"Sweet Dreams are made of this..."

The gear arrives on site, brought by "The Bee Man"

More than three years ago, before we moved to Montana, the dream was planted in our oldest daughter's heart to pursue beekeeping as a hobby.  If I remember correctly, she mentioned it casually in a conversation one day.  That week, I grabbed a book from the library for her — "Beekeeping for Dummies", I think (though she's certainly no dummy).  From that point on, she began a voracious appetite for knowledge about bees... an "independent study program", if you will.  So naturally, upon arriving in these wide open spaces, she wanted to take the plunge and acquire a colony of her own, ASAP.  Being big fans of local honey, the Dear Bride and I agreed we would help her pursue the matter, in God's timing.

As it turned out, we have become acquainted with a wonderful family with much experience in the the Bee-o-sphere (among many other skills like canning/preserving, gardening, etc).  The Dad is someone I also happen to work with at my job with the Martin City Water District, near Glacier National Park.  Anyway, to make a long story short, this "Bee Man" (not his real name, of course :-) has hooked us up with his supplier, and our adventurous daughter now has her own colony!

The two boxes with the removable frames inside, will make up Emily's hives.  The other box — the screened one with the can of sugar syrup in the middle — will be discarded once the colony is transferred to the hives.

The queen was lucky enough to get her own little "travel suite" for the journey, which the workers are quick to cluster around

Look closely... the queen inside the box has a green dot on her back, indicating that she's young, and ready to do her job.

Getting ready to shake them in

The stragglers need a little more persuasion

Mama and the girls look on...

Emily is fearless!  :-O

Looks like the girls want to join F.B.K.A....

"Future Bee Keepers of America"  :-)

"If you build it, they will come."

 The next day, we went to check on "the ladies" to see if their queen had situated herself... She had!  The weather was cold and breezy, which helped calm the hive, it seemed.

Congratulations, dear daughter.

An Open Letter to My Younger Self -- Part 1

A while ago, I heard a song that (barring a few crass references) got me thinking about the last couple decades of my life.  Now, I'm only 44, and that hardly qualifies for large quantities of reminiscence.  Still, since I can't change my past, the best I can do is pass on what little wisdom I may have acquired.

I must first make a few disclaimers:

• I am a follower of Jesus Christ, and I believe that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God.
• I grew up in a broken home.
• I am a veteran of the U.S. Army.
• I have never been financially wealthy.
• I spent the majority of my "career years" as a pastor of worship for modern evangelical churches.
• I have willingly left that line of work, nearly 2 years ago.
• I have never started or maintained my own business.
• I have spent most of my life in Southern California, but am now a grateful "transplant" to Northwestern Montana.

OK, on with the program.  So as to refrain from the appearance of judgmentalism, I will address this letter to my 18-year-old self.  Some of these points, I have done.  Others, I wish I had.  Those of you who know me will know which is which.

Without further adieu...

________________

Don't even think about going into debt for a college education: Unless you're going after becoming a corporate attorney (perish the thought!) or hit the lottery, that monstrous obligation will haunt you for DECADES to come.  (Notice how I didn't say "become a doctor".  I'd sooner go through life with my hands tied behind my back and a leash around my neck.  Same thing.)  No, spend your youth EARNING a living.  Even a modest income, properly stewarded, is better than spending buckets of borrowed capital on a slip of paper (a "degree") which probably won't mean a darn thing in the world you will see unfolding.  Don't pay to learn... GET PAID to learn a business or trade.  Then, become the leader.

Learn to MAKE or BUILD things.  DO something with the energy of your youth.  Pursue a career and life-path that will allow to you to step back from your efforts and say, "Look at THAT.  I made that.  I'm responsible for that coming to be."  There is a world looming in the distance which will not be friendly to those who cannot build a dwelling, cultivate a vegetable garden, hunt and prepare one's own meat and stitch up a wound.  Spend a significant amount of time and energy learning how to survive in the wilderness.  Be willing to do things, to solve problems, which most other people will avoid.  There is tremendous value in that.

Stay in shape.  Don't let yourself become lazy or complacent in the area of physical fitness.  Stay strong.  Create a lifelong habit of physical exertion.  You never know when you're going to have to run harder, swim farther, climb higher, or carry more than you ever thought you could.  Be ready.

Buy fertile, wooded land as soon as you possibly can.  Build a modest, simple, small and smart home on it, BEFORE you marry.  If you can do this, without getting bogged down in debt (preferably debt-free), you will alleviate yourself of the "life of quiet desperation" which Thoreau warned against.

