Monday, December 30, 2013

Connecting With the Past

Before Christmas I had the chance to go up to Georgia and visit some of my folks and run around the woods up there.  I had a great time with my cousins and in the woods but I had an experience that was both unexpected and strangely interesting. 

While walking a road on my great aunt's land I kept seeing chips of rock. By the way they were shaped I could tell that they had been chipped off of a larger rock and weren't placed here by geological forces.  When I picked up a few of these rocks there were marks where something had struck the rock and lifted a flake off of it.  This is essentially what flint knapping is.  Natives used this method to make their arrowheads, spearheads, drills, and blades.  This is what they used to process a deer.

There had obviously been a lot of Native American activity in the area so when I found a larger rock I had to make an arrowhead out of it.  It was such a strange feeling to pick up where a one of the most hardcore men in history had left off.  The man that worked on that rock was a survivor and in tune with nature to an extant that I will likely never be able to experience.

Working that arrowhead was a pleasure and taking flakes off for my own arrowheads was exciting!  I did make a small arrowhead and hafted it to an arrow.  I traded that arrow for a box full of antlers (tools) so I can make more arrowheads.

I hope y'all enjoy the video and this is an experience I hope to repeat... when I'm more experienced. 

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Crunch Time

I need deadlines and without them I might never get anything done.  I have two days to produce two videos.  This is basically a deadline that I set for myself but I told Brian I'd have them all done by then.  Obviously after that I'm going to go back through all ten videos and do some more editing here and there just to up the quality.

So right now is crunch time.  I have to produce two episodes before 2014.  I'm mostly done with the first one but with weather being less than ideal I've got tomorrow to get all the footage I'm going to need then new years eve will be spent editing... all day long!  I enjoy crunch time because I'm forced to focus on the goal at hand and work it to completion.  Also I tend to get blessed with interesting opportunities at the last minute when I need them the most.

Yesterday I picked up the this dead snapping turtle off the road and got to take some really cool vulture footage.


Saturday, December 28, 2013

Amphibians~ Fun Footage Friday 20

Wow, twenty weeks of consecutive Fun Footage Fridays.  I never thought it would go that long.  These frogs and toads were interesting.  It was a new experience for me to actually film frogs calling so that was fun.  Also it was the first time I had ever gone out and found cane toads.  They're so big!  A lot of this was filmed at the pond near my house so I was glad to see a good variety out at the pond.  Also, I got to see what happens when a water hole dries up and the leopard frogs have no place to go.  Talk about some serious population densities.

Here's the video and I hope you enjoy!


Thursday, December 26, 2013

A Busy Christmas Day

Had some family over and I got a cousin that is interested in bows and arrows so I cranked out a real light weight bow this morning for him.  He played with that thing in the yard all day.  He's not terribly responsible so if he does shoot one of his brothers it's not going to hurt them too much.   >:D  Anyway, a pile of boxes quickly turned into a bear full of holes.



Don't worry that form quickly transformed into something respectable  >:D





I also shot a how to video for my dad on how to cut oranges.  He cuts oranges for all the big family gatherings during citrus season (thanksgiving & Christmas).  I edited that out real quick and shamelessly promoted myself on his channel since I edited the video for him and used some of my music.  I really do have a great dad though!
CLICK LINK BELOW!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXka5xCSC3o


Also, being the video/photo guy I was volunteered to take a picture of the entire family.  Yup all 24 of us.  We were just missing a couple cousins that are in the military now and couldn't make it to Christmas dinner.  The little baby is my nephew and I never would have guessed that unclehood would be so much fun! The five generations are present with my great grandmother (Granny (95)) all the way down to my nephew who is 2. 




I hope the rest of y'all had a great Christmas!!!
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Sunday, December 22, 2013

Scenery~ Fun Footage Friday 19

Florida has some of the most beautiful scenery in my totally unbiased opinion.  So for this Fun Footage Friday I threw together some of my favorite scenery shots along with time lapses and gave the viewer an idea about some of the natural beauty of Florida.  Granted, a lot of times you have to get up before sunrise to get to a location that is ideal for viewing the sunrise but it has always been worth it to me.

Time lapses are another component of this video and they're so intriguing to me.  You basically film something that is slowly moving then speed it up exponentially and it becomes swift and powerful.  Seeing the clouds swirl and dance in a time lapse is one of my favorite types of scenery that you just can't see in person but is displayed so clearly after it has been edited.

Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy the video!

Monday, December 16, 2013

First Primitive Hunt

Well, it wasn't totally primitive.  I wore modern clothes and shoes.  I know, lame.  My bow and arrows are all primitive though.

I got out in the woods around 7:30 and the sun was just starting to peek over the trees in the distance.  The temperature was 31 degrees Fahrenheit in central Georgia and that is as cold as I have felt it all year.  It was a shock to me but I just toughed it out, like the rest of the country is doing.  I saw several deer all the way up to around noon.  The deer were out in full force.  However, I can't shoot deer cause I don't have a Georgia hunting license so all I can shoot are pigs and armadillos, which aren't regulated.  I saw lots of pig tracks, some of which were huge, but none were seen or heard.

Regardless, it was a really nice day in the woods.  I can always learn from these experiences even when I don't succeed.  I've got a few more days of hunting.  I really want to prove that what I've made is up to the task of harvesting big game.


Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Nature had Other Plans

This morning I wanted to get footage of ospreys catching fish to complete the episode on raptors.  I found some ospreys but most of them were sitting on power lines and that's no good.  Another was eating a fish on a power pole.  I got footage of them but ideally I wanted them on more natural things like a dead tree limb.  They weren't catching fish either.  They weren't even trying.  I saw several and they were all just sitting there.  I'm not really sure what they were waiting for so I moved on to other areas. 

I headed east toward Mosquito lagoon and decided to look for ospreys over there.  There were a few but they were grounded as well.  During the quest after fishing ospreys I came across the most benevolent alligator.  Okay, he was about as benevolent as an alligator can be I guess.  This alligator had a lot of character.  It was scarred sporadically from head to tail.  The tail was heavily scarred compared to the rest of the body.  The tip of its upper jaw was missing, which made it look like he had a severe under bite.  He was kind of funny looking but with all those scars I wasn't about to make fun of him. 

