Storey Books...

Storey is a company that publishes books that relate to the "country" or "homestead" life that so many people are looking to get back to. Their books are treasure troves of accumulated experience and knowledge on topics ranging from the household to raising livestock. Their mission statement is as follows:

To serve our customers by publishing practical
information that encourages personal independance
in harmony with the environment.

They published Made from Scratch by Jenna Woginrich (yes, that is Jenna from ColdAntlerFarm). They publish their series Storey's Guide to... that tell how to raise all the different types of livestock, and they are constantly on the lookout for new authors and ideas. I highly recommend checking out their line-up at http://www.storey.com/.

But that isn't what I want to talk about right now. Right now, I want to discuss their Country Wisdom Bulletins. These are little gems that sell for about four bucks apiece, new, and that cover the gamut of topics that Storey publishes. The nifty thing about them is that they are so focused they transfer a lot of information about something specific in just a few minute read. They are not exhaustive, but they are excellant introductions to different topics. If you want more in-depth information about a specific topic, guess what? Storey has a book about that.

Of course, Storey has been publishing these since 1973, so every once in a while you run across some information that is a little... dated. The bit that has started this post topic is in the bulletin Axes & Chainsaws: Use and Maintenance. This one in particular was Copywritten in 1977. The line that cracks me up is that it says steel-toed boots are not available in most stores, but that they can be special ordered. Now-a-days, every store seems to be carrying steel-toed boots. Heck, I am having trouble finding a cheap pair of black boots without a steel-toe! I used to be able to pick them up at any #-mart store for $20-$30. Now, they are all steel-toed. Don't get me wrong, all of the information regarding axes and chainsaws is still relavant and useful. This booklet was still well worth the money, but that little bit there just makes me chuckle.

What about you? Ever read any of these? How about another publisher that is similar?

Doing what needs done

With my post yesterday, I got no comments. I can understand that. Hunting is really a touchy subject with many people. I can understand that and I am sure I will be typing up a philosophical treatise on my thoughts regarding hunting.

However, hunting is not the purpose of my post for today. No, today is talking about protecting the animals and the people in my care. I warn you that what follows is not necessarily a pleasant read, but it is something that comes with living in the "country".

Read on, or come back another day for a new post. Thanks.




So, yesterday, I get home from work and I go out to the coops to look in on the birds. Hmm, all of the ducklings and the momma duck actually worked themselves totally out of the run and the other female got over to the chicken coop. Hmmmm, curious. So I walk over and look into the duck coop and what do I see? A friggin' rat! I bet that stupid rat got some of our ducklings. So I flip the door shut and make sure that there is no way for it to get out and I hustle in.

Now, I am in a quandry, it is sitting in my duck coop... a wooden coop with a wooden floor. That eliminates a number of weapons. Hmmm. Hey, I've got this stupid little pellet gun. Ok, so its really old, but it still works and I have some .177 cal pellets. Its only a 5-8 foot shot. Yeah, this will work.

So I get back out to the coop, still in slacks and a dress shirt, carrying a pellet gun, with plastic bags hanging out of my pockets. I'm sure I was quite a sight. So I pump up the gun, load a pellet and lift up the roof a bit to get my aim. Man, I should have been a sniper. 1 shot = 1 kill. I shot, right behind the ear. Done.

So I get in the coop and get it and any straw with blood on it and double bag it. Take it down, put the gun and pellets away, and I put the body in the garbage. I am feeling pretty decent. I am doing what needs to be done and I am protecting the animals that are in my care.

Then my wife mentions that where there is one rat, there are probably more.... ARGH!!!

Slowly, I turn, inch by inch...

I believe I have mentioned in the past (though, I am not completely sure) that I have mentioned that the wife and I are new to our area. Well, we have lived in the new state for a little over a year and we will have been in our house for a year in a couple weeks. But the thing is since we moved to this state, I have not been hunting. Let me be honest here, I came to hunting later in life. My grandfather used to, but he had a stroke before I was born and never went again. My parents did not go. This made it much more difficult because I didn't have the people around me to take me and teach me or to make me interested in hunting. I started to be very interested in it as a teenager and thought about it for years but never did anything about it. Then I finally decided that it was time. Because of where I used to live, I ended up going by myself a good bit, but I never did get anything.


Now, in the new state, the bow hunting season for deer is over 3 months long, gun hunting for deer is one week. Which is fine with me, I do prefer the bow anyways, but just look at that discrepancy of time! So I have to prepare!


