Posted November 12

Transportable Trail Foods

There is one trail food worthy of mention that has been a staple among South American Indians and was considered sacred: Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wha"). Since I've discovered this seed (it's not quite a grain) I almost never leave home without it. I'm carbohydrate sensitive with a tendency to high insulin and type two diabetes. This seed is well tolerated by the diabetic and offers the most complete array of amino acids of any single food source known. You can cook it like a cereal or just swallow whole like lecithin granules with milk or spring water. An egg-cup full will give you an enormous energy boost with half a banana, some yogurt and milk. Chia seeds also work well and I frequently mix them both for instant energy. This is one trail food you've got to check out. It's inexpensive, easy to carry in a zip-lock bag and a good replacement for fast junk food where you can't find a decent meal.

Al Pantazi

Thank you from a Novice

I just wanted to write to say how much I appreciate having stumbled across your website. What an indispensable resource!

I have to admit, I have never been a very domestic woman. Although we lived in a rural area, I grew up eating out a lot with my family & my grandma who lived next door cooked for us because my mom worked full time. I just wanted to grow up & bring value working full-time just like her. When I met my husband - that was my one disclaimer ;). Our home was also a virtual wildlife preserve so I had no plans of marrying a hunter either. I guess my backwoods roots ran deeper than even I knew because when I fell in love with my husband his disclaimer was that he was a life-long hunter & a Marine with what I thought to be an "extreme" number of guns (maybe 4 at the time). I was willing to look past these "quirks" because I began thinking, well he's a Marine & that makes sense I guess. . . We both share a love of God, family time, the outdoors, country living, simple spending & America the beautiful.

I look back now & chuckle at what I thought to be a "normal" way of life. Now that we've been married 4 years I have grown to understand, appreciate, respect & support his love of our 2nd amendment right to own & carry firearms. I realize that conservation & protection are much more humane & safe than extreme environmentalism. I've been to the ranges a few times & I'm beginning to learn how to shoot. What really sparked my personal interest in the last couple months was when I attended a conceal carry class alongside my husband. I realized that while he is always thinking in terms of "protect & defend", I am usually thinking we're safe & although I try to be aware of my surroundings, I'm probably more in denial that we'd ever have to really defend ourselves. I've also been apathetic to the fact that our comfortable way of life in America may not stay this way forever. I had to ask myself, "Am I prepared to survive & protect my family like the independent frontier women I admire so much or would I be more like the oblivious 'city folk' who wouldn't last a day?" Now I feel like I have a reason to learn to shoot, its not just a hobby & it takes some skill to challenge myself to develop. I am planning to enroll in more personal defense courses & we are looking at getting involved in some local Cowboy shoots for fun.

Around the same time the Marine Corps moved us to New Orleans & my sister-in-law gave us a plethora of wonderful home canned foods as a housewarming gift. Our fridge was empty too so I decided to start learning how to cook rather than buying pre-packaged meals & although I haven't done any of my own canning yet, my husband says I'm doing really well on the cooking front. ;)

When I was on the internet searching for canning resources I stumbled upon your website & it couldn't have come at a better time! It is so wonderful that you've put so many resources in one place. Although I am still a novice in many areas, I am hungry to learn & excited to share the knowledge as I do. I was so excited to tell my husband about the website, it has opened up a lot more discussion about such things in our home. We don't yet have a subscription but think its so valuable we're saving up to buy the Lifetime subscription as soon as we can. I love reading the Massad Ayoob & Jackie Clay articles online & they've convinced us that your magazine is a lifelong resource.

I just wanted to share my story & say thank you for pulling together all these valuable resources & motivating a novice to develop her backwoods skills. I look forward to subscribing in the future. Until then we'll be saving up & keeping up online as much as possible.

Rachel V. Shultz

Thanks!

Mr. Duffy and family, Just a quick note to let you know how much I enjoy your magazine. I have subscribed for quite a few years now, and really enjoy the information in it. It always has something in it for everyone, the articles are mostly not of opinion, but of experience, which makes them far more informative, and educational, since many have learned from trial and error.

I appreciate the fact that so many are willing to take the time to share their successes AND failures so that we can also avoid those ideas and techniques that may work on paper, but not in real life. I also appreciate the fact that the articles are written in "layman's" terms, since many of your readers I'm sure, are not professional gardeners, construction workers, engineers etc. So the simple explanations are easy to understand.

Keep up the excellent work. My big idea this year for Christmas gifts is going to be a few subscriptions of your magazine to those who would really enjoy it.

Thanks again,

Jason Earl
Yacolt, Wash.

Wood burning stove article

Hello,

AWESOME article. It was a pleasure reading the technical, historical and personal so expertly intertwined. My hat is off to the author and the management for providing her the space. I write about one kudos every two years so I may write again in 2010 if you lay another one of these on me.

Thanks,

AJ Raymond

The fire wick fire starter

I have my boys put a disposable lighter, some joke birthday candles (the kind you can't blow out) and some tinder (usually bone dry cheatgrass from the yard), in a zip-lock bag as emergency fire starters when they go to camp or on hikes.

Andrew Parker
West Valley City, Utah

I really enjoy your newsletter

I just thought you should know I am dying laughing at the jokes.

Thanks for the pleasure.

Samantha Taylor-Brady

Fire starter

Good article about fire starting. It is something every outdoorsman (and outdoorswoman) should know and be prepared to do.

What I prefer to carry is quite simple and basically free. I cut 1/2" by 3" portions from the lid of a pressed-paper egg carton, and them submerge them in a pan of molten wax or parafin. Starters are removed from the pan with pliers and placed on a sheet of newspaper to dry. They are then completely waterproof.

The feature I like best is that they are thin. One can be placed in your wallet, in the trays of your tackle box, even slid down inside your knife sheath.

Keep up the great work.

Duane Winkler
Roswell, Ohio

Posted October 21

Beets and carrots

I just read your article on storing carrots and beets. I never could figure out why mine wouldn't store well. It's the moist sand and humidity that was missing.

This season we'll try your method

Thanks,

Douglas Kostelansky

Your article

I just finished reading your article about cultural divide between environmentalists and gun owners. I'm a disabled, and now retired Nam vet who's working with a group of young 20 somethings to prepare for the potential upcoming events that I see will lead to disaster. This preparedness is something I began when I first returned from Nam and became involved with many groups and organizations. Though the government called most of them radical, the truth was that the core of these groups were conservative. There were a few in each group that defined the extremes and got most of the media attention. It took me a few years to understand that these extremists were needed in each group to define the boundaries of the group, that furthest limits the group was willing to go to.

I've played in the political side of organizations where backroom meetings, hidden agendas, and backstabbing was the norm. I became very good at it and learned several things. First, the only ways to change an opposing group is from the inside. Second, I didn't much like myself for doing some of the things I did, even when I understood the necessity.

The people I'm working with now are young and idealistic being tempered by the information we're collecting and viewing our current political and economic events. The group I work with now has it's people that push the boundaries of my original intention. Though I shutter sometimes at their individual ideas, I applaud these same ideas because it forces the rest of the group to look at their own moral standards.

The saving grace in this group is the understanding that we can disagree without being enemies; agreement to disagree. Tempers do flare and hostile words are sometimes exchanged. At the end of the day, dinner is quiet conversation and the understanding that we're all focused on the same thing: staying alive when things get to their worst.

I plan on reading yours and other articles within your web site. I hope they will be just as thought provoking and stimulating.

Charley

Thanks!

Dave,

Just wanted to thank you for the search function on the BHM website.

My wife, Lisa, and I were talking about quick dinners for our toddler, Alex, and easy ways to have multiple things ready to mix-n'match so he doesn't burn out on one thing easily.

Mashed potatoes came up, and Lisa asked, "Could we can mashed potatoes?" I thought for a minute, and said "I don't remember Jackie writing about how to do that. Might be to thick to get hot enough to be safe, but I'll search the BHM site and see if she's written about it before. If not, I'll send in an Ask Jackie and we'll get an answer probably on her next post".

Sure enough...

Canning mashed potatoes

Can you can mashed potatoes? If so, how? Thanks.

Rena Erickson
Boyceville, Wisconsin

I would not advise canning mashed potatoes. I believe the product would not only be too dense for heat to penetrate adequately for safe canning, but the taste would be “pasty.” Instead, why don’t you can whole or cut peeled potatoes, then mash ‘em fresh when you have heated them to serve. Mixed with butter and milk, you’ll have a great tasting product. Quick, easy, and good flavored, too.

