Gardening in cold climates

I have a cyber-friend in Maine named Holly. She lives a very rugged lifestyle. This is her porch:

Through trial and error, she and her husband have figured out the intricacies of gardening in an extreme (Zone 3) northern climate.

Well, she put pen to paper (so to speak) and wrote a piece for SurvivalBlog – and they published it! Way to go, Holly! You can read her essay here.

Mentioned on SurvivalBlog!

My post on canning potatoes was picked up by SurvivalBlog!

Rest in peace

We just saw on SurvivalBlog that the mother of James Rawles has passed away.

May she rest in peace. Please pray for her family.

Book bomb day: The Ultimate Prepper's Survival Guide

 Last month, I did a book review of James Wesley, Rawles' latest creation, The Ultimate Prepper's Survival Guide.

I reviewed some of the reasons I thought this was a superb resource for preppers. First of all, it's laid out in binder form with tabs: Dangers / Mentality / Essentials / Protection / Community / Checklists.

Second, each chapter has subheadings addressing various components of each subject.

And third, it places a great deal of emphasis on checklists. In some ways, I consider this one of the most valuable components of this volume. 

All in all, I consider this an extremely valuable resource – especially in this wacky year of 2020.

There was some confusion when I first posted the book review, because I didn't realize at the time the volume was only available in Costco. However today – Tuesday, October 20 – is its release day.

And here's the thing: if you purchase the book today – Tuesday, October 20 – it forms what's called a "book bomb" and helps the author achieve some stellar numbers on Amazon. It's what you all so kindly did when my Amish romance novel was released, and it was a tremendous boost.

 So, if you're inclined to purchase Rawles' latest creation, today's the day to do it! Go help create a book bomb and purchase The Ultimate Prepper's Survival Guide!

Book review: The Ultimate Prepper's Survival Guide

Oh wow, you have got to see this:

This is the latest masterpiece by James Wesley, Rawles entitled "The Ultimate Prepper's Survival Guide."

Let me tell you, this baby is beefy. (Hmmm. Separate imponderable: Could it be used as a blunt-force weapon in close combat?)

It's laid out in binder form with tabs: Dangers / Mentality / Essentials / Protection / Community / Checklists.

Each chapter has subheadings addressing various components of each subject.

One personal favorite: The Threat Matrix, which helps determine the threat level for a particular threat in your particular circumstances. I've used this concept in preparedness-related workshops.

But for all the valuable information contained in this book, in some ways the most valuable section is at the very back -- Checklists. Maybe it's just me, but I find checklists to be incredibly helpful.

The checklists in this book include:

• Barter and charity
• Books
• Bug-out bags
• Vehicle bug-out-bags
• Food and water
• Financial preparation
• Gardening and outdoors
• House and home
• Hygiene and sanitation
• Personal preparedness
• Security

At the very back there's even a pocket for your own personal checklists.

This is a book for the 2020s. It's completely up-to-date and designed to address the insane challenges the nation has faced during this insane year, everything from wildfire evacuation to societal unrest.

In my opinion, this is a very worthwhile addition to anyone's preparedness library. It's even more valuable if you actually act upon the information it contains.

The book is currently available only in Costco stores. The general market release will be on October 15th. Check it out!

More info on tire gardening

Since putting up the the post on how we developed our tire garden -- and since it was subsequently featured on SurvivalBlog -- many people have asked additional questions about the infrastructure of our garden. Here is where I'll answer them.

NOTE: I had some sort of weird glitch which duplicated this post, so I deleted what I thought was the duplicate. In fact, I deleted the original ... which means all the comments were deleted as well. My apologies to those who left comments on the original post.

Billboard tarps
One question was where we got our billboard tarps -- which we use to block weeds and which are anchored with gravel -- and how much we paid for them.

I know billboard tarps (usually the gigantic ones you see on highway billboards) are available for sale on eBay and other online sites. The prices are fairly decent, but we decided to scout around and see if we could find a more local source.

So I called a tarp company in Spokane and inquired how much it would cost to purchase old tarps, and explained what we intended to use them for. They put me in touch with one specific fellow with the company, and he told me the tarps were FREE. I was shocked and delighted. Since at the time I was going into Spokane about once a week (the girls had music, French, or gymnastics lessons), we made this company a routine stop and brought home dozens of tarps the span of a couple months. I always called my liaison ahead of time to see if it was convenient for me to stop in, and I always thanked him profusely after we'd loaded up.

