MOTHER EARTH NEWS - WISER LIVING SERIES - GUIDE TO BUSHCRAFTING

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  • rhino

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    I still don't know why I did it, but when I was at Kroger today snagging the current issue of The Backwoodsman, I spotted "Guide to Bushcrafting" on the cover of another magazine. Upon closer examination, the full title was MOTHER EARTH NEWS WISER LIVING SERIES GUIDE TO BUSHCRAFTING.

    Now I'm concerned that if I read it, I'll start hugging trees, inherently know that all things on four legs are good and all things on two legs are bad, believe and proselytize that climate change is 100% the result of human activity, derisively mock people who hunt and eat meat, and produce bush hippie children named Bhodi and Sunflower Moon.

    Wish me luck . . .
     

    riverman67

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    I have the cds with all the articles up to 2000 some place
    It used to be a good magazine. It got a little crazy and I didn't renew my subscription around 03 or 04 .
    I have no idea what it's like now.
     

    rhino

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    I was too sleepy last night to do anything other than skim the article titles, but to my surprise there was actually an article about hunting with firearms. About half of the articles were written by Tom Brown, who has serious survival and bushcraft creds.
     

    DeadeyeChrista'sdad

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    Pop still gets it. And it is interesting. My only real complaint is that when describing, say, a solar setup, they used to be notoriously light on details. As far as general overviews of country living setups and ideas, it was a great magazine.
     

    JeepHammer

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    Pop still gets it. And it is interesting. My only real complaint is that when describing, say, a solar setup, they used to be notoriously light on details. As far as general overviews of country living setups and ideas, it was a great magazine.

    'Solar' is a generic term, it covers solar thermal (heat), solar electric (most commonly Photovoltaic or PV), etc.
    Since none is standardized there are a TON of makers, options and differences.
    Solar thermal can be anything from a barrel that heats water (home built from scrap) to evacuated (vacuum) tube heating of liquids,
    Open system, closed system, etc., It's VERY hard to be specific.

    This is one of the better common (plain language) sources available, https://www.homepower.com
    This one gives wiring diagrams, specific components & suppliers, safety tips, and has an 'Ask The Experts' section that gives correct answers 99.9% of the time.
    I wish it was around when I started my off grid solar electric project, it would have saved me a lot of expensive mistakes.

    -----------

    As for Mother Earth News,
    It's a resource, like any other tid-bit of information.
    I read it simply because it helps round out my information and data collection.
    Doesn't matter if the NRA or oil companies didn't produce it, it still has tid-bits of good information.

    Since I farm & garden, grow & can a lot of my own food, raise small animals for meat, the tips about rotation of pasture land, building movable fences, home canning/preservation of food, crafts for country living, etc. help out 'Do It Yourself' folks.
    It's never been a 'Vegan' rag, always about raising livestock, wool, leather, making eggs, cheese, milk, raising for meat...
    Occasional stories about firearms and/or bushcraft, common sense ways to do things, not gimmicks or 'Survival' gadgets.
     

    MindfulMan

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    'Solar' is a generic term, it covers solar thermal (heat), solar electric (most commonly Photovoltaic or PV), etc.
    Since none is standardized there are a TON of makers, options and differences.
    Solar thermal can be anything from a barrel that heats water (home built from scrap) to evacuated (vacuum) tube heating of liquids,
    Open system, closed system, etc., It's VERY hard to be specific.

    This is one of the better common (plain language) sources available, https://www.homepower.com
    This one gives wiring diagrams, specific components & suppliers, safety tips, and has an 'Ask The Experts' section that gives correct answers 99.9% of the time.
    I wish it was around when I started my off grid solar electric project, it would have saved me a lot of expensive mistakes.

    -----------

    As for Mother Earth News,
    It's a resource, like any other tid-bit of information.
    I read it simply because it helps round out my information and data collection.
    Doesn't matter if the NRA or oil companies didn't produce it, it still has tid-bits of good information.

    Since I farm & garden, grow & can a lot of my own food, raise small animals for meat, the tips about rotation of pasture land, building movable fences, home canning/preservation of food, crafts for country living, etc. help out 'Do It Yourself' folks.
    It's never been a 'Vegan' rag, always about raising livestock, wool, leather, making eggs, cheese, milk, raising for meat...
    Occasional stories about firearms and/or bushcraft, common sense ways to do things, not gimmicks or 'Survival' gadgets.

    Good post, and a useful link, Hammer. Thanks ! :)
     

    natdscott

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    Jul 20, 2015
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    ... I'll start hugging trees, inherently know that all things on four legs are good and all things on two legs are bad, believe and proselytize that climate change is 100% the result of human activity, derisively mock people who hunt and eat meat, and produce bush hippie children named Bhodi and Sunflower Moon.

