20120831

Singing Psalms

Angel Buff August 31, 2012 0 Comments

When I was a kid, my mother used to wake me up in the mornings, singing this Psalm to me – every morning. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was becoming instilled in me. So much so that when I moved out, when I would wake up on my own, I could still hear ‘her singing’ in my thought processes each and every morning – but it was a good thing to be thinking of every morning [Thank you Mama!]. There is something about knowing that, whatever the day may bring, the Lord is in control because He made ‘THIS DAY.’

I couldn’t help but reminisce this morning about my mornings waking up back at home with my mother, as this morning I was singing this same Psalm to my 1½-year-old little girl as she was awaking from her slumber. I pray that these moments will also be a blessing to her life and that they will create good memories for her and, who knows, maybe the tradition will continue and one day her child(ren) will be waking up to her songs too.

20120829

Dragonflies

Angel Buff August 29, 2012 0 Comments

This summer we opened the pool. However, we had a series of issues including several bouts of sickness and a lot of rainfall. It just got away from us and it wasn’t worth the added expense to get it back up and going again this season.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed some tadpoles in the pool. Nothing unusual, except that the tadpoles were rapidly disappearing – too quickly for them all to be changing into frogs. And then over the last several days I had noticed some “insect shells.” It was obvious that whatever it was had gone through some type of a metamorphosis and broken out of these old bodies. I suspected dragonflies. I had assumed that their eggs were laid in water, but I never knew exactly what a “baby dragonfly” looked like.

After some more observation and some research I found out that these creatures were indeed dragonflies [nymphs]. This explained the disappearance of the tadpoles, as apparently dragonfly nymphs have quite a taste for them, and these shells that I had found were called exuvia, which is the skin that the nymph had left behind. I watched one of these nymphs making its way out of the water last night, and this morning found this little guy all busted out and preparing for take-off. How exciting!

20120826

“John-Sense” on Selecting an Outdoors' Fixed-Blade Knife

Angel Buff August 26, 2012 0 Comments

(Periodically John will find his way to the keyboard around here, if there is something he thinks you may be interested in or if there is something he personally wants to share with you. We will label these guest posts of his “John-Sense.”)

I got my first knife when I was 5 or 6 years old, if not younger, and I have had a fascination with them ever since. When Angel posted about the SOG SEAL Pup I got her, I figured it was a good time to post a little something on how to buy your first survival/outdoors’ knife.

Okay – first off – this post is how to buy a fixed-blade knife, not a pocketknife. But some information could be useful in buying a pocketknife as well.

I put fixed-blade knives in three categories: survival, tactical-survival, and tactical-fighters.

Survival: These knives are designed for rugged wilderness use, usually have thicker blades with a full or half tang handle, and often their grips are brightly colored or camo (I have no idea why some are camo). Some good examples of these are the Tom Brown Tracker, Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate , and the Camillus Les Stroud Ultimate Survival Knife.

Tactical-Survival: These knives are designed to be used in combat and/or survival situations. Some examples that fit into this category are the Gerber LMF II, SOG SEAL Pup , and Ka-Bar Becker BK2.

Tactical-Fighters: These are knives that are designed for combat, from the handle to the blade. I’m not saying you cannot use them for survival, but a lot of them have thinner blades that will not hold up to a lot of chopping of hard things, such as wood. Examples are the Gerber Mark II, Cold Steele Double Agent I, and the Smith & Wesson Extreme OPS Fixed Blade.

So now that you know about the three types, let’s get into the guidelines of buying a knife.

1) Just because it says “survival knife” on the blade does not always mean it is a survival knife - it is a selling gimmick. Companies would put “zombie” on a mustard bottle if they thought you would buy more of it.

2) Get what feels good in your hand. Whether you spend $40 or $400 on a knife, if you don’t like the way it feels, you will not use it.

3) You get what you pay for. I have bought some less expensive knives that have been great knives to own, but I have bought some less expensive knives have been broke the same day. So really inspect your knife. When you go to buy, look for any flaws in the knife. You will normally spend at least $40 to $50 on a good knife, but you can spend as much as you would like. Also if all you can afford is a $10 or $15 knife, there are some good ones out there too, just do some research before you buy; you might find a good one that is less expensive online.

