Surviving and Thriving

Stuff

2010-07-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

The past week has been very busy. I received my dream knife, the Kershaw Outcast, bought two new bb/pellet rifles to try out and have been brushing up on some basic survival skills (i.e. knots and lashing, firemaking, etc.).
I have also been getting ready to go to another camp tomorrow. I turn thirteen in four days.

Taking a break

2010-06-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

I am taking a break from writing for the next week or two, so I will talk to you then.

Contest

2010-06-20T15:08:00.001-07:00

M.D. Creekmore at the The Survivalist Blog – a survival blogdedicated to helping others prepare for and survive disaster – with articles on bug out bag contents, survival knife choices and a wealth of other survival information is giving away a 1,000 round case of 9mm – 124 Grain FMJ (a $200 value – donated byLuckyGunner)! To enter, you just have to post about it on your blog. This is my entry. Visit The Survivalist Blog for the details.

Glossary

2010-06-20T05:27:00.000-07:00

While I really can't stand some of the authors opinions, he did an awesome job compiling this glossary of survival/prepping/military terms and acronyms.

Les Stroud -- Best Story Ever

2010-06-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

My Dream Knife

2010-06-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

Kershaw Outcast

This knife is officially at the top of my wish list.

Back From Camp

2010-06-19T11:30:00.001-07:00

I got back from scout camp today and I am exhausted. It was a good week though. Going to camp allowed me to brush up on some basic skills that may make the difference between life and death when/if society collapses .

Knots & Lashing. I enrolled in the Pioneering Merit Badge, and ended up helping to teach the class. It was a great way to help me practice building basic structures, I also learned how to make rope by hand.
Shooting Skills. I earned the Rifle Shooting Merit Badge, and qualified third in a class of fourteen. I also got to try my hand at archery, and came to the realization that archery really is not my strong suite. I am going to try shotgun next year.
Basic Survival Skills. I actually ended up teaching most of the Wilderness Survival Merit Badge myself. I loved getting to go on an overnight hike/ survival campout and building a shelter.

Summer Camp

2010-06-13T05:18:00.000-07:00

I am gone to Scout Camp. So I will be back in a week.

New template

2010-06-13T05:15:00.000-07:00

I decided to change the template from the boring old whatever, sooo....... Here it is!

A Tribute to the American Servicemen

2010-06-05T06:02:00.000-07:00

Always Remember- a Memorial Day poem

2010-05-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Always Remember

Their stance is stiff,

their backs are straight,

as they salute their country's banner.

They look at it with reverence,

as they think of what it stands for.

They think back to those foreign shores,

where they fought in epic wars.

13 Stripes and 50 Stars,

Sergeant's stripes and Captain's bars,

All these things are signs of,

loyal soldiers undying love,

for truth, justice, freedom of speech,

the pursuit of happiness and of peace.

God bless the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and Marines,

who daily risk their lives to keep our country free.

So this Memorial Day salute the soldiers fallen,

as the guns report, and the bugles keep calling.

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!

Joshua and Caleb Crouch 2009©

Garden Stuff

2010-05-28T05:56:00.000-07:00

The garden is thriving, the chickens are huge, my food preps are sitting there, and its looking like its going to be a good summer.

Mosin Nagant

2010-05-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

Sadly I have never had the pleasure of firing on of these.... But hey they are still pretty cool.

Here is a Mosin Nagant Pistol.

Here is a basic FAQ about this gun.

Pelosi & Wesson Gun- from Glenn Beck's book

2010-05-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

This is from Glenn Beck's book Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government. I found this really funny. Click on the picture to make it bigger.

Contest

2010-05-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

M.D. Creekmore over at the The Survivalist Blog – a survival blog dedicated to helping others prepare for and survive disaster – with articles on bug out bag contents, survival knife choices and a wealth of other survival information is giving away a Go Berkey Water Filter System (a $139.00 value)! To enter, you just have to post about it on your blog. This is my entry. Visit The Survivalist Blog for the details.

Guest Posts

2010-05-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

Hi, long time no talk. I have been kind of out of the blogging loop for the past month or so. I have been very busy writing for two other sites, http://survivalcache.com/ where I am now a contributing author. And http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/.

