• fill about 1/2 full with distilled or boiled water
• fill almost to top with witch hazel
• add 20-30 drops of essential oils of any of the following essential oils: rosemary, lemon eucalyptus, citronella, clove, lavender or tea tree oil.  – The more oils you use the stronger the spray will be

Until now, Manuka Honey has been sold in health food stores as a natural medicine. That is probably about to change. New  research has shown the honey kills every type of bacteria scientists have thrown at it, including the antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ plaguing hospitals and killing patients around the world.

Professor Dee Carter is one of the research team that made the discovery. She said a compound in the honey called methylglyoxal is the key ingredient to the effectiveness of the honey. However, methylglyoxal on its own is toxic but when it combines with what are, as yet, unknown compounds it causes “multi-system failure” in bacteria.

Manuka Honey Unique to New Zealand

Honey bees collect nectar from Manuka bushes (also known as Tea Trees) which grow in remote areas of New Zealand. According to Manuka Health the discovery of the anti-bacterial properties of methylglyoxal was made by Professor Thomas Henle at the University of Dresden, Germany.

The curative properties of various types of honey have been known to indigenous cultures for thousands of years, and dressing wounds with honey was common before the advent of antibiotics.

Source:  theaustralian

When preparing your cheese blocks for dipping select/cut cheese block sizes that you and your family can easily consume within 3-5 day period in order to avoid it going bad once you’ve cut into it.

Materials:

Blocks of cheese or cheese wheels (cut into sizable pieces)

Cheese wax – preferably dark in color to keep out light. Can be found online or in your local health foods store. Try Culture for Health  Homesteader Supply or Amazon

Boar brush (or other brush with natural bristles)

A double boiler set up – the pan you choose to melt the cheese wax in will be your designated cheese wax pan as it is near impossible to clean afterwards

Wax paper

Sharpie for labeling

Masking tape or paper for labeling

Process – The Dipping Method

Melt wax in a double boiler so that it is not directly over the heat source. Do not leave unattended; wax explodes at high temperatures. Choose a container for the wax that will fit your desired sizes of cheese. An old coffee can is an ideal size if cutting the cheese wheel into quarters.

Dip half the cheese in for about 5 seconds, then bring it out and HOLD it there for about 90 seconds to harden. Set down on wax paper. Repeat for the other pieces of cheese. Once done go back to your first piece of cheese and repeat. Do 3 layers of dipping and then one layer of brushing. (Using the natural boar’s hair brush) The reason why you want to use this kind of brush specifically is because other brushes will apply the cheese wax too thick, or with crevices, etc. This kind of brush is perfect for cheese waxing.

Label cheese with type and date. Use masking tape or a piece of paper. The piece of paper can brushed into place with a thin coating of wax with the boar brush.

Store the cheese in a cool dark location.

To eat the cheese, peel off wax and enjoy. Use within 3-5 days of cracking open.

Save the wax as it can be reused. Just wash it and then re-melt it for use over and over again.

Alternatively, you may use a method called “The brushing method” – Prepare cheese wax just like above then brush two coats of wax onto the cheese, filling any holes to prevent air gaps. Brush wax all the way around the rounded side of the wheel, then brush the flat top, then brush the flat bottom. Allow for drying times in between. Then repeat over all. Finally, brush on a paper label (containing type of cheese and date) with a thin application of wax.

Some tips:

1. Don’t use paraffin wax. It tends to crack. Cheese wax warms slower and heats to a higher temperature and thus plies better to your cheese shapes and sizes. Cheese wax is also less crumbly and you can use less of it than paraffin. Remember, its reusable too!
2. Use a hard cheese. As long as it’s hard enough to be in a solid block, you can wax it.
3. It’s best to melt the cheese wax in a double boiler as opposed to direct heat. Any pan you use to melt your cheese wax in will be your designated cheese wax pan. They are impossible to get clean afterwards. So be forewarned.
4. Use food handling gloves. The less you handle the cheese with your hands the better.
5. You don’t need to use food-grade labels for your cheese, however, it’s smart to use a label on the outside of your cheese just prior to the last wax layer. That way you don’t have      to worry about it falling off. Be sure to label not only the kind of cheese it is, but when it was waxed as well.
6. Don’t store your waxed cheese in additional containers. Just stack them on top of like cheeses and let them breathe. Storage idea – hang them from the ceiling in a “fishing net” kind of contraption.
7. Be sure to check for pockets or crevices that didn’t get sealed. Four total thin layers of wax is a good practice. There’s no need to do more coats than that.
8. The cheese surface should be clean and dry prior to waxing.
9. If your 2^nd and 3^rd coats are applied while the prior coat is still just a bit warm you will get a better adhesion.
10. Cheese wax can be re-used several times. You can simply wash it in warm water, let it dry and then re-melt it. So when you remove cheese wax from your cheeses, you can simply reheat and reapply the wax. Simply heat the cheese wax to about 200 degrees F. this will also ensure that you’re not transferring any bacteria or unnecessary moisture to your new cheese–even when you’re putting it on your cheese which is cooler.
11. You do not need to filter the cheese wax after you melt it.
12. Your first coat will have some unevenness to it. Don’t worry. The 2^nd and 3^rd coat will even it out just fine.
13. Cheese will respond to gravity. So using cheese wax vs. paraffin is important as it’s more pliable. Periodically turn your cheese in view of the gravitational pull.
14. Let your cheese sit at room temperate for just a bit in order to ensure that it doesn’t get condensation from being too cold and then apply the cheese wax.

The instructions combined with the tips should make waxing cheese easy.

