much pressure on the top of
your toes, and shoes should not
pinch
your toes together.
Toenails should be kept at a length even with, or just barely shorter than,
the tips of your toes. Too long and toenails can break easily or get jammed
into the toenail base. Too short and the toenails can be pushed down by your
shoes and grow into the soft tissue of the toe. Trim your toenails straight
across or with a slight curve. Do not curve your nails to match your
toes, and do not trim the outer angles of your toenails. Finally, do not pick,
tear,
(or bite!) your toenails; only use a toenail clipper and file.
Non-Surgical Treatments – this treats 70%+ of ingrown toenails
* Wear very comfortable shoes; consider wearing sandals until the ingrown nail
resolves.
* Soak the foot in warm water 3-5 times a day for 15-20 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon
of salt per pint of water.
* Gently push the tissue away from the nail and gently lift the nail up after
each soaking.
* Place small, clean tufts of cotton under the edge of the ingrown nail. This
relieves some pressure and helps the nail grow above the skin edge.
* Rub a topical antibiotic ointment (such as Neosporin) over the ingrown nail.
* Place a soft bandage over the ingrown nail.
* Keep the foot dry.
* Take some acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, etc.) as directed
on the bottle for pain relief.
* If there is no improvement in 2-3 days, then consider the surgical option.
Surgical Treatments: Toenail Removal
Note: If you have had ingrown toenails in the past, there is a good chance
you will have ingrown toenails again. If you have had repeated ingrown toenails,
consider having your nails surgically treated before TSHTF. A surgical option,
regardless of the problem, is always best treated by someone who has been trained
to perform the procedure. You don’t want to be patient number one in
a survival situation. Finally, while I am explaining how to do this procedure,
I only recommend that you attempt this in a post-TEOTWAWKI scenario where there
are no other healthcare options. Proceed at your own risk.
The most effective way to treat an ingrown toenail that has not responded to
non-surgical treatment is lateral nail avulsion with matricectomy. What does
that mean? Let’s break it down. Lateral nail avulsion is digging out
and removing one side of the toenail all the way down to the base. Imagine
the nail is roughly a square. The ingrown part is on the left side for example.
About 1/5 of the nail, the left 1/5, is removed from top to bottom. The remaining
4/5 is left completely intact. Macticectomy is the process of destroying the
matrix, or root, of the nail. By removing one side of the nail, the pressure
is removed because there is no nail pressing on the tissue any more. This also
allows the infection to drain. By destroying the root on that side there is
a very slim chance of the toenail growing back in that area. Over time the
skin will heal and you will be left with a skinnier toenail that is unlikely
to become ingrown again. Now how do you do this?
Supplies
Light (a bright headlamp works well. Consider working outside in the bright
sunlight.)
Non-sterile gloves
Sterile gloves
10-mL syringe
27 to 30-gauge needle
Lidocaine 1% or 2%
Povidone-iodine solution (sold as Betadine at most drug stores)
Gauze pads
Drape (sterile sheet)
Iris scissors (small, 3-4 inch long scissors with fine, sharp points)
Bandage scissors if desired (scissors with one side’s outer edge flattened
for protection)
Nail splitter if desired (heavy duty scissors with very short, thick blades)
Hemostats (small device that resembles scissors but has clamps instead of blades)
a pair of needle nosed pliers (sterilized) can be used in a pinch
Sterile rubber band if desired
Cautery device – read the step-by-step instructions for details
Dressing Materials:
Antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin
Gauze for wrapping the toe
Roll of 1-inch tape
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Have the patient lie down on a table with their knees bent. Their feet will
be flat on the table. Pull up a chair and put on non-sterile gloves.
2. Clean the entire toe with povidine-iodine.
3. Numb the toe with medicine: If you have lidocaine (1% or 2%) without epinephrine,
keep reading to learn how to perform a digital block, i.e. numbing, of the
big toe.
Note: Make sure the lidocaine does not have epinephrine in it. Epinephrine
is a vasoconstrictor, meaning it clamps down blood vessels. This can prevent
circulation to the toes. If you stop circulation with medicine, you have no
idea how long it will last, and you could kill the tissues in the toe. Your
patient won’t feel you remove their toenail, but in a few weeks their
toe may fall off! Bottom line: Never use epinephrine on the fingers, toes,
ears, penis, or nose.
3A.) Load the lidocaine into the syringe. I have no idea what kind of container
of lidocaine you will have, but the standard container is a small jar with
an injectable, rubber stopper. Remove the cap and clean the stopper with alcohol.
Draw back the syringe to draw in about 8-10 mL (or cc’s) of air. Then
push the needle into the rubber cover. Inject the air into the jar of lidocaine;
this prevents a vacuum from forming after repetitive uses. (If the jar is full,
you may have fill the syringe a bit at a time so the rubber cover doesn’t
pop off when you inject a full syringe of air – I learned this the hard
way!) Invert the jar so the needle tip is completely covered with lidocaine.
Draw back the syringe to the 8-10 mL mark. Remove the needle from the jar.
Point the needle up. Tap the syringe to get the majority of the air bubbles
to the top. Slowly depress the syringe to express the air bubbles from the
syringe. Usually a little of the lidocaine will shoot out. It is not vital
to remove all the air, just as much as you can.
3B.) Find the MTP joint (metatarsophalangeal joint). The first joint next
to the big toenail is the PIP joint (proximal interphalangeal). The second
joint, and usually larger of the two, is the MTP – it connects the toe
to the rest of the foot.
3C.) Find the injection sites. They are about one-eighth inch above the MTP joint
(that is one-quarter inch down the toe, closer to the nail). There are three injection
sites: one directly on top of the toe, one exactly on the right side, and one
exactly on the left side.
3D.) Inject the lidocaine. Always inject a needle perpendicular to
the skin. Puncture the skin with the needle and insert to a depth of about
2 mm
(skin
is about 1.5 mm thick). Pull back on the syringe to make sure you are not in
a blood vessel; if you are, you will see a bunch of bright red blood fill the
syringe (if this happens, withdraw the needle and try again a little to the
side). You will want to inject about 2 mL of lidocaine at each site. This will
sting and burn and then go numb.
3E.) Wait. Wait 5-10 minutes for the block to become effective. If need be,
you can give another 1-2 mLs if your patient is still feeling pain. When the
toe is numb, proceed.
4. Dull the pain with no medicine: If you do not have lidocaine, things are
going to be painful. There are topical numbing medicines available, but these
are not nearly as effective as an injection. Most of them are in the same family
as lidocaine and are mixed with a cream to make application easier. Another
option is to try a topical dental pain reliever such as Orajel or Anbesol (these
are topical benzocaine), but again this will only take the edge off. A final
option, if you have access to it, is ice; cold temperatures can numb a toe
pretty well. An ice water (or snow water) bath is likely the safest way to
numb a toe; but be mindful that a cold, numb toe is also a sign of frostbite.
