Workshop to build a reflector oven

When I first started searching for a reflector oven, I wanted to purchase one.  Every company I found…it turned out they weren’t making them anymore, until I found a company that made non-folding beautiful ones that were way out of my price range.  Refusing to be defeated, I began searching for folding reflector oven plans.  That search didn’t go much better, and left me frustrated too.

Finally, I had a set of plans that appeared to be for an actual working folding reflector oven.  The next step was materials.  That was a bit disappointing.  It seems that metal sheeting isn’t exactly a hot item in home improvement supplies.  The best I can do locally is with a roll of wide aluminium flashing…with a hefty price tag to go with it.  Granted, it will make many ovens, but I don’t want many ovens.  I want one functioning reflector oven that I can cook a small turkey in.  That’s all.

In addition to this blog, we also maintain a website for Get Ready GO, at www.get-ready-go.com and we also have a physical Meet Up group (www.meetup.com) called Get Ready Go that is our “non-profit social organization” branch.   We have an amazing amount of interest in terms of “folding reflector oven” which indicates that I’m not the only one who wants one.  So, the logical thing to do is to have a workshop!

Get Ready GO will be hosting a workshop on Saturday, August 27th, at 10 a.m.  It’s a super inexpensive way to learn how to make your own reflector oven with some help (and tools!) to do the job.  It’s only $20 material fee per person, open to members and their guests only, and everyone must be an adult.  There will even be lunch!  MeetUp.com is free for membership, and anyone can join Get Ready Go too.

The meet up is being held in the Pascagoula, Mississippi area, convenient for anyone living anywhere between New Orleans, LA and Pensacola, FL or as far north as Hattiesburg, MS.  Reservations must be made (and paid for) before August 13th, and there will be no refunds for cancellations after August 13th, although a “make up” date will be offered to anyone who is unable to attend the day of the workshop.  A minimum of four attendees (besides the 3 hosts) is required, and if the minimum is not met, we’ll refund any fees paid.

Just to make it even more fun, if the fire ban in the area is lifted, we’ll bake lunch in a reflector oven just to show how well they work!  Besides, it would give me a great excuse to see if a turkey really will fit in one, wouldn’t it?

Previous entry about folding reflector oven is found here.

Use your creativity for being prepared

One of the most critical components of being prepared is the mental preparation and problem solving skills necessary to ensure that appropriate decisions are made when and how they need to be made.  These are much more important than how many cans of hard red wheat you have packed in  your closet in terms of you and your family surviving an emergency situation.  It’s even more important than the backpacks I am continually encouraging everyone to have packed.

In order to develop these skills and acquire the knowledge necessary to adapt to changing circumstances in an emergency, it’s necessary to devote time, attention, and energy to training, education, and practice.  One important skill to practice is looking at items and through your own creative abilities, see how it can solve a problem for you.

Most of us are strapped for money, many are also strapped for space, after being put into situations demanding a downsizing of our living quarters.  We don’t have a vast garage with tools and equipment that we can adapt quickly to needs we may not have anticipated.  Even things such as wagons may not be in your personal arsenal, and yet would be very useful in the event of a need to evacuate on foot.

I saw a solution to this space issue in terms of the wagon, one I never dreamed existed.  It’s a folding wagon that fits into a duffel bag.  Seriously…and it has a 125 lb. capacity, plenty of room for a toddler or two plus their backpacks, maybe even a few other things.  There are several versions on the market for “folding wagon” too.

Fold N Go Wagon is rated for 125 lbs. & lists at $140.99 from Overstock.com and $149.00 from Amazon.com

Collapsible Wagon is rated for 100 lbs. ( reviews express concern that it could actually carry a child) at $99 from Amazon.com

There are better wagons, better “garden carts” with sturdier construction and bigger capacity on the market, but…if you need something portable that stores in small space…these items might well be the answer.  They are certainly as good if not better than the all-plastic constructed wagons that many families purchase for their children, as those wheels are very poorly suited for a long walk over varied terrain.

If you are choosing something specifically with the concept of a wagon for an emergency as well as chores around home, look for fat rubber tires–they move better and more quietly over surfaces ranging from smooth asphalt to muddy trails.  So called “garden carts” with their expanded steel bottoms and removable sides, are among the most versatile of cart/wagons on the market, hauling everything from heavy loads of remodeling or gardening material to kids.   We have actually used one on a hike!  They are also wonderful for that trek from the car/truck to the actual campsite when there is everything but the kitchen sink to be moved.

