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MAKING A TINDER NEST
greatly increases the incidence of successful fire building. When a flame is caught, a tinder nest is used to ignite a bigger fire.
When crushed or bent, dry tinder will easily break. Sometimes, the surface area will feel dry, but when it bends without breaking, the material isn't really dried out on the inside. If the ground is damp, search out materials which can be found resting on top of bushes or branches. Because they have been exposed to the sun and air flow, these materials are going to be drier than ground litter.
If the driest tinder you can find is damp, place it inside your jacket leaving a clothing layer between it and your bare skin. When you find yourself ready to prepare a fire later in the day, the heat from your body will have served to dry the tinder.
Shredding the tinder creates extra surface area that will more readily catch fire. Fluffy materials are ideal for nursing a spark into a flame. Use a bandana or other cloth to gather your tinder. Select a long piece of tinder and hold it in your hands as you move them in a bike pedaling movement. Repeat this process across the full span your tinder. The tinder will soften and grow more flexible. Bits and fine dust will fall down from your hands and fall onto the bandana.
Take a few of the rough pieces of shredded tinder and create a loose over hand knot with a diameter of around four inches.
TIPS FOR EMERGENCY WATER STORAGE
The human body can only survive three days without drinking water. Water is really a high priority in terms of emergency preparedness.
Nearly 25 gallons each day is used by each individual in the average household. This isn't only drinking water, but that put to use in cleaning cooking and flushing as well. The majority of the systems that are utilized to supply water into these homes are driven by electricity. Even properties with wells often make use of electric pump systems. So, water storage is very important should the power grid stop working.
If you know beforehand that you could suffer a loss of your supply of water, take the occasion to fill up bathtubs, sinks, ice chests and any other container you've got that is good enough to hold water without leaks. Divide your stored water into some that will be useful for drinking and that designated for other use.
Plan to keep enough water to last the home seven days. Every person will need to have 21 gallons of water stored. To be safe, you might wish to double this amount. A family of five would call for a bit more than 100 gallons of water in storage. Double this amount would mean you'd need 210 gallons. So, two or four, fifty-five gallon drums would satisfy your storage needs.
The weight of a gallon of water is under eight and a half pounds. Bear this in mind when planning storage and transportation of water. Large amounts of water are safest kept on a reinforced concrete floor for the reason that weight of fifty-five gallons of water is nearly 500 pounds -- and that doesn't include the weight of the drum! This is too heavy for most other floors.
In case you are unexpectedly without water, there are locations within your house that have useable water. Typical hot water heaters may hold forty or more gallons of drinkable water. The water tank part of the commode also has water which is able to be used for drinking purposes. Ice cubes within the freezer are another resource. Do not discard the water found in canned goods because it is another valued way to obtain moisture when every single drop counts.
Water can be collected via downspouts or inside a kid's swimming pool in the course of a rain. On top of that, clean sheets and bedspreads can be placed out to soak up the dew or rain and then wrung out over a storage container. Non drinking water sources include things like water from the toilet bowl and the water bed mattress.
Prepare ahead to prepare for possible water shortages. Use your imagination to replace stored water when utilities are not working. Educate yourself and your loved ones to reduce the use of the water you DO possess.
DANDELIONS: A GOOD FRIEND TIME OF IN NEED
Dandelions are best-known because of their dazzling yellow blooms that are later replaced by a globular downy orb, dispatching seeds in the wind. Other people view this vegetation as being a persistent weed that may invade even an immaculate turf.
A healthy food item and a prized pick-me-up, Dandelions happen to be edible from the root, to the leaves as well as the blooms. Gather Dandelion in an area you are sure is free from pesticides & toxic chemical contaminants -- steer clear of areas near a road.
DANDELION LEAVES
The shape of the leaves inspired the name of this vegetable. The French phrase 'dent du lion' references the toothy shape of the leaves.
It is best to harvest leaves in the spring just before the plant blossoms because the plant's vitality is targeted in the brand new growth during that time. These are delightful additions to soups, salads, teas or tonics. Whether tried fresh or dehydrated for later use, Dandelion leaves are delectable.
Submerge the leaves in a container of water and swirl them gently. Allow the leaves to soak while the dirt settles to bottom. Carefully remove the leaves from the water in order that the dirt isn't stirred up into the water. Run the soaked leaves beneath running water. Put in a strainer bowl to dry.
BLOOMS
To collect the blooms, pull on the sepals (green leaves at foundation of flower) and the blooms will pop off the stem, saving you the trouble of removing stems afterwards. Soak and rinse these using the same technique as for the leaves.
DANDELION ROOTS
Dandelion roots are able to be consumed fresh or dried. The nicest quality roots mature in well-cultivated soil. They form a thin, carrot-shaped tap which is twisted and brittle, milky white in complexion and growing deeply in the earth. Broken remains of the root left in the ground when harvested will multiply and generate new plants.
Gather roots in midsummer since this is the season when they are thought to be the least bitter. These are best from free, moist dirt positioned in shady locations. Roots are not as vigorous during frosty weather and shouldn't be collected during that time. Nonetheless, it isn't a problem to harvest during rainy conditions. Lift gradually and with care utilizing a long trowel or fork. If the roots are cut or broken in the course of harvest they will bleed and you will relinquish the benefit of their valuable juice.
