Greetings and welcome to the Patriot Express Newsletter Edition #263. Here we are in mid-April already. Hope your planting process is going forward and you are learning and enjoying growing something this season. Remember, it won't grow if you don't plant it. There is not vegetable or fruit called "I can't" or I didn't" and you will be left eating air sandwiches and bark salad. Take your pick. What do you have to lose? Give it a shot.
Ms. Lucy and I spent part of last Saturday meeting and learning from a new grower in our area who moved in from Chicago. By the time we left our vehicle was full of medicinal plants and bushes and our brain overflowed with new knowledge. I hope to connect with the gent to do a YouTube video as soon as my schedule frees up some time to do so.
I have been up to my elbows in alligators and snapping turtles and the next couple of weeks is going to be busy and a challenge on my end. I know it's a busy time of the year for everyone. Family work to clean up gardens and winter recovery. It's also a big time of the year for family weddings and other events occupying time and energy. I will do my best to get a newsletter posted next week but it may be the first missed Friday posting in over 5 years. If I'm unable to do so, HFS will get back on track the following Friday.
I would like to say this in regard to world events and information regarding world events. Don't believe everything you see and hear. If a website or podcast says "a reliable source said" then proceed with caution. I continue to hear or read conversations with people saying, "kick their behinds" or "make them a parking lot" and other brash comments. War is hell and anyone who wishes it, regardless of side taken should remember someone else is doing the fighting. More importantly, drama promotes ratings and viewers. I would encourage everyone to be open minded and not believe everything they see or hear. Often times things we see and hear described are not exactly correct. Think of it this way. Remember watching Rocky? Remember how you felt through the fights and how you felt at the end? He won...in the movie. Often times things happen, and they could have been scripted. Kind of like playing a game of chess. Moves to set up other moves. I'm not saying this to diminish what is happening in the middle east on any account. What I am saying is be careful in believing everything you see and hear. Some would call it political theater.
Ohhhh, this is being delivered to you while Ms. Lucy and I journey westerly and will be in Western, Kentucky by sundown and on to the Show Me State by early Saturday morning. Yep, baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Cardinals baseball on Sunday. First time I've been back to the St Louis area in nearly 30 years and Ms. Lucy would like to check out the Arch. Then we will journey further west to catch up to an HFS sister and brother in Branson, MO, for a few days and then on up to Tulsa to catch up with another HFS family we met at Heritage Life Skills around 2019 I do believe. We needed a break and get away. It has been a busy and rough couple months for us in 2024. We are blessed and all is good, just busy.
Let us move along....
Upcoming Preparedness Events:
Georgia Bushcraft - April 19 - 21, 2024 - Watkinsville, GA
Mountain Readiness Expo - May 03, 2024, 9:00 AM – May 05, 2024, 12:00 PM
VanHoy Campground, 742 Jericho Rd, Harmony, NC 28634, USA - Mountain Readiness Expo 2024 | Mountain Readiness
Kentucky Bushcraft Revival
Communications: You can now follow HFS social media on the following outlets:
Facebook – Hope for Survival -Join us for daily posts on preparedness.
YouTube Channel – Hope for Survival
MeWe: - //mewe.com/p/hopeforsurvival2
Odysee - Hope for Survival (odysee.com)
Zoom Rally #128 was conducted this week with special guest The Weed Doctor from Eastern TN. She presented great information on the Top Survival Herbs to have on hand. Thanks to everyone who attended the event and a big thanks to Dr. Cartwright for coming on as a guest. You can find her six books and more of her information at Theweeddoc If you missed this one, you missed a good one.
Check out HFS YouTube. - No new YouTube videos posted this week.
If you have not, please consider subscribing to the HFS YouTube channel by hitting like and then subscribe. Connect and give me a shout. Again, hit subscribe and share with family and friends.
Guest and Newcomers
If you are a guest or newcomer to the HFS journey, please check out this link for additional.
information offered through HFS. https://www.hopeforsurvival.com/post/guest-and-newcomers-information-page
Hope for Survival books and HFS Thumb Drive for Emergency Documents -: You can obtain information on the two HFS books at this link: Survival, Preparedness, Disaster Management for individuals or family (hopeforsurvival.com)
Hope for Survival - How Food, Water, Shelter, and Security Could Save Your Life (Book 1)
Hope for Survival - The Mindset (Book 2)
HFS Thumb Drive for Emergency Documents - We just restocked the HFS Thumb drive and have them available now. Follow this link and you will see the add at the top of the page. Blog | Survival (hopeforsurvival.com)
We must make this brief public announcement to protect the innocent.
Ding, Ding, Ding....Attention HFS readers..... Opinions shared in this newsletter are just that, opinions, and nothing more. Read at your own risk. The owner and author of this site is not responsible for hurt feelings or thin-skinned readers. I do my best to show restraint and respect to the best extent possible. I take as many precautions as possible and try to remain as nonpolitical as possible, however, there are times when I just can't help but point certain things out. Occasionally I use words only Patriots recognize and understand. It's not personal against any non-Patriot. It's just the truth. Sometimes we must pull up our spenders and suck it up. Just saying. Stay the course, read what you want, and avoid the rest. Avoid fear porn as much as possible and the day will be okay. When all else fails… Keep the faith and always have Hope.
