The Videos Category
Harvesting snap beans
The snap beans are really starting to come in. If we could get some rain, they would be producing a lot more, but you just have to make due with what you have. In all, we probably picked 4 – 5 gallons of snap beans.
I’am going to string some of these beans up for them to dry in the shed, while some of them will be blanched and put in the freezer. The old timers use to run a string through the beans, then hang the string up where they would stay dry. If all of the beans had to jarred, that would be a lot of jars and it would cost a lot of money. But if done properly, the jarred beans can stay good for years.
Anyway, here is a garden update filmed on May 24, 2010. If you want to post a comment about this video, you may do so in the forum thread about my 2010 survivalist summer garden.
Cooking for evacuees
A lot of people focus on having to “bug out”. But lets talk about just the opposite just for a minute – hat if people are bugging to your house?
Are you ready to accept 4, 6, 8 or even 12 8 people into your house? Would you be able to find a plce for them to sleep – even if it was on the floor, do you have extra blankets, pillows and are you able to cook for several people?
Lets talk about your ability to cook for people that might have to evacuate to your house. How will you be able to handle it? Will your guest be standing in line at the microwave, or will you be able to serve them a good hot meal?
Post your comments in cooking after a disaster thread of the survival forums.
Stocking up on firewood
When my family and I have a get together, the bar-b-q pit is the center of the entertainment. Its what cooks the ribs, brisket, sausage and pork chops. When the power goes out for extended periods of time, its also what my family uses to cook on.
The wood for this pit is kept in a small wood shed behind the house. Well, I had just enough wood to cook maybe 2 or 3 more times. The last truck load lasted about 2 months, the load before that lasted about 6 – 8 months. About 15 miles from my house I have a stock of about 1.5 cords of wood. This picture is about 1/3 of my stockpile. The other cord is mostly pecan used for smoking.
So I made a trip to my stock pile and grabbed 1/2 a truck load. Well, it may not be quit a 1/2 a truck load, maybe just under half a truck load. This should last a couple of months of bar-b-q’ing.
Watching Some East Texas Whitetail Deer
Decided to get up and go out to the woods this morning. The weather was just about perfect – not too cold, not too hot, not too windy, and the wind was in the perfect direction. With the wind blowing in from the feeder, that put the stand down wind from the deer.
Around 6:30 am, 2 deer came out of the tree line, stood around for a little while and then went back into the woods.
Around 7:45 am, 3 deer came walking down the old logging road and stopped at the wildlife feeder. A few minutes later a single doe stepped out of the wood line, looked around and then went back into the trees.
Hunting is not just about killing something, its about being part of nature. In our modern world, people have forgotten what its like to be part of the natural world. People have forgotten what its like to watch the deer, listen to the birds and the wind. We have forgotten who we are and where we came from.
Post your comments in the East Texas Whitetail Deer thread of the forums.
Patio Gardening Project – 2nd Update
This is the second update to the Urban Survival Patio Gardening series. In the first video, the 2 tubs were taken, filled with potting soil and were planted with radishes and spinach. The feetilizer that was used was stuff that you might use for flowers.
Episode 1 – the introduction
Episode 2 – the first update
The radish tops are about 1 inch – 1 1/2 inches across. I feel that their growth might be a little stunted due to the cool weather and lack of full sunlight.
The spinach has not done anything worth talking about. Just a few are sprouting and they are not really doing anything.
The green onions are coming along rather nicely with new shoots 1/4 inch – 3 inches tall. The green onions came from a local grocery store, the tops were cut off for a baked potato and the root ball was planted. Within a matter of days new shoots are starting to come out of the onion.
Patio Gardening Project – 1st Update
This is the first update to our patio gardening project. Last week we took 2 tubs – in 1 tub spinach and onions were planted. In the other tub some radishes were planted.
The Radishes were the first ones to sprout. The onions are green onions that my wife and bought from a local grocery store. She cut the tops off to use in a baked potato, and the bottoms were then planted. Once the bottoms are planted, the roots start to sprout new tops, which can then be cut again.
In 7 more days another batch of radishes and spinach will be planted, and the results will be posted. Hopefully, in 2 more weeks we will get our first harvest of radishes.
Wildlife Quiz what happened to this pine tree
This is a wildlife test to see how well you know your stuff. What animal damaged this pine tree? Here is a hint – it is not a deer.
Location – East Texas, USA
Date – October 2009.
Post your comments in this thread of the hunting forums.
Survivalist and Mental Conditioning
Survivalist should take time to condition themselves to better prepare for a disaster. Its easy to sit in a chair and watch videos, or read articles about survivalism. But that is not enough. To really prepare for a disaster, people need to actually do something and practice their skills.
Take the time to expose yourself to adverse conditions, but in a controlled situation. This will help with the mental and physical conditioning. So that when a disaster does happen, you may better prepared.
Post your comments in the Survivalist Mental Conditioning thread of the forums.
In case your wondering what pack that is in the video, its a Maxpedition Condor II.
Tips on making sausage
In this video we interview a local butcher that shows how sausage is made.
We start out with some pork trimmings, that are put into a grinder, mixed with spices and ground into something like pan sausage. Its then put into a stuffing machine where the meat is forced into the sausage casing. The sausage is smoked at about 180 degrees for about 14 hours. The butcher uses red oak during the smoking process.
Thank goes to James and Jasper Quality Meats and Smoke House in Jasper, Texas for his help with the video.
Please post your comments in the how to make sausage thread of the forums.
Survival quiz finding water in the wilderness
The question is, how do you find water in the wilderness? In the following video example there is a dried up creek bed with evidence that water had been there – such as small pools and discolored sand.
The video was taken in East Texas, just north of Jasper. Over the past month the lack of rain fall has pushed the area into drought conditions. Creeks and streams that normally flow all year long have dried up. Hikers and campers that were depending on those creeks as a water source are going to be sorely surprised to find them dried up.
Post your comments in the finding water in dried up creek beds thread of the survivalist forum.