Nature provides an abundance of tools and resources if you just know where to look.  Today, I’m discussing just one of them – LEAVES.  You’re not going to believe all of the survival functions you can do with just LEAVES and a little bit of know-how.  No matter the season, leaves can provide you with some kind of a solution.  Nature is freaking amazing!

LEAF SURVIVAL HACK # 1: ROPE

Yes, you can make usable cordage from leaves!  The leaves you’ll want for this particular task are fibrous ones such as those from Yucca or Cattail.  I’ve found that dead yucca and cattail leaves work best but they’ll work when green in a pinch.  Below is a photo of a Yucca plant and then also a coil of yucca leaf rope that I made.

The technique used to fashion usable cordage from fibrous natural materials is called the Reverse Wrap.  It’s an awesome survival skill – so cool that I filmed a short video to show you exactly how to do it.  Watch the video below:

LEAF SURVIVAL HACK # 2: NATURE’S TIN FOIL

Have you ever wrapped food in tin foil and cooked it in the coals of a fire.  When we were kids, Mom would wrap up some ground beef, onions, potatoes and carrots in tin foil and cook them in the coals of a fire.  She called them Hobo Dinners.  I’ve never found a tin-foil tree in the woods but I’ve found a leaf that works just as good – BURDOCK.  Food wrapped in three layers of burdock leaves cooks just as good as any tin foil I’ve ever used.  Look how huge the leaves of burdock can get.

I’ve cooked fish, quail and rabbit in burdock leaves and it never fails to produce a delicious juicy meal.  Check out this quail and potatoes we cooked in burdock leaves during a SurviVacation II last summer.  We tied it up with Basswood Bark.  Mmmmmm, my mouth’s watering just thinking about it.  That same day I also used a burdock leaf as an improvised container to hold some freshly picked raspberries.

LEAF SURVIVAL HACK # 3: INSOLES

That’s right – SHOE INSOLES!  Need some extra cushion to help prevent blisters?  How about some extra cushion that is also antibacterial?  Look for a mullein plant.  It’s very distinct, you can’t miss it.  The leaves are thick, durable and fuzzy.

Not only do they make excellent improvised shoe insoles that will reduce foot odor but they also are your go-to natural source for toilet paper.  They are also an excellent substitute for paper towel and are very absorptive.  I use them as napkins all the time.

 LEAF SURVIVAL HACK # 4: INSULATION

Whether from the cold ground or the air around you, leaves are nature’s perfect insulative material for creating dead air space below and around you.  One of the most effective cold weather shelters is a Debris Hut and it’s made almost entirely of leaves.  The leaves capture dead air space which acts as a barrier to the cold.  They help keep warm air (body heat) in and cold air out.  As the cool temps come, Mother Nature drops all the insulation you could ever need to the forest floor.  She’s nice that way.

Until his mid-twenties, my Dad slept on what’s called a Shuck Bed.  This is literally a mattress stuffed with dried corn husks.  He recalls it being a little lumpy, but functional.  It hasn’t been that long ago that people used natural vegetation insulation for sleeping purposes.

LEAF SURVIVAL HACK # 5: SHINGLES

Yes, leaves are not only insulation but shingles as well.  Large leaves from plants like burdock and skunk cabbage can be used to shingle a lean-to in a matter of minutes.  Leafy branches can be used the same way.  Remember to start from the bottom and work your way up, just like you would shingle a house.  This overlapping pattern prevents rain from seeping through.  Below I used a full burdock plant to protect jerky on a drying rack from a light drizzle.

LEAF SURVIVAL HACK # 6: HARVESTING WATER

With a little creativity, you can use leaves to direct and harvest water.  Rain water is the easiest form of fresh drinking water in the wild if you can get enough of it.  Arranging leaves to harvest rain can gather exponentially more if you do it right.  Look at them as nature’s little mini-tarps.

LEAF SURVIVAL HACK # 7: KITCHEN WARE

From plates to bowls, leaves can be repurposed in all types of different functional ways.  I use basswood leaves for plates and napkins all the time.  They’re edible, durable and environmentally safe!  Below is a shot of a basswood leaf for reference:

I cooked some biscuits in orange peels the other day and used basswood leaves as a plate on the ground.

The burdock leaf below is lining a hole in the ground and makes an excellent quickie bowl.  I’ve even eaten cereal out of this exact set up before.

LEAF SURVIVAL HACK # 8: MEDICATED BANDAGES

You’ve probably got plantain growing in your back yard right now.  Did you know it has built in antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties and is the perfect remedy for minor cuts, bee stings, stinging nettle and scrapes?  Just chew up a leaf, place it on the wound and use another plantain leave to hold it in place.  Plantain has earned the nickname “BANDAID PLANT”  for a reason.  The fibers in the leaves make durable bandages.

LEAF SURVIVAL HACK # 9: DISTILLED WATER

Leaves transpire water all day long – called transpiration.  It is possible to magnify and capture that water transpiration using clear plastic.  Nonpoisonous vegetation placed in a ground pit solar still or live leaves tied off in a clear plastic bag can put out a surprising amount of water in full sun.  It’s not the fastest and most efficient way of getting water but it’s an option nonetheless.