So start thinking creatively, and start preparing while you continue hoping that it is never necessary.

 

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.

Camping Trip

We’re going camping!

Survival training, nature studies, water play, some hiking, some biking, some outdoor cooking, some tent comparisons, and maybe even some new gear evaluations will all happen.  The Mississippi Hippy is always our survival expert, and he’s currently setting up to start taking some students  out for some basic survival training–email him if you are interested!  (hippy@exogenynetwork.com) We do leave camp security to the combined efforts of the Hippy and Red Dog, and we have never had an incident occur without Red thoroughly investigating the event.

For people on the Gulf Coast, if you are interested in some good times in the outdoors, Get Ready GO has a Meetup group too.  (www.meetup.com) Not only do we have this primitive camping trip set up, but we have a bike/hike on the Longleaf Trail set up on March 18, a trip to Bellingrath Gardens in early April, and a beach day in Hancock County for the end of the month.  That’s just some of the things we do there!  Meetup is free for members, so check it out!

Don’t forget, we also have a website, and you can check that out at www.get-ready-go.com or at www.exogenynetwork.com/getreadygo.aspx Some older articles, some newer articles, some ideas, hints, information and even some recipes are found there.

In the meantime, I am looking forward to several days of being unplugged from technology (mostly–we will have the laptop along for some offline writing and photography stuff, but our cell phones won’t work!) and plugged into nature.  Relaxing by the campfire in the evening rather than spending my time monitoring websites, blogs, Twitter, and Facebook should be a great time out to tune in.

And, just for some added adventure…the area we’re camping in is the same area that we found some hair (but failed to collect a sample, stupid me!) last year that could not be explained…and Big Foot has been reportedly sighted in the area as well in the early spring.  Maybe we’ll be able to catch a glimpse of the elusive creature…no matter what it was, that left the mysterious 2-3″ dark brown to reddish colored hairs caught in branches 4-6 ft off of the ground.  We have heard peculiar howlings in the past, that not even the Hippy could tell us what made those particular sounds.

What do you think?

Is it Big Foot that threw a stick at Red Dog last year?  Left the hairs behind?  Skulked around our tent one night until we awoke and became curious as to what was making the odd sounds and had Red softly growling a warning?

Or was it nothing more than coincidence that had that stick drifting through the air to land at Red’s feet?  Was she growling at a prowling fox?  Perhaps it was a climbing fox that left those hairs caught on the ends of branches so high above the ground, right?

We are putting the Hippy to work at helping to solve our mysterious events and determine whether there is a large uncatalogued hominid roaming the forests of the Southeastern United States.  Is he up to the job?  We hope so, as well as counting on the reputedly passive nature of the curious Big Foot…I wouldn’t want to do battle with a hairy 300 lb hominid of any kind!

Doomsday?

I’m usually not into the whole doomsday thing. I’m just way too optimistic for that.  I do believe in emergency preparedness, but in my mind, its usually about the natural disasters that can quickly descend upon us.  But…in light of the times, I’ve listened to the gloom and doom more.

Civil war anyone?  We haven’t done that in the United States in a very long time.  But what starts a civil war here anyhow?  Well, when I cast my brain back to my college days, it was states’ rights.  Yeah, you read that right…states’ rights, not slavery.  Slavery may have been part of it, but face it, economically speaking, slaves weren’t particularly efficient.  They were expensive, and it was far cheaper to avoid “ownership” and merely employ people at starvation wages like they did in the North.   The real issue was about whether or not the federal government could override states’ rights in determining their own laws.

Apparently, that lesson has been forgotten, because last year Obamacare was passed…and it mandates commerce, something that has always been under the jurisdiction of the states themselves.  Now don’t get me wrong…I am all for universal health care, just not that particular healthcare plan or how it was passed.  It seems that the states feel the same way.  There is a LOT of conservative agitation over that particular issue, and the complexity of that bill makes disinformation rampant.

Add in an economy that is still struggling, compounded by rumors of war and a rising deficit.  Unemployed people tend to be real grumpy, and they have more time to stew over political issues.  Some of them have been unemployed a long time, and these unemployed and underemployed people tend to be educated people too.  They are not happy with government’s bailouts and they are tired of handouts.  They want to see some change happening, and it hasn’t been change for the better so far.  Now we have rumors of war with North Korea coming around the grapevine, and war is expensive…which increases our skyrocketing deficit.  How long before we’re in Greece’s shoes and looking for SOMEBODY to bail our spending butts out of hot water?

