Survival kits (thanks to crazyladynocats)

[cjsmith]

These "survival kits" are cute. What would you put in one for your own profession or hobby?

Comments

[melanie.livejournal.com]

those are pretty silly. i'll have to think about that one. i actually pretty much have a "survival kit" - my backpack. it's got child supplies, first aid stuff, and foraging-in-the-wilderness stuff, because i'm constantly finding plants that i want, for eating or wildcrafting or medicine-making.

i'm happy to be introduced to this website, too. my kinda place. thanks. :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

i'm constantly finding plants that i want, for eating or wildcrafting or medicine-making

Ooo, way cool! I know next to nothing about plants. I learn tidbits anywhere I happen to pick them up, but that still totals next to nothing. :-) Which plants do you want for each of these crafts?

[melanie.livejournal.com]

heh, all of 'em! I'm a wild plant nutcase. Currently, in my car, I have a huge pile of nutgrass with just-budding flower heads - the stems are silky, slightly fuzzy and blue-green, the flower heads look like paintbrushes that have been dipped in magenta paint. I also have a bunch of very early rye grass heads - you know, the wheatsheaf thingies that are often seen in arrangements? well, these are physically similar before the sheafs bloom, but the colors!. if you look at them, they have blue, green, red, pink and purple in them. If you pick them at that early stage and keep them out of the sunlight, they preserve and keep all those colors. ~*bounce*~

Sorry. I told you, I'm a nutcase about this sort of thing.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Cool, so you grab things like nutgrass and rye grass for their beauty? What sorts of things do you grab to eat, or to make medicines?

This is an intriguing topic -- thanks for letting me have a peek at it! :-)

[melanie.livejournal.com]

oh, there is so much to be used out there...if you want to swing by the group survivalist, I've made a few posts about recent foraging expeditions, with pictures of my finds and in-depth explanations of how they can be used and how I used them.

When I get over my current bout of busyness/laziness (depending on my ever-changing viewpoint) I will post a step-by-step with pictures of the wild rose liqeur I am currently making. It's purely for entertainment, though. :-)

One of the most useful plants in my life right this moment is Spotted Touch-Me-Not, also known as Jewelweed. (I don't have any pics right now, as it's just in the baby stage and not really recognizable unless you already know it) Not only is it edible and tasty while it's young (steam like spinach; tastes a lot like spinach with a little more personality) but it tends to grow in the vicinity of poison ivy, often intermingled with it, and it is an almost-instant cure for poison ivy flare-ups. Just crush the leaves and rub the juice on the inflammation. Far better than anything you can get in the drugstore.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Hey, I'll check it out, thanks!

Wow, Spotted Touch-Me-Not does sound very useful! I don't tend to flare up to poison ivy, but I haven't been tested on poison oak (crossing fingers) and I do like to backpack around here so... hmm, maybe I better study up. :-)

Cool new userpic!