Here on the Homestead, we are gearing up for the Eclipse on April 8th, 2024, because we are on the path of totality.
10 Eclipse Glasses arrived in the mail. 3/19/2024
NASA Map
Here on the Homestead: I could have bought her flowers, but my Lady wanted a Stihl.
It came with a Free Hat! – 7/31/2023
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I affectionately refer to our incubator chickens as ” Mutt Chickens” Black Star with “?”.
One from this years first hatch. They are growing out fast!
Brooder with six store bought Rhode island reds
In the incubator. The foam is only on the outside. I will never get a foam incubator. This is hard plastic on the inside with an auto turner. Works great. holds 12 eggs we will do about 3-4 rounds for the summer. hatch rate >70%. The first round was low because it was early and cold out. We did not pull the eggs from the coop fast enough.
5/23/2023
Last year (I Planted Rhubarb). I thought that I drowned my Rhubarb. Before that I grew some from seed and something ate it. So I fenced it. That stopped the critters.
I was worried about Black Root Rot / Crown Rot. I just stopped watering it. It looks like it survived and is doing well.
Every Year, I want to add Rhubarb to some part of the property (From purchased seeds or plants) I figure eventually we will get the right place. If they all stay healthy then we just add to a food forest. I Love Rhubarb Crisp!
One of (two) Teresa’s Warre Hives. 5-18-23 with bee’s
We are updating Rockbottom Survival Skills as a Book – That book will have he Quilt box and insulation not showing here.
Teresa dumps the Bees in the Box and on the Queen. This one may bee from the Saskatraz box. These went in before the cold snap. They are doing well.
Queen in the Box
More bees for Teresa Today. The Next batch (Carniolan honey bees) of Bees arrived. It is going to be cold tonight. Frost in the area. This second batch will go in tomorrow with warmer weather. This was taken just after Mothers day.
5/10/2023 Almost Bee time! Teresa is building her Warre bee hives.
Langstroth Hive vs Warre Hives this year.
It’s going to “bee” a competition for her hives this year.
She will also have at least one extra Langstroth set up
for a swarm. Two nucs being sent in the mail this coming Saturday, arriving on Monday.
Apple Trees, Grape Vines, Rose Bushes, Raspberries, Chery Bushes, Plum Tree
All are doing well over the winter. A few losses over the past two years: Apple Tree, Cherry Tree, Cherry Bush, Siberian Tea bush, Chestnut Trees and Elderberry bushes. We are going to re-plant new Elderberry bushes and Chestnut trees.
We plan on transplanting some of our Stag Horn Sumac’s. Our blue half barrels and raised tables are getting moved.
Teresa is moving along on the Warre Bee Box. Looks like its two Warre boxes at a time. She is loving this build. Teresa thinks this design is great. We will report more at the end of the year.
Teresa will end up with two Warre Hives with this build
Teresa Gibbons, “Bees are on the way!”
Teresa and John on Feb 14th 2023
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50 grape vines from this summer, Frontenac Vines.
I’m looking forward to the summer on this winter day. We will not harvest grapes for about two more years.
These vines grew fruit the first year and we had to pinch them off. We are looking forward to “Stuffed Grape Leaves”, In 2023.
Teresa bought a machine just for this process kind of a cigarette roller for grape leaves. We love stuffed grape leaves. Yes, I will post a recipe later in 2023.
Food centric New Years day 2023
We had a great Christmas 2022, Ham and all the sides. It was great to share with family. Yes, stress and the demands of the day give way to peace on earth and good will to all. Presents were shared and thankfulness for Grace. This will be our last year in the Yurt.
Our Special Day
Teresa and I celebrate our special day. It has been many years since our first date. A walk at Point au Roche state park. Early on I taught her to make fire with Flint and Steel. She taught me how to find peace. She is an amazing and “Good Woman”. I am thankful for Teresa every day. Our wedding anniversary is coming up soon (3rd) The coming year will be one of our best. Once, I prayed to close doors. Be careful what you ask for because you may well get it. This is not a bad thing. What will be left will be from God. Now, doors are opening one by one. Perhaps it is because when things are bad Teresa and I take the time to pray together. At those times we ask God to come into our problems. We believe strongly that two people united in thought can achieve anything with the aid of Grace. A Happy “Special Day” to my wife Teresa.
Nov 26th 2022
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Pass the gravy! Today, we are thankful to have the family together. It was a full Yurt.
Teresa, Danny, Julia, Shannon, Jared, Nicole, Eliza and Me
Sarge was way too loud for me.
But next holiday, we may have to get him a big bone to gnaw on.
Thursday, November 24
Thanksgiving 2022
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Here on the Homestead: We call these our mutt chickens – Crossed with everything. We have two incubators and will keep them going until end of July.
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The Survival Sun Compass, First Steps to
Navigation and Staying Found.
Campfire Navigation: The Survival Sun Compass, First steps to navigation and staying found is now on Kindle. By John Elden Gibbons
Campfire Navigation:
The Survival Sun Compass, First Steps to
Navigation and Staying Found.
Where are you Going? Navigation is simple: Pick a direction,
use a reference, and stay on a course. But how do you make sure you are going in the right
direction? What if you have no compass? Can you use a compass? What if you don’t know the time?
This volume starts the process and teaches you the basics of finding direction.
You will learn techniques for returning to your camp, or navigation with and without instruments.
Includes the Gibbons Hobo Sun Compass Template. This clever design will help you determine time and
direction with one device.
Here on the Homestead more of our eggs are going into my ugly home made incubator. Teresa has been using shredded news paper in the coop. they seem to love it.