Our biggest employer in the United States is the government.  That’s not healthy.  What are we going to do when THEY start laying off?  And…it’s already happening at the lower levels.  States, counties, parishes, cities and towns have been laying off some of their workers.  Hiring freezes are in effect.  Next its going to be the federal government…and what are they going to do, just put a pay freeze on the soldiers and tell them they aren’t going to get paid this year?  (I say fire the IRS workers…then they can’t collect taxes!)

We are seeing gas prices that fluctuate a lot, which means fuel for heating homes in the frigid North is skyrocketing often too.  Cold people are unhappy people.  Food prices are unstable, randomly seeming to rock up and down, as though stores are trying to gauge what we’re really going to spend on our food.

And our illegal immigrant issue isn’t going away, and no matter how much everyone wants to point their fingers at Arizona and their laws…if the Federal government was addressing the illegal issue, then they wouldn’t have to.  It’s not just Mexican nationals either, nor just the Mexican border…and the problem isn’t ending with the Mexican border states.  Illegal aliens are not just picking lettuce, they are often taking far higher paying jobs, even with companies holding government contracts, far away from the Mexican border.  They hail from all kinds of countries too.  When a man who’s just been laid off is walking away from his job site, knowing that those illegal aliens still have THEIR jobs…how do you think he’s feeling?

And how do you tell if someone is an illegal alien?  Are we all going to need to carry our papers to prove we are citizens?  Are we all going to have to assume that we’re going to be challenged several times a day about our nationality?  Logic says that is inefficient, and profiling is necessary, even if it isn’t fair to citizens who may be Hispanic, have an accent, or have difficulty speaking English.  I guess its a case of so sorry, but English IS our mainstream language.  MY ancestors had to give up THEIR language to live here, so why is the current crop of immigrants any different?  Granted, I’ve known some technically illegal aliens that spoke perfect English and didn’t look any bit like a “foreigner” because they had been here since infancy.  They didn’t make the decision to come here illegally, it was done for them, and they were very American.  It isn’t an easy or cut & dried situation, but most people don’t see it that way.  They see illegal aliens that have jobs that they don’t have and would like to have.

What does all of this mean?

A potentially bankrupt nation with most of its armed forces scattered across the globe, unable to adequately supply their armies or bring them home, as riots begin to erupt in one city after another as social unrest, shortages, and unemployment provide the sparks for the flames.  As the government begins to break down, so does shipping of goods, and as cities endure one shortage after another, rioting only gets worse.  Crime rises.  Black markets begin to flourish.  Homes, businesses, government offices are destroyed, police and fire departments are helpless against the rising wave of unrest.  The National Guard, once intended as a force remaining here to protect the nation, has become an auxiliary source for soldiers, and many units are far away from the United States, unable to assist in restoring order here, and the situation continues to deteriorate.

That’s if no foreign government steps in, that’s if the United Nations doesn’t step in.  Then, we’d become an occupied nation living under someone else’s martial law.  The production of our fields, farms, factories and refineries can be confiscated and shipped overseas, leaving Americans still struggling to survive.  After all, we have to pay the bill for their soldiers…

Of course, that situation could be compounded.  We have seen our shores landed on by boat people before.  It can happen again, and what if they are carrying things like cholera, diphtheria, yellow fever, and diseases far worse?  As these diseases spread out at an epidemic level, we could add sickness, quarantines, and panic to the equation, further speeding along our descent into chaos.

Mother Nature hasn’t been adverse to striking too.  How about a few really nasty blizzards, the kind that dumps 5-6 feet of snow across the Heartland and Midwest?  Maybe a nice earthquake on the West Coast, shake things up a bit there.  And…the Madrid fault along the Mississippi river is about a century overdue to shake things up all across the center of the country, along a major shipping alley too.  The river flowing backwards would be an awesome sight, I suppose.

And too, there was Katrina…and there can be another Katrina again.  Where shall it land?  The East Coast?  Florida?  Somewhere along the Gulf Coast?

If you have disease running rampant, social unrest resulting in serious urban rioting, a breakdown of the ability of the government to respond and restore order, and then comes natural disasters on top of it, sending a couple of million people to find a refuge elsewhere, while those they left behind are struggling to survive…what then?

How will you survive?

What will you drink? Eat? Where will you sleep?  How will you stay warm or cool?  Who will protect you when the bandits, rioters, or looters come?  What are you going to do when they want YOUR food, YOUR water, YOUR safe haven, and maybe YOUR sons or daughters?  It’s a fact of life, they WILL come.  Look what happened with Katrina…all that death and destruction, and people went into flooded houses and stole what hadn’t been damaged.   Gangs of looters roamed neighborhoods, unafraid of the curfew, and respecting little except a confrontation with armed residents who were still in their homes.  There are cops who were convicted of wrongfully killing people during those times…but how many people died at the hands of looters and it went unreported and undetected?

