Survival Blog is Down Again SurvivalBlog.com

Update: 9/30/14 0800MST

The US IP address is up: http://64.92.111.122/

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I can always tell when SB is down. Mostly because I visit it nightly and see it first hand. But then there's the email inquiries that I get when it happens and my blog statistics show that I'm getting some traffic from search words like "Survival Blog" and "why is survival blog down."

I've emailed Captain Rawles to ask how everything is going. Knowing that he gets hundreds of emails every day, he may or may not see my email. I can just about bet the farm he's had another DoS Attack like this one and this one.

Hang in there SB fans. He hasn't ever been down for more than a few days. Usually he gets hit on a holiday weekend and has to wait until his support staff return on Monday to fix everything. I'm sure he'll be back up soon.

My prior blog posts give helpful hints on how to access SB when it appears down.

I'll post any updates that I receive.

~OJD

Teaching Gun Safety

Macky loves her .22

I found myself with a few hours of idle time and nothing planned. Wifey was gone with several girls and I had Macky and Sis all to myself. So I figured, that's plenty of time to go shooting!

We went out to a remote area where I like to shoot and set up a metal target. We went over gun safety, stance and loading technique. It was only about an hour but sure was enjoyable.

Sis and her .380

I didn't share these pictures with Wifey...mostly because she didn't get invited and I know where that was going to lead.

Time well spent.

~OJD

Chicken Question - If You Have Time

Will they ever figure out to go INSIDE the box?

I recently posted about my new Bantam chickens. I've build a covered coop for them separate from my other chickens until I see how they mingle. Covered, because the first one I placed in the UNcovered coop flew right out and almost became lunch for Lucky.

Since the day I put the Bantys outside, all chickens have stopped laying. As of this morning, it has been four days since any eggs were laid. My Wyandottes (2) and Barred Rock (2) have stopped production in the presence of their Roo. I was told the three Banty hens were laying age as well when I was graciously given two free dozen eggs along with their purchase but they have yet to lay anything either.

Perhaps everyone has a little anxiety about the new neighbors/settings? Or does this just happen once a year (we started with the Wyandottes and Barreds not quite one year ago so this is the first laying cycle we've experienced this time of year.

What say you experienced chicken folk?

Oh, and I added a new style of laying box to the Banty's coop. It is a plastic tub with a door cut into it. I placed straw inside for the hens to lay comfortably. It's been two days now since the introduction of the box and the Bantys still haven't figured out how to get inside of it? I even added a board for an ascending ladder/walkway. They fly up on top of the box all day but not inside.

Thoughts on that?

~OJD

Homemade Squash Hashbrowns - YUM!

Squash grated with our Bosch

A friend at work gifted us some rather large squash. We've made noodles with them in the past and had them kind of like spaghetti noodles. This time we thought we try them out as pseudo-hashbrowns.

Here's the recipe from AllRecipes.com:

• PREP
  5 mins
• COOK
  50 mins
• READY IN
  1 hr 10 mins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Place spaghetti squash onto prepared baking sheet with cut sides down.
3. Bake until squash is tender, about 45 minutes.
4. Scrape strands of flesh from the squash with a fork and place in a large bowl. Mix flour and Parmesan cheese into squash strands.
5. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Spoon 1/4 cup of the spaghetti squash mixture into the skillet and pat and press to form squash into a patty about 1 inch thick. Cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Serve patties topped with a dollop of sour cream. 

We cheated a little and threw our into the Bosch and grated it like cheese. Then threw that into the skillet. We opted out of the patty shaping and just cooked them loose.

YUM!

~OJD

10 Mini Bantams for One Silver Coin!

Three Banty sisters all crammed in the corner atop 7 chicks

Another terrific CraigsList find (in my opinion.) The ad said:

"Baby Bantam Chickens

I have seven one day old chicks but the rest of my flock is attacking the hens. Looking for good home for three hens and seven chicks. Barter or trade."

I emailed the poster and offered a pure silver coin in trade and he agreed. He also sent me home with two dozen of the eggs. Not a bad deal for one silver coin with a spot price around $19.

They are a beautiful solid black and BOY are they broody. I brought them home in a cardboard box and you can't even see the chicks. The hens won't get off of them!

I put two chicks back after my girls held them.

I read online that Bantys are terrifically broody and I'm looking to experiment with putting my Barred Rock and Wyandotte eggs in the Bantys cage.

The guy I got them from says Banty Roosters are really fiesty. He also said that the hens can be too. I have no experience with this breed.

What do you guys out there know about mini Bantys?

Of course, the girls LOVE them!

~OJD

What year is this truck?

Stumbled upon a REALLY COOL truck this morning as I drove into town. It was sitting outside of the local mechanic shop. I thought it looked like some kind of old Willys pickup truck but the hood is stamped DODGE.

This is the kind of truck I could drive for the rest of my days. Anybody have more details on it?

I should have gotten more pictures of it but I was running late on an errand. I think it is still sitting out there.  Looks like it might have been a forest service vehicle or something? See the winch on the front?

Guys Day Out - Guns Galore

Me using the "lead sled" completed w/ sandbags for elevation.

It is my one year anniversary at my job this month and I felt it high time us fellas got together and did some shootin'.  A quick Google search for some "Turkey Shoot" images and I had a flyer ready to hang at work.

"1st Annual Turkey Shoot" and "Guys Day Out" were the title and subtitle. It garnered much attention upon hanging and I knew it was going to be a fun event. A day of men sharing weaponry knowledge and blasting things to smitherines.  I remembered an old wall sign: The worse day fishing is still better than the best day working. I think the same applies to shooting.

Nothing says "freedom" like proudly flying the Gadsen flag.

There were handguns and battle rifles, plinkers and war cannons. We even had a few black powder guns and a compound bow. I brought along three metal plate targets and a case of clay pigeons. A homemade "lead sled" was set up to hold rifles on a table for steady long range shooting. Now THAT is some homesteading ingenuity right thar! I thoroughly enjoyed shooting on that.

A good friend of mine shared an old Sheriff's Office shooting range that was officially abandoned but still used somewhat regularly by those "in the know." There were signs of recent activity with all the brass scattered about. Most likely, I'll end up back out there with the little ones to scavenge. They love picking up brass and I love letting them! I'm getting a hankerin' for smelting metal at home. Any excuse to build a homemade foundry and I'm in.

The Goodfellas

As with any endeavor, we made sure to leave the place in better shape than what we found it. Responsible stewardship is paramount to enjoying the outdoors and I have yet to meet a shooter (that I hang out with anyway) who doesn't agree. It's usually not even something that has to be spoken. Everyone just starts cleaning up when the ammo is gone.

 All-in-all, we had a terrific time and shot a lot of different weapons. The waffle donuts that were brought took me to a new level of sugary heaven. They will be on my next grocery run for sure.

~OJD

This will probably land us on "the list..."

Already ate the chocolate covered...