Then one day I called to inquire if I could pick up some tarps. My liaison, embarrassed, said no. Here's why.

Someone -- I don't like to think it was a blog reader, but it may have been -- apparently went into the same company and demanded free billboard tarps. He actually threatened the receptionist if he didn't get some. The poor woman was understandably shaken. As a result, a company-wide policy was enacted in which the tarps were no longer given away. Thus ended a wonderful free resource, all because someone acted like a bully and a jerk, demanding free stuff he had no right to and threatening innocent people.

I was horrified when my liaison told me what happened, but policy was policy. That ended the billboard tarps.

Now this was several years ago, and it was only with one company. If anyone is interested in billboard tarps, it's worth calling around and simply asking. Nicely.

Cutting tires
The other question I was asked is how to cut large tractor tires in half safely.

These tires can weigh anywhere from 150 to 600 pounds, so safety in handling them is paramount. Not all tires need to be cut in half -- it all depends on the depth. Most tires just need to have one sidewall cut out (use a Sawzall with a beefy blade) and it's good to go. But for very thick tires, it's helpful to slice them in half lengthwise (like a humongous bagel) to yield two open halves. Here's how we did it.

Originally we tried just propping a tire up on other tires. This worked, sorta, but it tended to bind the saw blade.

Instead, we learned it's better to stand the tire up. This is where pets and children should be kept strictly away. You don't want to risk one of these halves flopping down and hurting anyone.

We used a Saws-all to cut through the tires. Don't use anything smaller than a "fang-tip" blade. The really gnarly blades are designed to cut through thick surfaces. Start the blade at a shallow angle – lay the teeth at the spot you want to cut – and then tilt as the cut deepens. The blade should dive in. Like everything else, it takes a little practice.

Cutting tires is ideally a two-person job. To prevent the tires halves from flopping open when cutting, the second person should tie the tire halves as the first person cuts and works his way around the perimeter.

Even though a tire may be tied, it's still unsteady in this upright position, so be sure to cut it where it won't damage anything if it falls. And above all, never put yourself in a position where it can fall on you.

In this instance, the tire fell over just as Don finished slicing it in half, and the sudden unsteadiness of two loose halves sent it crashing into a small nearby trailer.

Tying the tire as it's cut has a secondary benefit -- both halves can be picked up by a tractor and moved at the same time.

Tires on or off the tarps?
Another mistake we made at first -- and quickly rectified -- was putting the tires directly on the ground and then cutting the tarps to fit around them.

Big mistake. Big mistake!

We did this early on mostly because some of the tractor tires were already in place by the time we started using tarps for weed control. We didn't want to have to move the tires, so we cut the tarps to fit around them. But of course weeds still grew up through the tires (I've mostly gotten this under control through diligent weeding), and forever after weeds continue to grow around the outer rims of these tires since there's a little space between the tire and the tarp. It's fairly controllable, but it's always an issue. Thankfully only four tires have this problem. The rest of the garden doesn't, because we rapidly learned tires should just be placed directly on the tarp.

Here we placed a couple of tires directly on the tarps with no gravel.

But once again, as part of our learning curve, we learned to put the gravel down first. Not only does this anchor the tarps, but the drainage it provides to the tires is superb.

I hope this info helps someone with their own tire garden!

Today's the Big Day!!

Today we officially listed our house for sale! (Kinda scary, really.)

We submitted a For Sale By Owner listing to Zillow (it needs to be verified before it will go live). We also have a listing on Survival Realty (here) and SurvivalBlog was kind enough to mention it as well.

We've spent the last few months remodeling and renovating the house and property, and we're still in that process (the bathroom is the current project, for example). Most of this beautification has fallen on Don, and his skills and creativity have resulted in some absolutely beautiful interiors.

I invite everyone to come see our dedicated webpage which has a full description and dozens of photos. Please send this link to anyone you know who might be interested in relocating to North Idaho. We would appreciate it if everyone would post it on their own blog, FaceBook page, or tweet it out to friends.

Onward!

Please help SurvivalBlog

Most of you are familiar with the incredible prepper website SurvivalBlog.

In this time of relative prosperity, many people think prepping is no longer necessary and they can let their guard down. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Because of this widespread and erroneous attitude, less and less people are reading the excellent material found on SurvivalBlog. But in fact if there’s anyone in this whole business who is a centerpoint of important prepping information, it’s this website.

