We had a busy first day of the fall semester building shelters and going over our routines. We shot some time-lapse video of building a shelter as a group, but we haven’t watched it yet to see if it was any good. It was a long, hot day in the sun but we got all [...]

After weeks of preparation, today we start the tenth semester course that we’ve run. I’ll write a summary at the end of the day to keep our readers informed as to what we do. And we’ve got a video intern, so expect to see a bunch of footage of the course available on the web [...]

Photos from our recent canoe trip in Quebec, including this one of David Bosum cleaning the night’s catch and getting it ready to smoke, are now in our photo gallery. The video we shot on the trip will be available soon.

I’m back from Quebec after a great trip.  It was a long drive – 635 miles and 14 hours – but well worth it.  I’ll write up the trip soon, but I wanted to report on the yellow jackets that made a ground nest in our garden.  In the rush to get packed and on [...]

The van is packed and we’re set to roll out of here at 5 am for the long drive to Oujé-Bougoumou. After a long week of working on and around our new cook house, I’m ready for some time in the bush. I’ll blog about the trip when we get back.

I’ve noticed some of the leaves of our strawberries have had their edges nibbled, and last night I met the culprit.  I was working in the barn just before dark yesterday when I noticed one of the young porcupines (one of this year’s babies) in the field eating clover.  I watched him for a few [...]

Our canoe and bushcraft trip with David and Anna Bosum in Quebec is just a few days away, so getting a phone call from one of the participants saying they couldn’t go because of a medical issue wasn’t what I was looking forward to hearing, especially after having another late cancellation.  But last night I [...]

Duane Hanson gave me a copy of Lindsay’s Technical Books catalog when I was up at his place in June. It’s a great resource for obscure how-to books on a variety of subjects such as blacksmithing, building, crafting and science. From the cover of the catalog; “Exeptional technical books for experimenters, inventors, tinkerers, mad scientists, [...]

The Fall 2007 Earth Skills Semester Program will mark the tenth semester course that we’ve run.  It’s been neat to watch what started as an idea turn into reality and develop from there.  And the fact that this semester filled early has been a strong validation that we’re on the right track.  So thanks for [...]

My good friend Steve Marshall was quoted in a New York Times article recently. He’s a rafting guide on the Shubenacadie River in Nova Scotia, where they run the tide as it rushes into the river. I’ve never been, but it sounds like a wild ride. Steve and I spent several weeks together this summer [...]