Destiny Survival

Archive for April, 2008

            A small town of about 400 people in Hampshire, England, is working hard to grow its own food and wean its residents away from supermarkets.  The majority of families there have signed up to participate in the project and share the produce, which includes a variety of vegetables as well as chickens and pigs.  They plan to expand into raising strawberries and other berries and go into dairy production.  This isn’t brought about merely by a group of farmers.  Members include people in welll paying professional and technical careers.  They’re not boycotting supermarkets, but they’re working hard at self sufficiency.  One of the outcomes is presumably a smaller carbon footprint.

            It makes no difference to me whether they’re endeavoring to save the earth.  I simply applaud their efforts.  You may be aware of the growing popularity of farmer’s markets and CSA, Community Supported Agriculture, in recent years.  While there are many good reasons for this, we may be driven by economic considerations or other circumstances to follow the example of the aforementioned village in England and become more self sufficient in the areas where we live.

            On the right side of this page is a category called Survival Lifestyles.  Click on Self Sufficient Life and discover the e-book offerings on such topics as vegetable gardening, growing your own fruit, keeping poultry, and more.  Take that next step now toward greater self sufficiency and preparedness.

            “Mmmm…This bread is wonderful, Diane.  Did you make this?”  Survival Sally put down her slice of buttered homemade bread and sipped some iced tea.

            “One of my mother’s friends from church made it,” Diane said.  The aroma of bread filled the kitchen as she briefly heated a slice in the microwave for herself.

            “Oh, that’s right.  You were visiting your family this weekend, weren’t you?”

            “yes, and we had a really good time, too,” Diane said, seating herself at the kitchen table across from Sally.  “There was so much wonderful food at the church dinner Sunday afternoon, but I just had to ask Judy about this bread.  She let me have the rest of an uneaten loaf.”

            “I can’t believe there was any left over.”

            “I know, but she brought five loaves!” Diane laughed.

            “My goodness.  She must have been baking all day Saturday,” Sally said.

            “Oh, I know it.  When I asked her what made her bread so good, she said it was from flour she ground herself with a grain mill.”

            “Really?  That’s wonderful.  Did she say which one?” asked Sally.  “Pass the butter, Diane.  “I’ll have another slice.  This tastes like more!”

            “She said she uses the Country Living grain mill.”

            “Oh, Country Living is one of the best hand mills there is.  Sam and I have one, but I’m ashamed to say I  haven’t used it for such a long time.  It’s a great item to have for survival.  Who knows when it will be hard to get regular flour?”  Ice clinked as she sipped more tea.  “The Country Living grain mill grinds everything though.  You can use it for wheat, corn, beans, or rice, or any other grain.  You can make two pounds of flour in about eight minutes.  You can grind your grains to different consistencies, depending on what you’re making.”

            “Judy said it’s a good idea to use up the flour soon, since it doesn’t keep like the bleached white flour we buy at the grocery store.”

            “That’s right,” Sally said.  “She probably made a fresh batch when she baked this scrumptious bread.”  Sally quickly buttered another slice of bread and began nibbling it eagerly. 

            “This has me interested in getting a Country Living grain mill like Judy’s,” said Diane.  “I’m sure Duane would approve, since it’s something useful for preparedness and survival.”

            Sally took another sip of tea to wash down the bread.  “Better stock up on some wheat and corn while you’re at it.  By the way, where did your mother’s friend get her grain mill?”.

            “Believe it or not, she said she got it from Nitro-Pak,” said Diane.  “Their logo is on John’s blog page, isn’t it?”

            “I believe it is,” Sally said.  “I’m sure you could get your Country Living grain mill easily enough.  Any time Sam or I have ordered something through the blog, it’s been simple.  I think you just click on Nitro-Pak’s logo, then you can type the words Grain Mill in the search box.  I’m sure a page will come up showing their grain mills, including the one you want from Country Living….Mmm, this is so good!”

            In response to Food, Gold or Lead for Survival, one reader contacted me directly.  After discussing it with Survival Sam, it seemed best to allow this reader to make his point in his own words, with only slight editing.

Like the idea of investing in lead. My preference would be twenty two rimfires because of cheapness and extremely wide use. Salesman at [a local] Bass Pro got rid of his large caliber handgun because he was paying thirty eight cents per shot. There are many more guns out there that fire twenty twos, both rifles, revolvers, and autos. There are some people who might have trouble with the large calibers, but anyone can fire the twenty two. But I go for the sheer numbers most of all. I would like to have thousands or tens of thousands of rounds and you would need to be rich to buy that many big ones….Also go to a shooting range and see which empties are lying there, might be some surprises in what the locals are using.