I should have been practising with the bow for the past few months, but with everything else going on, I have been running out of time. This past weekend, I found some time to get out and do some shooting and working to tune up the bow. I then proceeded to lose two friggin' arrows. Did you know, that arrows are not cheap? 30, 40, 50, and UP for 12 arrows that I will still need to cut and set up. That doesn't include targets, if you use them, if you need a new string, or whatever. That is all ignoring the cost of a bow. Which is definately not cheap!


I currently use a Jennings UniStar. This was produced a while back, but it is a rather unique design. Where most compound bows have their cams on the end wheels where everyone expects them to be, the UniStar put it in the middle of the bow. This unique cam, to me, is probably the best set up for a compound bow that I have ever shot. (Not saying that there aren't better bows or that this is right for anyone else, but for me....) It eliminates uneven pulling and I feel that it doesn't have the same limb stress that comes with the "traditional" compound bow. I have never even needed a stabilizer on the front. I got mine from craigslist.org for $25, but I see them going from $150 to upwards of $350 per bow. Man, I would love a backup bow just in case anything ever happens to my current bow. (So if any of you happen to know of a cheap one or have one laying around that you would like to get rid of, please let me know! Can't pay much, but you would have my gratitude!!!)


Now, I would love to have a well made traditional long bow or even a recurve, but they are even more expensive any more. Some day I will be looking to make my own traditional long bow, but until that day, my UniStar will work for me.


If anyone wants to donate some arrows, that would be appreciated too! I've got about a 30" pull with the bow set about 63# right now. (I know, I am shameless!)


I will be taking some pictures of my arrow groupings and whatnot as I prep for the upcoming hunting seasons. I am hoping to get at least a deer this year. Maybe even some squirrel. :-D


(The picture was pulled from a seller on ebay, not my current bow)

Cash/credit/layaway...

Every day another story, more of the same. Wall Street crumbles, falls, topples, drops, blah blah blah. People are being foreclosed on in rising numbers, bankruptcy filings are going through the roof... the companies that are failing the most? Credit companies. Credit cards, lenders, etc. When did credit become such a huge, can't-live-without-it deal in this country?

The mentality of so many people now-a-days is that they want something, are entitled to it, and want it NOW! They know can buy something with credit and pay it back later. Then they run into problems and have trouble paying it then, so they put it on the card. This snowballs in to a massive amount of debt and they pay and pay and pay. But what happens if you have a hiccup and can't put it on your card? Or when you start having trouble paying your cards? Then the problems grow even faster.

Now, I don't like credit cards, but this is a new turn for me. I have credit card debt that I am paying off.... what a surprise, eh? But I have since learned of the problems with credit and have changed my ways. I pay as much as I possibly can with cash. The look that I got when I paid my car payment in cash was priceless! The woman had to ask if I had a checking account or if I wanted to open one with them. She couldn't understand why I wanted to pay cash.

Now, to the main reason for this post. K-mart has re-instituted their layaway plan. That is, you take item(s) to the layaway counter, put a down payment on them, keep making payments until it is payed off and then you can take it home with you. The exact opposite of credit-cards that let you get the item now and pay for it later. I know that there are other smaller shops that do this for their customers as well.

What an interesting concept... paying for something before you get to take it home... Make sure you really want/need it. I'm not saying that you shouldn't use a credit card. I don't know your situation. But I am going to say that if you can get out and/or stay out of credit card debt, just imagine if you put the money that you are paying them and put it into the bank each month, how soon you would have enough to buy things with cash! Wouldn't it be nice to not have to worry about debt and credit card bills and car payments and someday even not worrying about a mortgage!?!?!

Think about it, and if it makes sense to you... Do It!

The Tobacco Tax Rises Again!

The American government, in its quest for the almighty dollar, has decided that they will be increasing the tax on commercially sold tobacco. HermitJim wrote a good post that breaks down the new taxes by tobacco type. Now, this is nothing new, greedy beaurocrats that do not create wealth are always looking for a way to justify their jobs and to get money to pay for their positions. However, the AMOUNT of the tax increases that have been passed are what staggers the mind. The House of Representatives and the Sentate have both passed bills that would raise the tax by $.62 and $.61, respectively. They are banking on this increased tax to raise the income of the federal governemnt, but what always happens when taxes are raised? The amount collected goes down. People will quit or start growing their own tobacco.

Now, mmPaints over at selfsustainedliving.blogspot.com grows her own tobacco, and that got me thinking about doing it myself. So what do I do next? Research, research, and more research... and you, lucky reader, will get to share some of what I have found.