I approached cautiously and got the camera rolling.  I got my wide, close, and detailed shots.  I approached even closer to get some low shots of the teeth and I figured this would cause him flailing back into the water.  But no he just sat there and didn't move a muscle.  Then I sneaked around so he was between me and the camera and talked about how cool he was.  As I messed with those shots I found myself getting closer and closer until I was right beside him.  The whole time I kept an eye on him waiting for the slightest move that would trigger my flight response but it never came.  Being in that kind of proximity with such a powerful animal was incredible.  I was glad to meet him even though he seemed indifferent.  This beat up alligator with an under bite is a star in my eyes and an incredible survivor.  I very much hope to meet him again.


Monday, December 9, 2013

Success Can be Bitter-Sweet

I've mentioned my friend that hunts with a hawk.  I've been filming with him on several hunts and last Saturday his hawk finally connected!  It was incredible to witness the hunt and to watch how the hawk ate the squirrel.

A successful hunt was the sweet part but I wasn't able to get the "shot"... so that was the bitter part.  I was keeping up with the hawk as we made our way through the woods.  She saw a squirrel on the other side of a clump of trees and my view was totally obstructed.  All I heard was a crash in the bushes and that was it.

I was hoping to get a clear shot of the hawk grabbing a squirrel right off a limb in plain view.  I've seen videos of harpy eagles grabbing sloths off of branches in the canopy of the jungle so why couldn't I get my shot?  I now have a better realization of how much of our wildlife documentaries are staged.  In my birds of prey video I will not try to hide the fact that this hawk belongs to someone and that we are intentionally try to stir up squirrels for her to catch.  I will be honest to the audience.

Posted a few pictures over on the Primitive Tim Facebook page the day it happened.  Here they are!


Friday, December 6, 2013

Freshwater Fish~ Fun Footage Friday 17

I like fish and in Florida's freshwater springs there is always an abundance and a variety.  Many of the fish are unique to this part of the world while others, like talapia, have been spread all over the world even to some of the most remote islands.  While fish generally get overlooked, especially native ones, there is simple beauty and grace in them that you don't find in other animals.  There's something mesmerizing about how they gently sway back and forth to maintain their position against the current.

This video has footage from three different locations in the state of Florida.  I went to Silver River, Blue Springs, and Cherokee Sink.  All these bodies of water host bountiful amounts of fish with the springs having a greater variety.

I hope y'all enjoy this video!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Shots

I'm constantly thinking of new ways to film an animal or their activities in the wild.  The idea is to keep the viewers impressed.  I want them to think about how I got great shots.  No matter how short the clip may be I'm not going to let that be a factor.  For example, if I want to get a shot of an eagle flying from above when I'm only going to show it for a few seconds then I'm going to give it a try time after time until I've deemed it impossible.

There are two shots that we're working on now.  One is a shot of a birds eye view zipping through the forest.  So we'll put the camera on a zipline and send it through the forest.  Gotta love a GoPro!  The second shot will also require the use of a GoPro.  I'm going to grab a roadkill raccoon or opossum and clean out the body cavity and put my GoPro in it facing out.  I think it will be really cool to get a shot of vultures picking away at the carcass from the inside.  All those goofy looking bald heads picking away at the rotten flesh could be kind of awesome. We'll see how it goes.


Sunday, December 1, 2013

Bowstrings-The Overlooked Necessity

Probably one of the most overlooked elements of primitive archery is the bowstring.  Yet, without a bowstring your bending stick is pretty much useless.  Now days many people use synthetic materials that are lighter weight and faster. 

I've done a fair bit of research on what was historically used and there is a wide variety of materials you can use.  Everything from squirrel hide and cat gut to cannabis fibers and silk.  What you're looking for is high tensile strength, low weight, and little to no stretch in the string.  When these factors are ideal the most amount of energy is transferred from the bow to the arrow.

When making strings I have to also consider what is available to me personally.  Do I want to take an animals life for it?  I don't especially enjoy killing animals so I try to get around it if I can.  In this latest case I didn't even have to kill a plant. 

I found a rather large agave plant and took one lower leaf.  Using my bare hands I processed the fibers out and got rid of the plant flesh.  I was left with a large mess of nice white fibers.  They were real nice!  I took a few and started reverse wrapping a thin string.  I just kept going until the fibers were gone.  I made sure I kept the diameter of the string constant down the whole length.  This is extremely important.  Once that was done I found the middle of the string and with a few extra strands did a Flemish twist which forms a loop at one end.  From there I reverse wrapped it down the length of the string.  My string ended up being way too long... oh well!  I tied off the end so it wouldn't unravel.  I tied a double Turkish loop to the Flemish twist.  This is so there is minimal wear and tear to the string itself.  with the string tied to the bottom limb I braced the bow and it was ready do go!  I had to adjust the brace height after the first brace as the string did stretch some but is no longer stretching.

Overall, I think this is a really good string.  It's funny how valuable something like this is when you take every step and make it yourself.  To anyone else this is just a string and they will never know my archery equipment like I do.  It's insanely personal, knowing every wave of the grain in the bow, the effort that went into each arrow, and how many times the creators thumb cramped up when making the string.  This truly belongs to me in every sense of possession.  A wise man once said, "You've got to possess your possessions." - Peter Lord


Friday, November 29, 2013

Raptors~ Fun Footage Friday 16

There is a lot I could say about this Friday's video.  Birds of prey/Raptors (ealges, hawks, owls, etc) are by far my favorites in the bird world.  They're the tigers and leopards of the sky.  They're some of the most incredible predators in the world!

With this footage a few animals gave me a chance to get up close and personal without flying off.  I think they're less likely to fly off on windy days so they don't have to fight the wind.  On the other hand they're a little more difficult to find cause they're not moving but just hanging out in shelter somewhere.  The ospreys are fairly active in certain areas so that wasn't much of a problem to find them.

The last few shots of a juvenile red tail hawk are not necessarily of a wild animal but it kind of is.  Right now it is in captivity but will be released by Summer time.  It's a hunting hawk that a friend of mine is using for falconry.  After the hunting season it will be released.  This hawk is so much fun to film hunting.  In the falconry situation I'm able to get shots of the bird that I would never be able to get in the wild.

All in all raptors are my favorite and I'm glad I live in a place that has a pretty good variety.

I hope y'all enjoy!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Primitive Archery Innovation

Working with bows and arrows has been a slower process than I would like.  While I have gained knowledge and experience pretty quick it could go faster.  The problem comes in when I want to find the absolute easiest way to do things.  With building bows there's a lot of grunt work that I must do and I accept that but when it comes to arrows there are more shortcuts that can be made.

