What have you done?

[GeorgiaPeachie]

We got several of them except home depot brand, they are worth the money and move a lot of air. We use them to dry out the stall floors before applying antibacterial powder to the floors.

I use a product made for horses in the chicken house, PDZ and it works great! Recommend it to anyone who want to keep smells way down.

 

[user 7704]

Took my son to a fun party thing for Special young adults and was talking to a father. I have no idea of his politics but he just up and said "I've been thinking of getting a gun. I think it's really going to get ugly after election day."

I think lots of people are waking up to the Left's shenigans. This guy said he hadn't paid attention to politics in the past.

 

[DrJenner]

We are getting our root cellar ready (in the garage this year)
Next up will be greenhouse.
Converted a bedroom to a pantry and have been canning food like crazy
Medical supplies are almost ready
Just also need to work on battery back up for solar and looking at wind power since we have a ton of wind here
Learned how to glass eggs for longer term storage and our baby chicks have started producing like crazy.
Getting settled in for a crazy time. Glad i don’t live in a big city

 

[Proud Prepper]

Our younger batch of hens started laying. I picked up eggs this morning for first time. All my chickens are laying.

I will build a mobile chicken run.

 

[OldButtoni]

This week I built and got my compost bin started. Next trip to the cabin I plan to construct the 2 kit raised beds to set up my no-till gardens.

 

[Proud Prepper]

I am working on increasing my food. We should have 2 years worth by the end of the year.

We also have a new member that will join us. We are installing the power and water hook ups for his trailer this weekend.

 

[Proud Prepper]

I build a 4 foot wide bridge across the drainage ditch going through part of my property to allow our 4 wheeler's full access to all the acreage.

I ordered a few items from Amazon before Prime day ends.

 

[Oddcaliber]

Got more can goods to increase my food stores. Scored a set of dies to reload 3030.

 

[DrHenley]

Got my pH meter in finally and I calibrated it this morning. This will eliminate any guesswork over acidity. I have gone overboard previously with acidity just to be on the safe side.

 

[OldButtoni]

Went down to the cabin for 2 days and got my two raised garden bed frames constructed and my lasagna garden layers in them started. Still have a few layers to put down and they'll be ready for Spring planting. Not quite done yet with the layers, but I ran outta steam at 2pm and we just loaded up the car & drove back home. I am officially wasted for the day.

 

[Proud Prepper]

One of my prepper friends in our group moved his trailer on my property today. He lives in the suburbs outside of New Orleans.

He is setting up his trailer and prepping supplies here in case he needs to Bug out to here. He is single and will share his trailer with another single member, who is coming here next weekend to bring most of his supplies.

We plan to have another camper coming here soon and possibly more.

I already have the 10-3 wire and pipe for all the trailers and 2, 30 amp receptacles. I will pick up 2 more to have on hand.

We may need one for Oddcaliber. Your camper uses 30 amp 110v plug?

 

[Ranger72VH]

Am going to try my hand at making some hardtack this weekend. Was thinking I might need something extra with the beans and rice. Should store for a long time sealed in a mylar bags. Probably going to print off some more simple recipes and put with my food. One of my favorite recipe books came from the company that makes the cast iron cookware. I do love to practice cooking the old way using my cast iron when I go camping. May try this in the oven first before I go old school with it. Seems like it might be a good idea to put the hardtack in a meat stew like a dumpling. We shall see.

 

[GaRp58]

Am going to try my hand at making some hardtack this weekend. Was thinking I might need something extra with the beans and rice. Should store for a long time sealed in a mylar bags. May try this in the oven first before I go old school with it. Seems like it might be a good idea to put the hardtack in a meat stew like a dumpling. We shall see.

