THAT IS THE PERFECT description for Lonnie!

C McClellan 😊

Only Lonnie climbs not paints the happy trees.

Well Bob Ross was stationed in Alaska.

Alex Haney That is awesome. Glad you folks enjoyed it. Thanks a bunch for letting me know how it went for ya'll.

1fanger Second that!

1fanger Thank you Joe for those encouraging words. ATB to you and yours as well.

Oldtimer Lee Thank you for the kind and encouraging support my friend

Randy Chadwick You are welcome Randy. It is time well spent in making these videos when I know that folks like you are enjoying them.

Darren Eddings Well you are due a big "Howdy" from Connie and I and welcome to our channel. We are glad you have dropped in. There will be plenty of videos to interest you both in the past as well as the future.

Glad you have found my channel. Enjoy.

Alaska is a big state, property is cheap. Plus you can camp on public land.

grantlandneil Thank you for the encouraging words. I hope you do get a chance to try the birch tea someday. It is interesting that you describe my videos as relaxing to those of a busy hectic life. I will be trying a little different format to some of my future videos in an effort to help to "immerse" the viewer more completely into the video. I hope the results will be appealing to those who watch my videos to not only learn from but also to "escape" to the woods for a brief time of tranquillity and mental focus.

I can't wait Lonnie! Thanks again!

Paul Sheils Thank you my friend. The tea is one of my favorites too. As far as tree climbing skills lol I have got nothing on those coconut tree climbing polonesians. Those folks making tree climbing look like magic lol.

Master Tracker Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the video. Our dog Buck is the best dog I have ever had by far. He really is a great dog

Paul Charron Thank you. This video was actually recorded several weeks ago. In the mean time I have dumped windows 7 pro off my computer and have been very busy installing the Linux operating system and getting up to speed on the new graphics programs as well as video editors before editing this video and uploading. The snow is all gone here now and the leaves are just on the edge of bursting forth on a new season of life. The leaves will be popping out probably in the next one to three days. It is supposed to be in the low 60s all week.

***** Gratulations to this very good decision !!! Windows is a waste of time... Andreas P.S.: Thank you for the time you spend on doing these great vids!

***** Thanks Andreas. Linux has been my main system since about the year 2000 and Redhat 6.? I however have had to use windows the last 2 years or so and am now glad to be back to linux

User Prime Thank you for the kind and encouraging words. Glad you enjoy the videos.

Tom M Glad you liked the video Tom and that you have learned from it.

Deranged Survival You are welcome. Thank you.

Survival Sniper You are welcome. I am really glad you like our channel.

dalton vickers Thank you my friend. I also very much love living here for the same reasons as you mention. During the summer out at our cabin we do not ever see another person (unless you want to count the numerous planes that fly overhead). It is that very peace and solitude that is the elixir that keeps me going. When I can not experience that peace, solitude and silence for a period of time I start getting more uptight and less pleasant of a person to live with. You gave an accurate description of today's society.

bergbryce Glad to see you drop by again. Thanks

yoopersurvival When I stop being young at heart, well life won't be worth continuing. That is super awesome about the lowered blood sugar. Congrats. I'm happy for you.

I unfortunately have the opposite problem. My sugar drops quickly and randomly on its own. I always have to carry something to bump it back up.

+Adam Craig There are many many edibles as well as medicinal palnts. I really personally enjoy this subject. Hope you enjoy your tea.

Joey Jones you are welcome. Hope you enjoy it

Shawn Fazenbaker Thank you Shawn. Maybe it is time to take a little break for yourself and fix up a cup of thee ole tea again. Sometimes it is the simplest things in life that are the most important things we can do for ourselves.

***** for sure I need some dirt time to get away, practice and just enjoy the outdoors. Do you have a email that I can ask a few questions?

Shawn Fazenbaker Check your KZfaq messages for a private message from me.

lurches21 You are welcome. Alaska is only 8 - 10 hours away (including layovers) from Texas via airlines :O) You folks have a great day as well.

Chris Collier Thank you. Hope you enjoy the tea when you do try it. That is awesome that you made all that homemade maple syrup. Connie and I have made Birch syrup in the past but both of us are very conscious now of our sugar consumption and limit it

I think everyone is concerned with their sugar and salt intake. But I think things like maple syrup and honey is way more healthier than that white processed sugar., Since I live on PEI, I'm going to make my own sea salt this summer. Just by boiling down salty sea water until only the salt is left. I seen it done by Mitch Mitchell, and it looks easy enough. Everyone needs some salt in their diet and I reckon sea salt is the healthiest! I visited an active salt mine in Austria, near Salzburg, (Salt City) and it was very interesting! Take care Lonnie and Connie!