The fletching is the part of the arrow that is made of feathers and stabilizes the arrow in flight.  I use a two fletch style which uses less feathers and takes less time.  At first I tried the eastern two fletch style, which is a native American style that was commonly used but I kept having a really hard time with getting it perfect and there was a fair bit of feather preparation before I attached the arrow.  Below is an example of that style:
  

 Finally I allowed this style to evolve with an idea I had.  I thought I could just split the shaft, which is hollow cane, and insert the feathers into the middle with just the feathery part of the feathers sticking out and the vane of the feather on the inside of the shaft.  I tried and I liked it a lot!  It was easy and quick.  I just stuck two identical feathers in the shaft facing away from each other.  It looked something like this:
I shot it and it flew straight and I liked it.  It was durable, strong and fletching never shifted.  This was great but I was missing one key element to a good arrow.  When shot, the arrow didn't spin.  Like a quarterback, an archer wants a good spiral on his/her projectile.  The evolution was not done.  I made a few arrows like this and shot them.  Finally I cut the two feathers in half down the length of the vane and only put half a feather on each side.  This way the two identical feathers weren't cancelling out each others tendency to force air over one side of the feather.  Now the two sides were working together to spin the arrow in flight.  I ended up with something like this:
You'll notice that the left side of the feather curves up and the right side curves down.  These curves force more air to one side of the feather than the other.  With the curves arranged facing in opposite directions they will be forced in opposite directions causing the entire arrow to spin.  I'd use a term like centripetal force but I'm about sick of that kind of talk for the day. 

So this is the latest development in my journey to make easy fletchings.  I am not the first person to come up with these methods but I didn't find that out until after I had done it.  If you make arrows with cane you should give it a shot and see how you like it.  Of course wrap on either side of the fletchings with sinew (especially the nock). 



Monday, November 25, 2013

A Day in the Woods with Primitive Tim

This will the be the title of one of my videos I'm making for Brian.  Last Saturday I filmed this episode and it was pretty cool!  We saw some stuff that was unexpected and it was a really nice day. 

The route for this day was determined by a rumor about a grove of guava trees.  So we headed out in search of these guava trees and filmed along the way.  We finally got way out there and found a large patch of guavas.  It looked like the pigs had been through there and I'm sure when the fruit is dropping they'll be in there pretty thick.

We saw a lot of cool things.  Some of the more notable things were a lot of birds, a pig, a deer, three bobcats, a few different types of frogs, an awesome sunrise and sunset, and a lot of wildflowers.  All in all is was a very interesting day.

It was made more interesting by our lack of water so me and my friend were struggling on the way back.  We made it fine though and it was good to see where our limits were.  Here are a few shots from the day.

Squirrel Treefrog

Guava Grove

Friday, November 22, 2013

Aquatic Reptiles~ Fun Footage Friday 15

When I film I always prefer to film in the animals' elements.  If the animal is aquatic I'm getting in that water and if it's arboreal you can be sure I'll be up that tree in no time.


In this video there are two locations represented.  They are Cherokee Sink and Silver River.  These are both beautiful bodies of water.  While the scenery is cool it's the creatures beneath the surface that really intrigue me.  Some animals tend to have a bad reputation like alligators, snapping turtles, and snakes.  When encountered on land they can be very defensive creatures with their hissing and snapping.  However beneath the surface you get to know a different animal.  Underwater is where these animals are content and comfortable.  They tend to be much more calm and apt to run away if they feel threatened rather than lash out as they might on land.

I hope y'all enjoy this week's Fun Footage Friday!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Resources

One of the biggest resources in my quest to learn primitive skills has been the primitive archer forum.  Not only has this forum helped me with understanding different concepts but they've also helped me acquire materials that I couldn't otherwise get.  I was able to trade arrow shafts that I collected for sinew, stone, and bow making tools.  The stone and sinew I use in making arrows.

There are some of the most knowledgeable people on the subject on this forum and they're willing to answer any questions.   What's even better than that, is I can post some of my work there and they will critique it and give me advice specific to the bow or arrow that I've posted. I even made a Facebook friend that lives here in Florida that is very helpful with answering questions of all kinds.

I've gotten immensely better at making bows and arrows and I would have never progressed so fast without them.  I still have a long journey ahead of me as I get better and better at these primitive arts.


Monday, November 18, 2013

My First Ghost Hunt

Every so often I like to get on google earth and look around for new areas that look like they might be fun to explore.  There was a small road that cut through some dense forest that caught my eye.  Its name was Volco road.  I wasn't even sure if it was open to public access so I googled the name of the road.  The first result was that of some kind of ghost website.  That sparked my interest so I checked it out.  Apparently the place is haunted.

I've never had any experiences with ghosts or super natural things like that.  I never thought it was impossible for there to be spirits roaming the earth and "haunting" certain areas.  There are just loads of obviously false reports and poor data.  We don't have any solid proof so I never bothered with it wondering about these things.

We turned onto Volco road at about 11 PM.  Midnight is supposed to be prime time for supernatural activity but we're getting old so we weren't going to stay that late.  Videoing as we slowly drove down the dirt road the preconceived ideas of witches and satan worshipers' souls wandering the woods really started to get me nervous.  Ahead we saw a sign indicating a bridge.  We slowed down as we approached it and my friend's car made a weird sound.  Apparently that was normal.  It still startled me.  We stopped on the bridge, shut the car off, and turned the headlights off and waited.  There was the normal sounds of crickets and frogs calling.  With nothing out of the ordinary occurring we ventured out of the car, looking over the sides of the small bridge.  Still nothing.

It basically went like this the whole night.  We didn't come across anything weird or supernatural.  We just found a nasty animal carcass that someone had dumped... or sacrificed!  After exploring the rest of the road we left.  Maybe next time I'll have to light a fire on the bridge at midnight with a caged black cat on friday the thirteenth on a full moon.

I guess my initial beliefs haven't changed much after this experience.

Bad Days

Saturday I was out filming for almost 10 hours.  For that kind of time I didn't feel like I had gotten the kind of footage I should have.  I had two target species for the day and didn't find either.  On top of missing my targets I got about ten minutes of sunshine and it drizzled off and on.  I can't film while it's drizzling. 

Even though it was a bad day I still learned from the experience and that's what is important.  I made a few mistakes of my own and now I know exactly how to avoid them.  For example, never go to an area that is frequented by air boaters as your sound will be useless and especially don't go to those places on a Saturday.  Overcast days generally have less animal activity and getting up at 6 was kind of useless.  These experiences make me better though and I'm learning quick.  I've noticed a definite increase in my experience and skill at getting good shots.  I think I'm learning so quickly because I'm making a lot of mistakes very rapidly.  Soon I'll have most of them out of my system.

