Practically Seeking
April 2009 (Issue 21)
Okay, you're probably tired of "old adage" remarks
by now, but with all of the "April showers" we've had this
month there had better be a whole lot of "May flowers" coming
up real soon!
It has sure been a rainy month here in New Jersey, but with this crazy
90 degree heat wave over the weekend, on top of all the moisture from
previous weeks, the truth is I can't believe the way everything has just
POPPED in the last few days!
Leaves are exploding onto the trees, flowers are blooming everywhere,
the grass is green, the plants are shooting up, the bees are busy buzzing,
and the Japanese Knotweed is growing so fast you can practically sit
there and watch it get taller.
Ain't Spring Grand?!
Here at home, our 3rd Hunter-Gatherer weekend is coming
up quick, and it's so hard to believe that this will mark the half-way
point of the program already! (Check out what they've been up to and
follow their progress each month on the Hunter-Gatherer 2009 photo set on Flickr.)
We had a fantastic time and met some great new folks over
the weekend at the Whittingham Traditional Archery Rendezvous, and are
looking forward to heading down to the Baltimore
Traditional Classic in just a couple of weeks.
It's shaping up to be a busy summer once again and we're looking forward
to seeing many good friends, and making lots of new ones, as we
travel to events and hold workshops around the country (and in Canada).
If we're going to be in your area we hope you'll come by and say Hi.
Until then, enjoy a wonderful Spring!
e
| What's New | Upcoming Events | Skill of the Month | Eddie's Bookshelf | Practically Speaking | Final Note |
What's New
OSAGE STAVE PHOTOS NOW ONLINE!
Premium Osage Staves on the website
The Osage Orange from our good friend Tom McDonald has
been split into staves, is being worked down, categorized and photographed,
and available
Osage is now up on our website ready for sale.
This is well-seasoned, straight-grained Osage with beautiful rings that
looks like it is being turned into some very pretty bows. (We got to
see a finished one over the weekend!)
Each stave has been numbered and photographed and posted with a description
of distinctive features, so choose the stave you want, then give us a
call or send an e-mail and we will get it shipped to you.
Or, if you're heading to one of the Archery shoots or Knap-ins at which
we're going to be exhibiting, we'll bring it along for you to pick up
there. (See our Events listing
or 2009
Schedule to see where we'll be this summer.)
If you're in the Toms River area and want to come by and see them in
person just let us know.
We have already sold several, so don't delay!
NEW ON YOUTUBE!
Proper Bowdrill Form
Our newest video is up on YouTube and has received rave
reviews from the folks who have seen it so far. Julie takes you through
a detailed explanation of Proper
Bowdrill Form and shows how, when everything is applied correctly,
a coal can be easily created in less than a minute.
Combine the information in this video with the instructions on How
to Carve a Perfect Notch (available online in our Newsletter
Archive) and you will go a long way to discovering just how easy
and effortless bowdrill fire can really be!
Upcoming Events
TEXAS WORKSHOPS FILLING UP!
Clifton, TX — June 12,13, & 14
Special Guest Instructor for June 14!
The word must
be getting out in Texas, because our June workshops are booking up
quick!
We're already over half full for both Medicinal
Plants and Traps,
Simplified and there are only a couple of spots left for Backwoods
Hygiene & Improvised First Aid. If you've been thinking about
joining us for any or all of these workshops be sure to send in your
registration asap.
(There's plenty of room on the ranch to stay overnight between workshops.)
After talking with our Guest Instructor, Mark "Doc" Wright,
(Eddie's good friend, and a retired US Navy Independent Duty Corpsman)
I can promise you that June 14 is going to be a heck of a day! Mark's
20 years of submarine, ship-board and battlefield medical experience
will take the Improvised First Aid workshop to a whole different level,
and provide you with real-world solutions to everything from mildly annoying
medical mishaps to majorly serious "what am I going to do now" situations
that can occur on any camping trip or backwoods outing.
This one is not to be missed!
Baltimore Bowmen Traditional Classic
May 15-17 — Glen Arm, MD
We've attended this event for the past couple of years
now and have always had a blast. The archery courses are well laid out,
the site is really nice, the camping is free and the people are great.
We always meet fun, enthusiastic folks and make new friends, and are
definitely looking forward to going back this year. If you've been thinking
about checking out a Traditional shoot, this is a great one to start
with. Be sure to come by and see us!
