to Arrest a Coughing Fit...

My wife was suffering from a bout of sinusitis and a nasty migraine headache over the weekend. I ended up taking her to the emergency room because she was vomiting, dizziness, etc. A real mess. After an IV the migraine subsided and her sinus started to drain. After a few days the sinus was clear, no migraine, but the cold had moved into the chest. One night she was having a coughing fit.
Several of the standard things like honey and concoctions were not helping. I had a thought and went out and grabbed a hand full of yarrow from the yard around midnight. Brought the yarrow in chopped it up and boiled some water. Placed the yarrow in a coffee cup and poured the boiled water over the yarrow. Brought the cup over to my wife and had her cover her head and inhale the steam from the mix. Within fifteen minutes and after a few coughs the spams stopped and she was able to get some sleep. One of yarrow's properties is being antispasmodic which helped her out.

** This is just for informational purposes. Now this worked for my wife and may not work for you. I am just sharing what we did and it seemed to help her.

Enjoy,

A Pouch to???

Ok, I am going to post some links here. Some time ago I posted about this cool little mess kit for my pack; Stanley Camp Cook Set, this set comes with two small cups and the cooking "pot" with lid. Over all a really nice, simple cook set.
Then I picked up this handy-dandy carrier or MOLLE pouch for it; Ncstar Vsim Airsoft Molle Hydration Bottle Water Carrier Tan - CVWBC2948T. This pouch can be attached to a backpack or ruck. Also has a shoulder strap to carry solo. In my MOLLE pouch I carry my field silverware, small single burner stove, fire starter, one can of fuel for the stove, a small stainless steel tea strainer for making various woodland teas for refreshment, and one stainless steel cup that the mess kit fits nicely in. Very spacious and keeps the field mess kit together. Another handy product is this Stanley Utility Water Bottle 24 ounce. One can replace the mess kit with this stainless steel water bottle if desired.
The links are from Amazon, but you can find some of these items at one of the big box stores for a bit cheaper (W*lmart). The pouch is a bargain on Amazon.

Below are some photos of the goodies. The digital pouch has a smaller pocket, the tan pouch is a bit bigger overall.

Below is the contents of the digital pouch attached to my pack.

Seeing a couple of pictures always helps. Check around for pricing on these gadgets, you just never know where a bargain can be found.

Enjoy,

A New Type of Educational Card Game...

Where to start for this one? Not sure, but the card game is call Conflicted. This deck of cards will make your brain work overtime if you take them seriously. The deck consists of 52 different scenarios that deal with survival. Some will be directed to individual situations while others place you in a group or responsible for a group of people.
The game maybe helpful in identifying personal weaknesses; e.g. difficulty working with others. On the other hand the game could be useful in helping someone find people that they are compatible with and associate with for mutual benefit?
No need to continue rambling on. Follow the link and read what folks are saying about the game here: Conflicted Card Game.

** Not associated with the folks who produce the game. Purchased the game and find it interesting and worth sharing.


Enjoy,

Nothing at All...

Over the weekend NW Vermont had a wonderful ice storm. The news was reporting that it was worse than the 1998 ice storm. One of the electric co-ops actually requested the Red Cross to open a couple of shelters. During the early morning hours on Sunday I was was what looked like lightening, but it turns out that the transformers were popping and trees shorting out power lines were the cause.
The weather was funny. Raining and freezing as it hit. Overcast, foggy skies. I cleaned off a two inch blanket of ice of the cars. Trees are popping and snapping leaving one heck of a mess. Sunday appears was the worse day at the moment in the this storm. Still have the branches loaded with ice and it is going to get a colder. More snapping with limbs and trees coming down soon enough. We were without power most of Sunday until late evening. No TV, no internet, I live in an area where cell phone coverage is generally not available for the carrier I use.

What did I do and what did I learn?

Nothing beats a quiet day with the wife and Christmas music playing on the radio...