To can potatoes, peel them and cut into convenient pieces to go into your jars. Pour boiling water over them to within an inch of the top. Add a teaspoon of salt if you wish. Process in a pressure canner for 35 minutes (pints) or 40 minutes (quarts) at 10 pounds pressure (unless you live at an altitude above 1,000 feet and must adjust your pressure to suit your altitude; consult your canning manual for directions).

— Jackie

That took me a whole 30 seconds or so to find. Much shorter than it took to type this letter. Tell your webmaster, "Good Job!"

Thanks for all the excellent, and easy-to-find info!

Aaron Neal
Fort Worth, Tx

Posted October 6

Thanks

I was searching the net to see if I could find instructions to build a footbridge. I not only found your article on it, which is fantastic - just what I need - but I also found your wonderful magazine. I have subscribed, and can't wait to begin participating in all you have to offer on your website

Terry Parker

Firearms

Just read My Veiw. I'm glad to hear that you would never compromise on the Second Amendment. To bad more people don't feel this way. I'd like to know how people who want to help the enviroment come to the conclusion that guns hurt it unless they are the vegetarian type who believe it is wrong to hunt or eat any type of meat. Anyway I'm glad you support the Second Amendment and I'm the type who will never compromise my beliefs on anything. (thats why we call them beliefs isn't it). If they really wanted to help the enviroment they should realize most hunters and a large portion of gun owners want to help the enviroment also. No one wants to destoy the Earth. Not like there's anywhere else to move to.

Thank you

James Dowis
Palco, KS

Wonderbread

I am 74 years old and I don't remember ever buying a loaf of Wonderbread, thank goodness. I have been making "hommade bread" off and on for over 40 years. Now I make all of our bread.

Your article is wonderful. Thank you.

Estelle Hartsfield
Fayetteville, Arkansas

Guns and environmentalists

Dave,

I am not sure why you state that only environmentalists are so antigun. I hunt and fish and am very pro gun. In order to be a successful hunter I have to understand the habits and behavior of the animal being hunted. I also need to know the interactions between the animal and it's environment. I consider myself an environmentalist because I feel that the needs of the plants and animals have to be factored into any land use decisions.

The population of the entire country is turning toward an antigun stance. I think this is because they are exposed to antigun sentiments in school and the media at a very early age and the message is constantly repeated. They are not exposed to a balancing opinion in favor of guns nor are they encouraged to try shooting a gun so it's no wonder they turn out to be antigun.

Curt Decker

Wow, what a first impression...

My very first issue, of my very first Backwoods home magazine. The very first article I lay my eyes on... A Vast Cultural Divide Exists Between Environmentalists and Gun Owners.

I am not only a gun owner, I work at my fiancees gun shop. I use organic gardening methods, organic cleaners (yes, even at my shop), recycle everything I can get my hands on, compost, feed the local wildlife hundreds of pounds of food per month, hunt selectively-as in for meat only, and buy recycled paper, toilet paper, tissues, for home and work. I heat my house with wood, and the only reason I use any electricity at all is because I rent, and that is what the landlord has provided. I have conversations with customers asking about putting up windmills for electricity at their hunting properties, how to best feed and otherwise take care of the plants/trees that provide food for the animals that we then hunt so next year they will return and hopefully bear many young. I dont see why my desire to be able to protect myself and my family makes me a pariah in the environmental world. Many of us share the same concerns about clean air and water as the "hippie" crowd.

I have to say the article title really threw me when I first saw it, but reading down to "because I would not compromise on gun owner's Second Amendment rights", I was very imperessed. I think I will take a copy of this to work with me.

Holly Lind
Colmar, PA

Canned bacon.

Backwoods home,

Pete Gibson from Arizona asked Jackie about canned bacon and where he might find it. Jackie said she didn’t know where to find any. Here is where to find it:

Jan LeBaron at www.healthyharvest.com. She currently has canned bacon in her inventory .

Richard Nye

DIY Wind Generator for Serious Recycling!

I had gotten a treadmill from my father before he died. And I had been reading that the permanent magnet motor can be used in a DIY Wind Generator project. After taking the motor out I discovered we ended up with more then just a wind generator!

Twelve Uses for a Treadmill:

1. The heart Monitor still works and will be used.

2. The two steel rods for the pad are my basis for a new telescope mount. As each turns on a treated steel rod which gives me two axis movement with alittle welding.

3. The hand rails will have steps added to make a small ladder down to the water at my Cabin.

4. The belt pad can be used on the ladder steps and elsewhere.

5. The heavy steel frame will be used for a new sled for my Quad Runner to haul large and heavy items in. Just turn it over and add rails (which I found in another piece of steel I was going to use for something else!)

6. The wooden floor will be turned and bolted to the other side for the sled floor.

7. The motor for the Wind Generator (just add blades!)

8. The pillar support with help support the generator!

9. The left over motor controls part etc are handy!

10. Really good stainless steel nuts, bolts, and screws.

11. The plastic remaining is for recycling!

12. It was totally free!!!!

And I was just going to junk the frame etc before I started.

Don at Two Rivers Cabin
Northern MN

Who ran the government?

John Silveira,

I was speaking with my 12 year old grandson about the early years of America and I told him of Washington, Jefforson, Franklin, etc., but I could not answer his question as to who "ran the government" between 1776 and 1787. I would appreciate it if you could help me out with this.

Thanks,

Roger Young

Roger and Dave,

I'm on vacation and so am writing this kind of quick. I don't think there are many errors in it. But it's the best I can do from the road.

In 1774 twelve of the thirteen colonies (Georgia was the one that didn't send a delegation) met in Philadelphia as the first Continental Congress to protest the Coercive Acts seek redress from the King. By the time the Second Continental Congress met in 1775, the battles of Lexington and Concord had already been fought. It was the Second Continental Congress that drafted the Declaration of Independence (1776) and formed the Continental Army (1775). It was also this Congress that conducted the Revolutionary War and eventually drafted the Articles of Confederation which, in 1781, just before the end of the War (1783) ratified the Articles of Confederation. The Congress then became Congress of the Confederation.

In this time, the country wasn't really run by Congress. The new states were more independent than not. In fact, the Congress wasn't really that important and the Congress had trouble even raising quorums. So, there was no one really running the country the way it is now. The Congress of Confederation then met from time to time from 1781 to 1789. The central government was very weak and most of what the Congress of Confederation did was try to work out trade among themselves and present a more or less united front to the governments of Europe. But in 1787 the Congress of Confederation drafted the United States Constitution which was submitted to the states. On 21 June 1788 New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it and it was going to come into effect (for those nine states). The Congress of Confederation then became the United States Congress. The Constitution went into effect 4 March 1789 and by 29 May 1790 ALL of the thirteen original colonies had ratified the Constitution and now all thirteen were part of this new country under the Constitution.

So, until 4 March 1789, the country was really like thirteen independent states that first met under under the Second Continental Congress then under the Congress of Confederation but with the Constitution it was became the country run by the United States Congress, the President, and what have you.

John

Good morning Mr. Silveira,

Thank you so much for your thorough, knowledgeable and timely reply. I know you are very busy and it was very nice of you to reply while traveling.

Your answer is to the point and very easy for me to understand; you are an excellent writer and made the more so for being mindful of your audience's intelligence (or in my case, the lack thereof).

Once again, we (my grandson Sam and I) thank you for your courtesy.

Best regards,

Roger Young

MREA

Dave,

Don't ever back down on the right to bear arms. If the enviros can't deal with it, too bad.

We need people to stand up and back up the Constitution. If they don't get it, they want to give away their constitution then so be it.

You have plenty of support without them. And plenty of AE (alternative energy) folks that don't need their hogwash and reject their politics mixed with AE message,while remaining true to both AE, stewardship of the environment and FREEDOM.

Carl Chetlan

Guns

Dear editor,

There are plenty of gun owners who read your magazine.

I'm one.

Word-of-mouth among conservative gun owners is how I learned about your magazine. I think you'd be surprised that we share a determination to live simple, off-grid and healthy lives. I love your writing, by the way, though I discount your occasional political "advice." Frankly, it is a pity that some of your readers can't see the legions of conservatives who abide by your lifestyle but not your politics.

