Building up my ability to hammock camp I found some great parts that make up the whole.
Author Archive: Stephanie Dayle
Stephanie is a writer for the American Preppers Network, a small local paper and for her blog, The Home Front and was featured in Marie Claire UK in the October 2012 issue that featured women preppers. She is also the credited writer of "Emergency Bag Essentials (Swatchbook): Everything You Need to Bug Out" released in August 2014 and available on amazon.com.
"I write articles based on my own experience with emergency preparedness, self-sufficiency, homesteading, food preservation and life around the farmstead. I grew up in a very rural area where I learned to garden, the art of canning, to hunt and fish, and to raise my own animals for food. I also spent 6 years volunteering for the local county Search and Rescue group where I learned a variety of survival skills and a little bit about law enforcement protocol. "
"As a general rule of principle I do not write articles about information that I have only read - if I am writing about something it's because I have done it myself and gone to great lengths to provide you with the facts meshed with personal experience. My alter egos are as an full time mom, amateur photographer, and backpacker."
Stephanie's past APN articles are featured below on several pages.
To connect with her --> click on one of the many little square social media buttons below!
Pumpkins for Food Storage – How and Why?
Upon learning that pumpkins are a staple in my garden, the common reaction is “Oh neat! For jack-o-lanterns?” Then frowns only follow when I say ‘no.’ Only few brave souls will then ask “then why do you grow them?” Society is so far out of touch that most people can’t imagine off the top of […]
Top 10 Get Home Bag Items
Top ten Get Home Bag items you need to have make it home quickly and safely. Of course there are other items that are good to have in your bag, click here for a comprehensive look at why you need a Get Home Bag and exactly what to put in one –> Get Home Bags for […]
10 Things to Do if a Winter Storm Is Happening and You’re Not Prepared
Just weeks ago a winter storm hit the South East United States leaving traffic locked in grid lock for days, people were also stuck at the office and in school for days. Tonight ice and cold rains down on the same areas with massive grid lock and power outages looming. For this second round of […]
How to Clean A Wood Stove
Burning a wood stove is a must for many who live a self-reliant lifestyle in Northern climates. Generating enough heat via solar or wind to power a large enough furnace that would be required to combat the cold winters is not within the financial grasp of most folks. If firewood is available in your area […]
7 Bug Out Tips from Backpackers
Many skills that are taught as “emergency preparedness” or “survival” skills that were outdoor or backpacking skills long before those movements ever even had a name. I have often advised beginners who are building their Bug Out Bags and making their Bug Out Plans to take up backpacking as a hobby for practice, […]
Add Wild Mushroom Hunting to Your Skill Set
Last month I covered gathering and eating fiddlehead ferns (click here to see the article), this month I want to touch on a different wild edible. Make collecting wild mushrooms a part of your self-reliance skill set. Sound dangerous? It’s not, if you can learn how to do it safely. While not a high […]
How to Prepare for a Volcanic Eruption
Preparing for a volcanic eruption basically boils down to prepping for evacuation at a movement’s notice if you live in a blast, lava flow or lahar zone or prepping for volcanic ash if you live in an ash fall zone. There is also the possibility of volcano related earthquakes, but earthquakes are covered in […]
Fiddlehead Ferns, How to Make Them Food
Almost everyone has heard of “fiddlehead ferns,” the young fern wild edible, turn gourmet vegetable can be found across much of North America in the mid to late springtime. By Stephanie Dayle Few wild edibles are so easily spotted, convenient and tasty, or so widely available. They are high in fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A, […]
10 Things to Prep if You Get Migraine Headaches
Migraine headaches can be completely debilitating and those of us that suffer from them could be at a severe disadvantage during a prolonged emergency. While their exact cause is still a mystery most doctors think they are related to the spasming of the large blood vessels in the brain. A severe migraine could render a person […]
Best Batteries for Emergency Preparedness
Stock rechargeable batteries! This has long been dispensed as preparedness advice. The reasoning behind this advice is of course to have the ability to recharge the batteries for additional use once exhausted. If the stores are closed or you can’t get to them for more batteries at least you can rely on stash of rechargeable […]
What You Need to Know about Water Tablets
Water purification tablets are an ideal one-step back up form of water treatment. They are especially good for Get Home Bags and Bug Out Bags because they are light weight and inexpensive. Water purification tablets are also great to store in your vehicle or your bug out location to disinfect water on demand. Even though […]
Does Bear Spray or Wasp Spay work for Self-Defense?