(For more info check out the Events
page on our website.)
Free Open Skills Nights
May 20
June 24 (4th Wednesday, due to Texas trip)
July 15
Come on out and join us for our FREE Open Skills nights the third Wednesday of each month. Bring a project you're working on, a plant ID guide, an animal tracking book, or just come to meet us and spend an evening hanging out.
It's fun, it's free, and everyone is welcome. We never know who will be here,
or what folks will be working on, but we do know that it's always a great evening.
We look forward to having you here!
(Check out photos of some past Open Skills Nights on our new and growing Flickr page!)
INTENSIVE SKILLS PROGRAMS
World of the Hunter-Gatherer — Texas
Now Accepting Applications
We have already begun accepting applications for our brand new Hunter-Gatherer
Texas program!
The same information will be taught as in the New Jersey version, and
in the same small group, hands-on, integrated learning style, but participants
will meet for 3 days every other month (September, November, January,
March and May), probably over the 3rd weekend, with the Survival Outing
taking place in June.
We're so excited to be able to offer this amazing program to a whole
new group of people in a whole new area of the country. We hope you're
excited too, and look forward to seeing your application!
Application Deadline: July 15, 2009
Secrets in the Stone
September – November 2009
We have already begun receiving applications for this Fall's Secrets
in the Stone program, beginning in September.
No matter what your current knapping skill level, if you been wanting
to begin seriously learning to work with stone then this program will
take you far beyond your current goals and expectations.
Our last group of participants went from having little to no experience
when we began, to fluting points & artifact reproduction just 3
month later! (Check out a
sampling of their work on our Flickr page.) And with a better understanding
of just how much can be accomplished, Eddie plans to cover even more
ground this time around!.
Application Deadline: July 1, 2009
Remember, these programs are limited to only
4 participants, to ensure the highest quality of instruction.
Upcoming Workshops
Our Spring/Summer schedule is Underway!
Be sure to check out the great workshops available on our new Spring
and Summer schedule, and here's a look at what's coming up over the next
couple of months…
May
2-3 Survival
Skills 101
4 Stone
Tools
22 NEW! Front-yard
Foraging: An Intro to Edibles
23-24 Medicinal
Plants
29 Immediate
Need & Emergency Shelters
30-31 Short-term & Small
Group Shelters
June
12 Medicinal
Plants (Clifton, TX)
13 Traps,
Simplified (Clifton, TX)
14 NEW! Backwoods
Hygiene & Improvised First Aid (Clifton, TX)
21-22 NEW! Intro
to Bow-making
23 Shooting
the Longbow
26 Acorn
Processing
27-28 Primitive
Pottery
29 Primitive
Cooking
Skill of the Month
Pitch Sticks: The Original Hot Melt Glue
Pitch -- that thick, gooey stuff that oozes out of coniferous (cone-bearing)
trees, gets your hands all sticky and doesn't wash out of your clothes,
is actually an amazing and highly useful substance. Pitch (also
called Resin) has been used for everything from adhesives to medicines,
as a weapon and a waterproofer. The list of uses to which pitch has been
put throughout the millennia are almost endless.
To keep pitch ready-for-use in it's handiest form, it is a great idea
to keep a few Pitch Sticks at the ready. Here is how to make them.
NOTE: ALWAYS USE CAUTION and good judgement when processing pitch! It
is extremely flammable and the fumes are toxic. Always process and use
in a well-ventilated area.
(For photos to go along with these step-by-step instructions check out our website.)
How to make Pitch Sticks:
- Gather the "resin nodules" from coniferous (cone-bearing) trees, such as pine, spruce and fir. Look for hardened opaque yellowish bumps on the bark, as well as roundish lumps within the bark.
- Take some finely crushed and powdered charcoal (the black, charred pieces
of burned wood from a fire) and pour a small pile onto a piece of cardboard
or soapstone.
If you do not have any charcoal available, finely crushed and powdered egg shells can also be used. It is a good idea to pour the powdered charcoal or egg shells through a fine sieve to remove any larger pieces.
NOTE: Do not use commercial charcoal briquettes, as they most often have lighter fluid or other chemicals added into their mixture. - Obtain 2 small tin cans (soup can size), a fine metal sieve or mesh screen (window screen or smaller), and a few small sticks.
