Natures Blog

The Go Kit
10/07/2008
  With the world looking as grim as it does at the moment a lot of people are thinking about putting together an emergency bug out bag or a go kit, whatever you want to call it.

  There are a lot of resources on the net as to what to put in one, My theory is that you have to start with the basics and work your way out to more luxury items unless of course you have a lot of cash on hand then you can just go get everything at once.. I read a book called "98.6 degrees The art of keeping your ass alive" by Cody Lundin. His book is all about the basics of a kit and the basics of survival and what to have in an emergency kit. He also talks about what to expect with hyperthermia, hypothermia, panic, dehydration, etc. The more you know how the body responds to extremes the more prepared you’ll be. It's a good book but has nothing in relation to primitive skills it's more of a short term "lost in the woods" for a few days kit.

  I'm currently building a couple of external frame back pack kits that will have a lot more things in it. Than my mini kit I take on day hikes. Because they are external frame they also double as carry packs for game or wood. I have a hand pump water filter, some woven pre-made dacron bowstrings, knife, small light weight hatchet, folding saw, 100‘ parachute rope. Two super warm sleeping bags that zip together to make a huge sleeping bag, a two man tent, etc.

  I guess it comes down to food, water, shelter, first aid then Fire, hunting, fishing and the list goes on. You need to decide what you are preparing for? A hike out in the mountains indefinitely? just a couple months? a week? Don't get daunted, Just make a list and go get a few basics then build on that as your budget permits.

  The way I figure it, every time I add something to my packs, I get a sense of peace thinking, dang if I do have to head for the hills that little item just saved some time. For example, premade bow strings.

  The world looks pretty messed up at the moment but hold your head up and know that by simply getting a few things together you are one step ahead of the masses. Oh don't forget to look at a map and actually pick a spot that you plan to escape to, then go out and have a look at the area while times are good, calculate how many miles it is to walk there, get a compass and get your bearings in the area, plan where you're going, it's all well and good to have your Go Kit ready but you also need to have a destination.

I recently found this website www.survivalblog.com he talks about how to prepare to stay at home, picture a period of time that is bad but not bad enough to hightail it to the woods, example a mild depression where money is tight. Buy commodities now, while your dollars are worth something, then when times get tough life will be a little easier. For example, today I just bought a new pair of heavy 12" high leather boots. Now with the new boots I'm a little more prepared for a winter depression, now if I have to go out and forage, my feet are warm, just one more thing to make life easier.

  Think smart and don’t panic. These things are prophesied by Jesus, they’re SUPPOSED to happen, times will get tough! Don’t forget to focus on your faith, in the end that’ll be the only thing that will truly save your life.

Fire by Friction
10/04/2008
It’s interesting how many people think that making fire by rubbing two sticks together is a myth. Of course there are people that believe it’s possible but then they believe there is magic involved!  Granted it is something that takes practice but having said that, it is entirely possible to learn how to do it from just reading a book and understanding the concepts and the process.
  The first time I accomplished making fire by friction is actually an interesting story.  At the time I was 22ish single and living in an apartment in Australia .  I’d been reading survival books for the previous year or so and so I was familiar with the process yet had at the time only tried it a couple times and failed. I now know why I failed but I’ll fill you in later.
  So here I was walking to my friends house through suburbia and  passing a huge tree that was growing next to the sidewalk I noticed a little branch that had long since died, dried up and been blown out of the tree in the previous days wind. So for whatever reason and without knowing what kind of wood it was, I decided to make a bow drill with it when I got home. But I was still headed to my friends house.
  When I got to my friend Joel’s house he of course asks me why I have a stick! So I confidently inform him that I’m going to make fire by friction in a bow drill configuration.  Well first he laughs then he explained to me how its impossible because him and his dad tried it and they used an electric drill! They made a whole lotta smoke he said, but no fire!
  Well I was rather undeterred of course, so after hanging out with Joel I headed home………..with my stick. When I got home I got out the books and re-read what I needed to know. Made a flat bottom plate, cut my notch, carved the spindle, the top plate and the bow.  I then sat down on my kitchen floor and got to work
  Within 10 minutes I had made my first coal, I put it in a bed of shredded bark form the stringy bark tree and blew the coal to life! I made fire by friction! I had never seen it done in the flesh and it worked out.
  Now there was luck involved, other than knowing it was a soft wood I didn’t know if the tree was recommended  for fire by friction. However my gut instinct was sure it would work this time.
  Like I said up top, the first couple times I had ever tried fire by friction I had failed, the reason why, I discovered, was because both times I was using pitchy would, one time was pine another was fir. Using pitchy would although not impossible is a lot harder. The pitch seems to steal your heat, therefore it keeps your dust pile from getting to combustion temps.
  Ok so in my time of using a bow drill and a couple times with a hand drill, I’ve learned some tips that will help in your attempts.

