What I did for Prepping this week

Prepping should include what you do not know as well!
Let me explain a bit here;
The skills you sort of remember and the ones that when you are honest about with yourself you need to learn or re-learn in order to survive! No excuses, work on this gain knowledge to help in any future possible.

Mine are as follows;
Skinning, gutting, prepping game kills and fish prepping
Preparing the hides for use in what every fashion that may be needed for them
Stone carving, need way more info
Flint knapping and primitive skills knapping for general uses
Re-learning the annual declination to tune compasses to find true and magnetic North
Re-learning basic carving skills that I have lost to go to the place where I want to be in my Carving ability.

Prepping this past week, ups and downs..
+ Went on a 8 km hike into the woods to the property that I will be sharing and living on with some other people this will be a prepping/survivalist/permaculture set up. Awesome place, remote secluded though will be very difficult with lots of work to make it a permaculture set up to produce more than we need though. Good Challenge.
+ Saw and followed cougar tracks for over 60’ and took photos of them, all great, showing the tail drag as well, perfect. – my cameras flash drive failed … lost everything on it, including other prepping work that I had photographed L
+ Worked on learning how expedient lamps could be made, different uses and models as well as what works and what does not work in terms of wicks and the lack of availability of finding wicks in our big box department store days.
+ Working on expedient wicks, from paper towel and natural fibre cord that words great to shoe laces and other material that do not work at all
+ Downloaded some info on Rocket Stoves for heating and cooking, will explore that more, also trying to figure out how to make one for portable winter camping.
+ Learning more on permaculture, how it was used in the past and how to use and adapt it more into my future as well.
+ P-38 & 51 can openers – p51 is the Canadian Mil or US Mil Cold weather can openers
Showed some people around here as I still have 2 left over from my CDN Mil days, they work much better and faster
+ Found two Canadian suppliers of Knives, all kinds of knives, so now will have a cheaper means of getting some better knives and swords again for prepping. (all mine, over 75+ knives and 15+ swords gotten rid of by one of my exes along with all my prepping stuff, camping and military gear with the odd small exception)
+ Will be ordering a KUKRI MACHETE w/ SHEATH (not the machete as I have two others now)
+ Will be ordering a Cold Steel Ninja Sword and sheath, or the two handed sword machete. Why, they are very handy, can be used as a machete in a pinch or alternate, are light, and very capable in my hands. Last and fist line of defence.
+ Bought a Buck folding locking blade on sale at Canadian Tire for only $9.95 on sale from the normal $28 price….sweet !
+ Two weeks ago bought a handy Mtech Xtreme USA 440C steel, folding locking blade as well it fits my hand perfectly and is designed for wood working as well with its, handy thumb rest on the top of the blade.
= That finishes off the locking, utility knives that I needed, now I have about 8 in total so some for survival/camping some for general work, all good.
+ Bought another stainless steel pot for my bug out bag, cooking, cleaning, misc useage
+ Bought some quick release straps for my back pack and day pack to make them easier and more comfortable to carry (sloped shoulders need these)

Of Great Pyrenees Llamas Donkeys and other large Grd Dogs Permaculture Defence

I have seen and been involved with different situations where the use of Llama/donkey(s)/LGD is the best combination.

Grt Pyr dogs are very hard headed, strong willed (like lots of breeds of dogs) and need very strong rule from the people on the farm/location from what I have seen. Twice the young GRT Pyr dog attacked me, and I blamed the owner, not the dog. I also soon did some work with the dog and it was about 50% better right away. The owners took way more work and after 2 sessions were only about 5% better! hhmmm…

That dog was only a puppy, although big, neglected and non-trained for anything. The owner read an article on-line that said this is the best guard dog for chickens and bought one! He and His wife did no research at all on big dogs, or on this dog, they raised little yappy dogs (poodle looking things), all of these dogs, barked all night, every-night, everyday, all day….. They also wondered why the neighbours did not like them very much.. hhmmmm again…

Donkeys with Llama(s) seems to be a good mix but you also have to have the Big Guard dogs as well.