- Put the pitch nodules into one of the cans and heat it slowly over LOW heat
until completely melted. A small propane or butane camp-stove works great
for this, as it allows you to control the heat quickly and easily. The coals
in a campfire are equally effective. (Coals only — NO flames!)
Remember: Pitch is very flammable! If it starts smoking it is very close to igniting. SHOULD THE PITCH IGNITE in the can SMOTHER THE FLAMES with a pan lid, sand, or baking soda. DO NOT try to blow out the flames! The added oxygen will cause them to flare up in your face. - Using tongs or pliers, remove the can from the stove and carefully pour the melted pitch through the sieve and into the second can. This will filter out any impurities, such as bits of bark.
- Set the first can aside and place the second can, now containing the melted and strained pitch, over a LOW heat. Very hot pitch is quite runny and cool pitch becomes quite thick; neither will adhere to your stick very well. You want it to be about the consistency of honey, so return to (and remove from) heat as necessary.
- Dip the end of one of your small sticks into the melted pitch, then roll the pitch-covered end in the powdered charcoal or eggshell.
- Allow the pitch stick to cool until it begins to firm up, like soft taffy. While your first stick is cooling, begin to dip your additional sticks.
- Repeat steps 7 & 8 until you have as large a "lollipop" of pitch as you desire.
- If you like, you can dip your fingers into some water and use them to help form the pitch into a nice rounded shape, or roll the semi-cooled pitch on a hard surface. BE CAREFUL! The hot pitch will stick to dry skin (and everything else!) On a hot day, it can be helpful to dip the pitch stick directly in a cup of water to help it cool faster.
- Store your Pitch Sticks in a cool place, out of direct sunlight. Otherwise the pitch could soften or melt!
NEXT MONTH: Working with Pitch
While the finished product is not as strong as modern
glues,
it will create excellent bonds and can act as a filler to seal
gaps.
So check your trees for some of Nature's own Hot Glue and Have Fun!
Eddie's Bookshelf
The Forager's Harvest
—Samuel Thayer
This book absolutely is a must read and must have for anyone even remotely
interested in Edible Wild Plants!
The one thing this book is NOT is 'just another plant book' that has been
based on all of the same old prevailing literature you have seen so many
times before. Instead, Mr. Thayer speaks from his personal experiences
and dispels several inaccuracies that have been repeated over and over
in current plant studies books. The refreshing attitude that he brings
to the study of edible plants is revitalizing.
The Forager's Harvest is not a plant ID book or Field Guide in the traditional
sense. Thayer concentrates his information on 32 of the most common edible
plants, and ones with which he has the most personal experience.
Mr. Thayer further re-defines the definition of Edible to include only
those plants that actually taste good(!) and are abundant, and relatively
simple to prepare. He also discusses foods that are worth the energy expenditure
to collect. I have spent a great deal of time learning plants that are "edible" but
never available in enough quantity to be a viable food stuff. Thayer drives
home the point that while these plants may be unique or interesting, there
are many others that, if you are actually planning to make Wild Edibles
a part of your everyday diet, are a far better use of your time and energy.
Hooray for this work!
In last month's Practically
Speaking segment we discussed Phenology, and this book has a very
good example of a foraging calendar (or Phenology chart) that will be
useful for both the novice and the experienced forager. One of the nicest
aspects of this book is the numerous high-quality photos of every one
of the plants, and the amount of detail in which he covers each one.
Originally brought to our attention by one of our students, The
Forager's Harvest has quickly become a mainstay of our bookshelf and one of our
most recommended books. And we're not the only ones who think so highly
of it. This book has also received excellent reviews from Tom Elpel
(Botany in a Day), Christopher Nyerges (editor of Wilderness Way magazine)
and many others.
Too often in the outdoor skills community assumptions are made that
were based on myth or inaccuracy, then presumed to be fact by those
who have no personal experience to tell them otherwise. That information
is then simply regurgitated and passed on from notebook to notebook
until, sadly, it becomes "FACT".
I find it wonderfully refreshing that Mr. Thayer brings his own authentic
and ACTUAL plants experience to benefit us all.
Ready to try your hand at discovering wild foods this year?
Come join us for our upcoming Front-yard
Foraging: An Intro to Edibles and Foraging & Gathering
workshops in May and July.
To find more information on this and other recommended books, see our website.
Practically Speaking
Earth Day or Earth Life!