Think about it.  Do you have food and water to last you…maybe a long time?  How would you protect yourself?  Who are your neighbors?  What if you aren’t allowed to find your family?  What if travel is too dangerous or not permitted?  Look at the humiliation people now have to endure in order to be allowed to fly…what if it was like that to drive to the next town…or worse?

Being prepared means thinking about worst case scenarios.  It means getting the tools together to achieve a successful outcome.

Sometimes it means making sure you have the right to do so too.

Fishing and meetings and camping and fees and dogs too!

Today is a big day for me.  I get to go fishing.

Okay, so its a little thing to a lot of people.  I used to go fishing every week.  Now, that was a very long time ago.  I haven’t been fishing since I moved to the South.  It’s almost like I’m about to go fishing on an alien planet.

I came from cold water fishing, where the trouts were brownies and rainbows.  Here they have something called white trout, but it lives in warm water.  They don’t have sunfish, but they have something called bream that sounds like brim.  Mullets aren’t just bad hair cuts, but rather a fish that I am told is the real chicken of the sea, complete with a gizzard, and it is supposed to be a very tasty pan fish.

They also have a variety of sea monsters, from gators to sharks, with jelly fish just for a really bad joke.  If you ever have a tendril from one of the buggers slide across your ankle, you would get the “bad joke” part.  Just for added measure, the only cure for the pain is supposedly urine.

To make things a tad more interesting, Mississippi’s annual fresh water regulation book isn’t available for 2010 yet.  (scratches head)

It seems that the book is released with the annual hunting regs.  (looks at calendar)  Yeah, it doesn’t make sense.  I guess any time you are in a new state, things aren’t going to make sense sometimes.  I’m still trying to figure out what permits are required where and where to buy them and how much they are going to cost.  The state website isn’t exactly helping either.  A lot of things in Mississippi I really like.  I don’t like mysterious fees and permits for everything outdoors.  I do like how clean and well maintained their rest areas are.  I’ve only used one of their state parks, and that was a so-so experience, not a surprising one as it illustrated a common problem.  Tent campers, if they don’t want to go primitive, have a LOT of problems with booking sites in parks they are not familiar with.  Improved sites are geared for rvs and campers, not for setting up a tent, so on occasion, you’ll have no place for a tent on a particular site, due to grade, trees, or water.  That’s what happened to me–the site was an RV-only one, as was the other party in our group of 2 that were going camping that weekend.  I don’t remember what happened, but it also had us arriving fairly late at the park, and we opted to move to the primitive campground, set up our tents, and then report to the ranger station the next morning.  Neither of us asked for a refund of the price difference, and the ranger was agreeable to our switch, so it worked out fine.  It also turned out that the park really doesn’t have much to offer in terms of activities we are interested in, which is unfortunate, but that’s the breaks of the game.  Each park offers its own set of characteristics, which is what makes them fun and unique. 

While we were checking out parks this past week, we had a near-miss kind of glitch that can result in expensive mistakes, especially when it involves a group making reservations.  We wanted to look at a particular park, near Hattiesburg, MS.  I was given the name of the park by another group member and I was happily looking at the amenities and activities offered.  At the very bottom of the list, way down there, in the ultra fine print, I happened to notice that it mentioned that it was a park near Louisiana located just south of McComb.  For several minutes, that didn’t sink in even.  Then it did…and I questioned the other group member about which park were we really looking at.  Reserve America is a reliable way to make reservations, but they don’t have a “I’m stupid and wasn’t paying attention” get out of it clause.  If you goof, and make reservations the wrong weekend, the wrong month, the wrong year, or the wrong park…it’s going to cost you.  Pay attention or you’ll be paying them!  I goofed once…and didn’t realize I’d goofed until I arrived at the park to discover I had no reservations…for that weekend.  Soon enough, my error was discovered.  I’d made reservations for the right dates…in the wrong month.  At an average of $15 per night, that will add up fairly quickly.  Cancelling a reservation will cost you a 1 night fee.