Heat - I used a small indoor propane heater called or made by Mr. Heater. Has two ceramic waffle plates that heat up a small room nicely. When I bought the heater I bought the extension hose that connects to a grill tank. Normally the heater will use two Coleman fuel lantern tanks. The wife was happy about being toasty warm. No smells or fuss.

Food & Water - Well, what can be said about this. I suppose that people should exercise a bit of common sense here. Having a supply of food and water to go for a week or more is a given. If you don't I would give some thought to it. No issues with hydrating or eating.

Communications - I have a small portable radio that I listened to local news, music, and shortwave. My scanner radios were working as well as my 2M/440 radio. Used FRS radios to update and keep in touch with the neighbors. The one radio I was not going to use is the HF rig. I need to work out the DC power for that. I have car battery that I trickle charge that I connect to my DC distribution panel. It is not a deep cycle battery so I don't get to carried away when it is hooked up.

Lighting - I have purchased some 12VDC LED reading lights from Amazon. Very bright and useful. I plan to get several more as they draw .020 amps DC. The battery will last forever with lamps like this. For wandering around we have some LED flashlights. No worries with lighting.

Power - As mentioned above I have a auto battery for the radios and a couple of lights. Total draw with radio receiving and LED RV Lamp was four (4) amps. Also, cranked up the generator long enough to recharge the battery.

What do I want or rather what does the wife want? What do I need to do to provide the wants?
TV and internet. Working out the details for these two. Got pieces & parts on order.

Stay Tuned....

Enjoy,

to Make a Tincture...

Well, summer is coming to a close. We built a solar food dryer and played around with strawberries and bananas. The strawberries worked out the best, the bananas not so much. Needed more time for them.

For a definition check wikipedia for Tincture. Basically a concentrated form of medicinal herb suspended in an alcohol base. For the alcohol I used 80 proof vodka. Never made a tincture before, so I had to do some reading. I have several books about herbal medicine and as well as poking around the internet.

Check out these books...
Handbook Native American Herbs Healing
Peterson Field Guide Medicinal Plants Herbs
Backyard Medicine Harvest Herbal Remedies

Of course there are more on the subject. I do have a few more, but these are what I keep handy. I went to the local grocery and picked up a case of large mouth pint canning jars and lids. Also, got some wax and pectin. Just in case we want to try and make some jam later.  So here is what I did.

First I sterilized the lids and bottles.
1 cup of dried chaga into a pint jar.
Filled the remainer of the jar with vodka.
Try to leave as little air space a possible.
Shake daily and let seat for a month.

The second batch is made of black elder berries.
1 cup of elder berries, I used a fork to mash the berries.
Turns out to be 1/2 a cup. (Next batch will be 2 cups of whole berries)
Filled the remainer of the jar with vodka.
Try to leave as little air space a possible.
Shake daily and let seat for a month.

Both will stay in the dark corner of the pantry for a month. I have some yarrow and self-heal in the yard. I am going to pick some to dry as well as make a batch of tincture for them.

As a matter of fact my wife just finished making a small batch of black elderberry syrup. We will have to taste test in a bit.

Enjoy,

A Small Mess Kit for my Pack?

Not to long ago I put together emergency packs for the kids and wife to keep in their vehicles or to have if they are going off on a hike. The backs contained very basic supplies that met the needs for protection against the elements, filter/carry water, fire.
While going through my pack I noticed I had left something out that will be needed. What were we all going to do when it was time to break out the soup or oatmeal? Carrying water was covered, but we would need to find something to mix the water and oatmeal. Darn... All that planning and find I forgot something. This had to be rectified at once. I perused Amazon, e-bay for mess kits. What I landed on first was a nice little stainless cup.

This cup was found on Amazon for less than 15$ with free shipping
at the time. Feels well built. I have not got out to make my coffee or

chaga tea yet. Hope to do that soon.

So this cup fills the need for putting together a quick instant meal.
16 Oz. is good enough for a pack.