There are positives and negatives to all tools of self-defense, if there was the perfect self-defense tool available where all you had to do was push a button and the attacker would vanish into thin air and materialize inside a jail cell, it STILL would not do you any good if an attacker has snuck […]
How to Can Brandied Apples
Looking for that perfect homemade Christmas present? Try canning some brandied apples, they are a simply divine dessert and an easy recipe to can yourself at home. Add a red bow to the top and it makes a great Christmas present (that is, if you don’t eat them all yourself, because they are that good) […]
How to Easily Peel Farm Fresh Hard Boiled Eggs
Peel freshly laid hardboiled eggs with ease – without baking soda, or poking holes in them. Written and lived by Stephanie Dayle. Ever boiled up some eggs for a dish only to discover that you can’t peel them without destroying the egg? Then looked online to see an endless variety of experiments that range […]
How to Vacuum Seal Clothes
You’ve heard of vacuum sealing dehydrated dry goods – but have you heard of vacuum sealing clothes? When I was younger my parents saw their first FoodSaver Vacuum machine at the local fair. Kid you not – in small rural communities new technology was still introduced at larger local fairs. They were so impressed by […]
Get Home Bags For Everyday People. Why You Need One.
What a “Get Home Bag” is and why everyone should have one. Written by Stephanie Dayle. A Get Home Bag could be a life saver if we are ever faced with a true disaster. Everyone who travels away from home on a regular bases should have one assembled and ready as part of their personal […]
Prepardness Spotlight on American Blackout
What “American Blackout” says about preppers and society. Written by Stephanie Dayle On October 27th 2013 the National Geographic Channel debuted their new TV movie American Blackout. The setting of the show is American society following a cyber attack induced massive cascading power failure that starts on the east coast and sweeps across the nation to […]
How to Safely Store Canning Supplies
How to properly store your canner and supplies for the winter. Written and lived by Stephanie Dayle. With the garden processed and put to bed for the winter heavy frosts are descending on our property every morning now. Many people who practice home canning are getting ready to put their canner up for […]
How to Can Venison Sausage
Canning venison sausage step by step. Written and lived by Stephanie Dayle. Last week I wrote an article on how to make your own venison breakfast sausage, with a tasty recipe and step by step instructions. Click here for the article! This week I will show you how to can that venison sausage to […]
Venison Breakfast Sausage
How to make breakfast sausage with venison. Written and lived by Stephanie Dayle. Since I was a child I have practiced subsistence hunting, meaning we hunt for part of our meat supply that we eat throughout the year. Not for something pretty to hang on the wall. I was taught by my parents to use […]
Sustainable Preparedness Expo – Spokane WA
By Stephanie Dayle A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting the Sustainable Preparedness Expo in Spokane WA, and was very pleased with what I saw. This was my third year visiting the Expo and once again I was amazed by the number of like minded folks all coming together to learn and […]
Alaska: The Last Frontier – Season 3
By Stephanie Dayle It’s Back! Late in realizing the hit on their hands the Discovery Channel rolled out the third season of “Alaska The Last Frontier“ Sunday night following a very broken up but well rated season two. The mid-season hiatus was so long, in fact, that when DSC came back with only four new […]
How to Can Your Own Tuna Fish
By Stephanie Dayle Living within a day’s drive of the pacific northwest coast does have it advantages. Since I was a kid, once a year my family would take a road trip over to the Washington coast where we would buy a couple hundred pounds of tuna right off the boat. This practice continues on […]
It’s A Disaster!..and what are you gonna do about it?- Book Review
