Author R. Ann Parris

R. Ann Parris

Prepping

Square foot gardening can be an excellent way to produce a lot of food in a compact space. Added benefits come from the common Square foot gardening trend of cobbling different plants together – essentially companion planting and increasing diversity – and creating permanent beds we won’t be stepping on and compacting.

Square Foot Gardening – Waste of Time for Preppers?

December 14, 2020 2

Square foot gardening can be an excellent way to produce a lot of food in…

Prepping

12 Simple Secrets for Building Healthy Soil

November 23, 2020 1

It’s rare that we see raw land healthy and ready to plant our survival gardens.…

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If you have a squash bug (SB) or squash vine borer (SVB) problem, it can be a big problem. Some areas have even greater trouble due to increased season length and mild winters.

Survival Gardening: Squash Bugs and Borers

July 23, 2019 5

If you have a squash bug (SB) or squash vine borer (SVB) problem, it can…

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There are all kinds of ways windshield reflectors and space blankets can make life easier and increase our capabilities as preppers, both everyday and during emergencies. Some of the camping and car uses are the most well known, but they don’t get applied in our homes and backyards much.

Reflectors and Mylar: Home, Garden and On The Go

July 12, 2019 3

There are all kinds of ways windshield reflectors and space blankets can make life easier…

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Editor's Note: As we prepare to celebrate our Republics 243rd birthday what could be more appropriate than a third installment of R. Ann Parris's Minuteman series?

Modern Minuteman – Wilderness Skills

July 3, 2019 2

Editor’s Note: As we prepare to celebrate our Republics 243rd birthday what could be more…

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Many aspects of the Modern Minuteman toolbox apply to preparedness in general, however personal and small-scale or widespread and earth shaking our pet disasters may be. As with overall preparedness, our exact situation and our expectations of disaster scenarios affects what we prioritize for our finite time and attention.

Modern Minuteman – Yes-No-Maybe Skillsets Vol. 2

June 25, 2019 0

Many aspects of the Modern Minuteman toolbox apply to preparedness in general, however personal and…

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Editor's Note: To answer your question, Yes! After moving this post into WordPress for publication I did have to go find some good pasta for lunch.

Prepper Pantry – A Pound of Pasta

June 20, 2019 0

Editor’s Note: To answer your question, Yes! After moving this post into WordPress for publication…

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Whatever our primary shooting type and needs, there are a few things we can do to make sure we’re a little more ready when we pull the trigger on a real, live target. This time around, it’s looking at low-light considerations and options.

Run-n-Gun: Lights, Camera, Action

June 18, 2019 0

Whatever our primary shooting type and needs, there are a few things we can do…

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If our accuracy has plateaued or backslid, we may have picked up one of several finger habits. Two we can check for are resigning pacing to our fingers – versus eyes and brains – and the reset portion of our trigger pull. There are some self-check tests we can run for either, and drills that can help restore or engrain better control.

What’s Your Trigger Finger Doing?

June 11, 2019 1

If our accuracy has plateaued or backslid, we may have picked up one of several…

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Fear not, you’re not going to see cutesy flowers, beer floats, or kiddie obstacle courses. Pool noodles have way more practical things to offer, whether we’re re-purposing a Star Wars party’s light sabers, scraps from assembling lightweight and challenging shooting targets, or buying fresh.

Upcycling for Preppers – Pool Noodles

June 5, 2019 1

Fear not, you’re not going to see cutesy flowers, beer floats, or kiddie obstacle courses.…

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As if preparedness alone didn’t have enough to learn and do, along with the modern minuteman movement comes additional taskers.

Modern Minuteman – Yes-No-Maybe Skillsets

May 31, 2019 5

As if preparedness alone didn’t have enough to learn and do, along with the modern…

Featured

For many preppers, static square ranges are the only opportunity to put rounds through the barrel. They do have some limitations, and they can be pricey, but we can make a few tweaks here and there to both cut costs and make our time on them more effective.

Practical Prep: Range Tips

May 28, 2019 4

For many preppers, static square ranges are the only opportunity to put rounds through the…

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Static square ranges and competitions are commonly the only firearm practice available to preppers. Sometimes, those square ranges and competitions – and even classes – actively or accidentally build dangerous mindsets, habits, and complacency.

Shooting Tactics and Training: Practice Practicality

May 23, 2019 4

Static square ranges and competitions are commonly the only firearm practice available to preppers. Sometimes,…

Featured

Starting, expanding and maintaining a garden can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. From developing and increasing soil tilth and fertility to what we grow in and the tools we use, there are plenty of ways to save money. Some of them are handy for saving time, too.

Survival Gardening: Cutting Costs

May 21, 2019 0

Starting, expanding and maintaining a garden can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be.…

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Being able to produce food with minimal wear on the body has a number of advantages. One, it can keep more people gardening, allowing them to be producers within the family and group, not just babysitters and consumers, whether it’s age, injury or illness, now or something that develops later or during a crisis.

Survival Gardening: Back and Body Savers

May 15, 2019 0

Being able to produce food with minimal wear on the body has a number of…

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I should say rarely, not never. And some I do see, I just don’t see them pointed out often in articles – or shared verbally. Since we’re in times when so many people are learning, are planning their first “roughing it” camping or packing trips, and so many seem to plan for either an extended bug-out or an I’m Never Coming Home trip to the woods, I figured I’d hit a few of those. Some oddball stuff is up front, and then we hit rain gear.