Then I found this at the local W**mart. Now this one looks very promising and in keeping with a kit that is compact. Check these pics out. This kit is made by Stanley. It is stainless steel and comes with a couple of insulated plastic cups.

 20 Oz will boil enough water for cup-o-soup or instant oatmeal. And keep the other cup free to make coffee.

 A vented lid to keep things under control and minimize a mess, maybe.

These are the insulated cups that come with the kit. Plastic and insulated to keep the contents cool or hot.

As you can see the Stanley adventure kit sits nicely into the other cup. Makes for a nice compact kit for the pack and light weight as well. W**mart had the best price for the kit, under 15$. While I did check online prices were much higher.
I think this is an awesome find for the pack.





Enjoy,

a Woodsman Axe...

Always wanted one of those Gransfors-Bruks small forest axe. Have to save up some funds for this purchase. Those axes are not on the inexpensive side.

Got the idea from here.
Woodtrekker - Cheap alternative for gransfors bruks

Tractors supply has this axe called a boys axe with w 2.25 pound head. I have been doing some grinding to make the edge of the axe head a bit narrower. A file to sharpen the edge and a handy dandy Puck stone to smooth the edge. Seems to cut well, holds an edge without to much wear. The axe has been used on hardwood and softwood. I cannot compare this axe to the Gransfors-Bruks, because I don't have one yet.

This pic is after the 2" sander I have for the air compressor. Removed the protective coating on the axe head. The coating seemed to offer up some resistance while chopping and not getting a lot of penetration per swing. So I cleaned it off most of the axe head. Gets a nice bite, edge is still needs work as I am not the most proficient sharpener. But, the edge I do have is nice and cuts well.

I will post updates if I come up with any here.

Enjoy,

** As always this is a tool. Tools can be dangerous can cause injury. Always exercise caution. Wear gloves and eye protection using these types of tools...

Organic Tea that Our Ancestors Drank for Health & Curing Properties...

I have been poking around the internet re-kindling my interest in bushcraft and the associated knowledge that goes along with the practice. My interest in plants and their properties goes back to when I was a youngster. I follow a couple of channels on youtube that peaked my interest in a fungus called Chaga (Inonotus obliquus).
According to history this fungus was/is used by the people of the northern latitude as tea to maintain good health, sprinkled on food, in stew, etc. Used when sick to help the immune system fight the infection. Read more here: Mushroom Collecting - Chaga
Dr. Cass Ingram on Youtube has some great videos on Chaga: Dr. Cass Ingram
Also, here on the Renegade Health Show, and here at bushcraftbartons.

There are some birch out back on the property and so the hunt begins. After several walks around studying the trees our birch trees do not have any chaga. At least not yet. But, I continued to walk around the swamp and adjoining properties. This afternoon is a nice sunny day with the temp sitting at 44F in NW Vermont. Get the leash on Barney the Basset and collect the wife... Off we go.

Got the backpack, hatchet, Becker BK3, a couple of water bottles, bag(s). Here are some images of the Chaga that was found today. I was the one excited about the find. Barney could care less. The wife... well she was in a hurry to get out of the woods. Set them off in the direction of the road and told them I would catch up. Wouldn't you know I forgot the camera. Darn!!! But, here are some photos of the piece I got. I left much of it on the tree and got enough to last a while. 

Awesome afternoon in the woods. Now I need to cut this up and dry it out for tea. Chaga also makes great tinder for starting a fire. 
At the moment I have one cup of chaga tea a day. As I collect more I will consider replacing my morning coffee with chaga. Chaga is not bitter like coffee or tea. Has a mild flavor. Not sure how to explain it, but the drinker can add honey or the like to sweeten it up. 
Find some chaga and give it a try. Your body will thank you.

Enjoy, 

** Update
Here is a pic of the chaga chopped and ready to dry. Here is a helpful video on how to dry: Bushcraft Bartons - Drying Chaga

To Make A Knife...

