BEFORE YOU PLUNGE INTO THE WILD READ THIS RIGHT DAMN NOW

 

 I want to make this perfectly clear before you plunge into the wild thinking you are going to learn on the job so to speak , please think again DON'T ... The stone age skills are a skill set that can take years to master.. you need to  be able to ID at the least about 100 wild edible plants , know how to make friction fire , you need to know how to construct at least 4 kinds of primitive traps ,  the ability to know tracks and know what an animal run is, you need to know how to use some primitive weapons to hunt with and be  pretty good with them and have the skill to build a few of them yourself...know how to build a few different kinds of primitive shelters using the materiel found in that AO... know how to make a net , know how to make containers be it from wood or clay ... of course you might take some kind of container with you as well as some food stuffs .know how to find water and know how to find directions as in where are you and how do i get out of here . know what and how to create a discoidal blade .. by smashing rocks . my suggestion is do not overwhelm yourself , its easy to do ... I have witnessed many folks mostly men who over estimate their skills and they fail as in falling flat on their face .. Rescue me,, sometimes they do sometimes they don't ,, don't be that one ,,,this is not a complete list of what you need to know but it is basic.. 

I'am trying to impress on you the importance of knowing the skills, you can practice many of them in your backyard or in a local area on weekends .. there are a lot classes almost everywhere in the USA... None of us started out knowing everything it took time and effort dedicating ourselves by committing to learning the skills we would need  to meet the conditions we might face in the wild ... 

 I  have written a lot about being free in the wilderness but it does not come with a ticket to ride , without the proper skill set you can die and really be at one with the earth... that is not what we have in mind ..

 do not be afraid to cheat, take a bic lighter with you and perhaps two other means of making fire.. take enough food  and water , remember it is not a contest .. I take and assume no responsibility these articles are for informational purposes and if you choose to try out some of your skills that's on you .  I cannot be there to hold hands I  do not want to read about your dumb butt or hear about you on the news ... Remember  this, even the best can screw up and you are not the best yet don't get so good that you become arrogant about it ,  thinking you could not possibly goof up ..

CLEARLY, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING  start small in short day trips then weekend trips go with a friend never go alone  always tell a responsible person where you are going and when you should be back ..

 by      DUDE MCLEAN

A COMPLEX LIFE ARE WE TRAPPED

    We live in an increasingly complex society that at times is baffling and confusing, at least it is for me and might be for you as well, the pace at times is staggering and as i have grown older i cant seem to really keep up and truth be told i find i really don't want to keep up, my give a damn broke and i don't want to fix it 

The way out,of the trap , for me are the ancient skill sets as in Stone age skills  creating an awareness  for me that i never knew before ,suddenly you are in charge of owning yourself . As i continue to explore the prehistoric skill sets that lead to  a completeness  of understanding what breaking free really means  in my life  ,shaking off the constrictions of the modern ways  and as understanding  dawns on me that i do not need what our modern life says i do.  Being dictated to all my life from the time i was a little boy  by teachers who were just doing  what they were taught a monkey say monkey do society.

We are forced to go to school and in reality we are still just little wild creatures and they want to chain us to a desk , don't move sit there until we tell you you can go . Training us to be adults and spend the rest of our lives tied to a desk or a machine... being robbed of our lives by a  job  or a career ,   you find that the so called retirement , the well known golden years ,for the most part is crap . One a lot of of folks never live long enough to be in the golden years or if they do its only a very short retirement bye bye ...Cant tell you how many i have known who never made the golden years work worth a damn and most older folks i talk with feel they were tricked by the system , so something is broke. 

Rather than be owned by a job , own yourself , we all know the phrase 'wage slave' and we are  sucked into it because we were trained from early childhood that this the what we should do . Too be a so called success you have to make so much money etc and gag so forth . My question is  ah but are you successful as a person ?  I feel the prehistoric can help you with a feeling you have never known in your life , a freedom that yes i can make fire with two sticks is empowering , being able to ID wild edible plants and how to prepare them so you can eat ,trapping wild critters  called making meat  taking only what you need no waste , building a shelter your own self , and many other skills . Always thanking the plant and the critter for feeding you . 