Marry a woman whose Bible is worn out from use, and who is beautifully contented with the simple life God gives her.  A woman who spends very little on the things which mean little, and who is not afraid to pay cash-on-the-barrel for things that will last for decades (Proverbs 31).  Pour all of your manly love and affection into her alone, and don't waste your character on pursuing anyone else -- not even the thought of anyone else (Matthew 5:28).  And marry young.  Start having children (lots of them) as soon as possible.  Do not ever say something diabolically foolish, like "I don't know if we can afford to have any more than 2 children."  Be fruitful.  Multiply.  Trust God that He is better at providing for you and your family's needs than you will ever be.

Don't get comfortable in this life.  This world is not -- I repeat, NOT -- your home, if you have wisely and rightfully put your trust, your very life in the hands of King Jesus.  Be ready to say, "Where He leads me, I will follow.  What He feeds me, I will swallow."

Learn how to get along with all kinds of people.  Make the Golden Rule your life's theme.

_________

Well, it's getting late and I'm getting sleepy.  Perhaps there will be a Part 2 to this post.

What would you say to someone much younger than you?  Leave a comment below.

Does the Bible teach Disarmament?

It is my assertion that the Scriptures do not teach disarmament.  Here is a concise compendium of Biblical teaching on the matter, thanks to Mercy Seat Church in Wisconsin:

http://www.mercyseat.net/gunapologetic.html

The Deer-Slayers??

Last Saturday, my oldest kids and I got our first taste of deer hunting.  Now I had shot, dressed and cooked wild rabbit back in SoCal, but I never had to don camouflage to do so... pretty much just watched out the backyard.  In fact, for the first 40 years of my life, I had never hunted anything.  (Fishing, yes, but never hunting.)  But in the last few years I started to awaken to just how metropolitan my existence had been, heretofore, and to how necessary it will likely become for me to become adept at procuring and processing my family's meat supply.  Hence, my interest in hunting and trapping what seemed to be the most plentiful game in North San Diego County -- rabbits.

But now, I was in Big Sky Country.  Deer country.  Elk country.

I started to think about how super-gnarly it'd be to go out an bag some animal that weighs more than I do.  So, as soon as the ink dried on my Montana driver's license, I took these two great kids (my oldest kids, in the pic) and my dear bride and signed us up for Hunter Education.  A few months later here we were, out with some local friends, on the lookout for whitetail west of Marion.  The weather was fine, and the "rut" (the mating season) was nearly at its peak, so I'd been told.  So by all accounts, it was reasonable to expect a fair amount of deer sightings... easy pickings, right?

Well, not so much.  (I know, I was probably ridiculously naive about the whole process.)  Notice something conspicuously absent from our picture?  (And no, I'm not referring to my son's hunter-orange vest.  He had it off only in transit from one hunting site to another.)  Turns out a couple of us only saw a couple of deer way off in the distance, toward the very end of the day... to far to go after, so late in the game.  So it was with no small sense of disappointment and frustration that we closed out the day empty-handed.  Since the season ends this Sunday, I was mentally preparing myself for a freezer devoid of venison this year.  I was gearing up to learn as much as I could about making next year's outing more productive.

Then, my friend Dave (who took us out last Saturday) called me today, saying he had an extra deer he was willing to give us: we just needed to come over and cut it up into pieces small enough to get home. So it turns out that we'll get the "processing" experience before the "procuring" part.  The hand of Providence can work in peculiar ways, sometimes.

More pictures to come, next time...

Something that encouraged me today...

...I hope it encourages you, too:

Letter Re: The Larger Questions

OTG News... a great resource

I've been reading/listening to Off The Grid News' newsletter and podcasts for a few years now, and although they are a business (from which I receive no financial interest), and do have to sell products in order to stay in business, I have come to appreciate them as not only a reputable source of preparedness products and services, but advocates of sound and very practical Biblical theology, as well.

Therefore, I would like to wholeheartedly recommend their resources and reports to you, dear reader.  Please do yourself and your family a favor, and educate yourself in these areas.  You won't regret it, I promise.

Let's Do Some Reading!

Howdy friends!

Here are two articles I just printed, and plan to read with the Mrs. in the next day or two:

• "Food Forest Gardens", by Jason T.
• "Exchanging Fear for Fear" by Kevin DeYoung

Will you read them with me, and add your comments, below?  Thanks!

