Five Acres

I have been re-reading my ancient copy of "Five Acres and Independence: A Handbook for Small Farm Management" by M.G. Kains.  This practical book aboutthe realities of farming a modest sized spread has a wealth of information and guidance to help someone succeed both at farming the land and raising a family there.  In his introduction, he quotes from H.W. Wiley, author of "The Lure of the Land":

"Many a wreck has been the result of taking the family to the country, and afterwords having part or all of it become thoroughly dissatisfied.  There are many rough realities in a life of this kind that it takes the poetry out of the visions of joy, peace, contentment and success that arise in the minds of many."

One might also add that the realities of country life are such that preppers would profit from reading this book.  Anyone who has recently taken up their abode in the country and is trying to garden on a large scale for the first time, and going through the learning pains of maintaining a young orchard, new hives of bees knows what I speak of.  There is so much to learn and it seems like you have to learn it all at once.

This book was first printed in 1935, and is still in reprint today, and has 52 chapters of practical information.  And he didn't hesitate to quote from older authorities.  One important quote which I think is relevant in today's financial "climate" is from David S. Kelsey, author of "Kelsey's Rural Guide":

"Almost any farm needs a much larger working capital than the proprietor provides.  The more successful the farm is, the more it absorbs or ties up capital."

For anyone who is "going back to the land" as a preparedness measure, the stark reality is that you are unlikely to make a living at farming for a long time, if ever under the current economic system.  It's value for you is going to lie in its potential value when all goes to hell in a hand-basket.  This is one investment that should be protected. 

Mr. Kains wrote a number of books that would be useful to someone who wishes to keep chickens, or grow fruit.  However, only Five Acres and Independence: A Handbook for Small Farm Management is currently in print.

Check out these other books he has written:

Ginseng, Its Cultivation, Harvesting, 1902
Making Horticulture Pay, Experiences in Gardening and Fruit Growing, 1909
Culinary Herbs, 1912
Plant Propagation: Greenhouse and Nursery Practice, 1916
Home Fruit Grower, 1918
Profitable Poultry Production, 1920
The Principles and Practice of Pruning, 1922

These books are all available in PDF, kindle or ePUB format.

Economic Collapse

It seems clear that some sort of economic collapse is on the way in the U.S., and that would tend to have a domino effect around the world.  When that will happen, no one can predict because there are simply to many factors to consider, and it's possible that the triggering event will not even look financial, if you know what I mean.

And remember, there are groups in the United States that are actively trying to take away freedom of speech.  If they are successful, a great many blogs and sites with useful information for the prepper minded may simply disappear because they are deemed offensive and alarmist. 

Be prepared!  Checked out this video from RickVanMan.

Socks

I'll bet you don't have as many socks in your bug out bag as Oregon Mike has in his backpack.  He uses socks as little mini pack bags in his backpack for camping, and so forth.  I think that in addition to extra socks for wearing, if worse comes to worse, you could have lots of extra socks to spare if you follow his fine example.  Hope his fiancee doesn't do him an injury for absconding with hers.

Recycling a Slinky

Just saw an interesting ad on Patriots Against the NWO for a Slinky Jr. Shortwave antenna.  That ignited my curiosity so I set out to learn more, tying in as it does my earlier post on communications preparedness.  The ad linked to eBay where you can purchase said antenna, asking price $10.19 U.S.  Not a bad price.

A little more research lead me to the forum archives on derkeiler.com with instructions on how to make your own.  If you are technically inclined, a supply of slinkies might be a great survival item to have on hand.  I think I'll just print that out and pop that into my Just in Case binder. 

Communications

Yet another fascinating blog entry from Preparedness Pro about communications in an emergency situation.  When all hell breaks loose, it may not break loose where you live, it may break loose where someone you love lives.  How can you keep in touch?

Kellene makes a number of very intelligent recommendations including having a wireline phone with corded phone for when the power goes out, skype (which can be used with a cell phone) for emergencies away, and a number of other options for long-term outages when wireline phones are not an option.  How about becoming a Ham radio operator and get plugged into an alternate network of news on the ground.  Learn shorthand, and/or Sign Language.  There was an episode of Star Trek where Sign Language was used in battle when regular communications were out.



It strikes me that if you have a group of like-minded preppers and you all learned an abbreviated set of signs to use in emergencies when quiet is necessary, that would be a very good thing.  You can even come up with signs of your own.