Thanks,

Kristen

Homemade cloth diapers article

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

My husband showed me the article about making cloth diapers and I immediately read through it as we were currently using prefolds and vinyl pants. The article was extremely well written and easy to follow. I completed a few diapers before I even noticed there were photos with steps.

My diapers came out perfect every time thanks to such great and easy instructions. I also tried sewing the fleece inside the diaper for an all-in-one diaper. LOVE IT! My only regret is that I didn't have this pattern 3 years ago when my first son was born. Now my second son Nicky is making a fashion statement!

My husband loves them so much, he wants the onesies to go away so we can see them all the time!

Thanks for this article!

Brenda Massei
Stockton, IL

Posted September 12

Raising beef

Hello,

I just wanted to comment on the article in your magazine called Raising Your Own Beef For Your Family by Charles Sanders. I really gained a lot of great information from that article and wanted to thank you for publishing it.

My family is planning to move from the Puget Sound area in Washington to western Kentucky next summer and we plan to raise some cows so it was so great being able to find candid information that will help us achieve our dreams.

Thanks again!

Danielle Peck

Homemade Bread a Challenge to Authority? - YES!

Dear Claire:

When I began making the household bread from grain I ground myself on a regular basis, and purchased from a local farmer, somewhere during that kneading process I realized I was making a statement in that small way. Freedom from the mega corporations that dictated what ingredients would be in my bread. Mega Corps who write mega checks to political ambitions, and make mega policies regarding the country and the world. Each step I have taken since has been directed with that thought. Grow my own beans, corn, tomatoes, etc., or know the family who does? Another step towards personal freedom. Make my own laundry soap, hang my clothes on the line or drying racks? I not only free myself from the mega corps who make the soaps, but my electric bill goes down which is taxed also. For the same reason we rarely eat at restaurants or fast food chains — My personal protest to the state and county for charging an 8% food tax. Yes, it does inconvenience me at times and the loss of revenue to the government is not that big of a deal to them and probably not noticed. But what if 10,000 people made a conscious choice about what they ate and where due to the tax in any given community?

This way of thinking has caused me to make other choices. What do I really need and what are the ramifications of where I purchase it? Can I make it or buy it at a thrift shop that benefits others? It is a whole lot easier to stop at Target or Wal-Mart, and sometimes honestly I have. I just do not feel so good about it

Every time a person walks or rides a bike to a store — it can be a statement to the oil companies, albeit that one person or one trip does not make a loud statement to the Powers That Be, but it’s my statement and it’s your statement. Call it passive resistance if you will. I can smell the bread is about done baking — I’m hungry for that slice of freedom.

Maggie

P.S. – I miss Hardyville “weekly” and appreciate the hard work you put into it. Thanks.

Greens vs. Guns

Dave,

In 2001 the Gore defeat was still a festering sore for the Green’s.

It was widely known that the N.R.A. played a large part in his defeat.

It would stand to reason that, anything or anyone taking a pro-gun position would be perceived as the enemy.

Just my thoughts on your editorial.

Paul Cosenza
NJ

Just Say NO!

Oliver,

A truly great article. I commend you. I hope alot of people read it and ponder what you say. Because its very true.

But theres only one problem. Its too late!

Take care,

Doug Woodall

Posted September 2

Food Shortages and The French Revolution

Wonderful article, kind of hits you right in the gut! You and Howard Kunstler would make a great team on a new book.

Natascha Walker
Leander, TX

Food Shortage

Hi Dave,

I don't expect an answer, . . just wanted to take my hat off to you again. You continue to be a most clever thinker and I greatly appreciate your sharing your thoughts with us. Your editorials really need a much wider exposure. Your readers are going to be inclined to this way of thinking which is why they gravitate to Backwoods Home. My concern is the millions who need to read this message (and your others) who will never be aware. I'd consider it a true public service to see your editorials placed where Jane Doe would have easier access.

You always stretch my thinking and my imagination. Thank you so much for what you do!

Sincerely,

Genelle Brown

Jackie Clay's article

I really enjoyed Jackie's article on home canning.

I too, am a home canner and have been for 30+ years. I enjoy growing my own produce in the garden and canning chemical free food.

I agree with you Jackie, people look at me strangely when I say I home can. It is not hard, just takes a little time.

I have worked full time for 30 years and still can find time to have a huge garden and home can.

CD in NE.

Canned Bacon, Canned Cheeseburgers, please inform readers!

Dear BHM,

I recently looked through an old BHM for Jackie's ketchup recipe, prior to finding it I noticed an APB posted on canned bacon, and after reading this last issue (and forgetting to contact you) I remembered a food extremist board I goto that covers everything from canned bacon to chocolate covered bacon, I realized I should pass along the link to the canned bacon!

You'll also be amazed and suprised that some companies are also canning entire bacon cheese burgers (though expensive) as well as other complete meals! Fascinating! And following up on this current issue, this same website offers canned cheeses, canned beef and gravy, CANNED WHOLE CHICKENS! I'm sure the readers will instantly fall in love with the website and what it offers!

Direct Link to cases of canned bacon.

Link to Crazy Foods website it was found.

I am a longtime reader, you guy's and gal's do so much amazing content words can't even begin to explain how much myself and my family enjoy all aspects of your magazine!

Alex Hahn
Fairfield, CA

Canning in half-gallon jars

Hi there...

I wanted to thank you for your article about canning in half gallon jars... I could find NOTHING except in an OLD first edition copy of Carla Emery's book and then it didn't say anything about pressure canning half gallons.

I have been doing apple pie filling all week and ran out of my quarts and have 100 half gallons. The extension office said I would kill my family LOL..

So I ran my piping hot apples and sauce into the jars, and processed them for at least 20 percent longer than the recommended time for quarts (in a pressure canner which was 8 minutes recommended time) I ran mine for 14 minutes, just in case. My apples got a little too done and I'm sure Ii have sauce in a few parts of the jar LOL.. Ooh well as long as they are edible I can make apple cake or apple sauce or apple bread if they aren't solid enough for pies..

But I wanted to let you know how thankful I was to find your COMMON SENSE article.

Tiffany Martinez (homesteading wanna be)

Issue 113

Dear BWH Staff & Fellow Readers:

I just finished devouring the latest issue (#113 Sept/Oct 2008) with just a few visits to the “reading room”. As Mas Ayoob & Dorothy Ainsworth so eloquently describes, teaching children to respect, understand and properly use tools cannot be started too early in their life. I would like to make a suggestion to the BWH editors however.

To the “touchy/feely” crowd (now perhaps better known as the “hopenchange” crowd), the photographs on pages 52 & 53 accompanying the article might cause some consternation. It may be beyond their capability to understand that an adult was supervising the activity behind the camera. Perhaps the photograph could have been reframed to include an adult for the simple minds out there. Also, children are never too young to be taught to utilize proper eye and ear protection when using tools.

I understand that a drill/screwdriver and jigsaw don’t make that much noise, but a tight screw in well seasoned wood can sometimes squeal loud enough to get your attention. Speaking as one who is now suffering disease related hearing loss, I am thankful I looked silly all those years wearing hearing protection, even while riding on the tractor. The hearing loss would only be that much worse had I not protected that gift.

Respectfully,

Thomas A. Fawcett
Oxford, NC

Another Excellent Article by Jackie Clay

This month’s issue (Sept/Oct 2008, #113) had yet another excellent article by Jackie Clay – “Grow Your Own Grain”

With the price of feed rising, and after hearing the differences in taste and nutritional benefits of freshly ground flour/meal over store bought, this is something I have been looking into and started working towards. The article was VERY timely for me. The interest in grains and bread making has resulted in a new area on the BHM user’s forum – “Breads & Grains” under the Food section. Excellent advice there on mills, grains and recipes.

A real gem I have found on the net is a PDF of the book Small-Scale Grain Raising by Gene Logsdon, 1977, ISBN 0-87857-134-5 Rodale Press, Inc. The author goes into great detail on a number of grains and legumes, spelling out for the uneducated (such as myself) all the little details you wouldn’t get if you asked a professional farmer to tell you about grain. Things they might take for granted as not needing to be said to anyone with common sense - like the difference between dent and flint corn. The author also goes one step further, giving low cost alternatives to the expensive enterprise of growing grain as a business. The reader can grow adequate grain for family needs, livestock, and to make useful byproducts – straw, brooms, sorghum, etc.