4) Do your research before you buy any knife. The knife I carry is the Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate. It took me about a month to figure out that was the one for me. I checked www.youtube.com for tests on the knife and also read reviews on a lot of different web sites before I bought it.

5) Finally, this is just my suggestion and that’s all. Buy a full-tang, three-quarter-tang or at least a half-tang, knife. The tang is how far the blade metal goes into the handle. Full-tang or half-tang knives, to me, seem more durable. The knives with the nut that holds the blade to the handle are not so good – I’m talking about the knives that have all the stuff in the handle, like Rambo used in “First Blood.” With this style of knife, if you hit something that is hard, the blade always loosened up on the ones I owned and I would have to keep a ratchet with a socket in my bag to tighten them up for every use.

Example of Half-Tang vs. Full-Tang Knife
Picture credit: recipetips.com

The last thing I can tell you is, take care of the knife you buy. If you don’t know how to take care of the blade, there are some really good resources out there. One book that I have, and recommend, is called “The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening.” There also are a lot of good Youtube podcasts out there to help you keep the knife sharp. If using a sharpening stone is not for you, they make some decent pull-through sharpeners, just do some research before you buy one.

A good web site to see testing/reviews on knives and other survival gear is Equip 2 Endure.

If you have any questions, I will be glad to find someone to answer them for you (just joking, I will do the best I can to find an answer, feel free to leave a comment or send us an email). Have fun, be safe, and always be ready.

Well, that’s just my John-Sense! :)

20120825

Hiking #1

Angel Buff August 25, 2012 0 Comments

Today we went on our first actual, official hiking trip together. And we had a great time! We went to a nature park, which has several hiking trails prepared with different difficulty levels. We decided to attempt our first hike with an intensity of 3 out of 5, and we will build our endurance from there. The 3 out of 5 was a good test, and we did well with that as our starting point. We hiked 3.9 miles today. Our halfway point ended at the “Hidden Lake,” where we had a lovely picnic under a shade tree.

Our day in pictures...

This was also our anniversary weekend! We really couldn't have asked for a more beautiful weekend to celebrate our 10 years together. We have been so blessed!

20120823

Home of our Future Herb Garden

Angel Buff August 23, 2012 0 Comments

I have wanted an herb garden for a really long time. Herbs are so versatile. They are not just for cooking! They have many other uses around the home and garden (i.e. crafts, bouquets, insect repellant), and some can even be used medicinally or as beauty products.

We have a perfect spot for our ‘cooking herbs.’ A somewhat small (7 ft x 4 ft) area that is located directly out the back door [the door that leads from the kitchen]. Since it is advised to prepare the soil well ahead of time, we have cleaned this area (in anticipation of spring planting) and have placed a couple of layers of some organic materials and later we will add fertilizer. This location is ideal, not only for our convenience with its proximity to the kitchen, but also because this spot stays in the sunlight a good portion of the day. Most of the herbs we are considering planting require a lot of sunlight, generally at least six hours a day.

Before...

After/Progression...

Since this garden will be relatively small, we will have to carefully choose which herbs to try out there in the coming year. What are some of your favorites?

20120821

Composting 101 / The Basics: What is Composting?

Angel Buff August 21, 2012 0 Comments

Composting is simple, yet at the same time very complex. So we are starting slow; we will begin with the basics and build from there. Compost is the best form of organic matter to add nutrients to the soil. In its simplest explanation, composting is the process of simply stacking [and turning periodically] organic matter (please see chart of ‘Materials to Compost’ below) and allowing the materials to decompose. Microorganisms (i.e. bacteria and fungi) as well as other larger organisms (i.e. earthworms) digest the material, thus creating a new substance.

( Picture credit: Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance )

There are different types of composting procedures, which call for different types of environments. Due to our location and current time of year, the shorter holding time of the compost and its forgiving nature, the “mesophilic standards” of composting will be the style we will focus on for now. Mesophilic organisms typically grow best in moderate temperatures, neither too hot nor too cold, typically between 68 and 113 °F (20 and 45 °C) and the compost can usually be used after about six months.

We have chosen a place that will be a fairly central location in comparision to where we plan to place our gardens and in a place that should receive both sun and shade and is not in the path of a lot of runoff water. Our first materials have been placed today…research will continue…it will take time and patience, trial and error.

