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“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”

-Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Today I am using one of my favorite weeds as a hand drill and hearth board, and this is Horseweed (Conyza canadensis)!

 Horseweed (Conyza canadensis)

Along with Horseweed (Conyza canadensis) hand drill I used Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and White pine (Pinus strobus) for hearth boards. Of the three I found the easiest of the boards to be Horseweed, Eastern red cedar a very close second followed by White pine. The notch was cut using the Ka-Bar BK11 Becker Necker Neck Knife

 Horseweed (Conyza canadensis)

Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) works just as good for the drill and board but for every one Common mullein plant I find I'll find a thousand Horseweed stalks. We haven't discovered any species of Yucca in the wilds of eastern North Carolina as Yucca is native to other parts of the USA. So, we use what we have here locally. Do you have a favorite hand drill friction fire combination?

Wild Edibles