Australian Government Trying To Axe Solar Power Production and increase the burning of fossil fuels!!!

Please sign this petition to save our planet from the Abbott Government.

http://www.solarcitizens.org.au/email_your_mp?utm_campaign=ret_rev_release&utm_medium=email&utm_source=solarcitizens

Barnaby  JoyceThe NationalsNew England

The effects of global warming are probably now too late to reverse, but that is no reason to speed our demise up by burning more fossil fuels & creating more damage to the environment with more coal mining. With any luck, if we can use more solar power & lower our carbon footprint, there may be something left to enjoy for my Grandchildren & my Great Grandchildren.

This is not a game to be played with our lives, if you have any honour, any integrity, you will do all you can to protect the renewable energy target for the good of all decent Australians, & in fact the world.

Regards, Keith H. Burgess.

March Australia in Armidale NSW.

A Woodsrunner's Diary: Weaving on an Inkle Loom.

A Woodsrunner's Diary: Weaving on an Inkle Loom.: PDF on inkle loom weaving:  https://www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/monographs/amm_inkl.pdf " Young as I was, I was possess...

World's climate experts forecast apocalyptic weather

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11312773

Climate Change Reports. We Need To Act Yesterday !

The Australian government's refusal to act on climate change is criminal, yet when the shit hits the fan, no one will hold the individual members of the Abbott government to account. No law in the land will prosecute this government & make the individual members pay, & it will be too late for us to save earth.
Now is NOT the time to be approving logging of our forests, with climate change here & now, we need all the trees & other flora we can get. Now is NOT the time to be approving more destructive coal mining, our carbon footprint is way over the top as it is without destroying more of our environment, & burning more fossil fuels.
NOW we, the people, have to do the best we can on our own. This is not just about the here & now, this is about the lives of our children & grandchildren. This is a very real threat to our existence on earth, not just our comfort level, but our very existence on earth.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/06/politics/white-house-climate-energy/

http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit/

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/18/climate-change-global-warning-calamity-floods-observer-editorial

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27008352

Exclusive: Billionaires secretly fund attacks on climate science.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/exclusive-billionaires-secretly-fund-attacks-on-climate-science-8466312.html

Seed: Australia's first Indigenous Youth Climate Network

What Does It Take To Survive Long Term In The Wilderness.

What Does It Take To Survive Long Term In The Wilderness.

I have been out bush with hunters using modern firearms & muzzle-loading arms, & for this day & age I would say that they would be classed as reasonable hunters, well some of them anyway. But in a SHTF situation where you may have no idea how long you will have to live in the bush, frankly these hunters don't cut it.

People ask me what does it take to live long term in a wilderness situation, & my answer is always the same. First you need to be as one with nature, you have to realise that you too are an animal. All animals have a name, fox, dingo, roo, deer, etc, & the most dangerous of all animals is called human. Once you realise this, & start acting accordingly, then you are on your way. Next you need to be proficient in many primitive skills, some you may be really good at, others you may perform but not be an expert. That is okay, that is the way it is.

Next you need to have the right equipment, & this too NEEDS to be mostly primitive. If you have enough members in your group that you can afford to have two or three carrying modern firearms, all the better. But these should be kept for defence only, & they are never to be relied on long term. Instead, arm the majority with muzzle-loading arms & bows, but not compound bows. Compound bows use special arrows & special bow strings, & these are NOT sustainable long term.

Next you need to think about clothing. Modern clothing will have a short lifespan in the bush, but primitive clothing can be made. Learn to make & wear woodland Indian moccasins, & if you do wear modern footwear, at least take a pair of moccasins with you tied to your pack. 18th century woodsman clothing will last you a long time, it is hard wearing, practicle & has no stress points. Following is a list of skills that the woodsrunners (men & women) in our group are expected to be proficient in.

Woodsrunner's Skills.

This is a list of basic skills in which I personally would expect an 18th century woodsman or woods-woman to have some experience with.

-           Flint & steel fire lighting

-           Wet weather fire lighting

-           Fire-bow fire lighting

-           Flintlock fire lighting

-           Flintlock use, service & repair

-           Marksmanship with either gun or bow.

-           Field dressing & butchering game

-           Blade sharpening

-           Tomahawk throwing

-           Making rawhide

-           Brain tanning

-           Primitive shelter construction

-           How to stay warm in winter with only one blanket

-           Cordage manufacture

-           Moccasin construction and repair

-           Sewing

-           Axe and tomahawk helve making

-           Fishing

-           Hunting

-           Evasion

-           Tracking

-           Reading sign

-           Woods lore

-           Navigation

-           Primitive trap construction & trapping

-           Open fire cooking

-           Fireplace construction

-           Clothing manufacture

-           Drying meat & other foods

-           Knowledge of plant tinders & preparation

-           Knowledge of native foods & preparation

-           Knowledge of native plants in the area and their uses for other than tinder and food.