It’s a careful balance, and I would always err on the side of too much
pain. Pain will go away eventually, but a frostbitten toe may never heal. Keep
in mind, depending on the person and their pain tolerance, your patient may
be able to just grin and bear it.
5. Re-wash the toe with povidine-iodine. Put on sterile gloves. Place a sterile
drape over the foot. A small hole in the drape to pull the toe through will
keep your surgical field clean.
6. Insert the tip of your closed iris scissors under the corner of the nail
on the side it is ingrown. Work the tip down the entire side freeing it from
the tissue of the toe. If there are no pain medications, this will be very
painful. You should now have the entire side unattached.
7. Split the nail into two pieces. Using a nail splitter, bandage scissors,
or iris scissors cut the nail from the free end straight back to the base.
You should now have split the nail into 2 pieces (1/5 is the side with the
ingrown nail; 4/5 is the healthy side). These pieces are still connected at
the root.
8. Apply tourniquet. Some physicians use a sterilized rubber band to wrap around
the toe a few times. This acts as a small tourniquet to reduce blood loss which
makes it easier to see what you are doing. Having done both, I personally like
having a tourniquet in place. Remember to use the tourniquet for the shortest
amount of time possible to avoid permanent damage (less than 10 minutes).
9. Remove the toenail. Grab the ingrown toenail with a hemostat. Attempt to
grab as much as possible with one bite. Pull straight out toward the end of
the toe and to the side at the same time (do not pull up or down or twist).
If the nail breaks, just re-grab the remaining nail and pull in the same motion
as before. No piece of nail should remain. Some other tissues can look like
a nail deeper at the root, but the nail to be removed is hard to the touch
of your hemostat.
10. Destroy the matrix. There are a few ways to do this. The most effective
and the easiest to perform at home is cautery. Cauterize (i.e. burn) the nail
forming matrix (root) in only the area where the nail root was removed. This
is probably
the most delicate part of the whole procedure. The idea is to burn just the
root and not the surrounding tissue – think of the old game Operation.
Cauterize the entire area twice to make sure you didn’t miss a spot.
Since most people will not have an electrocautery machine, a small soldering
iron [with a fresh tip] will work in a pinch (haven’t you read "Patriots" ?).
If you have no electricity, you can consider heating up a thin piece of bare
wire in a flame
to keep it very hot and use small needle nose pliers to hold it. Another method
is to apply a Q-tip soaked in phenol solution to the root. This chemically
cauterizes the matrix. This is not as effective and you have to buy and store
the solution, but it is another option. Again only apply it to the root; it
will kill any tissue it touches.
11. Apply antibiotic ointment over the raw tissue. Apply a bulky gauze wrap,
but do not wrap it too tight. It will throb as sensation returns.
12. Change the dressing, clean with warm water, and apply topical antibiotic
ointment daily. Use acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain. Avoid strenuous exercise
for at least a week.
13. The empty nail bed will fill in with normal tissue in the next few weeks.
Your patient will be left with a healthy, but skinnier, toenail.
Surgical Complications
1. Not all the nail was removed or not all of the root was destroyed: This
may happen, even to the best of us. The best course of action is to just wait
and see if the nail that grows behaves or not. If it does not, just repeat
the procedure.
2. Infection: The toe will have some initial throbbing, but should start to
improve dramatically in a few days. If your patient is having an increase in
pain, swelling, redness, warmth, or drainage, there is likely an infection.
If this occurs in the first few days, it is likely a bacterial infection from
Staphylococcus aureus. Oral antibiotics are your best choice and are usually
very effective.
Any of the following oral antibiotics (unless there is an allergy) should be
used for 10 days (search past Survivalblog posts for medication procurement):
Adults
Cleocin (clindamycin) 300 mg three times a day
Augmentin (amoxicillin with clavulanate) 875 mg / 125 mg twice a day
Dicloxacillin 500 mg every 6 hours
Keflex (cephalexin) 500 mg every 6 hours
Children
Cleocin (clindamycin) 30-40 mg/kg per day divided in 3-4 doses
Dicloxacillin 25-50 mg/kg per day divided in 4 doses
Keflex (cephalexin) 25-50 mg/kg per day divided in 3-4 doses
If the infection occurs after a week, there is an increased chance it is a
fungal infection. Fungal infections can usually be treated by stopping the
antibiotic ointment and applying a topical anti-fungal cream such as Lotrimin
(Clotrimazole), Nizoral (Ketaconazole), or Naftin (Naftidine hydrochloride).
3. The toe is taking a long time to heal and is dusky in color. Some parts
are turning black. What happened? The tourniquet was kept on too long, the
toe was kept in/on ice for too long, or the cautery was too deep. Don’t
let this happen to you! Don’t keep the tourniquet on for too long. 5-10
minutes should be plenty of time to remove the nail and cauterize – use
a stop watch. Remember to err on the side of too little numbing with ice. Be
gentle with the cautery – this is a shallow procedure. This is not common,
but if this does happen consider oral antibiotics and consider attempting to
remove the blackened tissue. This would be a case where attempting to find
a physician may outweigh the risks of leaving your retreat.
Things to consider
If an ingrown toenail is really severe, has a severe infection, and is affecting
both sides of the nail, it is better to remove the entire nail and not do cauterization.
Remove the nail. Let things drain. Let things grow back. If things are heading
in the same direction, then you can treat it surgically as described above.
It is much safer to operate on a toe that is not infected.
Training
It will be difficult to acquire hands on training for this procedure unless
you work in the medical field. One way to see how it is done is to go with
a friend or family member who is having this procedure. Let them know that
you are interested in health care (that you love the Discovery Health Channel or
something like that) and you would be honored to help them through this event.
Another option is to do an online video search for “toenail removal
surgery”. Keep in mind that every practitioner does things a little different.
For example, some use cautery (this has been proven to be the most effective),
but some still use the chemical phenol. Some use the tools listed above, and
others have their own favorites. There are many ways to skin a cat and to remove
a toenail.
« Three Letters Re: Some Thoughts on the Survival Vehicle |Main| Note from JWR: »
The 19th Century Home Retrofit, by Y. Cornelius
By now most SurvivalBlog readers have gone about your preparations for your
ideal home or retreat cabin, all storage food and tools acquired, fuel stored,
generators
ready, PV panels carefully concealed and hooked up to the battery bank. You
and your family or group are ready to handle the coming collapse, but are
you really? Are you ready to do without? Without that generator when
the fuel runs out, or a critical piece is worn out and a new one cannot be
had? At some point
your supplies will be used up, storage fuel consumed and there may not be any
to refill your tanks or more realistically you may be priced out, or it will
be too dangerous to “run-the-gauntlet” and get more. Can you manage
in your place without electricity? Can you cook with wood? Do you have space
enough to process the abundant food you grow and must preserve either by canning
or other means? Can you move throughout your buildings without being seen from
the outside?
My point, is your place set up to function as a 19th century homestead?