I was doing some reading about knife making, and then to add to the process I watched several videos on Youtube. Found some really cool bushcraft websites, here is one of the many out there: Making a Bushcraft Knife.

I did not have much in the way of steel. I poked around the shed and found one of the old mower blades. So far so good. I noticed that the blade has a turned up corner, cut off that section. I don't have any way to heat up the metal to flatten. At least not yet. I do have plans to build a small forge very soon. Once again Youtube has plenty of videos on building a forge.

As for tools here is what I used:

Hacksaw
Bench grinder
Belt sander (hand held, need to get a bench mount)
Dremel tool

I need to build a jig to get the blade bevel right. This is a learning experience so the first round will not be so good. Here are a few pic's of the project.

Need to come up with some scales for it. I will try to root up something out back in the woods. Maple, Birch, some decent hardwood. A small knife, but something to test out and learn from.

 Holes need to get drilled for the scales and lanyard before the tempering.

 The spine is approx. 3/16" thick. It will make a nice sturdy knife once it gets tempered.

More to follow as I gather up and build what I need to work through this project.


Enjoy,

A Weekend Emergency Ration...

I was visiting different blogs reading different ideas about creating light weight food stuffs to have in my pack as a just in case. MRE's can be had for 10+ $'s from various places. After reading and poking around I decided on a path to take. I would create my own version of an E-RAT. As a matter of fact I made two for each of the kids, son-in-law, and wife.
I used my Food Saver to create an air tight package. I suppose that a zip lock bag will work as well.

Here is what I placed in the pack:
2 - Cliff bars
2 - Lipton Cup of Soup, Chicken Noodle
2 - Instant Oatmeal packets
2 - Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa
4 - Jolly Rancher Candies
3 - Instant Coffee packets
3 - 4C Light powdered drink mix packets (100% vitamin C)

This very basic packet is good for one day or over night stay in the woods. If one conserves maybe two days. The packs the kids have contain items to filter water, start a fire, container to heat and carry water or eat from. The items will keep for sometime, well over a year if not left in the sun. All that is needed is a fire and little water to create the meal.

All of the items can be purchased at the local grocery.

Enjoy,

A Better Knife Sheath...

My last post was about picking up a durable knife on the cheap. While this knife takes up an edge and holds it well the sheath was only fair. I say fair because the nylon it is made of is feels rather thin. Single stitched around the edges and no keeper strap for the handle. In the past I lost is really good knife because of a lack of a keeper that went around the handle on the top portion of the sheath.
I set about searching the net for a way to make a knife sheath. A lot of the knives in am interested in have a kydex or high impact plastic sheath with rivets or metal joiners. The joiners can be made of steel or aluminum.
I found a really good tutorial on making a knife sheath here: Willow Haven Outdoor.
From there I was lead here: Knife Kits. Off I went and placed the order. Everything arrived promptly. The sheet of Kydex was 12" X 12", big enough for my project.

I measured everything two or three times to make sure I had it sized. I ended up using half the sheet. I don't have a way to secure the rivets nicely. I found that the grommet tool I have was to small or to big to make the finish look nice. No worries there as Knife Kits also sells a proper rivet tool for making a knife sheath. I did not order it, but just wanted to mention it.

Due to the shape of the knife I could not get the belt loop on the sheath itself. I used a piece of Kydex and some joiners I got at the local hardware store to attach it. A little bit of Lok-Tite and wham I have a decent functional knife sheath. The knife snaps right in and is secure.

Below are some pics. Not to bad for my first go at something like this.  

A Knife the won't break the wallet...