-           Scouting/Ranging.

-           Basic first aid.

-           Finding and treating water.

-           General leather work.

Democracy or Dictatorship? Is this the thin edge of the wedge?

The problem with Hockey & Abbott may go a lot deeper than just not caring, but it does appear, on the surface at least, that they expect the wealthy to play, whilst the poor work. Hockey's comment about the poor not owning cars, or, not driving very far is beyond rude. Cars are home to some homeless poor, cars get poor people to work, & cars, if they can afford the bloody fuel costs can enable some people a pleasure drive into the country on a weekend.

The budget does appear to be aimed at making the poor work & pay to keep the rich in a position of leisure. How in the hell did a country like ours get the citizens in such a position? No longer do we get a fair go, no longer do we all have equal rights. So what is this? A dictatorship poorly disguised as democracy? We have created a monster to run this country & this countries people, & there appears to be nothing we can lawfully do about it. Who will get in next time? How crook will they be?!!! Is this, for us, the thin edge of the wedge? 

I wonder what it will take to make the people as a whole stand up & say NO? No to mining, no to pollution, no to more rates rises, no to burning fossil fuels instead of using solar, no to denying many people the right to pursue happiness. There has to be a better way of governing/guiding than what we have right now.

End of rant.

Keith. 

https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/24725129/hockey-apologises-for-comment-about-poor/

A Woodsrunner's Diary: Australian Native Carry.

A Woodsrunner's Diary: Australian Native Carry.: Dilly Bag.  “The women make string out of bark with astonishing facility, and as good as you can get in England, by twisting and roll...

A Woodsrunner's Diary: How To Re-Handle An Axe. Video.

A Woodsrunner's Diary: How To Re-Handle An Axe. Video.

Preserving Potatoes Long Term.

Dried Potato Chips for Storing.

These dried potato chips are not for eating as are, you will need to reconstitute by steaming or boiling. They dry literally rock hard.

The Recipe:

1)    Wash potatoes & peel if necessary.

2)    Steam or boil until cooked but still firm. This is done by checking frequently and testing with a knife which is slim enough not to split the potato. I steamed mine and they took 20 minutes.

3)    Place immediately into ice water, either whilst still in the steamer top, or by placing in a colander, or by draining the hot water off and covering with cold water from the tap or fridge. I left mine in ice water for a couple of minutes which was enough to cool them down so I could handle them.

4)    Slice into chips as thick or as thin as you like and place on cooling racks. If you have a wood fired stove, place in the oven with the door open. If you have the fire open, do not place the rack too close to the top of the oven. The fire can be open or closed and you can leave overnight. Alternately you can also place racks on top of the stove, or even on top of a wood heater if you have one, or you can sun dry.

My potato chips dried rock hard and slightly transparent. If kept dry they should keep for years if necessary.

Hard dried potato chips in a basket.

Apple being dried in the oven and on top of the stove.

Office trays being used to dry foods over the stove on the rack.

Apple rings being dried on a rack on the heater top.

Keith.

Domestic violence: the 'silent epidemic' claiming the life of one woman every eight days

There is a lot of domestic violence in Australia, some local councils deny this is happening here in NSW, but the facts speak for themselves. Now the Abbott government has cut funding to the very people who help these women escape the violence. This then is what Tony Abbott as minister for women's affairs thinks of women. How can we possibly work towards a better & safer community with this man as our leader?!!!
Keith.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/qld/a/24656853/domestic-violence-the-silent-epidemic-claiming-the-life-of-one-woman-every-eight-days/

Dried Apple & Pumpkin/Squash for Trail Food and Storage.

Trail food.
We have been busy drying apple for storage & trail food. If you can core the apple you can hang it on a string line, or you can use a needle to do the same thing. You can also dry apple next to a fire.
We have been using our stove & heater.
A word of caution: Many years ago on a long trek I made the mistake of leaving my dried apple bag in my haversack with the flap closure down, but not buttoned. A possum stole it in the night. I found it not far away early next morning, but the bag although closed with a drawstring, was severely masticated!!! Yuck!
Pumpkin can also be dried in the same manner.

Dried Pumpkin or Squash.

Pumpkin on oven trays ready for drying in the open oven of our wood fired stove.