Roughing It – Tips I Never See

May 8, 2019 2

I should say rarely, not never. And some I do see, I just don’t see…

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MRE’s enjoy unending popularity within prepper folds, although sometimes the issues – weight, waste, size, and expense – lead us to looking for alternatives. Palatability is another common kicker for many, and the lack of fiber also gets some attention. Happily, we have plenty of options for DIY alternatives.

DIY MRE Alternatives

May 1, 2019 4

MRE’s enjoy unending popularity within prepper folds, although sometimes the issues – weight, waste, size,…

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The desire to be more self-reliant tends to strike all preppers here and there, regardless of location. While some aspects of self-reliance are hugely limited, others can be accomplished even in very small backyards. Some even apply to patios and balconies.

Backyard Self-Reliance: Luffa

April 26, 2019 3

The desire to be more self-reliant tends to strike all preppers here and there, regardless…

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Some of us are restricted entirely to small spaces, and some of us have either clay, rock, or sandy soils that are easier to avoid than to mitigate. Some of us keep container gardens going for convenience, enjoyment, and mitigating seasonal threats from pests to cold, high winds or thunderstorms to dry conditions, even when we have some elbow room and decent starting soil.

Productive & Easy Container Gardening

April 18, 2019 4

Some of us are restricted entirely to small spaces, and some of us have either…

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Beginner or advanced shooter, incorporating dry fire in training can help us improve. There is the potential that we can damage our guns with excessive dry firing on empty chambers, though. Snap caps are inert rounds that remove the risks by providing a variety of soft-plexi or spring-buffered primers for the firing pin to strike. They allow us to practice actual trigger pull, as well as adding the realism of trigger pull to safed-gun practice.

Snap Caps: Training Anywhere, Anytime for Anyone

April 10, 2019 0

Beginner or advanced shooter, incorporating dry fire in training can help us improve. There is…

Food Storage

Balanced storage is important to ensure we really can weather life’s storms, great and small, personal or widespread. However, there are some things that make sense to stockpile in excess. They’re typically going to be things that we have zero or limited expectation of producing, or producing efficiently.

Prep to Excesses – Supplies to Over Stock

April 4, 2019 10

Balanced storage is important to ensure we really can weather life’s storms, great and small,…

Food for Thought

Many of us consider our preps – from spare boots and cold-weather gear to our backup tools and alternatives for lighting and cooking, and most especially our pantries – to be a tangible form of insurance.

Insurance Checkups

April 2, 2019 1

Many of us consider our preps – from spare boots and cold-weather gear to our…

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A lot of times, we get what we pay for. Sometimes, though, the best things in life are free … or very, very inexpensive. In the case of target practice, inexpensive and free targets offer not only a cost reduction, but actually provide better training.

Better Training with Cheapo Targets

March 20, 2019 10

A lot of times, we get what we pay for. Sometimes, though, the best things…

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Beyond individual and small-group home, property, and self-defense, we increasingly hear a call for citizens to stand up as modern minutemen. The term is relatively new, but the idea isn’t.

Modern Minuteman – Big-time Basics

March 8, 2019 2

Beyond individual and small-group home, property, and self-defense, we increasingly hear a call for citizens…

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There must be 101 ways we can use coat hangers, all over the house, yard, and vehicle. For preppers who can source them for free, they can be a particular goldmine. They’re something to keep an eye out for, both now and in any “later” circumstances.

Upcycling for Preppers: Coat Hangers

February 28, 2019 2

There must be 101 ways we can use coat hangers, all over the house, yard,…

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There’s a number of things that get passed around about firearms, even among shooters, that bear some consideration. Some of them truly deserve their own articles, but meantime, here’s a few that I hear and see pretty regularly passed around on the range, in gun stores, on forums, and in articles and videos.

Fact-checking Gun Factoids

February 26, 2019 8

There’s a number of things that get passed around about firearms, even among shooters, that…

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There’s actually only a couple benefits specific to raised beds, even versus till systems.

Raised Beds – Pro-Con Fact -check

February 19, 2019 2

Before we get started, I want to say that I’m a huge fan of permanent…

Gardening

Sprouts can be a great solution for preppers at all levels, as well as our animals. They can be had and done in a million and one ways, eliminate some of the climate issues we face in both hot and cold environments, require little space and little time, and are packed with nutrients. They also have some nice morale benefits, providing fresh green foods and sometimes even a crunch during times not much else will grow.

Sprouts for Preppers

February 13, 2019 1

Sprouts can be a great solution for preppers at all levels, as well as our…

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Dead of winter or height of summer, there are some relatively quick, easy, and commonly inexpensive projects we can tackle right in our own backyards to improve our self-reliance and test our preps.

Practical Preps: Backyard Projects Big and Small

February 12, 2019 4

Dead of winter or height of summer, there are some relatively quick, easy, and commonly…

Gardening

Once we join this prepper culture, we start getting pushed toward heirloom seed stockpiles. There’s definitely value in heirloom and open pollinated. There’s also a reason we developed hybrids.

The Case for Hybrid Seeds

February 7, 2019 6

Once we join this prepper culture, we start getting pushed toward heirloom seed stockpiles. There’s…

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