Learn How to Hunt

Hunting can be an amazing resource for you and your family.  It is possible to provide yourself with a lot of lean, healthy meat. It can even be turned into a family institution. Most people I know that are avid hunters, grew up that way as I did.  However, if you have no experience or you did not grow up that way,  you can learn how to hunt with a little time and patience. 
 

Hunting used to be necessary in order to sustain life.  However, in modern times it is truly a choice. Just as raising farm animals and then butchering those animals is not for everyone, the same is true for hunting.  Additionally, many avid hunters learned those skills from their early childhood years. However, the simple fact is that in our present culture many people reach adult years and have never shot an animal for food.

This article is intended to address that very issue. Learning these skills can be intimidating. Consequently, I suggest that you take your time....

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Essential Knot Tying Skills

essential skills survival Nov 10, 2020

Knot tying skills are taken for granted way too often especially for those that are inexperienced in the outdoors. Knot tying skills are important in survival situations, performing first aid, when working over heights, working over water, climbing, and even during day-to-day chores on the homestead.

Although there are literally hundreds of knots that are used for many different applications, there are a few techniques that are truly essential. While hiking, camping, travel, and emergency situations, is it important to know how the do the following: 

  • Secure a line to a fixed object. For example a tent line secured to a stake or tree, tying up a horse to a post, securing the dog to a tree when camping
  • Securing a smaller rope to one of a larger diameter. For example: tying a large diameter rope between two trees and then using that as a means to secure several animals or other objects
  • Binding knots for bandages, securing bundles (firewood) for transportation
  • Securely attaching...
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Off Grid High Efficiency Appliances

Many years ago the choices for off grid appliances were few and far between. However, advances in technology have resulted in the commercial production of some fantastic, high efficiency appliances. Whether you live off the grid or not, it is much more economical these days to take advantage of the energy efficiency that is built into these modern appliances.
 

For those that live off grid, there are now numerous choices for efficient appliances.  As with any thing else, the cost depends on the lifestyle you choose and how fancy you want to get. You can go very basic and spend very little money or you can go all out and spend thousands. For those that live on the grid and simply want a little more security, integrate an off grid high efficiency appliance  into your home. If that is the case and the grid goes down, you can still function with ease. 

There are four types of appliances I will examine as these are the most common areas of concern: 

  • Kitchen...
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The Basics of Survival

essential skills survival Nov 10, 2020

Learning the basics of survival stated when I was very young. My father took us on many camping trips and I spent a tremendous amount of time wandering through the forest. He taught us how to build a shelter, how to build a fire, and how to stay safe and warm. I continued that training as an adult by taking survival classes. Furthermore, I’ve spent many a weekend putting myself in “controlled” survival situations and practicing my skills.  

Although I am not a survival expect, I now live off the grid in an isolated area. Additionally the focus of this site is not about survival. However,  if you live off the grid you already know the importance of outdoor skills and simply being prepared. For example, at certain times of the year, if I stayed at the cabin it might be several months before I see anyone.  Consequently, I have to be prepared for emergencies. After 20 plus years at the cabin there have been several times I’ve found ...

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Learn to Read the Clouds

off grid living survival Nov 10, 2020

Perhaps the greatest challenge to any survival situation is dealing with the weather. Depending on your geographic location and altitude, the weather can be your best friend or your worst enemy.  This is why it is so important to have some basic knowledge about the weather.  Additionally, you can make some accurate weather predictions by reading the clouds. You can learn to read the clouds in less than one hour. 

You do not have to be a meteorologist to be able to make some basic predications concerning the weather.  You just need to be familiar with some basic types of clouds, why they form, and what that means as far as impending weather conditions. Understanding how clouds are named and correlating that with what you see can help you make reasonably accurate weather predictions. 

 

How Clouds are Formed

The most important thing to remember is that as air rises it cools. As the air cools, it can no longer hold as much moisture....

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Guide to Purchasing a Smoker

If smoking food seems like a great mystery, wait until you are inundated with all the possible choices of what to purchase. There are so many smoker products on the market. Additionally, there is a huge variety of smokers based on fuel source, size, shape, and capabilities. This is enough to completely confuse any one. 
 