While learning about this book, I checked out the author to see what else he had written. He’s a cantankerous old flantlander from Ohio, lifetime farmer and has a number of books to his credit. One, a collaboration with other folks, seems to be one of the original chicken tractor books. While he’s not a tree hugger or granola head, he does have simple methods of organic farming suitable for small scale production and self-reliance. I can’t recommend this book enough.

The book is out of print and used copies are commanding in excess of $100 through the usual channels – I saw one going for over $200. But I was able to locate a free electronic copy through the Soil and Health Library, an Australian outfit. I have come across the S&H Library on searches before, but this is the first time I have ever used them. They emailed me a link where I could download the book, then displayed a nag page about contributing to their library – along the lines of what you get from PBS or NPR. I will make the contribution in the future, having proof they deliver what they promise. The $16 lifetime membership would be money well spent.

You can download a copy free at: http://www.soilandhealth.org/copyform.aspx?bookcode=030210

The book is 238 pages and too approximately 15-20 minutes to download on a dial-up connection.

Regards,

Pat & Karen Barden
Linden, Tn

Modifying oven for bread

This letter is for Emily Buehler,

Thanks so much for your tips and information on modifying a home oven to produce a good bread. I made my first baguette yesterday and I doubt it would have come out as good as it did without your tips in overheating the oven to begin with and adding the bowl of water during baking. I didn't have the pizza stone but the bread turned out wonderful just the same. In fact, I made two loaves today and neither of them lasted very long.

Thanks again, you rock!

Ryan
Apple Valley, MN

Chantarelles

With chantarelles there is a delicious way of eating them! If you get fresh small chantarelles and just fry them in butter and put them on on hardbread (Swedish "knäckebröd" knaeckebread) it's absolutly delicious!!!

I would call the chantarelles one of or not "the" most delicious mushroom there is!

Thank You

Olov B Lundahl
Stockholm, Sweden

Guns and environmentalists

To the editor:

I agree with you that there is a great divide between gun owners and most environmentalists. But the dividing factor, even more than gun ownership, is the environmentalists lust for power and control of our lives. They want to control whether or not we can smoke, they would like to control what we eat (no new fast food restaurants in South LA if they have their way), and many other things they support to control our lives so that we live as we should, according to their rules. All for our own good, of course. We poor simple people really can't be trusted to run our own lives.

Gun ownership is a big issue right now but if that issue did not exist there would be a million others that would come up. They will not be satisfied until they have control of every facet of our lives and we all behave like good little puppets and do as they say. Needles to say, that is not the life for me. Keep up the fight.

Robert J. Considine
Fulton, IL

Posted August 5, 2008

Thank you

Dear Dave and Jackie,

Greetings from Ontario Canada. Last I wrote we were living in Alberta and wanting to get out as land was way way too expensive.And the weather was crappy. So we moved to Ontario with the intent of moving further east over time to the Maritimes and settle there. However we have spent the summer exploring the Northeastern part of Ontario (further south than the Northwestern part) and have discovered beautiful land that is somewhat isolated and not too expensive. And to boot we can grow almost any vegetable here. For the first time in my adult life I was able to plant in April. (Out west we gamble if we plant frost intolerant plants before May 18).

Yes we had near (within a couple of inches) record snowfall this winter but winter was gone by March unlike Alberta where we could still have it in May. The summer has been abnormally wet but as a result trees and plants are doing fabulously.

I want to thank you both and Backwoods Home magazine. I just, today, renewed my subscription and tacked on an extra two years so I would not have to worry it would lapse (as it did to my own chagrin as it was my fault).

Also thank you very much Jackie - I have been working towards self sufficiency and during my last week of summer vacation I made 50 lbs of gourmet (stuffed with mushrooms, bacon and cheese) hamburgers/mini meat loaves, 60 lbs of stuffed sausages, and 3 gallons of pizza sauce that I froze ( next year I will can but am still digging through my moving boxes looking for equipment). As a result my grocery bill has dropped significantly. We have stocked up on huge bags of rice and flour as prices are rising and will continue to. As an aggie by schooling I know we haven't seen anything yet when it comes to the prices of staples. Believe me they will continue to go up as we are just seeing the increased fuel costs beginning to show itself - thanks to all this folks saying how wonderful ethanol is - geez folks it takes gasoline to make the darn stuff!!!!! You think tractors run on air? Talk about unsustainability!!! Anyways...

Thanks to your magazine I am learning new skills every day to make my dream come true. We are tackling bricklaying next. Thanks to all the great granite in the ground here whenever there are road maintenance or constuction projects there is all this wonderful rock along the roadside - same with housing construction sites. We've been able to get FREE rock to build beds encompassed with rock and are now going to tackle a stone walkway and a stone circle bed. Let those other folks pay 3-4$ a foot for brick - ours is free and only requires a bit of muscle to pick up and load in the back of the truck. (In Alberta where there is very little stone it costs a lot more than 3-4$ a foot). Our game plan is to learn wall building so we can build our own outdoor brick oven, cold cellar and retaining walls for beds when we move out to the country.

Thanks to you the dream lives on..

M Blaney
Ottawa, Ontario

BHM Newsletter

I love your newsletter. This one really had me cracking up!

Sharyn

Another use for old Wringer Washers?

I don't question how good a washer tub might work as a root cellar, but the letter about "Another good use for Old Wringer Washer Machine" really grabbed my attention. I hope nobody cuts one up for a root cellar because those good old wringer washers are hard to come by. If you have one, hold on to it, even if it's not working, it's worth money for parts.

My wringer washer cost $75.00 a few years ago, and I considered it a steal. In coal mining areas, they cost more than a new washer, because they're the real McCoy when it comes to a "heavy duty" washer.

I suspect maybe the lady was talking about one that was totally wore out and no good parts or anything; that's the only way I'd bury one in the ground.

Penny Hermsdorfer
Sandyville, WV

BHM Tell-A-Friend

Thank you ever so much for selecting me as the current [Tell-a-Friend] winner.

Since 'discovering' BHM, I have read more excellent articles of interest than I ever did in TMEN (I had subscribed since issue #2), however they went through some very weak times and I drifted away. Your publication blows the old TMEN issues away!

It was a hard choice as to which CD to choose - however I opted for the one that I always seemed to gravitate to - Jackie Clay's authoritative, common sense, practical writing enthralls me at every reading. I use them regularly as I process, preserve and can from my garden.

Dave Duffy was a very close second - It is certainly reassuring to read the same ideas and feelings I have being so well organized and presented.

What a wonderful group Dave has put together and what terrific articles...

As soon as I finally receive the Federal Stimulus Incentive payment, a portion will go to a multi-year subscription and a set of the Anthologies.

Thank you for providing so much wonderful information free on the web. I have my browser homepage set to start on BHM and then go from there.

As far as my own situation, I have 7 acres with about 1 1/2 acres in garden, and a couple experimental acres in fast growing trees (OP367 and DN34 Hybrid Poplars and NZ4356 hybrid willows) and the latest trial item is Giant Miscanthus - all for biofuel potential considerations. Aside from extensive canning right now, I am also starting to get together all the components for an exterior two barrel stove gravity air flow heater. Having heated a previous home with a Sotz stove in the basement very successfully for several years, I have every confidence that this new one will perform quite well. Right now I am working on experimenting with introducing heated secondary air at the connection between the two barrels to try to induce a reliable secondary burn to induce efficiency and lower effluent smoke and particulates. (All on a shoestring - of course)

Long term, I would love to see someone design and offer components for an all-around utility tractor similar to the old Allis Chalmers G's that have been electrified. Would be a great addition for the large gardens and market gardens. Also interested in treadle powered thrashers, sieves and chicken pluckers ( gotta be able to make those fingers with GE Silicone and a mold.)

Anyway, sorry for getting so long winded - Thank You again for my being selected for the CD.