As with any plants or seeds, heirloom is the way to go anymore. This will allow you to save the seeds from the plant in order to be stored and planted the next year, and of course, they are much much much less likely to be genetically modified. So I went looking for some heirloom tobacco seeds to start my own plot of tobacco, and I found one location that seems to be the best bet. New Hope Seed has a large variety of heirloom tobacco for all different purposes. They label each variety with its name, type, common uses, and pictures of the plant and the flower. They sell both seeds and started plants, as well. I'm not sure which way I am going to go regarding the varieties, but I know I will be getting a few packets of seeds, at least. I am thinking that I may get a few live plants to transplant just to make sure I get some sort of a crop this year. But I do know that I want some plants that are good for both pipes and cigarettes.

As I understand it, tobacco is not difficult to grow, but in order to prepare it for use, there are a few things that should be done. (Note I said should. I have heard you don't need to cure it, but I don't know) There are a few methods of curing and preparing your tobacco, but as I have not yet done this, I am not going to go over them. There are a few sites out there that I am looking at how to do this, and I'm sure there are more than I have found. This isn't even a concern unless I do manage to have a harvest, and then I will be prepared for it!

I will post more throughout the summer about this project as it continues... but I would at least urge you to think about growing your own if you use any tobacco products. With the rising federal taxes, and some states looking to raise theirs as well, it is going to put a major hurting on the pocketbook before too long!

(and let me just add that if the revolution ever does come, tobacco would make an amazing barter item)

http://hermitjim.blogspot.com/2009/02/wellthey-are-after-me-again.html
http://selfsustainedliving.blogspot.com/2008/12/gardening-surprise-supporting-our.html
http://www.rusticgirls.com/gardening/growing-tobacco.html
http://newhopeseed.com/tobacco
http://tobaccoinfo.utk.edu/index.htm

More Power?!

Well, I posted the other day about our new acquisition of a cheap 5.25 kW generator. This was a great deal, and really good for us, but would this be enough of a generator for you? I don't know if this is the generator that I would have chosen for myself if I were buying new, and this leads me into today's post about choosing your generator. I will go through the process for my families power needs and we will see if this is the right size generator for us.


First thing to decide once you have determined that you are going to buy a generator is what type of generator do you want/need? There are two types of generators: portable and stand-by. Portable generators are normally about the size of a cooler and runs on gasoline. Stand-by generators are hard-wired into your house and start at the size of an outdoor air-conditioning unit (and get larger).


Portable generators are an excellent choice for many people that only need to run a few appliances for a short period of time (e.g. you only lose power for a few hours/days each year). To use a portable generator, you have to plug in your appliances to an extension cord instead of the wall outlet. When the power goes out, someone needs to go down and start the generator manually and plug in the urgent appliances. Since these generators tend to use gasoline, you need to store enough gasoline to sustain use for a period of time, and the fuel needs to be cycled to be kept fresh. Also, one of the other main points to remember with portable generators is the notation on it that may say something to the effect of "10 hours @ 1/2 load". This means the generator should run for 10 hours if you are only pulling half of that number on the front (10 hours putting out 2500W on a 5000W generator). This is important in helping guestimate the amount of gas needed on hand.


Stand-by generators are the choice of many who are in hard-hit areas that lose power often/for long periods of time. These generators are hard-wired into your house, so that your appliances can be kept plugged into the wall outlets, and you don't need to muck about with anything. These also have the option of being able to automatically detect when the power to the house is out and they can start themselves with only a few second delay. These normally are directly connected to a Liquid Propane tank or a natural gas line so the fuel is provided for.

So once you have weighed the pros and cons of each type, and you have made your decision, then you need to determine the size of what you need. This part is rather generic for either style. Every appliance you have uses a certain amount of power per hour. Lowe's has a listing of power usages here, and there are more available out there if you look. Now, along with the amount of power it takes to run an appliance, many appliances have a "start-up" power usage. Obviously, this is the amount of power it takes to get this appliance from off to running. When you are calculating your power requirements, you will need to use the start-up Wattage ratings as your guide.

Using some "standard" guides, here's a quick example. I have a freezer in the basement, a fridge upstairs, and a well pump to run. I will say that all lighting will be done by oil lamps and candles for this example. The freezer and the fridge both have startup Wattages at around 3000W, and the well pump is probably around 3200W. What this means is that with the 5.25kW generator that my family has, we can not power all three (or even any two) at the same time, BUT as long as we rotate our usage, we should be just fine.

So at this point, I think I've given you plenty to think about, but I hope this helps you think about your power and what would happen if. Also, I hope if you have been thinking about getting a generator, but didn't know where to start... well, there ya go. (Ok, heck, I'm just glad you read it!)

Gonna Be A Black Out Tonight!

So you've moved to the country to get away from the crush. Got yourself some land, a well, and septic. You've got some food saved up and you are ready, come what may! Oops, there goes the electricity. " Its ok, we don't need that! Oh well, let's all get a drink of water" ... what? No water?! Oh boy, your well is electric, now what will you do?


Does this sound familiar, or is this so cheesy that you don't think it happens? Well, it didn't happen to us, but I was worried a couple times. We do have a bunch of water saved up, but the ever present question was there. Is It Enough? I wasn't really worried about lights or heat, we have heated the house in the past via the fireplace (not fun, but it can be done). No, the water is what worries me. Not only for our drinking and washing, but for the dogs and the chickens, also.


Well, a friend of a relative had bought a house a while back that came with a portable generator. This guy never used it, heck didn't even know if it had any gas in it, but he wanted to get rid of it. SCORE!


We are now the proud owners of a, who knows how old, 5.25 kW DeVilBiss, portable generator. It is badly in need of a tune-up, but at least it runs and puts out electricity.


So, now we have a 1 1/2 gallons or so of gas that is not mixed up for a 2-stroke. So for the next few pays, I think we will be getting a 5 gal gas can and filling it up for a few pays. I was thinking of a few methods of rotating the fuel and making sure that we have fresh stuff all the time, just in case.


On top of this, I now have to re-wire the well pump so that I can plug it in during an emergency. Fun stuff. Hey, you do what you gotta do, but a bit of time now to make things easier later. Works for me.

I think tomorrow, I will go over the basics of how to choose the proper generator for your home and family (assuming that you don't find a cheapie or free one). Don't hold me to that, but that post will be coming.

Homemade Wine

Last week I discussed homebrewing beer and cider. Today is another topic on the same vine of thought. Homemade Wine. Now, I grew up in western PA and everyone (at least everyone I knew) knew someone who either made wine themselves, or they had a friend or relative who made their own wine. I have seen handwritten recipes passed down from grandparents and parents. I have seen equipment that ranges from fancy high-end pricey stuff to a gallon jug used with a pin-pierced balloon. However it is for you, homemade wine is a great hobby and skill to have.

Wine comes in so many varieties, red vs white, sweet vs dry, and then all the styles, etc. that I am not going to be able to cover all of these topics. What I am going to go over with you today is the basic process and steps for making your own wine. There are plenty of books and websites that will cover the more specific details, and maybe this post will interest you enough to go read up.

When it comes down to it, what is wine? Wine is the fermented juice of some fruit. Most people think of grape wines when they think of wine, but you can have strawberry wine, blackberry wine, etc. Just about any juice can be made in to wine. The more sugar in the juice, the more the yeast can eat and the higher the alcoholic content. You want more alcohol? Add some sugar or honey and let the yeast eat that too!

The process is very similar to that of cider:

1) Press the fruit and get all the juice of it that you can. (store bought juices can be used if they are 100% juice (and preferably preservative free, but good luck finding that anymore!))

2) I would boil it for a few to get any "bad things" out, but this step is rather optional if you know exactly where your fruit is from and what's been used on it.

3) Pour the juice into a clean and sterilized container. The container should be somewhat larger than the amount of juice put in, but with proper airlock usage, this is not exactly necessary. Your container could be just about anything, but Iwould recommend either food grade plastic or glass as they are the easiest to sterilize.

4) Dry yeast: mix with lukewarm water (~100°) until completely dissolved. Liquid yeast: follow the directions on the yeast package. The type of yeast that you use will affect the flavor of your wine. I recommend using a wine yeast that can be bought at just about any homebrew store or online. I know my grandfather used regular bread yeast, but that was many years ago. I would try it first with the wine yeast, then try it with bread yeast and compare.

5) Add an airlock to the container. This could be done through a hole-ed cork or rubber bung, etc. An airlock is a device that you put some water in that will allow excess gases to leave the container but no bacteria or anything can get down through the water. This helps keep things clean and you don't have to worry about contamination. If you don't have an airlock, a rubber balloon with a small pin hole in it will do basically the same thing.

6) Put this in a warm (depends on your yeast but normally 55°-75°) dark location and let it sit for a few weeks. Once there are no more bubbles, the yeast will have eaten some/most/all of the sugar in the juice and you will have a wine. Taste it and remember that as it ages, the flavors will change.