1) Don’t cut your notch to the center of the hole, if you do the spindle will drill through the notch and slip 
out, that steals friction and reduces the holes life span and can cause the spindle to unpredictably flip out.
Cut the notch about two thirds to the center and no closer.

2)Start out slow and steady with minimal pressure, the idea is to WARM UP THE SPINDLE AND BOTTOM PLATE. It is imperative, if you don’t, while you’re making your pile of dust, the kit will steal your heat and it won’t reach combustion temps.

3)Be rhythmic and steady, speed will ruin the process if you’re sloppy and wobbly, keep the spindle at 90 degrees between the bottom and top plates. Better slow and clean than fast and sloppy. What helps is having the proper stance/ position when doing this. If you’re right handed, kneel down on your right knee, put your left foot on the bottom plate, lock your left arm around your left leg and anchor that top plate. Then of course your right arm grasps the bow and goes back and forth.

4)Once you think you’re done, slowly remove the spindle from the hole, ever so gently remove the bottom plate without bumping your pile of dust and LEAVE IT ALONE. The pile will have a little whisper of smoke streaming from the pile, if the smoke stops then it wasn’t successful, If it continues past  10 seconds then you just made a coal! After about 20 seconds the coal will have bonded together the dust pile into a somewhat solid clump, transfer the coal to your bird nest and gently blow to life. When I say LEAVE IT ALONE I mean don’t touch it or fan it or blow on it!

5)If you just can’t resist blowing on your pile of dust then see tip number 4, then if you still can’t resist blow over it with your mouth open like when its cold and you want to see your breath. That way you are providing fresh air to the coal indirectly and you minimize the risk of blowing your dust pile apart.

6)Once the coal is inside your bird nest, wrap it around the whole coal and blow through and into the nest. Also, continually push the nest together, constantly putting pressure on the nest and feeding the coal more fuel, if you don’t the void of burnt up fuel inside your nest will grow to the point that the temperature within the void will drop and you’ll lose the flame.

7)I have experimented with different woods but my staple kit is made entirely of cedar, cedar bottom plate, cedar spindle cedar top plate/holder and cedar bow. It has always worked well for me and in the woods around western Washington cedar trees are everywhere! If you can’t find a dry cedar branch then go to your local hardware store and buy some, it’ll work just the same.  It’ll teach you the process and give you an excellent chance of being successful first time round!!

8)Experiment with different woods and get confident with the most plentiful wood/trees in your area.

Wild Edibles
10/03/2008
  This subject will be something that I talk about more often than other subjects because well quite simply I like to eat!! In a survival situation though keep in mind that you can survive without food for over 4 weeks, yes 4 weeks, in fact my brother fasted for 4 weeks without food and with only water intake and the final week with just tea, he lost around 30 pounds. Course he was healthy with no heart or health conditions, obviously everybody is a little different, if you’re already anorexic you might not make it that long. Another thing that is interesting is that my brother was working a part-time landscaping job and doing projects around the house while fasting, so seriously if you get lost in the woods be more worried about shelter and water before you stress about food.
So now that those thoughts are out of the way………..wild edibles,. It’s absolutely amazing to me just how many plants, seeds and trees are edible. Even the cambium of some trees can  be eaten, cambium is the layer between the bark and the wood, its very thin and colorless, granted there is a big difference between edible and palatable but hey I don’t like brussel sprouts either. 
There are a lot of people that believe that in order to survive in the wild, you need meat, pure and simple. Not true. Then again being a vegetarian isn’t my idea of a healthy diet, but many people do it and are very healthy so go figure.
  Also don’t forget teas. Teas can be essential in the wild to provide your body with valuable vitamins and minerals.  The needles from many evergreen trees, pine, fur, sruce can be brewed up, good stuff!
  So having said that, go to the book store and buy a book on wild edibles and learn and eat.  