Be a success as a person , sorry this turned into somewhat of a rant   oh wait not sorry ...

by Dude McLean

Sewing

Here's something we don't read or hear about very much,if at all, the invention of sewing ,a needle and thread I feel is one of the top inventions that helped take us into a more advanced lifeway allowed us to make clothing to shield us from the cold and the wind and rain. Whether  its a simple awl and sinew or  silver threads and golden needles or a machine that stitches our clothes it comes down to gee you look good or its a good thing I have this coat to keep me warm all because we learned along the way to sew instead of just wrapping up in a deerskin. I don't know when it was we began to sew but it seems it was pretty universal . 

Sewing became a  real creative activity maybe even more important than weaving , I don't know that for sure but it seems to me sewing was giant step in the ancient time. And maybe weaving and sewing evolved hand in hand , no pun 

My research might be off but as best i can find is that sewing needles and thimbles date back to 202 BC the Han Dynasty and that news spread fast . And then we have buttons and button holes but they don't to seem to show up until the 13th century ancient  Persians were the first it is believed .

At any rate sewing was  a real giant step in the ancient world " hey Alice i need a black tux for the Dino dance next week " 

by DUDE MCLEAN

PASSING THE TIME USE IT INSTEAD

Seems like we should be taking advantage of this situation of being told to stay home, isolate they say .

Trying to be creative by learning new skills  is kind of cold and lonely when you cannot share it with a friend  . Ah but we still have the google for at least a little while anyway so all you have to do is search for any skill and in most cases it will pop up on more than a few vids .

I'm not saying it wont be lonely but you will have a real person doing a demo of the skill and if it isn't clear enough look for other vids on the same subject , at some point someone will make it clear enough for you . keep looking you will find it . I feel that many are are home just passing time when we could be learning a new skill or finding ways to improve any skill in your toolkit. A good time to introduce yourself to some new stone age skills.

At the very least read one of the many books about the primitive skills and lifeways.

 I  have an extensive collection of primitive skills books and have been taking advantage these past months oh i've read them all before but its kind of fun rereading and going oh yeah forgot about that... books are like old friends they are always there when you need them. Or you might create some of your own tools or weapons  i always find that to be fun even if it doesn't turn out so well just make another one , each time you make the same thing it will improve most of the time ... 

  So get up and do something have something show for all this time fleeting by  .. there will be a test

by DUDE MCLEAN 

'SOUND and SILENCE'

 What is that noise what is that sound , might be hard to ID that sound for some but it is called silence a very hard thing to find in most places  and its scary to some ...I always seek it out when I can but it is getting harder for me to find it as I'm getting a bit limited as where I can go to find real silence . My ability to trek into the remote places I love is being hindered by my age as my ability declines though I fight it but the reality is  i have already gone thru the door of 82 at the time of this writing. my family doesn't like me heading out alone anymore and in reality i think they are right as much as i don't like it...However i do not want to be the headline in the news .. stupid 82 year old etc etc,,, but i still long for the silence that you can hear...

 When you have true silence and can hear the leaves rustle as a small critter moves through them  still gets my attention  as i wonder what is that . When i can hear a humming bird flutter by or a ravens wings as  he  looks down on me . Have  you ever heard a  leaf that is falling hit the ground its a sound like no other .  I  used to love it when my dogs would come running to me from far off and at times it sounded like wild horses  hoofs hitting the ground as they got closer , what a sound . 

True silence allows one to hear things we don't think about  but there they are  making a sound like nothing else , even as my own hearing is not so sharp anymore  i can still hear things from the earth created by the critters  and the wild  plants  in the wilderness., as a breeze moves through the leaves  i find it to be wonderful .

 Although i know i'm missing a lot at this stage  but i feel for some reason that my hearing improves when i'm in a silent place , might just be my imagination but i like to think it is not.

I urge you to try and find  that silent place of your own and learn to enjoy no noise no traffic no phone no music for the wild places make a music of its own . 

 by Dude McLean

BOOK REVIEW by Dude McLean "FIRE without matches ,tips , tactics, and techniques for starting a fire in any situation" by Christopher Nyerges

     

Diving really deep into the world of fire without matches , Christopher, covers conventional and  unusual methods of making your fire. The book is informative and concise , very clear and made more so by the photos all in color . 