Chris Collier That would be awesome to harvest your own salt from the wild. I will look into that. Thanks.

Jeremy Gagne Thank you. Hope you enjoy it when you do get a chance to try it.

***** You are welcome. I'm glad you enjoy watching my friend.

Well I found a Silver Birch with low branches. I thanked the tree. It is truly delicious. THANK YOU from Northumberland, North East , England.

+bob taylor Thanks Bob. Atb to you and your loved ones as well.

Yep, we are staying warm. We now have maybe a foot and a half of snow with another 8 to 16 inches forecasted for tomorrow and Monday. Out temperatures overall have been about average I guess for this time of year. We had 2 degrees below zero Fahrenheit this morning which I believe has been our coldest so far. You folks stay warm and have a great blessed Christmas.

@@Far-North-Bushcraft-Survival Our winter so far as less snow and cold than usual. About 6 inches of snow so far when we normally have 2 feet or there abouts. One week of -extreme cold was enough tho, its getting hard to cope at my age, lol. It's not bad if I bundle up looking like the Pilsbury Dough Boy. Merry Christmas and blessings to you, Connie and family too.

Mulys Cousin You are welcome. My wife and I were watching an Amish movie a while back and I made the comment to my wife, when hard times hit, those folks won't even realize that it is hard times since life will more or less continue as normal for them.

***** I'm curious about the shotgun, I assume a Mossberg, but how long is the barrel ?

Awesome video

Pennsylvania Shane If you do get a chance to try this out Shane I hope you enjoy it. It is amongst my favorites.

William Tell Thank you

Wintertrekker Yes it is. I find though that it is a pleasant drink anytime of the year as well.

Dan Vicary The taste would depend on the variety of birch you are using. Some varieties have a wintergreen flavor. Their is a variety of birch that is indeed used as a substitute for wintergreen flavoring commercially.

Oldtimer Lee I have never heard of anyone drinking poplar tea for pleasure although there are medicinal reason for doing so. I would guess that maple tree tea might be a viable option though I don't know that for sure since we do not have maples up north here. Our birches are the "maple" of the north

***** We don't have birch or sugar maples (sigh), although we do have some other maple varieties. Thanks for your thoughts on poplar. I need to look it up, as I'd never considered it for anything other than bark & wood. Thanks.

joesneon Thank you my friend and you are welcome

Rustic By Nature Thank you. Glad you liked the video

Kraven Moorehead An "Arctic Ninja" lol. Well I don't know about that. I have been fortunate enough to have grown up climbing trees.

Turtle Bushcraft Yes give it a try John. You just might enjoy it. Thank you and you are welcome.

TomsBackwoods When you do get a chance to try it, I hope it becomes one of your favorites as well

spoonwitz Thank you.

John W MacDonald Hope you enjoy the tea when you do get a chance to try it.

Kerr Paton I know what you mean about birch being one of your favorite trees. Birch is a very very useful tree in so many ways. Give it a try if you get the chance.

Mary Nelson Thank you Mary. Glad you like the new intro. I just migrated from windows 7 pro to the linux operating system. Some of my old files got lost in the transfer and I had to make a new intro as a result. That is fine though as I have been wanting to make a new intro and ending anyway. I don't know if the birch tea tastes like birch beer soda since I have never tried it. I can say though that it is rather pleasant tasting in a woodsy sort of way.

***** Birch beer is a little diferent than root beer,,,I'd say woodsy is the word I'd use.

Mary Nelson In re-reading your comment i see I forgot to reply about Connie's heath. She is doing very well. Life is pretty much back to normal but she doesn't have 100% total range of motion from her arm yet. The range of motion continues to improve slowly however

***** You guys are such a great couple, I'm glad Connie is better,,,I just rewatched your cooking edibles video and I might just try checking out lily pads this year.

Mary Nelson if you do try the lily pads, I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we do. Good luck

+Dave Petro Thank you. No, I wouldn't call the taste sweet. It is not unpleasant at all however.

Rogerio Reckel Thank *you* my friend for watching and commenting. You are welcome

it is the birch twig tips that are preferable. The buds as well as the outer bark is the majority of the flavoring. I do not believe that i have ever heard of Redbud and so am not familiar with it.

+oakleafNL B You are welcome Hope you do get a chance to try it out someday.

oakleafNL hello! Could u tell me how the young birch leaf tea tasted like and was it a one time try or have u drake it often??? Thank you

darren kawasaki You are welcome and thank you Darren

Kullcraven Bushcraft Yes this has been used as a pain relieving tea. Thanks my friend

Hey buddy, if you get the history channel up there , check out the new tv show Alone, it airs in june. I'm on that show. Think you might want to see it. I uploaded a video called big announcement. in the description i have a couple trailers you can watch of the show.

