Listen up, "Sheepdogs"!

 
Listen, dog. We are all "sheep", according to God's Word.  Listen to the words of the prophet Isaiah:
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (53:6)
No matter how much we protector-types fancy ourselves to be "Sheepdogs", and somehow more prepared to deal with the predators of the world (particularly the two-legged kind), make no mistake about it:
In God's eyes, "All we like sheep have gone astray."
Praise the King and Lord of the universe, that HE has mercy on us all!

The Basics

This very secure shoe-tying method has kept my laces snug for years, with no accidental "unties".  It takes a bit of practice, but is great to teach to your kids.  Enjoy!

(Special thanks to Ian's Shoelace Site for the excellent documentation of this excellent knot!)

Venison Report, ongoing...

So, after marinating the meat in my "secret sauce" for about 3 days, I dehydrated it at 170 degrees in my oven (propped open about 1") overnight.  In the morning, I sampled a piece...

...and my face shriveled up like a Fresno raisin.  "Holy antlers, Batman!  That's salty stuff!"  I must have soaked it in the sauce too long, I mourned.

Later that day, I stumbled upon a sample of my friend Michael's venison jerky, and tried a piece.  Now granted, Michael is about as close to a Montana Mountain Man as I'll probably ever meet:  if it can be done in Montana, he's done it.  Twice.  And well.  As the jerky melted in my mouth, making my teeth lazy, all I could think was "Dang that guy!  He got it perfect!  How'd he do it??"

I humbly and embarassingly admitted my failure to Michael last Sunday, in hopes of getting some helpful advice.  When I got to the part about my use of a cup of salt (!) in my "special sauce", he just winced and chuckled a bit.

"What recipe did you use?", he asked.

"Something I got... off of... the... internet...", my voice trailed off, in reply.

More chuckling.  Then a sincerely kind and encouraging smile:

"You know, just a couple tablespoons of salt, or a little bit of soy sauce works much better", he said.

I questioned, "OK, but doesn't that decrease how long the jerky will 'keep'?"

"Well," he smiled (and his eyes lit up like a child's), "with my recipe, I'm not worried about how long the jerky will keep... I worry about how long I can keep the jerky!"

I thought back to how scrumptious that sample was... and how I uncontrollably finished the bag... and I saw his point.

Next time, I'm going with "handed down" preservation recipes... not Googled ones.

Have a great week!

Tip of the Week

This one comes to us from the New Life on a Homestead blog.  I pray you never need this one, but just in case you do:

The Easiest Way To Clean Vomit From Carpet

What am I listening to today?

Today, I'm learning about setting up "Bug-Out Land" from Jack Spirko at The Survival Podcast.  For those of you who are looking into preparing a piece of land for "leaner times", this will definitely give you lots to think about.  Enjoy!

http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/hands-off-self-sufficient-bol

Venison Report, cont'd

Well, here's the meat: sliced thinly and soaking in the "special sauce" for 3-4 days...

Have We Reached the Cultural, Moral, and Political Tipping Point of No Return?

The time is NOW. If you have not removed your children from the statist indoctrination programs (deceptively called "public schools"), MAKE IT HAPPEN!

It doesn't bother me that some who read this will think me extreme. Nothing is neutral, LEAST of all education. "Education" = DISCIPLESHIP... who's discipling YOUR children?

"Conservatives have been trying to save the public (government) schools for more than 50 years. We’ve been on defense for 50 years while educational budgets have grown, the schools have gotten more statist, and the graduates (when they do graduate) become spokesmen for the State. Yes, I know there are exceptions. But there aren’t enough of them, and there never will be."

Have We Reached the Cultural, Moral, and Political Tipping Point of No Return?

Monday Musings

You know, you just don't know how much you can do with less, until you have to... A blessing in disguise, eh?

In order to Cut Commuting Costs*, I've been taking public transportation to and from work, most days. 

The up-sides?
1)  I save about $8 a day (even more when I buy a monthly pass).
2)  My family can have the option of using our only vehicle during the day, instead of being necessarily house-bound.
3)  I don't have to worry about hitting a deer.  (I've done that at least once since moving to Montana.)
4)  I can take a nap (depending on #2, below, of course).
5)  I get to meet local folks that I otherwise wouldn't.
6).  I can thumb-type blog posts from my phone.
7)  I can read.

The down-sides?
1)  It turns my 1-hour commute into a 2-hour commute, so I don't get home til 6pm.
2)  I'm at the mercy of Ernie-the-Shuttle-Driver's musical tastes, which usually center around crude 80's/90's hard rock.
3).  There's just no comfortable way to nap on that shuttle.
4).  It's too noisy to be able to call old friends on the phone.

* (My 11-year-old daughter (the "Munchkin") and I have been having fun with alliteration lately.)

• • • • • • • •

Tonight, I hope to accomplish 2 things in my quest for greater preparedness against the unforeseen.  First, I'll begin designing and building shelves between the studs of our crawlspace, where the temperature, year-round, hovers right around 52°F -- perfect for long-term storage!  It'll be our ad hoc root cellar.  Second, I'll be marinating some of that venison I told you about, in order to make deer jerky.  If it turns out well, I'll probably process most of it that way... except the "backstraps", which, I'm told, are the choicest cuts.

Now, we currently live in a duplex at the east edge of town, about 1/2 mile from the majestic Flathead River, but our dwelling is a far cry from the "off-grid" house-in-the-woods we dream of constructing in the near future.  Still, we are not letting that stop us from being as prep-minded as possible... and it shouldn't stop you, either, no matter what kind of place you call home.  Do something this week to work toward preparing for the unforeseen.  Go fishing, and smoke what you catch (providing it is edible, of course).  Learn how to "can" some applesauce, or whatever.  Try your hand at processing small game meat (rabbit, grouse, etc).  Practice tying knots you learned from the internet.

What will you do to prepare, this week?  Post a comment below, and let all the A.D.L. readers know how your efforts turned out... And remember:  Anything worth doing, is worth doing poorly (at first)!  In other words...

Don't be afraid to fail.