Here's a shot from the ten minutes of sunshine I got from Saturday.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Free-Diving~ Fun Footage Friday 14

Free diving is something I started doing a couple years ago after visiting one of Florida's most incredible natural springs.  Blue Springs was like something you would only ever see in some kind of adventure film.  The mouth of the spring is pretty big and from the surface there seems to be no bottom.  It's like the underwater bottomless pit.  To be honest, the first time I saw it I was a little creeped out.  However, things that make me nervous tend to hold a high level of intrigue as well.  The next time I went to blue springs I was prepared with a dive mask and I swam down to the mouth of the spring and looked in.  All I could see was darkness still. I took several more trips that summer and each dive I would stay under longer and go deeper.  The next summer I did the same thing.  At about sixty feet down the pit turns off into underwater caves.  Now I am able to go down and peer into the blackness of these caves.

After these first experiences with free diving at the spring I started researching and found out that free diving is a sport with a lot of folks around the world free diving.  I researched the dangers and how to avoid them and started training myself with holding my breath.  I can hold my breath a lot longer now than I could before but my dives aren't getting proportionally longer.

What I found is that free diving isn't all about how long you can hold your breath but it's about mental strength.  Long dives require a sound and focused mind.  When you get down real deep you may feel like panicking but that can kill you so I just stay calm and work my way up to the surface.  I wish I could take my desire to breath and focus that same level of desire toward other things as well.

Free diving is a dangerous, exhilarating, relaxing sport that should be done very carefully.  As I always tell my mother, "When I do dangerous things, I do them very carefully."  I hope you enjoy this Fun Footage Friday!




Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Weather

I love how this part of the natural world influences us.  It determines what we wear, our mood, activities, and health.  Today was a cold (65F), windy, and cloudy.  I loved it though.  Walking to my truck in flip-flops, a hoodie, and shorts with the wind blowing in my face really lifted my spirits.  It made me slightly uncomfortable but that made the arrival to my truck that much sweeter.

Tonight this weather pattern continued so I dug out the fire pit and got a deer hide soaking in lye.  I lit up a fire and got to work on a bow.  It was the first time this side of summer that I didn't break a sweat doing manual labor.  However, instead of body odor I just smell really smokey.  Personally, I love the smell of a hardwood smoke.  Anyway, I made good progress on the bow and I reached the part of the process where I need to go real slow.  Oh, I also realized I don't have a string for this bow so I need to get on making one.  I might have to raid someone's agave or yucca plants.  Apparently cat gut makes a good bow string too.  So many options!

Monday, November 11, 2013

Pressure

By the end of the year I need to have ten videos done.  So, I've been pretty busy getting footage for that and editing stuff.  It's not a bad pressure because I think it's doable but I am under pressure.  I'm really enjoying getting things completed and seeing all the hard work come together.  Just today I finished an episode on pygmy rattlesnakes.  They're cool little creatures.  I think I could have made the video longer but I really just want to show people how cool the animal is and maybe throw out a few interesting things about it rather than sit there and regurgitate a bunch of facts that no one really cares about anyway.  I'd rather say a few interesting things and tell why they're so important.  If you someone wants to know the gestation period of the pygmy rattler they can just google that. 

This is me having some fun this weekend working with a black racer.  The dang thing bit me on the face twice... I can honestly say, I deserved it both times.


Friday, November 8, 2013

Dancing Egret~ Fun Footage Friday 13

This had to be some of the easiest footage I've ever recorded.  I was just hanging out on the side of a dirt road watching this reddish egret when all of a sudden it would prance off in sudden bursts then stand still for a few minutes before it would continue on another fanciful charade.  I presume this was its method of catching fish as it caught a couple small minnows while I was watching.  This video is a compilation of those charades as if it were dancing continuously.  All in all it was a good time and I hope you enjoy this footage!







Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Getting Lost

I get lost in the woods fairly often.  There's nothing like that terrible feeling when you're walking through the woods and it all starts looking the same.  You keep second guessing yourself and you might get panicky.  This is exactly what you shouldn't do.

When I get lost, I trust my instinct.  If I feel like one way is the right direction to get me back to a familiar place I go that way.  However, I'm pretty experienced at getting lost.  That's okay though because I'm even better at finding my way back.

I realize I'm lost when I decide to go back and things aren't the way I expected them to be.  For example, there isn't a path, a ditch, or a habitat change where I expected there to be one.  At that point I'm like, "Crap, I'm lost."  I could pull a Bear Grylls and climb way into the tree tops to see what's around.  In a forest that's not really possible because most of the tall trees are about the same height and you can't stand on those tiny branches at the top to get a decent look out over the forest to spot any landmarks.  If you find a tree that is much higher than the other trees give it a shot if you want.  What I do is go back to an area that I know I've been to before.  I tend to notice exceptionally large trees or less common plant species.  Once I find that place I can usually start back tracking from there.  I tend to get on a game trail that seems like it goes in the right direction.  I'll follow and look for anything familiar.  These trails usually will lead me to a landmark that will reset my bearings.

I always look at an area that I'll be exploring from a google earth to get an idea of the lay of the land.

The image below shows an area that I was lost in but then I found this odd looking cypress tree that I had seen earlier on the way in.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Sharks

Having spent a fair amount of time on the ocean I'm pretty familiar with near shore shark species.  I've swam with them and had them at the end of my fishing line.

I've always had the view that sharks are just another fish in the ocean... with teeth!  Like many large predators sharks have gained a pretty bad reputation.  It's partially deserved I guess but blown way out of proportion by the media.  Shark "attacks" on surfers happen every so often but I'm convinced that the local attacks are not intentional for the most part.

A friend of mine got bit by a shark on the hand while surfing one day.  It did not sever any appendages but the bite area was pretty messed up.  My friend has full function of his hand and suffers no long term injury from the experience.  Surfers sit on the surfboards half way submerged in the water just past where the waves are breaking.  When they see that perfect swell coming they start paddling so the wave picks them up at the most opportune time.  While the surfer is waiting for that wave schools of bait fish are moving along the shore at roughly the same distance as the surfer from the shore.  BTW he has a bushy bushy blond hair doo. lol
When sharks attack these schools of fish they blindly tear through the school, sometimes leaping out through the top of the school.  This erratic method of hunting is not very precise so they go for whatever catches their attention.  My guess is that my friend was sitting right on top of a school of fish and when that shark tore through it his pale hand caught the shark's attention.  However, the shark quickly realized his hand wasn't a fish and let go.