Kullcraven Bushcraft No we don't have television. I have however seen your vid on it. Congrats. I have been asked to be on the show as well but I have not got back with them as I don't feel "up to it" physically. Emotionally and skill wise I feel like I would have a great chance since I am so at home in the woods by myself and spend a lot of time there anyway. I wish you well and hope you are able to give it your best.

Thanks man, yes i have heard they are casting for season 2. . I will be on season 1

Kullcraven Bushcraft I never knew you were on the show, I'll keep an eye out for the series for sure! Congrats!

RedDogBushCraft I also frequently do spruce tea much like your pine tea. Also labrador tea is another favorite

Grim Reaper not sure why it blanked out "no birch in this part of the country

Grim Reaper How do you arrive at a "dosage" level for your willow bark headache tea? I make an alcohol extract of willow and have used it effectively for headaches.

its kinda a hand me down from my Pa - how he showed me - use red willow bark from the saplings - about a small handful -- if I equated it to a measuring cup - bout 1/8 to a quarter maybe --- sorry im not more precise - when ya bin doin it fer 60 plus years u kinda do it by feel -- if I git a minute - ill go git some and send u a photo - mite help and txs

Grim Reaper Thanks for the info. That is good enough to give me a rough idea.

+Adam R No. I would not discribe this paper birch as a wintergreen flavor. I understand that the black birch I think it is, can have a more wintergreen like flavor.

I personally really enjoyed the Sitka Spruce needle tea that I have had a couple of times. It tastes/smells better than our white spruce tea here locally. However our black spruce is closer to the Sitka Spruce flavor/aroma and is very good. The white spruce is good as well but not as good as the other two mentioned. So I would say that spruce tea is my favorite Alaskan wild tea. The birch twig tea is also very good but does not seem to be as flavorful as the spruce teas. A friend of mine just told me that him and his wife have been enjoying rose hip tea from the rose hips that they have just harvested. He says that it is very good but I personally have not tried any that I remember. If you have any wild roses growing there you may want to give that a try since he so highly recommends it.

@@Far-North-Bushcraft-Survival Ok thank you. I will experiment some more. I wish they had caffeine! Ha! Enjoy your Fall up there.

+Grimrippa1 Yes you could use any birch. The different varieties may have a different flavor but I am not aware of any birch varieties being toxic in any way.

***** thanks for your reply, my friend... I'll try it and let you know))

trevor parsons Thank you. That is a good question but one that I really don't have a definitive answer for. The reason is, is that I like several different teas and have them all at different times with out really having any of them that I prefer more tahn the others. I guess though that If I had to pick one, the nod would go to birch sap straight out of the tree. it tastes like water with a very slight sweet taste to it.

ive had the birch sap recently....its very energizing....I was just wondering,if there was polution around, being metal in the ground,rubber ect.....would the tree itself filter it enough to make it pure enough for human consumption?

trevor parsons Well I'm not a chemist and am unable to take samples and analyse them but my thought is that i would not do any foraging in that type of area. I would much prefer to get my wild products from good clean natural surroundings. All the good books on foraging say not to get your plants close to a road or other places of possible contamination. So I guess my answer would be that maybe birch sap might be okay in a situation like you mention but I would not take the chance personally.

lurches21 No, actually the pack is the "Rush 72" by 5.11. I really like it. It is not 100% perfect but it is a good solid rugged pack that has held up extremely well over the many miles travelled and several years of owning

rasputin0452 The simple answer to both your questions are "yes". It is both the twigs as well as the buds. Yes you can make tea from the leaves and the twigs in the summer. Many people make a tea from even just the dried bark. ATB to you and yours as well, friend Ken

Carlos Sepulveda Thanks

Rob Collette Oh yes. I have both the Labrador tea as well as spruce tea and enjoy them both. My Tlingit friends call Labrador tea "swamp tea" it is used traditionally here to help fight colds

***** Could you do a video on the Labrador Tea? I understand it can be toxic if not prepared correctly. So do you pick fresh and allow to dry or do you pick dry (during winter). How many leaves for a pot?

Rob Collette Labrador tea is another one of my favorites. I understand that the best way to make the tea is in an open pot so that the toxins can evaporate. It is fine to consume in a tea though I would not have many cups a day everyday over a long period of time. The leaves can be used both fresh off the plant as well as dried for future use. I once received a bag of dried leaves that were gathered by a Tlingit Indian friend of mine that were some of the best and most flavorful I have ever tasted. It is probably best to pick during the growing season and dry rather than pick during the winter. If you pick during the winter it will still work but i don't think it is as flavorful.