All dogs need You to have training or instruction on how to best deal with them. Beating a dog does not make it a good guard dog (saw that from experience very sad), it just makes it Mean spirited and rightly so or takes the spirit right out of them. I have seen Grt Pyr dogs that are very non-threatening, but attentive to humans who come onto the property, they watched and were concerned with the humans, but so long as the person did and acted normal with no bad intentions they were fine.

Other large and mid sized breed dogs, work great as well. My personal experience is that any dog raised or trained properly will not hurt your livestock, period. The human is the worst factor here as they think they know everything and are reluctant to learn or change their ways. Large dogs take up to 3.5 yrs to become adults some mid sized breeds take from 2-3 yrs. Consider each stage of the year to be similar to ours 1st yr, kid, 2nd teenager, 3rd young adult. Get the dog, per your thoughts, lifestyle, interest and interaction levels.

Edit.. I am thinking that you might be able to find a couple of mature, older dogs, who will be good with the animals so that the little pups get trained by the adult dogs as well as from the humans, this might be good too. You might just help save some older dogs lives as well!

Grt Pyr and other large breed stock and guard dogs work great if understood and treated with respect and understanding, my personal favourites are as follow, Rottweilers, English (Bull) Mastiffs, Belgium Malinois / Melamois, then Great Pyranees (of which I saw lots in the mountains of France and Spain in the Pyranees Mountain ranges doing a great job).

I do not know about the 1 rule for the Llama, but there are lots of farms in the area across Canada with only 1 Llama so it might just work that way. These places had almost all of the animals in very large paddocks all together. A small pack of donkeys, 2 or more and guard dogs, 2 or more seem to be the best mix. When I was young I saw border collies work in a team, 2 guarded and herded the sheep and goats away from the two coyotes, then the other 4 herded, defended, nipped at the coyotes right off the property.

Later as an adult, I also watched from a distance, from start to finish, when the two coyotes first sprang into action from a ditch, that the goats attacked them, then ran, then turned and attacked defended, while the donkeys, charged across the field to their aid. These Donkeys brayed all the way there, so the dogs, came running and herding at the same time towards the coyotes as a team. We watched as the 2 donkeys put the coyotes in high gear in the opposite direction as 2 of the guard dogs, herded and stood guard with the sheep and horses. The Llama was sort of beside these dogs and watching the coyote as well. The other two dogs caught up with the donkeys and all of them chased the Coyotes off the property. I do not think those two came back for quite a while.

Now how did I see all of this I was driving by at the time, there was a curve in the road around this small homestead. So I watched this all as I was driving up to and around the small homestead. I also pulled the vehicle over very quickly, grabbed my ever present Compound Bow, with its quiver of arrows that were always mounted to it’s side. Why, because of the little kids in the yard. The two dogs who stayed back were also guarding, protecting the little kids who were in the yard and watching all of this as well. The dogs made sure the kids did not come into the pasture, by barking at them too! The Homesteader came out, saw me, I pointed to the field where the action was, and we watched together as this all occurred. He said afterwards that he used to get raided all the time by wild dogs and coyotes, but since he had put this combination of Llama/donkeys/dogs and perhaps the goats (can not remember what he said about them) in the paddocks that nothing had gotten to the chickens, turkeys, peacocks, sheep, and goats. We shared a very nice glass of homemade Lemonade together.

My way of thinking is that this is Permaculture team defence for your livestock. Like Permaculture in general, it is a phased array of many things working together in union and unison in a great big encompassing whole. Permaculture may take a while to get everything all together, but it works the best in the long run.

 

 

 

 

Pork Pot Roast 100 mile diete

So before I forget here is the recipie for the Pork Pot Roast that I did the other day in the crock pot.

Everything, pork, potatoes, onions, veggies, green tea grown in Ontario, even the cherries I put on top where from within the 100 mile radius, all from Ontario.