2010-04-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

Got back from the campout today. The weather was typical, cold, wet, rainy. Taught a fire safety class, and got a new flashlight. I also borrowed a book to review.

Campout

2010-04-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

Going on another scout campout this weekend.

Guest Post and Garden Stuff

2010-04-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

Today I bought a 7 gallon water container, a hoe, and 4 cans of soup. We now have 9 tomato plants in the ground. There are eight bean plants, seven pumpkins, and seven cucumbers. We have a bunch of peas, squash, cantaloupe, jalepeno peppers and to many onions to count. I also made another guest post over at SurvivalCache reviewing the Back To Basics book I purchased a little while ago, you can see the review here.

Food Preps and New Knife

2010-04-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

So, for the past month or so I have been trying to put in place what other people call five dollar preps. I am unable to put this into practice on a regular basis due to my income or lack there of. So as part of my food preps I purchased some more canned goods. I also found what appears to be a good deal on a small fixed blade knife, I might talk more about it later.

Miscelanious

2010-04-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

Lot of veggies up today, probably going to have to thin the beds out in a couple weeks. Chickens doing well. I was asked to be the new ASPL at scouts tonight.
Who says mondays are bad?
Josh

Link of the Week

2010-04-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I decided to share the best survival related links that I have found while brousing other peoples blogs and websites.
1. M.D. Creekmore at The Survivalist Blog has compiled the ultimate collection of survival resources.

2. Erich over at Tactical Intelligence Wrote an article about how to make a small area candle heater.

3. "The survival mom" published an article asking you if you have the skills to survive a depression. I found it useful in helping me figure out what I need to work on.

I hope you find these useful,
Josh

Potatoes

2010-04-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, I must have done something wrong when I planted the potatoes. It had been almost two weeks and they hadn't started to come up so I dug up one of the potatoes and it hadn't even started to sprout. Other plants are doing well though.

Miscelany

2010-04-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

Chickens are doing well. Started to break-in the new hatchet by using it to split some kindling. The Back to Basics, how to learn and enjoy traditional American skills book got here today about a week early! The plants are thriving, new bean sprout popped up today. Strawberries not looking good. Finished the gate for the chicken yard. Acquired a craftsman lawnmower. The local squirrels are becoming a problem, lost a lot of sprouts to them.
It is shaping up to be a good week.
Josh

Chickens

2010-04-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

Built chicken yard and started on a gate. We went to Atwoods and bought half a dozen chicks (all hens) which are now living in the mud room. I also bought my first hatchet and a mill file (Yay!!!!). Plants are doing well.
Josh

Chicken Hutch

2010-04-04T10:50:00.000-07:00

Built chicken hutch from scrap lumber today. When I say today, I mean ALL DAY LONG! bought a hand saw, some basic hardware and a staple gun today for use in building coop, and for my "pioneering tool kit".
I am exhausted.
Josh

Edible Wild Plants

2010-04-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

We went hiking as a family today at the wildlife refuge. We saw a lot of wildlife including a herd of buffalo, a weird lizard and an elk. We climbed/hiked to the top of Elk Mountain. And I was able to identify ten sources of wild edible plants:
Dandelion
Barrel Cactus
Prickly Pear Cactus
Wild Onion (harvested a lot)
Common Juniper (made almost iced tea)
Pine
Cattails
Long Grasses
Oak (acorn flour)
Hickory

I also ordered a copy of the Reader's Digest - Back to Basics book today, I really look forward to its arrival in the next 7-10 days.

Food Preps

2010-04-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

I started my immediate food preps today. I purchased some canned Beeferoni, Fruit cocktail, and Pork and Beans. I also bought three Bic lighters. Looking forward to the weekend.

Plants Update

2010-03-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

Plants are perking up a bit. have a big pad of sprouts coming up in the raised beds. Onions must love this soil, they are in their element.