My wife and I bought an old New England farmhouse many years ago, it is nothing
fancy and looks like so many others in our area, it is a traditional connected
farmhouse meaning that the buildings are all linked-up, yet they have different
roof lines and are of different sizes. It is best summed up as a “Big
House,
Little House, Back House, Barn” and this is the title of a wonderful book
written by Thomas C. Hubka which details the reasons for the ways structures
developed. (If you want a leisurely read on the history of these buildings, I
highly recommend this book.) Anyway, we bought this type of farm house and have
been in the process of renovating it over many years, although the renovation
could more reasonably described as going back to the future. One of the many
wonderful things about an old house, and when I say old I mean over 150 years
old, is the ability to reuse much of the lumber in the walls, floors, and ceilings
or the masonry whether it is brick or stone, Ours is a timber frame with some
masonry on the exterior and is incredibly well built and has a brilliant house
plan. I realize that many people are not up to the task of going through this
sort of process, but you could build your current retreat or home to some of
these specs. Our home for example was built just after the War of 1812 it was
fully functional for a family of eight with room for boarders/labors and or relatives.
The kitchen is large while many of the adjacent rooms are small (less space to
heat) all the rooms are situated around two large central fireplaces and have
thimbles to allow for a small wood stove in each, the rooms can be closed off
when not in use, thus not taking valuable heat from other areas. In the basement
there is a large hole in the floor; it was a cistern, but was allowed to fill
in with junk, perhaps it was considered a “sump hole” by later inhabitants
since there was evidence of long overworked pumps in under the silt and gravel.
I have cleaned this up and now have a source of water right in the house, (this
water will still need to be treated since it is technically surface water being
only ten feet below grade), but it still offers water for cleaning or for our
animals.
There is a large “root” cellar to store food stuffs and
canned goods. (It could double as safe room or vault if needed and may well have
been at one point since the opening is nondescript and hidden from plain sight).
Also there is a summer kitchen, at first I wondered why this was necessary, it
appeared to be redundant, but further study enlightened me to the fact that this
area was a vital part the home complex. First it served to allow a large un-insulated
cook area that was necessary during the harvest time to allow heat to escape
from the constant fire in the cook stove during the canning, it was also a place
that field labors had their meals prepared and ate without having to clean themselves
up much and not dirty up the regular kitchen. The buildings between the summer
kitchen and barn (sometimes it is one long building divided only internally or
there are up to three distinct roof lines and end walls that divide them) any
how these areas were used in a variety of ways to allow a small cottage industry
to occur, in-fact these were simply work areas that were sheltered from the often
harsh and wild weather we experience. One could be for wood storage, for tools
(a sort of machine shop), or areas for processing wool from sheep. The point
is not to recreate that lifestyle but to utilize that mindset and build similar
multi-purpose structures.
Our Home:
We have “renovated” our home to fully function without electricity.
Now, we have multiple generators, a significant storage of fuels and food. I
and am currently finishing up with the PV panels and battery bank/inverter set-up,
going through all the motions to secure some sense of normalcy; but in-fact we
do
not “need” those items to exist here, they are an extra. We can heat
with wood and with a solar hot water system connected to baseboard radiators
as well as a copper coil running through the wood fired furnace [for when there
is not solar gain or during a heavy snowfall]. (The hot water moves via thermo-siphon
no electricity needed only check-valves to keep the hot water moving in one direction).
Our kitchen is “modern” but if the power is out we can cook on our
wood fired cook-stove, it is about 120 years old and with a little “TLC” is
now fully functional not to mention beautiful to look at. We can also bake in
a bee hive oven built into the massive central chimney which I rebuilt and lined
with modern flues. I left one of the original fireplaces, installed airtight
doors and an exterior air vent, while on the other side made the other fireplace
into a large wood storage container.
Overall, your retreat needs to be functional without electricity, things will
eventually break, or you simply run out. Focus upon knowing how to live your
life with little to no electricity or “conveniences”. The primary
goals must be on heating your home and preparing food without petrochemical
fuels, most modern homes are particularly horrible in this area. Change your
mindset; you cannot store enough for the really long haul.
« Letter Re: Private Gated Communities May Not be Gated After All |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Life's Lessons and the Foundations of Preparedness, by A.B.
We may soon depend on all of what we have learned over the years. Putting
all of the threads of knowledge together into a tapestry of self-sufficiency,
and survival capabilities, is part of the lifelong quest for our family’s
security. We learn from many sources and experiences such as: family, church,
friends, teachers, teammates, co-workers, reading books and SurvivalBlog, and
hopefully from our mistakes.
Preparedness Skills from our Grandmas and Grandpas
The foundation for preparedness begins with my childhood in Michigan. We
lived in Lansing where my great-grandmother was next door and my grandmother
lived
next door to her. My father was born in great-grandma’s house after
the family moved to the city during the early 1900s. My sisters and I spent
weekends and summers alternately at my mom’s family dairy farm, which
was just outside of the city, and at my dad’s family cabin “up
north”. These were the richest times of my life. We knew all of our
grandparents and some of our great-grandparents very well. My great-great-grandfather
still
lived in the old log cabin when I was born in 1956. We have been fortunate
to have had five generations alive consistently from then until now. The
wealth of love and knowledge you gain from your extended family is irreplaceable.
The “old timers” told stories of hardship during the great depression
and the dust bowl era (we live an area that was the largest prairie east
of the Mississippi.) Memories of crop failures with tales of early and late
frosts
were passed down. There were also hunting and fishing stories passed down
as we learned to hunt and fish with older family members. There were bigger
than
life lumberjack stories and stories from Prohibition and the World Wars.
I learned to safely handle and accurately shoot a .22 rifle with peep sights
when I was six or seven years old. I walked the roads with my grandpa squirrel
hunting. We ice fished on local lakes and went to Tip-Up
Town USA every year.
All
of
this adds to ones persona and the early experience helps awaken the necessary “survivalist” traits.
On a working dairy farm you rapidly learn about life (and death). Animal
husbandry and caring for the land lead to sustainability. Animals do become
food and
harvesting the crops sometimes seems little reward for the hard work. The
milking must be done every day and chores do not wait. As a kid I learned
to drive
tractors and pick-ups to and from the fields. We mowed, bailed and then stacked
the hay in the mow. Alfalfa, oats and corn were the field crops. Pigs, chickens,
and sheep were raised along with the dairy cows and we cleaned the barns
and spread manure.
Knowledge is passed down from generation to generation such as when to plant,
where to plant, when to harvest, and how to raise the animals. There were
many topics of conversations at the Sunday breakfast table. Many things are
debated
and discussed after chores and before Church. Most times the conversations
continued outside the Church after the sermon. It was the only time you saw
the other farmers. When you are a little guy you tended to be quiet, pay
attention and learn.