LEAF SURVIVAL HACK # 10: FIRE TINDER

Dry leaves make excellent fire tinder and have constituted many a tinder bundle for me over the years.  Some dried leaves, such as from the sage plant(shown below), smolder very well and can be used to carry an ember across long distances.

LEAF SURVIVAL HACK # 11: MATS, WALLS, BASKETS, DOORS and ROOFING

Leaves from a variety of plants can be woven into about anything you can image, from baskets to shelter walls.  Cattail leaves were used extensively by Native American Indians as a universal weaving material.  This blog (http://sustainablelivingproject.blogspot.com/2012/09/woven-cattail-mats.html) has a great cattail weaving tutorial and used a woven cattail mat to dry summer fruits and berries.  What an awesome idea!

Cattail leaves were also used to weave hats, shoes, clothing, chair seats, fishing nets, duck decoys and children’s toys.  It is an amazingly durable weaving material.

LEAF SURVIVAL HACK # 12: FOOD

I can’t even list all of the wild plant leaves that are edible.  I’ve eaten leaves raw, baked, roasted, dried and often use them as wraps instead of tortillas.  One of the my favorite wild meals is shredded bluegill mixed with yellow wood sorrel and wrapped in basswood leaves.  I also love young basswood leaves, dandelion greens and wood sorrel mixed in a salad with a little olive oil and vinegar.  Below is dandelion and yellow wood sorrel – both of which you probably have in your back yard.

I also regularly enjoy a variety of bush teas, including pine needle tea, staghorn sumac tea and stinging nettle tea.  There’s tea around every corner in the wilderness!

What other survival uses for LEAVES can YOU think of????

Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,

I’ve been wanting to write this post for quite some time now but have been putting it off because it involves a certain level of commitment.  Finally, I decided to take a hit for TEAM WILLOW HAVEN (that’s you) and show you how effective natural ‘full body’ camouflage can be when done right.

You never know when you might need natural camouflage.  Whether to escape and evade or to hunt and stalk, blending into the wilderness around you might be a necessary part of your survival scenario one day and it’s important that you understand the basics.  Luckily, the process is fool-proof – and – surprisingly fast.

THE BASE LAYER

It all starts with muddin’ up!  It goes without saying that this method of natural camo lends itself to warm weather scenarios.  This process also works much better on BARE SKIN.  I started the whole process by striping down to my skivvys and then scooped some goopy clay-mud mix from the edge of the pond.  There’s really no delicate way to do this – just smear it on!  I had to go Garden of Eden style in these shots with a Burdock leaf for the sake of decency.

Get it on nice and thick.  A thick, wet base layer is critical.  Once you’re all mudded up, the next step is pretty easy.

DUFF AND FOREST DEBRIS

Forest duff, debris and leaf litter cover the floor in every type of forest environment.  What better material to use than the stuff that exists naturally in the area that you’re in.  Just grab handfuls of forest debris and slap it all over your wet gooey base layer.  It will stick and as the mud dries, it will become cemented into place.  You can even roll on the ground.  You’ll be surprised what your fly-paper like body will pick up.

I know what you’re thinking – IT LOOKS ITCHY.  It’s NOT.  The mud layer protects your body from all of the little leaf and twig pricks that you imagine might be happening all over my body.  I am also impressed at how well this keep the mosquitoes at bay.  It’s certainly not 100 % effective but it does help.

NOW, DISAPPEAR

It’s amazing how quickly you can disappear using this simple 2 step natural camo method.  A few years back while giving natural camo a stab while hunting I actually had a squirrel run down the tree I was leaning against and eat a nut while sitting on my leg.  I kid you not.  I could tell he knew something wasn’t quite right but he had no idea he was sitting on a human!  It was an amazing experience and that squirrel was delicious (just kidding, I didn’t kill him).  And, yes, at that distance I could tell it was a ‘him’.

CONCLUSION

Next time you find yourself being chased by a PREDATOR from another planet, don’t forget what you learned here – GET NAKED, MUD UP & ROLL ON THE GROUND.  In less than 5 minutes you’ll be an unrecognizable fixture in the forest around you.

By the way, my skin feels amazing.  I think I’ll start charging for ‘Natural Camo Full Body Treatments’.

That’s it for now – more great survival tips to come.  Have an awesome week.  MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK!

Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,

NOTE:  These weapons are flat out dangerous and designed for entertainment purposes only.  Recreate at your own risk.

I’ve just finished a several week writing project that required way too much cerebral effort.  Quite frankly, my brain hurts.  After being trapped in front of a computer that long I normally feel like just going outside and blowing something up or burning through 1000 rounds of ammo as fast as humanly possible into my burning barrel.  Not this time though.  This time I fought the urge to be destructive and instead decided to do something constructive with my time, skills and energy.  Something that would make the world a better place.  Something, I decided, that would make my Mom and Dad proud.

