A Tidbit from Tansy

Spring time means that many of us are itching to get outdoors. We have survived another winter and are itching to get out and get some outdoor time.  Regardless of what that means, here is a little tip to help with one of our least favorite springtime pests, The Tick.

Ticks are most active in spring and we all know that they can cause real problems. Taking a few simple measures to check yourself, partner and or children, can save you from a serious headache later.

Sticky lint rollers are very inexpensive and they come in a couple of sizes. They can easily be carried in a backpack, or vehicle jockey box. Refill rolls are also readily available. These are a simple, non toxic measure you can take to help protect yourself, and even certain pets.

After a day out, before climbing into your vehicle, take a few moments to roll the lint brush over all your clothing. If you have short hair, or even a short haired pet, you can even run it over that. Make sure that you pull all of the wrinkles out and get inside pant cuffs, necklines and even roll your pants up a couple inches and run it over the inside of your pant leg. Ticks will stick to the lint roller. You then simply peel away the used bit of sticky paper and roll it back over on itself, trapping the tick inside.  Make sure you take your trash with you, and dispose of it properly, we do not want to leave anything behind.

                                                                                         ~Tansy

Springtime Food for Thought

As the seasons roll from winter to spring, our lawns, gardens and other bits of wild land turn green and often burst with the bright yellow blossoms of the common dandelion. Many people out there wage an all out war on what are often considered an eyesore and pest. However, the dandelion is essential to survival.

Dandelions bloom in the early spring and are often one of the first pollen filled food sources around as the bees become active. Our aggressive assault on these little beauties is doing nobody any favors. Not only are these flowers an essential food source for the bees, they are a nutritious edible for us as well. This little plant that is the bane of the perfect lawn, could very well prove to be the most likely and prolific source of food in a survival situation.

All parts of this plant are edible, from the blooms to the roots. However, they are only edible when the plants are not frozen in the winter months. Before we discuss the edibility of the plants, let’s discuss where to look and how to harvest. The rules for wild edibles are pretty standard. Choose plants that are healthy, away from roadways and foot traffic and make sure they have not been sprayed with any sort of weed spray or herbicides.. Never harvest more than 10% of the available source; ethical harvesting is essential to maintaining sustainable populations and guaranteeing that your wild food source will be there when you need it. Dandelions are one of, if not the most widespread plant in the world. It grows in areas with elevation between 500 and 11,000 feet. They are highly adaptive to almost every environment. This means that this is one of the most prolific food sources around. There are several other “weeds” that are very similar in appearance, however, none of them are toxic, so there is no need to worry if you find something that looks like a dandelion turns out to be a close relative,  like cat's ear.

The last few years have seen a huge increase in the amount of interest in wild food options. There are websites popping up all over the place and wild foods like dandelions are showing up on menus in “posh” restaurants around the globe. There are lots of fancy recipes on the web, but we are simply going to focus on eating for survival, not designer wild food feasts. Keeping this in mind, having some knowledge of local wild edibles should be part of your long term survival scenario plan. Fresh greens and other wild edibles will take the place of the fruits and veggies that we find readily available in our supermarkets. Also, any addition of wild foods will make you food stashes stretch a lot further.

Dandelion greens contain many of the same nutrients that we find in other field greens. Dandelion greens are bitter, so picking the smaller, newer leaves is best. Picking from the inside of the rosette means you are picking the youngest, freshest leaves. Of course, if you are really starving, older leaves are edible, but may be far more bitter than you anticipate. Dandelion greens can be eaten raw or cooked. I have seen them added to salads, sauteed with other greens and herbs, made into pesto, or added to soup or stews. The leaves can be hung and dehydrated so that you can assure you have a source of leafy greens at a later date. Dried greens can be ground and added to soup stock or even flour to make nutrient packed noodles.

