Shelters, Long Term

Recently Barry Keegan and I were talking as we were cutting the frame for our latest cabins here at Hawk Circle, about the nature of shelter. It was interesting, because we were talking about the longevity of shelters, how they have evolved through the ages and how it felt to be timber framing rather than peeling bark for a longhouse or wigwam or other native structure. Barry liked the idea of putting energy into the beams and frame, knowing that the cabin would likely live on past our own lives, to shelter campers and students well into the next generation if given proper care and maintenance.

On the other hand, a wigwam or longhouse has to undergo lots of repairs after about twelve to fifteen years, just due mostly to the constant contact with moisture and the nature of the bark, poles and lashings.

I made the point that it is much different building native shelters today, as compared to three hundred years ago, because then, you could find any number of huge elms, basswood and hickory trees, in a climax forest, and you could peel one or two trees and have all of the bark you could want, in huge sheets, ready to lash onto a sturdy frame. The Dutch Elm disease hadn't hit, and the forests hadn't been cleared by pioneers looking to farm the New World, as they liked to call it. Cherry Valley looked like Wales or Ireland only as far back as 70-90 years ago!

Now, it is hard work finding big elms for peeling, or basswood or tulip poplar, and we have to travel miles, peel it, transport it, store it carefully and then soak it for days to get it to form onto our shelters, often made at nature centers miles and miles from Hawk Circle. Much harder work!

Anyway, it was a good conversation, and it led to good thinking. Food for thought, as they say.

We are in the process of developing a Sustainability Apprenticeship, where adult students or homeschooled highschool age students could come and learn by doing, making timber framed cabins, learn about organic gardening, composting, caring for small livestock, gathering and processing foods, natural building like cob construction, cordwood masonry, straw bale construction, blacksmithing, tool care and use and much more. It is looking like it will be a practical approach to community living and sustainable methods, with a dose of cooking, baking, wild medicinals and even knitting thrown in for good measure.

I am really excited, because it could be a great way for students who want to take our Earth Skills Semesters to earn credit towards a course, and learn strong life skills too, and be part of our community. It looks like a win win, which I love!

Anyway, I will keep you posted and until then, I hope you are all enjoying the summer and getting outside and practicing your skills from time to time!

Ricardo

Things that are Hard; Things that Open the Heart

Some things are hard in this world.

It is hard to see your kids struggle, learning to deal with friends, or the pressures of school or to find their way.

It is hard to keep up with the changes that are occurring in our rapidly changing technological world.

It is hard to pay $4.15 for a gallon of gas, not knowing where the money will come from to make up the difference in the family budget.

It is hard to see someone you love suffering from poor health, like cancer or a relentless degenerative disease.

When I look at the faces of native people photographed by Edward Curtis, I can see the eyes of people who have seen things that are hard to bear. They leave lines etched like bird tracks in the sand, tracks that tell of pain, of love and things lost that are dear to them. I feel connected to them, and I wish I could sit with some of those people, long gone from this world now, to share a morsel of food, even if it was in silence. The weight of the world's sorrows might hang around us, settling like thick dust, choking us in grief.

However, I see, no, I feel, more hope rise up within me, protesting and shaking off the ashes of fires long gone.

"Look at the sunset! Or that tree covered in blossoms! There is so much promise in this life, and this world is beautiful beyond reckoning...."

I don't mean to belittle the pain and hardships of life. I don't think it is right, nor do I wish to gloss over it, rushing, to get to some new place in a hurry. I didn't do that in Death Valley, either. In fact, I spent time savoring the heat, the dry air and the almost purifying absence of succulent life. I wanted to know what it felt like, what it did to my skin, my perception, my mind and soul.

What I found was, even in that desolate place, covered in rocks and dead plants and spiny scorpions and scaly snakes, there was joy and beauty and hope and promise. There was a cleansing power that scrubbed my soul with hot sand. And it was good. Really good.

Nature can cleanse our hearts and our minds, and restore us in ways that books, t.v., talk therapy and other substitutes can't touch. It just works. And why wouldn't it work? It is us. Time spent in nature, submersed in her sounds, our senses flooded with birdsong, wind, stars and the scent of pines all combine to renew us.

Watching my son tell a new joke or make something he couldn't do before melts my heart and makes me so grateful to be alive, despite the hardships.

Waking to the sound of birdsong can bring tears to my eyes.

Sharing a meal of color, spices and friendships is also healing and appreciated.

Talking about current events with peers brightens my day, despite the fact that it is mostly words whisked away in the breeze, to disperse and vanish with nothing to show for it. Maybe it is just practice, in thinking, of all things!

Making a fire without matches and sharing it with friends. Warmth. Light. Crackling wood and hissing of steam.

Music. It opens my heart in ways I can't express.

Working with a team of people towards a common goal. Getting things done, together. Yeah!

Hugging someone you love.

So, what is my point? Where am I going with all of this?

I don't know, really, but I am grateful to be alive. To be here, feeling both ends of the spectrum.

I am thankful, and to everyone, everything in this Universe, I say, simply: Thank you.