Now checking on state parks in Alabama was an eye opener.  Seriously.  It’s also a bank opener.  Standard campsites there are apparently gold plated, with a low (of what I’ve found so far) of $25 per night.  They also have a 2 night minimum for weekends, PLUS a $3 fee for each day in summer season (which runs until November!) I guess they want to keep the poor folks out of the parks?  Then again…Georgia and Florida aren’t any cheaper.  Florida runs from $20 to $40 at the parks I checked, with the high end being for beach parks and RVs.  Georgia runs $25 and up per night, and I didn’t price a beach park.  I guess the state of Arizona didn’t realize what a potential gold mine it was losing when it shut down most of its state parks and campgrounds.

This can be a real problem for large families.  Many campsites are restricted to 1 or 2 tents (which shouldn’t be a problem) but also to 6 people.  That means if a family has more than 4 children along, which can be as simple as 2 kids with 1 friend each…you have already hit the limit.  I know that I’ve seen this limit, when it involved children, ignored by rangers in Louisiana…that doesn’t mean that each state is going to be as liberal when it comes to counting kids at a campsite.  I’m not even sure it SHOULD be ignored…I do realize that these extra kids take a real toll on the facilities.  Having been at the campground for several days when the influx of large families arrived…we saw a sudden deterioration in the cleanliness of the restrooms & showers as vast quantities of mud was tracked in by many small feet making many trips in and out…and not necessarily avoiding the mud puddles on the way.  It wasn’t that they were ill behaved or anything either, kids simply are kids.  It was spring, we had had a lot of rain, and there were ample numbers of mud puddles just begging to be tromped through.  These were also seriously large families, and I think there were 3 or 4 of them who were apparently friends/relatives, with 6 or more kids per family…ranging from infants to pre-teens, all with bicycles.  (My dogs had a hate-on for the bicycles, and unfortunately we were on a corner where EVERYONE passed…and each time, Sissy would announce their passing, until we ended up putting her in her crate and covering her like an over-excited bird.  Red, with her teddy-bear appearance, was muzzled in case an unleashed child decided to make a run into camp–I believe in accident prevention!)

I know that Mississippi is like most states, allowing dogs in the campgrounds and requiring 6 ft or shorter leashes.  I understand the rules and the reasons behind them, and I believe in following them.  They aren’t unreasonable, and have resulted from people not behaving in responsible manners with their dogs.  Letting your dogs run unleashed in unfamiliar areas with strange dogs and people, as well as natural hazards and traffic is irresponsible.  Using long leashes, long tie outs, etc. is also not reasonable in close quarters, such as campground spaces.  It isn’t fair to the other campers, or the other pet owners.  I hate navigating around lunging dogs, tied or on leash, while walking with my own.  (Sissy is bad enough…after all of this time, she’s STILL ill behaved in public often.  I feel like we’re walking a 25 lb. “cujo”.)  We also use muzzles as accident preventers, not because our dogs are vicious, but rather because accidents can happen very quickly with only a moment’s lack of attention.  I know what my dogs are like, but I don’t know what other people’s children or dogs are like or what they are apt to do.  Because I enjoy taking my dogs along, I obey the rules and clean up after my dogs.  I want my dogs, along with other pet owners’ dogs…to be welcome in the future.  And yes, sometimes it is inconvenient to have them along.  Especially in the summer, when often one of us has to stay with the dogs while the other goes into the store or whatever.  It means in summer, we can’t have the dogs along if we are going to visit historic sites.  It means that sometimes, we watch parents and their young monsters terrorizing everyone within hearing distance…and we wonder why children aren’t required to be on leash and licensed.  I’ve seen some children at restaurant buffets that made me realize that dogs would be cleaner to have in restaurants too.

You know, when you get up too early because of your excitement about the day to start…time moves slowly.   I THOUGHT I woke up at 4:30.  It is now 4:44.  I didn’t write all of that in 14 minutes, as well as making a cup of instant coffee and drinking half of it.  So, that means…I woke up at 3:30, misread the clock…not hard on that clock, btw, I do it all the time since its shaped like a teapot, and only has the 12, 3, 6 and 9 marked.  I’ll be nice, and wait another 45 minutes before starting to rouse GM, who has promised to take me fishing this morning AND not be grumpy. 

I remember fishing as a kid, usually in Minnesota, where we had a weekend place.  I loved the fall.  Fog would sweep in, completely enveloping the lake and muffling sound so that you didn’t realize there was a highway just a half mile away, nor that the entire shoreline of the lake was ringed by weekend homes.  I could sit on the rocks that formed a microscopic island alongside of our place, catching bullheads in silence.  If  I was very still, and a bit lucky, a flock of white pelicans would come swimming along, taking shape in the fog like some swan-like dreams, serenely paddling in the glass like water and close enough that I could have reached out and touched them.

