Pump water for free

By Kai Moessle <!-- --> Issue #158 • March/April, 2016 I opened the valve on the output side of the pump slowly, like the instructions said, and after a few more starts it ran just by itself. Still...

Small camp security

By Gary Lewis Issue #148 • July/August, 2014 It might be a sleeping bag in a lean-to with a small warming fire at the entrance. It could be a wall tent with five or six hunters...

New yarn from old sweaters

By Margaret Mills Issue #132 • November/December, 2011 Years ago, when my grandmother learned that some women purchased new fabric to make quilts, she was shocked. She was an "old-school" fiber artist — quilting, crocheting, and...

Just for Kids: Killing some time (Create an afternoon time warp)

By Lucy Shober Issue #26 • March/April, 1994 Click on picture for printable, full-sized version to color. There is a book that describes a time warp as being a kind of bubble, a place in time that...

Power your bug-out bag

By Jeff Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #160 • July/August, 2016 More and more people are starting to see the advantage of having a bug-out bag for each member of their family. Normally these bags are kept...

Learning to love the high desert

By Claire Wolfe Issue #120 • November/December, 2009 Earlier this year, the dogs and I got taxed out of Cabin Sweet Cabin. With a little help from our friends, we packed a small trailer with our...

Intake and exhaust upgrades for better mileage and performance

By Len Torney Issue #120 • November/December, 2009 Well, it seems the price of oil and gasoline has peaked and plummeted, much like a lot of the rest of the economy these days. One upside to...

The wonderful world of axes

By R.E. Rawlinson Issue #171 • May/June, 2018 In 1845, Henry David Thoreau began his now-classic experiment in self-reliance at Walden Pond. He soon realized that if he was going to make a go of it...

Storm survivors

By Anita Evangelista Issue #71 • September/October, 2001 First couple days of June, 1998, weather pretty good, a bit wetter than it is now. Clear day, clouds moving in during the afternoon. By suppertime, the sky...

Food security 101: part 2

<!-- Food security 101: part 2 --> By Rowena Aldridge Issue #139 • January/February, 2013 Last issue we talked about some things you can do to stretch your food budget and make great use of every bit of food...

The saga of Benjamin, the backwoods, homeschool boy who wanted to get a job

By Margaret Wright Issue #37 • January/February, 1996 Raised in the woods of Northern Idaho, home schooled by loving, protective parents, he was a happy, carefree child for the first sixteen years of life. The sixteenth...

Clean up your act!

By Nanette Blanchard Issue #100 • July/August, 2006 I used to get a headache just inhaling the chemical fumes while walking through the cleaning product aisle of the store. I started using less toxic products from...

Brood X

By Rev. J.D. Hooker Website Exclusive • March, 2004 Over the past couple of decades Generation X has seen plenty of mention among the different branches of the regular mass media. This year however the really...

Cash in on your household junk

By Linda Gabris Issue #120 • November/December, 2009 If you think "Howdy Doody" has been holing up in your attic for too many years, maybe it's time you turned the dummy in for some cold hard...

A survival key ring — Your everyday tool for emergency preparedness

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #117 • May/June, 2009 If you saw the movie, "Castaway" starring Tom Hanks, you might remember that his character always carried a small pen knife with him. Early in the...

Get the most out of your vehicle and your maintenance dollar

By Len Torney Issue #116 • March/April, 2009 Let's face it—we all own vehicles. Our rural lifestyle pretty much leaves us dependent on our vehicles for all of our daily transportation needs, as well as the...