Econimics
10/02/2008
  So the question is, to panic or not to panic. I gotta say it doesn’t look good but panicking will solve nothing.
  No matter what the worlds situation is, it pays to be prepared for disasters. Thinking back to native times, storing up food for winter was always a good idea. Thinking forward to today’s times ,it’s a good idea to be prepared for basic anomalies like storms, power outages, forest fires, etc. Whatever general “disasters” that pertain to your given area, that’s what you should be prepared for.  Storing some extra food, water, flashlights, fuel, etc is only basic wisdom.
  One thing to keep in mind is that we all buy insurance, car insurance, house insurance, health insurance and life insurance but how many of us have living insurance?  The first question to ask is, how much insurance to purchase? Take for example your car, there are lots of levels and dollar amounts that you can insure your car, contents and medical, for you, your passengers and the other car and people.
  So how much living insurance should you have, how much food, water and fuel should you have on hand, how big of a disaster do you want to survive?
  Fortunately we’re all learning, primitive skills and this will also help us survive disasters and is an extra bonus to living insurance. For example, I live in suburbia and just down the road at an off ramp for the hwy there is a big ‘ol patch of cattails just waiting to be harvested. Generally it’s a bad idea to harvest edibles from the side of roads due to pollutants, however in a survival situation that’s the least of my problems.
  Now the question arises (and no I do not have the answer) would you be better of heading for the mountains? Do you honestly have the skills? Are they tested skills? Don’t just blindly think that just because you are somewhere in the life long study of primitive skills, wild edibles, shelter building, hunting and water procurement that you’re prepared to just live off the land in the mountains. Unless of course they’re tested skills with solid dirt time. Be wise, not stupid J
  There may be a time in our future that we will need to head for the mountains, I firmly believe that bible prophecy tells us for a certainty and looking at how society is headed it wouldn’t surprise me anyways. Am I ready, um no. Honestly if I survived in the woods it would be by gods grace and luck.  I have a big family and that in itself makes it logistically almost impossible for me to provide for them all as a single primary hunter gatherer even if I did posses all the skills. I’ll have to band up with like minded folk and we’ll head out together. As a community of earth people we could easily survive.
  My point today is, be prepared. To what extent is for you to consider, but be prepared. Todays economy is a mess and we may be headed for hard economic times (assuming its not hard enough already).   So like I said before……..be prepared.

Natures Compass
10/01/2008
Natures Compass

  I’m sure you’ve heard or read people say……..moss only grows on the northern side of a tree or rock you can use the moss to find north. You’ve also probably personally gone out on your own and busted that myth.
  The truth is that you can use nature as your compass but you’re going to have to look for more sign than just one mossy tree or rock.
  There are many things that happen in nature that can practically pinpoint north.
    Ok so lets get started……

Wind :  Most areas that exist on this planet have a predominant wind and this predominant wind affects how things grow, you’ll also notice that some trees will grow leaning in the direction of the prevailing wind.

Sun:  We all know that plants/trees grow towards the sun, the sunny side of a tree “southern exposure” (northern hemisphere) will have more branches than the shaded side. Keep in mind that if trees are growing in a canyon or are shaded by a mountain or hill.
   Also the sun creates heat too, some trees will produce a chalky looking residue on its exposed side to protect it from the sun. Another thing that heat does is melt snow, snow will melt on one side of a tree, stump, rock or other object more than the other side.
   Don’t forget the simple fact that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west and when the sun is at it’s peak, that’s south (once again that’s northern hemisphere). One thing to keep in mind is that it depends on what part of the year you are observing the sun, it doesn’t always crest the horizon at precisely east and it doesn’t set at precisely west. During mid winter it is actually rises and sets a few degrees on the southerly side of east and west…….that’s why the days are shorter and colder. The only way for the days to get shorter is for the sun to not be in the sky as long………think about it.

Moon: The moon also rises and sets, although there are a bunch of anomalies surrounding that one too.

Anyhow there are lots of indicators, I’ve only touched on the tip of the iceberg.

Going back to the moss on the tree. The number one problem is that you can not, should not, do not, will not, and never wanna be the person that is relying on one indicator as the source.  Check this article out, he recommends trying to find 10 indicators.

http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/navigation/abb1/index.html

The creek and the Mystery
09/28/2008
  Was down at my In-laws place on sunday and my brother and I went for a walk along  the creek. It's a muddy bottom creek that flows around the house at a leisurely pace and along the bank it's dense with blackberries and saplings. We thought we'd see if we could make it through the thicket. That alone was fun, it always facinates me how you can look at a wall of green and somehow manage to crawl, walk and climb through it without nearly as much trouble as you initially imagined.