    Fire is what really set man apart from all the other critters . now you can learn how to make fire under any conditions  without a match  including in the rain .. the best locations to build your fire ... how to tend your fire  and other information that may have not  entered your brain.. 

 there are diagrams  with side notes  a ton of color photos this is a book that could save your butt. if nothing else it would make good tinder . Christopher has been teaching botany and survival skills since 1974  now thats a longtime  , having known Christopher for more than a longtime , I know he knows what works and what does not . No wasted words in this book my deal is this GET THIS BOOK  a few bucks well spent .

Dude McLean

GENDER AND THE PREHISTORIC SKILLS TODAY

 Reading about the ancient skills one might get the idea that only men are involved but this is far from the truth , many ladies are practitioners of the aboriginal skills . I have an article about one of the outstanding women, Robin  Blankenship ( http://www.earthknack.com/) is a primitive practitioner who has written a few books on the skills and has been an instructor for many years . 

The classes that Christopher Nyerges holds always has many ladies in attendance . So it  is not an exclusive domain of the men to practice the aboriginal skills . If one attends Winter count or Rabbit Stick or any number of such events in the states you will find a lot of ladies many who are very good at the skills, i'm not going to try and name them because if i fail to mention someone i will feel like a jerk .

My goal here is to get the message across that this is not an exclusive activity for men oh no not at all. As a matter of fact i would put many of the ladies up side most men in this primitive skills thing. Now guys don't get all bent out of shape about this, don't go all macho on me because truth is the truth .  

 So part of my plan is to motivate some of you lady people to get involved learning the skills from Id'ing the wild edible plants to all the other skills, you can do it.This also a fine thing for couples to do together. 

 Alright if you have any questions post them in the comments and i will try and have an answer that makes sense. 

 So ladies see ya in the bushes ...

By Dude McLean

OUT OF THE SHADOWS

Ancient whispers in nature most of us never hear, mostly we are not listening or we don't know how .

I think its a skill many have lost or in our our lifetimes never had and were not ever aware of in the first place.

Our DNA  knows the ancient whispers, sometimes peeking through for a short time but does anyone have a clue.

Aboriginal peoples are very aware of the ancient whispers that come out of the shadows.

As many readers here know, i'm always exploring how modern humans can reach back and wake-up their wild side .

Lurking in the shadows the ancient whispers are trying to wake us up . I feel its a shame that at some point of our lives we fail to discover the wild us ,even if its just a sliver or a glimpse of what our DNA  has stored in some hidden place in our primitive brain. The richness that waits for us to discover cant wait to deliver the wildness

factor into our lives, creating the human who lives aware of what they really are, a true wild critter attuned to the natural world as we were meant to be. A fairy tale, maybe but I know way too many who have found themselves living just as close to being a natural human as is possible in a modern world without going feral, well maybe feral on weekends and for most that is a wondrous goal just knowing they have awakened the deep DNA we all have buried inside. And I don't mean some wildeyed nutjob we already have enough of those in politics. 

Freedom, yes it is true freedom we have and it makes for a better life, a completeness that many of us were lacking, I feel I'm slipping into a lecture attitude and that is far from what I'm trying to convey, so i'm going to end this article now, with I hope I didn't scare you away ....  

By Dude McLean

THE SCARE

 Today i was on the phone with an old friend and she mentioned she does not watch the news anymore because it seems all they want to do is scare us and no one knows what to believe anymore anyway. I  have to agree with her , which is why for years I  called the lie witless news the "SCARE". Makes no difference what channel you like.

       

THE CORONA has taken over our lives it seems ,at the time of this writing anyway, Im amazed at the numbers of people who were in no way prepared for an event like this , although I  should not be surprised at all. Another old friend  who is a well known survival prepper told me now he feels vindicated because for years he has asked people to prepare  now they are coming to him in droves

ordering items in droves. In my own case a few old friends made fun of me for stocking up on items and Id love to tell a few of them see I told ya but they have passed , Not from the corona but because of other issues due to old guy problems like age etc. Ya have to live long enough to be able to survive the SHTF times .Seems like a bad joke but its true.

My lady friend is not a survivalist type but is a very respected business professional who just used common sense.

I also wanted to show you that I know normal people. If you care to go back to an article I wrote on this blog in Oct 4th of 2015 , I wrote about the" real dangers in a crisis " now I  didnt mention a pandemic but the general idea was there . 