Dandy Lions

This week, I've been assigned the monumentally important, earth-shaking task of... cleaning up around the shop.  You know — spray weeds, demolish old fences, etc.  Now I must confess that my thinking is being radically altered in the way of re-purposing old materials: I'm attempting to always think outside the box ("O-T-B") when it comes to "de-comissioned resources", so to speak.  But make no mistake: I'm not a disciple of the Anthropogenic Climate Change movement (AKA "Global Warming").  Too many slippery slopes into pantheism and too much bad science, yessir.  However, I do try to practice what Yahweh commands humankind to do in Genesis 1:28 — "...replenish the earth, and subdue it..." (KJV).  Perhaps "replenishing the earth" implies that in order to continue to enjoy the earth's natural resources (water, wood, plant life, minerals, etc.), we ought to squeeze every bit of good that we can out of whatever it is we're working with, and not be quick to discard things, as is the custom of our wildly-consumerist culture here.  Anyway, back to our story.

I was getting ready to spray the unwelcome "weeds", when I realized that the plants in question were mostly dandelions.  Now even a cursory search for the health benefits of dandelions will reveal that they are far more useful than they are given credit for.  And these particular dandelions had the healthiest, most perfect leaves I have ever seen on such a plant.  I mean, they grew en masse back in North San Diego, but they always seemed a little dingy and dirty — not something you'd want to throw on a salad.  But these... well, they were Montana dandelions.  'Nuff said.

Before spraying the doomed shrubbery, I clipped the leaves and soaked them in some hand soap for a while.  After I tackled that pesky fence for a while (recovering about half of those 2x4's and 2x6's for building a square foot garden, later), I came back and rubbed, rinsed and dried the dandelion leaves.  Man, are they pretty!  Check these out:

The Dear Wife and the kiddos will be joining me for lunch today, and I plan to impress them with my scavenging/gardening/re-purposing "skillz".  Now, what will YOU do today, to think "O-T-B" and re-purpose something?  "Leave" (pun intended) a comment, if you will.

Have a blessed day, friends.

Update:  I just ate a couple of the leaves, and they are a little on the bitter side, at first, but the after-taste mellows quickly, leaving the satisfaction of knowing how happy my liver will be to receive them.  ;-)

A Happy Accident

In my last post (which, admittedly, might have been a bit confusing), I forgot to go into detail about a single event which really made the whole evening as memorable as it was.

Sunday afternoon, "The Puff" (our nearly-6-year-old girl) was successfully wrestling with the bike she inherited from her 10-year-old sister ("Munchkin").  The "Man-Cub" (13-year-old son) was using a jump-rope to hitch a ride ─ on his inline skates ─ from Munchkin on her bike (which she inherited from her 15-year-old sister, SweetPea).  I think the Dear Bride was pulling out some dead flowers from the planter in front of our porch, and little Miss Cougar Bait (our 2½-year-old) was napping.  It was a GLORIOUS Montana Spring day, and it was shaping up to be a nearly perfect evening, as well.  So, determining that we should stay up late and enjoy it (the sun sets around 9:15pm, presently), I started packing the car for a little outdoor cook-out on our future homestead land (more on that, later).

Knowing that we should cook up the 4 trout the kids caught the day before, I grabbed our cast-iron griddle


and our propane camp stove


and our "fire bucket" (a 5-gal bucket & lid from Home Depot, stocked with everything I need to get a fire going; doubles as a seat).  We arrived at "The Refuge" ─ our working title for the homestead ─ at about 6pm, meeting my parents and my Uncle there.  My Uncle Dave was towing his restored Airstream trailer (a beauty!), which he was going to set up on the property.  We all made it safely up the driveway (which was rocky but dry, with a 9% incline), and by the time we had parked and leveled the trailer, we were all getting hungry.  So I broke out the camp stove, found my bottle of propane...

...and realized we had left the propane pipe (the part that connects the fuel to the stove) back at the house.

RATS!

After my Dear Bride and I blinked at each other in disbelief for a few minutes, I had an epiphany:

The early homesteaders didn't use propane!!

I rifled through my fire bucket and found some old dryer lint (makes a suitable fire starter), a lighter and my folding "pack grill".

(Yes, I know the early homesteaders didn't have these things, either; but hey, "baby steps".)

The kids helped me round up some rocks for a makeshift fire ring and voilá: Instant Primitive Grill:

The trout turned out GREAT, thanks to my pioneer woman (who later grilled up some potates in bacon grease).