Grandpa was a farmer and Grandma was a one room school teacher. Grandma also
taught vacation bible school during the summer break. Us kids learned how
to tend good gardens and helped preserve the food we raised. We took care
of the
barn animals while the uncles milked. We hauled water to the bull pen and
helped milk as we got older. Survival skill sets from the farm come from
being part
of a close knit community with a solid work ethic. There are strong religious
underpinnings with good people engaged in caring for one another as well
as the animals and the land.
Preparedness from "Roughing It”
The log cabin “up north” had a well-house for getting water and
an outhouse for getting rid of water. There was a wood fired cook stove for
heat and kerosene lamps to play cards under. There was a red checkered oilcloth
on the table with cane chairs around it. The place was originally homesteaded
by my great-great-grandfather in the late 1800s (a few electric lights
were added at some point.) We used to go up on Friday night after Dad or
Grandpa got out of work. The next morning started with an awakening trip to
the outhouse
and then fetching a bucket of water from the well house and kindling for
the wood stove. On a cold morning you stepped lively until the fire was going.
Once the stove was hot, Grandma would cook buttermilk pancakes on a griddle
that my great-grandmother had used in the lumber camp. Eggs and bacon sizzled
in a cast iron skillet. Clothes were washed on a washboard in a wash tub and
then
hung
out to dry. You took a bath in the river. During the summer we would fish
morning and evening and water ski on the nice days. The family summer vacation
was
spent camping in a tent along the river or at a state park. The old cabin
was also used for small game hunting in the early fall and deer camp in the
late
fall / winter. We would take walks in the woods and look for morels and other
edible things like may apples, hickory nuts or raspberries and huckleberries.
Animal tracks were learned and followed with hopes of a glimpse. Life was
considered sacred unless needed for food and being a part of nature became
obvious. A
leave no trace and waste nothing ethic was being born.
Opportunities for further wilderness and pioneering skill development were
provided by Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. My mom and dad were actively involved
in Scouting when I was growing up. Teamwork and sharing responsibilities
for the group were learned. Outdoor cooking and keeping things sanitary were
heavily
emphasized. Food poisoning is no joke – we had one patrol that damn near
killed us with their meal. We learned to wash our hands and boil the crap out
of everything. Hiking and backpacking skills were beginning to be developed
in the Scouts. We day hiked a 20 miler once a year on the Johnny Appleseed
Trail - the Scouts version of the death march. You had to carry a full pack
if you wanted the patch. We also hiked the Pokagon Trail in northern Indiana
and learned to camp in the winter.
While living in Pennsylvania (later in life) I started winter backpacking with
a few of my buddies. We went in the winter both for the solitude it offered,
and
to learn the special skill sets required for survival in the cold. There
are beautiful views from Seven Springs and other spots along the Laurel Highlands
Trail during the winter. This experience then led to the development of technical
mountaineering skills. The books Basic Rockcraft, Advanced Rockcraft and
Knots
for Climbers were memorized along with study of the book Mountaineering:
The Freedom of the Hills. Skills were practiced and ingrained.
My first solo backpacking / climbing trip came in the summer of 1980 in the
Organ Mountains of southern New Mexico. I later solo climbed most of the
4,000 and 5,000
footers in New England (many in winter). I met a like minded climber on one
of those hikes and we made a summit bid on Mt. Rainier in June of 1998. I
also began
the solo circumnavigation on the Wonderland Trail that year. I set the first
tracks both that year and when I completed the circuit in June of 2001. Map
and compass skills were required. Primitive camping
while carrying everything you
need to survive for two weeks is a tough proposition. It was tough in my 30s
and 40s. It’s even harder now that I am in my 50s. G.O.O.D. to
the deep woods is doable but it would be a hard life.
Responsibility and Teamwork
We learned to be responsible and self-sufficient during our childhood. We learned
to play without other kids around and had chores to do for our allowance. I
learned to gather the wood and light a fire as soon as I was old enough. You
pumped the
water and filled the reservoir if you wanted warm water for washing up. You
learned to use guns and knives as tools while you learned hunting techniques
and cleaned
the game for the table. Being a responsible hunter meant taking ethical shots
and using what you kill. Catching and cleaning fish, then cooking or smoking
them were all part of being a good fisherman. To go along with these survival
skills you also need the ability to share knowledge and work as a team.
Most of the skills you learn will help you to fend for yourself one way or
another. The only problem is summed up with the statement “no man is an island”.
You will need others sooner or later. My sisters and I developed basic teamwork
skills while setting up camp. The girls helped mom and I helped dad. We had a “system”.
This was carried further in Scouting. Some Patrols set up tents while another
set up the kitchen. These valuable lessons were used later in life as I went
through boot camp and during service in the military. I served on small boats
as part of a search and rescue team in the USCG.
Teamwork helps to overcome the steep learning curve and high risk of being
a self-sufficient survivalist. You can do things as a team exponentially quicker
and safer than you can by yourself. Your bunkmate becomes your partner in boot
camp and later becomes your shipmate. You learn “one hand for yourself
and one hand for the boat”. As a team you can survive what would kill you
alone. In a bad storm someone has to steer while someone bails out the boat.
One person couldn’t do it. Avalanche in the back country is another perfect
example - by yourself you are probably dead. Doing things alone is great - but
it may cost you your life. Skill and knowledge can’t cover your a** like
a buddy. It’s nice to have someone else on the rope with you; they are
your only hope.
Teaching everyone at least something you know and learning from everyone something
you don’t know can only make the group stronger. If someone gets sick
or is tired someone else can step up. CPR is
a good example here. In the back country one person can’t help himself.
One person helping may bring back the life but it better happen quickly. Two
people allow you to send someone for
help while
rendering aid until you are too tired to continue. Three people allow almost
indefinite support. Two can alternate CPR while waiting for the one who left
for help to return with the defibrillator. If help is real far away, then it’s
done. There is a point of no return. Remote locations usually cross that point
which is a distinct disadvantage (unless the SHTF).
Without teamwork you will usually die if something bad happens. Everyone has
to be a good shot. Everyone needs to be able to render first aid. The group
is only as strong as the weakest link and precious resources are spent covering
someone’s a** that’s not up to speed. Teach and learn and cross train.
Remember what you did as a kid and don’t sell the kid’s of today
short. Teach them the skills they need and allow them to grow into the responsibility.
Being part of a team or extended family that functions like a team is fun. The
action of being responsible for one another is at the root of any team.
The
Prepared Family
The family is the primary source of knowledge. Some survival skills to learn
right along with reading, writing and arithmetic are: swimming, knot tying,
fire building under all conditions, where to get water and how to make it safe
to
drink, safe gun handling and accurate shooting, hunting in fields and the woods,
fishing in rivers and on lakes, first aid, camping, boating, gardening, making
things “homemade”. You can’t start learning or teaching these
things too soon.
10 years ago we moved back home to Michigan after living all over the USA.
I had come home for my Grandpa’s funeral and was returning to New England.