Cal

Posted July 15, 2008

My compliments

Dear Claire,
Today, just looking for food storage ideas, I discovered the Backwoods Home magazine, and ended up spending a good part of the day reading all the great articles available online. In doing so, I found your own articles, including the Hardyville columns. I just had to write and tell you how much I love them, and I can't wait to eventually read them all.
You are a highly intelligent and resourceful person, and an excellent writer. I admire your skills at both writing and living a (at least partially) self-sustained life.
My goals are the same: to improve my writing skills and become more self-sustained. I'm so tired of being constantly enslaved by high food prices, fuel prices, medical costs, ridiculous taxes, etc., etc., etc. It's like highway robbery! The saddest part is how much my family and I and so many others contribute to it, by being willing to pay such outrageous prices. For a number of years, I've been feeling that there has to be another way, and have taken small steps to not be part of the consumer-driven society that we've become. Your articles further inspire me and I can't wait to share them with my (not so concerned) husband, as well as many of my like-minded friends.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, and please, never stop writing!
Sannea Becker
Mesa, Arizona

The "Heller" 2nd Amendment Decision

Dear Dave,

You have probably seen a bunch of media "analysis" of the "District of Columbia v. Heller" decision on the meaning of the Second Amendment. All of the ones I have seen are typical anti-gun tripe from people who have obviously not read the decision. As a gun owner and liberty-minded individual, I have read the whole thing twice. There are so many neat little tidbits hidden in this Decision that I felt compelled to write the following analysis for my friends. I don't know if you will have the space to put the whole thing in Backwoods Home - if not, at least the 1st, 2nd and last paragraphs may persuade some readers to read it all. (It was originally written in MSWord format, imported into this e-mail.) Anyway, here is my analysis from a non-lawyer perspective. As Justice Scalia said, "the Constitution was written to be understood by the voters: its words and phrases were used in their normal and ordinary as distinguished from technical meaning."

An Analysis of "District of Columbia v. Heller"
To Keep and Bear Arms

On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its first significant ruling on the meaning of the Second Amendment to the onstitution. Forty years ago, Congress passed the Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968 - the first salvo in a cultural war between socialist gun control advocates and Americans who treasure their individual right to keep and bear arms. For forty years, the leftists in Congress, the Presidency, and the lower courts have steadily eroded this essential right of free Americans. The recent Supreme Court ruling, "District of Columbia et al v. Heller", represents a major victory for those bedrock Americans who believe that the right to keep and bear arms is the true foundation of liberty in America - the right that enables the People to enforce all of the others listed in the Bill of Rights. We owe a major vote of thanks to the many pro-Second Amendment organizations, historians, legal scholars and others who have worked on this issue for the last forty years. We especially owe a debt of gratitude to Dick Heller and the legal teams and organizations directly involved in the appeal, for staying the course through the years of this court case. This decision is the most important, far-reaching action on the right to keep and bear arms since the 1968 GCA started America down the road to tyranny. The majority opinion was masterfully written by Antonin Scalia. His 64-page ruling contains an extensive, defining analysis of the history and intent of the Founders when they wrote the Second Amendment, plus a complete debunking of the collectivist "dissent" from the minority justices.

Every American who is concerned for the preservation of liberty should read this decision with a highlighter in hand. In particular, take note of the numerous statements of principle that will now be applied to future court legal actions on the ownership and use of firearms. Keep in mind that this Supreme Court decision is now what U.S. law schools must teach as the defining legal precedent on the Second Amendment. Every American who cherishes their liberty should go to the Supreme Court web site, run off a copy of the Heller decision, put a binding on it, and install it prominently in their library.

Among many significant aspects of this decision, several key principles stand out as major precedents for future legal actions for the right to keep and bear arms. (The page numbers given are from the "preliminary" Supreme Court decision on their web site.) These principles are direct refutations of all of the last forty years of anti-gun laws, city ordinances, and lower court decisions.

1) The Right to Keep and Bear Arms (RKBA) is an individual right, not a collective right tied to any militia service. [p. 3-7].

2) The RKBA is a right of free people that existed prior to the Constitution. The Second Amendment recognizes that right, but did not create it. As such, the RKBA cannot be taken away by Congress or the Courts. [p. 19-21, 25, 26].

3) "Arms" include, but are not limited to, firearms suitable for militia use. "Arms" means all bearable [capable of carry] currently made arms, including those not in existence at the time of the Founding Fathers. [p.8,9].

4) The "militia" is everyone capable of bearing arms, not a"select militia" such as the National Guard. Membership in the militia, however, is not a requirement for keeping and bearing arms. [p.7]. "Well regulated" means only that legislatures may set standards for the discipline and training of the militia. [p.22,29].

5) "Bearing arms" means individual Americans carrying firearms for a "confrontation"; self defense and fighting tyranny are both mentioned as legitimate reasons for bearing arms. [p.10-12, especially p.24-27].

6) The choice of which arms to keep and bear is made by the people (within reason), not by the Congress or the Courts. The Second Amendment is no different from the First Amendment when it comes to defining "within reason". "Constitutional rights are enshrined with the scope they were understood to have when the people adopted them, whether or not legislatures or (yes) even future judges think that scope is too broad." [p.63,64]. Handguns, in particular, are the most popular choice of the American people for self defense, and they may not be banned. [p.56-58].

7) "The Bill of Rights codified venerable, widely understood liberties." [p.32]. The Right to keep and bear arms is one of these liberties, and is intended to resist tyranny. [p.32-36].

8) Incorporation of the Second Amendment under the Fourteenth Amendment (to keep states from violating this right) is an issue "not presented by this case" [p.48], but this issue is now ripe for such an "incorporation" case. Any case examining incorporation of the Second Amendment must be decided in light of the precedents established by the Supreme Court in "Heller" (see #6, above).

9) On pages 2 and 3, the decision reads as follows: "The Second Amendment provides: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." In interpreting this text, we are guided by the principle that "the Constitution was written to be understood by the voters: its words and phrases were used in their normal and ordinary as distinguished from technical meaning." United States v. Sprague, 282 U.S. 716, 731 (1931); ... Normal meaning may also include an idiomatic meaning, but it excludes secret or technical meanings that would not have been known to ordinary citizens in the founding generation." Try applying that principle to the wording "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" on the next case where a "voter" is challenging a handgun ban by a state or big city. The meaning of "shall not be infringed" was fairly clear to the founding generation.

10) This decision is stated by the Court to be the first definitive ruling on a "pure" Second amendment case. [p.63]. It won't be the last, and it sets the key definitions (assumptions under law) as shown above. This case will frame the debate on future decisions under these assumptions. Even future liberal courts (God forbid) would be reluctant to overturn recent Supreme Court decisions they don't like, because that would open the door to reversal of Roe v. Wade and other liberal decisions of the last forty years. The Court refers to this as the principle of "stare decisis" - "to stand by that which is decided".

American citizens have won a major battle in the "gun control" wars with the "Heller" decision, but this is not the last battle. The socialist anti-liberty groups will not stop their efforts, and we must expect a continuing fight. We must take back the liberty we have lost over the last 100 years, both on the Second Amendment issue and on the entire socialist "nanny State" agenda of the left. Benjamin Franklin said it best: "Those who will give up essential liberty to secure temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." But for today, for this one moment in the continuing struggle, we have cause to celebrate. "Constitutional rights are enshrined with the scope they were understood to have when the people adopted them, whether or not legislatures or even future judges think that scope is too broad." ("Heller", p.63, 64.)

Peter Humm
Mountain Home, ID

Love the article by Richard Blunt on Baking!

I am a new subscribor, have been poring through my CD anthologies & today received my new issue with Richard's article on baking with whole grains

I am a disabled stay at home Dad and this article inspired me to pick up the apron & start baking!

Semper Fidelis

"D" Shannon
Peyton, CO

Vegetarian 'survival' foods

I am very health conscience, and interested in vegetarian 'survival' foods. Thanks!!!

David Ader

There are a LOT of bug-out-bag foods that are technically vegetarian. You can, for instance, get MREs featuring cheese tortellini, bean & cheese burritos, and a couple other varieties of vegetarian pasta. Alpine Aire makes a selection of freeze-dried vegetarian entrees (water required to prepare) including mushroom pilaf with veggies and Santa Fe black rice & beans. They would work, as long as you carried enough water and a heat source. So would vegetarian ramen noodles.

You could also stock your BOB with granola bars or energy bars. If you can handle the weight and don't expect to carry your pack very far on your back, you could easily stock a variety of conventional non-meat canned foods. During a short-term emergency, I could easily live on nothing but vegetarian refries and canned pineapple chunks. And they require no prep at all.

