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From the Desk of John Rourke – March 3rd, 2017

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Going to do some work in the garden this weekend. Some may remember that I lost a lot of top soil and production last summer was about nothing. I’ve started building raised beds and also going to have a section in ground.

Around my parts seeds can go in the ground as early as the beginning of April – sometimes sooner. Typically I grow a combination of seeds and transplants – and plant every week throughout April. If a frost comes along mid-April I risk part of my plantings rather than everything. That timed planting extends the growing season as well.

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I would like to find an older Panasonic Toughbook computer. These are hardened laptops built to be extremely durable for the military. They’re also fairly expensive.

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One of the most common self defense objects often just lying around is the lowly – stick. I studied Filipino Balintawak stickfighting for over 12 years. I have not attended classes in a little over a year but still dabble here and there. While there are a lot of flashy moves and cool techniques much of what is taught prepares the student for extreme speed in both defense and offense = as well as quick reflexes.

Something else many who have seen stickfighting material arts is that most all techniques can be done empty handed.

I’d love to get back into it.  I have tried teaching a couple friends but finding someone to make that commitment is not easy.

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I started reading 299 Days again. This will be for the third time. Book 1 is a bit on the boring side starting out but by Chapter 9 it starts getting good. One of the most realistic prepper-fiction books I have ever read.

The audio version of 299 Days book 1 is only $1.99 as of this writing.

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Have a great weekend!!!

There are many reasons why so many love their Kindle and Amazon Fire tablets. One huge advantage is you could literally go years without every buying a book to read as there are tons of free eBooks available. Don’t have a Kindle or Fire? No problem. There are apps that can be installed on most any cell phone or computer for free. No excuses!

Today’s Freebies

The Emergency Managers Guide to Survival

Homemade Mines

Situational Awareness

Prepper Barter

Storage Sheds for Beginners

NOTE: If you see a free Kindle book that you’re interested in get it now. Prices change often and there is no way to tell how long the book will remain free. Before purchasing a free Kindle book on Amazon make certain the book is still free by making sure the price is $0.00. If it lists a price or says “read for free” or has a price for prime members the book is not free anymore.

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12 Comments

  1. CaptTurbo says:

    Rourke, you should have your seeds started indoors by now and then set them out as nature dictates. Here in SW Florida I eat from the garden tear round. The garden is busting with greens now. Ethiopian kale, red Russian kale, mustard greens, Swiss chard, Georgia collards, purple tree collards, various peppers hot and mild, spinach of both regular and tropical varieties, radishes, moringa, ashwagondha, and more.

    Reply
    1. joyce says:

      CaptTurbo….had read about moringa before you had touted it’s value here on 1776PatriotUSA, but had passed it over in my mind as it would not survive harsh winter. Glad you have kept bringing this up with more information AND encouragement each time. Am looking for a source of seed that is viable to give it a try…it seems worthy of the effort even as an annual, so i thank you for sharing.

      Have also been picking up seed to sprout that i have not tried before…kale, broccoli, sugar beet and rain in radish as i anticipate the new growth of nettles, chickweed and dandelion especially.

      Has anyone had experience with growing potatoes in bags, towers or other reduced space methods? Hope to start some in a couple weeks….guess now’s the time to try new things.

      Reply
      2. JR says:

        Joyce – my luck with potatoes has been iffy. I have used buckets with the best success. I drilled holes in the bottoms of the buckets for drainage – then filled a few inches of light, fluffy soil. I placed the seed potatoes – a few – in the bottom inside the soil. Once they sprout I keep filling the bucket to cover the sprouts. Once the sprouts come up out the top and die off – I dump the bucket and get the potatoes. Some gravel in the bottom help with drainage and I also will keep the bottom of the bucket off the ground using cinder blocks to make sure the water will drain out.

        Reply
    2. JR says:

      You’re right CaptTurbo. I rarely start seeds indoors, however, there is no better time than now. Thanks for the reminder.

      Reply
  2. Oren says:

    This morning, had frost and temp was 28 here in Clemson. All the fruit trees have flowered out. Oh well. Guess I miss the pears and peaches this year. Speaking of Clemson, yes, I went there in the early 60’s. But now I am ashamed to admit it. I saw yesterday on WND News that a group of the little snowflakes are getting together to travel to Greenville, SC and Greer, SC to disrupt the pro-Trump rallies planned for Saturday, the 4th. They refer to the pro-Trump people as “scum”. Living within 5 miles of this bastion of liberal intelligence and shopping the area, I had always thought it safe and secure. With the current push by the alt-Left to not only verbally attack Trump supporters but escalate to physical violence, I guess I’ll have to begin carrying concealed. It’s something I did not think I would ever have to do here in the Clemson area. But, as an old retired guy, I guess I fall into the category of being grouchy and not very tolerant. And I guess I’ve also become one of those “most dangerous individuals”…an old guy who will not take a beating, he’ll just shoot you. What the heck has our country become?

    Reply
  4. Zenblaster in SC says:

    I picked up a Win7 Toughbook CF-30 through Amazon from a refurbisher in FL for just over $300 and have been 100% happy. Clean Win 7 install, good size HD, memory, etc. There are various models and versions with different features so check into that as well. Some have a GPS, etc, etc. I like the interchangeable batteries and use mine as a portable computer for Ham radio software such as FLdigi and Winlink(RMS Express).

    My fear is the HD going bad. On a Mac, I incrementally backup automatically to their Time Capsule device and have restored very easily (3 times since 2008) from a total HD failure with absolute ease. (All software, files, configs, passwords, etc back to normal during the restore process) I am not familiar with any software to make a Windows 7 restore so easy, does anyone?

    Take care!

    Reply
  5. Large Marge says:

    Re: soil build

    A YouTube infomercial was recommended to me == Back To Eden.

    Filmed in cool wet Washington The State and other unlikely spots, if you can overlook all the ‘John The Baptizer’ dogma (about 95-minutes of 112-minutes…), it looks doable. Just dump tons of wood chips from tree-trimming companies onto your plot.

    Easy peasy.

    Reply

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