Our TV Short – Welcome to Rockbottom has been delivered to:
Box Brazil Play
Formats
TVOD SVOD
Territories
Only:
Brazil
Description
[Box Brazil Play] (www.boxbrazilplay.tv.br) is a Brazil-based platform that is a is a subsidiary of Box Brazil Group.
They have over 40 live TV channels and also own multiple streaming platforms.
Here on the Homestead: We keep our Roosters in proportions for breeding and running the incubator for the year. The downside is that Roosters will spur you. We have an answer: Remove the spurs. Who wants to get punctured by a Rooster walking around in a petri dish. Kind of like a Tiger trap. One of the roosters flew at Teresa this morning and tried to spur her leg. The result was, “It was like the dog jumping up on you. It was annoying but no big deal.” Not the case if the spurs had been on the Rooster, and it could have been a nasty puncture wound. The Roosters do not seem in any way harmed. We “blue coat” them after the removal. This removal will have to be repeated every three months or so.
Hi All,
It has been a busy spring. I took a part-time gig that turned into a
full-time temporary position (As a Sub-Teacher). We have been re-working our titles and
are getting back into stores. Look for additions of Canoe Camp Cooking and my new title:
Personal Survival Kits
at Bookburgh Books in the Plattsburgh mall.
Available this weekend.
Also, all our video titles are going up with our distributor.
We are back on track with multiple titles.
Black Belt Camping (Video) then Rockbottom Survival Skills
It will be up on demand, and we will update you about placement.
All of our titles are getting a review and distribution.
We will be giving you updates on our summer live events,
Expo and Trade show tables. I used to do this in the 90s and miss it.
Time for Teresa and to hit the road and meet people again face to face.
Also, Teresa quipped, “This is the first time I ever paid a Royalty for a plant.” We call our homestead “Cedar Grace.” We have lots of Cedars.
We have almost 5 Acres in total, and we also have another three acres of mixed woods north of here (Maple Trees). Anyone can do this kind of homestead. The Name of our Vineyard is under wraps until we file a few forms. More about that later.
Here on the Homestead, we are adding raised containers to the mix. I will be adding the legs this week. Fifty-five gal half barrels are easy to build.
Four half-barrels equal about one of our grow beds.
Here on the homestead: You know it’s going to be a good story when you start with
“I was starting to build a worm farm when suddenly…”
Here on the homestead the strawberries are almost ready for picking.
My wife is gearing up for the bee season. We are looking forward to getting started as backyard beekeepers on our homestead.
He is a designer breed with high energy and an excellent watchdog.
Due to their protective instincts, they’re fiercely loyal to their owners.
Next year, we can run up to 50 Taps on our Sugar Bush. This year 20 is plenty. I ran a few tubes but I like the buckets.
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My Survival School Past
I get asked all the time what Survival / Outdoor School I was a partner and chief instructor in. My old business partner has sadly passed away. He was a Vietnam Veteran and power house of knowledge. I owe him much for the opportunity he gave me to help educate others in the ways of the woods. This business partnership put me on the road to self-reliance and deliberate living. Thank You Old Friend.
The first real video production I ever completed outside of college was, A Wild Plant Nature Walk. When we dissolved the partnership my old friend was the one that pointed me to the job of working with at risk youth for NYS.
Euell Gibbons on Location
Welcome to Rockbottom now on Tubi and Plex.
Rockbottom survival Skills the Podcast
Homesteading: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly – Season 1, Episode 1
John Elden Gibbons and Teresa S. Landry introduce themselves and talk about their experiences of living deliberately, creating a freedom lifestyle, building a homestead, and living off-grid. This is about the good, the bad, and the ugly that goes along with independent living, and a journey that is filled with ups and downs. Throughout this podcast – and future episodes – John and Teresa discuss the aspects of “back to the earth” living that they want to maintain as they move forward and the aspects they want to move beyond and never have to deal with again. This is about deliberately building the ideal life and acknowledging that some overly-romanticized notions of the simple life are not feasible in modern society. Also discussed will be the challenges of earning a living while living “simple,” and the plain truth that living simple is very time-consuming.
Rockbottom Survival Skills: Podcast
Every Day Survival: Good and Ugly Ep:2 SN:1
John Elden Gibbons and Teresa S. Landry Continue to introduce themselves and talk about their experiences of living deliberately, creating a freedom lifestyle, building a homestead, and living off-grid. Homeschooling and a pandemic change the way life is lived. This is about the good, the bad, and the ugly that goes along with independent living, and a journey that is filled with ups and downs.
Rockbottom Survival Skills Podcast
Bug Out or Dig In: EP3 – SN1
Rockbottom Survival Skills: podcast Ep 3
In this episode John Elden Gibbons and Teresa S. Landry talk about Bug out vs Dig in. When does a home stop being a place of relative safety, and what can you do to prepare your space for living during outages and loss of services? Surviving isn’t always about trekking into the woods alone, sometimes you have to take care of a family with shelter stripped of modern conveniences. What can you do?
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851887/9687514-bug-out-or-dig-in-ep3-sn1.mp3?download=true
1988 or 89
More information About our Projects:
On Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/JohnEldenGibbons
On Twitter – https://twitter.com/johnelden3
On Linked In – https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gibbons-560172a2/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/rockbottom_survival_skills/
John’s WebSite –https://JohnElden.com/ FREE STUFF
Teresa’s Site – https://lifewithteresa.com/
Teresa on Twitter – https://twitter.com/lifewithteresa