Keeping Going

Last time I talked about what I feel is going to happen and how anyone who has not started to prepare should do about it. I strictly covered food in the last post as I believe it is the most important item that can be prepared for. I personally feel that a portion of that food should be hidden as when (not if) martial law is declared, it will be illegal to hoard food. At that point the government will decide what hoarding is. I have heard different numbers thrown around with most of them being between three days and two weeks. 

I am going to talk a little more about food here. What I want to talk about this time is the gathering of wild food. This can mean anything from gathering plants for salads and vegetables to getting meat for the table. First of all, no matter where you are there are edible plants to be gathered. If you live in a city, you can find parks where there are private areas where a person can gather plants without being seen by the authorities or other park users. Even your own yard has many edible plants if you do not poison everything with commercial weed killers and fertilizers. Dandelions and plantain are two very common plants that many people call weeds that are very palatable. Young dandelion leaves and young plantain are both excellent salad greens. Dandelion roots can be dug, dried and used as a coffee substitute. I currently have a couple containers of acorns in my freezer. I am going to shell them and grind them up and in the spring when the dandelions start I am going to gather some roots and dry them. I will then mix the two and make an excellent coffee substitute. I do not remember the percentage of each to make the mixture, so when I experiment and find it again I will put it the recipe in a post on this blog. My advice is to go on line and find out what plants are in your area that can be eaten and then either purchase a good field guide or check one out of the library and go out and see what you can find. You may not want to pick these plants at this time but you need to at least be able to identify them when the time comes.

Hunting, fishing and trapping are also things that you should be able to do. Most areas have some fishing areas available. Many of these are close at hand. Just because the only thing that are there are carp or some other so called "trash fish" do not overlook them. Carp, suckers and many other non-game fish are excellent eating if prepared correctly. I normally go out and catch a few carp in the spring for pickling and smoking. However I have fried, broiled and baked them and they are not that bad. In Europe, carp is the number one game fish and is eaten all of the time. Another thing that can be done about anywhere to put meat on the table is hunting and trapping. Two of my grandsons live in a city of some sixty thousand and trap squirrels and rabbits all of the time. They do it with a live trap right in their own backyard. When I lived in a suburb of Chicago I regularly shot squirrels in my back yard. How did I do it? I used an air rifle. There is no noise and if you are careful, the neighbors will never know what you did. 

There are a lot of ways to obtain food in the wild. Those of you who can get out and get hunting in the rural areas can provide most of your own meat. I know that even now my wife and I live mostly on venison. We cannot afford to purchase the expensive meats in the store. If you live in the country you should be living on rabbit, squirrel, venison, grouse, pheasant and any other wild game that is in season. You should also be picking and eating as much wild plants as possible. Getting used to eating that type of a diet now will only help you when it becomes a necessity; and it will. 

When it comes to fishing, all you read in the outdoor magazines is catch and release. Well, I like to catch and eat. That is one of the reasons that I do not go after the popular game fish. I go after white bass and other smaller fish that are easier to catch and people expect you to keep. That way I can put some in my freezer and not have to pay six dollars a pound at the supermarket. As I said earlier, carp is not a bad fish to eat. Besides smoking and pickling them I can some of them and can then use them for fish patties and similar recipes. That is one of the secrets of survivalism, using things that so-called normal people do not think about using or feel that using some of them is beneath them. 

I hope this week's entry gives some of you some ideas. That is what I am attempting to do, plant ideas so that when the time comes you will have the survival skills you need. Now, before they are required, is the time to practice those survival skills. Trying to learn while you are starving is not the thing you want to do. Next time I am going to go a little deeper into hunting and fishing and perhaps a little on trapping. Until then: practice your skills and "SURVIVE"!!!!

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http://www.therealamericanpolitics.blogspot.com