With all that being said, I'm working on a trip south to film sharks underwater.  I'll be in the water with them and I'm a little nervous but after researching shark behavior plus my personal interactions with them throughout my life I don't think I'll let some irrational fear get the best of me.

This is my fishing buddy with a shark caught from his kayak.  Sharks are the single most common catch for us when in near shore water off of Playalinda Beach.


Sunday, November 3, 2013

Birdering

I'm sorry, I'm a terrible person.  Ok, so I came up with a new hobby of my own where I try to take candid pictures of birders.  This is a hobby that was conceived from boredom and birthed by a mischievous personality.

Where I live in Florida thousands of birders flock every Winter to watch for a high diversity of bird life that passes through the area.  When I came up with birdering I wasn't interested in birds hardly at all and I thought it was hilarious how birders bought all this expensive gear just to look at some birds.  I didn't really get what the big deal was because birds were birds and they were just everywhere.

I began taking pictures of them when they weren't looking.  I found this to be quite a thrill as in the middle of your shot they could turn and catch taking their picture.  I got pretty good at shooting from the hip.  Getting the photo framed well was difficult, using no viewfinder.  Also, getting a shot of birders doing something very typical of birders is considered more prestigious.

I'm pretty proud of this shot of a pair of wild birders.  As the founder of birdering I'm a pretty skilled birderer.


This is another pair with very expensive optics and they were attempting to hide in the bushes out of sight of any prying birderer.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Quality

Quality takes time and effort.  Time + effort = work and my slacking nature doesn't like that.  According to my calculations I have to work hard for good quality.  As hard work increases and quality improves laziness will begin to dwindle.

Specifically I'm aiming to heighten the quality of my Fun Footage Friday videos.  These are short weekly wildlife clips.   I was inspired to make them better after watching a 30 second clip that comes with windows media player.  It was a few quick, quality scenes of wildlife set to some relaxing/creepy music.

I figured I have access to good original music and good original wildlife footage.  This Friday I'm releasing one that I hope sets the kind of quality I'm hoping for.  Also, for each video I'm going to stay consistent with a theme.  This Friday the theme is Ocean.  I'm going to show a few shots of things I filmed in the ocean.  Look forward to sea turtles, jellyfish, barracudas, and sharks!




Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Milestones... err Foot Stones?

Yesterday was the release of our Halloween video.  In the first day we got over a hundred views and Primitive Tim has over a hundred subscribers with six thousand views.  I wasn't sure how it was going to be or if anyone would even like it.  A few people told me they liked it though so that was encouraging!

Another milestone I hit today was my static breath hold record.  I beat my old record by thirty seconds at four minutes.  I feel like every time I beat my record I feel like I could have held it for a little longer.  In the back of my mind I'm thinking that I could have gotten another fifteen seconds or maybe thirty before I passed out.  Anyway, I need to keep the rust off over the Winter so when next Summer comes I'll be even better at free diving.  Free diving doesn't do much for physical fitness rather it strengthens the mind.

 

Monday, October 28, 2013

Halloween!!!

I've never really been into Halloween much and I can't even remember dressing up for Halloween as a kid but this year I have had a ton of fun with it.  You'll notice there's a video at the bottom of this post.  Go watch it on Youtube in HD!  This is the Primitive Tim Halloween episode and I had a blast filming and acting and blowing things up.  Daniel (music guy) plays the zombie and I was surprised at how convincing he was.  I didn't have to act like I was scared, there was a part of me that was convinced that he wanted to eat my brains.  Haha, that's Daniel for you!

Anyway I hope y'all enjoy this short film at least as much as I did while making it.


Friday, October 25, 2013

Fun Footage Friday 11~ Rough Green Snake

Beauty in nature is something that I see everywhere!  There are things like waterfalls and the changing of the leaves in the Fall that we can all agree are beautiful but I see a similar beauty every time I step foot into nature, which is often.  While the ancient live oaks and cypress trees are awe inspiring the greatest beauty I see are in the wild animals.  When I can observe them in nature doing what they normally do it really gets me excited.

So this rough green snake was found crossing a path so I tossed it in a pokeweed bush and let it crawl.  The first thing that struck me was the contrast between the purple branches of the bush and the green of the snake.  Purple and green are on opposite sides of the color wheel so they tend to have an appealing contrast.

The next thing that struck me was the movement of the animal.  It was mimicking the wind as it moved.  I thought this was an incredible behavior!  I stepped back from the camera and let it slither out of the frame and it was hardly noticeable at all.  Not only was its color helping it to stay camouflaged but also its movement.  The little snake had a look on its face as if it knew what it was doing.  I'd call this guy a pro green snake!


Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Music

I have to brag for a moment here.  I have a friend that I have known since the day I was born.  I'm four days older than him and he has no idea how talented he is.  His talent that I am most impressed with is his musical ability.  He writes, records, and performs all the music you hear in Primitive Tim videos. 

He's a talented musician, that's great!  On top of that he comes over and looks at footage I've edited out and creates music specifically for those scenes!  This is where my mind gets blown.  I'll be sitting at the computer and I get a text from him telling me that I have a new email.  This means he's sent me a song or ten.  Every single time it fits perfectly into the scene that he has written it for.

On top of all that, he is doing this for free until we start making real money.  He is the single biggest investor after me.  This shows that he believes in me and Primitive Tim and that kind of support means more than anything in the world.

Here is a shot of the artist performing on his Youtube channel.  Go listen to his videos, I am!

Monday, October 21, 2013

An Eventful Weekend

Haha, this weekend was awesome!  I did several things that I had never done before and never thought I would do.

The first thing was filming some falconry.  I met a friend that does falconry and he has a beautiful red tail hawk that he flies.  Being so close and watching it swoop and fly was incredible.  These really are powerful birds.



The second thing did was processing a deer hide for the first time ever.  I don't think it went so well but I'll try to make some moccasins from it anyway.  Processing hides isn't easy and only using stone tools was an added challenge.  I think I need to practice with a few more gift hides.  I'm sure I'll get it eventually!




In honor of Halloween I'm producing a zombie video.  Basically it's a skit showing how I might react to a zombie apocalypse.  Of course it's not totally primitive but by the end I get pretty primitive as the world around me shuts down.  This is meant to be a fun video and not necessarily a how-to... cause why would I make a how-to of surviving something that can never happen.... or can it???  I have a friend that is familiar with a very stable type of explosive so I asked him if we could get a shot of a pumpkin exploding.  That was a lot of fun and nobody called the cops on us so I'd say everything turned out as planned.





