2011 Spring Event was a enjoyable time for all. My good friend Ynot was able to join us this spring and the weather cooperated for the most part. No major problems or drama, just a group of friends having a wonderful time!

It came to my attention that the song previously uploaded to you tube was marked “private” so I uploaded another version of this song for all to enjoy…

Once again it is getting close to that time of year….lets reflect on some of the times we’ve had in the past….

Ran across some information on the Tamarack tree that I didn’t know.

The tender spring shoots are nutritious, and can be eaten when they are boiled. The inner bark (cambium layer) of the tamarack tree can also be scraped, dried and ground into a meal to be mixed with other flours… which some references indicate is an acquired taste (Peterson 1977), while other references imply the gummy sap that seeps from the tree has a very good flavor when chewed (Hutchens 1973), as sweet as maple sugar.

A tea made from tamarack bark is used as a laxative, tonic, a diuretic for jaundice, rheumatism, and skin ailments. It is gargled for sore throats. Poultices from the inner bark are used on sores, swellings and burns, as well as for headaches. For headaches, Ojibwa crush the leaves and bark and either applied as a poultice, or placed on hot stones and the fumes inhaled (Erichsen-Brown 1979). A tea from the needles is used as an astringent, and for piles diarrhea, dysentery, and dropsy. The gum from the tamarack sap is chewed for indigestion. The sawdust from tamarack may cause dermatitis (Foster & Duke 1977).

Alma Hutchins (1973) describes some of the uses for a tea made from 1 teaspoon of the inner bark of tamarack boiled and steeped for 30 minutes in a cup full of water:
Because of its astringent and gently stimulating qualities the inner bark is especially useful for melancholy, often caused by the enlarged, sluggish, hardened, condition of the liver and spleen with inactivates various other functions of the metabolism. For domestic use in emergencies, or long-standing bleeding of any kind, in lungs, stomach, bowels, or too profuse menstruation. Also for diarrhea, rheumatism, bronchitis, asthma and poisonous insect bites. J. Kloss in ‘Back to Eden’, recommends the weak tea as an eye wash and the warm tea dropped in the ear to relieve earache. A decoction of the bark, combined with Spearmint (Mentha veridis), Juniper (Juniperus communis), Horse radish (Cochlearia armoracia), and taken in wineglassful doses has proven valuable in dropsy. (Hutchins 1973)

This information was gleaned from nativetech.org.

Recently added a link to a tutorial on making a pair of soft sole one piece woodland style moccasins…follow the link in the menu for patterns at right.

The Hudson’s Bay Company, drawing on nearly 300 years of experience in the wild places, has prepared a watertight emergency kit particularly for use on the trading concern’s aircraft. This eleven pound outfit, which is capable of floating, measures twelve inches by eleven inches by three and one half inches.
The contents have been assembled with a view of maintaining one individual normally for one week. If the user cuts exertion and hardship to a minimum, the Hudson’s Bay Company with characteristic conservatism estimates that the sustenance can be stretched about four times as far.
Provisions for signaling, lighting fires, cooking, fishing, catching birds and snaring animals are among those made by this worlds oldest trading corporation, once given by royal charter a large portion of the North American continent. Here is what the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson’s Bay choose to include, and the reasons why:

Item Quantity Purpose
Tea Bags……………………………28 Making of tea
Vitamin Pills…………………………50 Making up for diet deficiency
Pilot Bread………………………….30 oz. Food
Butter……………………………….16 oz. Food
Strawberry Jam…………………….14.5 oz. Food
Klik……………………………………12 oz. Food
Condensed Milk……………………..14 oz. Food
Chocolate Bars……………………..10.5 oz Food
Matches……………………………..100 Lighting of fires
Knife…………………………………..1 Multiple purpose
Spoon…………………………………1 Eating, fish bait, scoop or shovel, ect.
Whistle………………………………..1 Signaling
Double face mirror……………………1 Signaling
Fishing line…………………………….1 Fishing, snaring, wick, string, ect.
Fishhooks……………………………..4 Fishing, catching birds
Snare Wire……………………………1 oz. Setting Snares and other various uses
Candles………………………………..2 Cooking, light, ect.
Kleenex…………………………….small amt. Multiple purposes
Camphor……………………………… Mosquito bites, cuts, chapped lips

taken from “LIVING off the COUNTRY” “How to stay alive in the woods” copyright 1956 by Bradford Angier