Reviewing all the features and designs of the various products on the market could be an endless process. Consequently,  I think it is more productive to break this information down into three sections. The first two sections are basic information that will help to narrow down your choices.  The last section gets into reviewing the pros and cons of specific types of smokers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) CHECK LIST FOR PURCHASING A SMOKER
2) 6 TYPES OF SMOKERS BASED ON FUEL SOURCE
3) PROS AND CONS OF DIFFERENT MODELS OF SMOKERS
4) FINAL WORDS
5) ADDITIONAL POSTS OF INTEREST

Check list for purchasing a smoker 

  • Price

This is likely the bottom...

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Guide to Cold Smoking

When most people think of smoking foods their mind goes straight to firing up the smoker, throwing in some meat at 160 and letting it sit for 4 to 12 hours.  However, there is a completely different world to experiment with and it’s called cold smoking.  Just about anything imaginable can be smoked in one manner or another. But cold smoking greatly extends those boundaries.  
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) WHAT IS COLD SMOKING?
2) WHAT ABOUT FOOD POISONING? IS COLD SMOKING TOO RISKY?
3) PEOPLE THAT SHOULD AVOID COLD SMOKED FOODS
4) FOODS TO TRY FIRST
5) CURING BEFORE COLD SMOKING IS VITAL
6) SUMMARY OF THE COLD SMOKING PROCESS
7) TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL COLD SMOKING
8) FINAL WORDS
9) RELATED POSTS OF INTEREST

What is Cold Smoking?

The normal process of smoking involves moderately low temperatures and a long, slow cooking process.  However, cold smoked food is not cooked at all. In fact, cold smoked food is still raw. Consequently, it must be cooked prior to consuming....

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Learn How to Build and Maintain a Fire

essential skills survival Nov 10, 2020

In order to get to my cabin, I have to drive through a Forest Service campground. Consequently, in the warmer time of year, I get to observe the camping practices and skills of a lot of people.  It never ceases to amaze me how many people want to spend the weekend in the mountains and they do not know how to  build a fire. Additionally, many of them do not know how to maintain that fire.  

Building and maintaining a fire is an essential survival skill. In fact, the ability to build a fire is considered one of the Ten Essentials of safe travel in the back country. In extreme circumstances, it could make the difference between life and death. A fire will help you stay warm and dry, cook a hot meal, and it is an incredible comfort in an emergency situation. 

 

Why You Need to Know How to Build and Maintain a Fire

This is a skill you need to learn and practice, practice, practice.  Even if you live in suburbia, it is essential to keep at least a small...

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Guide to Fermenting Foods

If you mention fermenting foods most people typically think of wine and beer. Beyond these first thoughts of delightful fermented beverages, fermentation is a valuable method of food preservation that has been around for thousands of years. Fermenting foods allowed for longer storage in the absence of refrigeration.  In our modern times fermented foods are simple to produce, have excellent nutritional value, and require little effort to process.  However, similar to other methods of food preservation, in order to be successful you need to first have an understanding of the basic science that is involved.
 

Fermenting foods is one of the easiest methods of food preservation.  Very little equipment is required. The steps for successful fermentation are easy.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) THREE TYPES OF FERMENTATION
2) HOW DOES FERMENTATION PRESERVE FOOD
3) SIX BENEFITS TO LACTO FERMENTATION
4) COMMON FERMENTED FOODS
5) BASIC EQUIPMENT NEEDED
6) A BASIC RECIPE...
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Guide to Pickling Vegetables

Pickling is likely one of the easiest ways to preserve fresh produce.  This process has been used as a means of food preservation for over 4,000 years going back to the time of the ancient Mesopotamians. Food was pickled and used for long journeys especially by sea. 

The term pickle is derived from the Dutch word “pekel” or the northern German word “pokel” meaning salt or brine, which are two components important to the process.  These days in the U.S. and Canada the word “pickle” almost exclusively refers to pickled cucumbers. However, the end product of any food that is preserved by a pickling process is referred to as a “pickle”.

Pickling preserves food by anaerobic (without oxygen) fermentation. Consequently, this is typically done in either a salt brine or in vinegar. The brine creates an acidic environment which inhibits the growth of bacteria. Consequently the food does not need to be completely sterile.

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