Do It Yourself –dehydrated backpacker’s meals

Face it, whether you are a cyclist, backpacker, or just a compact camper, the commercially prepared freeze dried meals have been along on a trip or two.  Equally as often, you have not been too happy with the meal that resulted, as it failed in quantity, flavor, color, or texture.  I will never forget an experience with some chicken dish, I think it was sweet & sour with rice?  It looked like a puppy had barfed in the container, and the puppy barf might have tasted better.  (No, I have never tasted puppy barf, don’t intend to, and I also gagged at the taste of that stuff.)

Seriously though, on the trail, when you are depending on the meals you have brought along, having something be a total “FAIL” is more than disappointing, it can be a trip ruining disaster or worse.  We have to depend on what we have brought along, and it has been a huge investment in terms of labor and weight to get to the point of adding the boiling water.  Even with the amount of importance that trail food can have, that does not mean we need to have invested our life savings in the food for a two week hike.

Learning to make your own meals has a very steep learning curve.  I’ve tried doing a few things myself, with mixed results.  Then, today I read the most amazing book.  All of that trial and error experimenting has gone out the window, now I have a guide book to get me where I want to go without suspiciously sampling Meal X ever again.  It’s well written, has clear recipes, and solid information.  I’ll admit I have not tried any of the recipes yet (my dehydrator is still packed in a box…somewhere) but I have  no doubts that they are very accurate.

In addition, it allows us to take control of the contents.  My husband and I both need low-sodium meals, and that’s not something that has been addressed by companies such as Mountain House, even though I was told over a  year ago that low sodium meals were in the works.  Unlike many hikers, we no longer need high calorie meals either–due to health problems, we are not physically able to burn off 8,000 calories in a day.  Whether its on a bike or on foot, we now have a much more leisurely approach to the whole process, and our bodies demand we take the time to smell the flowers, experience the moment, and watch the birds flying by a lot more often than we did at twenty-something.  Even with that, we also can’t pack 60 pound packs over mountain tops, and weight is probably more important for us than ever before, as our strength is decreasing as well as our endurance.  Armed with these recipes, we can make the adjustments to the recipes to stick to our medical diets without worries.

So what is this mysteriously wonderful book?  It’s called Backpack Gourmet by Linda Frederick Yaffe.  It’s not new–it’s been out for over a decade, but I just read it via Kindle.  Thankfully, it’s not focused on faddish foods that will make us grimace at the ingredients, but remains just as relevant today as it was when it was initially published.  It’s also the very first book that I can honestly say, hey, here is a really good recipe book to use as a starting point to preparing good, inexpensive packable meals for backpacking, bicycle camping, or any other time we’d want to pack along fast and easy meals.

On that note though, I’m going to leave you taking a look at the book and trying to get your hands on a copy while I go hunt for the location of my dehydrator and vacuum sealer.  I have a feeling that vacuum sealing some of these meals before storing them will make them a lot easier to pack AND store.

Clubs and organizations

Here on the Gulf Coast, we have a Meetup.com group for our outdoor activities and skills.  We set up everything from excursions to gardens to camping trips, samplings of freeze dried foods to making gear.  Meetup makes it easy to set up the events, but we still run into a problem that plagues many organizations and clubs.

We get a lot of members who never show up, never participate, and never contribute.  We also get a lot of members who SAY they will be there, but…don’t ever show up.

On the surface, this doesn’t seem like a big deal, right?

The reality is that it does become a big deal.  When an event is set up, “experts” are engaged, someone has to plan the event, and then these people show up to the event with the supplies for it.  When the people that have said they are interested and will be there (Meetup.com offers RSVPs so that organizers know how many will be there) don’t show up, organizers have wasted their time and effort.  They already KNOW how to do this, know how to set it up, and know where the location is.

After a while, it becomes very disheartening.  After all, the time wasted assembling the necessary gear, loading it, transporting it, setting it up, and then waiting for people who never show up is gone, lost forever…for nothing.  We don’t get paid for it, no one even bothers to say “gee, I’m sorry, I had XXX happen.”  They just go merrily along, leaving us sitting somewhere waiting.

I’ve thought and thought about how to put a stop to it.  At first, it would be one person would show up after RSVPing.  Granted, reaching one person is much better than reaching no one, but sometimes, you need more people than that to make it a worthwhile event.  I thought that if we required 2-3 people to rsvp that they would be there before we went ahead with an event, we’d have more people show up or we could easily cancel the event.  Instead, we have more no-shows.

Now, I’m wondering if we charge $1 for every RSVP yes, if that would make people think about it before they showed up, or would that just mean that people didn’t RSVP at all?  Should we charge for events to compensate people for showing up to put the event on?  Should we start charging for membership to make people put more value on it?  How can we get their attention?

I’m still not sure.  I know that there are issues with perceived value.  Since we offer so many of our activities for no charge, they also don’t put any value on these activities.  Maybe people think that we are subsidized by the parks or something (we’re not!)

There are no easy answers, but I’m still seeking potential solutions to try.  I absolutely hate to turn it into a case where everyone pays all the time, but I am also heartily sick of seeing us waste our time setting up things that no one shows up to.

Hopefully, the solution comes to us soon.

Boats and motors, the Suzuki 4 cycle (or how to lose weight with dirty looks!)

Our boat is called the Swamp Thing.  It definitely ain’t purdy, as they say.  It’s pretty ugly, as a matter of fact.  It’s a slightly twisted 16 ft. aluminum flat boat, aka a jon boat or what they called a “duck boat” when I was a kid a million years ago.  It’s aluminum, with lots of green astro turf inside of it, and equipped with an electric start 1979 Mercury 25 hp outboard motor.  It also comes fully equipped with a perma-scum ring around the outside.  Swamp Thing fits it.

It was a gift from our son in law, because of a combination of buyer’s regret and pity, most likely.  I’m not sure which he pitied more, the boat or us!

We haven’t registered it yet, although we have our “ducks in a row” with a completed form and the bill of sale.  We just need to take it to the courthouse and do the deed, getting the registration numbers and putting them on the boat.  We’ve already tuned up the motor, it’s ready to go, and now we need a battery for it.  With that done, the Swamp Thing is ready to take out in such exotic waters as Bayou Cumbest, Crooked Bayou, the Escatawpa River, the Pascagoula River, Lake Catch-em-all, etc.

Today, we were going to take out our son in law’s “spare” boat–another 16′ jon boat, this time equipped with a much more modern Suzuki 4 stroke motor.

It didn’t start off well this morning.  When the alarm went off just before dawn, I apparently mumbled something about it raining and I wasn’t going fishing.  I tumbled out of bed an hour later and made coffee, checked the sky and the weather report, and started getting things put into the boat for our fishing trip this morning.  I knew that our grumpy half had not had much sleep, having still been awake at 4:30 am this morning, so I let him sleep while I did what I could about getting things ready.  When I got to the point of needing the shed unlocked to retrieve a tackle box, the ball put on the receiver hitch, and the boat trailer turned and the van backed  up to hitch to it…it was time to wake up grumpy.

If looks to kill caused weight loss, I’d be slim and trim this afternoon.  (That’s a nice way of saying he was really snarly!)  Three cups of coffee later, plus an hour, and we’re heading down the blacktop to the launch on the bayou near us.  He’s still not a happy camper, and he’s still working on the lose-weight-with-dirty-looks campaign.  Neither of us has had much practice at backing up trailers, and he embarks on the mission first, despite the fact that I can’t actually launch this boat with its pull start and I will have to be the final driver as he deals with all of that.

Clouds of giant black salt marsh mosquitoes swarm us as soon as we arrive at the launch.  They proceeded to start dining as I start slapping.  After about 10 minutes of the slapping myself routine, I jump out to start spraying myself down with repellent.    Poor GM is left to try and back up the trailer on his own.  Another ten minutes passes…but he’s not had great success either.  He does, however, have it near the water and pointed in the general direction.  We then swap off, and it’s my turn to try to frustrate myself, as he is sitting in the boat terrified that I’m going to do something radical, bizarre, and dangerous.

I’ll admit, the guys who launch all the time make it look like a breeze.  It isn’t.  The trailer would either swing too much or swing the wrong way.  It wouldn’t go straight.  It took me a good 20 minutes to get the boat trailer to back up another 5 feet into the water at the foot of the ramp where we could float it off, leaving GM clinging to the launch dock while I parked the van and trailer.  That was easy, it was all forward driving!

Now we’re both suffering from sleep deprivation and we are tired.  We’re also now both hot and aggravated with our own ineptitude at backing up a trailer, as well as thankful that this launch has a large parking area and launch area to accomodate the likes of us.  I put my crap into the boat, climb in, thankful that he’s holding the boat securely parallel to the dock, and I get a few more weight loss looks as we chit chat back and forth with our neighbor who is launching one of his boats.

GM tries to pull start the engine and we hit the first of a long line of fails.  It doesn’t even try to turn over.  Our neighbor tries, and offers suggestions.  Finally, we’re giving up, and another boat is coming in,with that driver offering some ideas as to what is wrong.  It’s obviously a new motor, and nothing SHOULD be wrong!

We finally actually give up, I tell the other driver to go ahead and get his boat, as I’m a novice who takes a long time to do the job.  He’s experienced, and he has his boat out of the water in about 3 minutes…by himself!  I get the van and start my 20 minute reversing the trailer process.  I finally get it in the water, and we start our 20 minute process of making sure its on the trailer straight process.  Slowly, GM pulls it out of the water, as I watch to make sure it’s still straight, and then we’re on dry land, securing the boat down at the rear with the ratcheting strap, and getting ready to tow the boat home.

At home, we unhitch and head into town to run some errands, both of us hot & irritated with our mission in vain this morning.  It is on our way home that we discover what our error was.

It seems this new 4 stroke motor has a safety feature, since it’s a tiller drive.  It has a gizmo on a spiral cord that should the driver get tossed OUT of the boat…the motor automatically stops when this magic pin activates the kill switch.  We didn’t have that magic pin in place…so it thought the driver was lost in the water.

Oh boy.

So we got an F for the morning’s fishing.  Tomorrow is another day though, right?

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Today, we did the “marsh walk” at the Gulf Islands National Seashore to learn about salt marshes and the things that live there.  It was an activity planned by the park, and about ten from our Meetup.com group actually came to the event.

It was nice, the park ranger was friendly, even if he was very young, and seemed a bit uncomfortable with the act of speaking to the group as a whole initially.  I guess its the whole public speaking routine–not everyone finds it fun.

The Gulf Islands National Seashore in Ocean Springs, Mississippi is really a treasure.  The visitor center was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, like a lot of other things.  The building has been repaired, and new displays are in place now, and they are very nice.  There is also a short video about the Gulf Islands, and that too is well worth  your time to watch.  I highly recommend the park visitor center as a “must see” when touring along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and for the budget strapped vacationer…here’s some more great news.  It’s free.

In addition to the visitor center, there is a fishing pier (don’t forget your fishing license, and make sure you have a salt water one!)  Fishing is also possible in Davis Bayou as well, and once again, don’t forget that salt water fishing license.  (The bayou is brackish, as well as below the point where salt water licenses are required.)

There’s also a boat launch, picnic area, soft ball field, and camping area.  Camping does require a fee, but otherwise everything at Gulf Islands National Seashore is no fee required, although they do accept donations at the visitor center.  There are numerous tables and pavilions scattered through the picnic area, as well as a few picnic tables and bbq grills near the visitor center.  They are all well maintained and clean, but despite this…be prepared for the bugs if  you are visiting in summer.  The flies arrive by the thousands as soon as the jungle drums announce you intend to eat food!  Biting insects of all kinds are common along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, and either clothing or a topical repellent is virtually a necessity or you will be eaten!  (There is a reason why Repel is my “perfume of choice” in summertime.)

If you are visiting in the winter, winters are mild on the Gulf Coast, but there can still be some rather cold and less-than-cozy nights.  Be prepared, if you are camping.  Bugs are much less prevalent, but if you are wanting to see birds and other wildlife, they are also less common in winter.  Even so, wintertime visits can be very pleasant in the park.

Being prepared-is it really just the food?

Being prepared.

Sounds like a boy scout motto, doesn’t it?  “Be Prepared”

Maybe in a sense, it is a good scout motto, because scouting was always about learning things, at least in the beginning.  Knowledge IS power, right?  Knowledge can also be freedom.

Sure, it’s great to be prepared and have that food set aside for that rainy day, whether it comes due to a hurricane, earthquake, job loss, injury, governmental meltdown, or whatever comes down the pike…or interstate…or river.  But the food isn’t all there is to being prepared either.

It’s about being prepared to handle adversity and adapt to new problems and situations.  That is usually easier for the younger crowd, because as we age, we find that change and adversity more threatening, especially when deprived of our “support group” of our family and friends.  Even though its easy for me to forget it most days, I have to remind myself that I’m now officially joining the “older” group myself.

Being adaptable is something we can train for and practice in our daily lives.  It’s called “new experiences.”  Trying new things, learning new skills, getting out of our comfort zones…are all good practice.  I’m quite used to car camping, I’ve done some backpacking, and now…I’m off on this idea of a Great American Adventure, if I can sell GM on the idea…of bicycling & camping across America.  He says I’m nuts, that I can’t do that.  I say endurance is irrelevant, that I would merely go until I was tired, and then sleep until I was rested.  Whether or not I convince him to embark on this (possibly) over-ambitious project, I am pursuing the concept of bicycle camping.  It intrigues me.

I’m also learning about the plants and animals of the estuaries along the Gulf Coast.  It’s not been easy, as everything is unfamiliar to me, with my background in the deserts of the Southwest.  It’s very interesting though, even if I am suspicious of water.

That’s another new thing for this year.  I’m learning to explore the waterways in a small boat.  I’m learning about fishing the coastal waters.  It’s a far cry from the seasonal streams of the desert that I knew in my younger years too.

Learning, you see, is the key I hold in my hand for being prepared.  I am prepared to adapt.  I am a survivor.  I can adapt and change when my circumstances change, no matter how they change.  I survive.

The real key to surviving is just that.  I will survive, I know how to learn, I have learned before, and I know a lot of things on which I can build my new knowledge base on.

I’ve baked that apple pie from scratch, and baked a cake over a campfire.  I’ve build sheds and barns, fixed fences, and milked a cow.  I’ve milked a goat too.  I’ve made soap, I’ve skinned a coyote, I’ve hunted for rabbits, and I’ve fished.  I’ve cooked what we’ve caught too.  I’ve made quilts, and sewn clothes.  I’ve grown gardens and canned and made jelly too.  I’ve ridden horses, and harnessed dogs to carts.  I’ve pitched a tent or two, and I’ve slept in the open too.  I’ve made tarp shelters, snow shelters, and taken shelter beneath rocky overhangs.  I’ve fixed leaking pipes, drawn water from a well with a bucket and rope, and drank from a stock tank.  I’ve had fancy bathrooms, outhouses, and imaginary bushes.  I’ve run off coyotes, feral dogs, and bobcats.  I’ve herded cows, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks and geese too.  I’ve even roped a few goats myself, as well as a horse or two.  I’ve stacked hay, tended to sick livestock, and disposed of a few of their corpses.  I’ve been homeless, and I’ve had lovely homes.  I’ve been a mom, a sister, a daughter, a granddaughter, a niece,  an aunt, and a grandma.  I’ve been terrified, and I’ve been infuriated, and after the day was done, I had still survived.

I’ve collected a lot of t-shirts over the years, all in the name of trying new things.  Some I liked, some I didn’t.  Some were tough to walk away from.  I’ve been deliriously happy, hopelessly sad, lost, found, scared, mad, glad, murderous, and loving.  It didn’t kill me.  I survived even when I didn’t think I could or even necessarily wanted to.  Part of me is just too stubborn to give up, I guess.  Maybe its luck.  Whatever it is…I am a survivor.

Is it by choice or by accident or by fortune?  I’m certain its mostly by choice.  I’ve never been good at playing the victim, I’m much better at playing the competent role.  I am competent, I can and do figure out how to solve problems, I cope.  That’s my primary skill–coping, no matter what comes down that river towards me, I adapt and respond.  If its cold, I find ways to get warm.  If its hot, I seek cool.  If its raining out, I figure out how to stay dry.  If my car is broke down and I need to go somewhere, I figure out how to get there, whether its to ask someone to take me, use the bicycle, walk, or some other way…I get there.

Being prepared means knowing how to break the survival scenario into smaller problems and then attacking each problem with a solution.  If its cold, raining, your hungry, and you are standing there…what will you work on first?

First, get some shelter to protect you from rain and wind.  That will go a long ways towards warm too.  Whether its a tent, lean to, brush shelter, under a bridge, or whatever…that shelter is critical.

Second, fire means heat, as well as a way to cook food and it also provides both light and security.  For that, you need fuel and a way to start it burning.  If you are lucky, you are somewhere with ample fuel.  Look for fuel that may be dry, such as the interior of rotting logs, under logs or branches, etc.  You will also need dry tinder and a way to start the fire, be it a match or striker.

Third, water can be heated in many things, including a paper bag.  Hot water is a good start towards soup, an easy thing to make that renders many foods more edible and easier to eat.  It also helps to stay hydrated, much more important initially than food is.  Most areas have a variety of wild foods.  If you don’t know them, learn them before you have to know what they are.  It’s too late when you are standing there with a rumbling belly to learn.

Knowledge is power, and learning how to do these things and hoping to never have to use them is a very wise course of action.  It doesn’t hurt to learn them, they don’t take up room, and they don’t tattoo you forever as a “weirdo”.  No one will ever need to know you know these things…unless you choose to share that knowledge with them.

So how do you learn?  You are on the internet, with a wealth of information in front of you.  If you don’t have a teacher in person, there is still YouTube, Instructables, and blogs such as this.  There are websites such as Exogeny Network with information too.  There are search engines to help you find specific information and gear.

And, along the way, don’t forget…it’s also a very wise idea to have at least 90 days of food on hand in your home too.  Just in case.  Call it a well stocked pantry, your rainy day supply or your end of the world food…whatever name you want to give it.  Choose some foods that are packaged for long term storage, to simplify that rotation of food required for grocery store supplies.  Pay attention and remember…disasters come in many sizes, colors, and flavors.

Organizations, clubs, and associations

I’m not a big “clubber” kind of person.  I get too aggravated with the pecking orders and minor manueverings of people who are under the impression that being the president or v.p. or whatever for an organization has promoted them to the status of a minor deity.  I’ve done it, I’ve even helped found new organizations, but in the long run, when things are up and running, its best if I just go.  I’ve been told that I should have a warning label, because sooner or later, (usually sooner) I’m going to forget to censor what I’m thinking before it comes out of  my mouth.

But with that said, there are a lot of merits to organizations, formal or otherwise, once you step away from coping with people’s thwarted political aspirations.  It creates a collective of information, assets, and even buying power.  It allows for efforts that cannot be achieved on an individual level.

So, I’ll confess, I’m heading down that road all over again with the social organization that meets together under Meetup.com.  We don’t have “officers” though, it’s not that formal at this point.  We do have “organizers” and “hosts” though.  (That’s the people that do the work so that everyone can complain when something goes wrong.  Not always the case, but its a source of wry humor for me sometimes, since I’m usually one or both of those designated go-fers.)  I realize that everyone is busy, and no group can have activities that appeal to everyone all of the time.  At the same time, I’ve only missed out on two camping trips due to vehicle break downs, and one kayak race where we weren’t doing anything but showing up.  Outside of that, I’ve been there. In the rain, in the heat, I’ve showed up.  It has made me try some new things, I’ll admit.  Some I liked…and some I didn’t.  That’s a good thing.  New things expand our horizons.

