One of the foundational aspects of being an entrepreneur is how intimately your business is tied to your personal life, for better or for worse. When things are good, they’re great. You’re crushing it. All of the pieces of your life are moving in unison, like a well-timed orchestra. The business supports and complements your […]
Resurgens, Chapter III Read More »
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the difference between wilderness survival and bushcraft as outdoor disciplines. You can check that post out here, but the bottom line is that wilderness survival is a tactical skill set, and survival is inherently an emergency. Bushcraft is a way of life that’s committed to keeping old-school skills
Survival Knives vs. Bushcraft Knives… What’s the Difference? Read More »
Today’s plant for #WildEdibleWednesday is Leucanthemum vulgare, or the Oxeye Daisy. One of the most recognizable wildflowers in the world, daisies have also been used as a medicinal plant for thousands of years. As a member of the Aster family (Asteraceae), their kin includes such medicinal luminaries as Chicory, Valerian, Liatris, Purple Aster, and Goldenrod,
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Today’s plant for Wild Edible Wednesday is one of our all-time favorites… the Oxalis genus, or Wood Sorrel. The species pictured, and the most common one in our area, is Oxalis stricta, or Yellow-Flowered Wood Sorrel. Wood Sorrel Habitat and Identification Wood sorrel is one of our favorite wild edible and medicinal plants. Like so
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In traditional societies around the world, every tribe had a shaman. He was a kind of hybrid between a natural healer and spiritual leader, and was deeply revered for his kinship with nature, and his ability to unlock the healing secrets of plants and mushrooms. If a member of the tribe had an illness, he
Instructor Spotlight – Phil Winter Read More »
This week’s plant for Wild Edible Wednesday is Salvia lyrata, or Lyre Leaf Sage. This plant is a polarizing one – some people love it as a wildflower and plant it in their gardens, and others call it a noxious weed and do everything they can to kill it. It’s a member of the mint
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I confess, I can be an axe snob. SARCRAFT is a dealer for Hults Bruk and Council Tool, after all. And I probably brag a little too much about the vintage Gransfors splitter I rescued and restored. I’m also a shameless hoe for any classic American axe I come across at an antique store –
The Best Beater Axe Ever Read More »
Today’s plant for Wild Edible Wednesday is Trifolium pratense, or Red Clover. Although closely related to white clover, it’s a far more powerful medicinal herb that may hold a legitimate cancer treatment in its leaves. And like chickweed or plantain, in addition to being medicinally valuable, red clover is another one of those wild edibles
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If you’re familiar with the 9 c’s of survivability that are popular in certain bushcraft videos and literature, you know that one of the items on the list is a candling device. Most people take that to mean a flashlight and leave it at that. And you do definitely need one of those. Unless you’re
Candles for Wilderness Survival? Read More »
This week’s plant for Wild Edible Wednesday is Glechoma hederacea, or Creeping Charlie. It goes by a whole host of weird alternate names, including Ground Ivy (the most common one), Gill-Over-the-Ground, Hedgemaid, Tun-hoof, Runaway Robin, Lizzy-Run-Up-the-Hedge, Catsfoot, and Alehoof. No, not kidding. And don’t ask how those names came to be, other than people in
Wild Edible Wednesday – Creeping Charlie Read More »
We live in a society obsessed with hacks. We’re always looking for ways to optimize, streamline, shortcut, and “hack” everything we do, whether it’s our work habits, our health, or even our relationships. On one level, that’s fine. Time is short, and life is fleeting. If there’s a more efficient way to do something, without
6 Reasons Not to Trust Your GPS Read More »
This week’s plant for Wild Edible Wednesday is Purple Deadnettle, or Lamium purpureum. Although it sounds like an alt-metalcore band name (at least to me), purple dead nettle is another common “lawn weed” that you’ve probably walked by every day without knowing what it was. Closely related to Henbit purple dead nettle has a great
Wild Edible Wednesday – Purple Deadnettle Read More »
A lot of wilderness survival training is geared towards what to do when the worst happens – when you get lost, injured, or stranded, and no one is coming to save you, at least not anytime soon. And that’s a good thing. Because although those situations are extremely rare, there’s no substitute for being prepared
Seven Steps to Staying Found Read More »
This week’s plant for Wild Edible Wednesday is Vicia sativa, or Common Vetch. Although it doesn’t sound like something you’d want to eat (it does rhyme with retch, after all), vetch has some great edible uses and a few medicinal ones as well. Vetch is another one of those plants that you’ve seen all your
Wild Edible Wednesday – Common Vetch Read More »
Open up almost any survival manual, and you’re likely to see a lot of drawings of bushcraft projects – primitive shelters, friction fire, traps, even how to build crude cabins. And most bushcraft books have at least a brief discussion about the value of bushcraft skills for wilderness survival. Obviously there are a lot of
Wilderness Survival vs. Bushcraft: What’s the Difference? Read More »
Today’s plant for Wild Edible Wednesday is Viola sororia, or the Common Blue Violet. Beautiful yet often overlooked, violet is a useful and widespread edible and medicinal plant. This plant is yet another example of a common lawn “weed” that’s far more useful than bland, generic grass. Common Blue Violet Habitat and Identification Violet
Wild Edible Wednesday – Common Blue Violet Read More »
Last week, we talked about the first four tips to help make your first backpacking trip a win. If you stumbled on this post first, you can go back and read that one here. Carrying on… 1. Don’t skimp on your nutrition. If you’ve never been backpacking before, you’ll be astonished by the number of calories
How to Make Your First Backpacking Trip a Win, Part 2 Read More »
This week’s plant for Wild Edible Wednesday is Arundinaria gigantea, otherwise known as River Cane, Switch Cane, or American Bamboo. Although much smaller in size, it is related to Asian bamboo species, and has many similar uses. Once growing in miles-long canebrakes along rivers and creeks throughout the Eastern U.S., river cane has lost much
Wild Edible Wednesday – River Cane Read More »
If outdoor pursuits were the skilled trades, I’d be a master backpacker. If it were like the military, my MOS would be Backpacking Specialist. You get the idea. It’s my thing. I remember my first trip, down Chestnut Lead Trail in the Cohuttas with Boy Scout Troop 241 when I was maybe twelve years old.
How to Make Your First Backpacking Trip a Win – Part 1 Read More »
This week’s plant for Wild Edible Wednesday is Stellaria media, or Common Chickweed. A member of the carnation family, Chickweed is another great example of a common lawn weed that’s way, way more valuable and useful than the grass that grows around it. It grows almost everywhere, and is one of the rockstars of the
Wild Edible Wednesday – Chickweed Read More »