Because of its high-profile nature, SurvivalBlog has been the target of everything from hackers to frivolous lawsuits. In addition, it's subject to the whims, political leanings, and tyrannical censorship of the Google / Paypal / Amazon / etc. giants who delight in silencing voices with whom they disagree.

In short, running that website is no simple task. Now they're asking for your help.

They have a subscription program called the Ten Cent Challenge Subscription. Currently only 1 percent of readers subscribe; but if that amount was boosted to 5 percent, their financial challenges would be solved. That amounts to a mere $36.50 per year. Folks, you will never get a better deal than that, or more bang for your buck.

I urge you to give SurvivalBlog the helping hand it deserves. For years they've provided millions of readers with helpful, solid information. Now it's time to return the favor.

On SurvivalBlog!

A reader alerted me that my post on dehydrating raspberries was featured on SurvivalBlog!

SurvivalBlog needs help

SurvivalBlog, one of the highest-read and most useful prepping websites on the internet, needs our help. It seems they've been slapped with a defamation lawsuit:

From the website:

The upcoming legal defense will probably cost thousands of dollars in attorney fees. I would appreciate the prayers of SurvivalBlog readers that justice will prevail. If any readers would like to contribute to our legal defense, then please send a check to:

James Wesley, Rawles
P.O. Box 303
Moyie Springs, Idaho 83845

Alternatively, PayPal donations can be sent to: james@rawles.to. (Yes, it is indeed a “.to” domain, not a “.com” address.) My pledge to you is that if [the] lawsuit is withdrawn or if it is dismissed by the courts before I incur legal expenses, then I will return any donations over $20. Many thanks for your prayers!

For years, this website has faithfully helped millions of people gain knowledge. Now it's our turn to give back. Please, if you can see your way to sending in a small donation, I'm sure it would be deeply appreciated.

Don't forget those skills!

Some time ago I read a truthful statement: Preparedness is a three legged stool. The first leg is supplies, the second leg is community, and the third leg is skills/knowledge.

Why three-legged? It's the classic geometry answer: three points define a plane. A three-legged stool doesn't wobble. Take away any one of the legs, and the stool topples.

Most novice preppers understand the need for supplies (food, gear, etc.). Endless businesses have sprung up to fill those needs.

Community is less appreciated but just as important. That's a whole 'nother blog post.

But what about skills? That's the part of the triune a lot of people either forget or dismiss as unimportant or unnecessary. After all, that's what supplies are all about, right? Who needs skills when we all have the latest whiz-bang nifty gizmo to provide us with what we need?

But remember, without that leg of skills/knowledge, the stool topples.

With that in mind, here's a link I got off SurvivalBlog from a website called Backdoor Survival entitled 12 Skills for Preppers That Money Just Can’t Buy.

"There comes a time when every prepper finally says, 'Enough with all of the food and enough with all of the gear!'" starts the article. "After years of seeking out the best stuff at the best prices, creating a stockpile, and purchasing equipment, you just might want to stop -- at least for awhile -- and focus on something else: the vital qualities and abilities that no amount of money can buy. ... The biggest stockpile in the county won’t be enough if you don’t learn the important skills that will carry you through when you’re faced with hard times. Likewise, there are certain personality traits that will enhance your ability to survive."

The article is well worth reading in its entirety; but in a nutshell, here are the skills listed:

Six vital skills for preppers

• First aid skills
• Gardening skills
• Basic fix-it skills
• Home-keeping skills
• Defense skills
• Outdoor skills

Essential traits of survivors

• Perseverance
• Frugality
• Compassion for others
• Interpersonal skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Self-knowledge (with the interesting notation: "Some people really delude themselves with regard to their abilities...")

The author then invites readers to add to the list.

To my way of thinking, this list also underscores the need for community. No one can know it all (if they do, they're either super-human or -- ahem -- a know-it-all). But most people possess a few of these skills, either innately or by training. Ideally, within a community there is a good spread of people who can contribute to the overall skills level of the group.

But that added notation after "Self-knowledge" ("Some people really delude themselves with regard to their abilities...") is so so so true: Without exception, we all think we're more knowledgeable than we really are. None of us will know the limits of our knowledge until we're tested.

In other words, how "short" is that particular leg of your stool?

Good stuff to think about as we face an uncertain future. Meanwhile, feel free to add to the list. What are some other important skills for preppers to acquire?

