The following link (and as pasted below) provides a recipe for Cattail pollen pancakes. Maybe we can make these next time we meet. However, I would suggest adding honey in the recipe and omitting the wheat flour.

http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/mattjp/Lecture%20Notes/CATTAIL%20POLLEN%20PANCACKES.doc.
CATTAIL POLLEN PANCACKES



INGREDIENTS

Cattail pollen
Wheat flour (optional)
Eggs (whole or artificial)
Evaporated milk
Vegetable oil

Harvest a goodly amount of pollen * (at least a quart would be… Continue

just wanted to say thanks to all of you maine schoolers for coming down . you all rule

HI Jamie, I seem to have misplaced the rainfly and tentpole for my tent. The rainfly is the tan piece of plastic that goes over the tent. If I happened to leave it behind, could you let me know. Thanks

http://www.flyingdeernaturecenter.org/events.html

Memorial Day Weekend: May 22–25
Hosted by Flying Deer Nature Center, New Lebanon, NY
Flying Deer is hosting the annual Building Strong Naturalist Communities Spring Retreat again this year! Last year we had an amazing time together playing, crafting, exploring the forest, singing, dancing, and enjoying wonderful local foods. Taking time to build community, nurture ourselves, and slow down is more essential than ever this year. We are thrilled to… Continue

Years ago Sun Bear wrote, "The price of acorns hasn't changed in 10,000 years. You just go and pick them up." It being spring and the wild weeds are wantonly springing upward full of nutritious vigor it's a great time to make a start on recessionproofing one's life by incorporating more and more wild delictables into one's daily life.
A number of years ago I was living in a community in which my housing situation wasn't too stable. While I had a variety of biointensive gardening beds, fruit tree… Continue

The swine flu is in the news today. There's LOTS of stuff each of you can do to not plug into the fear based paradigm that the media swindlers and politicians might try to lead people into. Those of you who've been through the school's healing/plant classes might recall one very good remedy: Fire Cider

FIRE CIDER: Some other names: four thieve's vinegar, complete tonic, total tonic. Take equal parts of onion, garlic, ginger, horseradish and a half part of habanero peppers. Blend in the blender… Continue

At the base of a 400 year old pine, Emma, Andrew, and I were discussing the knowledge that this tree must have. Which lead to a discussion on the benefits of our beloved White Pine.

… Continue

Today was an amazing day with the family. In York at the base of second hill near Mount Agamanticus, we took a hike in search of Spice Bush, Usnea, Burdock, and Wild Leeks . The Spice Bush, the only one we know of, was just starting to flower. Old Man's Beard was being allusive in the deep dark woods. But that didn't dampen our spirits. As we moved on, we found what we thought might be a large patch of Wild Leeks but were unable to get one out without breaking it. We didn't want to disturb more… Continue

Stalking is a useful skill for more than just getting close to animals. It's also an internal movement method comparable and with effects similiar to tai chi or pa kua. We start with the technical aspects of movement, the fox walk, the weasel walk, the basic stalking step, the hands and knees stalk, the belly stalk. These 5 forms cover most of the what you need to move across the landscape in a stealthy manner. It is highly useful to play them everyday, it takes time and repetition to build the… Continue

Hello folks,

Jack Mountain Bushcraft is running a work-study program this summer resulting in free tuition for our fall bushcraft semster program.

Duration: 12 Weeks
Location: Masardis, Maine
2009 Dates: 5/31-8/22
Positions Available: 2
Minimum Age: 18
Application Deadline: 5/9

You'll live on-site at our field school in Masardis and work on the grounds, gardens and sustainability projects. Duties include organic gardening, landscaping, cutting firewood and building an intimate relationship wi… Continue

Finally the winter is letting up and mobility is restored back onto the landscape, the time of inward contemplation is being balanced by a time of increasing physical activity. We stretch and exercise just like the woodchuck coming up out of his winter hole. Time to start building the body back up for the demands of outdoor work/play that come with spring and summer. Primitive skills are amazing fitness builders.
Starting it off with archery, I had forgotten what a nice upperbody workout drawing… Continue

Survivalists tend to enjoy knives and over the years I've spent hundreds of dollars on them. Tactical knife magazines and outdoor forums are full of knife talk and discussions about the latest greatest ultimate survival knife. It's funny though, as my experience grows my attachment to the knife quest decreases. More recently than I like to admit to I purchased the ultimate survival knife, the Tops Tracker knife. After years of listening to the hype I have found oout that hype is hype, and a heav… Continue

Mariette you left a comment I can't find it when i get home latter I'll try to figure it out

We had a wonderful day at Mal Stephen's new Wells Classroom an acorn of the Maine Primitive Skills School.

The weather was fantastic, the friends amazing, and the day was filled with bustling activity. I got to work on making a gourd bowl which is something I've been dreaming of doing for awhile. I've seen so many amazing gourds over the years, I often wished to make one myself. Today, Mike Douglas made that happen. Mike, brought gourds that he grew… Continue

I wanted a space where folks could post things that they have gathered from workshops, schools, or really cool experiences. For instance, Mal and Nick just came back from the desert. While they are both well rounded, I'm sure there were moments, or skills that really touched each of them. This area could be for those "gems" that really spoke to you from recent, or even past experiences. All too often I tell folks, beg them, to share with the rest of the community what they have experienced. Now… Continue

But ohh is it fun to eat!

Today is Drew's birthday and we celebrated by making a pirate cake and matching pirate inspired cupcakes to take to school tomorrow. After 7 hours of baking, kneading fondant, and making little skulls, our fingers were black and blue (from food dye), ou… Continue

i know its a bit early but i figured id get a bit of a head count on how many of ya are coming down this year. we are also changing the format a bit . its gonna have a shoot set up of 20 or so novelty shots rather than a full blown competitive shoot. for those of ya not familiar with novelty shots read it as "bring a lot of arrows". its also gonna be more laid back this year (sorry deneen :) ). anybody who has something to share is welcome to show it off and teach it to others. the club itself h… Continue

On Jan 26th I visited the Yurt Foundation in Machiasport, Me. Bill Coperthwaite's yurts are made of cedar and are not intended to be portable as their historical predecessors in Asia. What makes his structures "yurts" is their circular construction as well as the tension band near the apex/skylight of the roof and compression cable around the top of the exterior walls just under the eaves.

Bill C. travels the world in search of what he calls "democratic" know-how; crafts and self-sufficient tec… Continue

A few pictures of my favorite yard critter....

… Continue

yesterday i taught a workshop in washington ct. . it covered a little bit of everythingmostly i made stupid jokes most didnt get. andy dobos and deneencame by and helped me out. it was a most awesome day. getting together with some like minded people is exactly what i needed after a rough spell and also feeling quite stale. the point of this story is that certain things feel needed. there are things that draw us to action. the need to hunt is in my blood. eating, sleeping, time alone, time toget… Continue