Mental Toughness: The essential ingredient

Earth skills don't come easy. I won't pretend that they do. Making fire takes having a fire inside of you that won't go out because your hands are sore, or you have trouble finding wood or the drill keeps popping out of the fireboard socket or handhold.

Gaining a real skill is more than making fire once or twice with dry wood cut from a fence post. You have to do it over and over, honing your skill, fixing your mistakes, learning and discovering and experimenting as you think of new ways to get good.

I haven't even gotten to the blindfolded part yet.

So, what is the difference between people who are casually interested in learning earth skills, and those who are serious? For one thing, serious students are passionate. They have a fierce desire that laughs at obstacles that get in the way of all of us from time to time. People who are passionate keep sight of their goals and don't get distracted by the little things that steal our time and our focus. Honestly, you have to learn to nurture this passion and feed that desire. It isn't easy. One way to do this is to write down your goals. Then keep track of each time you work towards that goal, in the form of notes, in your journals. (The Correspondence Course uses this technique to help you see your own progress towards your goals!)

Think of it like this: In addition to building your physical strengths, (to make a fire, to build a shelter, or dig out a spring, etc), you also have to build your mental strengths.

This is hard to do in our world today. Everyone wants results now, easy, on demand, take out, eat in, whatever, which is stuff that doesn't build mental toughness. I am not saying it is easy to live in this crazy world at times, but much of the cultural clutter doesn't help build mental strength.

Meditation is one way to clear the mind and build focusing skills. Lots of people know about meditation, but how many of you really take the time to sit or stand still, quietly, and let go of everything but the goal? Yeah, that's what I thought! Not many. However, all it takes is a few moments, deep breathing and a clear goal! Try it before you practice your skills next time you practice.... Let me know if you feel or see a difference.

Another way to build mental strength is what I call "the inner buffalo". The natives have a saying that goes "You can pretty much lead a buffalo anywhere he wants to go." Which means that buffalo can be immovable if they so choose. Stubborn. Unwavering. A dust storm, or snow, or intense heat barely registers or breaks their concentration. They are solid. They are strong. They will go through obstacles, if need be. And they are beautiful and powerful animals.

I remember when I was learning to build shelters, in the early days. I was living in San Luis Obispo, and working for the California Conservation Corps, and it was 1984. I was twenty years old, fresh out of Tom Brown Jr.'s Standard Course in wilderness survival skills. One weekend, I had planned to go out and build a shelter and sleep in it for a night or two, for the practice and to see if it would work out. But I woke to heavy coastal rain showers, and I was discouraged. I looked out at the rain from my cabin, and tried to think of what I could do inside. More fire, or make cordage or read some plant books.... good but those weren't my goals. I could do them anytime, during the week. I was about to give up and start working on fire skills, when my inner buffalo got going. No, it said. I can still practice, even in the rain, if I make a shelter fast, with an awning or porch roof. Then I can do all of those other skills at my shelter, in the rain, where it is real. I just have to do it fast. I packed my gear, first aid kit, flashlight, etc along with some food, put on my rain gear and headed out. My friends thought I was nuts and begged me to come to the movies instead. I vanished into the woods, and a half hour later, I was building my shelter. Eucalyptus trees, poles, cottonwood and alder leaves, and lots of willow. Sandy soil around the banks of a small stream. It took me longer than I thought to get my shelter to stop dripping and shed water, but I learned a lot about building in the rain. Yes, it is hard to see when your glasses are covered in drips and water is coursing down your back. And it is hard to recognize poison oak when you take your glasses off! (No, I didn't get poison oak. This time.) Anyway, I got my shelter done, and then I ran back to my cabin for a hot shower and new clothes. (Hypothermia prevention!) Then I headed back out, gathering tules and cattails for bedding and lots of firewood. It turned out to be a great campout, even with a smoky fire and damp shelter, but I learned a lot. Not just about shelters, but about myself, and how I almost talked myself out of going out. My inner stubborness beat out my inner couch potato, who loves creature comforts.
Now, don't get me wrong! It is okay to take it easy sometimes. To rest, rejuvenate and relax is very important, and sometimes we all need to sit on our eggs, so to speak, like the wild turkeys are doing on the hill here at Hawk Circle! You can get a lot of good thinking done, integrating your experiences and reconnecting with friends and family, which is important.

Anyway, the last thing I will add in terms of getting stronger mentally is being positive. It's all about choosing to think positively about your situation, and being thankful for what you have, what you have been given, and believing in yourself, in your skills and life. There is a great power to doing this, and it takes time, but with perseverance, you can see tremendous results. I will tell some good stories about some of the ways I learned this in another post, but trust me, it is key to building that inner strength.

I'll also add discipline, because it is one way to organize your learning and growing to reach your goals, but that is probably my weakest link in the whole process personally. Let's just say that having kids, family, lawns to mow, projects and a crazy schedule all could use a little more discipline! (My mom sent me to a Waldorf School, not West Point. Just the way it goes....)

Hope you are all having a great spring!