1. To locate Polaris (North Star)

A. Look straight up

B. The two stars that form the handle of Ursa Major point directly to the North Star

C. The two stars that form the outer lip of Ursa Major point to the North Star

D. Find Orion’s belt and look west

E. It’s the brightest star in the sky!

2. The “open treatment” method is the safest way to manage wounds in survival situations.

A. True

B. False

3. You may use the moon to find the direction of North under certain circumstances. These are:

A. If the moon is half full it always points north

B. If the moon rises before the sun sets, the side which is illuminated will be the west

C. If the man in the moon is looking at you turn around and that’s north

D. This is not true, you can’t use the moon to find any direction, it varies too much

4. If you find yourself with an intestinal parasite problem you may do all of the following to remedy your situation except one. Which one should you NOT do?

A. Add a tablespoon of salt to 1 liter of water

B. Eat 1 to 1.5 cigarettes

C. Drink 2 tablespoons of kerosene

D. Eat hot peppers

E. Eat ½ tablespoon topsoil

5. If you are in a survival situation and have a serious laceration, the best thing to do after cleaning would be:

A. Suture the wound

B. Use a tourniquet

C. Leave the wound open

6. In a survival situation you may be forced to do things that are dangerous to your health, yet help you to survive. If you are extremely dehydrated you CAN:

A. Drink the blood of a dead animal

B. Drink your own urine

C. Drink Sea Water

D. Drink an alcoholic beverage

E. None of the above

7. You can eat worms raw after dropping them in water for a few minutes.

A. True

B. False

8. You may eat any plant after boiling it for 30 minutes.

A. True

B. False

9. You can boil water in a plastic bag or container.

A. True

B. False

10. Smoke from your fire can be a weather predictor.

A. True

B. False

11. To treat sea sickness:

A. Look at the horizon and close your eyes

B. Drink water

C. Rock back and forth in order to counter act the rocking motion of the vessel

D. Sing a song

12. All North American reptiles are edible.

A. True

B. False

13. All birds are edible.

A. True

B. False

14. To treat diarrhea:

A. Make a solution of handful of charcoal and treated water

B. Drink lots of water

C. Apply a cold compress to the lower abdomen

D. Eat dry foods such as crackers or bread

15. If you have a firearm you can use it signal distress. Choose the correct sequence for signaling.

A. 1 shot wait 2 seconds then 2 more shots consecutively

B. 3 shots with 2 second intervals

C. 10 shots with 1 second intervals

D. 2 shots fired simultaneously

16. The dandelion grows in Arctic regions.

A. True

B. False

17. Wool clothing or blankets will keep you warm and safe even when wet.

A. True

B. False

18. The square knot is used to join 2 pieces of equal diameter rope together.

A. True

B. False

19. 38 rounds for a handgun also work in:

A. 357 magnum

B. M-16

C. 45 ACP

D. 12 Gauge shotgun

20. It’s cold and you have no fire. In order to keep warm you would?

A. Remain motionless to conserve energy

B. Exercise vigorously

C. Cover you head

Click Read More to see the answers

ANSWER KEY:

1. C

2. A

3. B

4. E

5. C

6. E – Drinking blood is considered eating food and will need water to digest. This will dehydrate you. Also Contrary to popular belief you cannot drink your own urine. It contains harmful bacteria and is about 2% salts.

7. A

8. B – Universal Edibility Test

9. A – Yes it is. Try it.

10. A – If the smoke from your fire rises in a thin vertical column it indicates fair weather. When the smoke flattens out it is a sign of bad weather to come.

11. A

12. A – They must be thoroughly cooked!

13. A

14. A

15. B

16. A

17. A

18. A

19. A

20. C – Heat escapes through the top of your head get it covered asap. Exercising will only cause you to heat up and then perspire, which can lead to fatigue, dehydration and chills.

How did you score?

add up the # of correct answers and use this key to see what percent of 100% you scored!!

Remember – you need at least 90% to be able to truly survive.

What you need:

Tube or hose (ideally a clear tube works best so you know what is going on, and you don’t end up with a mouth full of liquid)

A bucket, can or other vessel to catch the liquid

How to do it:

Position the bucket lower than the tank you are draining.

Place one end of the hose into the tank as far as possible until you hit the bottom at least.

Start with the dry end of the tube higher than the water source, and suck water into the hose. Fill as much of the hose as you dare with liquid. Even with an opaque hose, you should feel the liquid approaching your mouth and have plenty of time to stop before you get a mouthful.

If you are using a hose that is too long, it will create a problem – an air bubble. To avoid bubbles from forming, keep the hose flat or running up towards your mouth, like a drinking straw.

Maintaining mouth suction on the liquid, crimp the hose or slip your thumb into your mouth over the (lips) end of the hose. You are trying to prevent air from getting back into the hose and ruining your hose-full of liquid.

Next, drop this (lips) end of the hose into your target bucket, gas can or front lawn. Release the crimp (or your thumb) and water should immediately start flowing out of the hose.

A good siphon is quiet. If there is a lot of gurgling and bubbling, you have some air in the hose, which will slow or stop the siphoning. It usually isn’t worth the trouble to re-start a slow siphon unless the water flow has completely stopped.

Once the liquid is flowing, your attention should turn to the wet (source) end of the hose. Keep it submerged. The longer you can keep air from getting in, the more liquid will be removed.

Eventually, air will get pulled in and will interrupt the path of the water, stopping your siphon.

If you follow these easy steps then you should be able to siphon without getting a mouthful of liquid.

The answer is right under our noses. How much information can you handle in 3 minutes about health, wild and local medicinal plants? Fasten your seatbelt and get ready for a serious brain fill. This is all about natural healing from weeds and wild edible plants in your area. If I or my parents knew all this when I was young, things would be a lot different !