Good morning, if you are making hardtack, it will last longer in the mylar bags. I put mine into mason jars while still hot and seal them just like making jelly or any other canning food. I also added some boullion to some of them so I could just add some water and get a flavored soup with dumplings in it. My favorite is with acorn flour. If you have a coffee bean grinder, you can grind rice, oatmeal and even dried beans to your flour before you make the dough for the hardtack. These three will make for a somewhat thicker soup and lean towards a small cup of stew... Always keep one of the pieces of each batch out of the canning/storage process and try it/them to see what is best and if you need to add anything to the next batch.
Have fun and live free, Gary

 

[Ranger72VH]

Good morning, if you are making hardtack, it will last longer in the mylar bags. I put mine into mason jars while still hot and seal them just like making jelly or any other canning food. I also added some boullion to some of them so I could just add some water and get a flavored soup with dumplings in it. My favorite is with acorn flour. If you have a coffee bean grinder, you can grind rice, oatmeal and even dried beans to your flour before you make the dough for the hardtack. These three will make for a somewhat thicker soup and lean towards a small cup of stew... Always keep one of the pieces of each batch out of the canning/storage process and try it/them to see what is best and if you need to add anything to the next batch.
Have fun and live free, Gary

Gary, really appreciate your reply! Those are great ideas. Defiantly going to use them.

 

[OldButtoni]

My favorite is with acorn flour. If you have a coffee bean grinder, you can grind rice, oatmeal and even dried beans to your flour before you make the dough for the hardtack.....
Have fun and live free, Gary

Yes, as a low carber for over 10 years now, I've been grinding my own oats (here in the city in my food processor) for years to reduce the amount of real flour I have to use. Much lower in carbs than wheat flour. I have used commercially-bought dried garbanzo bean flour before, too, for the same reason. Never have personally ground rice (but have used purchased rice flour before), but do have a good grain grinder at the BOL cabin and will remember that one.

Your acorn flour idea intrigues me. I thought acorns had something toxic in them? are you doing something first before grinding to eliminate that toxic aspect? Not that I have noticed any acorns underneath our BOL trees (yet). We don't have live oaks down there, but almost every OTHER kind of oak tree present I think.

Another flour to consider, if one has nut trees, is to grind the meat into coarse "flour" (not too fine, however, or you'll end up with nut "butter"). I cook with almond flour quite a bit. Have dabbled in hazelnut and pecan fours as well.

 

[DrHenley]

Your acorn flour idea intrigues me. I thought acorns had something toxic in them? are you doing something first before grinding to eliminate that toxic aspect? Not that I have noticed any acorns underneath our BOL trees (yet). We don't have live oaks down there, but almost every OTHER kind of oak tree present I think.

Tannins are the culprit. With some acorns that are low in tannins like some white oak acorns, you can just soak in water. But some need to be soaked in lye, especially red oak acorns which are very high in tannins. I've read that if you soak them long enough, you can just soak in water, changing water several times.

I have a theory that soaking acorns in lye was the origin of nixtamalization. I've read Indian tales about substituting corn for acorns in some Indian recipies when they transitioned from hunter-gathering to agriculture. They also substituted pork for bear meat in recipes after swine were introduced by the Spaniards.

 

[OldButtoni]

Your theory may very possibly be spot on. Found a thorough article on preparing acorns for consumption and making flour from them. Thought I'd share here for anyone interested: How to Prepare and Cook Acorns

 

[GaRp58]

Hi back Buttoni, Dr. H is right about the tannins, they are the bitters of the acorns. You can either soak them for a day and change the water and repeat 3 days, OR; boil them and change the water 3 times to leach the tannins out. I learned that the Indians would put them into a basket and either leave them in a fast moving stream or even under a small waterfall for a few days to leach the tannins out. After drying, the acorns can be roasted and salted like peanuts, dark roasted and ground for coffee substitute, dried and stored or ground into flour for baking.
If you use them for baking, the flour will not always rise like normal flour. Use more baking powder and or yeast. Mix the acorn flour with cornmeal, wheat flour, buckwheat flour or rice flour and such for your hardtack, pancakes, ashcakes or a thickener in your soups and stews. You can also add these flours to your eggs when making omelets, scrambled eggs and such to stretch the eggs and feed more people.
If you have access to a cornfield, goldenrod plants or some cattails, harvest the pollen at the right time and add it directly to your mixture before making the dough and baking. You will get a lovely yellow color and more vitamins in your breads and cakes.
Making acorn and buckwheat tortillas with some salt, oil and maybe some boullion, will get you some stomach filling and nourishing "pocket" breads to take on fishing and hunting trips that will not go bad for days....tortillas and beef jerky, yes!! HAVE FUN and live free, Gary

 

[OldButtoni]

Thanks for the tips, Gary.