I hope you are all safe as well as your familes while the country muddles its way through this crap  My hope is that we get through this in record time and find a way to stop this ugly beast that was set upon us . 

I sure hope it was not on purpose and if it was an ACCIDENT  it sure points out why no one country should fool with any bio shit at all . 

STAY WELL   STAY SAFE

By Dude McLean

WHATCHA GONNA DO WHEN GOOGLE CRASHES

   When the day comes that Google crashes and the internet goes dark. The computers don't have anything and the cell phones won't and can't work do you have a plan and or the skills and wherewithall to get by . Will you be able to communicate with loved ones and friends or will you just sit in the dark helpless and cry. Might not be as far fetched as one might think. My feeling is it will happen in whats left of my lifetime and I'm pretty old so that means sooner than later. Oh I know some will be ready and some think they are ready but the reality of such an event is very daunting even for those who are ready much less for some who will have no clue. The no clue side is in for a rough time .

  Some will think ham radios might help but not if the repeater towers  are down. oh yes most have solar and batteries as a backup but how long will the batteries last . By the way how many of you have a ham radio or even know of anyone who has one and do you think they will let you send a message for free and just who are they

sending the message to and who will deliver said message. Most alternative forms of  communication will be by drums and runners if they are not attacked along the way  The beat of drums is a sad joke not much better than smoke signals. Im being a bit flip here but this wont be very funny . 

  If one has studied some primitive skills and owns some of those skills you will be at the least in the I might have a chance margin but even hard core practitioners will have a hard time of it. Older codgers like me really wont last all that long without help oh I own the skills but the energy level is limited. Most older folks take  meds and many without those meds will die . A harsh but a true statement. I just hope that I would have the time to pass on some of the knowledge to my loved ones so that they might maybe stand a chance in a new low tech world. 

  Well ya know I  might be wrong been wrong many times but my studies point to the down side rather than the up or positive side. hope luck is with you. Perhaps you have stocked up on some food items and other gear  that will help for a while but not for all that long. Gee isn't this fun.  

by Dude  McLean

WHY DO I DO THIS BLOG

WHY DO I DO THIS BLOG

   Over the years I have been asked why do I write the blog you don't make any money and who reads it and who are they anyway. For me it comes down to just a few things. My hope is that at least one or two will be motivated to learn some of the skills I write about. I hope a few of my writings will leave some lifetime imprint on a few folks . I hope my grandchildren will read my thoughts and at this point in my life I have one great grandson. Maybe I'm

just an old fogey who has been hit in the head a few too many times and I'm just mumbling in my beard, but I do know my kids read this thing who knows how long this internet thing will be around a year 50 years who knows I do know that in the last 20 years a lot of info has already been lost to the great internet in the sky. How to retrieve it is an unknown.

  I know it sounds all pollyanna and gee whiz but I really do hope the info found here becomes of some use to some and help them thrive. Most of what I write is not time sensitive the primitive remains pretty much the same the basics are just that the foundation and it is strong as it was 500 years ago as it is now. Okay no need to beat this to death .

 by  Dude McLean

ON BEING A MISFIT

 I feel  many of us are really misfits but we come to it too late to do anything about it.I knew I was misfit at an early age though I didn't have a name for what it was. My first day of kindergarten I left the class room and went home. I told my mom I didn't like it and I don't do naps. I do recall I felt trapped. My mom was horrified I crossed two very busy blvd's and walked almost a mile home . She took me back to school and went nutz on the teacher for letting me leave  . The teacher had no idea I was even gone. So  my education had started and things went down hill from that point on. Mostly I was bored out of my brain  and ditched or spent my time looking out of a widow . I felt boxed in 

Later on I would read a book in class . More later, enough of that for now . On escaping from the horrors of High school I was so smart I joined the Marine Corps looking back I have no idea why  I did but it was a bonehead move . I remember the DI yelling at me private dipshit you are walking not marching , well damn I thought I was marching but he didn't . I never did get it right. What I did get was I could do more push
ups than anyone  and more pull ups plus a few other things like run forever miles and miles . Not boxed in anymore when I ran . But boxed in the Corps I didn't fit the program . A misfit. I did my job but that was it no extra effort on my part . Bored again.

