If there is one thing you generally don’t want to encounter when out and about in the wilderness, it is a huge and menacing snake. Be it a monstrous 6-foot rattlesnake or an even more colossal python, these primordial serpents are the stuff of nightmares for many people. However, most snakes simply don’t get that … Read more
Among every order of animals on earth, there are always a few individual species that seem to go against the norm of expected behavior, color, and other distinguishing characteristics. Among snakes, you might say that the ringneck is that species. These snakes are wildly colored and exhibit a strange “curly cue” defensive pose, but they … Read more
Most people typically think of earth tones, camouflage patterns, and similar colors when they imagine snakes, but many snakes can have striking or even beautiful coloration. One of the most striking colors that adorn the scales of snakes, and arguably the most sinister, is black. From the matte black of the cottonmouth or certain rattlesnake … Read more
If you live near wetlands, large bodies of water, or any other place that stays moist and damp you have probably encountered a ribbon snake before. These tiny, slender, quick snakes are extremely good swimmers and, if you care to watch the surface of the water, you’ll probably see the rippling wake they leave behind … Read more
For many of us, snakes are scary enough just on their own. A snake could be lying there basking in the sun, and if someone who is frightened of them were to see it, they’d probably run in the opposite direction. But things can get a whole lot worse when you’re dealing with a snake … Read more
Out of all the animals on Earth that slither or crawl, probably none are as subject to as much fundamental fear and revulsion as snakes. Snakes as a category are practically synonyms for evil and treachery, and is no wonder that pretty much everyone avoids them and many people kill them on sight. However, snakes … Read more
The garden snake, more properly called the garter snake, is not a single species but is actually many subspecies, and many of them are quite common throughout the United States, often encountered, as you might guess, in the garden! That is bound to upset some people, but since these snakes are so common we had … Read more
Even if you don’t like snakes, most snakes that you encounter in the wild are nothing to write home about. Most are tiny and furtive, quickly taking cover, and slithering through leaf litter and underbrush to get away from you. However, some snakes are so big, so powerful and so impressive they are genuinely intimidating … Read more
As much as we might hate the sight of a snake slithering around on our property, it is important to know that not all snakes are dangerous…Many of them are very important because they help reduce the populations of rodents and other animals in the wild. How about the corn snake for instance? Is the … Read more
There are all kinds of snake species in North America, and countless more around the globe. In fact, there is so much variety when it comes to snakes (species, subspecies, and even regional variations, and color morphs) that it makes positively identifying any given snake using color alone quite challenging most of the time… Assuming … Read more
When discussing survival scenarios, especially long-term scenarios or ones where you are trapped in the middle of the wilderness, the topic of hunting for food often comes up, and for obvious reasons. But, this discussion typically overlooks small game, and I’m talking about really small game in particular: insects. Although eating insects is nothing new … Read more
The use of oil to provide in-home heating used to be far more common around America than it is today, though there are still many cities and northern regions that rely on this old standby. Compared to electric heat, oil heating has advantages and disadvantages, but the obvious drawback is that the oil must be … Read more
Preparing for a power outage and its impact on your life is difficult enough without worrying over how you’re going to prepare your meals. Considering that the kitchen is really the command center of the average home, anything that takes your kitchen offline is going to dramatically interfere with feeding yourself and your family. Yes, … Read more
Pretty much every single prepper can be expected to have an emergency supply of food for troubled times. Whether it’s a natural disaster or the collapse of society, you’ve got to be able to eat no matter what! Prepping for a weekend power outage, a few weeks of roughing it after a hurricane or even … Read more
When the power goes out or you are in the middle of a survival situation where you need a fire it is easy to feel overwhelmed if you don’t have your usual fire-starting kit or expert skill with primitive fire-starting techniques. Fortunately, there is an easy, improvised way to get your fire started: using a … Read more
If you want to keep your property safe and protected from trespassers and avoid trespassing when you are out on an adventure, you’ll need a thorough understanding of your home state’s trespassing laws. Only by understanding the trespassing laws in your state will you know precisely where your rights begin when it comes to properties … Read more
Trespassing is serious business. You might not think there is very much wrong with traipsing onto someone’s land for one reason or another, but I’m willing to bet you’ll feel very differently if someone is on your land. Whether you think it is a proper crime or just more like disrespect, the law tells us … Read more
Trespassing is one of those things that all property owners instinctively get upset about. The idea that someone is on our land, without our permission, is enough to make your blood boil even if they aren’t hurting anything. The nerve of some people! But understanding your state’s trespassing laws is important if you want to … Read more
Some people think of trespassing as a petty violation, a crime so minor that it hardly warrants worrying about. But this just isn’t the truth: trespassing is still a crime, wherever it occurs in the United States, and in some states it is a very serious crime under the wrong circumstances. Accordingly, you’ll want to … Read more
If you own land or property, rent it, lease it or have any other legal entitlement to it you will definitely want to understand the trespassing laws in your state. Only by understanding these laws will you know where your rights begin and end concerning a given piece of real estate, and just as importantly … Read more
If you own property, you’ll definitely want to brush up on your home state’s trespassing laws. This is so you know exactly what your rights are when it comes to keeping people off of your property, and what the requirements are for you, as the owner, when it comes to posting or notifying others to … Read more
If all you know about raccoons is what you’ve learned from internet videos of them acting adorable, you’re in for a rude awakening when they start hanging around your house. They can break into your trash, infiltrate your attic, and generally make themselves a complete menace. They also carry a variety of diseases that might … Read more
Although sometimes thought of as a lesser offense, in every single state throughout the US trespassing is still an actual crime, one complete with penalties and potential incarceration as punishment. You’ll definitely want to know the trespassing law if you want to keep uninvited guests off of your own property, and also if you want … Read more
Though trespassing laws are broadly similar throughout the United States, each state still has its own variations on the basic concepts and its own penalties for violating these laws. What is a misdemeanor in one state could be a felony in another. Though you might think you understand your property rights if you haven’t followed … Read more