Something was wrong and I couldn’t put my finger on it. That’s when
the light came on and as I drove it became apparent that I was going the wrong
way – both figuratively and literally. We were chasing the so called “American
Dream”. Losing my grandfather and returning to the north woods had shown
me where home really is. It is with family and God and where your roots are.
I had drifted away from the true values I had learned early in life.
I resigned my position, cashed out the 401(k), and bought the homestead from
grandma. We planted 24 fruit trees and installed irrigation systems for the
gardens. We
pruned the grape vines back and tended to the asparagus beds. My wife renewed
the old flower beds and I have replaced the split rail fence. We re-roofed
everything. The folks put down another well up the field and had another septic
system installed
for their travel trailer. We had a 100 amp power drop installed and we also
buried a power cable from the field to the trailer for a 12 volt system (small
scale
solar and wind).
I once again could use guns after living in the tyranny of Massachusetts. (I
refused to get an Firearms ID card so my guns never left the house in 16 years.)
I taught a niece
and nephew to shoot with the same .22 that grandpa used to teach me with almost
50 years ago. My nephew, now an 8th grader, got his first deer this past year.
No one believed him when he came home and told them. He did it on his own.
Things have now come full circle in our life. My grandma lives with us in her
old house through the summer. My sisters are both Grandmas themselves now and
they are taking care of our mom and dad. The kids have great-grandparents and
a great-great grandmother. My understanding wife of thirty years and I live
here on the homestead as stewards of the family heritage. The whole family
gets together
up here once or twice a year. We know how to provide for and take care of each
other. If the SHTF my sisters and the rest of the family will head up here
to the homestead and once again adopt the ways of our Great-Great Grandpa and
Grandma.
Everything we have learned through our lives will serve us well. Skill sets
from the north woods and from the farm are derived from living simple, living
manual
and living with nature as part of nature.
We used to fall to sleep on a feather tick mattress while listening to rain
tapping over our heads in the loft of the old log cabin. Bedtime stories were
told as
we drifted to sleep and the whippoorwills sang into the night. We didn’t
think that the day would come that just about all of what we learned from our
family and from our life would come into play. Thank God for our tight family
and all of the distilled knowledge passed down to us. I now live in a home
built over the site of the original log cabin and now we have 7 generations
since my
great-great grandparents first cleared this piece of land. It looks like we
will be talking of another “Great Depression” soon and the complete
cycle renews. Do we learn from our mistakes?
Preparedness Skills and Materials
We’re preparing for the future and I hope to teach what I can to as many
people as I can before it’s over. We can survive well if we draw on one
another’s strengths and knowledge. It starts with the family and moves
out to the extended family then to the neighbors and on to town folk and into
the blogosphere. Many people have grown up in similar circumstances and have
similar experiences. We must practice our learned skills and trades all of
the time to stay fresh and perpetuate our way of life. We must keep acquiring
new
skills and more materials for survival. Preparedness is a constant quest.
Survival trades that I've learned:
ASE Certified Master Auto Technician
Journeyman Machinist and Apprentice Welder.
Experience with all aspects of house construction from framing to finish work,
including house wiring and plumbing for water, gas and DWV systems.
Professional ditch digger and home brewer of beer.
Survival tools, equipment, and material acquired over the years:
Comprehensive set of Snap-On hand tools, diagnostic equipment and garage.
Several redundant computers and complete wi-fi coverage with satellite internet.
All of the carpentry, plumbing and electrical tools needed to build a house.
All of the tools required to garden both manually and with gas engines.
Fence building tools and supplies.
5,500 watt gas generator.
Wood stove and saws, axes, mauls, wedges.
Stores of food, bits of gold and silver, books and manuals, and lots of lead.
Survival firearms battery:
Auto-Ordinance Model 1911A1 .45 ACP (I qualified Marksman in USCG)
Stag Arms AR-15 with 20” Bull barrel, 5.56 (I qualified Expert in USCG)
Marlin .22 WMR (squirrel / varmint gun)
Mossberg .22 LR (shot this since 1962)
Ruger M77 Mk II .270 Win. (my deer rifle)
Winchester Model 94 .32 Win. Special (got my first deer with Grandpa’s
gun)
Mossberg 12 ga. 3 -1/2” Ulti-Mag in Camo (turkey / duck / goose gun)
Winchester Model 1897 12 ga. 2-3/4” (I've shot this gun since 1969)
Reloading equipment and supplies (loads for Barnes Bullets)
Survival Quest 2009 (the final pieces I'll need for grid down and
"zombies"):
Ruger M77 Mk II .300 Win Mag with optics
A manual water pump (the old pump is
gone)
Wind turbine and photovoltaic panels for water pumping and power generation.
Battery bank and inverter
More kerosene lamps
Night Vision for the AR-15
Radios
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Letter Re: A Technique for Crossing Barbed-Wire Fences
Mr. Rawles,
On foot crossing a barbed wire livestock fence that is stretched tight can
be a problem. Stretching the fence with the hands makes a small space. Hanging
gear and loose clothing seem to always find a barb to catch. The trick is
to make a pair of fence stretcher/stabilizers.
Any material can work but light weight metal is the best. The stretching
sticks or bars only need to be strong enough to not bend in the middle while
under
tension. I recommend using two pieces of lightweight metal bar stock about
14 to 16 inches long. Notch each end. Place them between the wires to be
opened. One in front of you and one in back [,about five feet apart.] You
have a nice wide opening for you and anyone with you to navigate safely and
quickly.
After crossing you remove them and place on or in a pack for re-use. No one
can tell if you have crossed at that place.
If stealth is needed you can do the same on ground level by placing one end
on the ground and the other on the lower wire.
You can then slide under the bottom wire and pull any gear through, remaining
in the prone position.
Positioning of these is best accomplished wearing a pair of heavy leather gloves.
A stretcher bar is necessary on a six wire fence because the distance between
the wires is considerably less than on a five wire fence.
Cordially, - JWC in Oklahoma
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Three Letters Re: Advice on Silver or Gold Jewelry for Barter?
Hi -
I just read your comments regarding not holding jewelry for
precious metals holdings. As one who makes his living (and has done so for
decades) in jewelry, coins and guns, I fully agree with your comments. I have
had many customers in over the years that had decided that jewelry was a good
place to invest in precious metals, and after I went over it with them, they
have all switched to good products.
There are some very good fake jewelry out there these days that will fool many,
even with the use of a stone and acid. I learned the old fashioned way, using
straight nitric acid rather that the acid mixes used today, which are much
more fool-able and can tell much closer the karat and whether or not an items
is solid, filled or totally phony. I also learned diamonds using just a loupe
rather than with an electronic probe. And I agree with your comments about
gemstones as well - they look great in the bottom of an aquarium but unless
I know I can sell it to someone, I would never put my own money out for them.
