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Tree and Plant Identification # 8 – Pine

Journal Notes: Pine – The Eastern White Pine is the symbol of New England. Pines are evergreen, coniferous trees. Young trees have a smooth bark which develops into a thick scaly bark as they mature. Depending on the type of pine they can reach anywhere between 10–260 ft in height but typically are 50-150 ft. […]

Tree and Plant Identification # 7 – Maple Sap

Journal Notes: Maple Sap – Best from a sugar maple but using other maple trees can work too. A sugar maple is a deciduous hardwood tree that normally grows to be 80-115 ft tall. The leaves can be almost 8 inches long and wide with five palmate lobes with smaller basal lobes, the notch tends […]

Natural Tinder Sources # 2 – Dry Grass

Dry Grass – Found almost everywhere. Easy to gather and takes minimal effort to process. It’s a flash tinder, so collect enough to ensure you can produce a large, hot flame. Damp material can be used but obviously the drier the better. If need be, you can dry the grass out by keeping it in […]

Natural Tinder Sources #1 – Birch Bark

Birch bark – Easy to identify, gather and process. Grows readily in the area and can burn even when damp due to natural oils infused in the bark. There are many different types of birch including, River birch, Yellow birch as well as Sweet birch but White birch trees are my favorite. They are arguably […]

Summer Basic Survival 2017

What can I say? What an awesome crew we had assembled this past weekend for our 2017 Summer Basic Survival Course. As usual everyone did a phenomenal job, passing each task presented. We had a full camp with three kids, seven adults, plus two instructors who all braved the pouring rain, hot summer sun and […]

Tree and Plant Identification #6 – Dandelions

Journal Notes: Dandelions – A yellow flowering plant that is completely edible. The leaves are 5-25+ cm long, simple and basal. They can be entire, toothed or lobed, forming a rosette above the central taproot. The yellow flower head is open during the day but closed at night. The stem is hollow and is 1-10+ […]

Tree and Plant Identification #5 – Goldenrod

Journal Notes: Goldenrod – A diverse species of yellow flowering plant also known for having medicinal properties. The plant stands about 3 ft high and has long woody stems; usually green leaves about 10 cm long and 2 cm across, with thick yellow flower clusters on top. The upper side of the leaf is usually […]

Tree and Plant Identification #4 – Hickory

Journal Notes: Hickory – Is a species of deciduous hardwood tree with featured compound leaves and big oval shaped nuts. The nuts can be anywhere from 2-5 cm in length and 1.5 – 3 cm in diameter. They are enclosed in a four valved husk which splits open at maturity. The nut shell is thick […]

Tree and Plant Identification #3 – Partridge Berry

Journal Notes: Partridge Berry – A type of ground vine usually found amongst leaf litter. The leaves are about 1/2 inch, evergreen, oval to heart shaped and grow opposite. The flowers are usually about 1/2 inch long and are bell shaped with four or five petals. Usually solitary the berry is bright red. The fruit is edible […]

Woods of the Past #3 – Ethan Allen Crawford

Image of The Rosebrook Farm courtesy of WhiteMountainHistory.org and Dartmouth College Library. Ethan Allen Crawford, known as the “Mountain Giant”, is the stuff legends are made of. He is one of my favorite woodsman for many reasons. As a young boy, he and the rest of his family, were among the first homesteaders in Crawford […]

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