The Roundup

While there are plenty of prepper sites on the web I decided to link to the Fed’s site for the basics. Ready asks you to “do four key things: (1) stay informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses (2) make a family emergency plan and (3) build an emergency supply kit, and (4) get involved in your community by taking action to prepare for emergencies.”

Julia Solis has been photographing abandoned buildings and underground spaces for 20 years. She is also a writer, event organizer and curator. Check out her site to find out how she blends all of these interests.

“In the decades around 1600, the astrologers Simon Forman and Richard Napier produced one of the largest surviving sets of medical records in history. The Casebooks Project, a team of scholars at the University of Cambridge, has transformed this paper archive into a digital archive.” A fascinating and addicting look into what was considered medical treatment during that time period. Selected Cases In Full “transcribed the full text of several hundred cases and grouped them by theme. These transcriptions are intended to be read alongside the edition and the images of the manuscripts on the full Casebooks website.”

The Soil and Health Library “provides free downloadable e-books about radical agriculture, natural hygiene/nature cure and self-sufficient homestead living. There are secondary collections involving social criticism and transformational psychology.”

Spring Continues

This is our first spring on the acreage (we did not begin moving until the end of July last year) and we have enjoyed observing the flora wake up around the place. All along the front yard are lilacs, and next to the garage is an ornamental tree that had beautiful red blossoms. A couple of windy days filled the air with the helicopter seeds from the maples. There are large amounts of tiny cones on the pine trees, and I don’t know if it is normal or not that they have so many. The variety of butterflies is surprising, as we had very few in the city, while out here we see them everyday. There are a wide assortment of birds here: robins, sparrows, grackles, finches, blackbirds, orioles, thrashers, a chicken hawk and a bald eagle. We had two squirrels, but I have only seen one in the last few weeks, so maybe the hawk got it. We had two rabbits living under the machine shed but the hawk got one of those. The eagle carried away a dead possum that was on the road the other day after the turkey vultures had picked at it for awhile. The toads will croak day and night when there is water in the ditches, but are quiet when they dry up. All the farm fields around us are planted and the crops are coming up. We planted a small vegetable garden with tomatoes, green beans, green peppers and cauliflower, and if it goes well this year we will most likely expand it next year. We have taken in a fugitive, but everything is fine. Our daughter could not keep her husky mix dog Steve anymore because he kept running off and upsetting neighbors. Finally the town council told her the next time would bring a $1,000 fine, so she asked if we would take him. Our dog Marley was already familiar with Steve and they get along fine. A few times I have seen Steve walk out to the road and stare off for a few minutes in all directions. Seeing there is nowhere for him to go, he trots back into the yard of his little island in the country. Time will tell if his wanderlust carries him away.

Website Review: Mother Earth News

“The most popular and longest-running sustainable-lifestyle magazine, Mother Earth News provides wide-ranging, expert editorial coverage of organic foods, country living, green transportation, renewable energy, natural health, and green building.” That is from their about page and sums up the magazine pretty well. I have subscribed to the free newsletter they offer for years now and a sampling of articles I saved in my favorites include topics such as how to build a raised garden box, making aged cheese at home, wilderness survival cooking, fermenting and how to choose the best tools for an acreage. The website offers DIY projects, gardening tips, recipes, videos, podcasts, how to articles for homesteaders, livestock advice and much more. Check it out, and don’t forget the free newsletter.

Green Bean and Potato Skillet

This recipe will put to great use the fresh green beans from your garden or farmers market.

Ingredients:

One large handful of fresh green beans, cut to 2 inch lengths

Half a package of bacon, cut to two inch lengths

Four red potatoes, diced

One Vidalia onion, diced

Salt and pepper and Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning to taste

Instructions: Add all ingredients to an electric skillet or a cast iron skillet, top off with water and cook on medium until green beans and potatoes are tender. You might need to add more water during the cooking process. Instead of bacon we have used sliced kielbasa. Add during the last ten minutes of cooking.

Vase and Sun

Once a month I highlight a piece of art I have created and posted on my Fine Art America site. This one is titled Vase and Sun, from the Abstract Art Collection. It is chalk pastel and marker on paper.

Charles Bukowski

Mickey Rourke is one of my favorite 1980’s actors. When I saw him in the movie Barfly I thought his performance was mesmerizing. I had never heard of the real life poet and author he was playing a version of, Charles Bukowski. Several years later I came across Bukowski’s name again and a reference to Barfly, and decided to learn more about him. Bukowski lived from 1920 to 1994, much of that time in Los Angeles. He worked odd jobs, was a letter carrier for a while then a clerk at the post office. He wrote poetry on the side, getting published in avant garde magazines and by small presses. Eventually he gave riotous poetry readings and wrote a newspaper column. Black Sparrow Press gave him his big break, publishing his writing from 1969 on. I have read four of his novels and lost count of how many of his poetry collections I have enjoyed. Trying to sum up why I like reading him so much is hard, maybe because you have to admit you have enjoyed living vicariously in his slobby, drunken, violent, wasteland of a world. At the same time you are treated to such honesty, beauty, longing and tenderness in his writing that the contradictions almost seem impossible to be contained in the same man. He claimed he would have to wait for the muse to come to him and inspire his writing. “Don’t try,” was his advice on creativity. It is the epitaph on his tombstone.