Pan seared the Pot Roast in my Cast Iron Frying Pan,
Put some Green Tea in the bottom of the Crock Pot
put in the Pork Loin Roast,
added in 5 large Potatoes (Ontario Whites)
– poked them with a fork a few times before putting them in
put Veggies on top
added some cherries on top for a bit of sweetness

Covered the crock pot, cooked on High for 4 hrs,

then on simmer until Dinner time of 7pm

Took it out, cut the string around the pork roast as it just fell off the fork.
Awesome Taste

 

Of Photos and Cougar Tracks

After 2 days of trying to recover the photos from my Cameras’ flash drive, it is Kapoot! DANG it.. I had my first awesome close ups of Cougar tracks, of a cougar who walked through the camp property I hiked into. Over 60′ of excellent tracks! Close ups, as well as losing all the awesome winter scenes of frozen water cascades off of rocks, beaver dam in winter, the lovely trail in the winter etc… sigh

On the flash card it also contained; all the photos I had done of my expedient lamps in proper large format for printing, the reviews for the hiking camp stove, snowshoes and a few other projects.

Here is a nice close up from Someone Else, found on the net as well as the link to the Puma Website (another word for Cougar)

cougar tracks in snow from Someone else! not my photo

 

 

Ontario Puma Tracks Website

http://www.ontariopuma.ca/tracks.htm

 

 

Hearty Omelette vegg or meat

Hearty Omelette vegg or meat

Hearty Omelette Variations

3 eggs beaten

Garlic 5 cloves

Red Onion 1/3

Tomato 1/2

Spinach handful, chopped up / ground up / shredded

Flax Protein Powder/ Hemp Protein Powder

or

Chicken/Beef leftovers

note: need to find some good No Milk Cheese sub)

Use Cast Iron Frying Pan, Large

Pre cook/Blanch

garlic

onions

maybe even the spinach if you want, it changes the taste a lot

remove from pan / or use a smaller pan for this, you are just stirring and pre-cooking

Main large cast iron Frying pan

little oil, up to you (tip from Jamie Oliver; use 1/2 and 1/2 veg oil and extra virgin olive oil, cheaper and great taste )

cast iron fry pan should be on med (6-7)

put in the beaten up eggs

wait a moment for it to solidify on bottom

put in your ingredients

wait a moment, I cover it to keep heat and moisture in

flip up the one side to cover

 

reduce heat to min or 0, remember cast iron holds the heat very well, so it is eco friendly that way, it will also keep cooking it at a temp

now flip it over, quickly! cover, to keep in the moisture (I like it moist not dry)

do not worry if some of it falls out, it is all good, this is not Iron Chef or Chef Ramsie’s show 🙂

wait a moment, use flipper to peek in a moment, it should look and feel done, the bottom side you want golden and not burnt

use flipper put onto plate right away! (or it will still cook)

if you are doing more than one, cover with a lid/tin foil or put into the oven, with it on low temp to keep it hot/warm

wipe out cast iron frying pans completely, dribble some oil in pans, wipe, let sit on hot element to re-season (important)

 

Notes; using cast iron, takes some getting used to, but you will love it

use gloves with the handles, yes it is heavier, but aww so good to cook with, use weight training to get stronger arms (or wave pan at husband a lot, to increase muscle mass, Just kidding!)

 

Cast iron, when seasoned right, non-stick, easy cleanup, useses less electricity/gas, Energy to do the same job and has less chemicals than Teflon to hurt your health in the long run!

What I did for Prepping in the past Two Weeks. Feb 21 2011

Well first off, I had heard of the 100 mile diet last year and looked into it a bit. My wife at the time had no interest so that ruled it out or at least made it very hard. I have been trying to introduce the concept to friends, and some of my new friends might very well be into this as well and actually perusing it themselves. Right now, I am at approx. 50% for the 100 mile diet. Within a year or so, hopefully things will be 90-95% local only. I think that is a realistic goal. Ideally most of the diet will be created on the property that I will be living on, weekends and over the winter. More to follow on that below and later. After watching the Marketplace report, I am dead set against the general mainstream food industry.

