As students of survival and self-reliance we are often overly consumed with our ability to survive and live. But, little thought is given, if ever, about the unfortunate reality that in a survival situation the end is not always happy. Little thought is given on how we would deal with the death of a loved one .

Here is an article that deals with just this. If nothing more, keep it in the back of your head, where hopefully it’ll live without use, but maybe it will help you if the situation ever warrants.

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It has been a while since I have written in this blog due to long hours of work and things that tend to get in the way… Read More

Admittedly, I am one of these people in this article. When I backpack, I just don’t like to cook. Like the article reads, food=fuel.

For many, stopping to cook is a zen like experience, when in the great outdoors. For me, dare I say— for fear of getting chastized, It’s inefficient and a waste of fuel. I also don’t like using dehydrated foods. It makes no sense to me to use water on rehydrating foods, when it would be more useful to me to just drink it. Don’t get me wrong, some of the dehydrated foods are tasty, and very lightweight, but using valuable water to rehydrate dehydrated food just doesn’t sit well with me… Why not just pack… Read More

Here is an outside the box thinker. While I have used  pantyhose for my stink bait, when catfishing, it just didn’t dawn on me all the other practical uses. But when you take a moment to think, some of them make perfect sense. I don’t agree with all of the claims, i.e wearing them to fend against biting insects… I am absolutely positive it doesn’t work against mosquitoes. I am a hammock camper and if those pesky critters can bite through the nylon hammock fabric and even t-shirts, you’re not going to convince me pantyhose protects against mosquitoes. None the less, the other information is sound and thought provoking.

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Finding practical uses for ordinary items has always been a hobby of mine. … Read More

Chumash Medicine Woman

While I never met her, her book had a profound impact on my knowledge of plants.

Born in 1955, Cecilia Garcia was a Chumash Indian Medicine Woman. In her culture, she would be known as “Antwap”, or “tool to be used by God”. She often led wild medicine hikes in the Glendale and surrounding areas. Sadly, on May 14th 2012, Cecilia Garcia passed away in her home in Ensenada

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From the Topangamessenger.com :

Cecilia Garcia, renowned Chumash medicine woman and co-author with Dr. James Adams of “Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West,” died suddenly on May 14 at her home in Ensenada.

She was a tireless teacher of healing through native plants, ceremony and laughter… Read More

Starting a fruit bearing tree from a seed, can be a long and drawn out before that tree starts to bear fruit. But veteran growers have a secret you can now have… It’s called air layering, a way of rooting a branch while still connected to the tree.

The process uses girdling to create a rooting branch. Ouch wait! Doesn’t girdling, or ring barking as it is also known, kill a tree, or branch? The answer is yes, but you can also use it to clone your favorite fruit tree. In fact it will also work on other trees, as well.

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Most of us want to plant and grow fruit trees at our home garden or in an orchard… Read More

Synopsis

Shot in Spanish, Entre Lobos (Among Wolves) tells the remarkable story of a poor country boy named Marcos, who at the age of 7 is handed over to his father’s employer, a rich landowner, who in turn delivers him to a life of labor with a hermetic shepherd in an isolated valley in Sierra Moreno, Spain. The old man, who lives in a cave, is unused to human company and at first seems not very interested in having a live-in apprentice. The boy, is frightened and equally aloof, initially. Despite this, the shepherd begins teaching Marcos how to herd the goats, as well as how to care for himself and how to survive in the wilderness by trapping and… Read More

You have your olive oil, you have your garlic and now you think you’re ready to make garlic infused oil.  Maybe you are.  However, if you’re like me, you might not really know what you’re doing. You see, I used to think you simply put some cloves of garlic into some olive oil and let it sit.  On the contrary, this is not the right method and is, in fact, pretty dangerous.  If you are looking for directions on how to make garlic infused oil with all that organically grown garlic, look no further.

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For the rest of the article, visit … http://www.untrainedhousewife.com/how-to-make-garlic-infused-oil

You may not know who he is, but you’ve probably seen his artwork. For many,  he captivated what was the call of the wild. He allowed many to live vicariously through his paintings. Every doctors office you would go to, there, proudly displayed, was his works. Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, and Winchester Repeating Arms Company are a few of the notables who used his artwork. I’m talking about Philip R.Goodwin.

Goodwin was born in Norwich, Connecticut in 1881. At age 11, he sold his first illustrated story to Collier’s

Goodwin illustrated Jack London’s ”The Call of the Wild” in 1903 at the age of 22. He later illustrated Theodore Roosevelt’s African Game Trails. Goodwin opened a studio in 1904 in New York City, and… Read More

The sight or gaze hounds are regarded as amongst some of oldest forms of the domesticated wolf tribe probably along with the spitz group of canines. The leggy rangy wolf of the the middle and near east, the wolf of the Russian steppes the canis lupis who ran its prey down by dint of sight. The sight canine, the sight dog and then the gaze hound though there are some who wrongly think this is intense gaze rather than hunting by sight, they are wrong I am afraid it is the gaze hound proper the sight hound the dog of the chase who hunts purely by sight (though there are exceptions) the pure running dog proper the Greyhound in all its… Read More

Some time ago, Christopher Nyerges shared with me an experience he had. While travelling through the desert, on his way to Las Vegas, Christopher started to feel excessively thirsty and experienced a headache. Upon, further discussion and questioning, he also said he experienced cramps in his legs and some in his stomach. — Christopher was experiencing the classic symptoms of a Heat Cramps. Left untreated, it could have progressed to a more serious condition of heat exhaustion, and heaven forbid heat stroke. Fortunately, it did not  go beyond heat cramps, but the outcome could have been worse.

With summer upon us and outdoor activities kicking into high gear, it is important to understand the delicate relationship between having fun and… Read More