So…I modified 6 baseball bats into Zombie killing death weapons.

If you’re the type of person that takes survival articles a little too seriously then you may want to skip this one because I’ll be the first to admit that it is absolutely ridiculous.  Sadly, though, I think I had more fun writing (and making) this post than about any other I’ve ever done – yes even more than the Ultimate Survival Shot Gun and The Swiss Army Survival Tampon.  Not sure what that says about me but it’s the truth.

So you wanna turn your Louisville Slugger into a weapon against the walking dead?  Below are 6 ideas to get you started.

Bat-chete

I really wanted to make a version of the rusty spiked bat that everyone thinks of when they allow themselves to wonder about such things.  However, I wanted it to be different than anything I’d ever seen before.  What better way to make it different than to mount a machete to the end?  So that’s what I did.  A 12″ machete blade is bolted right into the end of the bat.  But that’s not it.  Just in case the machete blade doesn’t do the trick, eight massive steel spikes shroud the base for some extra collateral damage.  I topped it off with a cobra weave wrist lanyard because I don’t want an aggressive zombie running off with my bat just in case it gets stuck.  Batter up!

‘Tina

I call this one ‘Tina for short.  Concertina wire, or popularly called razor wire, is some nasty stuff.  It’s like barbed wire except instead of barbs it’s lined with razors.  Typically reserved for warfare and to line the perimeter of maximum security prisons, I figured a nice nest of this stuff fence stapled around a baseball bat would be a pretty formidable zombie face smasher.  Geez, I cut my hands up wearing leather welding gloves just wrapping this ‘death wire’ around the bat.  I understand first hand why this stuff has such a bad reputation.  I remember watching prison break movies thinking, “I bet I could crawl over that razor wire.”  Well let me tell you, there ain’t no freakin’ way you’re crawling over this stuff.  Concertina wire was birthed in warfare and it gives off that eerie feeling when you look at and handle it.  If plants grow in hell I imagine they look like this stuff.  “Hey, zombie, I want you to meet someone.  Her name’s ‘Tina.”

The Flail

Oooouch!  With it’s roots in the Middle Ages, the Flail is absolutely barbaric.  I cut the last 6″ off a normal bat, connected it to a steel chain and then studded it with archery field target points.  This thing hurts just holding it in your hand.  These target points actually screw into studs that I mounted into the wood.  You could theoretically replace all of these field points with razor broad-heads if you wanted a spiked razor bat but the idea is to be able to replace damaged spikes ‘on-the-fly’ with a pocket full of extra points.  The spiral wrap paracord handle gives plenty of grip when the G’s from spinning try to rip it out of your hand.  The amount of momentum generated with just a couple rotations of the 5 pound spiked head is terrifying.  I think this weapon could actually elicit FEAR in ZOMBIES.  That’s how scary this thing is once it gets-a-spinnin’.  Home Run every time – guaranteed!

Shard

Look what you can do with a few busted bottles, some Liquid Nails adhesive, a L-ville Slugger and some demented creativity!  I should call this bat THE SHREDDER because that is what it would do to a zombie’s head, neck, face and chest with just one whack.  It’s a beautiful bat actually.  When the sun flickers through the colored glass it almost looks artistic and maybe a little magical.  I think the real magic of this bat, though, is it’s ability to make a zombie’s head completely disappear!

The Scorpion

This 4 sectioned bat gets ‘em going and coming.  The middle two sections are studded with razor sharp steel spikes.  These are for gripping and ripping.  I’ve mounted a custom piece of weaponry to the end of the ‘scorpion’s tail’.  I took the pick from an ice ax and mounted it to a custom made steel spike.  This then gets bolted through the bat – a deep penetrating spike on one side and a jagged ice ax head on the other – no venom necessary!  This piece is best used as a whip – similar to how a scorpion whips it’s tail into prey.  The SPIKE and YANK motion is sure to do the trick on any approaching zombie.

Silent Night Sucka’

I thought this triple deckered beauty resembled a Christmas tree when I first held it up so I’ve lovingly dubbed it Silent Night.  I thought that was an appropriate name seeing that’s exactly what will happen if you clock a zombie with it.  Silent Night Sucker.  Nothing like a good game of zombie tee-ball.  A spiral wrap paracord handle gives plenty of grip because I imagine this thing would get covered in zombie muck pretty quick.  The three circular saw blades are razor sharp and I can’t even imagine the damage they could inflict if swung with proper form.  Heck, forget form, it wouldn’t matter – just swing it any old way you want.  “Swing away, Merrill.  Merrill, swing away.”

Conclusion

See, I told you I wanted to do something constructive and I’m positive the world is a better place now having seen these zombie death bats.  Whether or not my parents are proud is still to be determined…

What would your zombie death bat look like?  Have a great week!

Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,

PS-  Several of these bats required some woodworking cuts, drilling and notches beyond my pay grade and skill level. I’d like to give a special THANK YOU to my Uncle Jerry who helped make the vision for some of these Zombie Death Bats a reality.