Coyote Scat - The Story Inside The Poop

Right now, in the western North Carolina backcountry we are in the prime of the deer rut and the bucks are going crazy. Rubbings and ground scratching are everywhere you go. This is very exciting to see, but if you look closely there is also a lot of other wildlife movement going on around the mountain man area equally as exciting yet much more elusive.

On a hike this week in the Raven Knob backcountry, I consider this the biggest prize of all, and I've been studying the pictures closely to unravel the mystery. Found this hair-clad scat right in the middle of a trail, somewhat aged but still not too old and in excellent shape for dissecting. (see picture on right) Very hard to see unless you were walking slow and looking carefully. I spent at least 45 minutes picking it apart, first finding a small bone fragment which I thought was part of a lower jaw, but no clear tooth. (see picture below)

 I proceeded to investigate all of the mostly grey hair dung, finding several more bone fragments, ...then there it was under the mummifying-like hair, a very discernible half digested squirrel skull (see picture directly below) and some perfect rear molar teeth (used for grinding), and also including orange front teeth (used for cutting-see last picture lower left side) indicating a rodent, with the size indicating a squirrel. That was an exciting moment!

 Now, the mystery was whether this was from a coyote or a bobcat, which were the two best possibilities for this area, although coyotes are much more present. If there had been some feathers, then I would start leaning with the cat, but there were none. A bobcat would also be more likely to cover his excrement, or at least leave some scratch marks, but no indication of that either. Therefore, I tend to conclude that it was a coyote who brought down the squirrel.

Lots of action in the backcounty and a lot of fun clues that most people never see because they never look. The mountain men were professional trackers, trappers, and scouters because they spent most of their time doing it. Their very lives depended upon catching all of those little elusive clues in the cycle of life. While most of us today lead lives that don't allow us to put in the necessary 'dirt time' to become a professional survivalist and tracker, we can still learn a lot about what makes the natural world around us tick. Next time that you're in the woods, walk slow, be quiet, listen more, and look for the tiny clues that tell the full story, and you will surely discover action equally as fascinating as the deer rut.

Carving Fat Lighter Flowers for Firestarting Kits

This evening I was part of a Boy Scout council roundtable meeting and I usually bring something hand-carved to be used as door prizes. Last weekend I made up about 5 fire starting kits for tonight's meeting which were quite popular as door prizes.

Gathering fat lighter is one of my favorite pass times while on my long walks in the woods. Fat lighter is the congealing of the sap in pine trees usually found in the stumps of decaying trees. This orange colored concentration of pine sap burns better than gasoline and is the perfect naturally found fire-starter.

Carving these small fat-lighter "flowers" is a lot of fun and it's something that you get much better at the more you do it. The wonderful aromatic smell is also alluring as you carve these little fire torches as the sap smells akin to a very strong pine aroma and you might detect a hint of turpentine smell since this same sap is harvested in the southeast for making it.

I just hold a small stick of sap wood and turn it with my fingers while pushing the shavings forward and the "flower" will gradually bloom right before your eyes. In Boy Scouts these little fire starting torches are called "fuzz-sticks" and every 2nd Class Scout learns to make them as part of their fire building requirements.

To make my little fire-starting kits I use a small snack-sized zip lock type plastic baggie. On the bottom I put several sticks of fat-lighter kindling, then 4 or 5 fuzz sticks followed by a small bundle of tinder made from the inner bark of tulip poplar trees.

This makes a nifty little gift to give away to some of your outdoor friends and I guarantee you that they'll love it. Tonight at the Scout meeting they were the first items to be taken by the folks who had the winning numbers. I guess that I've done my good turn for today. :)

Using Natural Fibers In And Out Of The Shop

I've been gathering and using natural fibers, both plant and animal, for most of my life. Those slick and shiny needles that fell off longleaf pine trees were probably my first experience with natural fibers and we gathered them for weaving twine, necklaces, and even using them as money between ourselves as kids.

Those fond memories from making fun things with the pine needles didn't die soon as I moved into my teen years and learned to tan the hides of the small fur bearing animals that I had caught on my trapline. Wild leather was useful in making small pouches, holsters, and material for lining other items.

I was about 19 years old when I made the berry picking bucket in the picture to the left. For this bucket I used the bark from a tulip poplar tree that I carefully removed  with my ax and sheath knife during the spring when the sap was flowing strong and wet. When cutting poplar logs I had noticed that the bark would peel off almost like a banana skin so my mind tumbled upon that experience for a few weeks until I realized that I could make useful things from it.

I used a small green hickory twig around the rim of the opening to give it a more permanent shape and to help keep the poplar bark from warping as it dried out. From the hickory tree I learned that the inner bark made extremely strong binders twine when cut into thin strips so I used that for sewing the bark together including a circular piece for the bottom. I still have my berry picking bucket today and value it greatly as part of the history of how I became who I am. You just can't put a price on things like that.

Today I still find myself gathering various forms of natural fibers for making everything from Indian dream-catchers to weaving rope. I used some of the fibers from the inner bark of the poplar tree (top photo) to make the naturally woven rope in the picture to the right. Although the inner bark of a hickory tree is much stronger, this poplar bark is very easy to work with and provides my Boy Scouts with an excellent introduction to the many uses of natural fibers. Some of my students have made some amazing things using the fibers from these trees and I've been inspired on many occasions by their imagination, ingenuity, and ability to make something from nothing. Working with natural fibers is right down a kids alley and teaches them to be resourceful while also gleaning a lot of satisfaction from making something useful and beautiful from the woods and trees around them.

A couple of years ago our education theme was Black History so in woodshop class I provided each student with a small piece of 2" X 4" X 6" piece of pine wood for making an African mini-mask. We did a lot of research and found tons of information and various examples so using that as our reference point combined with their own ideas, the kids came up with some really beautiful masks. Just let kids loose with an idea and most of the time they will surprise you with their creations. American Indian masks could also be the subject for this project if desired.

The mask pictures just above show just how creative that some the kids got with their creations and I bet you can't guess what some of them used for decorating their masks. Yeah, that's right... the inner bark fibers of the poplar tree. They really got some "wild & woolly" looking hair using the fibers that we found in the woods and the more they worked them between the palms of their hands the more "fluffed" appearance they could achieve.

Just last Halloween I rambled the woods around property as Rambo as seen in the picture to the left.and once again those natural fibers worked great for my "swamp" hair. You certainly don't have to go to such extremes as I do portraying Rambo and scaring kids but if you're not using natural fibers for crafting, projects, or fun then you're surely missing out on a great avenue that can lead to many more discoveries.