I suppose one has to ask what am I going to use the knife for? For me I am just a person who likes to get out into the woods and wander around. Sometimes I camp, hike, hunt, or I just like the peace and quite.
I was poking around Tractor's Supply the other day and came across a knife in the bargain bin. A full tang drop tip goody and a full 3/16" thick, stainless steel to boot. The edge looked rough, but I figure I could work that into shape without to much trouble. The scales are of wood, not to bad looking if you are one of those who needs a knife to look good. So, I picked one up for 10.00$ to check it out. The knife came with a nylon sheath of fair quality.
When I got home I set to sharpening the knife. Did not take to long to get an edge that would shave the hair off my arm. I wrapped the handle with some cloth friction tape to help with the grip. I add tape with just about every knife I own. The tape also helped with keeping the knife securely in the sheath I discovered. I foresee a problem with drawing the knife with the tape. Since the sheath is flexible two hands will be needed if the tape is left on. A little bit of caution will be needed when drawing the knife. Or I come up with a different sheath to carry the knife. Also, added a bit of small bungi-cord with a retainer as a handle keeper and lanyard.
Tip to tip is 8 3/4", blade is 3 3/4" in length.

The real test will be to take it out into the woods and beat it up a bit. For example how will it perform using to baton some kindling? Will the edge just roll over? I will find out shortly. If it fails I will find a use for it. While it may not be good for extreme camp use I can put a good edge on it to skin the critters. And if it is good enough to skin it will have multiple uses for sure.

Enjoy

To Send an Image or Data without Internet

Let's say there is some sort of disaster where the internet is not working in my area, phones are down, the cellular network generators have run out of fuel and batteries have died. How would one communicate in such an environment?
As of late I have been tinkering with RTTY, Contestia, PSK using my PC and radio. The program I use on the PC is fldigi. I run Ubuntu 12.04 at the moment and have been having good luck with it. Not real happy with the new desktop and fell back to the Gnome desktop and interface. Enough of that.
Anyway, I have been operating on 20m, 40m, 80m in data mode. Made contacts as far as OH, lower NY, SC in the evening with little power out. I will need to continue my testing to see how far I can get. Folks from all over the world use this mode of communication to pass data. It is exciting to know that anything from SITREP to images (using QSSTV) can be sent in these modes. The new version of QSSTV just got loaded on the PC. I need to test since I used a much older version. The caveat for any of this is atmospheric conditions.
What do you need to try it out? An amateur radio license (simple enough to get), radio, PC, interface cable. All the software is free. Unless you are a Windoz fan.

Enjoy

To Make A Sheath...

I recently picked up a few Mora knives. To be specific I got hold of a:

                                 hook knife,

                                 carving knife,

                                 bushcraft series knife.

I am happy with these knives so far. I have heard or read only great comments about these tools. I do forsee a fun time trying to sharpen the hook knife, but nonetheless I am happy and having fun.

I made a pot stirring spoon with a piece of white cedar. Still needs to be sanded. The latest spoon is a smaller one carved out of birch. Coming along well, still much more to do.
The carving knife came with a decent plastic sheath to protect me and the blade while not in use. The hook knife needed something as it came with no sheath. As a result I felt I needed something to safely pack the knives. Many moons ago I cam across some scrap leather. Not good for much as the thickness was uneven and there were some holes in the thinner part of the pieces. But, I figured I would find use for the leather at some point. I could use it to patch something or in this case make a nice little sheath.
What would someone need to sew leather and not get to carried away with poking holes in ones fingers? How about a sewing awl? I think these gadgets are wonderful and an absolute must for the pack or having around the homestead. Having one of these awls lets you fix canvas, leather, and just about any heavy fabric. Just be sure to have some of the heavy duty thread that come with it. Sewing awls can be found at Amazon, e-bay, etc. Just about anywhere. Prices are reasonable, but be sure to shop around. A sewing awl that I purchased came with two needles, wrench, one spool of thread. The wrench and needles stow away in the handle when not in use. Be sure to purchase extra thread, needles.

The sheath I made is wide enough to accommodate both carving knives. This allows me to keep them together and not take a chance and lose one.

Another one of those tools that is perfect for any kit.