7) Siphon the wine into clean and sterilized bottles and cap/cork quickly. Make sure to siphon from as near the top as you can as the dead yeast will have settled to the bottom.

8) Store in a cool, dark location. Age and Drink and Enjoy!

Homebrew:CIDER

Yesterday I wrote about homebrewing your own beer, but that is not all that can be home "brewed". Cider has been around for ages, and was actually a much more popular drink in ages past than beer. "Hard" Cider is cider that has had fermentation occur to make it alcoholic. Beer became more popular with the discovery of hops and other methods for preserving it so that it could be transported. But apples grow all over the place.


Who remembers the stories of Johnny Appleseed from when they were younger? What most people think of are the great apples that are available year round at grocery stores nowadays. Well, if you put those thoughts towards Johnny Appleseed, you would be wrong. He planted mostly small hard apples, that stored well, but were much better for cider than for eating. Just think of it, spreading alcohol instead of fruit? They wouldn't teach that in schools!



Cider is very easy to make, but for the die-hard cider enthusiast, it could have some major expenses. In order to make cider, all you need to do is crush apples, and drink the juice. Voilá! Cider. To make this cider "Hard", it just needs to ferment in a barrel for a few weeks where the free yeast in the air will ferment the sugar in the cider making it alcoholic. In order to speed it up and get reproducable results, we have the option to use packaged beer or wine yeast.



When I say there could be expenses, I mean equipment. Everywhere I have lived, I have been able to find orchards where you could get bushels of overripe or blemished skin apples relatively inexpensively. In order to increase your yield and the speed which you can make cider, you would want a fruit press. If you can get the crusher with the press, even better. Crushing the fruit will increase your yield by a goodly amount. The cider presses available run from $150 (maybe) and up, but they do quickly reduce the amount of time it takes to make cider from fresh fruit.

Always remember, that cider is not always made from apples. Pear Cider, aka "Perry", is very common and enthused about in Europe and small areas around the country here. Same process, different fruit.

If you have extra cider, or you let it go too long, hey, apple cider vinegar has lots of health benefits and works well for a lot of cooking purposes as well. Before it gets to that point, you could distill it to "Apple Jack" or apple brandy. (LEGAL NOTE: same as beer, I make no claims about the legality of this. Verify that for yourself.)

If you have a chance, I highly recommend Hard Cider. Its got a good taste, with a relatively low alcohol content, and you get your fruit every time you drink some! Gotta love it!

Homebrew:BEER

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" -- Benjamin Franklin

Over the past few years, micro-breweries and speciality breweries have boomed across the country. Gone are the days of there being just a few national beer companies selling watered down horse-urine. (My apologies to those of you who do like this stuff...) I admit like different types/brands/etc of beer. Stouts/Ales/Lagers/Pilsners, I love most of them! Spicy/Fruity/Nutty, yuppers! It always seemed that I frustrated the servers when I would go out drinking because I never got the same thing twice. This of course lead me to the idea of making my own beer. Why not? If I make something that is disgusting, well, its my own fault (and it works GREAT in composters), but at the same time, if I make something amazing, then I can feel extremely proud of it.

How to homebrew... there are many books and online references available that will teach you the mechanics of brewing your own beer (I list a few at the end). But I know a lot of people that will ask, "Why should I make my own when there are so many types available for me?" Well, let me attempt to answer that for you. Making beer at home gives you a number of benefits that you can not get through buying beer at the store.

1) You can control the ingredients. You know everything that is going into that and you can make sure that there are no chemicals or preservatives in your brew. There are an extraordinary number of health benefits from beer, just look it up!
2) You can get recipes for "common" beers online and then tweek them to make them suit yourself, or you can make up your own recipes. This gives the brewer the control to make exactly what they want and what they like.
3) You can grow all of the ingredients yourself. If things ever get too bad, you could still have your own homemade beer grown from ingredients that you have grown yourself. Also, those grains you would use? You could eat them if things got too tight!
4) If you stop halfway through the process, you could take what you made and make liquor out of it. (LEGAL NOTE: I make no claims about the legality of this. Verify the legality at your location before attempting. This is not legal in the USA.) The coooked wort (pronounced wert) is the end result of cooking the grains, sugars, etc. This is what would be distilled to make whiskey and whisky (yes, they are different). I can, and probably will, discuss this process in further detail in another post.