You might go over (or you may have already in the archives) some of the other
good silver and gold products to buy and hold, or I would be happy to write
something up for you. I give this advice out daily in my shop, where I do guns
and coins. Many of my customers are buying both, and food storage is increasingly
a topic of discussion as well. I do a lot of digging and searching for ammo,
so I am one of the very few places in town with ammo on the shelf and guns
on the rack. - G. in Las Vegas
Dear Mr Rawles,
I just read the letter about using jewelry for barter on your web site and think
your answer is right on. I am a jeweler in the Midwest and would like to add
to your comments.
If someone wanted to sell jewelry now and buy items that would be easier to barter
with during a post-dollar society here are some tips and insights.
1. Never send your jewelry away to a company advertising cash for gold on television.
These
people are crooks and you will get next to nothing for your gold.
2. The next worse place to take your jewelry for sale would be a pawn shop.
3. A jeweler or coin dealer is a better bet and will generally give you more
money for what you have. Go to an independent jeweler, not a nationwide chain.
Check with a couple of jewelers if you don’t have one you trust.
4. To get top dollar for your jewelry try selling it yourself. This has some
drawbacks, it will take time and is a serious breech of OPSEC. Some jewelers
may be willing to sell nicer pieces on consignment, this eliminates most of the
OPSEC issues.
I can tell people how much they should get from a jeweler and why. Expect to
get 50-65% of the actual market value of gold for your jewelry. Why so low you
ask? There are a couple of reasons.
First the jeweler isn’t buying your gold, he’s buying your gold’s
future. He doesn’t send the gold in to the refiner the day you sell it,
he sends it in when he has several ounces to send at once. If the market falls
between the time you get your money and when the gold is sent in the jeweler
could loose money.
Refining gold isn’t free. First the package must be insured and shipped
to the refiner. The refiner charges a fee to assay the gold, to determine its
precious metal content. Then the refiner takes a cut off the top. The price varies
from refiner to refiner but they generally get between 7-10%.
And finally the jeweler has to make a profit to keep his doors open.
A better bet for old, unused jewelry might be to have it melted down and made
into something you will use.
Some things that will come in handy if you want to take in jewelry as payment
in a post-collapse setting. Get an acid test kit and learn how to use it. These
kits will give an approximate karat quality for 10-14-18k gold. Below is a list
of how much gold is in each quality of gold.
10k = 41.66% gold (sometimes stamped 416)
14k = 58.5% gold (sometimes stamped 585)
18k = 75% gold (sometimes stamped 750)
It is illegal to put a quality mark on anything less than 10K gold in the USA.
If you run across anything stamped 8K or 9K it probably came from Mexico and
should
be considered suspect. Always file the piece to be tested in an inconspicuous
place, removing just a bit of metal, and put the acid on that spot. This will
cut through any possible plating and give a test on the metal underneath. Get
a scale, I’m sure most of you have a grain scale for measuring out powder
charges, this works fine for weighing gold, just convert to ounces and remember
that precious metals are weighed in Troy ounces not Avoirdupois ounces.
[14 versus 16 ounces per pound.] A gram
or
pennyweight scale isn’t expensive and every house should have one. After
weighing its just a matter of figuring out how much gold is really worth. Also get
a good, strong magnet and check everything with it. There are lots of frauds
out there, anything that sticks to a magnet is gold plated and should be considered
junk.
A word of caution about gemstones, don’t give any money for gems unless
you know exactly what you’re dealing with, and never trust an appraisal.
Tell the seller that you aren’t interested in the stones and they can remove
them from the setting if they want them. Don’t remove them yourself. Also
don’t expect to get much for stones in jewelry you are selling unless they
are exceptionally rare and valuable. Jewelers usually have many carats of diamonds
on hand, they don’t need yours, and if they do buy them the stones will
sit in inventory for months before being used.
Be careful dealing with jewelry after TEOTWAWKI.
I know what I’m doing
around jewelry and I’d much rather deal in coins or other forms of wealth.
Its easier and faster and I could use the coins to trade with almost anyone.
Remember, just because you are willing to trade for jewelry doesn’t mean
that someone will [later] want to take it from you in trade. Take
note of what my old boss used to say, “Gold is a wonderful thing, but
you can’t
eat it and it doesn’t keep you warm at night.
Keep your powder dry, - Kestrel
Hi Jim,
I have recently started a business buying and selling unused/unwanted jewelry,
coins and PMs (precious metals). One thing that I have learned through the
start-up process, is that in a TEOTWAWKI situation, being able to identify
PM coins or jewelry's value will be a skill that could really come in handy.
Having scales, acid testing kits, and electronic testing equipment such as
the ones I bought from igem.com,
could really give you an edge when the balloon goes up. I bought the GLR-24
tester that can determining the karat content
of a piece from 6-24 karat gold, and can also detect the presence of platinum
and silver. My acid kit (which only runs about $20), can identify gold as
well, but the process is bit more time-consuming, however the advantage is
that I will not be entirely reliant on a battery-operated electronic device
when/if it breaks later on down the road. Using an acid testing kit takes
practice, and you would be wise to learn how to do it now, and not try to
figure it out under more stressful times that are sure to come.
I also acquired
a gem tester in the kit (that detects diamonds, moissants, and zirconium
gems), although the value of these items would be suspect at best, as not
many would trust their authenticity, and thus, they would be hard to utilize
as a form of currency (but having the ability to test them can't hurt either
as an opportunity could present itself I suppose). In the kit I also received
an electronic scale that weighs in ounces, grams, and grains and a lighted
loop for reading the stampings.
Keep in mind that people can stamp whatever
they want on metals or jewelry, but that does not make
it authentic! Coins are even forged a lot (read: China) in today's world.