The last thing I filmed was a how to skin a snake video.  I had found a big water moccasin dead on the road Saturday night so I picked it up and brought it home.  I wanted there to be a how-to on this that isn't done by some redneck that hates snakes and is encouraging people to kill them all.  Instead when that young redneck searches for a video on how to skin a snake he finds me and actually learns something about snakes as well as how to skin it.  I'm not really sure what I'll do with the skin but I might put on the handle of a bow.  I think that would be cool.




Friday, October 18, 2013

Fun Footage Friday 10

Every Friday I'm going to try to write about the experience behind the footage of my Fun Footage Fridays.  If you didn't know, every week I post a short video on youtube of some of my favorite footage I've recently recorded. 

This week's footage is a little different as it doesn't show any animals (besides Ron) and I got the chance to go flying.  Ron is one of my bosses and has an ultra-light.  More importantly, he is a generous man and is willing to take me flying whenever the weather cooperates.  A few weeks ago we lifted off from Dunn Airport just as the sun was coming up.  It's incredible being up a thousand feet with nothing but the roaring sound of the motor a few inches behind me.By incredible I mean super freaking scary!

Once in the air we headed east toward the sunrise but due to our proximity to Kennedy Space Center we were limited on how far east we could go.  We made a swooping turn and headed West to the St. Johns River floodplain.  Ron doesn't seem like it but he's a bit of a daredevil and took us skimming right through the tall grass.  I kept expecting a large buck to raise its head out of the grass only to have his rack get hooked on our landing gear. We had to clean the weeds out of the landing gear upon our return.  No joke the landing gear was hitting the weeds.  I was too focused on filming to be scared though... otherwise I would messed my pants.
I think my favorite part of that flight was the fog.  The forests and floodplain were blanketed with a thin layer of fog.  A big thanks to Ron for providing the means to capture this footage for this video!


Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The Importance of Connections

This is an area that I am continually blessed with.  I feel like I have some of the most amazing connections.  I began making connections before Primitive Tim was even an idea.  The following paragraphs are of how these connections were made and with who.  However, having known these people I feel like they are much more than a connection as there is a personal level as well.

The first person I met is an incredible guy.  I really look up to him a lot.  His name is David Moynahan and he is a professional wildlife photographer.  I met him at Cassidy Spring on the Wacissa River.  We started chatting as he was playing with his new underwater camera and seeing that I was comfortable underwater he wanted me to dive up through a chimney in the spring and take my picture.  I was honored to be the subject.  After further chatting he gave me his card and we became facebook friends.  We have hung out a few times since.  He is always helpful to me when I bounce ideas off of him.

The most influential man is of course Brian Barczyk.  He is the man that really inspired me to start up Primitive Tim.  I've met him twice in person and have had a few phone conversations.  He is one of the most encouraging people I have ever met!  When I'm doing some particularly interesting filming I'll text him and let him know and he is always extremely enthusiastic.  He is the guy that I am currently filming a wildlife mini-series for his new channel.  You can expect that around the end of the year.  So I need to get my rear in gear with filming and editing. lol

The most recent connection is a falconer.  He hunts with a red-tail hawk for small game.  This is an ancient way of hunting and has got to be one of the most incredible things to experience.  I'm planning on filming his bird this week.  The goal is to get his hawk catching prey on film for a birds of prey video. 


Photo by David Moynahan of me swimming through underwater chimney.





Saturday, October 12, 2013

Handling Hot Snakes

This is a topic that generally produces some intense debate among herpers.  Before you read on, click on that word that just made you think, "WHAT???"  These are people that are passionate about reptiles and some of the nicest folks you'll come across.  Venomous snakes tend to be some of the more esteemed finds for us and some of us like to handle them and others are totally against it.  There are basically two sides.  One side says why take the unnecessary risk and the other says it's a lot of fun and not that hard to get away with. 

For me personally, I don't really think it's fair to catch a venomous snake just for the rush and it is quite a rush!  I'm not really into bothering critters when it's not necessary.  On the other hand if a hot snake is sitting in the road and won't budge when I try to chase it away I may do some quick handling.  Also, when I'm filming I might come across a venomous snake that won't sit still so showing the world this snake and promoting its well being to the world I would consider justifiable handling.  However, I would never want to encourage anyone else to do the same and this is where I find myself in a gray area, where I'm unsure of the ethics.  Actions speak louder than words and no matter how loud I say, "Don't do this!" It will look fun to someone and they'll want to try it. 

So ideally when I highlight a venomous species I will try my best to find it in a place where it is still and I can get in the frame with it and tell you about what a cool snake it is and that we shouldn't kill it.  We are responsible for how we treat and manage our earth so I want to be a good example of that.

This is the first venomous snake I ever caught - Nose Horned Viper (Vipera ammodytes)
For the record it was released back into the wild after photos were taken

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Mosquito Immunity

Disclaimer: What I'm about to say is my best guess based on my experiences and some of it is based on articles I've read.  Basically, don't take this as fact, rather if you read something that doesn't sound quite right then go look it up.

Anyway, the method mosquitoes use to suck blood is by injecting an anti-coagulant and sticking their flexible "straw" into the the skin and wiggling it around until it hits a blood vessel and then it begins to suck up the thinned blood.  Now it's the anti-coagulant that gives you that itchy bump that you notice later.  However, after enough exposure you become immune.  Now, I still get bit and it hurts but the next day I have no bumps or itches.  It's rather nice being able to only suffer briefly.

This immunity is only worth anything if you have a safe haven where you can have some relief in nature.   Now this could be a smokey shelter or an open field but the point is you get away from nature's most annoying creature.   

Unfortunately, mosquitoes are a fact of life for animals in the wilderness and I must understand how to cope with them as nature will only leave us small windows of bliss with no annoyances.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

The Mind Vs. Mosquitoes

Being outside so much for work and for play I have a lot of mosquitoes trying to sip my blood.  Those thirsty female mosquitoes seem to not be able to get enough of my blood.  I can't blame them though, they're just trying to gain access to a source of protein so they can reproduce.  After all, they're just taking some and leaving the rest of me intact right?  As a man I feel entitled to my own blood and nobody else should have it without my permission.  Mind you, deet is not an option for me.

On a jaunt out into the woods in search of pygmy rattlesnakes I spent a couple hours in mosquito infested woods that bordered a floodplain.  Having spent so much time around mosquitoes I don't really freak out when I get bit... at all.  Rather I swat the offender and move on.  That's the thing.  When walking through the woods I get mosquitoes biting pretty much one at a time but when I stop they swarm to the areas of my body that are most exposed.  Ankles, shoulders, neck and lower back seem to be their favorites places if they can get there.  Now, I can get a hundred mosquito bites and survive and it's not a big deal.  The downfall of that is the pain and the dreadfully annoying buzz they make.  When a mosquito "bites" it injects an anticoagulant to thin your blood and cause it not to clot so they can sip it like a cold margarita.  This is what forms the bump that itches later on.