Now that you know Why, you need to know the basics of How. Beginning to homebrew does not have to be expensive. Homebrew supply stores, sell kits with everything you nee (except bottles). Bottles can be gotten from beer distributers (ask them if they have any returns that people returned for the deposit (this practice is unfortuntely diminishing, but it doesn't hurt to ask)), ask friends to keep non-twist bottles for you, etc. The equipment itself can be expensive, but if you go with the kit, it doesn't have to be that much (you can get by for less than 100 from many homebrew stores for a beginners kit). You can go all the way up to super-expensive for an all grain, complicated setup. It all depends on where you are comfortable starting.

I highly recommend "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing" by Charlie Papazian, and his followup "The Homebrewer's Companion". These books contain pretty much any and all information you would need to learn to home brew as well as a really large and diverse list of recipes.

Also check out:
http://www.homebrew.org
http://www.homebrewing.org
http://www.beertown.org --- the American Homebrewers Association

These are just a few sites to check out, but there are many many more out there. Also, look around, many cities have homebrewing groups and organizations where you can get to know people that are currently doing it and their setups, feelings, likes/dislikes, etc.

I hope you find this informative. Tomorrow? Homebrew: CIDER!

The Animal Less Raised

I hear a lot about raising chickens and raising goats on the homestead. Heck, both of these animals have multiple magazines dedicated to raising them. But what about the other animals that can be raised on smaller properties that will provide for the family? Ok, so I've started to hear more about meat rabbits, that's one. But what about a big ol' hog? Those things get HUGE! That's a lot of meat there, and unless your kosher, its some pretty good eatin'.

Ok, but seriously, think of everything that comes from a pig. You've got bacon, sausage, ham, pork, and lard. (Yes, I said lard, but that's another entry.) When you consider that there are small homestead farms out there raising heritage breed hogs upwards of 250# and getting 75% packaged meat from that. I admit, I have not done this, yet, but from what I can find online, that's 75% MEAT. That doesn't count the lard, salt pork, etc. that can be made using fat. That's a lot of meet for one growing season. Now, I'll admit, I don't know the breakdown of meat by type, but still, for an animal that can forage in pasture. Think about it... a meat goat will weigh much less, but on average, you will only get about 33% of the goats body weight for food (20% if you debone it all). Also, take into consideration if you can do the processing yourself, or if you will need to pay someone to do this all for you... that cost might change your mind.

I'm not saying to not think about each of the other animals, but make sure you consider these lovely animals. I'm still doing some research to see if they can be pastured with any other animals, but hey, I'm not saying this is for everyone, its just a thought.

Lard - the better fat

Lard has all but disappeared from the modern American household, and now when mention of the word comes up, people shudder. They fear the dreaded problems with lard. BUT, do said problems truly exist? Or are they just misconceptions perpetuated by companies and scientists? Let's take a look...

Fats come in three types: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. In this order they are: not great, good, and best. Now I know people are going to get on me about saying saturated fat is "not good" instead of labelling it "bad", but I really don't see it as bad. Is too much bad? Yeah, probably. But it occurs in nature in foods that our forefathers ate, and you know what? I don't think its bad. At least, it wasn't until we started mucking about with its chemical structure.
Now the big scare is trans-fats. Guess what! Lard doesn't have any. None, zero, zip, zilch, nada. Studies have shown that trans-fat is much worse for your health than saturated fat. Lard has about 40% saturated fat (compared to coconut oil's 85% and palm kernel oil's 80% **source**). Lard also has about 45% monounsaturated fats. That's a very respectable number from a health standpoint.

So from a health standpoint, Lard is good. There are proponents out there that are doing studies showing lard to be high in Omega-6 fatty acids, and showing the many other health benefits of lard. But there is a caveat.

Come on, you knew it was coming, right? Well, the boxes of lard that you get at the store are hydrogenated. This means that Hydrogen is added to increase the stability of the fat thus eliminating the need for any special storage conditions. By adding Hydrogen to the fat, the producers are eliminating a lot of the fat benefits listed above. Never fear, you can buy pig fat from local farms in order to render your own lard, or if this is too much work or too scary for a beginner, there are farm markets that sell "real" lard that is not hydrogenated.

As with anything, I urge you to do your own research and to look into the facts. If you agree that this wonderful ingredient is not the health terror we've always been told, let me tell you, it works WONDERS to pastries, baking, etc.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw09102006/2003248134_pacificptaste10.html
http://thehealthierlife.co.uk/article/33781/trans-fatty-acids.html
http://westonprice.org/motherlinda/fats_crisco.html
http://geniuscook.com/lard-is-healthy

These boots are made for...

