Monthly Archives: May 2019

It was very nice weather today so I thought that I could finally get some things done. But everything I tried seemed to go wrong. Wrong tools, no materials, injuries etc. So I looked over at Lily laying patiently in the sun and said “let’s go for a trip”. She jumped up and began her celebration run.

We didn’t go very far. Just a couple miles down the road to the Pithole City ghost town. It was the first place I let Lily run off the leash when I got her a year and a half ago. Unfortunately there were other people there (a rare occurrence since the “museum” there is rarely open) so I had to keep her on the leash. It was still a nice walk.

Then we went down to Pithole Creek by the old cemetery where she could run free. The old cemetery has been a favorite place of mine for over 40 years. But it is the 21st century so of course someone bought the land and posted it. Sad. Nothing uglier than land with posted signs all over it. Anyway, we could walk down to the creek. There are still some land owners who aren’t completely selfish. Not many.

So, you may be asking yourself, “Where does someone who lives in a cabin in the woods go to get away?”. Well, I go further back in the woods and setup a camp.

It’s down by the growing pond, so soon there will be lots of frogs when the tadpoles leave the water. And probably mosquitos.…

So I started using the Alaskan Sawmill. Sorry, no video. I snapped a couple pictures. Worked okay. I’ll use it mainly for small logs. I would have set up for video but the chainsaw wouldn’t start and I had to tear it down so by the time I was cutting I didn’t feel like filming.

For the first cut you are supposed to put a flat board on top. Since I was just checking it out, and the log was pretty straight, I didn’t bother.…

This is a pet peave of mine.

Have you ever noticed how people on the internet repeat information they hear as if it were absolute fact when it may not be true or may be only partially true.

I am planning on doing some canning. I thought I’d look up on the internet to get some ideas. When I looked up canning meat I found the same comment over and over again. Whether it was a homesteading, a survivalist or just a cooking site they all said the same thing. Often exactly the same words. “When canning meat it is very, very, very important that you absolutely must use a pressure canner.” They then go on to tell you how you will die and the world will end if you don’t run out and buy a pressure canner. (the source of many of the statements, using the same words, appears to originally come from the Presto website trying to sell pressure canners). Also, all our ancestors died of botulism because they didn’t use a pressure canner/cooker.

Now we all know the dangers of botulism and I am not saying to take it lightly. But it just isn’t true that the only way to safely can meat is with a pressure canner.

A little background on botulism. Botulism is caused by a bacteria. The bacteria can form spores which can survive some extremes. The bacteria also produces a toxin. The toxin is what is harmful to us. (it also provides Botox, BOtulism TOXin, which makes aging politicians look permanently surprised and who are also harmful to us) We can actually eat the bacteria or the spores without getting sick. They can’t survive our gut. But if the bacteria is left on food for a period of time the toxin they produce makes the food poisonous.

Canning in a regular water bath canner heats the food to 212 degrees. This is hot enough to kill the bacteria and to neutralize (denature) the toxin (actually 180 degrees is hot enough, see pasteurization and double-pasteurization for germinated spores). It is not hot enough to kill the spores. A pressure canner takes the temperature to over 240 degrees which is hot enough to kill the spores. If the spores aren’t killed they CAN become bacteria over a period of time. So people mistakenly say that you MUST use a pressure canner. Look back on this paragraph. Temperatures over 180 degrees for 5 minutes neutralizes the toxin (according to the CDC it is easily destroyed). This means it is then safe to eat. (as far as botulism is concerned) SO JUST COOK THE CANNED MEAT BEFORE YOU EAT IT! It’s not rocket surgery. Just cook the meat like you would any raw meat. Of course if it smells bad or the cap has popped don’t eat it just like you would with any canned goods.

So some of you are out there thinking why not just use a pressure canner to begin with. No problem with that. Just don’t mislead people into thinking it’s the only way. And even if you use a pressure canner it’s a good idea to still cook the meat, or even many low acid vegetables. (by the way, pickled beef heart is delicious and makes meat high acid). But imagine a survivalist is all prepped when a catastrophe strikes. All the stores are closed or destroyed. The guy finds out the seal or the relief valve on his pressure canner is broke with no way to fix it. He just might starve or be frightened to death because he’s been told …

After nearly three years I finally put wheels on my generator. Now I can be mobile while working with power tools. Things like grinding old pipes in the woods for construction. When it quits raining (or even snowing) I’ll weld on a handle.

And these 10 inch wheels with bearings were only $5.99 each at Harbor Freight.

I used some old fence boards to side part of the workshop.  I like the weathered look.

I even used a vinegar, tea and rusted steep wool mixture to make the new boards look old.

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I was working on the shed when I turned around and saw this.

I just finished cleaning out the flower box to get ready to plant vegetables.…

Today I got some more set up for my workshop.

First I put down some old outdoor carpet/AstroTurf.

Then I had two shelves which were to high and took up too much floor space.  So I cut them to put the shelves closer together.  Then I stacked them.

Much better.  Lots of shelf space without taking up floor space for large tools and a workbench.  I used some of the cut tubing for the legs to add the top shelving.

The rest I’ll save for future use.

Except for one that Lily go a hold of and chewed up.

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