Other items: dried fruits, fruit leathers, nuts, peanut butter, packets of instant oatmeal, vitamins, supplements, etc. Some items might need to be rotated every few months, so be sure to store what you're actually willing to use at home.

Unfortunately, much of this begs the question as you also want _healthy_ foods. The healthiest vegetarian foods are fresh, perishable and don't lend themselves to being stuck into a BOB and forgotten for months (or even years!) at a time.

For a health-conscious vegetarian, any bug-out-bag is likely to contain a lot of compromises. You can easily avoid meat, but it's not so easy to achieve "healthy" when you're talking about emergency conditions.

Another possibility: Always maintain a small, ever-rotated stock of good-keeping fruits or veggies in your refrigerator -- apples, carrots, oranges, and radishes -- for instance. Also keep a bit of empty space in the top of your bug-out bag. Should you ever need to grab your bag and head out, just scoop those veggies from the fridge, add them to the bag, and go.

Hope this helps.

Claire Wolfe

Thanks Massad

Mr. Ayoob,

Thanks for all the good articles on firearms. It may at first seem odd to thank you when I didn't buy any of the guns you have mentioned by name; but I don't believe you mentioned them to prompt people to buy them. What you have done is help me come up with the questions to ask myself so I can make an informed decision to buy the tools I need to defend my family and put food on the table and do so without breaking the bank. Just like a plumber has different tools than a carpenter we need different firearms to defend us in the situations we face. And we need to have tools we can afford to practice with.

Thanks for sharing common sense ideas and your wealth of experience

Tim Lanham

I have a great idea

I store cases of sardines and salmon. I have them delivered every 3 months. Both are very good for you and store nicely. I eat sardines and salmon right out of the can. Sardines and Salmon have omega 3's which is great for the brain, blood, joints, heart and immune system. The kind I get are the freshest and best tasting and come from the fresh waters of Alaska and the pristine waters off Portugal. When you are hungry and don't like sardines and salmon you will find them delicious. I also stock up on nutritional supplements.

I also have cases of protein drinks which are in a powder form. I have three types, one, all veggies and one all fruit and one a combination. They store for a long time and have hundreds of fruits and veggies in them and many vitamins and minerals. You can live on these powdered sources. Just add fresh water and drink. For example they are powdered blueberry's, pomegranites, cherry's, chlorella, and on and on and they taste great.

Paul

Sustainable Freedom:The Dilemma

I thoroughly enjoyed this article. It is a topic that I spend a lot of time thinking about. I will be 30 years old this year. As of now I have spent 10 years of my life studying psychology. I am currently in a psychology graduate program specializing in behavior analysis. This particular topic is something that is close to my heart and I have thought about it since I was about 12 years old. I plan on reading your paradigm shift article shortly but I wanted to introduce myself and tell you how well I thought you approached this issue. If you don't mind I would like to [share] some of my observations of what I think would help to influence this paradigm shift (who knows maybe you've touched on them). One of the most important factors, obviously, is how children are raised and the molding of their perceptions of what is right and wrong. Children who become bitter or learn that there are rewards in lying are a major problem for society. These same children grow into adults who have perceptual filters in place which mediate all of their behaviors in an undesirable manner. I'm not a very religious person but I do feel that I have a strong sense of spirituality. Many holy books contain excellent solutions with regards to how individuals should behave.If children do not have desired behaviors reinforced at a young age we know what happens. So I believe a possible solution simply lies in teaching ones own children proper behavior at a young age. The most responsible individuals should have as many children as they can responsibly handle and give attention to (perhaps 6 to 7). These children will grow into adults exhibiting model behavior (the exact opposite of government educated children). They in turn should repeat the process. Government education may not easily be shut down but responsible humans can at least increase their numbers and when they interact with others they can serve as models for the others. When others interact in a less than desirable way (cruel, angry, etc.) the models should respond in such a manner as to not reward this behavior or to punish it (punishment in psychology does not necessarily mean physical punishment). It would be a very gradual process which would take generations; however, the ruling class is attempting to do the same thing only by reinforcing undesirable behaviors (which the average person would probably agree with even if they engage in them).

Sadly I must say there are many psychologists who have sold their souls to advise the ruling class about how to "condition" the population to be apathetic, irresponsible, docile, reactive, and just plain stupid. One of my recent courses which was a "teaching of psychology" preparatory class used a book which was full of propaganda and indoctrination regarding how new teachers should treat their students. I am of the opinion that some sort of decentralized yet accredited system must be established to circumvent the top down control of the material which is taught. It is this centralization which is indoctrinating the new waves of future teachers to in turn indoctrinate their students in a manner which suits the ruling class.

Well this email is becoming longer than I had intended. Take care and keep publishing on the web. It helps spread intelligent thought on the issues facing humans.

Christian

What it means to be libertarian

Dave,

In your reply to Gordon Seefeldt about what it means to be libertarian you mention Reason Magazine and the Cato Institute. I'd like to suggest a couple websites that are more purely libertarian. Cato and Reason both espouse reformist views that merely give politicians fodder for claims of reducing government, while never promoting actual moves to eliminate such redistributionist scams as the Federal Reserve and income tax.

I suggest www.lewrockwell.com and www.fff.org (the Future of Freedom Foundation). There are no inconsistencies here.

Thanks for a magazine that brings people to the freedom philosophy.

Fritz Groszkruger
Dumont, Iowa.

Posted June 6

Canned Bacon

In the May/June 2008 issue, Pete Gibson of Bowie, AZ wrote to "Ask Jackie" concerning the availability of canned bacon.

If Mr. Gibson or any other readers are still interested, a quick look at www.mredepot.com shows that they offer "Yoder's Canned Bacon" (sku # YD1412) in twelve 9 oz. cans per case. The bacon is domestic, processed and packed in the U.S., and is claimed to have a 10-year shelf life.

The folks at MREDepot seem to carry quite a few food storage items and equipment that BWH readers might find interesting.

Best.

James R. Smith
Otis, ME

Canned bacon source

In the May/ June issue Jackie Clay was asked if she knew a source for canned bacon. A quick web search brought up this, I hope it helps. www.canned-bacon.com

Scott Jansen
Little Chute, Wisconsin.

Thanks for this article

35 country jobs: How folks make a living near my hometown By Charles Sanders

Even for "folks" like myself that live right outside of an urban area ( Philadelphia, PA) I can do many of these things to make some cash.

Appreciate the great info and common sense instilled in it -- in this day and age it is even more important to remember the basics and what they really mean and count for..thanks again!!

Peg Z.

Oxymorons

This is one of my all time pet peeves, "Jumbo shrimp" is not an oxymoron. Shrimp are crustaceans. Jumbo shrimp denotes a variety of large shrimp, just as fairy shrimp denotes a small delicate type of shrimp. Tiger shrimp have stripes etc. Please help me to stamp out at least this one example of lack of simple deductive thought. A small person my be referred to as a shrimp but that does not make the term jumbo shrimp an oxymoron, it just exposes evidence that the person who thinks it is might just be a moron!! Renr1

You need to have a drink.

--Dave

Another oxymoron

Hi Dave!

We loved the oxymorons! [From out May, 2008 newsletter --Ed.]

My husband thought of another one:

MILITARY INTELLIGENCE!!

ha, ha!!

Have a great holiday weekend!

Jan

Amen Sister

Your article on trusting neighbors is soo true.

Mike and I are leaving our "Hardeeville" and moving to the 'way out back wilds of NE. 60 acres, and a house in a tiny (pop 125) town. The neighbors and I have already met. They have beef cattle, we are building an underground greenhouse to sell starts and to start our own plants for the garden. We will also run chickens. The neighbors love the idea of a 'barter store' - I provide them with plants, vegetables, and eggs, they provide me with beef. Someone else will be baking bread. What a way to all come together!

It will be good to have neighbors who - unlike our current ones - understand the value of co-operation. Mike and I were going to go off grid anyway with wind turbines - but the town wanted to go off grid and put up turbines, they simply could not afford to buy land. Well, our back hill is the highest point around town, and I have offered it to them for lease in perpetuity in exchange for free electricity! My critters will still be able to wander around the turbines and eat...

Still love your oh-so-practical writings!

Hugs,

Bea Jones

Movies, writing, and life

Dear Claire,

I am...just a little bit...in love with you.

You are the only movie critic that I can totally trust. If you recommend it, I know it is worth watching.