Feeding animal parts to grazing animals, shooting them with steroids, antibiotics and other chemicals, adding it to their feed as well, all in the name of Corporate GREED! Make them bigger, faster, so they can be sent to the slaughterhouse faster, for greater PROFIT. There are other non related tests, reports and investigations that all point to this being a huge turning point in our blissfully unaware or blinder sighted controlled population. Think of the horse with blinders on pulling big business behind it in the cart, now realize this horse is us the average person. (if you will picture a donkey pulling a cart, now call the donkey the other name for it)

The food we eat is killing us, and making us susceptible (sp) to all kinds of problems that will come in the next few years. There are reports of people being so resistant to antibiotics or allergic to them now that they will die of simple infections or must be admitted to the hospital for intravenous treatments daily to cure little infections, that will not go away and might kill them.

Searching for ads of others wanting an intentional life and posting an ad myself resulted in finding some people who are willing and looking for others to share in the endeavours of a property netted me great results. I believe that I have found a like minded community to join up with. They have similar long range goals, similar thoughts on the future. No we are not survivalist freaks, just people preparing for the future, and making changes now that will help and assist us in our lives.

With our similar thoughts, we have come to agreements on many many items of interest. Housing, sustainable housing, sustainable food production. Yes it is a lot of work, though not everything needs to be done right away! We will be making plans and arrangements for schedules of priorities and projects that fit with the land. Living in the woods, it would be easy to just say, why not just use firewood for heat all the time. Well there are issues with that as well as pure moral issues, why cut down perfectly good trees for firewood? There are tons of dead fall, and dead standing that will be used for firewood and for building production on the land.

We are looking at power and heating options that are eco friendly and regenerating to the environment and the property that we stand on. This Stewardship that is similar to what our forefathers did on a daily basis. Ground source heating and bio source heating will be definite goals. Both of us found sources of information that made the concepts so simple and easy to follow that the ground source heating will become one of the easiest and long lasting ways to heat the buildings here in the mid Ontario region where the homestead will be.

Look up some of this info for yourselves, search for “THE METHODS OF JEAN PAIN” and Mike Oehler’s $50 & Up Underground House Book.

Also look for the Canadian Government guide to Ground Source Heating.

I am also looking into eating local natural and wild plants for both ourselves to consume and with the eventual thoughts of selling to restaurants and speciality food places in the area. There is a huge emerging call and need for this service. This will be one of the income sources for the property, along with the production of raised bed and green house veggies, fruits and nuts. Some chickens for eggs and meat, that do not get pumped full of chemicals and drugs are a welcome addition to my diet that I can not wait for.

Some of this is new learning, some will be using skills learned as a kid and some will be skills learned as adults, by all of us. Live and work on the property as a group, looking out for each other in an intentional community. Now If I can just get them to stop smoking, perfect.

Last week I sourced pricing and product from a local Mill that produces and imports grain from other local Mills. There prices are reasonable and the quality is just second to none. The grains range from Corn to Spelt Flour and everything in between. Stocking up for the minimum 6 month supply goal by the end of April is in range and not so bad if done in chunks, little bits at a time.

Experimentation’s continue with getting away from buying everything I need to making a lot by myself. The experiments with Expedient and emergency lighting sources is coming along great. I have passed from experiment to production, with the long term goal of having a variety of different nice looking lamps and paleolithic designs as well to use and sell. After seeing some things and finding out other items of interest I will never be buying Candles again. It is all oil lamps for me, and vegetable oil lamps at that!

Once the property is producing heat and compost, we will be looking at harvesting the by product that is Methane. Plans for this include running generators and my ideas for making lamps and other power sources as well. So many experiments so little time, aw well it will make it fun next winter. Next winter I plan to spend on the property in my own little homemade dwelling, with a workshop of course, perhaps two workshops. One for wood working and one for power and energy production as well.