HABITAT ENRICHMENT
Bees, Butterflies and hoverflies are drawn to the nectar from the Dandelion flower. Finches also appreciate the seeds of this herb.
Take the time now to discover safe sources of Dandelion because it is a nourishing food resource and a helpful remedy in time of difficulty.
CRICKETS FOR SURVIVAL
Crickets live in shallow tunnels dug beneath stones or dirt or in clumps of plant matter. Males can often be heard calling females for mating at night when they are more active. Most species are found in grasslands and forest, but many others can also be found near seashores, in marches, trees and caves.
TELLING THE TEMPERATURE WITH A CRICKET
LIVE BAIT
Using crickets as live bait, you can catch fresh fish. Cricket fishing is well suited to shoreline fishing as it is most effective within 15 feet of the banks of small lakes.
A discarded can will serve well as a fishing reel. Anchor the free end of your fishing line and cast the baited hook into the water. Wrap your line around the can to bring the hook back. Continue to cast and reel in your line until you have a fish.
A SOURCE OF FOOD
Crickets reproduce twenty times faster than cattle raised for food. Over the span of three or four weeks, over 1,000 eggs can be laid by a female. Crickets require a fraction of the space and food needed to raise other forms of meat. These insects are twice as efficient at meat production as pigs or chickens. They can supply meat at a rate that is four times that of sheep and six times that of cattle, after deductions for trimming and dressing.
The meat from crickets provide protein and other nutrients. One hundred grams of cricket meat contains 3% carbohydrate, 6% fat and 21% protein in addition to 21 mgs calcium. For each gram dry weight of cricket meat there is 63 to 122 milligrams of fatty acid (linoleic acid & a0linolenic acid), copper, magnesium and iron. All of this is available for the cost of vegetable table scraps.
HERDING CRICKETS
A series of large trenches would be dug by the Paiute people as a means of catching crickets. Dry straw would be placed over this. Then the crickets would be driven into the trenches. Next, the straw was set ablaze and the crickets were roasted. Bushels of the roasted crickets were then gathered to be ground into flour used to bake protein-rich bread.
FARMING CRICKETS
PREPARING TO EAT
Place in a colander your selection of crickets. Use cheesecloth or wire screening to quickly cover this and keep the insects contained. Run water over the top to rinse them thoroughly. Shake the excess water from the container. Seal the crickets in a container and place this in the freezer for 15 minutes. While this length of time will be enough to kill the crickets, it will not be enough time to freeze them. Take them out of the freezer and rinse the crickets once more. Depending on your personal preference, the legs, wing cases and heads can be removed. The legs can be painful to swallow and will sometimes get stuck in the teeth. Crickets can be consumed raw, but they can also be dehydrated or roasted and incorporated into your recipes.
TAKE PRECAUTIONS
Be careful when selecting crickets for food. Avoid those found near or in residential areas as these might have been exposed to chemical insecticides or herbicides.
Below Ray Mears demonstrates using a can as a fishing reel.
It's towards the end of this short video:
HERBS USED FOR INCENSE
Historically, sick rooms were once cleansed using the smoke from burning sage and rosemary. A fragrant wood, Cedar is known to have expectorant, antifungal, antiviral and lymphatic cleansing properties. The needles from Pine, Spruce and Fir trees contain the main ingredient in Tamiflu (a medicine used to treat the bird flu) called shikimic acid. Respiratory ailments have been helped with the application of incense made with Frankincense. Other similarly beneficial herbs are Eucalyptus leaves and Mullein.
I know of one instance of a woman that was left struggling for air, choking and vomiting from a strong cytokine response during the flu. The man of the house closed the damper on the wood stove and placed cedar in the fire box, which produced a cleansing smoke. The cytokine storm stopped right away. Twenty minutes later, she had no more mucus and was relieved of her flu symptoms. Since that time, they have used this same remedy on other family members to good effect (of course, they air the house out afterwards).
Native Americans often used the smoke of Cedar to cleanse their homes. Smoke can be used in rustic conditions as a cleanser to rid a person, bedding, clothing or shelter of vermin, viruses and harmful bacteria. The last part of Leviticus 14 records that priests were instructed to cleanse a house of the plague using Cedar.
HOW TO USE HERBS FOR INCENSE
Carefully place a hot ember or coal from a hardwood fire (use tongs) onto a heat resistant surface. Assemble the herbs around and onto the ember and watch for smoke. Allow the smoke to waft over you and inhale. Be careful that the plant material does not burst into flames but only smokes. The smoldering is accomplished by using hot coals rather than an open fire; you can also tie your herbs or wood into tight bundles.
Herbs tightly bundled for incense are called smudge sticks. In some cases, leaves and stems can be tightly braided. If you only have dry leaves, these can be tightly wrapped in unbleached paper and tied with cotton thread. To use smudge sticks, light one of the ends. Extinguish the flame by gently blowing on it, leaving the smudge stick to smoking. These smudge sticks make it easier to direct the smoke and they tend to smoke longer than loose plant material.
WARNING
Never inhale or come near the smoke of a plant to which you are allergic. The purpose of this article is for information only. Persons utilizing these methods assume all liability and are encouraged to use safety guidelines. This article is not a substitute for the care of a trained health professional.