Special thanks to my Uncle, who brought his formidable trout-filleting skills to bear on the feast.  (We had also brought along some hot dogs, in case the fish idea bombed.)  Everyone had plenty to eat, and Miss Cougar Bait kept clamoring for "more fishy".  :-)

After we topped everything off with some homemade Choco-chip cookies (thanks, SweetPea and Munchkin), I found myself thanking the Lord for the happy accident of not being able to use propane.  The outdoor fire pit was much more authentic.  We didn't get home until after 10pm that night... and little Miss Cougar Bait talked excitedly and incessantly, the whole way home.

Something tells me we'll be getting to bed much later during the warmer months, when the sun lingers outside until well after 10pm.  The seasonal life is the life for me.

Metamorphosis

In a previous post, I mentioned that I would be digging up some stuff that was deep in my heart, at the prompting of my lovely bride, who knows all my vulnerabilities.  Yes, it's very easy for me to go on rants about the sordid State of our Union — there is, after all, so much to rant about!  But she behooved me to dig a little deeper, and be a little more transparent.

Now, my brain usually "flits about" on quite a number of subjects during any given day, so please be patient with my feeble attempts at a cohesive train of thought.  No promises.

---------------

Sometimes, the weight of being the leader of a family of 7 overwhelms me, and like any red-blooded person, I tend to look for harmless little "steam valves" to let off some of the pressure.  As I have always been a notoriously pragmatic guy, I don't often find myself getting lost in the most popular fantasy-fiction novels or spending any time on video games — the later of which I have already squandered enough of my youth on.  Occasionally, the Mrs. & I will take in a film at the cinema, although we choose to "screen" our film choices (pun intended) through rigorous review before we even set foot in the theatre.  Without going into too much more detail, I find that my "steam valve options" are not only limited in scope (a scant subset of the world's available diversions), but they also seem few and far between.  After all, large blocks of free-time simply aren't to be had, in good conscience, at this stage of my life.

So, I try to take mini mental vacations whenever the moment affords me the opportunity.  Maybe listening to a new alt-bluegrass recording in the car on the way to work, or checking out a ton of library books on country living or affordable (read: non-conventional) building techniques.  Maybe indulging in post-collapse fiction novels like this and this.  Sometimes, blogging helps.  But there are things I can't escape, nor would I.

I am undergoing a metamorphosis.  I used to be defined by words like:

• pastor
• music theory buff
• guitarist
• obnoxious
• ice cream (OK, I'm still defined by that one)

These days, I want to identify with other words, like:

• homesteader
• hunter
• history buff
• writer
• gardener
• quiet
• tanner (not this kind, but this kind)

I'm becoming more and more convinced that "city-life" (with its ever-present cultural trappings) represents nothing more than an intrusive and undesirable buffer between me and the Lord of all creation.  I mean, doesn't it seem as though most of the parables Jesus presented, about the Kingdom of God, are told from an agrarian, rural context?  To the extent that I am immersed in the city, the culture of "Babel", I am woefully unable to experientially(?) grasp many of the meanings deep within these amazing revelations.  In other words, the Parable of the Sower (Luke 8:4-8) means very little to an X-box-loving, Harry-Potter-watching, American-Idol-chasing city-dweller.  But to a homesteader or gardener, who grows his family's food from the ground, it's loaded with deep meaning and diverse implications.  I want my life — and the lives of my immediate family members — to reflect the anchored life of a Christ-following agrarian.  Communion with the Lord can be much richer, here, and diabolical distractions be seen for what they are.  I want to see the word "harvest" and not automatically think of an arena festival featuring Greg Laurie.  I want to know exactly where the meat I'm eating comes from, and how it was processed.  I want to be prepared to survive and thrive, when — not if — our customary food distribution system is interrupted.

I want to be free from consumer debt.

Now, I can't seem to rid myself of the fundamental need to prepare for the undesirable (and inevitable) outcome of the direction of this generation.  So, if you have an aversion to anything that smells like "preparedness", you can stop reading here, and I will consider myself honored by your time in reading thus far.