    Boyo, you sure do seem to know a lot about being a hippie lliberal type.

    :):


    -Nate
     

    JeepHammer

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    Aug 2, 2018
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    I try.

    There is a learning curve and tools to buy, but in the end they more than pay for themselves.
    Something as simple as a low electrical resistance (proper) battery cable is a learning curve, and most times you are dealing with both AC & DC power circuits, AC & DC have different rules when you set things up.
    The AC guys never get the DC side set up right, so it's a good idea to learn about DC rules if you are thinking a battery backup system.
    No sense in wasting power it cost you money to produce.

    When you say 'Off Grid' people instantly think of cobbled together or dark/damp, but visitors to our home wouldn't notice any difference since the home/shop is wired for 110/220 VAC just like any other home.
    Solar panels (PV) make the power, it's either used directly or charges batteries that feed inverters, 110/220 VAC comes out of the inverter and powers the home/shop.
    The only difference is we have solar panels and a 'Utilities' shed in the side yard, it's for inverters, batteries and water storage tanks (we are on well water).
    We haven't paid an electric, water or sewer bill in 15+ years, haven't had a power outage in 13-14 years, and with the stupid rate increases (to pay for a 'Clean Coal' plant that will never work) it all paid for itself in about 9 to 9 1/2 years.

    Keep in mind that making HEAT will always be more effective with direct burning, LP, CNG, Wood, Corn, etc.
    Cooking range, home heat, hot water & cloths dryer are all combustion.
    No different than any other home that's serviced by a gas line & the electric grid.
    Converting sun to electric, then storing in batteries, then converting to AC, then converting again from electrical current into heat is inefficient, direct combustion is more efficient.

    It's not to difficult with a little education, so a library & well stocked tool box will always be more impressive than about anything else to me. If you do for yourself, you are never without...
     
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    bwframe

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    I have the cds with all the articles up to 2000 some place
    It used to be a good magazine. It got a little crazy and I didn't renew my subscription around 03 or 04 .
    I have no idea what it's like now.

    The same with me. I think I've got all the early years in hard copy magazines that I inherited from my old business partner. I read them all cover to cover in the 80's.

    Somewhere along the line they went all Al Gore and I gave up on them. I revisited a few years back and a large majority of my online research said they couldn't/wouldnt put op with Mother Earth New's political bends. Too bad...
     

    JeepHammer

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    I don't get every issue of 'Mother', just pick one up when something interests me, but I've never seen a political article in one.

    I do get hard copies (subscription) of Home Power and a couple other renewable energy magazines, Home Power being the easiest to understand and for the most part correct on it's content.
    Noting quite like it anywhere else on the market right now I know of.
     
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    rhino

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    The same with me. I think I've got all the early years in hard copy magazines that I inherited from my old business partner. I read them all cover to cover in the 80's.

    Somewhere along the line they went all Al Gore and I gave up on them. I revisited a few years back and a large majority of my online research said they couldn't/wouldnt put op with Mother Earth New's political bends. Too bad...

    I don't think I looked at an issue before the magazine was as much political as it was about simple living. It's interesting to know that at one time it was just about the information!
     

    DangerousDave

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    Mother Earth News and Grit magazine both have a lot of articles about living off the grid. There are articles about homesteading, solar power and how to prepare and preserve the food you grow. All good things to know if you are a prepper.
     

    indiucky

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    About half of the articles were written by Tom Brown, who has serious survival and bushcraft creds.

    I read Tracker as a lad and began training myself as he did to withstand the cold....My mom used to jump my crap because i would go out in the yard for 15 minutes at a time during 25 degrees and snow barefooted with shorts and a blanket to see how long I could go.....I still do it...One time last winter when we had that snow and ice mom saw my bare footprints going to an from the mail box and she said, "I can't believe you still do that....."

    The+Tracker.jpeg


    It freaks my wife out how little I need to stay warm....
     

    rhino

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    Mar 18, 2008
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    I read Tracker as a lad and began training myself as he did to withstand the cold....My mom used to jump my crap because i would go out in the yard for 15 minutes at a time during 25 degrees and snow barefooted with shorts and a blanket to see how long I could go.....I still do it...One time last winter when we had that snow and ice mom saw my bare footprints going to an from the mail box and she said, "I can't believe you still do that....."



    It freaks my wife out how little I need to stay warm....

    Hah! I didn't know training was required. I've been going outside barefoot and in shorts in snow since I was in my late teens. But then I'm the guy who did an Appleseed class in February in shorts too.
     
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