    So anyhow as we made our  way through we spotted a mound of mud, maybe a foot and a half high and 2 foot diameter. It was obviously made by some creature or another and was located just 3 feet from the waters edge where there was a very clear entry/exit  ditch to the water. Who and what made it and why? It was not a house, it was not food and it did not appear to be the shrapnel from a dig.

    Right next to the pile of mud there was a tree sapling that was laying perpendiclar to the ground about a foot high that had chew marks on about 5 foot of its length, the chew marks were only through the thin bark. It looked like a vine maple sapling.

    The only other clue was that about 15 feet upstream and through some thicket there were tracks that appeared to be raccoon, there were also 2 holes that had been dug down that had water in them, the holes were about 16 inches in diameter and 12 inches deep. The holes and tracks again were only 3 to 4 feet from the waters edge and there too was an entry/exit ditch into the creek.

    The tracks were the same size as that of a raccoon but I failed to see a clear  "back foot" print of racoon. As they have a large triangular pad on their  rear feet. They all looked like front feet, front feet without the "C"  shape to the pad, but then my memory feels sketchy now, I'll have to go look at them again. 

Robin
09/28/2008
   So here it is, early January and I'm seeing more and more robins! I love robins! Robins often times mean spring is on the way however that's not always the case. Robins migrate for food not because of the cold, in winter they eat fruit and in spring and summer they eat worms. Well ok they don't "just" eat worms but you get the idea.
    Some Robins may infact find a little stash of food somewhere and won't migrate at all. But as a whole, they do migrate. And although it seems as though they came back a little early.
    I for one welcome them back!!

Walking Spot
09/28/2008
     There is a place I go walking, its my “walking spot”. Sometimes I walk slow, sometimes, I walk fast, its my walking spot and  it’s at the local park.  On the face of it, most people would tell you that there isn’t any wild life there. The interesting thing is, I’ve seen more wild life there than when I’m way up in the mountains. Let me tell you about my wild adventures at the local park.

        This is your usual park, its about a square mile of woods nestled in the middle of suburbia, it has a lake, a nice asphalt walkway that goes all the way around and there’s also a baseball field , some kids play equipment and picnic tables.  Wal-mart and Home depot are on one side, a college is on the opposite with housing estates on the other two sides. My favorite part are the other trails that make there way through the rest of the woods to the surrounding estates.

       My walks generally take quite a long time, there’s so much stopping involved, hear a bird call there or a flash of something traveling just out of perception over there.

       One time I was walking past the place where the frogs are always making noise and just up the track there was an almighty screech and great whooshing of wings and rustling leaves. Adrenalin instantly flooded my system and not wanting to miss anything I went charging through the bushes in the direction of the commotion.  At the time I was a little worried about scaring away the show but at the same time I knew it would be over fast. All I knew at this point was that it involved a bird and something else.

      So I crash my way right to where I believed the noise was coming from and sure enough. Nothing.
I was feeling a little disappointed right about then so I  relaxed a little and as I spun around using my owl eyes, there it was, perched atop a maple limb under the forest canopy, an Owl. Staring at the owl I found myself in complete awe, but when it spread its massive wings and silently glided through the trees I was in complete wonder.

       I have two theories as to what took place causing all the commotion, either the owl just had a meal with a creature that wasn’t quite cooperating or a Stellars Jay was getting a little too annoying for the owl and the owl acted out.  I will never really know but its fun to try to recreate what happened.

    This brings me to the time when I was stalking a deer, granted I never did get real close but the excitement was awesome. So here I was walking up a new road that cuts through to the college. Up ahead a dear slowly meandered its way across the road and went into the woods on the opposite side. I ran as quietly as possible up to just about where it entered the woods and began to stalk. Turns out that it had taken a well traveled animal trail thru some tall grass. As I advanced towards the deer in total excitement and concentration  I hear to my right the unmistakable tapping of a woodpecker! So there’s my dilemma, do I continue stalking the deer or do I watch the woodpecker? Just as the thought crosses my mind the deer gets spooked, most likely from me and bounds off, leaving me, to my satisfaction, to study the woodpecker.

    If you want to observe animals at your local park, the trick is to go, go often, walk or sit quietly and make sure to visit at different times during the day.    

