by John Haynes | Feb 26, 2019
Is the SmartFlower Solar System for you? Recently while meeting a bridge builder, he told me of a solar system his son had installed at his homestead. Sounded intriguing. He said its a small sized system, portable, and tracks with the sun throughout the day. ...
by John Haynes | Feb 23, 2018
For those of you who don’t have an acre or more for a garden, the Garden Patch Grow Box is a must. I purchased some of these last year and was amazed at the results. It takes up very little space, is easy to maintain and produces an incredible amount of...
by John Haynes | Feb 9, 2018
“Whistle while you work” is a good habit to follow when out in the woods. In my business, I do a lot of hiking on large land tracts, often by myself. Therefore, I always carry a few things with me, and one of those is a whistle. If I have an accident, a...
by John Haynes | May 22, 2017
Click here to read my recent blog post on this outstanding resource book. Its absolutely one of the best on the subject of disaster preparedness. Many books on the subject are heavily slanted toward firearms and security, however, this one is well balanced and...
by John Haynes | Nov 5, 2016
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band had a top 100 hit song, “Blinded by the Light” in 1977 (although it was originally written by Bruce Springsteen in 73). Great tune with some forever confused lyrics. However, if you want to really be blinded by the light,...
by John Haynes | Jul 19, 2016
Its been a while since I’ve posted a product review, so in between property showings, I thought I’d send up a new one. I met Lane Miller, creator of the Minuteman Rocket Stove at the Heritage Life Skills event held in Waynesville, NC earlier this year. As...
by John Haynes | Apr 16, 2016
One overlooked, yet inexpensive item for every prepper is survival property duct tape. Yes, duct tape, the ubiquitous item you find at every hardware store, Walmart and Dollar General. The jokes about it are many, but the uses for it are equally numerous. Duct tape...
by John Haynes | Mar 26, 2016
One of the best long term food storage items is grain. Processed flour is certainly convenient and should be part of every prepper’s pantry. However, over time, processed flour will go bad even if stored in airtight containers with oxygen absorbers. On the...
by John Haynes | Mar 12, 2016
Its very important to have a water filter for your home and of course a source of water to filter in the first place. However, what if that water source isn’t in your backyard? What if its a half mile away? How are you going to transport all that water back...
by John Haynes | Mar 5, 2016
For communicating a reasonable distance with a great many features and reasonable price, the Baofeng BF-F8HP is a great choice. Sure, you can buy “walkie-talkies” at Walmart, or even pretty good ones at Bass Pro Shops, but for great communications,...
by John Haynes | Feb 25, 2016
As I write this, it is in the dark hours of early morning with very strong winds beating against the house. It got me thinking about lighting and what we have available in the house if the power goes out. We have candles (lots of them), and various flashlights...
by John Haynes | Feb 22, 2016
In a recent meeting with a group of like minded guys, we discussed food and its preparation. Several have made plans with 100 gallon propane tanks to hook up to grills. But in a long term grid down situation, propane will run out. Wood of course is a natural...
by John Haynes | Jan 3, 2016
If you’re like most people, you get your drinking water from a public water system. That’s great when the system is working, but as residents of towns along the Missisippi and Missouri Rivers are currently experiencing, when their water plants were...
by John Haynes | Dec 21, 2015
One of the most basic skills necessary to one’s survival is being able to start and keep a fire going. Just ask Tom Hanks’ character in the movie “Castaway”. Of course the simplest way is to stockpile matches and keep them in a waterproof,...
by John Haynes | Nov 30, 2015
People have cooked with the sun for centuries, however, given the ease with which we can press a button on an electric range, its no wonder we haven’t paid much attention to solar cooking. But what if the power to your range went out, or the gas to your cook...
by John Haynes | Nov 25, 2015
How many times have you been trying to open a stubborn package or cutting nylon string and find yourself wishing you had a knife at the ready? It happens all the time, and with Christmas soon upon us, we’ll all be opening more than our share of boxes from...
by John Haynes | Nov 18, 2015
The first thing most of us think about when the idea of preparing comes to mind is that of food and water. But another vital item is having access to news and current events. Once a disaster strikes, getting information about happenings around you becomes very...
by John Haynes | Nov 16, 2015
We simply don’t realize how dependent we are on electricity. When the power goes out, what will you use to operate the lights, appliances, CPAP machines, etc.? Some folks will say “We have a generator.” That’s great, as long as you have fuel...