Today a very special friend of mine -John Kissinger – has passed away due to a hard fighting battle of Cancer. I ask of u to take a moment of silence in his honor for he was also a Viet Nam Vet who loved his country. Love U John–RIP John Kissinger…

I’ve found an easy way to set aside money for the next Vous’ or other event is to ask for a couple of “gold” dollar coins when I cash my paycheck. I usually get however many in place of $1 bills I have coming. I keep them in a period correct buckskin pouch and don’t bother to cash them in as the coin money seems easier to keep track of when lacking decent pockets. These coins are “special” enough for me to save. I just keep reminding myself that they are not to spend, they are part of my gear. I don’t miss the $5 or $6 per month and guess what? $76 and counting in my little pouch!

A small tin of Petroleum Jelly

Commercially available as Vaseline, this product will:
fix chapped lips and skin
aid in healing small abrasions
lubricate rusty parts
prevent rust from returning
softens dry leather
line the cup of your candle lantern to avoid wax sticking
a thick dab under the nose will capture pollen and dust to help calm allergies
a cotton ball rolled in Vasoline will burn even when wet (fire starter)
add to the threads of a sticky jar lid to stop the problem
polish your bald head
rub in as a natural oil finish for raw knife and hawk handles
apply liberally to hands before beginning a dirty job for fast cleanup.

A multitude if breath mints are now available in “mini tins” these days. These tins are about 1″ x 1.25″ x .25″ and are relatively tight. A cap tin or an old Bayer Asprin tin or even the little fuse boxes from your car would also be okay for transport or storage.

In the coldest days of this winter, I recommend a trip to the local library and a quick read of this book. Fun and inspiring, it also gives some insight into wilderness survival.

PLOT SUMMARY
Sam Gribley, a 13 year old boy living in New York City, finds himself fed up with the world around him and runs away to his grandfather’s farm in the Catskills Mountains. He’s determined to live off the land and survive on his own. The only things he brings with him are a knife, a ball, a hatchet, 40 dollars he earned from selling newspapers in the busy streets of New York as well as a slab of flint.
When he finally gets to the Catskill Mountains, he has to find food and shelter. He catches a fish, but can not create a fire. He skips dinner and goes to bed. The next morning, after sleeping in the wilderness, he hikes around the area, marking the location of certain trees and possible sources food. He then burns a hole into a large tree to make a shelter. Afterwards, Sam is very hungry, and he set to work, trying to build a fire. After many tries, he finally is successful using the flint and his knife. Finally, he’s able to cook the fish he caught.
As summer passes, he learns how to survive and gets used to living off the land. He makes his clothing, bed, and catches meals with help from his peregrine falcon, Frightful. Frightful wasn’t much of a hunter, but when Sam trains her, she becomes a reliable pet. Sam also befriends a weasel, which he gives the name The Baron, and a friendly raccoon named Jessie Coon James.
Time passes and people start to notice the living presence in the forest. He has many visitors and one of them is Bando, a professor who got lost in the forest. Bando is nice, and teaches Sam, while Sam teaches Bando. Bando leaves, and another visitor comes. This time it’s a reporter. He wanted to get something from the ‘mysterious boy’ living in the forest with no supervision. When Sam tells lies, he figures out that Sam is the one living in the forest and is about to publish that, unless Sam lets him come again near April. Sam agrees. The reporter boy comes then goes. He has lots and lots of visitors, but the most exciting visitor is his dad. When Sam left for months, his dad had been worried, and had finally come to see the boy. The visitors come back, and then leave, and it goes like that for some time, until one day, his dad comes with the whole entire family! They had decided that they would live with him until he is 18. Then he would be free to do whatever he wanted.
courtesy of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia