Nature Reliance School

5 Edible Flower Petals Every Outdoor Person Should Know

Field food can be hiding in plain sight. In this video, Craig covers five edible flower petals worth learning for foraging, wild edibles, plant identification, and practical outdoor skills.

Wild violet, dandelion, eastern redbud, wild rose, and red clover are all useful plants to know when you are learning the land.

As always, make sure you can positively identify anything you plan to eat, drink, or use from the wild.

I had the privilege of sitting down with my friend Pastor Jeff Fugate for a conversation that went far beyond the usual survival talk.

We dug into wilderness training, faith, mindset, and how hard outdoor experiences can help develop stronger, more capable people.

I think you’ll enjoy this one

Prepared Is Not Paranoia

Preparedness does not mean you are afraid of the world. It means you understand that storms happen, roads get blocked, batteries die, and people need help.

This is real world preparedness. Not fear. Not drama. Just useful skills, useful gear, and a mindset that helps your family and your community.

Would you rather have the gear and not need it, or need it and not have it?

Comment FREE and we’ll send you our free Mindset, Skills, Teamwork, and Gear course.

A lot of people think a sleeping pad is mainly about comfort, but that is only part of the story. In this video, Craig cuts open an old Big Agnes sleeping pad to show what’s inside and explain how R-value helps protect you from losing heat to the ground.

If you have ever been cold in a good sleeping bag, your sleeping pad may have been the problem.

Do you look at R-value when you buy a sleeping pad, or do you mostly focus on comfort, weight, and price?

Mountain lion sightings get a lot of attention, especially when someone sees a large cat-shaped animal on a back road or in a blurry trail camera photo.

But when you compare track size, body size, shape, and scale, the answer often becomes much clearer.

In this video, Craig uses life-size cutouts, track casts, a 16-inch white oak, a road crossing, and a truck hood to compare a mountain lion, bobcat, and domestic cat side by side.

Have you ever seen something in the woods that made you stop and wonder what it was?

Echinacea, also known as purple coneflower, is one of the most recognized native plants connected to American prairie history and traditional plant use.

Craig shares a quick plant ID, explains why echinacea mattered historically, and separates real history from modern herbal claims. The honest takeaway: echinacea has real traditional importance and possible modest modern use, but the claims should not be exaggerated.

Share this with someone who loves native plants, wildflower identification, herbal history, or learning the truth behind common outdoor claims.

What plant should we cover next in this history-versus-claims format?

Snake Hunting in the Pouring Rain

Craig went out in the pouring rain to check under tin and plywood for snakes, and the weather made this one messy in the best way.

We did not find any snakes this time, but we did find two salamanders hiding underneath the cover. That still counts as a good day outside.

Have you ever flipped a board, log, or piece of tin and found something unexpected?

A tick, splinter, thorn, or cactus spine can turn into a real problem fast when you’re outdoors.

That’s why we designed the NRS Expedition Tweezers.

These lightweight titanium tweezers are made in the USA by Brautigame Expedition Works, weigh about 1 gram without the case, and include a built in tick extraction tool to help slide underneath the tick and lift it out cleanly.

They’re small enough for your first aid kit, chest kit, backpack, keychain, travel kit, or EDC setup, and they are TSA compliant.

Small tools matter when small problems become big ones.

Comment TICK and we’ll send you the link.