The bright yellow blossoms that we are so familiar with are also edible, but the green stems are very bitter and it is recommended to remove the blossom from the green stem. One of our favorite springtime rituals is making dandelion jelly. The result is a delicious honey colored treat with the lightest hint of sweet florals. Survival situations will probably mean you do not have the tools to make jelly, but there is the option of frying the flowers. Dipping them in some kind of batter and frying them like a fritter is a common way of eating them, however they are good raw or even in baked goods. The blossoms are also the main component to the ever popular dandelion wine.



Dandelions have long taproots that are also edible. The roots can be boiled whole and eaten like carrots. They can be chopped and roasted and used to make a healthful herbal tea. Drying things like dandelions when they are plentiful can ensure that you have the nutrients you need in the winter when food is much less plentiful. One of the most interesting uses for the dandelion root is roasting it and grinding it to make a coffee substitute. There are so many people who depend on coffee to just make it through their day that finding a post-disaster option may be in your best interest.

Dandelions also are used medicinally and have many health benefits. However, that info I will share with you at a later date.

There you have it, just a few reasons why we should leave the dandelions alone. Not only do the bees rely on them, but someday, you might as well.


                                                                                                                  ~Tansy

What if: Active Shooter

I heard the gunshots and thought to myself for the hundredth time "God, I hate the city." a Canadian used to wide open spaces I had already had enough big city to last a life time and now this. Eden and the kids were five floors down in a toy store and best as I could tell the gunshots were coming from my floor. I know they were gunshots, I'd spent enough time an the range to recognize them even before the screams started.
A quick recon showed a lone gunman about a hundred meters out heading towards the Oakley store where I had found myself pricing out overpriced sunglasses I would buy a knockoff of from a street vendor later. My security instincts immediately kicked in and I immediately escorted everyone out the back door into the maintenance tunnels, once everyone was safe I went back to the entrance and peek out between two displays. The gunman had a pump action shotty and was now fifteen meters from the entrance, I ducked back down, set a timer on my phone for fifteen seconds and slid it to the opposite corner of the store.
Being Canadian I wasn't allowed to bring guns into the states but I had spent years bringing knives into places I wasn't supposed to, today was no exception. My right hand pulled the Pentagon mini dagger from the small of my back while my left index finger hooked through the Snarl dangling from my neck.
Footsteps close now, the racking of a slide, the tinkling of a discharged shell. Adrenaline had completely taken over by now, my fight or flight stuck permanently on fight. I knew one thing and one thing only, this person had harmed innocents and as long as he was free to continue his rampage my family was in danger.
The phone goes off. A black shotgun barrel snakes through the door. The owner follows, his attention on the sound.
No time to think, just act. I lunge upwards the dagger stabs out for the man's throat, the Snarl slashes at his trigger finger. Red arterial blood follows the dagger as I pull it back.
The shotgun clatters to the stone floor, I kick it away but it doesn't matter.
The gunman collapses to the floor, doing his best to stem the flow of his life force. My adrenaline flow stops and I suddenly feel very tired. I sit down, nothing to do now but wait for the Calvary to come arrest me.

What if: Nautical Breakdown

Goddammit Karl!

The 14 aluminum boat's outboard motor sputters to a stop. We lift it out of the water to discover a shit ton of fishing line wrapped around the prop. We're across the lake from camp, where the oars are still sitting on the beach. The only thing in the boat besides a couple of fishing rods is a cooler, with only a few sodas and one bottle of water left. Karl only has his cell phone, a bic lighter, and a pack of cigarettes. I've got my SOG Seal Strike, a waterproof lighter, SOG Powerlock, and a SOG Dark Energy that has been on the fritz lately. It's seven pm, the sun is setting and the temperature is starting to drop, we're 10 kms from camp near a wooded area. It's an 18 km walk around the lake, and we're still a couple hundred meters from the nearest shore.

Just like that a day at six lakes turns into a life threatening situation for Roddy and Karl.

I briefly considered swimming to shore but the dropping temperatures meant wet clothes would be more dangerous than staying in the boat. I thought about cutting the propeller free but Karl reminded me the motor had burnt up. Only option was to try and ride the tide closer to shore. Luckily the water gods were with us and we drifted to shore just as the sun began to set.