Them's fightin' words

Got this off SurvivalBlog. Well worth reading.

_________________________________________

Fighting Words: An Open Letter to Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.

The New York Times just published the newspaper’s first front page editorial in 95 years. It urged America’s legislators to outlaw civilian ownership of semiautomatic battle rifles. This editorial twisted words to castigate our militia arms as follows: "These are weapons of war, barely modified and deliberately marketed as tools of macho vigilantism and even insurrection."

The editor went on to urge: "Certain kinds of weapons, like the slightly modified combat rifles used in California, and certain kinds of ammunition, must be outlawed for civilian ownership. It is possible to define those guns in a clear and effective way and, yes, it would require Americans who own those kinds of weapons to give them up for the good of their fellow citizens." [Emphasis added.]

Those are fighting words. They’ve made it clear: These statists want to enact a law forcing civilian disarmament. This would of course be enforced under color of law, by their recently militarized bully boys in black. (Formerly in blue.)

I have a few terse points for publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., editor Dean Baquet, their subordinate editors of the New York Times, and all others of their ilk:

1. The words of our Founding Fathers were unequivocal: “…the right of The People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Those words can only be taken one way.
2. There are more privately-owned guns in America that there are inhabitants. The task of attempting go out and collect them is a fool’s errand.
3. These are indeed ‘”weapons of war.” They are in fact our most important militia weapons. It was the specific intent of our Founding Fathers that our civilian populace be armed on an equal footing with any standing army. They have their M4s and we have ours. And by the way we also have even more powerful scoped deer rifles with 500-yard effective range. Millions of them.
4. Even if just 3% of the citizenry were to take up arms against your intended tyranny, we would still outnumber the combined strength of the police and military by a substantial margin.
5. There are 10.3 million licensed deer hunters in the United States, and around 22 million military veterans.
6. Not everyone in law enforcement and the military will go along with your scheme. Many of them will have the backbone to stand against you.
7. Any attempt to disarm the citizenry by force will surely be met by a matching resisting force. Aggression begets aggression. It will be you and your minions who will be the first initiators of force, not us.
8. Lastly, and most importantly: You hint of “insurrection.” Yea, if you continue using such fighting words and if the fools in Congress do indeed enact such unconstitutional legislation, then by God, you will spark an insurrection of the sort that has not been seen in this land since 1781. There will be a second Civil War, and it will be concluded in a matter of weeks, not years. There will be blood, and that blood will be on the hands of the tyrants, not We The People.

Tyrants deserve to have their bodies dragged through the streets. It happened to Benito Mussolini. It happened to Nicolae Ceaușescu. It happened to Muammar Gaddafi. Be warned: History does not precisely repeat, but it often rhymes.

If you want my guns, sir, then come and take them. But when you send your thugs to my ranch, tell them to bring plenty of body bags and extra grub. Because they’ll certainly need them.

Sincerely, – James Wesley, Rawles
Founder and Senior Editor, SurvivalBlog.com
Author of the novels Patriots and Land of Promise

New release: Land of Promise

Amazing author James Wesley Rawles, founder of SurvivalBlog, has just released another amazing book in a string of amazing blockbusters over the last few years. This guy never fails to provide readers with gripping, edge-of-your-seat dystopian thrillers.

His newest book is entitled Land of Promise, and today is his "book bomb" release date.

Land of Promise is synopsized as "speculative fiction that posits the establishment of a Christian nation of refuge, in response to the establishment of a global Islamic Caliphate in the near future. Launched by a pair of free-thinking venture capitalists and an Israeli art dealer, the fictional Ilemi Republic is carved out of a disputed border region between Kenya and South Sudan, with the consent of the governments of these two neighboring nations.

The fledgling Ilemi Republic is a nation of firsts in modern history: The first nation as a dedicated place of refuge for Christians and Messianic Jews; The first nation with absolutely no taxes or levies of any kind; The first nation with no licenses or permits; The first nation with minimalist government; The first nation to reject fiat currency and establish a tri-metallic currency (gold, silver, and platinum); The first nation to have a self-policing citizenry with a citizen's militia--and hence no standing army and no police force; The first nation with a near absolute right to keep and bear arms, where only weapons of mass destruction are restricted from private ownership; and the first nation without a parliament or congress, where all decisions are made by public referendum."

Folks, if you enjoy dystopian literature, you won't be disappointed in Land of Promise.