The
only way to
truly
determine something's worth is to have the means to test it!!! I would also
recommend that all survivalbloggers have a print-out of weight and measure
conversion charts, and that you become familiar with the process of calculating
the worth of 10K, 14K, 18K and 24K gold. It is also important to know how
to calculate the value of coinage and know their purity content for their
respective years they were minted. Remember, fiat currency will probably
become a thing of the past, and bartering skills as well as the ability to
identify what the other guys stuff is worth will be key to fair trade. - Jeff
in Michigan
JWR Replies: Thanks for that info. Here is some additional
data from one of my early FAQs that folks should keep on hand both in electronic
form, and in hard
copy. Pack those pages with your touchstone, scale, Fisch calipers,and
acid test kit:
Silver dollar bags ($1,000 face value) contain approximately 765 ounces of
silver
Thus, if the "spot" price is $5.20/oz., a $1,000 bag would be worth
$3,978, wholesale. (Or think of it as 3.97 times the face value of any single
coin.) Small quantity purchases (less than $10 face value) get the buyer the
worst rate (currently roughly 5.5 times face value.) Large purchases (multiple
$1,000 bags) allow the best rate--roughly only 4 or 5% over the melt value
90% .50/.25/.10 bags ($1,000 face value) contain approximately 715 ounces of
silver
40% half dollar bags ($1,000 face value) contain approximately 296 ounces of
silver
Conversion Formulas:
Grams to pennyweights, multiply grams by .643
Pennyweights to grams, multiply pennyweights by 1.555
Grams to troy ounces, multiply grams by 0.32
Troy ounces to grams, multiply troy ounces by 31.103
Pennyweights to troy ounces, divide pennyweights by 20
Troy ounces to pennyweights, multiply troy ounces by 20
Grains to grams, multiply grains by .0648
Grams to grains, multiply grams by 15.432
Pennyweights to grains, multiply pennyweights by 24
Avoirdupois ounces to troy ounces, multiply avoirdupois ounces by .912
Troy ounces to avoirdupois ounces, multiply troy ounces by 1.097
Avoirdupois ounces to grams, multiply avoirdupois ounces by 28.35
Grams to Avoirdupois ounces, multiply grams by .035
Gold Purity Standards (by Karat):
24 K = 99.9% fine Pure Gold. Too weak for jewelry, but ideal for industrial
use
23.5K = 97.92% fine
23 K = 95.83% fine
22.5K = 93.75% fine
22 K = 92.67% fine Some coin gold, though not that of the U.S., is 22K
21.6K = 90.00% fine The approximate purity of U.S. gold coins
21.5K = 89.58% fine
21 K = 87.50% fine
20.5K = 85.42% fine
20 K = 83.33% fine
19.5K = 81.25% fine
19 K = 79.17% fine
18.5K = 77.08% fine
18 K = 75.00% fine The highest grade of gold normally used in jewelry.
17.5K = 72.92% fine
17 K = 70.83% fine
16.5K = 68.75% fine
16 K = 66.67% fine 1/3 copper. This grade is commonly used in dental work.
15.5K = 64.58% fine
15 K = 62.50% fine
14.5K = 60.42% fine
14 K = 58.33% fine
13.5K = 56.25% fine
13 K = 54.17% fine
12.5K = 52.08% fine
12 K = 50.00% fine Half gold, half copper. Used extensively in low priced jewelry. (Will show brownish tinge in reaction to Nitric Acid.)
11.5K = 47.92% fine The percentage of copper now exceeds that of gold.
11 K = 45.83% fine
10.5K = 43.75% fine
10 K = 41.67% fine Used in some low-grade jewelry such as class rings. Shows
a marked reaction to Nitric Acid.
9.5 K = 39.58% fine
9 K = 37.50% fine Not much more than one-third gold.
Silver Purity Standards:
.9999 fine "Pure Silver"
.9584 fine "Britannia Silver" Often used in manufacturing.
.9250 fine "Sterling Silver" Normally stamped "Sterling" or ".925"
.9000 fine "Coin Silver" Some antique items are marked "Dollar" or "
D" or ".900" or "Coin Silver" to indicate they were
made from melted coins.
"
German Silver" is +/- 97% base metal and only +/- 3% silver, and thus
has no bullion value.
Exactly what silver or gold coins will bring you in barter will depend on the
times. Immediately after a collapse, coins may not be worth much. As law and
order is gradually restored, they will probably be worth more and more. The
bottom line is the old legal maxim: "The value of a thing is what that
thing will bring."
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Six Letters Re: Some Thoughts on the Survival Vehicle
Jim –
Read the article [by OddShot] about the BOV and
wanted to add a ranching note. Some of us ranchers have pickups with a trailer
hitch mounted in the front
as
well
as
the back. This makes pulling trailers out of awkward situations easier without
having to turn the truck around. Added to a substantial front bumper, it makes
front
ramming an interesting proposition, as that hitch – with a draw-bar but
no ball – would do some serious damage. Kind of like the bronze prow
on a Greek warship. Just an idea. - Geoff in ND
JWR Replies: While I'm not an advocate of playing
"Road Warrior"--(I'm more of a "hunker down" in place kinda
guy)--in my dealings with consulting clients I've witnessed quite a few "specialized" custom-fabricated
bumper accessories. Most of these were variations of crash bars. (My old friend
"Jeff
Trasel",
for example, many
years ago owned
a camouflage-painted Volkswagen festooned with various Marine Corps bumper
stickers and equipped with a very stout crash bar.) I've also seen
all manner of nefarious
devices designed to fit into standard 2-inch square receiver hitch
channels.
The biggest advantage of these is that they can be quick-detachable, allowing
them to be kept out of sight in normal (pre-Schumeresque)
times. One of these was a clever pair of "radiator killer" spikes.
The 1-1/2" diameter spikes on this were both nearly three feet long.
and tapered for just their last eight inches. The bottom one projected directly
out from
the receiver,
at just below
"trailer
ball"
height.
The other half of the forked pair was parallel to the first, but about 15
inches higher. If
ramming another vehicle, at least one of these two spikes would likely
puncture the radiators of 90% of the cars and trucks that anyone might encounter
on the
highways
and byways. When installed in a rear hitch mount, the barbs are a primarily
defensive weapon. But when
installed in a pickup's front receiver, they can act as
a fearsome offensive anti-radiator weapon.
Hello Jim,
I would like to add one thing to the article by Oddshot. Fix-A-Flat
type [aerosol tire sealant] products can freeze and not flow in cold weather,
rendering it useless. I learned this the hard way during a recent cold snap
here in
Ohio.
Although
I disagree with his comments on diesels it was an informative article. Thanks,
- Jeff in Ohio.
Mr. Rawles,
I rarely contribute an opinion here because my expertise pales in comparison
to many who are listed in here. The gentleman who recommended the Ford F150
as a base unit for a survival vehicle is spot on. I would go one stop further
and recommend a early to mid eighties F150 or F250 with a 300 straight six
engine coupled with Fords famous "three speed with granny low" standard
transmission. Used to sell trucks to horse and other farmers in the early nineties
at a very large new Ford lot. The young guys (me included) bought the big diesels
for their stock trailers and the old guys would buy the straight six. Guess
who never needed to come into the shop. You got it, the old guys. That straight
six will pull almost as good as the diesel including up and down hills with
the only sacrifice being a little lower top speed. It is a very simple engine
to work on (if you ever have to-very reliable). I still own and use my 1991
Ford diesel but in retrospect would have spent much less and gotten the 300
straight six if I had it to do over again.
From a construction stand point the Fords of that era were built and designed
much better than it's competition. The beds were bolted on instead of welded
etc. Their only weakness is a tendency to rust out over the wheel wells.
I am a MOPAR guy who comes from a MOPAR family. But when you take emotion,
and prejudice out of the equation, the light Ford pickup of the eighties was
indeed the best of its contemporaries for durability and simplicity
for your dollar. - GSJ
Sir James,
Tires rot. There is a five year expected useful safe design
life. The valving on shock absorbers wear, and their chrome shafts also
rust. Replace tires when truck
is purchased
and once every five
years even if tread depth measures (US penny Lincoln's head = 1/16" tread
depth remains).
I have been driving 1 ton pickups ever since I was 16 years old (in 1964).
