“Redbud seems to have taken root in the culture of whatever area it grows in. For most native tribes, the charcoal from redbud wood was the color of choice for their black war paint, which symbolized power and aggression.”
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 11/21 - Ginkgo
“How tough are ginkgoes? Well, they’re one of the few living things to survive the atomic bomb blast in Nagasaki, Japan in 1945.”
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 10/24 - Dogwood
“During the Civil War, the Yankees put us in a tight spot by blockading our ports, preventing any shipments of supplies or medicine from coming through from the outside. In the Deep South, malaria and yellow fever were serious problems back in that day, and were taking many desperately needed men out of the action on the battlefield.”
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 10/3 - Mullein
“Mullein has a whole host of great uses for bushcrafters and other outdoorsmen, as well. Its most famous and obvious non-medicinal use is as, well, toilet paper. If you’ve ever felt a mullein leaf, it’s a pretty natural idea to use them for this purpose.”
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 7/25 - Maypop Passionflower
“Before all children everywhere became locked on iPad screens, kids in the country used to have fights with green maypops. They’re a uniform shape and easy to throw accurately, and they raise a good welt if you throw them hard. They make an awesome hand grenade if you’re nine years old and have an active imagination. (I may or may not be speaking from experience.)”
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 7/4 - White Pine
“The true American answer to overbearing authority is defiance, not obedience. After all, they were willing to pick a fight with the British Crown over a tree.”
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 5/23 - Red Clover
“As medicine advances and more and more compounds are synthesized from natural sources, maybe it’s time we humbled ourselves and realized that the ancients knew what they were talking about.”.
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 5/2 - Ground Ivy
It’s the herpes of the plant world – once you’ve got it… you’ve got it. It’s nearly impossible to kill, and most conventional weed removal methods actually help it spread. But here at SARCRAFT, we have a solution: Eat it.
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 4/25 - Common Vetch
Vetch and humans go way back. Way, way back, like 10,000-15,000 years. With a few exceptions such as cereal grains, vetch is arguably the oldest plant cultivated by humans.
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 3/14 - White Clover
"The shamrock became a symbol of rebellion, worn proudly by Irish freedom fighters attempting to throw off the oppressive English rule... a three-leaved middle finger to the British Crown for the whole world to see."
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 3/7 - Eastern Redbud
"Many tribes also had a tradition of decorating their dwellings with redbud wreaths and twigs, to help “drive out the spirit of winter” and bring on planting time."
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 2/7 - River Cane
"Where river cane really shines is in bushcrafting. The uses of river cane for projects big and small is limited only by your imagination. While not big enough to make cups, bowls, spar poles, and improvised iPhone speakers (if you know, you know) like bamboo, river cane is still a highly useful resource."
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 11/22 - Red Oak
"In fact, as we celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow… we should take a moment and remember that it was probably Indian-style acorn bread that the Separatists and Puritans of the Plymouth colony broke together with their Wampanoag allies in the very first Thanksgiving feast… a celebration of the American power to PREVAIL against all odds."
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 11/15 - Narrowleaf Plantain
"Some plant species have suffered from the spread of humans. Some have benefited immensely. Plantain is in the latter category. In fact, plantain really owes its success, and arguably its existence, to the spread of humans."
Read moreSurvival Time Machine: Trifecta
"The stuff I purchased was designed to be in the worst environments in the world. Who knows? Maybe some of it was. I always wonder about the stories behind my surplus gear. Who wore or used it? Where has it been? What on earth has it done?"
Read more#WildEdibleWednesday 9/20 - Duck Potato
Without this innocuous-looking plant, the most legendary American explorers of their century would probably be no more than a footnote in history.
Read moreA Round of Positivity
It doesn’t matter what book you read, what video you watch or what famous survival celebrity you follow. You will learn the same thing from all of them- Your attitude determines your altitude. However, how to keep and maintain that positivity is very rarely addressed. Shelter, fire, water, first aid, signaling, food and rest always get elaborated on. Shouldn’t the most important priority get more attention? I certainly believe so. Here’s how I do it…
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