Guest post on SurvivalBlog

Today I have a guest post on SurvivalBlog:

The post is entitled The Harsh Truth About Bugging Out of Cities, and long-time readers may recognize it as a synopsis of a three-part series written by Don back in June.

Book bomb day: Tools for Survival

Today is Book Bomb Day for James Rawles' latest book Tools for Survival. We received an advanced copy and I can attest how useful this volume is.

The layout is clever. Mr. Rawles takes a variety of survivalist subjects (i.e. food preservation, tools and tool making, knives, medical tools, wood tools, firearms, etc.) and examines the various tool options on the market, their merit, and the good and bad about each item.

I consider this a highly useful addition to any prepper's library...

...but as with any such addition, its greatest usefulness comes from acting upon the knowledge contained within.

Happy reading!

Too small to fail

Here is a two-part series (Part 1 and Part 2) on SurvivalBlog about one couple's personal financial "SHTF" experience. It was brutally honest and blunt and highlighted the circumstances they put themselves in.

The "bleep" hit the fan when the husband found his wife had a gambling addiction. In the words of the writer, "My wife had accumulated a debt amount equal to 50% of our yearly earnings in a few short months. She had used her credit cards primarily, as well as our savings. I immediately looked over our finances and discovered a myriad of problems. We had two car loans, a student loan, two mortgages, her gambling credit card debt, a fair amount of other credit card debt, and a small loan against my 401K. Our savings was enough to buy a used Pinto. I also had a child support obligation to fulfill. The timing of all of this couldn’t have been worse. The housing market had crashed and we were upside down, though the previous year we owned 35% of our home. Now we were 35% underwater. We basically were renters in our own home. At this point I realized this was a SHTF situation."

The remainder of the two-part essay outlined the strategy this couple followed to climb out of their abyss.

I found these essays fascinating for three reasons. One, it illustrated how a married couple stuck it out despite one partner violating the financial trust of the other to an extreme amount. But they took their vows seriously, mapped out a plan, and climbed out of the pit together. I find that wonderful.

Two, the strategy they mapped and then implemented was hard to do, but sensible. In my opinion, one of the best slogans even invented was the old Nike slogan "Just Do It." Sometimes that's what you have to do -- just grit your teeth and DO IT. That's what this couple did to get totally and completely out of debt. Kudos to them.

And three, it illustrates the importance of being debt-free as a preparedness strategy. Two relevant lines from the essays jumped out at me:

• At the beginning of their journey: "At that point we realized we were at war with banks. If they were too big to fail, we would become too small to fail. We decided our goal was to become debt free."

• At the end of their ordeal: "On the day we made the last payment, I told the wife that this is the first day I haven’t owed a bank any money since I was 21 years old, which was more than 30 years ago. We are now too small to fail."

I'd never thought of the term "too small to fail" before, but it makes perfect sense. These people are now in a far better position to weather whatever kind of financial storm might someday await America (i.e. economic collapse, hyperinflation, whatever) than they were before. In other words, being entirely without debt -- including their mortgage -- puts them in a less risky or vulnerable position. Debt is indeed a form of slavery, as Dave Ramsey is fond of pointing out. A lack of debt means freedom.

A very encouraging read indeed.

What books would you bring?

On SurvivalBlog a couple of days ago, there was an interesting mental exercise about what books you would choose if you were tasked with preserving western culture against some sort of apocalyptic destruction of literature. The author listed many praiseworthy books by such luminaries as Plato, Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Plutarch, etc., that arguably do, indeed, encompass much of western thought.

As many of you know, we're book freaks in our house. We own over 5000 volumes on everything from astronomy to zoology.


After reading this SurvivalBlog piece, I started doing a mental exercise of my own, namely this: if we were establishing a bug-out location and could bring, say, 100 books -- what would they be? These books wouldn't necessarily have to encompass western civilization and culture, but instead would be books we would want for both reference and pleasure.

So I began wandering through our house, picking some of my favorites. I'm nowhere near 100, but I can always add to them. Some books are serious, some are shallow. This is just MY list. My husband and daughters will have broad lists of their own.

So here is my list, in no particular order:

• The Bible. Of course.