20120817

A Girl's Survival Knife

Angel Buff August 17, 2012 0 Comments

My husband has been interested in learning the basics of survival for a long time. He has wanted to push his limits in order to see his capabilities. I was fine with him wanting to learn and try these skills out, and I didn’t even mind hearing about what he was learning, but I didn’t think I would ever want to do it myself. I love to learn new things, but this is something I thought that I could skip out on the experience part. I was wrong. He finally convinced me. So, how did he win me over? Well, honestly – after all the talking he had been doing on the subject – he got me to watch ‘Man, Woman, Wild’ and I was amazed at Ruth England-Hawke’s determination…and then I finally thought that it may be something I could actually do (maybe not quite to the extent in which the show takes it, but I could try out some of the skills nonetheless).

I know some of the basics now, but there is so much I would need to learn before I would feel completely prepared to survive if I was stuck in a difficult situation. We have ‘played’ in the backyard a little as John has taught me some things, like how to build a shelter and how to start a fire with a flint striker. And as a little more incentive to learn these skills John has encouraged me to pick out my own ‘survival knife.’ A knife is an extremely useful tool, but there are so many options and you need to pick a knife that will fit the needs for its intended uses/situations. So the other day he took me to a sporting goods store so that I could try to find a knife that I felt would best suit me. After ‘trying some on’ and after a lot of thought, my pick was the SOG SEAL Pup – the size and feel seemed just right for me and I preferred its blade design. And my husband surprised me with it when he came home from work today!

Of note, ladies, if you really want to shock a male sales associate working at the knife counter at your local sporting goods store, just tell him you are looking for a survival knife for yourself. Apparently they don’t get that much from us girls.

20120812

Backyard Exploration: Persimmons

Angel Buff August 12, 2012 0 Comments

In our ‘backyard explorations’ we recently discovered that we have a persimmon tree. I will admit, I had heard of this fruit before, but had not seen or tasted it before. So we consulted our parents and did some other research and this is what we have learned: The most popular comment about the persimmon has been, “Do not eat it until it is ripe!” We have been thoroughly warned. Ha, ha! Apparently the fruit is extremely bitter and ‘mouth-puckering’ until it is fully ripe, but also could cause some digestive problems if eaten unripe also. Surprisingly though, it is said that, supposedly, the unripe fruit and inner bark has been used in the past as a treatment for fever, diarrhea, and even hemorrhage. (Insert Disclaimer: We don’t advise self-treatment, if you have any ailments please consult your doctor!) The ripe fruit, however, is supposed to be sweet and can be eaten fresh or used in deserts.

The persimmon tree tends to thrive the best in moist, well-drained soil, but is said to be a very tolerant tree that is capable of growing in hot/dry areas and with fairly poor soil conditions also. The trees also have a deep taproot that makes it a good tree for erosion control, but makes it difficult to transplant. Our persimmon tree seems to be set in an ideal place, on a hill and in a good line of water flow. The fruit currently is greenish-yellow, some with a hint of orange. The fruit will not be ripe until it is an orange-red color, and this is supposed to occur in the fall season.

We will probably need to research and try out some methods of discouraging wildlife from taking all of the fruit before we have a chance to sample it though because apparently the persimmon has a number of predators, including some that have definitely been spotted in our yard (squirrel, fox, skunk, raccoon, opossum, coyotes, and birds).

20120805

First Steps/Cleaning

Angel Buff August 05, 2012 0 Comments

There was an area in the yard, which once was the site of a small playground. This square was filled with gravel and full of weeds. So as a first step John and his brother cleared this area out. And perhaps this may one day be a location of a garden?

Before...

After...

20120801

Ground Zero

Angel Buff August 01, 2012 0 Comments

We have lived in our current home, here in Tennessee, for almost two years, during which time we had so much going on with settling in the home, the arrival of a new baby and our jobs that we honestly just didn’t have the time and/or energy to explore the approximately six acres on which we live. Only recently have we been able to begin to take the steps into discovering what a self-sufficient life would look like where we currently live. Someday we would love to perhaps be a little further from the ‘city life,’ but for now we are blessed with a little touch of country-feel in the middle of an urban area. We are trying to start out small, trying not to get in over our heads. We are currently working to observe the lay of the land, where water flows during rains, where the sun tends to pass by throughout the day, and learning about the wildlife (plants/trees and animals) here. A lot of exploration and research is in store for us.

So this basically is what we are starting with…