Unfortunately, my working/hiking/caber-tossing boots have finally broken beyond repair. For now, I can make do with my rubber wellie muck boots, but I'm going to need a new pair of work boots. But, with my worries about the future, and my attempt at frugal prepping, how do I pick a new pair of boots?

Do I go for a cheap pair that should last me a while? Or do I go for a more expensive pair, hoping that they will be better made and will last longer? The pair that just died lasted me a couple years, and were a whopping $19.99. So if I go for an $80 pair, they should last me 8 years, right? Or will they just be more comfortable for the few years that they last... I could get a couple pairs of the cheapies for the price of a more expensive pair. But if things get as bad as we all know they COULD... will I be able to buy another pair in a couple years? Will I have the money? Will the companies that are selling them still be around? All points to ponder...

Then do I go for 6" or 8" boots. Do I go for real leather or fake leather. Steel-toe or no? What about the rubber outer-soles. Etc etc etc. Lots of different things to think about.

Now, there is a lot to be said about paying for the better quality and more comfort. I will admit that I am not worried about weather-/water-proof boots because I will mink oil/saddle soap/wet-pruf my boots on a regular basis to take care of them. I have seen water-proof boots that have a "membrane" in them. You know what these do for me? They make my feet sweat, esp in mid-summer.

I have known a couple pipe-fitters who swear by Red Wing boots. I know mechanics that swear they don't see a difference between brands. I have talked to people who swear by brands (Caterpiller, Carhart, Timberline, etc). Well, that all being said, I am looking at a pair of C.E. Schmidt boots from Tractor Supply. This is T.S. house brand. They are less expensive, but they feel really good on my feet when I tried them on. Now its just a matter of saving up the rest of the cash for it, and seeing if anyone brings up any points that I hadn't thought of or that might change my mind. :-)

The Art of Self-Defense

The other day, I spoke about the need to keep your body in shape enough to be able to do the necessary work to survive and to protect your family. In that entry, I was merely discussing physical fitness and its importance. Today, I am going to discuss the benefit of preparing by learning to defend yourself and your family, with and without weapons.

Many preppers and self-sufficiency advocates discuss the best firearms to have and their best uses. They discuss how much ammo to have, etc. This is all great information. However, if things ever get so bad that we need these firearms to protect our homes and families, I think it is safe to say that we will need them for hunting as well. Also, purchasing more ammo would be difficult if things get that bad, and it will be important to be able to defend yourself and your family with other tools around the house/homestead and bare-handed.

Many many years ago, on the island of Okinawa, the farmers were stripped of all weapons because the government was worried about rebellion. The ingenius farmers adapted their farming tools to be able to defend themselves. They learned how to fight with these tools, and these tools and techniques have been passed down in many ways through the art of Karate.

In Brazil, there is a martial art called Capoiera, that is "hidden" in a dance/game. Supposedly, this was created for protection and preperation in the same way. The people, or slaves, were forbidden to practice any form of martial art, so they created this way of practicing a way to protect themselves while hidden in plain sight.

Let us hope and pray that it never comes to this in America, but if it does, would you be able to protect yourself and your family? Do you know the weak spots on the human body to hit if someone attacked you? Could you swing your shovel/pitchfork/ax/hatchet enough to use it as a weapon to protect yourself? Do you own these or any other tools that you could use?

Remember, too, that prepping is not just making sure that you have these weapons, or firearms, or anything else... it also includes making sure that you know how to use these things that you have stored. Almost everything can have multiple uses... Have you thought about this and the uses for things in your house/apartment/homestead?

Just something to think about...

Overlooked is the Physical

I read a lot, and I read quickly. This means that I get through a lot of material quickly. With my focus being on homesteading, prepping, self-sufficiency, and self-responsibility, I have found a lot of great information about gardening, chickens, goats, composting, firearms, ammo, etc. One thing that I haven't seen anyone talk about (not saying no one has, but that I haven't seen) is Physical preparedness.

Now, I want to be fair, so let me explain where I am coming from up front. I'm 6'2", almost 300#, I smoke, I drink occasionally, and I love greasy and rich foods. However, I am rather strong, can trudge and can work the day away at physical labor. I completely tore my Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) completely out of my one knee over 10 years ago and never had surgery or anything to fix this. So I am not coming from a place where I can run 4 minute miles, eat no fat or carbs, have 0% body fat, etc etc etc. Along with my stats up there, I should also mention that I hold a "black belt" level in Shaolin Chang Chuan (Chinese Kung Fu) and wrestled, collegate-style, through middle and high school.