Yes, I have made a tea from the birch leaves and it is good.

Bridgette Brown You can enjoy birch tea year round. In the summer many folks will use the bark as well as the leaves.

It is springtime here in NH. I will have to try it. Thanks again.

Outlander Bushcraft Yes, the Silver birch can also be used to make a tea from. Thank you

Yes that will work as well for a tea.

Simon Smith Thank you Si. awe for the days when I **was** 21 :o) Glad you enjoy the vids. I am going to try a little different approach to many of my upcoming videos that you *may* find appealing since you find my vids relaxing to watch. It is interesting that quite a few people have had similar remarks. Many have felt that they were almost right there with me in real life and that they find the videos a very refreshing break from their hectic busy lives. I am going to try an experiment where I record the videos in such a way as to try to encourage the viewers feeling of immersion into the videos but yet still try to teach important tips tricks and values. Hope you folks enjoy the change.

this guy name Lewis used your name a lot made a skype chat site called off the grid survivable. so I wanted to see this video you did on. I do say I am relaxed how you talk on here thanks, fir to help others learn how to survive.

Stefan Sandberg That is just one more advantage to having a beard like mine that I hadn't thought about along with a ready source of tinder (off the face of course) lol :O)

It is a mountain range here in Alaska. Sorry I do not give out private info. Since this is near my home I will not be saying where this is.

Far North Bushcraft And Survival totally understand. Thank you!

Outlander Bushcraft You are welcome my friend. Hope you enjoy it.

Eric Wright No I don't have any experience with drying the buds. the bark however can be dried and ground and used for tea. The bark is also useful to make oil from. I use the oil to coat and protect my carbon knife steel. I also use the birch bark oil combined with neets foot oil and caribou tallow to use as a leather preservative. To learn how to extract the oil you can watch my video if interested. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jrWZl850tc20Ymg.html. The wood especially from the limbs make a great wood for carving spoons if you can find a cooperating bend in the right spot. Birch wood is also great for carving bowls as well as mugs.the birch bark oil is reported to be good for applying to psoriasis though I have no experience with that use.

***** Excellent suggestions Lonnie! I did save most of the wood with the intention of doing some carving. I have a couple of branch sections that I think will make excellent ladles. Hand carved kitchen utensils have become an "expected" Christmas gift since I started carving a few years back. I planned on stripping the bark to attempt various craft items but, I like the idea of making some oil also!

Birch wood is also excellent for crossbow shafts. I've cured a bunch of large split rounds for just this purpose

***** Lol Yes the twigs would give the birch sap more flavor. The flavors ought to go well together. Yes the bears are out of hibernation here. I have never seen a bear while I am out roaming around but I know that they are there since I see their foot prints and excrement. When I used to fly my ultralight aircraft I would see bears occasionally from the air.

Your a pilot? Wow you impress me more and more. What ultralight do you have? Odd

***** My ultralight aircraft is a "buckeye" 2 seat powered parachute with a 582 Rotax 2 cycle engine

Cool! A motorized big paraglider. Interesting choice of aircraft. Personally I would have prefered a motorized hangglider, less lines to tangle :) I guess this one is pretty smooth in the air.

***** The powered parachute is "safer" than the hang glider type powered ultralights. The powered parachute is very forgiving when operating and there is virtually no manuever that can be done that the aircraft can not recover from. I am speaking of the days when we only used the rectangular parachutes. The elliptical parachutes are being used now much more and are more efficient but also somewhat less forgiving of operator errors. The safety of this aircraft is what attracted me to it. If the air currents are turbulent then it can be a rough ride in this aircraft. I have gone through some very frightening turbulence several times but the aircraft continued to fly.

Yes you could use the twigs with leaves already sprouted. You could use the leaves and / or the twigs. Either or both are fine to use.

Far North Bushcraft And Survival Thanks so much

Jim Koz I did do a bit of a slip there. You know how some times your mind can think in lightening speeds. At the time of my slip I was thinking "not now, I'm on camera I have to be calm cool and collected just as if I knew what I was doing" lol

bill j it is a stainless cooking "tea" pot by GSI. www.amazon.com/GSI-Outdoors-Glacier-Stainless-Kettle/dp/B004N5WFII/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432585185&sr=8-1&keywords=camping+stainless+tea+pot

I know that the birch polypore is medicinal but have not personally studied it.

Paul Henry You are welcome.

Mr Spades lol. I'll bet that would raise some eyebrows for sure now days. What is depressing is that in the not too distant future, we will look back on *now* as the "good old days".