Organizations also offer something else.  Potential knowledge in the databases of other members’ minds.  That can be trails, skills, tools, anything…and it helps.

Its tough to find other people with similar interests, to facilitate that sharing of knowledge.  That’s the reason that the social organization of Get Ready GO! was created.  We had the website, we knew some people, we knew some stuff…and we wanted to share what we knew, and learn new things.  So…we embarked on this new segment of the journey.

Have we learned anything?  Hmm I’ve learned things, but they were probably not purposeful lessons.  I happen to be, like old…and I’ve done a LOT of camping, the primary focus over the past nine months or so since we started the Meetup group.  The other people who have knowledge I don’t…are the same ones I’ve been camping with for 4-5 years already.  So…I’d been learning about the local plants, animals, snares, traps, and other related material that was a mystery to me.

We do have some unique knowledge that I am very curious about with our other members though.  Kayaking–I’ve always wanted to try it, and someday…I will.  I am learning about boating in the coastal region, not “deep sea” boating, but in the rivers, bayous, and other fresh, brackish, and salt water.  I’m also learning about tides and fishing in the region.

I’m expanding my knowledge about bicycle touring and camping, which is a really odd niche.  It’s not particularly appealing to most devout campers…and it’s not really appealing to most devout cyclists either.  Maybe that’s part of the appeal–it’s odd, and so am I sometimes!  But for me, it just makes a lot of sense.  Backpacking isn’t exactly my thing anymore, carrying that backpack is a killer on back, shoulders, and neck.  I get tired and cranky, and then we start hiking.  With the bicycle, I can go further, and the weight is actually carried on the bike and trailer.  I really want to expand my knowledge and skill in this area.  It’s been tough though, because of the peculiar niche it occupies.  I have no illusions about my ability to keep up with serious touring cyclists who regularly ride 75-100 miles in a single day.  I have a different objective.  To enjoy myself.

I’m learning more about photography in regards to the outdoors too.  Not that I’m the next Ansel Adams, but I take a pretty good photo, well enough to illustrate what I’m talking about.  That old saying that a picture speaks a thousand words is very true.  I’ve not joined any clubs or organizations for this, it’s been books, trial, and error.  It’s been using the photos and realizing that they aren’t perfect, and trying to do better next time.

I’m learning more about people too.  What they (as a group) are apt to like…or dislike.  The things that make them go oh yeah, and the things that make them go ho-hum.  About how they are similar, and how they are different.  About gender differences.  About how people are the key to it all…because each and every organization is made up of individuals coming together and becoming a group of people, hopefully with common goals.

And that’s what makes it all tick.

Build a boat?

I’ve always liked wood, and the idea of building something myself has always been appealing.  I’ve looked at a lot of do-it-yourself plans for building boats of several different kinds, along with a LOT of photographs of do-it-yourself built boats.  Some of them have amazed me, and there have been others that have really amazed me that anyone dared to try to get them to float!

But wooden boats have been around a lot longer than any of us have been, and are definitely a tried-and-true formula for building yourself a boat of any kind.  There are many fans of the wooden boat too, with entire clubs formed around the love of the wooden boat.  Granted, few of these are built in anyone’s backyard these days, but that doesn’t mean that the skilled wood worker couldn’t try their hand at making a boat.

Living on the Gulf Coast, the pirogue of traditional Cajuns has been a tried and true wooden boat to use in the creeks, bayous, swamps and marshes that form so much of the coastal area.  Granted, at one time, they were formed from cypress planks, but today, marine treated plywood and fiberglass often form their shells.  It’s a classic design, and always reminds me of a somewhat fat and flat bottomed canoe.  I’ve wanted one for ages, but it just hasn’t been on the budget to buy one.

Today, somewhere along the way, I came up with a link to buy plans to build one, and they promise FULL SIZED plans for a mere $40.  Okay, that’s not a cheap set of plans, but compare that price tag to having your boat not float, or wasting wood with miss-cuts.  I’m seriously thinking about it!

Building a boat could also be a great family project.  Imagine doing just that with your older children (like 12 and up) and then taking a pair of them to test them out and race!  Not only would it teach excellent skills, but it would provide a shared activity, along with the exercise of paddling or poling the pirogue for the races, and hours of fun later as the boats continued their useful life.  In addition, the pirogue is an excellent boat to navigate relatively shallow water, providing access for the devout fisherman to waters that might not otherwise be accessible.  I can see a project such as this one as providing much more than merely a home-made boat!

Curious yourself?  Their website even includes a photograph of a finished, unpainted boat.  Take a look right here!

 

Gone fishing!