Karl and I pulled the boat up onto the muddy shore, looking around at the scraggly woods. It would be a long walk back to camp and with only one faulty flashlight and almost daylight we weren't making it. So we set about gathering wood to make a fire, with temperatures dipping down into the single digits and Karl's insistence on wearing shorts. I hadn't worn shorts since the Fort McMurray fires and probably never would again. We gathered up the driest wood we could, which wasn't much but it would have to do.

Using the remaining gas from the boat's tiny outboard we got a decent fire going on the driest part of the shore we could find. Using the Powerlock we dismantled the boat as best be could turning the boat on its side next to the fire to use as a makeshift shelter. The seats we as pillows while the wooden benches we turned into a fire break. With the boat's keel facing the water, most of the wind was blocked and we actually stayed pretty warm.

The Dark Energy finally quit on me while I was hunting for wood but I was close enough to the fire to make my way back to the fire. Unfortunately I didn't see the root sticking up and ended up twisting my ankle. I would still be able to walk but it would be slow going. I made it back to the fire where I informed Karl what had happened. He asked if would be able to make it, I said I would try.

Sun rise the next morning we set out for the camp, following the lake shore as best we could. The forest disappeared only a few hundred meters around the shore, replaced by rolling sand dunes. My ankle gave out after only two kms and after a great deal of arguing we decided Karl should continue on and come back to get me with the ATV. I dug myself into the sand having given Karl the last of the water and keeping a ginger ale for myself.

As the sun crept higher into the sky I began to wonder if splitting up was the best thing to do. Even with my sand cave and water from the lake to keep me cool the temperature reached well over thirty degrees Celsius with no sign of clouds in the sky. About midday I fell asleep, waking to find the sun far into the western sky.  Check of my watch said it was thirteen hundred hours. I stood up to look and see if I could find Karl but he was long gone from site. I drank the ginger ale and crawled back into my hole.

The sun was beginning to set now, the edges of it just brushing the horizon. I began to worry that I'd be spending the night alone, crippled, in a sand hole.

Just as the last edges of daylight turned the sky a brilliant pink I heard the ATV motor roaring across the sands towards me and I stood up frantically waving my arms. It was Karl!

Karl had brought the first aid kit so I wrapped my ankle and we turned around and headed back to camp. As the ATV rose and dipped with the dunes I watched the last rays of sunshine disappear behind the horizon. Karl looked back and in the last hints of daylight I gave him the thumbs up.

Why you need a 22

Goddammit Karl! I'll write a blog but you need a reliable 22. That sks is cute but it's also heavy, clunky, and the ammo is heavy. Which brings us to the topic of this blog.

The 22lr is the most prolific round in the world, existing since the late 1800s it is still the cheapest, lightest, and most versatile round available on the market. Now I hear the ar boys shouting about 223 but let me point out you can't find a true pistol in 223(sbrs don't count). I hear the caliber kings proclaiming things like penetration, knockdown, and other things they proclaim. Guess what? 22lr will punch through most if not all soft targets, the rest is just flak.

Now then why 22? Well for starters you can get just about every type of firearm in 22 or you can get a conversion kit. It's still dirt cheap for a shit ton of rounds. It weighs nothing so you can pack ten or twenty times the amount of ammo compared to larger calibers. Plus it allows you to share ammo between your rifle, ar, and pistol depending on what you carry.

Here's some wierd points that can be either good or bad arguments. 22lr is the most commonly used round in murders. With a couple of exceptions 22 long guns in Canada don't have magazine capacity restrictions.

Now don't get me wrong, I own plenty of other larger calibers but 22lr is my favourite. Between my mare's leg, Ar7, stg-44, and lever action I have everything covered.

Now what 22s do I recommend? Get a takedown, a handgun, and a semi auto. Which models and brands are up to you but those three are a good starting point. Once you own these you have to train with them often. Because doesn't matter if it's small game hunting, survival, shtf, or the goddamn apocalypse you need to be able to use whatever gun you have.

Until next time this is Roddy Cross with Wolf Cross Adventures, saying live forever.