Along the trail’s edge a predator waits. Its keen senses are sharpened by hunger and it constantly tests the wind for a trace of scent that might mean food. Then from a distance, it feels vibrations of something big, and it determines that this large non-food thing is going to pass close by. There are […]
Here in Montana I practice and teach classes on primitive (or stone-age) skills – which is to say, camping with little or no gear. We build shelters that are warm and comfortable without a sleeping bag or blanket. We start fires by rubbing sticks together. We harvest and use edible wild plants, make baskets, and […]
It was mid-January in Western Washington, and the snow was coming down hard on my yurt seven miles up the mountain from town. The power was out, the roads were treacherous, and no end was in sight. It might have been my imagination, but I swore I heard all the wildlife trackers in the area […]
I am so grateful for the opportunity my son, Finn, has had to spend Fridays in Duvall with the Jackals, learning from his environment and from the strong community of teens and mentors. Last October, shortly after Finn started at a new school that wasn’t a good fit for him, his little fire burned down […]
Herbal medicine is people’s medicine. And people’s medicines are the medicines of the earth: the common weeds. Weeds, though often reviled, are powerhouses of nourishment, medicine, magic, and beauty. Their medicinal qualities, when wisely extracted and used, can counter major as well as minor disturbances of health. But do beware! Eating weeds has been known […]
Like most of you, I have spent a lot of time in all types of classrooms. At university, I studied literary theory, plant taxonomy, ethnobotany, and even how to ride a horse. In the Army, I went through jump school, language school, and how-to-soldier school. However, the most significant school for my career as a […]
In real estate, they say there are only three important factors; location, location, and location. When making fire by friction, there are also three important factors; materials (type), materials (condition), and materials (preparation). As a child, I once used my dad’s electric drill to make fire by friction with a pine dowel rod and a […]
If you are like me, sitting still can be a real challenge. At this time of year everything in nature is bursting with energy, changing and moving about. So much so, that many creatures aren’t even paying much attention to others as they go about their mating ritual, territorial fight or nesting duties. What opportunities […]
The topic that I receive the most questions about is the Sit Spot. It makes sense because it is a new concept to most people. I’ve compiled some of these questions and answered them below: My sit spot doesn’t have _______ (insert noun or adjective). Can I still use it? There are only two things […]
Two years ago in the late summer, I started seeing bear scat along a field edge on the way to my sit spot. An inch and a half tube full of raspberry seeds is hard to miss or misidentify here in northern Vermont. Then a bit later the chokecherry bushes in the south end of […]