(I had never heard of "Second Hand Lions." It is now one of my top ten.)

Don't tell Duffy, but I've subscribed to BWH since year two. It is a great magazine.

When I must watch television, I'm amazed at the pablum. So much attention is paid to Brittany Spears, Anna Nicole Smith, and now Miley "Hanna Montana" Cyrus. That's scary.

I said long ago that we would see a time when the depression of 29 would look like a cakewalk. I think the time is very close.

But I really think my spoiled nieces in New York deserve a chance to be exposed to "The Girls of Backwoods Home."

I'm thinking about a tasteful calendar with you, Dorathy Ainsworth, and Jackie Clay with dirt on your faces some potatoes around, and a collapsed yurt in the background.

Keep up the good fight

Best wishes

DJ

Thank you

Hello. I just wanted to thank you all for your magazine. I first picked it up at a bookstore in January of this year, not knowing what to expect. WOW! What an amazing magazine. Now I'm hooked. I love Jackie Clay's articles, especially the huge one about keeping chickens. I live in semi-rural Missouri and had never put much thought into self-sufficiency, but your mag really got me thinking.

Now, 4 months since I first picked up Backwoods Home, I have a 15x30 garden tilled, vegetable plants sprouting up indoors, and 4 six week old Rhode Island Red chicks growing like crazy. The self-sufficiency life is so rewarding! Thank you all again for your dedication and I look forward to future issues!

Sincerely,

Adam Allen

Is LED lighting in your future?

Thanks for your articles, I really enjoy them.

In your article Is LED lighting in your future? you fail to mention some important points of LED lighting. White LEDs dim over time. They are much less efficient, as far as light output, than a new compact fluorescent. Although, when compared to a used, worn out CFL it might be fairly even. LEDs still have a huge advantage over tiny incandescents, but they are FAR from cost effective in most applications.

I know people that have replaced every bulb in their house (mostly with CFLs) thinking that they are saving themselves tons of money. Some of these bulbs are on for maybe a total of 2 hours a year, in short on-off times. Instead of teaching people only about the technical, these articles would help most people more if the articles helped people use critical thinking to decide which technology is appropriate for a particular application and how to figure out if they will be saving money in the long run with a change.

One recent discussion (I have had many similar) I had with someone was how to calculate savings of a CFL. He used a 10,000 hour life (yeah, right) that was on a package and the price of the bulb and said he would save some ridiculous amount of money per bulb over it's life. When I pointed out to him that the additional money spent on the bulb is actually costing him more than the purchase price (lost investment income) he said they did not invest. I explained to him that he had a mortgage and could have put the extra money towards that. He was putting these everywhere in his house. I explained to him that the bulbs that were not being used much could be left as incandescents. Possibly putting worn out CFLs in those places when the incan's burned out. I also mentioned that his calculations did not take into account when the lights were being used, much less how much. Since he was connected to the grid, any losses by the incan's could be considered electrically heating the house. If the bulb is used only in the winter, this lowers the total cost of the inefficiencies somewhat. Not entirely of course, unless you heat your home with resistance electric. If it is done in the summer, and you run an air conditioner, then it increases the cost of the inefficiency. Not to mention that the bulbs don't last anywhere near as long as the package says, they dim over time, they can be dangerous when they burn out if not in a proper fixture. Some people put them in enclosed fixtures that can't handle much heat, not realizing that they get very hot when they burn out. Since the CFL is often longer than the bulb a fixture is designed for, it can melt fixtures. I have seen this. Have not seen a fire yet, but a lot of stink. Plus, if in an area with kids, who are likely to tip over a lamp, or otherwise shatter a bulb, you might not want a mercury filled bulb there.

There are always advantages and disadvantages to any decision, and info on these would help people make good decisions.

Personally, almost every bulb in my house is CFL. My electric company, for a short time, was offering a deal on good quality CFLs 6 years ago or so. At that time, these were cheaper, delivered to my door, than the cheap quality ones today are at the discount stores. We only run a few of these for any significant amount of time a year, mostly in the winter. The ones that I used the most either burned out or became way too dim. I moved the dim ones to spots where they were not used as much. I estimated that the ones that burned out had at least 5,000 hours on them. The ones that got dim (about 50% of original) had about the same. Those particular bulbs saved me money over their life. Not a huge amount, but enough. But the ones that I do not use much, will never save enough to make up for their additional costs, even though they were cheap. I feel good about using them, and like the light they put out, so money is not the issue.

Bob L

Posted May 1

Special Preparedness Issue

I am rarely moved to write to a magazine. I have been buying your magazine at retail for a few years now. When my bookstore stopped carrying your magazine I got off the fence and subsribed. I am glad I did. I received your Special Preparedness Issue and read it cover to cover. Usually I find several new interesting bits of information to file in my brain. This issue was chock full of information I knew but the arrangement made sense this time and stuck. Thank You for a great issue.

Jamie Allen
Sacramento, CA

May/June Issue

Mr. Duffy,

Is there a way to purchase additional copies of this month's edition? I'd like five if possible.

Amy Edge

You may order one or more copies from our Back Issues page. At the top of the page is a promotion fro the issue. You can add it to your shopping cart, then change the quantity when viewing the contents of your cart. Or, you can scroll to the bottom of the page to the back issues section, check the left box next to Issue #111, change the quantity in the box on the right, then add it to your cart.

Even easier is to call our toll-free order line at 1-800-835-2418 any weekday from 8 AM to 5 PM Pacific Time.

--Dave

Great Issue Last Month

Dave,

I've been subscribed to your magazine for a few years now and have to say it's the best there is when it comes to homesteading. Just wanted to thank you for a great issue last month. The focus on long term storage of food was exactly what I was looking for. I just bought a small cottage and acreage off the grid in Alaska. In one year I'm heading out to one of the last American frontiers. I'll be near a town the first year and then plan to move to an even more isolated homestead in an remote valley. It's beautiful, but I'll truly be on my own so I'm trying to learn all I can about self-reliance.

I saw you were still offering a free subscription to active duty personnel. Well I've served 10 years and my brother has served 23. He's retiring next year and would love to read your magazine. He's even coming to Alaska with me for the summer to help me get situated. If you're still offering a subscriptions, he'd be very glad to read your magazine. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Charles Baird

Great article!

How to shoot a handgun accurately by Massad Ayoob

Really well written article! I am taking some new shooters with me today which I don't normally do and was looking for some reading material on the best way to explain safety, stance, grip, and technique and this was the best article by far. FYI - I googled "proper stance for firing handguns" and this came up 2nd which is good! Being a long time target shooter, but not an instructor, this is helping me a ton. Nice work!

Cosmo Jones

Repeating mouse trap

Just wanted to say thanks to Allen Easterly for his article Build Your Own Repeating Mouse Trap.

My husband made it easy enough and set it out (in the garage)... caught one within an hour and by morning had two.

Now if they would all just go away!!!! YUK!

Sincerely,

Katharine
Bainbridge Island, WA

Posted April 14

Appreciation

Hello Editors-Publishers

Just yesterday I discovered your publication. So sorry I never found it till now. What an absolutely great effort it is from you people.

I do read so much about the probable tough times ahead, not only for the USA, but also, as a consequence, for Canada and Canadians., too. Your magazine is a great inspiration and mental release from what seems to be a great deal of downer-thought these days.

I am close to seventy years of age, but am partly responsible for raising a ten year old boy, so I am concerned. We live on a nice country property, in a tiny but comfortable self-built log-frame home.

I have spent most of yesterday and today on your site, reading the practical ideas and political commentary. Especially appreciated are the stories of you four friends, and the debates about various issues-especially the constitutional ones. I am somewhat of a maverick-opposed for sure to big-know-it-all-control-it-all-government-people, so your submissions really do "turn my crank."

If things go down the path I foresee, I do wonder how much hope there is for people of my outlook.

One more thing. I think many Americans think all or almost all Canadians are a bunch of socialistic minded pointy heads. I can assure you, that although we have been raised in a country more "socialized" than yours, there are some of us who don't fit the stamp.

I wish all of you the very best, and hope you can stay with it.

Best regards

Dave Colonel
Vanderhoof, B.C.
Canada

Too Much Gun

I think that Mr. Ayoob made some good points in his article about "too much gun". However, I think that he may have oversimplified his points, a bit, especially when it comes to "light loads".

I will confine my comments to 12 gauge shotgun loads.