By Stephanie Dayle What are YOU going to do about it? A very important question that is not often directly addressed. You have your supplies, food, and water, then a disaster happens. What are the very first things you should do? “It’s A Disaster!….and what are you gonna do about it?” By Bill Liebsch , Janet Liebsch (both […]
Dutch Oven Cooking with the Volcano Stove
A while back I received, an item off my prepping wish list for Christmas, a Volcano Stove. I’d been wanting one for some time and was delighted to finally have one. According to what I researched, the Volcano Stove was the perfect emergency stove for our place. What I didn’t expect was how quickly we would incorporate it into […]
Canning Pickled Beets – Old Fashioned Recipe
By Stephanie Dayle It’s that time of year when the beets in your garden should be finishing up. When I was a kid our choices were to eat them fresh, which I loved, or pressure can them, I despised eating canned beets. They were the source of many late nights at the dinner table while […]
How To Make Your Own Bar Soap
How to make a simple soap at home – step by step directions, with two recipes, equipment lists and pictures!
Install a Drip System for Your Garden
Written and lived by Stephanie Dayle A low pressure drip system is a homesteader’s and prepper’s dream irrigation system. There are so many advantages to them, but the one that preppers usually find very attractive is that they are powered by ‘low water pressure’ and with a little bit of research one can be designed that […]
Book Review: The Backyard Homestead
A detailed book for those interested in their own Backyard Homestead!
Pet Food – What to Store and How
Emergency Preparedness for Your Pets. Pet Food, what to store and how to store it!
Sharing Some Tricks and a Recipe on Jerky
Great instructions and recipe for Jerky, from a food channel episode!
Fear-Free Garden Seeds
The basics you should know about various types of seeds used to grow the food we eat.
Getting Out of Debt IS Prepping – How to Start
Getting out of debt IS Prepping! Here are some simple and quick steps to help you get started living on a budget and finding your way to Financial Preparedness!
Financial Preparedness – Prioritizing a Monthly Budget
Financial Preparedness and tips on how to prioritize a monthly budget for your household.
Financial Preparedness – How to Get Out of Debt
Simple, Step-By-Step guidelines to getting yourself out of Debt! Linked to an extremely famous debt advisor, this article is worth looking at!
The Process of Peas
Peas are a great crop to add to any garden and a must have in your survival seed kit. They are among one of the first things that can be planted in the spring. Here is how to get it done!
Financial Preparedness
Americans have grown up on credit, it has been a way of life for us to always be in debt; and the banks love it.
Cooking on a Wood Stove
Have you ever wondered how your Parents or Grand Parents cooked on a wood stove so successfully? This article makes it a breeze!!
Composting Made Easy – How To
Very detailed instructions about making your own compost, along with ways to use and sell it!
The Great Prepper Movie List
The Great Prepper Movie List! All of your favorite survival, end of the world, post apocalyptic films, and TV shows in ONE place. Categorized to help you pick your preference according to the types of show you want to see and their ratings. Complete with links!
Homemade Citrus Extract
Homemade Citrus Extract – An easy afternoon project that will save you money and will make great gifts for friends and family. This article also covers why you should make it part of your food storage, and how. Anyone can do this, try it today!
Keeping a Healthy Flock – Foot Care
An excellent article on how to care for your chickens feet and some problems you might not be aware of.
How to Make Your Own Pectin
How to Make Your Own Pectin! Simple recipe and instructions on how to use it when you are done.
How Preppers Can Help
Share the principles of Prepping, by sharing your bounty with others in your community!
Tips for Keeping Your Chickens Warm and Alive in the Winter
All the tips you need for keeping your flock healthy and happy in the cold of winter!
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