-----------

There is a prophet in our home church fellowship, whose name is Mike, he's probably in his early 60's.  I must confess that when I first got to know him, I was childishly perturbed at how much scripture he could just rattle off from memory... it was (and is) astounding and humbling, and my flesh didn't like being humbled by his example, not one little bit.  He is an otherwise meek and soft spoken individual, but every Sunday, when the Word of the Lord comes out from him like a fire shut up in his bones, people sit up and take notice.  And rightly so.  I feel the Lord is speaking to us through Mike's exhortations to stay right with the Lord, and to be prepared for a "storm" of global proportions.  Did the Lord bring us here to the Flathead Valley, to this local home fellowship (and away from mega-churches), for the specific purpose of verbally confirming the compulsion we first felt by the Holy Spirit to move to the American Redoubt?  I believe so.  After all, "we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor.5:7).  Thanks, Mike, for reminding me of this.  And thanks for being a mentor to me, whether you are aware of it or not.

There are SO many signs along our path, that lead me to believe that the Lord is moving our family (sometimes kicking and screaming) into a life of voluntary simplicity, of Biblical agrarianism.  I know this will not happen overnight, but I am convinced that the Lord is working in all things to move us in that direction.

[Now, here comes the proselytising.  I can't shut up the fire, no sir.]

If you have even the slightest inkling that what I'm saying is compelling you to your own action toward this path, I exhort you to take whatever steps you can take, immediatley — however small.  And keep on taking them.  Don't ever lose sight of the seed-of-a-vision that God is planting in your heart.  Keep watering it with the Word, "watch and pray", and keep your powder dry, as they say.

The Last Pilgrims

Today, on of my favorite "indie" (independent) authors, Michael Bunker, is promoting his latest novel by hosting what he calls a "book bomb" on Amazon.  This is when an author attempts to promote their book by driving as customers as he can toward buying his book on Amazon, therby raising the "ranking" of the book, which in turn makes the book more popular and prominent Amazon.  I can't think of any more successful way for an independent author to make a widespread impact with their work, without the fat coffers of major book distributors.

It's like granola for your mind.  Especially in this case.

Mr. Bunker is a theologian and historian, in equally high capacities.  Having read his recent book "Surviving Off Off-Grid" (no, that's not a typo), I can't overstate how the Lord has used his writings to positively impact my life and increase my faith.  Now, his much-anticipated novel "The Last Pilgrims" is available for sale, and buying it today will help his efforts to reach a wider audience with some much-needed and truthful perspective on today's global and national culture.  Much like JWR's "Patriots", "The Last Pilgrims" promises to be both entertaining and highly-educational.

Remember, "Leaders are Readers"... buy your copy of "The Last Pilgrims" TODAY ("book bomb day").  And please leave a comment to this post, if you did.

God bless your day.

FREE Food-Grade buckets...

...I gleaned from a local grocery store bakery.

Great for long-term food storage.

Ask, and ye shall receive!

"Urban Danger" - the movie

My dear bride and I are so diggin' this awesome documentary... It's long (2+ hours), so we'll have to finish it tomorrow.  I hope you enjoy it, too!

Watch "Urban Danger" on YouTube

Lunchtime Literature

It's lunchtime, and I know you've been looking for something challenging to read while you munch that leftover pizza.  Take 15 minutes to read this two-part article from Brandon Smith at http://www.alt-market.com/ and Stewart Rhodes of http://www.oathkeepers.org/.  Then, please post a comment or send me an email about how this article affected you.

"Getting Off the Globalist Chessboard"
http://www.alt-market.com/articles/96-getting-off-the-globalist-chessboard-an-introduction
http://www.alt-market.com/articles/232-getting-off-the-globalist-chess-board-safe-haven-relocation

God bless you, and let freedom ring.

Great preparedness info

Our "guest post" today comes from "Enola Gay"* at the Paratus Familia blog, one of my fav's.  (I've never actually met this wise lady, but she's a welcome "guest" here, anytime :-)

Preparedness Organization - Inventory

*Not her Real Name ("NRN")

A message to my dear ADL readers

Dear friend:

You may be aware of my family's interest in preparing for the unforeseen, and thankfully, you probably share our well-founded concerns for the future.  Well, in case no one in your circle of influence has asserted this, let me be forthright:

The best way to prepare for your future is to invite Jesus Christ into your life, to be the Author and Finisher of your faith.  Don't delay... we're not promised tomorrow, and eternity is the eventuality.

Now having said that, it's time to once again re-motivate ourselves toward greater preparedness for the likely future of our society.  Don't be a victim, be pro-active.  Do what you can, when you can -- it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.

6 reasons Why Even Skeptics Should Prepare

Leave a comment, and let me know what you did to prepare, this week.  God bless your efforts, as you put Him first.