 

[David SB]

tested my home made diffuser for aerating my 3/4 acre pond up at my retreat (should result in bigger and more channel catfish).... will order the solar setup to power it around Thanksgiving

I wanted to make sure it would work at 9' depth...............I wanted the diffuser to NOT rest on the bottom of the pond, So I took an old steel Christmas Tree stand secured about 18" of air hose around it... drilled a few holes in the air hose and when I tossed it into the pool, it settled to the bottom like the Moon Landing module.... soft touchdown and never on its side.

Tossed it in 5 or 6 times and it landed the same every time. Fairly certain it will land upright on the pond bottom, not stirring up the muck and should remain clog free

I am using a HiBlow HP 120LL septic air pump. I have had one feeding my aerobic septic system here at home for 6 years and never a problem. About 125 W on 120v

 

[DrHenley]

Another thing you have to think about with high capacity ponds is ammonia levels. The paddlewheel type aerators do a pretty good job allowing ammonia to evaporate out of the water. In the Mississippi Delta ("Catfish Capitol of the World" LOL) they mostly use paddlewheels attached to tractor PTOs so they can move them easily from pond to pond. Obviously if you only have one pond then a stationary paddlewheel works fine.

We never had ponds on our place in the Delta, but my uncle had ponds on the farm just south of us, so I only have indirect experience, but I learned a lot about the catfish business from him. His business partner had a PhD in catfish farming from Auburn. (Auburn has a very large fisheries department.) And, while I was teaching Chemical Engineerng at Auburn, I had a friend that was doing research on developing novel aeration systems for catfish ponds, and because of my indirect experience with catfish farming, we talked about his research ideas. He had a great idea for getting oxygen into the water, but not so great on removing ammonia, and that is what we mostly talked about.

 

[Dave2001]

Took my son to a fun party thing for Special young adults and was talking to a father. I have no idea of his politics but he just up and said "I've been thinking of getting a gun. I think it's really going to get ugly after election day."

I think lots of people are waking up to the Left's shenigans. This guy said he hadn't paid attention to politics in the past.

Guns are still available, its ammunition that has become a problem getting!!!! GET one as soon as possible!!

 

[tmttactical]

Guns are still available, its ammunition that has become a problem getting!!!! GET one as soon as possible!!

Amen, brother. Want more but very difficult to find. On many notify list but no luck yet.

 

[David SB]

they will try to outlaw bulk ammo on the net

 

[Oddcaliber]

Got more ammo today!

 

[BillMasen]

You can be sure that stuff like Ammo, Reloading gear, Magazines etc will get heavily taxed and possibly licenced with a fair chance on LEGAL limits of the amounts of stuff you can buy. if they cannot take your guns they will go after what makes them work.

 

[BillMasen]

Got private access to a clubs indoor range out of normal hours.

 

[Petoski]

New book arrived. Tracks and signs of the animals & birds of Britain and Europe. More of a nature book than hunters guide but looks like it has plenty of useful information, drawings and photos on track marks, scat and environmental signs to look out for. I really want it so I can become more aware of what is happening in my environment. After I got a book on wild edibles I started to see them everywhere. Hopefully the same will happen with this book.

 

[Frostbite]

I picked up two more semi auto pistols, no background check or police permission required. The laws here in Australia are not as rigid as most people think, in fact in some instances our gun laws are less restrictive than many parts of the US.

 

[BillMasen]

Reading a book about prepping and survivalism that has just come out called BUNKER building for the end times.