The-Atlantic-thefemalesurvivalist

I took the Cat out from Lake with one of our Man Camp Drivers on my days off. He is such an expert that the ride was flawless. He offered to stop so I could take as may photos as I wished. When he pulled over at Gibbon Falls, Rory accompanied me down the snow packed walkway to shoot a short film.

I took several trips on the Cat riding shot gun. It was amazing the amount of skill it took to load a trailer, installing skis, "battening down the hatches", circumventing snowmobilers, bison and snow coaches.

The photo to the left is a "cave" of blowdowns nestled close to a tall pine tree.


Its fun to mess around on days off, practicing skills. I soon learned how much effort it took to build an actual snow fort from the ground up.

I received this nice e-mail with a link to a page that talks about the weight of snow and provides and interactive tool for caluculating how much snow you need for the size house you intend to build.



Hey Brawny,

I'm Sally from the Movoto blog, a real estate site that talks about the fun side of housing. Since you wrote about the igloo that was built at Man Camp for survival skills I thought your readers would also enjoy our interactive snow fort–building tool. Just enter the size of the fort you want to build and the calculator will tell you how many ice blocks it will take to build it!


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My whole conclusion as a minimalist and survivalist is that if you've got some natural features, such as blowdowns, caves or steep banks along a water source, use them. You'll save alot of energy. You can add to your improvised shelter as needed, depending on how long you plan to be there.

The Superintendent of the Man Camp has just finished reading my new horror novel, Primal Cut. Just as I expected, he said he'd never look at me the same way again. I think its a compliment. He read it in one sitting, said he couldn't put it down and that I was "twisted sister."

The Foreman came in this morning talking about Primal Cut. Looks like it going to be a hit, way out there, though. Anyone with a weak stomach, beware.

Primal Cut is on sale for only 99 cents through the end of January at Amazon.com. You can download it to your PC with a free application from Kindle.


 I think as an artist, that's very cool. When a co-worker said, it must be like The Shinning, he said, way worse. I got a good laugh out of that. I changed the cover from this one...

to this one mainly because it seems like John Deerfield's face is on this snowy rock. Maybe he is following me now on my ski trips! He's a main character, the poltergeist who keeps things hopping here at Yellowstone Lake.


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This is the fox that was rescued from the spindle at Man Camp a couple weeks ago. I took the footage of the rescue and posted it to YouTube etc.

Check out the December 19th post on this blog, thefemalesurvivalist to watch that video.
Everyone was so glad the little guy was freed. In fact, some here were so glad, they named it. Someone started feeding it, in spite of all warnings. I find the feeding of wildlife disgusting. It's a human attempt to domesticate and subjugate wild creatures. The little dude should be terrified and run for the hills! Literally.

If a person wants to know more about wild creatures in Yellowstone,  follow the link I included in this rant. It also details a fox that was fed, relocated several times and eventurally destroyed by the park service out of necessity. People just can't seem to get it through their civilized heads that wild creatures should not be fed, should not be encouraged to hang around as mascots. Don't we have enough worthy causes? Isn't there some homeless dog or cat you can adopt and feed until it is fat and totally dependent on your good will?

http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/wildlife.htm



Ok, I promised this was going to be a RANT so, hit the back button if you don't like it.
Some think they are immune to the law, that others will find their behavior cute and very GRIZ Adams. If you are one of those, go out and take some footage, go hiking, get off the main road and take some adventures. Get out of the National Park where it is totally illegal to feed a wild animal.

This guy at man camp actually took footage and posted it to facebook showing himself feeding the fox a big meatball. I find it revolting. The fox should be totally discouraged from setting foot on our portches and decks. Instead, a very few are finding it cute...not all the guys, and I won't name names.

I love animals, especially wild animals and I know, as wild creatures, they could bite, scratch, flee, become ghosts in a vast wilderness. That's very cool. Capturing one on film is a highlight of a long hike. Its not easy, ususally they run before I get them focused in the little square on my digital camera. I know, I need a Zoom!
Thats as it should be. We have homes and zoos for damaged animals, animals who need and want human interaction, domesticated animals and stock.

Dogs are fantastic companions. They've been trained to help humans in so many ways. A variety of breeds are raised just for the specific qualities each breed has. Very domesticated. They enjoy our company. My family has dogs. My friends have dogs.

But, the fox was a wild creature. He should retain that desirable quality. Those who saved the creature's life by freeing it didn't mean for it to become the town dog. They never intended the fox to be fed and adopted by well meaning tender hearted humans...I wrote something else, but civility intervened and I back spaced and deleted .... ignorant fools...... The fox knew what to do before we came here. Left alone, maybe it will revert to his own ways.

One can only hope.