I use exactly this method to sprout in jars and it works well. Easy and low maintenance. I haven’t had a lot of luck with lentils so far. They sprout but it takes a long time for them to sprout enough that I would want to eat them. I like sprouted seeds much better (broccoli, alfalfa, kale, clover, mustard).

I got a couple of them over a year ago and I like them a lot.  They are rugged and work well in my experience.

Bees!

Yes to the meat shortages (beef in particular), and sometimes the shelves with eggs are totally empty, also spices and bar soap seem to be in short supply in some stores right now. I live in BC Canada though so I’m not sure if this is left over from supply chain disruptions from flooding a couple months ago and/or other issues (such as Canada’s vaccine mandate for truckers).

The bowline is the first one I learned and I have also been practicing the trucker’s hitch and good old clove hitch (which I recall learning in Girl Scouts as a kid). I’ve also been practicing how to use lashing to create a tripod with branches (which I see is included in the link you suggested). Thank you for that link – I will move on to the double sheet bend and halter hitch next! I think the more knots I know the better. Now the trick is to keep practicing them regularly because I don’t seem to use them in my every day life (with the exception of the bowline and truckers hitch while camping).

As the weather has gotten colder and I’m outside less I find myself watching quite a bit of bush crafting and baking YouTube channels; namely ones that teach knots, how to light a fire, bake bread (both on a campfire and in an oven). Things like that. I can’t practice fire lighting in my house obviously but I have been practicing knots and baking. I suppose that’s not 100% free as I pay for internet but it’s cheaper than a lot of things.

We don’t usually get a lot of snow where I live but the shooting range I go to is at a much higher elevation. Last year I did a course all day there and it started snowing in the morning so by the time I went to leave I needed help from others to dig my car out. It wasn’t a big deal but it would have been nice to have my own gear. With record heat waves here this summer and devastating floods last month I wouldn’t be surprised if we start getting heavy snowfall, even though that would be very out of the ordinary (what is ordinary these days?) so it feels like a shovel in my vehicle couldn’t hurt 🙂

This is a fun topic! I’m asking for a FATPack 5×8 First Aid Pack, a Bayite ferro rod, a nocking point kit for my bow and a folding shovel for my car trunk.

Very interesting article and also a bit terrifying that some people were so unprepared. Having only an electric toothbrush and then not being able to brush your teeth during a power outage almost doesn’t compute to me. 

Are both ends of the can rusty or just the lid? If the bottom is ok I would open it at that end when the time comes. I also have a smooth edge can opener which cuts the can below the top edge so less likely that things on the top will get into the food. The smooth edge can opener doesn’t live up to its name in that it creates a SHARP edge when the top is cut off, but I still prefer this type of can opener. Just have to be careful come recycling time.

Which US southern state that has disregarded science has the lowest infection rate and maximum freedoms? That sounds like an oxymoron. 

Good2GoCo: Canadian website – 40% off Solo Stove products, 30% off Klymit sleeping pads, and lots of other deals and some freebies.

Heavy snowfall warnings are being issued for this weekend/early next week in northern BC and along the stretch of the Coquihalla highway that just got washed away by flooding. At the same time snow melt in lower elevations is expected to add to already overflowing rivers. It’s a mess here.

I really appreciate the guidance in this article. My BOB is an Osprey Ariel 65 litre and I definitely had it over the suggested weight limit. I practiced taking it up to higher ground recently and I did fine with it, but if an emergency requires us to leave the house we would also be leaving with our young daughter. Such a heavy bag would be a liability I think. The thought of taking some stuff out and putting it in second bag gave me anxiety but I feel much better now that I’ve done that.  I also created a small comfort bag for my daughter and a #3 bag of just clothes, toiletries, snacks etc for a scenario where we have to evacuate in our car due to flooding or wild fire risk, which is an increasing concern where I live (not assuming we would be able to get out by car but we will be more ready if that’s an option). 

I have a few Lifestraws. One in my car bag, one in my get home bag, and one in my hiking back pack. I prefer the Hydro Blu Versa (which is in my bug out bag) but Lifestraws are pretty cheap if you’re on a budget, and certainly better than nothing.

I store water in the 26 litre/7 gallon reliance jumbo containers. They are slim so we have them in closets amongst other things. I even have one beside the tv haha. Not the prettiest but I don’t care 🙂

I would start with prepping your home first as it’s more likely you would be bugging in than bugging out. I live in Canada also and would only leave my home to bug out if there was a major catastrophe, particularly in the winter. Start stocking food and water in your home, little by little as space allows.  I remember when I first started buying extra food bit by bit I thought it was far too little and wouldn’t do much, but over time I have been able to stock up quite a bit in our small condo (getting creative with small space has become my hobby).

I live in BC and it’s been nuts here with the flooding. I am fortunate to not live in any of the communities that had to evacuate but we had scarily high water on one of the main highways here. I’ve never seen anything like it. And the scariest thing is that there were no emergency broadcasts in my community or the surrounding communities from local governments or the provincial government as all of this was unfolding. Places that got hit the worst are saying that in most cases they were notified way too late about how bad things were getting.  The province is blaming local communities for not having adequate emergency response systems – THAT is their response. This is no surprise to me and it is one of the main reasons that I prep and have been trying to add even more to my supplies this last year. Supply chain issues will likely be even worse in parts of BC now as one of the main highways that trucks bring supplies on has been broken in half and is under water. I fear this type of thing is really only the beginning.  

I really appreciate this post and links to the evacuation plans. I live in Vancouver Island in British Columbia and every summer the wildfires seem to get worse here (an entire town burnt down recently). Most of the fires have been on the mainland of BC but I have still been thinking a lot about what we would do if a fire was coming close by on the island. I am very much a person who would have us packing our car and hightailing it out of town at even the slightest chance of evacuation. I would not wait to be told especially since this island isn’t that big and there’s only one highway up the island.  If a fire is out of control where I live then there’s really only one way out and I have visions of traffic being at a standstill on the highway once an evacuation order is put out. I also have visions of the fire coming down the island and then I’m not sure where we would go as we are on the very southern end.  Nowhere to go but the water. I’m sure emergency personnel would do their best but I don’t have a lot of faith that they would be able to direct everyone out of here to safety and be able to control the mayhem from all the people who aren’t even remotely prepared (although from what you say it sounds like normalcy bias may dampen that). I really like the idea of having a pre-made list based on the amount of time there is to evacuate at the ready so we don’t have to scramble thinking about what to pack. I’m going to put that together ASAP.