A final argument for twenty twos is that you can buy basically silent ammo, try that in a larger round. You may not want to make a huge noise or risk killing someone with every shot. The silent stuff could be a deterrant and has enough power for some small game….

Name withheld

            If you type .22 ammunition on Bass Pro’s home page search box, you’ll see plenty of selections to choose from.

            Survival Sam says it’s a good idea to have plenty of ammunition on hand for whatever firearms you already own and are most familiar with, in addition to whatever you might want to stock up on for barter.  If you don’t own a gun, having rounds of popular ammunition on hand for barter could prove to be quite useful one day.

            “Hi, Sally!” Jenny called out from Diane and Duane’s front door as Survival Sally casually strolled up the sidewalk.  The sun shone through the clouds just long enough to give Jenny’s face extra brightness.  “We’re going on a trip to see Grandma this weekend.”

            “So I hear,” Sally said.  She handed Jenny a brightly colored plastic bag as Jenny came out onto the porch.  “Here’s something for your trip.”

            Jenny opened the bag.  “What is it?”

            “It’s trail mix.  You’ve had it before, haven’t you?”

            “Not this kind.”  Jenny turned around as Diane came through the door carrying a large black suitcase.  “Mama, look what Sally gave us for our trip.”

            Diane put down the suitcase and looked into the bag.  It rattled as she shuffled through the packages inside.  “Hmm.  Amish Country Hearty Trail Mixes.  Looks like there’s something for all of us.  Nut & Sweety Mix, California Mix, Cranberry Delight, and even some Peanut Butter Filled Mini Pretzels.  Your daddy will like those.”  She looked up.  “I like anything with banana chips.  These all look so wonderful.  Thank you, Sally.  That’s very thoughtful.”

            “I knew you were going to be on the road for several hours, coming and going this weekend,” Sally smiled, “and I thought you’d enjoy a treat.  They came from Lehman’s.  They’re made near their store in Ohio and are a hit with their retail store customers.”

            “I know trail mix is a quick, healthy snack for any time, and these will definitely be enjoyed,” Diane said.

            “That’s what I was hoping.” Sally said.  “If you have some left over, it will keep, since they’re in resealable plastic containers.  Then you can enjoy your favorite trail mix when you go hiking or camping sometime.”

            “Yeah,” said Jenny.  “I’m looking forward to camping when the weather’s warmer.”  She looked up at her mother.  “Can we have some trail mix now?”

            “Let’s wait until we’re on the road, honey,” Diane said, picking up the suitcase.  “Then Bryce and your daddy can enjoy it, too.  Let’s finish loading up the car.”

            “OK.  I’ve got one more thing to get in my room.”  Jenny skipped as she went to  the front door and disappeared inside.

            “I think my mother and dad would like these trail mixes,” Diane said.  “How can they get some?”  They both started walking toward the driveway.

            “I got them through our friend John’s blog,” Sally said.  “Click on the Lehman’s logo, and type Trail Mix in the search box.  When the page comes up with the picture of Amish Country Hearty Trail Mix, click on it and pick the ones you want.”

            “Well, it was thoughtful of you to get something for our travels,” Diane said as she opened the trunk of their car.

            “My Sam says it’s always a good idea to have some fun food for pleasure or survival,” Sally said.  “It lightens everybody’s spirits, and this is good eating.”

            As you may already know, my husband Survival Sam and I believe it’s important to grow at least some of your own food.  Have you purchased all the seeds you need for this year?  Believe it or not, there are still a couple items I’d like to get yet, and I guess I’d better get moving.  This spring is rolling right along, isn’t it?  But have you thought about next year, or the year after that?  Will you be able to get the seeds you need?

            We take for granted that our favorite seed companies will still be there, but anything could happen, you know.  Our economy puts a damper on a lot of things it seems.  What’ if there’s a truckers strike?  What if the weather just plain gets bad and there are serious crop failures and some seeds just aren’t going to be there next season?

            Oh, sure, you can save seeds, like beans for example, and I hope you’ll do that.  Of course, remember that hybrids won’t breed true next year, so grow as much heirloom or open pollinated seed as you can.  You don’t want your favorite tomatoes reverting back to something that looks like Frankenstein’s monster next year, do you?

