The-Atlantic-thefemalesurvivalist

I found this site in my search for some real explanations on the various types and weights of fleece:

Its written by Frank Ross, and called Outdoor Information You Can Use.

There's a lot of other articles on that page as well, things about Hunting, fishing, gear reviews, and survival. Follow the link at the bottom of the left hand column and you will be taken to a page with more links than I have ever seen in one place for everything you can imagine for things like building homes with straw bales, making your own bleach, surviving outdoor crisis, urban survival, etc. Amazing lists.

I'm bookmarking it for future reading and research.

After making my initial homemade fuel sticks, I've collected enough wood chips to make them using an ice cube tray. I'm really liking the results because they will be uniform in shape, be denser, and not need cutting to fit on the soda can stove bottom.
I was able to find paraffin at a thrift store, but old candles, dripped wax, or a combination of all three can be melted together as well.

I wrote the page about fuels which is linked to this blog. Of course, I didn't include the various things I burned to boost the cooking time of Esbit or hexamine tablets when supplies ran low. Once I'd get the tablet going, any peppermint candy wrappers or alcohol soaked cotton balls (used to wipe down body parts for hygiene) or maybe a pine cone would be added to give me just a little more heat. This really comes in handy when its cold out. But let me warn you. Some hiking partners object to smelling this or have "environmental issues".


To each their own.

This video is so worth watching, and pondering the long term effects.
I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who said" A society which will surrender its freedom in favor of security will give up both and deserves neither".


I admit 9-11 changed the way we fly. The continuing terrorism world wide is infuriating. I don't know the answer. But I do know that its incomprehensible that my daughters and grand kids may have to submit to this personal invasion.

Another great quote by B. Franklin:

"Democracy is two wolves and one lamb voting on who to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote."

I have no plans to fly in the near future.
Food for thought.

Today I saw a flash of white while hiking. I knew it was a white tail deer cause it was running.

Wait. How do I know it wasn't a person with a white shirt on, running?

I've heard of several accidents happening during hunting season because the eager hunter was just as sure as I was of what I saw.

Turns out a person was hanging laundry up on the clothes line. A flash of white.

A girl was taking a bathroom break, a flash of white panties.

While hiking on the Colorado Trail, suddenly shots were heard nearby, and then a bullet hit a tree. Wearing earth tones and blending in was suddenly dangerous. Not even hunting season, I guess the persons firing were just practicing. We got out our red bandannas, a bright blue sleeping pad to tie outside the pack, and called out loud, "Hello!"

There are many hiking trails which cross hunters' stomping grounds. Its very important to take inventory of your gear colors to be safe.

One morning I was skirting the lake up in Connecticut on the Appalachian Trail. I heard shots. I couldn't figure out if they were coming towards me, or away. Taking inventory, I knew I had no white on, but neither did I have red. Hike quickly, hope for the best, and sing out loud.

I was making breakfast in camp while hunters with high powered rifles watched our clearing. A big buck was roaming near us, but seems he knew the hunters would not shoot into camp. As we packed to leave, the buck eased off into the woods. We provided the screen. No shots were fired.

If you're planning a long distance hike, a weekend foray, or just a day hike, be ready for hunters. Novices are probably our biggest concern, an eager youth wanting to bag his first kill.

Keep that orange cap on, no matter what.

As minimalists, this is not hard to do. In fact, I usually only buy stuff one day a week.

Unless, as this website points out, you use electricity, burn propane, or call someone on the phone.

Be warned, BuyNothingDay.org is a website with large colorful ads. The links on this black background site at the top has the meat of the website.

I buy stuff online, like at Amazon.com. If you're looking for a particular book or DVD, you can get good deals on almost new media. One book in particular I'm loving is a 1100 page 2007 Culinary Text book which cost $6.99, which included shipping.

Ok, back to my subject. I found this website in a free local advertiser's 100% recycled paper newspaper. I love the concept of buy nothing. How about a website on MakeDo.com?

Find something free to enjoy, stay home, play with the toys you already have, and deal with the new reality.

Watching the news, reading and listening to the "experts" I feel we've finally come to acceptance.

They say with a crisis there are four stages: denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance.

We denied the economic crisis, even our leaders denied it long after we saw the writing on the wall.

Anger has been expressed with politicians getting the boot, incumbents losing to unknown contestants.

Bargaining is still going on with stimulus packages, buy outs, hand outs, bail outs.

But, finally, even Suzie Orman, President Obama, and the news teams (take your pick) have to admit, its the new normal. Learn to love the little stuff. Acceptance.

Today HBO is playing the ten part series The Pacific. Executive Producer Tom Hanks does such a remarkable job. My Vietnam Veteran life partner says it is very realistic. I believe it.

If you get a chance to see this series, do it. Not only do I appreciate the sacrifice of young men on the battle field, but also the men and women who were nurses and doctors, cooks, therapists, and mothers and fathers who saw their young men go off to war. They survived the impossible.

I am not a war hawk, nor do I believe in violence as a solution. Self defense is another story. All creatures have the right to defend themselves. In a perfect world there would be no aggressors and no need for self defence. Yet nature shows us that the food chain causes prey to become stronger and predators see to it that the weak, old and sick are removed from the herd. This leaves more resources for the rest, and preserves the species.

Is this how war fits into human civilization? Especially in times of economic crisis, perhaps we revert back to the food chain model of preservation. Perhaps civilization becomes optional.

One saying I've lived by is "don't be big and strong, be hard to find". When that doesn't work, be prepared to defend yourself and those you love.

Thank you Veterans for all your sacrifice, your time, heart and soul.