The vehicle and the destination
09/28/2008
Your grandma is very sick, you want to go help her but you need everyone in your family to come and help. All of your brothers and sisters must help or your grandma won’t make it. Unfortunately your grandmother lives many miles away and your brothers and sisters have no desire to visit and help, in fact they have forgotten all about their grandmother. They are busy working, busy with life. You know there is only one way to grab their attention and take them to see grandma. You rent a Ferrari.             
                               
      You drive over to your brothers house in this gleaming red speed machine. When you get there he comes out and takes one look and not surprisingly wants to go for a ride! So off you go flying down the highway. Its so much fun, unbeknownst to him you take him all the way to grandmas home. When he sees her he cries. He sees the pain in her eyes and how she’s been mistreated. He sees and now he finally understands, he had no idea just how much his families ignorance has hurt her and now all he wants to do is help.  You feel so happy you go back home to bring another brother or sister.
The Ferrari represents primitive skills, grandmother is mother earth and your brothers and sisters are earths population.

      Our planet is very sick, due largely to people living so far away from the earth. They have forgotten Mother Earth and therefore do not know her pain. How do we help? By bringing others close to the earth and doing so via a vehicle, than they will see with their own eyes what the earth really needs and most will want to help.

      Primitive skills is a vehicle that is being used very effectively, its kind of like a Ferrari. The first time they see fire by friction they are amazed and it’s a safe bet they‘ll want to learn to do it themselves. Then you show them how to make cordage and they will want to learn that also. With the right mentoring, as they learn more and more skills they will invariably draw closer and closer to the earth. As they draw closer to the earth they too will see the earths pain and want to help.

      Learning primitive skills is not the only vehicle. There are many ways to draw people closer to the earth. The lesson here is to not forget why we are learning and teaching primitive skills. To draw ourselves and others closer to grandma, Mother Earth.

Pysical / Spiritual
09/28/2008
     What does it mean to walk the razors edge? Tom Brown talks about it and Grandfather before him. I don't claim to be an expert on this but let me give you my take.
       Its more about the spiritual than the physical. Its more about how you think  or rather don't think. Our minds are constantly cluttered by thoughts, and its this thinking that unbalances us. The spiritual mind needs mental silence. From what I understand, it's the thoughts about the future and the past that are the major disturbances. The present is where we should reside.

The BIG one!
09/28/2008
   On December the 14 2006 Washington state was hit by a massive windstorm that affected all those between the coast and the mountain range. The worst part is that it hit the electricity grid hard, Puget Sound Energy started to compare it to the storm in 93 but soon realized that it was far  worse.  Almost a million households without power !  Some for over 4 days!
      Whether you want to call it global warming or bible prophecy the fact remains that the weather is getting more erratic and severe.
    How prepared are you? Be prepared !

Comfort Zone
09/28/2008
   Today it rained, it was cloudy, it was sunny and now yet again it is cloudy all the while staying below 40. The weather happens to us everyday. It changes constantly and we adjust to it on the same schedule, to stay comfortable.
                                                  Define comfort.
   Here I'll raise some questions, ponder these for awhile:
               Does your body define what's comfortable or your mind?
                Is it your mind that dislikes the rain or your body?
                Your skin gets cold, do you dislike that, why?

  Here's the real question though, is it possible to expand your comfort zone?

Awareness........Children
09/28/2008
    Is there ever  a day that need pass by without teaching our children something about nature?
    As we were driving towards our destinantion in my truck with just me and my four year-old daughter for passengers, we were playing a game called.......well ok it wasn't a game, we were just pointing out the deciduous trees and the evergreens. Sometimes yelling, sometimes whispering, sometimes pointing some times not. It was fun and she was learning. She wasn't just learning about trees,  no, today she was leaning about awareness.

   Seeing the detail in something, is, awareness. Notice a bird sitting on a branch and then watch as it flys away..........What color is it, what are its markings, flight pattern, posture, size, call,  shape.
   There is seeing and then there is knowing.

The Bird
10/01/2008
   Today a bird died in my care.  It's not what it sounds like, it was out of my control, it was sick. I spotted it at work and immediatly recognized something was amiss. It was not hopping like crazy, it was going slow.  What really alarmed me was the sparrow was only 6 feet away from me in a driveway, its nearest bush to hide in was 30 feet away and it was not making the least effort to fly away. Keep in mind too I wasn't sneaking through the woods either I was making a whole lotta banging noises and so forth.

   So I went over and bent down to take a look at the little guy and see what the problem was. It didn't take long to figure that one out, he had a great big growth on his head, lets just say it was cancerous, I really don't know but he wasn't a well bird.

  I scooped him up with little struggle and took him over to a maintenance shed we have at work, put him in a lil box, put on a heater and made some water available.

Thirty minutes later he passed away.