Getting bit by mosquitoes is a fact of life in the wilderness and we should accept it to some degree but if you train your mind against them, you can be a lot more comfortable among the mosquitoes.  I think the most helpful thing for me is to be focusing on something else.  If I'm not focusing I'll be much more alert to those tiny vampires and  the annoyance will only build until panic sets in.  This is not an option for me because I'm usually holding a very expensive camera and I'm barefoot.  Rushing like that through the woods would be very bad on many levels.  So, I focus on filming and swat at the mosquitoes when I can.  Usually I'll let several land then brush them all off in one shot.

There are a few plants that are said to have insect repellent properties but that is a bit low on the "to experiment with list."  Two that I know of are beauty berry and dog fennel, both of which, I have ample access to.  So next time your in the woods getting harassed by mosquitoes try to focus

Monday, October 7, 2013

Production

This weekend was really productive.  It feels so good to be productive.  It's like a high when I'm producing good stuff.  Mind you, my weekend started on Thursday and went through Sunday because a professor cancelled class.  Anyway, I had plenty of time and I really wanted to take advantage of that time.

Things produced (chronologically):  Got awesome footage of a pygmy rattlesnake, finished a bow, finished editing three videos, and filmed a variety of other subjects.  I'd say these were all very rewarding accomplishments but the most rewarding is when I get a video edited out.  It's so nice to see all the time spent filming condensed into one video that shows off some really awesome creatures.  Right now the video subjects are tree frogs, freshwater turtles, island lizards, and spiders.  I'm currently working on gopher tortoises, alligators, freshwater fish, rhesus macaques (monkeys), and a few others.

So I'll continue to work hard and if y'all have any ideas for me feel free to leave me a comment!


Oh and I accomplished harassing the neighbor's dog by getting chased then jumping the fence.  Poor pup couldn't jump the fence :) and the bipedal wins again!


Saturday, October 5, 2013

My Initiation into the World of Wildlife

My interest in wildlife spiked with the introduction of snakes by Steve Irwin.  I saw him on TV handling highly venomous and aggressive snakes, then they would calm down and he would handle them with great gentleness.  This had my twelve year old mind all perplexed.  I saw an entirely new side to snakes that no one had ever taught me.  Snakes didn't want to attack me, they wanted simply escape from me.  I decided that I was going to catch the next non venomous snake I could find.  After all, the guy on TV did it!  I walked out the back door of my porch and a black racer and I surprised each other.  This was my chance to really get experience what a snake is really like.  I cornered it by the chimney and hesitated to grab it.  I just had to go for it though.  My first attempt was greeted with quick bite to the hand.  Obviously I had done something wrong.  I gave  it two more shots and was rewarded with the same reaction as the first attempt.  I instructed my older brother to keep an eye on it and I fetched my gardening gloves.  Now I was prepared!  I went for the grab and all that poor snake could do was chew into the leather and I didn't feel a thing.  I picked it up and sure enough it calmed down.  This is where the interest in snakes really began.  I read every related piece of literature and spent countless hours online reading about reptiles.  This obsession veered out into lizards, turtles, crocodilians, and eventually pretty much every type of creature on earth.  I've realized that all the animals and plants are interdependent and just as interesting as any other creature.

Me with my first snake!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Primitive Persistence

I have always viewed persistence as a gamble.  If I persist it may or may not pay off.  Because of this lack of faith in myself I've given myself the excuse that it's better to just cut my losses and do something else.  I'm really just a lazy butt
Today some plans changed and I found myself in the middle of a forest that borders the St. Johns floodplain.  I was being swarmed with mosquitoes and it was getting hot and everything was pretty much as miserable as it could get.  My mind was not worried about the discomfort though, I was totally focused on one thing.  I was out in the woods looking for pygmy rattlesnakes.  I wanted to find one in an ambush position, ready to strike and envenomate any small creature that might cross within striking range.  Normally they're coiled up at the base of a tree or somewhere really well camouflaged. JK people always just cruise them up on roads. lol

The one I found totally took me by surprise!  It was loosely coiled in a small bush right above a fallen palm tree trunk.  I had wanted to find one up off the ground ever since I had heard of their semi-arboreal habits.  As is their fashion, this one just sat there and let me film all around from every angle.  It was totally calm and I got to spend a lot of time filming it.

Now I see persistence as an investment.  You invest that time or misery until it pays off because it will pay off.  What's great about the payoff, is when it inspires you to be persistent that much more the next time you're after something.  Today was a good day!


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Don't Believe in Boredom

I hear people say things like, "There's nothing to do in this town" or "Ugh, I wish I didn't live somewhere so boring."  I hear it all the time and it drives me nuts.  I don't believe in boring places, only boring people.  If you find yourself bored often I don't mean to insult you but I want to show you that there is so much out there to discover.  If you just get your rear off the couch!

There is always something to do.  Just today after studying with a classmate he disappointingly expressed to me that he felt like Florida was kind of boring.  Immediately I started showing him things in Florida that were incredible!  I showed him my video of monkeys at silver river, I told him about the bio-luminescent waters of the east coast's lagoons, and about some of our natural springs that you can free dive in.  You may have noticed a common theme here that it all has to do with nature.  Sorry, that's all I have to offer for entertainment.  Anyway, my friend was very surprised that all these things were relatively close to Orlando.  He was even interested in coming on one of my kayak tours!  Haha! I have one brain-washed!

The important thing is to always explore.  The unknown is always fascinating to me and there are so many new things out there to explore.  Every new tree I climb can be a new thrill or a new patch of woods that I explore or a new piece of wood I make a bow from or... do you get the idea?  If you're into music, don't just go to concerts of people you have heard of.  Go to a concert by someone you've never heard of.  They may put on a rockin' show or they might suck but you can still have fun because you are the only one that can choose to enjoy something or not to enjoy it!  I would never blow my money on a concert though

Mindset has everything to do with this so keep an open, optimistic, fun, and adventurous mindset and you will NEVER get bored!   I like seriously don't get bored :) ever

I try new things all the time and some don't work out so well but I was able to get the picture below because I went out of my comfort zone and tried something new.... and it turned out awesome!
I know the picture of the frog is freakin' awesome!