The 12 gauge shotgun can be a formidable "kicker" and, like Mr. Ayoob, I have seen some pretty "salty" people who were just plain afraid of it. These included some pretty strapping cops who had to qualify with their riot guns. (We won't even go into the stark terror that many female officers have experienced during this part of their firearms qualification!)

However, problems with the 12 gauge have less to do with the gauge than with the loads that are used in it. The 12 gauge does not HAVE to "kill on one end and cripple on the other".

It is true that "heavy" loads like the 3-3/4 dram x 1-1/4 ounce "duck loads" and their equivalents can generate recoil in the "bear rifle class". Not fun to stand, much less sit, behind! These loads can double the "barely tolerable" recoil of an eight pound 30/06. "Bigger" 12-gauge loads, such as the various "Magnum" loads and many rifled slug and buckshot loads can push recoil levels into the "elephant rifle class"!

The 12 gauge is not just a "big loads" proposition, however. There are also a fair number of 12 gauge loads that can beat the 20 gauge at its own game.

Notable examples of such loads are the 12 gauge "target loads". These loads, especially 2-3/4- to 3 dram x 1 1/8 ounce loads (particularly in their "factory" versions that feature hard shot) are much less punishing to the shooter than heavy loads tend to be. These "target loads" and their reloaded equivalents, can be deadly in all but the most specialized applications where lead shot is legal and/or appropriate.

Similar claims can be made for the old 3-1/4 dram x 1-1/4 ounce "live pigeon load", though this load "kicks" a bit more than "target loads do. These old-fashioned loads can be murderously effective and their recoil levels can still be said to (marginally) put them into the "light load" category. These loads more or less duplicate the ballistics of a fair number of 20 gauge 3-inch magnum loads. The 12 gauge loads usually outperform their 20 gauge magnum counterparts, however.

These loads also work very well when larger shot is used though such loads tend to be a "reloading only" proposition. However, when high quality hard shot in appropriate sizes is used in well assembled reloads, these relatively "light" loads can significantly outperform "factory" hunting loads.

However, even "milder" loads can be used with excellent effect. This is a good thing since even many "target loads" can be "a bit much" for some people and conditions. For example, 3 dram x 1 1/8 ounce loads can generate up to 26 foot pounds of recoil in an eight pound gun. This is significantly higher than the 18 foot pounds of recoil that is generated in a 30/06 rifle of the same weight. No wonder so many trap and Skeet shooters come down with "the flinches" after extended shooting of such loads! Even 2 2/4 dram x 1 18 ounce loads can generate recoil in the 30/06 class, which is about all that the most shooters can tolerate and still shoot well.

When one goes to 2-3/4 dram x 1 ounce loads (which have velocities of about 1200 feet per second, or about the same as 3 dram x 1 1/8 ounce loads) recoil becomes a bit more bearable at about 16 foot pounds, or so in eight pound guns. 2 1/2 dram x 1 ounce loads (which generate velocities of about 1145 to 1150 feet per second, or about the same as a 2-3/4 dram x 1 1/8 ounce load) produce recoil levels of about 14 foot pounds in eight pound guns. There are also 7/8 ounce loads in this velocity range that generate even less recoil and which are clearly in the 20 gauge class.

Such "light" 12 gauge loads can be deadly far beyond what most people usually expect. Such loads tend to outperform equivalent 20 gauge loads due to the fact that firing these loads in a 12 gauge results in less shot deformation due to less "setback" and "barrel scrub" and because they tend to be target loads that contain hard shot. It is rare to find 20 gauge guns that can generate the quality of patterns that 12 gauge guns can, even when 20 gauge loads are assembled using hard shot. For example, it is not at all unusual for full-choked 12 gauge guns to be able to shoot 80 % plus patterns at 40 yards with one ounce loads if hard shot is used. These loads, or their reloaded equivalents, can generate pattern counts which very often exceed those of 3-3/4 dram x 1-1/4 ounce "duck loads", which contain the same shot sizes, that are fired in "modified" choked barrels. Such pattern counts are about all but the most demanding pheasant hunters still want and which most waterfowl hunters were more than willing to settle for when they were still allowed to use lead shot.

It is therefore no wonder that "the Brits", who tend to shoot similar, or even lighter, loads in their light 12 gauge "game guns", find Americans' preferences for heavy 12 gauge loads to be a bit perplexing. If lead shot is to be used it is questionable whether the Sturm und Drang of heavy 12 gauge loads is necessary except under the most specialized of conditions. The old British joke about why they call their shotgun ammunition "cartridges" and we call ours "shells" might have merit.

The advantages of "light" 12 gauge loads can be obtained with very little adaptation on the part of the shooter. In loads that generate 1200 feet per second, or so, no adaptation at all is necessary. If one prefers #6 shot in "heavy loads" then light loads loaded with hard #6 shot should work out just fine. Loads that generate less than 1200 feet per second should most likely be used with shot sizes that are about "one higher" than would normally be used in order to assure sufficient pellet energy. For example, if #6 shot is usually preferred in "heavy loads" then hard #5 shot should work well in these "slower" loads.

All "light loads" are not "created equal", however. Many such loads do not offer the same advantages of the loads that have just been described.

Factory "field loads" that feature 3-1/4 dram x 1- to 1 1/8 ounce loads probably should be avoided, if possible. These loads, which generate velocities between 1250 and 1300 feet per second, tend to be "kickers" as compared to "target velocity" loads. These loads often do not pattern especially well, either, due to the fact that they are almost always assembled using soft, low antimony, shot.

Loads in the "Super-Handicap" trap load class, which generate velocities in the 1235 to 1250 feet per second range, on the other hand, can pattern very well if hard shot is used. Like their "field load" cousins they generate pretty "stiff" recoil levels that may or may not compensate for the higher velocities that these loads generate.

The "heaviest light loads" are high velocity Sporting Clays loads and 24-gram International Trap and Skeet loads. Velocities with these loads can range from around 1300 feet per second to as much as 1400 feet per second. These loads can be paradoxical. For some reason the "International" loads often pattern very well even though they generate some pretty high velocities. On the other hand, heavy Sporting Clays loads have been known to "blow" their patterns. As with other "heavy light loads" it is questionable whether these loads' velocities offer the shooter many, if any, advantages except, perhaps, in the most specialized applications.

The 12 gauge offers a lot more than most shooters imagine. When used with "light" loads 12 gauge guns can be very "civilized" yet still very deadly instruments. Unless a given 12 gauge gun is somehow inappropriate for a given set of conditions there is usually no good reason for using anything smaller. In addition there is the 12 gauge's flexibility to consider. It is a lot easier to "load down" a 12 gauge for light work than it is to "load up" a smaller gauge when heavier loads might be required.

John Schedel

Thank You

Thanks,

I have never before heard of you until reading in a Blog today and someone offered up your link on George Mason.

I read every word and learned much that even as an educated man I didn't know. I will continue in my search.

I, as some of your staff, am also a Ron Paul supporter. It is amazing to me whom you meet in that quest.

Thanks again for your enlightenment and you can bet I will be following you folks.

I am now in retirement so I have time for these issues and alas if I lived a "normal" lifestyle I would love to subscribe.

I live on a boat now so I do not have room for magazine's but my trusty computer helps. I will be on this end. Please keep it Coming.

Thanks,

Doc R Hogan

Great magazine

Dave Duffy and staff.

I really enjoy your internet magazine and the articles that I can read. I'm an old retired law enforcement officer who lives on a small pension (law enforcement people were never paid a living wage) and social security). I wish I had the money to subscribe to Backwoods Home Magazine but I don't so I'll keep reading what is available on the internet.

I agree with Dave on the impending depression and I hope that I am prepared or better yet laid to rest (yeah I'm that old). I forward your articles and editorials to friends and acquaintances and particularly my kids in hopes that they will pay attention.

Our Prophet (yes I am a Mormon) admonishes us to be prepared with a years supply of food, water, power etc. and if we pay attention we should be prepared. But, I still am concerned that I am doing enough.

Your articles are very helpful and agreeable. Having been a law enforcement officer for over 30 years and being a firearms instructor I really appreciate and agree with Ayoob. I wish other people could be exposed to his teaching.

Well folks, keep up the good work and I'll continue to support you in my inadequate way.

Regards,

Wes Thayer
Junction City, OR