Fish Fish Everywhere And No Pole To Catch Them With

Not to worry, for about $15 and a Zip Lock Bag you have all you need .

Just after unhooking the 3" sunfish which I had battled for 10 seconds, I paused for a break. As I popped the top on my can of cold coke I began to look around my boat. I had quite an arsenal, 5 poles, two nets, one huge tackle box, two smaller ones filled to overflowing, and about $8 worth of live bait. Yes I had it all. Then a strange thing happened. My brain took me back to the age of seven.
I remembered one day my dad took me over to a local pond to feed the ducks. While feeding the squawking flock I noticed some fish swimming around and decide I would catch one. I was sternly warned fishing was not permitted. Being the obedient son that I was, I immediately began to search for a way to catch a fish ;) Luck was with me that day, I found a piece of kite string about 5' long and a safety pin on the ground. I then went to find a stick and anything thats squirms, and put my plan in action.
Well the rest is history, a 10" bass was firmly in my grasp, and I was firmly grasp by my dad. I will not relate "the rest of the story."
The point is, a ZipLock with a spool of 8# test line, a few packages of #4,6,8, hooks, a bag of split shot, a knife, and a few small cork / plastic floats, will yield the same results. All you need to find, is a supple branch and a few squirmy critters.
Please grab our rss feed, email us to a friend in need.

Drying Foods

Almost any food can be dried, from meat to potatoes. Food dryers come with the directions how to use them with the various types of food you wish to dry. The mistake most people make is not following the directions, and improper storage of the finished products.
As with canned foods, dried foods should be kept out of the light, in a dry cool place. Unlike canned foods, you must make sure your stash does not turn into the local, "all you can eat", mouse buffet. Dried foods should be kept in large, dated, zip lock bags. Once properly labeled and dated, the bags should be stored in plastic or metal containers with lids that fit securely. There are many sizes available at your local K-Mart, Wal-Mart etc.
Please feel free to pass our blog on to a friend in need. Grab our feed.

What if I get sick or hurt.

This is an extremely valuable book to have if there is a break down in medical service. It can be found by clicking the Amazon link Below.

Did you know fish antibiotics are made by the same people that make ours? The big difference is the strength, usually 1/2 that of a human dose. If you should are to take one 500mg amoxicillin pill you would need to take 2 pet amoxicillin pills. If you decide you need some antibiotics around, stay away from the tetracycline family. If they get old they become dangerous most of the others just get weaker as time passes. Also, if you are allergic to any human drugs, you will also be allergic to pet meds. They can be purchased at the link below the book link. I highly recommend the book. If after reading you want to buy the antibiotics you have the link. Do so at your own risk. That said, we have used them for years. This post is not intended to give any medical advise, only to point you to the information that is out there. Any action that you take is at your own risk and responsibility. I do recommend you have a GOOD first aid kit and a home fire extinguisher.... Please subscribe to our feed below, and email us to a friend.

http://www.amazon.com/Where-There-Doctor-David-Werner/dp/0333516516/ref=sr_1_1/103-7953301-9335038?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184805944&sr=8-1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://discountpetmedicines.com/antibiotic-medication/fish-meds.htm

How To Cook Without Utilities For Free

Here we have cut away version of the humble "Hobo Stove" This can be made out of any can from a soda can, up to a cleaned paint can. You can use a tea candle or votive in the small cans, and almost anything the will burn safely in the large can. They are very quick and easy to make.

The basic proceedure is to take a coffee can poke holes around the base about a 1/2" from the bottom and a 1/2" down from the top about 2" apart. Then drop a hand full of small rocks in the bottom, or anything that won't burn or melt to act as a "grate". Throw in the sticks and fire that puppy up. There are many versions of this you can find if you google "hobo stove" take your choice. Note, this should be used outside and don't use "soft" stones like sandstone for your grate, they could explode. :)

How Do I Can It

The #1 Rule of thumb "Keep it clean", "Use the correct process"

How to pick the right canner? If you want to can everything buy the large presto pressure cooker shown in the top picture, About $80. If you just want to can tomatoes, fruits, and jelly, buy the water bath canner in the bottom picture, About $20.

DO NOT CAN MEATS OR VEGGIES IN A WATER BATH CANNER. THEY DO NOT GET HOT ENOUGH TO KILL THE GERMS THAT WILL KILL YOU!!

I'm not going into "How to can" Ball and the Government have excellent web sites giving you all you need to know. Google " canning _________". [ fill in the blank]

Here are the important highlights;

1. Use "canning jars" [ Ball and Kerr are the top sellers ] other jars can break.

2. Make sure the jar rim is smooth. If not, pitch it. It won't seal.

3. You can reuse the "rings" [ the screw on thingy ] you CANNOT reuse the lid. [the flat thingy]

4. Wash then Boil jars for 15 min. before using.

5. Put lids in pan cover with water and Boil for 10 min. let them in water

6. Use a canning funnel to fill jars, and canning tongs to remove jars from canner.

WARNING; DO NOT TOUCH HOT JARS

7. You must leave at least 1/2" space between contents and the rim if the jar.

8. Make SURE rim is clean before placing the lid

9. Center lid on rim screw on ring. Do not over tighten ring. When it freely stops turning, just give it a slight turn. Make sure ring went on straight. There should be no gap between the ring and lid.