  It is a small wonder I got out after four years with an honorable discharge but came close to the brig more than a few times. So okay now genius what now 'i got a crappy job working in a warehouse on the loading docks .now I was married and had a little girl one of my best moves ever .But I in a box at work with a jerk for a boss . Everyone else seemed happy with the job not me though. I was the misfit .

Then followed a bunch of jobs never fit in those either... bored again. but primitive skills  were out there plus I was interested in the music biz  ended up as a music publisher and a sometimes songwriter did that for about 40 years  and it gave me the time I needed for the outdoors skills  I craved but during all of this I knew I was a misfit but by now I was proud of it  Now at almost 82  I'm still a misfit , don't like senior centers  or the so called activities I don't like games  don't play cards etc.  And those places are jammed with old farts that I never have a thing in common with. Writing and the study of primitive skills and the study of  primitive tribes from all over the world are a subject I love to  gather info about those that know me know that I have a passion for the Apache peoples  so you don't have to leave the states to study these fine examples of how to live.

 Being a misfit at times has been tough on me and my family but being a misfit is not a choice it just is . You might try and change but it will last only for a short time and then you you will relapse to the misfit monster and walk off another job. Misfits just fit in any old place as there is not a place to fit in.  Unless you get lucky like I did but you take a lot of lumps along the way so you gotta be tough and bite the well known bullet. I like being a misfit  sometimes its just fun but ya cant be worried about what others think about you its your path and at times you are the pathfinder cutting away the crap of life and creating your own life that is satisfying to you. So embrace it you misfits  I love ya.




 by Dude  McLean

ON MEETING WITH BAREFOOT TED

                                                                

   So early one evening I get a phone call from my friend Paul Campbell he is requesting me to drop whatever I'm doing and come up to his place and  meet the myth in person that is Barefoot Ted . Paul said to get my butt up to his house right now and save him as  he is being bulldozed by Ted and  he needed my help and as I would find out just a short time later the Barefoot Ted is not a big man but he is larger than life its his personality that is large .Well of course I said I would be right over as Paul lived only about 20 minutes away . Barefoot Ted is featured in Christopher  McDougalls classic book "Born to Run" . I was excited to meet the legend in person and it was a pleasure we spent a long and pleasant evening together and Paul was right Ted is a true force of nature. Looking back I think Paul was not intimidated at all but just wanted me to meet Ted

   We talked of primitive skills and barefoot running staying in good shape as we age and many other very important issues that seemed very important at the time but it was an evening I will carry with me as long as my brain functions with any clarity .  Ted has a company that makes primitive sandals called Luna based on the sandals of the copper canyon Tarahumra people. Any time one was invited to Paul's home you were expected to eat all the wonderful goodies served up by Paul and his lovely wife even after begging that you could not eat one bite more was set in front of you. 

    I found that  Ted and I had a lot in common  the three of us laughed and joked  had a great time sitting out in Paul's patio . WE traded adventure stories and one upsmanship  This was in late 2013 or early 2014  my friend Paul died in Sept of 2014 from a brain tumor. Ted and I have remained friends. 

    If you are not aware who Paul was he wrote a few books that were instant classics Survival skills of native Californians  ... the universal tool kit . and Earth pigments and paint of the California Indians  a respected primitive skills practitioner and spokesman at many museums on the early native lifeways. Barefoot Ted can be reached through his website at...https://www.barefootted.com/

       by  Dude McLean 

PREHISTORIC SURVIVAL SKILLS

                                                        PREHISTORIC SURVIVAL SKILLS 

                                                                            by DUDE MCLEAN

 

We live in a remarkable age ,for at our finger tips is an ancient world for us to discover . what took a lifetime of some of our ancestors to figure out, and perfect we can learn about it about it in a few hours of googling the subject giving us access to various methods of say, starting a fire or building a shelter and then if we go into the wild and practice what we just read about or saw on Youtube we might master the skill in a few months of intense work so what took our prehistoric ancestor a lifetime to learn and perfect we  capture the skill in far less time if we are dedicated to learning the technology . 

  In addition never before have so many skilled teachers been available to the average person . Schools are all over the world and are all over this country and many fine teachers are out there . Where in the past if a skill was shared at all it was kept within the family or within the tribe not to be shared with anyone , the information was was too important to share. Also if a new method of say starting fire was discovered one did not run out and tell others about it for it could mean life or death but in today's culture most teachers and other skilled practitioners are very generous with their knowledge . I have never run into anyone who was not willing to share any skill and some of hard won nuance that comes with the skill set.