Ok, so all of that being said, what is the primary tool that each and all of us have in our quest for preparedness and self-sufficiency? Our bodies. If we don't keep our bodies in good working order, how can we expect to plant those seeds or carry the feed for the animals? If you don't have the stamina to go out and weed and plant and harvest your crops, they aren't going to do much good, now are they? Are you going to be able to walk out into the woods and stay awake in a freezing cold morning to take game for the family to eat?

Now, I am not going to say that there aren't people who are prepping and trying to become self-sufficient who don't have physical ailments and disabilities. These are some big obstacles to overcome, and there are ways to work around some of these things. It takes some new innovations and an iron will to overcome many of these things.

If you don't have these for reasons, are you physically able to protect and provide for yourself and your family?

Vehicular Transportation

Call me crazy. Go ahead, won't be the first time! But when it comes to my vehicular transportation, I have my preferences (don't we all!), and they are a bit out of the ordinary from today's "norm". I can't always get what I want, but I was thinking about this and I wanted to share. See what other people preferred and why.

My personal preference is 4x4 (RWD at a MINIMUM), carbureted, with a manual transmission and preferably a V8 (an Inline 6 is good too). Obviously the easiest of these to find are trucks, but older Jeeps, and even the old AMC Eagle work too. Why, you may ask, are these my preferences? Thank you for asking, so I'll tell you!

4x4 - This should be obvious, I live in a semi-rural area where we get snow! There are a lot of benefits to having 4wd rather than anything else. You don't get stuck as easy in the snow, you are able to pull heavier weights (including other vehicles, tractors, fallen trees) without worrying about digging up the front yard or burying yourself in dirt. While there are more moving parts than a straight FWD or RWD, that's Front or Rear Wheel Drive for those who don't know, they really are no more complicated and the increased suspension height that they come with allow easier access to get underneath and work on them!

RWD over FWD - If I can't have 4wd, I would rather have RWD. Even though a lot of people, even some "experts" say that FWD is safer for you, I have never found this to be true. RWD allows you to add sand bags for extra traction and then remove them for better gas mileage when the weather gets nice. Can't do that in a FWD... what are you going to do, strap the sandbags to the hood and obscure your windshield? Don't think so, scooter. Plus, it is easier to work on a driveshaft and a transmission than a transaxle because you can pull them down in seperate pieces rather than dropping the entire thing to work on one bearing.

Carbureted - Ok, now I know this is where I will butt heads with some people because the fuel economy on a fuel injected vehicle tends to be better and there are less issues with cold weather than with a carburetor. The problem in my mind is that once you start fuel injecting vehicles, you have to start adding computer controls and monitors and sensors and wiring all over the place! Those little sensors can get pretty expensive, pretty quick! Plus trying to track down a sensor failure can be a real pain. With a carb, you unbolt it, pull it off, clean it up with some time and carb cleaner, put it back together, adjust the choke and the fuel mixture and you are good to go! Carbs allow loads of adjustment opportunities as well. You can change the jets to get more fuel, you can adjust the jets for high or low altitudes, you can modify them for steep inclines and declines, etc. I know, this is all taken care of for you in fuel injected vehicles, but 1) How do you KNOW it's right and 2) isn't it more fun and rewarding to do it yourself?

Manual transmission - Ok, now with today's advancements in automatic transmissions some of these reasons are not quite so true anymore, but here they are. You have more control of the vehicle. If you are hauling a heavy load, or towing a vehicle, you can put it in second or third and cruise, rather than having the auto decide its going to play the gear changing game. You get better gas mileage. This is one of those that new automatic transmissions are very good at this, but the older ones.. yeah, not so much. I can fix a manual transmission at my house. Automatic transmissions are more difficult, if you can even deal with it without specialized equipment. Last, but not least... Its FUN!! To me it helps me pay more attention to what I am doing late at night or on long trips. And its just fun to me to switch gears... helps me feel in more control of the vehicle and more in tune with it.

V8 - More power, obviously! Ok, so they aren't the best on gas, and in today's market that is a big concern. Unless you need the power. A full load of firewood is not light! Towing a tractor or another car, you need power. Want to pull a stump? Tie the chains on! Carry enough shingles for 20 square? No problem!

I6 - Ok, since the V8 is going to be more expensive and eat more gas than we need all the time, my next choice is for an I6 instead of a V6. Why? What's the difference? Well, the way an inline engine is designed, it makes much better torque than a V6. The V6 might give you higher horsepower, but when it comes to a working vehicle. Torque is King!

Thanks for reading through, have a comment or question? Let me know! I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts preferences on the vehicles that we like and use. But I think that's about enough for now.

Until Later...