Enjoy

A Book With A Map & Repeaters Listed...

If you are a amateur radio operator more than likely you have a repeater book on your desk or in your car. These little books are handy, especially if you are on the road. Technology today finds us with a cell phone with GPS or a GPS on the windshield. What happens when there is no cell coverage or for some reason your GPS dies? I guess it is time to break out the good ole' road atlas. Some of them are gigantic and a pain to keep from getting torn up as they float around the inside of your car/truck.

I have this bag I keep in the car. Has a few items in it that would prove useful in an emergency. What can I keep in the bag to give me a basic map? How about amateur radio repeater frequencies (That I forgot to program into the radio)? Hmm...

Check out this handy little book. Maybe not so little as it is bigger than the repeater reference book. But, it is smaller than the average sized road atlas. Artsci Repeater Map Book is published every year or so. Contains all of the amateur radio repeaters across the US and a map of each state. Each state map has the major routes listed as well as a few other goodies. A very handy book to have in your kit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIXuXsXvAWM

Can be ordered from here: http://www.artscipub.com/mapbook/

** I am not associated with Artsci in any way.

To Read The News...

I don't like to watch the news on TV or much of anything. What was informative and objective is now just government propaganda. I suppose that since the advent of modern communications this is the natural course every society takes.

As mentioned in one of my other posts I primarily use Linux and Mac. I get most of my news using an RSS reader. I have "attached" to feeds from Marketwatch, Zerohedge, France 24, etc. The list is endless and more than one source is recommended so that the user can verify the story. But, sometimes I find information that seems to start from one source and then picked up and carried by others. This can be a pain for sure.

For Linux I use Liferea. Most of the RSS readers have the same type of GUI. Down the left side you will see you sources. The middle top is where the article title is presented. When the user selects the article the bottom portion of the GUI displays the article or article brief. A simple click will open the full article for consumption. On the Mac I have NewsNetWire. These RSS readers can be set to update by minutes or hours. Plenty of options. Up to the user.

Exercise your brain. Read the news and more right from your PC.

Enjoy

A Belt...

Having a belt serves so many purposes. Primarily a belt is used to hold up your pants. But, on occasion your belt can be used as a tool.

1. Emergency tourniquet to tie off a bleeding limb.
2. Hang a piece of gear from a tree.
3. Tie up poles for an emergency shelter.

The list goes on and on. It just depends how creative you are and what you expect to accomplish. I use a belt for the good ole' keep the pants up. Most of the time a canvas type belt with a cinch buckle works for me. If I am required to wear a suit or some sort of casual business I will use a leather belt.

But, when I head out into the woods I am not really inclined to have all sorts of gadgets hanging on the same belt I use to hold up my field pants or shorts. Just adds to much weight and the average belt will fold over. This makes for an uncomfortable day as the average belt is one inch in height.

What I like to use is something called a riggers belt. These belts are normally one & three-quarters inch in height and thickness is almost a quarter inch. Not as tall as the USGI web belt. But, they will support what ever I need to place on them. For example some holsters & knife sheath(s) will not fit the USGI web belt, but will readily slide on the the riggers belt. The riggers belt also has a nifty little option to allow the user to repel or let's say be recovered. This loop is neatly tucked away and strapped down beside the cinch buckle.

I bought a Blackhawk belt which seemed to shrink... Well, rather I seemed to expand. I found this belt to be very well made, but thin in thickness. So, I had to find one that "stretched" to my needs and was a bit more rigid. I picked up an Emerson which is thick compared to the Blackhawk and sits really well. I don't have it loaded with tons of stuff; just a couple items. Riggers belts can be had on e-bay or Amazon. But, if you are on a budget the e-bay deal is tough to beat.

** Keep an old leather belt in your pack. You can use it to sharpen your knife. Check out this Youtube video by BushcraftOnFire:

Sharpening A Knife Without Tools

Enjoy