Saturday, September 28, 2013

WARNING: Hot Snakes

Among reptile enthusiasts "hot" refers to a venomous snake.   I want to focus on hot snakes here in Florida and try to give you a better understanding.  What I say may apply to other species as well.   In general snakes try to stay hidden and out of harm's way as much as possible.  They have a lot of predators and it's in their best interest to keep a low profile.  Many of them have some really good camouflage for this purpose.

There are three species of rattlesnake here in the sunshine state, all of which are pretty toxic.  They are all ambush predators so they spend a lot of time sitting and waiting near rodent trails mostly on the ground.  The last thing they want is to be discovered by a human.  However, they come with a warning system.  In the timber and diamondback rattlers the rattles are quite audible and that rattle will certainly stand out in the woods if you find yourself approaching the snake.  I think it is very kind of them to use that warning system.

Moccasins or cottonmouths have a more unusual warning system and I got to personally experience this one.  These snakes have very good camouflage and are almost undetectable in the leaf litter of a  swamp.  I found myself walking through a cypress forest near a spring run when out of the corner of my eye I see a white flash.  This two and a half foot cottonmouth had quickly opened and shut its mouth when I unknowingly approached it.  Flashing that snow or cotton white mouth at me was way more effective than I thought it ever could be.  Because this snake used it's warning I was spared by it.  The snake and I had a mutual interest and that was, neither of us wanted to touch the other.  Since copperheads are the same genus I'll quickly address their warning system.  They will shake their tail in the leaves to announce their presence.

Coral snakes are an elapid, related to cobras and mambas.  They are known to have the most toxic venom of any US snake.  These are so uncommon, non-aggressive, and easily avoided that in the state of Florida production of antivenin has been discontinued.  Coral snakes also spend most of their lives underground, only coming to the surface when they're moving from one location to another.  Of course coral snakes have very brightly colored bands that make them pretty obvious wherever they may be.

The point I want to make with this is that if you keep your wits about you and exercise good awareness then you really don't have to worry about venomous snakes.  They do play an important role in our ecosystems and as our cities encroach on wilderness areas we come into contact with them more and more.

If you ever have problems with snakes there are people you can call that will humanely relocate them.  I am one of those people, so if you want my number just send me a message to my email or facebook page.  Also there are people that do this for a living.

Once you get to know them, these snake really are alright.  Me with a pygmy rattlesnake.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

The Rare Times

I spend a lot of times in the woods and every so often I experience something that is just incredible.  I can never predict or even imagine what these surprises will be.  More often than not these things happen before 9 AM.  One morning I was walking down a scrub ridge.  In scrub habitats you generally don't see a lot but when you do see something it's usually pretty awesome and wild predators are generally pretty secretive.  They often hunt in the morning and evening or even at night.  For the most part they just don't show themselves.  So imagine my surprise when I'm on this scrub ridge and I hear something crash in the bushes followed by a high pitch squeak.  I immediately scooted behind a tree. 

I could envision an eight foot eastern diamondback rattlesnake that had just latched onto a rabbit and was pumping it full of venom.  I froze waiting and listening to what would happen next.  I heard something slowly making its way toward the path.  I flipped my camera on and got it rolling.  The bushes were moving and I could tell the creature was about to emerge into the openness of the path.

The most amazing sight was had.  An adult bobcat came out with a squirrel dangling from its mouth.  It trotted down the path then stopped and looked back at me.  I remained calm and kept recording.  It continued down the path and did one more look-back before it disappeared into the woods.

This was the most incredible moment I've had in the woods this Summer!

 

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The Ultimate Goal

Goals are what drive us.  For me I have roughly a million goals that will all lead to one ultimate goal.  I'm not going to tell you the ultimate goal for my life, mostly because I am not exactly certain what it is.  I can tell you what the main goal for my interest and effort in primitive stuff is though.

That main goal is to be capable of living off of the land in a sustainable manner with only the things I can get in nature.  I wouldn't necessarily have to use them right off but in the long term I would have a better idea of how to do things.  This means I have a ton of things to learn.  I feel like the amount of things I need to learn is so great that I would have needed to start learning when I was a child just to have an understanding of how it works at my current age.

Anyway, back to working on my BS degree in electrical engineering.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Perspective - The Way we Choose to See

It's been raining all day.  Coincidentally I've been at school all day as well.  I go to the largest university in the US so our campus is a pretty decent size.  Rain plus walking around on campus is unfortunate for those of us that don't have the foresight to leave an umbrella or raincoat in our vehicles.  I had to traverse across campus in the rain to get from the parking garage to the library, where I would do some homework and write this blog post.

I say all that because even though it sounds pretty miserable.  It really wasn't that bad.  I made a game of finding the driest route, sprinting barefoot from building to building.  Personally I love water.  I love to drink it, to swim in it, to look at it, etc.

I could have seen this rain as a real bummer to my Monday or look on the bright side of things.  Florida needs rain bad.  The city of Orlando pumps up unimaginable amounts of water for it's many water parks, golf courses, and residential lawns.  If we don't get these all-day downpours we would run our aquifers dry.  Luckily the library wasn't very cold and I've dried out now.  Crossing campus in the rain was a fun challenge and I hope some of the other students out there could see it the same way.


Sunday, September 22, 2013

Crazy Ideas

I get them far too often.  I'll be reading something and "BAM!" something crazy pops into my head.  Most of these ideas just make me chuckle to myself and some even hang around for a little while but seldom does the idea actually hit me so hard that I end up implementing it.  Even more seldom does that crazy idea work.  I generally don't share these ideas because I get a disappointed look and a head shake from most people. 

Over the summer I came up with an incredible idea while researching primitive bowstrings.  Of course, I had to find some other materials that I had access to in case I ran out of one kind.  I found a list of bowstring materials that had historically been used.  The author also rated them but did not provide any information on how and why so I disregarded the ratings.  The material that stood out was hair.  It didn't specify from what creature I should make a bowstring from so I just went for what was available.

At this point it had been about a year since my last hair cut and my hair was probably about eight inches or so.  That was the ticket!  I could just use my own hair.  I thought it was genius.  I shared the idea and nobody understood how it was even possible.  I was so confident in this idea that I had to video the entire process from taking it off my head to shooting arrows from the bow string.  So, I did it!  Here is the video.

It turned out much better than I expected and I've worked out some of the drawbacks that I mention in the video.  This has also given me a renewed view of other people's crazy ideas.  When someone comes to me with a crazy idea, I'll think about it for a second, and then if I can't find a reason not to then I try to encourage them to go for it!