  What we have as of now or until the internet fails is a rare ability never seen before in the known history of the world and all you have to do is take advantage of it. I do know that some are intimidated by primitive skills but believe me it is not a big deal to begin learning one step and one day at a time. after you have learned a few skills all the rest  seem to come eaiser  not that are all that hard in the first place . At first you might feel like the swell known klutz  but thats okay it will pass . However it is best if you can find a teacher as one on one works very well and you have someone right there who can guide you through some of the skills . Most important is to keep it fun and light .

  If you do decide to go prehistoric welcome to the tribe 

      by DUDE MCLEAN

THE PREHISTORIC SKILLS

  Over the years I have heard many folks say they would like to get closer to the earth. But they don't know how. Well it is right under your feet . All you need to do is take some time off from TV and watching sports and step into the desert or the mountains and woods. Very little effort on your part . Now that doesn't mean you can run naked into the wilderness and nature will take care of you cuz it can kill you, also  without the knowledge of some basic skills you could be just another victim that would get you closer to the earth but not in the way you might like. 

  As a naturalist and a practitioner of primitive skills I urge you to seek out some classes , instructors are all over the country . I feel one of the best ways to start is by learning the wild edible plants from

a qualified and known instructor , most are easy to track down and you might be surprised just how fast you can learn many wild plants but it will take some effort on your part meaning dedication . You will be out in the wild and having a good time while learning and gathering some wild food. Some of the best salads and meals I have had have  been in the wild . Not only are you  eating healthy  it is really good as well. Now you are getting closer to to the earth by partaking in a class and the ancient practice of a tribe.

    Please dont be intimidated by taking a wild plant class most I have been involved with have been fun and mostly a great bunch of people all interested in the plants , you will learn  plants that you might have seen over the years but had no clue what it was now your reaction will be hell I can  eat that. After a while you will ID plants from your car at 65 miles an hour and drive everyone with you nutz. And you will  find those sports don't give a damn that you are not sitting at home watching them because at this point they will seem tame and mundane, now you are living your life and not theirs . I call that freedom .

  From the plant classes you might move onto learning how to make fire by friction  how to construct a primitive shelter  learn to track critters and many other skills . Pointing out here that your age wont matter much. I feel that we all should be students and learn right up until we die .  Soon you will be a prehistoric critter stalking through the bush .  

 by Dude  McLean

A Fish Tale

  Some parts of this story might be true, other parts are going back over 75 years ago so I might not have it all as it was. My daddy died over 20 years ago so I can’t fact check.

 I was with my daddy and he bought a new pole and reel. The next morning at zero dark we headed to a lake up by Bishop Ca. We set up and sometime after sunup this man showed up and asked my daddy if he had a fishing license my daddy said he wasn’t fishing he was catching. He pulled his line

out of the water and said see I caught a worm. Well even as a little kid I knew that was pretty funny, but the game warden didn’t even smile. So my daddy said son pull up your line so I did. My daddy said well look at that he caught a grasshopper. No smile, but the mean man told my daddy he was going to write him a citation for no fishing license. My daddy said well the clerk at the store never mentioned a thing about a license nor was there Anything in the box the pole came in or in the box the reel it came in.

 Somewhere about here the game man got mad at my innocent daddy. I recall my daddy said “well sir you are not going to make me look bad in front of my son, he could grow up to not like game wardens”  “Your actions could affect him for the rest of his life”. After that things are a little unclear, but no citation and a lot of mumbling by the mean game man. My daddy thanked the mean man as he walked away still talking to himself about some people are just not worth educating. I knew he could not be talking about my daddy cuz he knew everything and always answered all my questions. I knew he knew more about catching fish than that mean man.

by Dude McLean

Are You Present?