We are also looking into a system of Aquaponics, raising both fish and plants in the same controlled indoors eco system. This is a symbiotic arrangement were the fish produce the essential nutrients for the plants, and the plants, feed the fish nutrients as well. Fascinating, and with the guides we have seen, not that expensive to set up nor to maintain! The system is balanced and will be self maintaining within 3-6 months with full re-copping of the setup and ongoing costs well covered within the 6-9 month range.

So you see it has been a busy Two weeks, what have you been up to?

 

Ground Beef recipe with Sauce HOT

Ground Beef recipe with Sauce HOT

I actually wrote down one of my concoctions, this time, normally I make it, eat it, then try to remember what I added or how I did it !

cook in cast iron fry pan, large

1 kg ground beef

water 1 cup

lemon juice – big squirt

Cocoa powder – 4 tbs aprox.

stir till brown

add into this ground beef mixture –

Louisiana hot sauce, Franks brand – big gulp full

plumb sauce – big gulp full

BBQ sauce – big gulp full

smoked paprika, pinch

Chili Peppers – 2 tbs

Sauce / Gravy

water cold – 1 Cup

corn bread mix,

brown flour

baking soda, dash

stir into fry pan, simmer for 5 min

pour over baked potatoes,

and corn added to the top for colour and vegieness

Hot and tasty !!

Writing Excersie

 

Follow UP

It was good, the sauce was very thick and awesome, but not hot enough. I will add more hot sauce into the sauce mix next time, and use Holy Habanera sauce or peppers to spice it up some more >:)

The yellow corn on top was a nice touch, I end…S

Crock Pot Pork Loin Roast

1 pork loin cut in half

crock pot low height, as it will simmer all day

2 very large carrots put on bottom, broken into two pieces each

pork loin on top (this creates a convection process, as the juices and moisture raise up and around)

14 or so garlic cloves

1 cup mandarin oranges, poured over the top

1 handful of cherry raisins

splash of lemon juice

splash of Franks Louisiana hot sauce

sprinkle of smoked paprika

sprinkle of Taco seasoning (thanks Mom)

started at 9am – turned off at 5:30pm, use a spoon to remove as it is that juicy and tender, falling apart

perfectly done

put on plate with spinach leaves

use some of the juice from the crock pot as a tasty seasoning/dressing for the spinach

options – add potatoes to crock pot

options – serve with rice

 

Writing Excersice

Modern Food, Anti-Biotics Dangerous Super Bugs

Modern Food, Anti-Biotics Dangerous Super Bugs

FOOD modern Food Danger Will Robinson!

a couple of days ago, I watched a Marketplace CBC Report on the dangers of the Antibiotics and steroids etc, that they put into chickens, from Eggs to Chicken in cages and afterwards! The report used independent Labs, found that there were up to 8 SuperBugs that could not be treated with Anti-Biotics, including the ones given to pregnant Women! It affects us all, this causes our bodies, and foods to create viruses etc, that Can Never Be Treated! People need to go to Hospital for intensive Intervenes treatments for simple colds and flue’s.

I am now looking for local food growers, who are Organic, do not use Anti-Biotics, and are reasonably priced!

Wish Me and You Luck

Corn Bread Mix from Tyrone Mills

Corn Bread Mix from Tyrone Mills (yum yum) Located in Durham Region of Ontario, near Mossport Speedway! (it is worth the trip)

Instructions For Pancakes;

Beat 2 eggs, add to ½-1 cup Soya Milk / Almond Milk, put into pan veggie soya margarine or butter, melt Pour in mix.. then you know what to do !

For fluffier mix add in some more baking powder

For bannock, use bacon grease find your best bannock recipe (I have if you need)

For Bread;

Beat 2 eggs then add 1 cup buttermilk, 2ox melted non-salted butter and blend well. Add the wet mixture to dry ingredients. Pour the batter into a greased pad (8×8 inch) Bake at 400* for 20-25 minutes.

Ingredients; cornmeal, wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, salt