The Roundup

I subscribed to the Taste of Home newsletter just a few months ago and I have been overwhelmed by recipes and cooking ideas. When they bundle a type of recipe to include in their mailing it will have 10 to 100 varieties. (example: 55 Chicken Skillet Recipes) You can use the recipes as is or cobble together your own version from the many they offer. A site worth your attention.

“The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. We are a community of learning and the opener of doors. Join us on a voyage of discovery in person or learn and explore online.” I have been a reader of their excellent magazine for years. You can subscribe to their free newsletter here.

Artcyclopedia is searchable database of 9,000 listed artists, 2,900 indexed art sites and 160,000 links to other sites. You can search by name, artwork title or art museums.

I think I remember reading some movie reviews years ago by Joe Bob Briggs, but I had not thought of him since then. Somehow I recently rediscovered him and have really been enjoying his writing. He offers much more than that on his offical site.

Have a good weekend!

Camping Checklist

My old F-150 truck with camper at one of our favorite camping spots

I first went camping as a small child in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s with my parents and siblings, but I don’t remember much. A good friend and I picked it up as adults in the early 1980’s, learning most everything from scratch, slowly assembling needed equipment. By the time my wife and I began camping with our kids we had all of the basics, but continued to add and upgrade. A camping checklist became a must for us for planning and packing, and the list was refined and revised multiple times over the years. The following is the basic, early version of the list. Other lists we use today are very detailed and run several pages.

Camping Checklist

—-FOOD —-TENT —-SLEEPING BAG —-BACKPACK/DAY PACK

—-MATCHES/LIGHTER —-BOW SAW —-CHOW KIT —-CLOTHES

—-COOLER —-HUNTING KNIFE —-POCKET KNIFE —-HATCHET/AX

—-FISHING GEAR —-COOZIE —-MAPS/TRAVEL INFO —-LANTERN

—-FLASHLIGHT —-CAMPING STOVE —-FIRST AID KIT —-BAIT

—-BUG SPRAY —-COOKING GEAR —-BANDANNA —-HAT —-SOAP

—-TOILET PAPER —-TOOTHBRUSH & PASTE —-WASHCLOTH

—-DEODORANT —-TOWEL —-RAIN GEAR —-PLATES/CUPS —-BODA

—-FOIL —-CHARCOAL —-STARTER FLUID —-ARMY SHOVEL

—-RADIO —-CAMERA/FILM —-BATTERIES —-BINOCULARS

—-FOLDING CHAIR —-THERMOS —-COFFEE/POT —-COMPASS

—-FIRST AID KIT —-WATCH —-SWIMSUIT

With the exception of “Camera/Film” it is still a pretty solid list to build from. Get outside this weekend!

The Buck List

I started a blog in September of 2008 named The Buck List, about saving and making money. Blogging was a new experience, one I had to figure out as I went along. I assumed the pseudonym of Buck Weber, because I was not brave enough yet to use my real name on the internet. The name came from making or saving a Buck, on the Web. I eventually developed a writing schedule, and stuck to it, modifying as the blog continued. I monetized the blog, learned about SEO, keywords, and so on. I commented on other blogs and websites, featured other sites, hosted guest writers, entered blog carnivals, and in general engaged with my niche internet community. I had a great time, thinking up new angles on subjects, creating series, linking here and there, and writing regularly. Gradually the burnout crept up on me and by June of 2011 I was done writing within the self imposed confines of personal finance. I was not enjoying it anymore and I decided if I would ever undertake this kind of thing again it would be more wide ranging; I would write about whatever I wanted.

So check out the old blog, I think there is some good stuff there. And I hope you return to this one, because there is much more to come.

Osborn’s Checklist

AF Osborn originated brainstorming, and created this checklist to help with the process.

The Checklist:

Put to other uses? As it is?… If modified?..

Adapt? Is there anything else like this? What does this tell you? Is the past comparable?

Modify? Give it a new angle? Alter the colour, sound, odour, meaning, motion, and shape?

Magnify? Can anything be added, time, frequency, height, length, strength? Can it be duplicated, multiplied or exaggerated?

Minify? Can anything be taken away? Made smaller? Lowered? Shortened? Lightened? Omitted? Broken up?

Substitute? Different ingredients used? Other material? Other processes? Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice? Someone else?

Rearrange? Swap components? Alter the pattern, sequence or layout? Change the pace or schedule? Transpose cause and effect?

Reverse? Opposites? Backwards? Reverse roles? Change shoes? Turn tables? Turn other cheek? Transpose ‘+/-‘?

Combine? Combine units, purposes, appeals or ideas? A blend, alloy, or an ensemble?