            Sam brought to my attention the Survival Garden Seeds from Nitro-Pak.  Consider getting some as survival gardening insurance.  You can buy a case, which holds six cans, or you can buy individual cans.  They’re back in stock after being unavailable for several months, so it’s a good idea to get some now while you can.  Apparently seed shortages made these Survival Gardening Seeds hard to come by.  Nitro-Pak could sell out again and not be able to get them for a long time.

            When you get a case, you get enough seeds to plant a half an acre’s worth.  Now, these are not your normal store bought seed varieties.  Seeds have been specially selected for long term vitality and the broadest range of climate adaptability.  Special care has been taken to be sure they’ll store for three to six times longer than normal seeds.  If you put them in the freezer, they’ll keep even longer.

            Each #10 can holds 16 nonhybrid varieties.  You’ll see traditional favorites, like corn, green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, peas, cabbage, beets, squash, and more.  Of course, since these are all nonhybrid varieties, you’ll be able to save the seeds when they come to maturity.

            When you click on Nitro-Pak’s logo, simply type Garden Seeds in the search box.  You’ll see a page with gardening seed choices.  Click on what you want and order from the descriptive page that comes up.  By the way, if you don’t think you can afford a whole case right now, get a neighbor or friend to go in with you on the order.

            As I said before, consider having these seeds as survival gardening insurance.  Better get your survival garden seeds while you still can.

            Survival Sam doesn’t think it’s a good idea to buy gold, in spite of the economic slide we’re in and the rising price of gold.  I came across an argument for buying gold, which I thought was pretty persuasive, and I tried to convince Sam of its merits.  It made sense to me, and, even though I’m not in a position to buy gold myself, I was thinking some of my readers might be.  Well, Sam was having none of it.

            “Why not?” I asked.

            “Time,” he said.

            “What do you mean?”

            “As I understand the reasoning,” Sam said, “a guy who bought an ounce of gold in 1973 for something like $42 an ounce could exchange that ounce of gold for $800, $900, or whatever gold is selling for today.”

            “That’s right, but he’d have a lot of dollars to buy a lot more than a dinner for two at Red Lobster, which is all he’d get for his $42 today.  I know that from recent personal experience because my wife and I ate there for our anniversary.”

            “That brings us right back to the problem of time,” Sam said.  “We don’t have 35 years to see what gold prices will do.  We might see the end of the dollar by 2010, when many in power would like us to be using Ameros.  We might even see the end of this country altogether by then, if not sooner.”

            “So you’re saying there’s no time to buy gold and make it useful as a medium of exchange.”

            “Not unless you bought an ounce of gold today and were able to exchange it for $2,500 in September,” Sam said.  “Of course, you never know.  That might happen., and I may be a fool for not buying gold.  On the other hand, in September, if I exchange the gold I have, then a coin dealer has my gold, and I’ve got a bag of essentially worthless paper.”

            “But you could buy things with your paper money in September that you couldn’t buy with your ounce of gold,” I said.

            “Perhaps,” Sam said.  “But why deal with a third party by involving a coin dealer?  Most of all, why wait to buy things then with paper that’s declining in value when you can do it now?  Right this minute I can buy an awfully lot of potatoes, beans and rice for much less than the price of an ounce of gold.  I don’t need an investment broker or coin dealer.  I’d rather buy goods to help me and my family survive in September and beyond, while others are wondering where they’ll get their next paycheck or even their next meal.”

            “Isn’t that short term thinking?”

            “What if a short term is all we have?” Sam asked.

            “You’re just not willing to consider buying precious metals, are you?”

            “I didn’t say that,” Sam replied.  “I’m a firm believer in buying lead.”

            “How’s that?”

            “Ammo,” Sam said.  “We’ve talked before about having it on hand as a bartering item.”

            “Oh, yes.  I’d forgotten.”

            “I suggest trying Winchester SXZ .45 ammo from Bass Pro Shop.  You get two kinds.  Some is for target practice, and some is high performance, hollow point for personal protection.  Use the training ammo for its intended purpose without dipping into the good stuff for those special occasions.”  He grinned.  “Plus, Winchester SXZ is specially made for less fouling of your handgun barrel.”

            “I guess I’d better put the Bass Pro logo where my readers can see it,” I said.

            “Good idea.  When they go to Bass Pro’s home page, they can type Winchester SXZ in the search box and go from there.”

            “So, go with food or lead for survival rather than gold, right?”

            “That’s right.  Remember, when it comes to making wise investments, think survival.”