Okay, so its a case of I wish I was fishing…

I’m a woman, and I love to fish.  So does my daughter.  My granddaughter is too young to actually fish.  She sort of hangs around in her life jacket and watches the clouds right now.  I’m sure she’ll learn to love to fish too, her parents are nuts about it.  Someone told me once that girls weren’t supposed to like to go fishing.  I was mystified (and about thirteen or fourteen years old) and asked why.

It seems that I was supposed to be horrified by worms and grossed out by fish.  I still was mystified.  I saw nothing horrible or gross there, although I do have to admit…I had a childhood fear of crawfish and a dislike of oozing bug guts.  I was an excellent fish-cleaner too–the little bullheads we caught could be dispatched with amazing speed, and we used to “race” to see who could get them done fastest when I was a kid.  I think the limit was about 500 per person, and we could manage about 300 in less than 15 minutes, so obviously, we wasted no time in the chore.

I learned to fillet finally as an adult.   Aggravated by the  lack of interest from skilled practioners’ of the art  in teaching a novice, I went out one day and caught a bunch of large carp, the ultimate “trash fish.”  Late that night, after the kids were asleep, I sat in the garage with the light on, armed with a fillet knife and a cutting board.  I mangled fish for a couple of hours before mastering the art of extracting a fillet from the carcass.  Just for the record, if you can fillet a carp, you can fillet about anything.  They are the bloodiest, boniest, and most impossible fish I have ever worked with.  Now, after over a decade of not filleting fish, I will have to force myself to relearn the skill, sure to be a much quicker process than the original effort.  It’s so much nicer to eat mostly boneless fish, and it packs into the freezer so much nicer minus the bones as well.

Fishing varies immensely from region to region.  I find that here, with my fondness for the closed and easy-to-use bait casting reel is in the minority.  I don’t like under the rod reels, I find them awkward to use.  Granted, as a child, I used the old open reels that were so good at getting backlashes, but I’ve not used them since I received my first “modern” rod and reel as a gift as a teenager, and my memories of those awful backlashes has kept me uninterested in returning to using one, even if they are a better reel for the mixed salt & freshwater fishing I typically indulge in these days.  The open spin casting reels have me just as suspicious of them as the older open reel design.

I’ve tried the cane poles that are so popular here.  They’re weird to those of us who have never used them.  I don’t quite “get it” I suppose.  I like the feel of a fish at the other end of the line, and the feel is absolutely not the same on the end of a cane pole.  Years of fishing primarily for rainbow trout has left me with a love of ultra light tackle, rods, and reels too.  There is a sense of excitement at landing an almost-too-large fish with light tackle that nothing else can duplicate.

Bait differs, tackle differs, even the line differs, just like the fish differ a bit from area to area.  Despite all of that, I’ve gone fishing in salt water with my “too-light” tackle, and I’ve caught just as many fish as anyone else in the boat.  I’ve used the same pole to catch bream too.  I put on the bait my way, and it still works.  When the fish are biting, they usually will bite about anything!  When they aren’t biting, well, even the experts have trouble.

The big thing is, fishing is about having fun more than anything.  Sometimes that fishing pole gives me a great excuse to sit there doing nothing or reading a book.  Other times, I’m seriously paying attention to the fishing.  We sit and talk, and great talks happen while the fish aren’t biting too.  And heck, if the fish ARE biting, who cares about talking or reading a book anyhow?

Give me a rod & reel, some hooks, a bit of weight, and a few worms, and I’ll hang out by the water’s edge all day with an excuse.  If I’m lucky, I’ll come home with fish.  If I’m not…well, it was fun anyhow.

Babies, winter, and the outdoors–10 rules to make it easy!

I live in the South, along the Gulf Coast.  Our winters are nothing compared to places like Fargo, North Dakota or somewhere in Maine or Vermont…or a few thousand other places further north and higher in altitude.  I’ve lived in those places, and I know how cold it is when the snow squeaks too.  I LIKE living in the South where it doesn’t get like that!

At the same time, we bundle up considerably when winter finally does get us in its bitter embrace.  The cold is different here than the cold you’d find in the Rockies of Colorado, the Northern Plains, and so forth.  It’s damp and a sneaky cold.  I’d far rather feel a normal dry cold at 17 degrees than to deal with 17 degrees along the Gulf Coast.  I’ve experienced those kinds of temperatures (and others!) at both extremes.  I know there is a difference, and its not merely in perception.

Dealing with cold is one thing for an adult or in regards to our four legged companions, and another ball game entirely when you have an infant in tow.  Generally speaking, the smaller mass of an infant is more prone to chilling, and their immature bodies are incapable of generating enough heat and regulating their temperatures enough to protect themselves in cold weather, even when bundled in blankets.  So how do we cope?  Do we need to keep our babies indoors?