Over the [intervening 45] years, I have used bias tube type, tubeless,
with and without tubes, and radials. While aluminum lug holes can wear and
rims can break, their beads don't rust air leaks as steel rims eventually do
[in
regions where road salt is used].
My '72 3/4 ton , owned since new, "3 door" Suburban project now has
17"x7" as backspacing on more common 16"s mismatched with OEM 16.5" steel
rims. They rusted leaks after 25+ years. The 17" wheels
allow for larger front disk brake upgrades. I use 265-70Rx17" LR E =
235-85Rx16" LR
E tire diameter nominal 32" tall,
the latter being the most common skinny tire on 3/4-ton and 1-ton trucks.
I advise replacing all moving/flexing rubber, such as belts, every three years
and rubber hoses every five years. Yes, I have had family members get 20 plus
years, but that
takes pure Grace to miss anything in between inconvenient to catastrophic
failure.
Replace the mindsets of "can you get by until the lease has run out" or "trade
as soon as you're no longer upside down". These paid-for bug-out buggies are
your
best means of not carrying your kit on your back for a decade or more, if you
can keep it fed.
My plan is to have a 110 mph-capable, 400 horsepower and 400 pound ft. +
5 speed with overdrive and a gear splitting overdrive (unit gearing) truck
capable
of towing
and stopping
five ton trailer loads, firewood, and the like
This truck shall never again be a painted lady or look as fast as it truly is.
-
Tom K.
Mr. Editor;
See the Expeditions
West web site and the vehicles they are
testing and past vehicles they recommend for the purpose of traversing cross
country in all terrain. These folks could be consider 'experts' on the subject.
Choosing a vehicle should be like choosing a firearm, where personal experience
with the equipment and the users physical attributes can be major considerations
in the choice. As apart of an intended hobby, I had hoped to build a vehicle
for the purpose and get involved with the sport. As an example I'll discuss
my primary vehicle for the purpose. Because of my extensive experience and
knowledge of the vehicle, not so much cost considerations, I chose a 1985 Toyota
4WD fuel injected pickup and spent a fair amount to thoroughly restore it.
It is #4 on Expedition West's most recommended list along with more modern
vehicles. They state the major reasons for the choice. Fortunately there are
other and more modern vehicles on their list, so there's something there for
everyone.
A quick and incomplete mention of the Pro's and Con's of some my vehicle's attributes.
The drive train is essentially a scaled down and lighter version of the Toyota
FJ40, and like the FJ40, exceptionally tough. Chevy trucks have been known to
bend frames on trails these Toyota's climb like goats. Albeit a light truck,
it can can handle a useful and relatively heavy payload for it's size, passenger
capacity and fuel economy. It offers one of the highest payload to fuel economy
ratio found in any gasoline powered 4WD truck.
The 1985 [model year] is the only Toyota pickup with the durable straight front
axle
and
more powerful and modern, yet simple fuel injected motor. A separate computer
is not
needed to help with diagnostics. Any reasonable mechanic or intelligent young
person can handle the job. A small trailer can be towed and navigate tight Forest
Service roads, and a larger trailer with electric brakes can safely handle fair
amount weight. The truck's towing capacity is a reasonable 3,500 pounds, exceptionally
high for it's class. In light of a possible EMP attack,
it's major weakness is the computer controlled fuel injection and ignition. The
upside to a modern EFI
motor is the availability of emission control devices which may need replacement
and these parts can be had at lower cost than the latest models. Out here in
boonies, we're lucky that Emission Certification is not required. With some modification,
this 1985 model can use the injection system from a 1995 models. Fortunately
I happen to have several spare and complete sets of replacement parts for the
fuel and secondary ignition systems for 1985 to 1990 models. I also have plenty
of spare parts for the rest of vehicle stored in boxes and extra and operational
vehicles that can be used as parts cars. The vehicle is common in this sparsely
populated neck of the woods and spare parts are plentiful, but not as plentiful
as the old Chevys. The key to utilizing the parts of different years and related
models vehicles is to have intimate knowledge of the subtle changes made from
year to year. A mechanic with such knowledge could be invaluable. I'm not a mechanic
by trade, but a passion for these trucks during my youth led me to research and
discover the vast technical support and knowledge available on the internet from
other enthusiasts of this once very popular truck. To be sure, my parts pile
is considerable and includes spare gear sets, transmissions, suspension, and
axles, to the now difficult to obtain distributors, cylinder heads and exhaust
manifolds and so forth. A complete and spare, yet still running 4WD Toyota truck
can be stripped of it's carburetor and accessories if needed or simply driven
as is. This un-restored "spare" 4WD truck is still serviceable and equipped with
a flat bed, a good wood getter that can squeeze and navigate though narrow openings
and roads. Because of it's high mileage and other attributes, I do not consider
it a primary vehicle. Another complete low mileage and running 2wd of the same
year could donate it it's EFI. It is essentially a copy of my primary vehicle
without the 4WD.
Spare and complete sets of stock and oversized tires on rims allow these vehicles
to operate on any terrain or road conditions from sand dunes to deeper mud and
snow. With only stock sized tires, which are adequate for most trails and roads,
these trucks do surprisingly well. Letting the air out of the tires to no less
than 15 psi greatly improves there performance in sand. Tall and narrow tires
are recommended over tall and wide usually seen as the foot print is actually
greater 'aired down'. The rolling resistance is less on the highway and it 'bites'
into dirt and snow far better. It is a well balanced choice in off road tires.
This is a topic of it's own and I'll leave it with a recommendation that 23575R16
tires are the best all around for many 4WD vehicles, including Toyota trucks.
No suspension modification is required for most.
Regardless of your choice, a good 'yard car' or well used and still running spare
vehicle, is wonderful source of parts. Rust buckets are cheap.
New and used carburetors for many full sized and light foreign and domestic trucks
are becoming difficult to find.
Rebuild kits for carburetors are a good idea. Although the older Toyota's are
my personal favorite, we also have fleet of Chevy's, model years from 1964 into
the 1980s: a 1 ton, flatbed, dump bed, standard and 4WD Suburbans. Not only
do these all run, but: "Hey, parts is parts!" We also have a "Toyolet",
a Toyota
FJ40
[that has been retrofitted] with a powerful V8 Chevy motor and heavy duty
Turbo 400 transmission, with air lockers and other serious off road features.
Even with all it's fancy stuff,
my 1985 Toyota does well off road in comparison while getting 24 mpg on
the highway. Although not a practical daily driver, it would fun in the sun and
useful
in a high speed Mad Max world, yet one would need plenty of stored fuel.
Well, it looks like I've ramble on anyway, so it time to quit. Hopefully some
of areas covered provide helpful tips and considerations. With all the factors
one may consider, a big clue on what to buy could found while driving around
the neighborhood. Consider using the tool the natives have found to be the most
useful. If old Chevy's are plentiful, get a Chevy. Then again per