10. Boil all tools that will come in direct contact with food . Remember, KEEP IT CLEAN!

11. Use the right size jar for your intended use. If you want two servings use pints, if you need 4 servings use quarts. The goal is to have NO LEFTOVERS.

12. After you have strictly followed the canning guidelines, remove finished product from canner and set on a section of newspaper or towel to cool leaving about 4-6" between jars for air to circulate. Shortly you will hear the ping of a successful seal.
13. After two hours check the jars for a seal. The middle of the lid should have a small dimple in it. If you are not sure, lightly press on the CENTER of the lid. There should be NO GIVE, it should be solid, tight. If the jar did not seal put it in the frig and use within 3 days
14. Once sealed the rings may be removed or left on. Store in the coolest, darkest space you have, where they won't get knocked around.

NOTE; A pressure cooker will act as a water bath canner if you do not tighten the lid and leave the weight off the steam vent stem.

Our next post will cover cooking issues. Bookmark, grab our feed, email us to a friend in need.

Get The Biggest Bang For The Effort From Your Garden

A garden can be a lot of work. The last thing you need when planning for an on going food source is failure. This post is not intended to tell you "How To Grow A Garden", it is intended to help you avoid the many potholes you will encounter. You can google "How to grow_________" [fill in the blank] for specific information.

There are two huge producers you should concentrate on when choosing what to plant, tomatoes and bush beans. They will give you the most food in the least space with a minimum amount of effort. There are 7 basic elements to a successful harvest, and a supply of seeds for next year.
1. Use non-hybrid plants or seeds. Commonly called "heirloom" varieties.
2. Location for you garden must have Full sun at least 3/4's of the day. All day is best.
3. Good drainage. Plants must have water, but they will die if they sit in it.
4. Loose ground so the roots can breath grow.
5. Food, I use Miracle Grow Shake and Feed. [ Great stuff ]
6. Enough space between the plants so they can grow without competing with each other for food.
7. KEEP THE WEEDS AWAY!! They will steal everything your plants need to live.

Why heirloom? Why tomatoes and bush beans?

Saving the seeds [ google how to save _________seeds ] from a non-hybrid, will insure you get the exact same plant next year as you had this year. If you save seeds from a genetically engineered hybrid, you could get anything or nothing, you just don't know.

Three dozen tomato plants will give you all the tomatoes you can handle. [They should be started indoors about a month before moving to the garden] Similarly 50 to 75 feet of bush beans will do the same.

When planting tomatoes plants, put them into the ground up to the first set of leafs, and remember they grow like a weed. If your the ambitious sort, you can stake [5-6'] and tie them to keep them under control. Or you can do nothing. After planting, I spread straw under them and let them go wild. This keeps the slugs from gnawing on them AND keeps down the weeds.

Two other huge producers are cucumbers and zucchini. Both can be made into pickles. The draw back is a little striped bug(ger) called the cucumber beetle. One bite from these $##%##^ & and the plant is done.

There are all types of bagged dry sauce mixes you can buy to make use of your tomatoes, or you can just can them whole.
[Easy way to remove skins on peaches and tomatoes for canning . Take a large pot, fill to half with water, bring to boil, put peaches / tomatoes in till skin begins to wrinkle, drop immediately into ice water till cool, skins come right off.]

There are also mixes to make pickles. [ Important, unless you want rubber pickles, CUT THE A 1/4" OFF EACH END. Use cold cucumbers, and a 1/8 teaspoon of "PICKLING" Salt helps. Do not use regular salt.

Just a reminder, when canning for emergencies, use the smallest jar you can completely use at one time. You may not have electricity to refrigerate the left overs. Make sure to wash in cold water all fruits and Veggies before canning.

Our next post will cover the canning process. Ya all come back now, ya hear. Bookmark us, Subscribe to our feed, email us to a friend in need.

The 72 Hour Decision

Once a disaster has happened, experts say you have 72 hours to make the decision to stay in place and ride it out, or to get out of dodge. [ Remember Katrina?] This decision should be made "BEFORE" the emergency. You need to have a plan. You need to test the plan. If this happens we do this. If that happens we that. Only you know the problems you could face in any given area, closed roads, no gas, riots, etc.

The important things are, you plan is workable, the family has it memorized, you have the means to execute it at a moments notice, and you have a pre-determined destination should the family get separated.

Each member should have a sports bag packed containing the needs of that member for the length of time you determine it may take to get to your final destination alone. You can find some ideas here;

http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/prepare/bug-out.html

Note: #1. The closer you get to the 72hr. time line, the harder it will be to leave, no gas, no food, angry people, closed roads, etc....

Note: #2 A few cheap compass / hand held GPS unit, and some walkie talkies can be invaluable.