Babies have been experiencing the Great Outdoors since the dawn of man.  Where we often have a choice in whether or not to expose our precious bundle to the outdoor temperatures, once upon a time, there was little option.  Homes were primitive, drafty, smokey, and often pretty chilly when temperatures dropped.  To keep our precious bundle safe, warm, and protected today, we can take many lessons from our ancestors.

The best way for a very small infant to stay warm is to keep that infant close to the mother, allowing him or her to share her heat and help regulate their own temperature.  What does this mean?  It means using something such as a sling or baby carrier, keeping the baby near the mother and UNDER her outer garments such as coat or cloak.  To accomplish this, she will need a coat several sizes larger than she would  normally wear, and the infant is only minimally bundled up before getting tucked inside of Mom’s coat.  Always put a hat on baby, preferably something snug and warm instead of cute.  Their thin skin, and often nearly bald or sparsely haired heads are over-sized radiators to the rest of their bodies, shedding far too much heat into the cold air.

In less extreme weather, the sling carriers that carry the baby diagonally across Mom’s torso can be used, sometimes lined with a fleece blanket, with the baby dressed in a standard sleeper and then put into a “bunting”.  Buntings can be very much like a sleeping bag with sleeves or like a thick fleecy sleeper with feet.  Snow suits are another option, if you can find one small enough for the tiny baby.  Buntings last through longer phases of baby’s growth, as they are not closely fitted.  I happened to prefer Carter’s buntings for my own children, and now that I have a brand new granddaughter, we’ll be dressing HER in a Carter bunting for her first outdoor adventures.

Tiny infants cannot tolerate exposure to wind.  Not only does it increase their risk of chilling, the wind across a baby’s face can often cause them to suck inwards, swallowing air, and resulting in a cranky baby with colic.  The last thing a new mother needs is a baby with colic!  In windy conditions, it is advisable to find a way to cover the baby’s face or otherwise block the wind.  It doesn’t take a heavy covering to merely block the wind, and it certainly shouldn’t be anything that would cause a potential smothering incident–a gauze diaper, receiving blanket, etc. is usually sufficient.

Few new mothers are going to consider going camping with a tiny infant and winter weather, especially in a tent.  Even so, thought should be given to the “what if” scenarios that could arise.  If there was an emergency of some kind that put mother and infant outdoors, how could they protect themselves and remain safe, even if not quite comfortable?  What kinds of things should be added to an emergency backpack to ensure their comfort?

Make sure there is a good poncho, possibly one with a liner, in the mother’s backpack.  This poncho can essentially become a portable “tent” over her body, to help protect her infant as well.  Add a couple of micro fleece blankets, which can greatly increase warmth by retaining body heat too.  Remember to caution nursing mothers to NOT eat snow as a source of water–it causes the loss of heat at an excessively high rate.  It is better to thaw the water by putting a container of snow where your body heat will slowly thaw it or to even remain slightly dehydrated versus eating snow in an emergency situation.  I remember a case when I was a child on the Northern Plains where a nursing mother, the father and the infant were caught in a blizzard and stranded in their car.  The mother insisted on eating snow, resulting in her death, whereas the father and infant survived until help arrived.  (NO ONE, nursing mother or not, should eat snow to hydrate when in a cold weather survival situation for the same reason.)

Include formula, either dry or canned, along with water and bottles in the backpack too, as well as some diapers and wipes.  Remember to change your infant’s gear regularly, as the first year involves dramatic changes in sizes and needs for an infant.  If your infant is eating solid food, include easy to carry and use foods such as instant cereals, along with spoon and bowl.  Typically, it is advised that everyone’s needs for 72 hours are included in a backpack, and the infant’s gear should be divided between the parents’ backpacks.  Spare clothing, socks, onesies, and hats should also be included in the emergency clothing, and ensure it is suitable for the season and the correct size. (Too big is far better than too small though!)   In winter, an extra bunting is also a very good idea.

For outdoor adventures, most mothers are not going to be enthusiastic about braving the elements for a weekend of camping when it is bitterly cold.  In such weather, it may not be advisable.  I camped with infants in below freezing weather, but I’ll confess…we slept in the van, off of the ground, and the infant never became chilled.  In fact, despite the bitter cold that struck one night, I overheated the baby once, having bundled him up excessively.  To check a small infant’s “comfort” level, feel their feet.  If they are “just right” in terms of retaining their body heat, their feet will feel slightly cool (as long as your hands are not cold, btw!) If their feet are cold OR warm, you need to adjust how you have them dressed and wrapped.  Cold feet is a cold baby, whereas warm feet mean you have gone overboard.  Babies that are too warm or too cold are also apt to be fussy.

Don’t give a baby a cold bottle when outdoors in cold weather.  The last thing they need is a chill coming from their stomach!  To warm a bottle, heat a small pan of water on your stove, then remove it from the heat and set the bottle in the hot water.  Depending on how hot the water was initially, it typically does not take long to heat a bottle under four ounces…just a minute or two in very hot to almost boiling water.  ALWAYS shake the bottle and then check the temperature of the liquid on your inner wrist–you also do not want to burn the baby’s mouth!