Campout and more potatoes

2010-03-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

Went camping with boy scouts yesterday. Got to practice a lot of fire building, and dutch oven cooking skills. We ended up cutting the campout short due to the high winds,(broke a couple tent poles). Any way, I got a bunch of left over Russet Potatoes and threw those in the ground today.
Aren't weekends fun?
Josh

More Plants

2010-03-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

We broke up the ground in our front flower beds today. Holy cow is that ground full of worms! Decided to plant some veggies out front. Planted lots of onions and some Yukon Gold potatoes. Planted a strawberry plant also. The plants in back really aren't doing well so we threw the remaining seeds in with the dying plants.

Contest

2010-03-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

Ok, so heres is a great new contest. M.D. Creekmore over at the The Survivalist Blog is giving away a The Tactical Advantage book and DVD set by Gabriel Suarez and a copy of Don’t Get Caught With Your Pantry Down by James Talmage Stevens! To enter, you just have to post about it on your blog. This is my entry. Visit http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/ for more information.

Plants Update

2010-03-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

Apparently not past the frost! Plants not doing well.

Book Review/ Guest Post

2010-03-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

I guest posted on SurvivalCache.com this week. I reviewed When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes by Cody Lundin. You can see my review here. The Survival Cache site is definitely worth checking out.

Raised Garden Beds

2010-03-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

We, (we being my family) built a a raised garden bed this afternoon. A few weeks ago we started a lot of plants inside the house. So this morning we planted pole beans, tomatoes, onions, pumpkins, cucumbers, and carrots. We should be past the frost, so I hope they do well.

S.A.K. Camper Review

2010-02-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

I just bought a Victorinox Camper Swiss Army Knife from a friend the other day. Some of the tools on this model are: a wood saw, large and small stainless steel blades, an awl, a corkscrew and can and bottle openers. The only tool Ive really put to the test is the wood saw. It has such aggressive teeth it cut through an inch thick piece of Shag-bark Hickory like it was butter. I am very happy with the latest addition to my collection. As I use it more I will post how it performs.

Josh

Fighting Utility Knife Review

2010-02-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

I received a ‘G.I. Style Marine Corps Combat Knife’ from http://www.campingsurvival.com/ back in July of 09. I sharpened it to a shaving edge and put it through the following tests.

First I batoned through a half inch thick piece of cedar, it took about five seconds to get through.
Next I batoned through an inch thick piece of pine wood in about twenty five seconds.
I decided to see how it did at chopping, so I broke out some big wood. It took one minute to chop through an inch and a half of cedar.
It took a good six minutes to chop through two inch’s of solid oak wood.

I write this in February of 2010, in the six months since I got it, it has chopped through countless types of wood, served as a pry-bar, dug holes and sliced fruit. After months of abuse the guard has come loose and wiggles when you chop with it, but other than that its still in good shape. I recommend it as a hardwearing, throw down knife, good for everyday utility use and chopping.

Manufacturer: http://www.campingsurvival.com/
Model: GI Style Fighting/Utility Knife
Blade: 7”, clip point
Handle: Brown Leather
Overall: 12”
Genre: Fighting, utility, chopping
Made in: Taiwan

Storm Cleanup

2010-01-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

In the past week Oklahoma has experienced severe ice storms, leaving many without power and heat, some even having branches fall on their homes. The prime offenders here are; below freezing temperatures, wind, rain and snow, and ice on trees, branches, power lines, and roads. Branches falling on power lines have left whole blocks without power. My family has been fortunate enough to maintain power for the week, losing it only for a couple of hours. We have however experienced plenty of downed branches and storm debris. When the storm found us I felt very unprepared, my cleanup gear consisting of a cheap machete purchased at the Walmart down the road, a small hunting knife and a basic tool kit. While you can get by with a small ax or machete its a lot easier with some extra tools.There are several things to keep in mind when purchasing storm clean up gear. First address what you are up against. If you are in the heart of hurricane country and usually receive heavy debris then consider getting a good chain saw. If, on the other hand, you only expect the occasional ice storm you will probably be safe with a good ax and at least a small bow saw. Check with your local Lowes or Home Depot. A sales associate will be glad to help you find what you need. Also when selecting hand tools make sure to stay away from hollow plastic handles, as when they are used in below freezing temperatures they become brittle and crack very easily (voice of experience speaking). We were able to limp through the week with only slight difficulty, although I don't intend to have to do it again.