Not a lot completed this past week.
Completed 299 Days Book 5 – for the second time. What a great series. I think it is likely the most realistic portrayal of what possibly lies ahead.
Just received the entire The Survivalist series in Graphic Audio format from a longtime reader. This is the original book series from the 80’s and 90’s. I have listened to a couple books previously and they were great. “Graphic Audio” is unique in that they actually have actors playing out the book with special effects. “A movie in your mind…” is appropriate. Great stuff!
Finally got a chance to testfire my new Springfield Operator 1911 45ACP. Fantastic. Shot half of the 200 rounds I have designated for “breaking in” the gun. No issues. Extremely accurate.
Met up with a group member’s brother who is really into CB radio’s. Provided some advice on setting up a mobile, local network.
FYI – as of Saturday night there is a special .99 cent deal on the entire 3 book American Exit Strategy series. Not sure how long this price will last.
I have mentioned that there would be a few changes upcoming here. Well. tomorrow is it. Nothing major but a few tweaks.
Worked out several times this week and overall diet was very good. Starting at 205 with a goal of 185 by September 15th.
Stay safe my friends……
Your turn.
Rourke
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My wife and I did quite a bit of canning this week with beans from our garden and tomatoes from some very good friends who live in Fort Mill. So far, 20 quarts of tomatoes and around 30 quarts of beans. Still more to pick and can.Hopefully our tomatoes, corn and potatoes will come in over the next couple of weeks.
Made a run to Costco and got some things that we have been dry canning.
Unfortunately, had a bit of a setback this week. Some critter dug its way into my meat chicken coop and killed all of the meat chickens. I set a bunch of traps using various set methods, but have had no success in catching it/them yet. I suspect raccoons.
Overall, a pretty productive week.
JC If the culprit left the chickens and just sucked the blood it may well be a weasle. Lightning
Thanks Lightning. I suspect it was either a racoon or skunk. We have mink in our area, but the critter killed the chickens and ate the hind end out of a couple.
JC, around here the raccoons are known for just biting off the head of chickens and leaving the body. Sounds like a game camera might be useful. Weren’t there any tracks?
PR
Thanks P.R. By the time I got there, the rain had washed everything out. I can’t wait for trapping season!
BTW. Thanks for all the valuable info you provide for us!
Didn’t do much at all. Just was a busy week doing chores around the house. Garden is doing terrible, we’re in a moderate drought & even with watering with city water our gardens are 1/4 of what it was last year. 75% of tomatoes have bottom rot, lost all the summer squash plants due to heat, green beans have been replanted 3 times yet still get eaten by various things as sprouts, trying to find a way to take down the TV antenna section to put up a multi-ban antenna for ham radio without killing myself, picked up a old front tine rototiller for free. Just needed a new gas line and new spark plug to get running again, went to a half dozen garage sales and found nothing what so ever. Not a productive week at all.
Texas heat is taking its toll on my tomatoes, down to 3 of 9, started new plants in cups of tomatoes, squash, swiss chard, green beans, canned up some chicken broth made from 4 fryers. Here is my recipe passed down from my mom ( the bones of one to two chickens, 4 carrots, 4 stocks celery, 2 bay leaves, one spanish onion skin cut in half, tsp salt, half tsp pepper, fill pressure cooker with H2O to the line, pressure cook on hi for 45min to 1 hr, remove from heat, allow to depressure naturally, remove bones, pour thru sive.)(Skin n fat was removed from chicken before starting this process with exception of wing tips) by making your own your not wasting, you know whats in your broth, the collagen in the broth helps keep our joints flexible.
This was a radical year for squash, turnip, and tomatoes up in the mountains. Fed the family and the church.
PR
Slight drought here in NYS .Creeks are dry etc. Due to some problem I have been extremely exhausted for over 2 weeks. Dr is repeating blood work soon. Didnt get anything done.Canning and freezing on hold. Goat purchases on hold. Lightning
Not much here. Actually rereading American Exit Strategy – already have it but thanks for the 99 cent alert. I’ve read and reread all his books and love them. Haven’t read 299 days, guess I’ll have to embark on those. Got a promotion at work effective 8/1, this should help with some of my goals. Still seeking a 60’s model vehicle, a piece of land and storage trailer. Picked up 9mm, 38, 45 and 223 shells. Ordered some freeze dried goodies. – Keep Looking UP
Ordered Lower for my new AR15. Soon as it comes I will begin a new adventure, building an AR Guess I will follow You Tube for direction on putting it together. Picked up a couple hundred 9MM rounds. That is about it for me. Stay safe!
We had our most productive “prepping” week of the year! Now 5 years into this lifestyle, we finally obtained a generator. I really wanted a solar powered unit, so as to avoid dependency on fossil fuel. However, they are very expensive and one unit will not power the items I need: well pump, hot water heater and refrigerator/freezer. The gas model we picked up on Saturday was FREE, so I will postpone my solar desires for now. Another huge project we completed was the replacement of desiccant packets in my ammo cans. It may not sound like a big deal, but when you are dealing with multiple sites (caches), it becomes a huge pain. I also rotated cigarette cartons. New taxes raised prices a dollar per pack, so I will no longer purchase our smokes locally. I made the lengthy trip to the military base where I can buy cigarettes much cheaper. We also bought loose tobacco and filters. It only costs about $20 to roll a carton. Finally, I committed a few hours in updating all my charts (desiccant and tobacco rotation dates). I had some magazines to spread out at cache locations as well. I am still “on the mend” from my back injury on July 16th. I was able to exercise a few times last week, which is a very good sign! I hope to return to my normal state of disability by the end of this week. GOOD LORD WILLING!
pulled 5 gal honey from bees, traded 2 gals for range time and bullets for wife’s CC training and class, canned 18 qts Spaghetti Sauce, pulled 7 gals more Roma tomatoes for salsa next, started second 120 quail eggs (hatched 70 the first round). I must say they eat A LOT .. put food in there 4 times a day and it’s always like they never ate. Little fuzzy Piranha. ordered wife’s CC gun, and 18″ 12 GA house gun. added some pieces to BOB for the field, now I need to take some out in favor of lighter better able equipment, or I’ll need a truck to carry it before long… I will say I got out in 100 degrees at 85% humidity and about stroked .. seriously .. just kept going and then of a sudden I was not sweating, pulse was 180, and queezy. I stopped, hit a coolish tub, drank 64 ozs of water and sat under a fan for quite a while and still not all back 2 days later. Tough right .. and never saw it coming. It made me think, what can I learn and about Bugging or getting back in similar weather? Then exceptional cold on the other end. Most of us, even if we once were, are not used to walking in 60+ lbs of gear, and other 20-25 with vest and or plates, now add something for defense in your hands.. and finally 100 degrees, or 10 degrees. I can walk 10-15 miles pretty easy otherwise, but what is a realistic goal per day 3 – 5 more? less ? I suspect it depends on the person. In October the group is going to load out to middle nowhere and find out. I’m sure we’ll do some other stuff, but finding out what you CAN do under complete load will be the most important, and an encouragement to lighten everything but essentials. Someone recently told me “the most important thing you take with you is what you know”. Good advice.
GG58