Cooler weather doesn’t mean that Mom has to stay at home with the baby.  At the same time, reasonable caution should be used.  If it can be avoided, extreme cold weather, especially if it is also raining, should be avoided for baby’s first adventures.  If the car is available during the “Great Adventure”, it also means a place where it can be warmed up, ensuring baby doesn’t get chilled excessively.  It means that if it isn’t turning out as all that great of an adventure due to weather changes, sudden new mom nerves, fussing baby, or anything else…there is always the option of calling it a day and heading home.  There is also nothing wrong with opting to return home to safety and warmth.  Even as an adult, there have been a few occasions where things were going wrong, the weather wasn’t cooperating, or my nerves said enough…and I opted to call it quits and head home early.

So, when your family has a new baby in its midst, remember:

1. Add baby’s essentials to both parents’ emergency backpacks (or to Mom’s and a second person’s who is apt to be around)
2. Dress baby appropriately for the weather.
3. Have extra clothing and blankets available.
4. Keep baby dry when in the cold-wet diapers are wet garments and can increase the chill factor.
5. Keep the wind out of baby’s face.
6. Don’t give a cold bottle to a baby outdoors in the cold.
7. Get baby a bunting or snow suit (as appropriate) as well as a hat for outdoor adventures.
8. Use a carrier or sling to help keep baby close to Mom for warmth.
9. Use the car as needed for a warm retreat.
10. Remember, you can return home if things aren’t going well.

With these ten rules, there’s no reason to wait until spring to get out and go with baby!

Portable potty solution-the Tote-able Toilet Seat & Lid

We are just like everyone else, we are continually bombarded with ads promising us the moon with a particular product, and when we buy it, all too often we are highly disappointed.  And, just like everyone else, we’ve discovered that often we get exactly what we pay for, so that “bargain” turns out to be disastrous.

Every once in a while, we find something that is inexpensive and actually WORKS.  That’s a red letter day!

A huge problem for anyone who is primitive camping is the toilet situation.  We want to be environmentally responsible, we want to be smart, and we want to be comfortable with our choices.  I don’t know anyone who’s happy when the discover they have found the perfect camping spot…but the entire surrounding  area is littered with used toilet paper!

Granted, there are better ways to dispose of toilet tissue than leaving the used product laying around on top of the ground, but that’s really a whole blog post on what better options really are.  With a group, or with even a single person who isn’t thrilled with the idea of squatting over a shallow hole in the ground…the portable potty is the better option.  On a boat, it can become even a bigger problem as often running to the toilet becomes an impossible request and there are no holes to be dug for quick disposal.  You have to have a portable toilet, or you spend way too much time trying to find a place to land or beach your boat to handle the problem.

There are a lot of portable toilets on the market, and a lot of them are not cheap solutions to the problem either.  For boaters, where weight is a very serious issue, along with the footprint of space required, some solutions become new problems.  Face it, many of us don’t need flushing toilets with hidden holding tanks.  We want a cheap, effective solution, even if it isn’t pretty.

What about a solution with a price tag UNDER $10????

Sound impossible?  Nope.  I have personally bought and tested one from Emergency Essentials.  It’s called the “Tote-able Toilet Seat & Lid” and costs just $8.95.  For $14.95, you can also buy it with the bucket and two packages of enzymes.  I opted for the cheaper version, and bought a 6 gallon bucket from Lowe’s for $3 to go with it.

It’s a simple solution.  The bucket gets a plastic liner (aka tall kitchen garbage bag) and the seat/lid combo is snapped down.  To use it, the lid is lifted, and the seat is exposed.  After use, the lid is returned to the closed position, and it actually SNAPS into place.  A gasket in the lid then holds the contents and the odors inside.  Seriously, you do not smell a thing with that lid closed, and it did not spill even when clumsy me knocked it over.  It’s the perfect solution for the fishing boat, the camp, and even when there is a toilet emergency and the normal toilet is not available for whatever reason.  The plastic liner can be doubled to reduce chances of leakage, and if there are concerns about liquid contents, cat litter is a great and inexpensive absorbent to use inside the liner.  (Just add a cup after use, or alternatively, pour a few cups into the bottom of the plastic liner to absorb liquids.)

The bucket toilet isn’t a new idea.  It’s been around a long time, and has seen use on many boats and camps.  In third worlds, they are a luxury.  For most of us, they qualify as gross.  They are prone to spilling, they stink to high heaven, and insects are attracted to the same aromas that are repulsive to us.  Who wants to spend the day in a 16′ boat with a rank bucket of poo?

The Tote-able toilet keeps the costs down where we don’t mind spending that much for the solution, even if we use it just a few times a year.  It seals tightly enough to eliminate odor and attracting insects.  It’s a simple solution that doesn’t leave us studying a manual to operate the toilet every time we need to take it out.  Best of all, it works.

So if you are looking for a cheap and simple solution to the potty situation, this one met our criteria and delivered the solution with flying colors.