   

   Not being a wise guy here… but are you here in the right now, or are you always planning on doing a project or going on an adventure in the future and not living right now in the present. Nothing wrong with planning for anything at a later date, but do not forget the now of your life. Although it is prudent to plan things in advance, but that advance isn’t here yet is it. Hopefully it will be, but in the

meantime, you have a present life to live and enjoy. Just the simple things are still a wonder to me; watching a raven fly over me, looking at a pretty butterfly or a flower, talking with a friend, walking with my dog, feeling the morning air, the sun on my face, smoking a fine cigar in the evening, (although finding a fine cigar that I can afford has become a real challenge) but it’s all in the present and the trick is to enjoy it all! Pretty simple and we can all do it, all it takes is being aware this what life is… a bunch of little simple things all tied up in a bow for us to enjoy if we know how to live in the present.

  That’s it no big message, except not to forget to live right now.

by Dude McLean

Face Down in the Dirt

 

The other day a guy says to me “well you ain’t nutin but a tree hugger” So I thought for just a second, and yep I am that and; a cactus huger
a rock hugger
and a dirt hugger
a whale hugger
I m a hugger of any critter that is about gone from the earth.
a turkey vulture hugger
a pro-gun hugger and a pro hunter hugger, but I don’t like trophy hunting. Why would you take out the top DNA of any species? That makes no sense to me.
a hugger of any of the few uncontacted tribes, leave them alone.
I m a hugger of primitive skills. There is more to hug, but my brain is tired now you get the drift.

    by Dude McLean

Signs Of The Times

Here are a few things I don’t like, or they scare me or both or I just do not understand them.

 Let’s take a look 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE what do they mean? Scares the hell out of me.

DRONES the private little ones sent by a nosy jerk.

who the hell do they think they are just cheap spies swooping down on you sending back your picture to who?

FENCES

I have used fences myself, but I don’t like them and the signs that go with them! NO

TRESPASSING AND KEEP OUT how about;

 NO SMOKING signs

 BEWARE OF DOGS what kind of dog? Here bow wow eat this steak

 GOVERNMENT PROPERTY okay that means us you and me

 OFFICIAL USE ONLY I am official at all times.

By Dude McLean

Wildwood Wisdom

In the scheme of things, not so many years ago, we went from hunter gatherers to settlements and to being farmers. That move shifted at lightning speed to the industrial revolution bringing much of the life we have today. History calls it progress, but I believe it was not so good for mankind. We lost so much of our ability to be at one with the earth and nature in general,

The ancient ways were forgotten and, in many cases, perhaps lost forever. Few today can ID an edible plant. Do you anyone who can tell you ten plants that are safe to eat that grow in the wild? The ability to move and be like a recent ancestor identifying the gifts found growing in the wild is a rare thing. To be able to walk in those ancient footprints should bring joy to those who can follow the footprints.

 Real wildwood wisdom is a thing only a few ever get to witness or be a part of in the world today, I’m a lucky man because I know a few of these folks. I have traveled a few paths with them as I strive to learn the earth and the ancient ways no matter what part of the world they come from. We are all connected somehow. We all cannot live in the past and that is not what I’m saying here, but to learn the old ways is a fine goal I believe. To live a simple life and enjoying the bounty of the earth seems to be a mighty fine thing in my humble opinion.

I have tried to surround myself with the kind of people who are living like this, and as I get older it seems to be more important that the skills be passed on. For your consideration

   by Dude McLean

Earth Skills

                                                                EARTH SKILLS by Dude McLean

  The concept of the tribe was lost once we started to farm and live in one place. The hunter gatherer life was over, and the skills involved died out leaving only a few elders to remember. Once they died so did the wisdom of a hunter gatherer lifestyle. If you are among the lucky smart ones you may have taken some plant walk classes with Christopher Nyerges. Count yourselves as being part of a tribe, if only for a few hours. This is what it used to take to eat well, the tribe working together gathering the gifts from the earth with a leader showing the way, some might even say a medicine man. Earth wisdom in a classic setting led by a true elder who has gained the wisdom of what it offered in the dirt.

 Very few have the deep level of knowledge of plants as my Friend Christopher owns. I have been on his plant walks for 25 years at least. He is honest and humble about what he knows. When on the plant walk as he teaches and harvests plants, you are taking part in an age-old tradition as ancient as it gets. You are a member of the tribe or even a pack if you will, I consider it a gift to be a part of the walks every time I go, and it never gets old.

 So all the skills and wisdom is not lost but it is rare. Now track Christopher down and take a class or two and start to learn the plants for your life.