I've refrained from posting in this thread, so far, being basically shy
, but I figure if a Quiet Bear can be forthcoming............... (Hey dude, you don't look anything like I imagined
)
I live in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, which is in the southern part of the province, on the extreme west end of Lake Ontario. I'm 62 years old, and have been involved in outdoor activities to a greater and lesser degree, for the last 50 years, give or take a couple.
Believe it or not, one of the biggest inspirations for me in regards to primitive skills/wilderness survival was the old tv series, 'Kung Fu'. I used to watch Kwai Chang Caine wander through the wilderness, feeding himself with what he could forage, and I thought, 'What a sense of freedom, that would give you!'
Also, at that time, my wife and I backpacked with my little son and daughter. Seeing all the different plants and trees, while we were out and about, made me wonder what they were and what they could be used for, and so began my love affair with plants. A love affair that continues to this very day. Considering how much time I've spent on it, I should be some kind of expert - alas, I'm not.
, but maybe, in the learning, is the joy. Or as they say, "Success is the journey, not the destination." Whatever it is, I find great satisfaction in the pursuit.
For the longest time, I didn't know anybody else that was interested in the same thing, so I guess that slows down progress. Hell, it took me 10 years to learn to do bow drill fire from a book. Mind you, I didn't work at it every day and one of the advantages of so doing, is you get to make every mistake possible, so when somebody else is having a problem, it makes it easier to see what they're doing wrong.
Presently, I have 2 good friends that are also so inclined and we get together from time to time, to play with traps, hike, canoe trip, do plant walks, shoot a few arrows and just hang.
From time to time, I do demonstrations and displays of primitive skills/wilderness survival for various groups such as Big Brothers, local outdoor clubs etc. but haven't done anything recently. My skill levels vary from fairly competent in friction fire making, to barely adequate in flint knapping and bow making. Actually that would even be an exaggeration,
but it's all good
I belong to several like-minded discussion forums, but rarely venture away from this one anymore. The good natured, generous, experienced and the not-so-experienced people, who are more than willing to share, on this forum, make it a very enjoyable place to be- way too often, actually
. I look forward to many more days, weeks, months, and years (?) to come here and share with my keyboard kin. Oh, and this is probably the last time you will see me this serious.
Oh and the pictures:
A picture of me trying to help a friend collect on his insurance policy
.
And one, I hope that makes baldtaco-II puke again. I'm the handsome dude on the right. Yes, we are canoeing in lawn chairs. Alcohol was a lot cheaper in those days. (BTW, check out the Buck knife hat!) I guess I should also mention, before somebody tries this and drowns - the 2 canoes were lashed together (for a bit of sailing).
Cheers!
Doc