Let’s move along and get to some thoughts...
Thoughts for the week - Preparedness. It should be on the mind of every prepared seven days per week.
Fruit for your food plan
How much food is enough food when preparing. Dehydrated, freeze dried, store canned, home canned, garden fresh, hunting, fishing..... Food, food and more food. The quantity you decide to set back for later is up to you and is often driven by storage space and funds to buy. Laziness can also be a big factor for many. People tend to spend more time around a table talking and doing minimal for whatever reason. Others throw down the credit card and buy buckets of one type or another. All is fine, but some research should be included. What is your health situation and what are you buying? How will your body react to the food? You may have $5,000 worth of freeze-dried high sodium content food in your closet waiting for that big day to start. It will be a bad situation if you run out of blood pressure pills before sodium in your long-term storage food.
For me, one of my worries along this journey has been having enough fruit content reserved for the journey. If you haven't noticed, dehydrated fruit is expensive. My thought has been to try and have some type of fruit every two to three days if possible. Several years ago we planted pear, apple, and peach trees to go along with our berry patches. Growing fruit trees is harder than planting and watering and watching all the fruit grow and wait for the picking. Plus, keeping the nightly visitors from visiting the trees is a challenge as well.
Preparing is a full-time job. It is far more than beans and band aids, communication and everything else. When we talk about food and a healthy food plan it takes work. The single area that keeps creeping up and itching my behind is fruit and having enough.
Here is a nice video on some thoughts to growing fruit. Berries specifically. Check it out.
Next .....
Groups vs Social Groups
Over the years of preparing, learning, teaching, learning more, talking, researching, learning some more and more, things often evolve, and we really establish our preparedness philosophy based on ground zero. What? Ground zero is circumstances as we see them today. Events, disasters, and circumstances can all sway and change our choices from what we believed to be true today. What am I talking about. Honestly, it is rare except under very special and specific circumstances, most preparers who train and socialize together will not be together when the world changes. When we transition from with rule of law to without rule of law. Or the famous "the end of the world as we know it" happens.
We think about and run scenarios, drills, and table talk the "what if" over and over, year after year. It takes a very unique situation to have all family, tribe, group, or community located within rocks throw or the sound of gun fire. This is the key. Here is where building your security plan is critical to develop a layered security in depth concept. Who will come when you sound the alarm? That is the million dollar question we must think hard about and then move forward once we get our answer.
I'm not writing about this to scare you or put fear in you. It is something we all must face the facts about and press ahead. Better to know now, then when it counts.
Here is a great video by Pastor Joe Fox of Viking Preparedness discussing this topic.
Next ......
Soap and Laundry when the grid goes down
A topic not spoken about often and many probably neglect or just go buy and stock up as much as possible, is soap. How do you plan to keep your dirty soiled clothing clean? Yea, I know about the five gallon bucket and plunger routine. Great. What do you plan to scrub your sheets, towels, undergarments and clothing down with? Remember, no air conditioning or fans most likely. The clean white sheets will soil quickly.
Here is a good video from a new friend to HFS. Dr. Amanda Cartwright here in East TN and she can be found at Survival Homestead Teaching Farm on YouTube. It was my pleasure to meet Ms. Amanda and her husband up in Kentucky a few weeks ago. She is a wealth of knowledge and shares each word with confidence and a smile. Check out this video on 6 depression era laundry secrets. Good job, Amanda.
Let us move along to some other news.
Other News -
1.From Adam Shaw - Fox News - Blue city mayor defunds police force by more than $8 million to aid migrants (msn.com) - Another one bites the dust.
2. From Dado Rivic - Reuters - Biden unlikely to cut Iran's oil lifeline after Israel attack | Reuters - Don't listen to the words, watch the actions. Who is in bed with who?
3. From Vanessa Buschschlüter - BBC - Venezuela crisis in brief (bbc.com) - Imagine 7.5 million people leaving a country in 9 years. Are you watching what is taking place in Brazil, Columbia, and Venezuela?
4. From - REBECCA BEITSCH AND MYCHAEL SCHNELL - The Hill - House approves contentious FISA bill in bipartisan vote | The Hill - Are you still wondering who is looking out for your rights?
5. From Revolver News - Sedition against a sitting US President? New J6 whistleblowers bust the case wide open... - Revolver News - Anyone paying attention would have concluded the same decision a few years ago.
Prayers - Please keep our great nation, our elected leaders, military and first responders in your thoughts and prayers. We pray for good health and wisdom. Please pray for our leadership to find answers and guidance to the problems facing our great nation. May your faith remain strong and answers to the unknown provided. God is good and may our prayers blanket and protect you and your circumstances. I pray for each, and every one of our Patriots.
Our HFS family has many prayers needs for health and moral. We love you all and continue praying for each of you.
May we pray for all the blessings and things in life to be thankful about and continued hope for revival around the world. We must continually pray for the unsaved, our family and friends who live each day without the protection for eternal life and salvation.
As Patriots we must stay strong and never give up. Our home, community, and nation need us now more than ever. Stay focused on your local community and things that will impact you around the nation. Don't allow the events around you to create fear in your life. Build your own self-reliance and focus on faith and hope. Remember we are a blessed nation, and we must continue to be great people today and make a better tomorrow. Keep charging.
Blessings,
Bravo Echo Out,