Trees: Giving the Gifts that Keep on Giving

One of the things that sometimes surprises people when they start the Earth Skills Course is the emphasis on learning trees. There are journals, observations, sketching and descriptions. There is ample time for field study dedicated to our tall forest brethren.

Of course, once you stop and think about it, trees are so crucial, so vital and so amazing, you realize that it would be virtually impossible to get close to nature, using native skills, without learning and getting to know them.

Right now, we are tapping four maple trees for sap, and we are literally drinking the sweet blood of those trees. I am cutting the beams for the camp cabins, which are white pine and tamarack, and carving pegs of red maple, oak and white ash to hold the frame together. Barry Keegan, our head instructor, has probably about 200 hickory, elm and locust bow staves seasoning in our barn, and our Earth Skills Semester students just cut some white cedar that had fallen in the last storm to dry for coal burning, bow drills and hand drill fires.

We burn cherry, beech, birch and sugar maple in our wood stoves, to keep us warm, and carve traps from viburnum, nannyberry and buckthorn. Cedar and aspen make great fire boards for making friction fires, and tulip poplar bark is awesome for tinder bundles. I could go on and on and on....

It isn't easy learning about trees you don't know at first. I mean, you have to use field guides and then learn to observe very closely things that most people miss. How does the leaf attach to the twig? What is the predominant bark pattern and color? Is there a unique signature shape to the way the tree grows? How does it smell and feel? (The bark, leaves and branches.) All of these come with time spent studying, observing and living with them every day, or as much as you can accomplish with them on your field trips and camp outs.

One thing I have discovered is that you can't learn much about a person if you don't spend any time with them. Well, the same is true for trees. You have to carve the wood. Use it to pound stakes or split firewood. Burn it and see how long it lasts. Bend it for a bow, coal burn it for a throwing stick or spoon. Sit under it and see how the light and shadows play against your skin. Listen to see which birds like to creep upside down along the bark, searching for caterpillars, sap or hollows to build a nest.....

If you find you are having trouble getting motivated in learning as much as you can about your trees, just imagine what our survival would be like without wood. Without shade, oxygen and protection. It always makes me appreciate their steadfast help, their beauty and their friendship in my times of need.

The least I can do is learn as much as I can about them!

On the other hand, it can still be intimidating!

If that is the case, try heading out to a botanical garden, and call ahead to find a time when one of the staff is free for a tour. Maybe you would like to volunteer for an afternoon, in exchange for additional learning. Usually, they can introduce you to a ton of different trees and help you see their differences side by side, and give you a first hand look, without getting you caught up in field guide anxiety.

Any of you out there reading this have any tips to share with the rest of the readers? Feel free to comment and let us in on your secret easy way to get to know our trees! Or just let me know if this post was helpful in any way.

Have a great day! I am off to boil down the sap for some sweet maple syrup!

Awareness, Sensitivity and Paul McKenna

A couple of weeks ago, I was taking a late night break from writing and saw a show on TLC called I Can Make You Thin with Paul McKenna. It centered on the idea that you can begin to lose weight if you slow down as you eat, chew, taste and savor your food and stop eating when you are full.

I really enjoyed the show, which was very clearly laid out and presented with a positive, hopeful manner. I especially enjoyed thinking about food, and how I can get so busy, stressed and hurried that I lose my sensitivity to my own body sometimes.

I began to consciously slow down as I ate for the next few days/weeks, and tried to follow the advice of McKenna. What I found was really empowering. I began to eat about a third of what I used to eat, and really became tuned in to what being full felt like. I am hesitating to share this to the entire blog world, because it is personal, but I am just going to go for it on the chance that it might help any of you reading this, as it is very worthwhile!

Anyway, it has been almost three weeks and I feel really good about what and how I have been eating, and the changes have been subtle but very real. I like how I feel and I like the fact that I become attuned to my body again after many years of working too hard, too long, under considerable stress and all that.

Why I am sharing this, beyond my own personal growth, is that much of the learning and awareness of the Earth Skills Course, or any natural/wilderness learning experience is really similar. When we learn to listen to the sound of a bow and drill rubbing and spinning, really listen to it with a deep awareness, we begin to know how to respond quickly to allow us to get a fire more easily. When we become aware of the smell of thick leaves, we can find a good shelter location faster. When we slow down and take the time to cook our food over an open fire on a campout, we allow our minds to integrate all of the information that we are bombarded with on a daily level and we can begin to experience a deeper relaxation, more healing sleep and a greater quality of life. I am sure you get the point. The bottom line is that this awareness and sensitivity is vitally important to helping us in all areas of our lives....

For me, having learned many of these skills of awareness long ago, I don't experience them now the way I did the first time I learned to track. I am usually the one doing the teaching, and it has been a while since I was on the other end of the 'revelation' or life changing experience. It was really a treat to discover that a valuable awarenesslesson awaited me on late night television, and I continue to enjoy the process. I will let you know how it goes from time to time, and if any of you are carrying some extra weight around like me, check out the show if you get a chance. I would love to hear your thoughts and responses, too.

Have a great week! I am off to the tracking expedition we are running in Cape Cod next week, and it should be awesome!