• The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery
• Any books by Bill Bryson
• All books by Anya Seton
• Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
• The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
• The Lord of the Rings; The Hobbit by Tolkien
• My Family and Other Animals; Birds, Beasts and Relatives by Gerald Durrell
• Legacy by Susan Kay
• A Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
• Zits comic books (a family favorite)
• In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall
• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History
• The Encyclopedia Britannica (we don't own a set, but I wish we did)
• History of the World by J.M. Roberts
• At Home with Books by Estelle Ellis
• Living with Books by Alan Powers
• It Takes a Village Idiot by Jim Mullen
• Not Buying It by Judith Levine (I like to mock her)
• Most books by Dave Barry
• Gifted Hands by Ben Carson
• Patriots by Jim Wesley, Rawles
• Seed Sowing and Saving by Carole B. Turner
• Putting Food By by Ruth Hertzberg and Janet Greene
• Cheaper & Better by Nancy Birnes
• Better Homes & Garden cookbook
• The Joy of Cooking
• Edible & Medicinal Plants of the Rockies by Linda Kershaw
• Field Guide books (birds, insects, plants, etc.)
• All books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• A Gentle Madness by Nicholas A. Basbanes
• New York Public Library Desk Reference by
• The Columbia History of the World by Peter Gray and John A. Garraty
• Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington
• AMA Encyclopedia of Medicine
• Where There Is No Doctor by David Werner and Jane Maxwell
• Where There Is No Dentist by Murray Dickson
• Prescription for Herbal Healing by Phyllis Balch
• Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
• Select books by Nora Roberts
• Goal, Motivation, Conflict by Debra Dixon
• A detailed world atlas (plus some local maps)

I plan to add to his list over the next few days as more books occur to me

So what about you? During long winter nights in your remote bug-out location, what books would you want to have available (either for pleasure or for reference) while sitting around the kerosene lamp?

Six months in the Middle Ages

I've often heard it said that if the bleep were to hit the fan in the form of a collapse of the electrical grid, then we'd all be plunged back to the 19th century. I actually remember reading a comment one time in which an older man gave a verbal shrug and said, "What's the big deal? Our great-grandparents lived when there was no electricity and they got along just fine."

These kinds of conclusions always leave me sputtering in disbelief because it portrays just how little people understand the complexity of our modern society and how dependent we are (directly and indirectly) on electricity for everything.

I shouldn't have to point out three major flaws with the idea of 19th century America: (1) Everyone grew up without power, so it's not like anyone was abruptly plunged into an unknown and frighteningly primitive lifestyle; and (2) the infrastructure for life without electricity was already in place; horses, mules, and oxen were already trained to pull carriages, wagons, and plows; everyone had the tools and equipment necessary for nonelectric living; and society was built, literally built, around the idea that everything was done by manpower or horsepower; and (3) the population in America was much much lower, both in rural areas and especially in urban areas.

In short, it's my private speculation that if America were to suddenly lose power nation-wide, we wouldn't be plunged into 19th century America. Instead we'd be plunged into the Middle Ages where life was short, brutish, and full of back-breaking hard work.

But enough philosophizing. There was a link on Survivalblog a couple days ago which I found fascinating. It seems a Russian man (who is a serious history buff and historical reenactor) will be participating in a sociological project lasting six months in which he will live exactly like a Russian peasant lived during the Middle Ages. Specifically the article states: A historical reenactment group is attempting to recreate medieval daily life outside Moscow. In an experiment launched in Khotkovo, just a few dozen kilometers from the hustle and bustle of Europe’s largest megalopolis, a 24-year-old man will spend six months alone in a medieval-style farmstead. The idea is to see if a modern person can survive in a 9th-century environment, with no access to electricity, the Internet or other modern amenities, and what impact living a hermit’s life will have on his psychological state.

As something of a history buff myself (including Medieval and Renaissance history), I find this project both fascinating and intimidating. To truly live a Medieval lifestyle, especially that of a peasant, means life is likely to be short, brutish, and full of back-breaking hard work.

If nothing else, the big strapping 24-year-old man engaging in this experiment will emerge with a DEEP appreciation of what our ancestors endured on a daily basis. I do, however, have a bone of contention in the final paragraph of the article, which states: People with a passion for historical reenactment can spend a whole year making replicas of period costumes and weaponry to show them off at a gathering that may last for only a week. With Sapozhnikov, this passion has been brought to its logical conclusion. His escape from the stresses of the modern world into another era with a more simple way of life is a dream cherished by many.

Ug, there's that "simple life" misconception again concerning primitive nonelectric living. Life back then wasn't simple, folks; it was short, brutish, and full of back-breaking hard work.

An interesting experiment, nonetheless.