At the Spring Foraging workshop last weekend I think some of the students
were surprised at both the abundance of available food, and just how
tasty wild edibles can be. The Japanese Knotweed was prime time and oh
so tasty, but I wonder how many folks realize how beneficial this "noxious
invasive weed" is when it comes to the health and welfare of your
body (and wallet)? Did you know that knotweed has compounds that
can lower LDL (lousy) cholesterol? It's also packed with vitamins A & C
and is a good source of potassium. Dandelion, considered by many to be
the bane of their yard, is amazing in it's vitamin and mineral contents,
and general health-giving properties. (Some even attest that, when
properly prepared, it can be effectively used to treat certain forms
of cancer.)
So once again I ask the question that perplexes me every spring:
Why would one want to eradicate these healthful, nutritious and diverse
plants with toxic chemicals and herbicides?
In many cases, simply eating them can serve as an effective control
method, and help to reduce our grocery bills to boot! But instead, we
are encouraged from almost every direction to spray our lawns and parks
and roadsides with chemicals in order to eliminate anything that is not
grass, follow a non-sustainable monocultural model, and then spend our
hard-earned money on fertilizers, vitamin supplements, and medications.
Consuming these "weeds" does not pour additional toxins into
the environment or onto our food, and does put healthy, sought-after
and necessary elements into our bodies, in the purest and wildest form.
Organic eating at it's best!
This past week people around the world celebrated Earth Day. An excellent
reminder, to be sure, of the fact that our planet is in dire need, and
it is our duty and our responsibility to take care of her.
I wish that every day was Earth Day.
In fact, I wish that more people would dedicate themselves to living
an "Earth Life"!
What would be the difference between Earth Day and an Earth Life? Effort.
It takes little effort to buy a compact florescent light bulb, or shop
in the "Organic-friendly" section of your local store, then
pat oneself on the back for a job well done and return to the oblivious
treadmill of modern life.
And don't get me wrong, those are not bad things. Anything that we can
do to reduce our heavy bootprint of impact on Mother Earth is a good
thing. But let's face it, we are rapidly approaching the point where
those "little things" are not going to be even close to enough.
It is going to take Effort. Lots of it. From all of us.
It takes effort to find a plant, identify it, prepare and consume it.
It takes effort to suffer through some of the summer heat with open
windows instead of jacked-up air conditioning. It takes effort to find
a family farm that offers traditionally grown chicken and beef that you
will have to cut up, freeze, thaw, and find new recipes to use it all.
It takes effort, and it takes time.
Living an "Earth Life" is not something that is easy to jump
right into, and you will no doubt face many obstacles along the way,
as we do. Friends, family, neighbors, neighborhood associations, city
by-laws, job commitments... all may throw roadblocks up in your path
that frustrate and confuse you, take your time and energy and make you
feel like giving up. But we must continue to try. We must continue to
put in the effort. So we do what we can today, and make another effort
tomorrow.
Earth Day or Earth Life — the consequences of each are exactly
proportional, and you will only get out of them that which you make the
effort to put in.
I happen to feel the Earth Life way is much more rewarding. So give it
a try. Get your family involved. Make some effort. And then, You
decide.
Happy Earth (Day) Life
One Final Note
Now that it seems as though we are confronted each day
with some additional piece of earth-shaking and potentially civilization-shattering
news, more and more people are turning back toward the "old ways" for
comfort and confidence, and as preparation for the possibilities that
may lie ahead.
Believe it or not, this has been a small epiphany for me. I have been
reminded that the reason we, Julie and I, do these things is not in preparation
for some prophesied "end-times", or apocalyptic zombie-war
waiting to happen.
It is because they are fun!
It is a wonderful thing to start with a stick and work the wood down
into a beautiful bow. Or to hold a chunk of rock in my hands and chip
away all the excess until a flintknapped thunderbird remains. To see
a depression in the ground and follow it along until I scare up a deer.
To come across a new and delicious plant, or create a beautiful basket,
or place a new pot into the fire wondering just what colors it will turn
once the ashes are cleared away...
Yes, these are all skills that will help should the unthinkable happen,
but far more than that, they are a way to slow down, to play, to become
aware of all the amazing resources that surround us, to sit closely in
the hand of the Earth and wonder at her abundance.
It's a beautiful evening. I think we'll leash up the dogs, go out to
the woods and go for a walk.
Be Well,
Eddie & Julie
Practical Primitive