Back in those days, I could clean those bullheads very fast with a pair of skinning pliers.  Typically, a couple of buckets would hold about 300 fish (they were fairly small.)  That would be about 15 minutes of cleaning, if I had someone to haul away the cleaned fish for me.  My little brother was almost as fast at cleaning them.  It also tells you that we had a lot of practice at cleaning them–we didn’t get to be fast without it!  Still, the pliers, with their broad & sharp edge, made a huge difference in our speed.  Grabbing a fish out of the bucket by the spine, we didn’t squeeze hard enough to snip it off, waiting until we had it on the table.  The pliers would then grab the spine at its base, and doing it just right, we would pull off the spine and most, if not all of the skin, in one smooth yank.  The pliers were then used to cut through the backbone, while we simultaneously snapped it and pulled the head & entrails away from the fish body.  The pliers snipped away the anus and rear fin and bingo…it was done.  Move on to the next one.  We used the same pliers when we cleaned other fish, such as perch, bluegill and crappie too, just in a different way.  We rarely scaled a fish…it was too easy to just skin them, especially in the pan sized ones.  Skinning always started with removal of the dorsal fin, whether it was a catfish or any other kind, and that’s where we’d start with pulling away the skin.  As a kid, I didn’t learn to fillet fish…I don’t think either of my parents learned how either.  I did learn when I was 30something…by using carp, which were considered a trash-fish.  I could catch a five gallon bucket filled with 3-4 lb carps in an hour or two…and sometimes people would just give them to you if you asked.  I’d haul them home, and sit in the garage at night with a fillet knife and my bloody carp (they are really gory to clean).  After a dozen buckets, I’d learned how to fillet the bony things, and I’m pretty sure…if you learn how to fillet them, you can fillet about anything.  I guess my method is a bit unconventional.  I skin the fish, then cut & pull  the fillets away from the bone.  I’m also seriously out of practice now, so maybe with coaching, I’ll learn to be a bit more conventional & efficient in my method.  I used to never fillet sunfish, preferring to eat them whole & scaled.  Perch and bass and crappie…I filleted.  Rainbow trout is just way too easy to cook without scaling OR filleting.

Rainbows…oh, how wonderful they are.  I remember them fondly.  Dawn…cold mountain air…icy mountain stream.  Small campfire with a piece or two of bacon sizzling, some hot coffee…catching a couple of fish.  Off with their heads, out with their guts, and into the skillet with the bacon grease…right there.  Sometimes eaten right out of the skillet.  The wonderful aroma, the way the steam from your coffee will warm up your hands, your half frozen nose, and your insides…all at the same time.  The scales from rainbow trout are so tiny they are really almost non-existant…and we never ate the skin anyhow, it was just an envelope for cooking the delicious fish! I don’t care what gourmet recipe you use, nothing will ever taste better than a trout cooked plain in some bacon grease over a campfire in the cold mountain air.  You don’t even want a “trophy” sized fish…when you are about to eat it, you want one that FITS  into the pan!

What am I hoping for with our fishing trip this morning?

A mess of pan fish.  Plain and simple.  I want to try some of the local fish, even if I have NO idea what on earth they are.  I want to learn what baits to use and how to use them.  I want to know what size of hooks to use, and what gauge of line to use.  I’m told that the 6 lb test line that I always preferred will not work here very long.

But..the witching hour has arrived.  Time to go fishing!

Get Ready GO Meetup

Do you live on the Gulf Coast?  Want to get involved with interesting people who believe in responsible and fun camping with a group?   I’m serious, you know.

Get Ready GO has a Meetup group, and we’re having our first Meetup meeting next Saturday at 5 p.m. in Pascagoula, MS.  There are no annual dues, no fees, etc. which makes it a really great thing.  You DO however, have to buy your own meal and beverages, as we are going to have the Meetup at the La Fiesta Brava Mexican food restaurant on Denny Avenue (aka Highway 90) in Pascagoula.  Prices are very reasonable, and they offer a variety of beverages as well as food.

What’s the easiest way to get there?  From either direction, on Interstate 10, exit on Exit 69 (Moss Point/Pascagoula) and head South on Highway 63.  Turn right at the intersection with Highway 90 (east)   La Fiesta Brava is on the right hand side, past Walmart.  If you get to the Singing River Hospital, you have gone too far east.

We’re going to be planning a camping trip (also posted on Meetup) for the following week.  For timid campers or those unfamiliar with the routine, going as part of a group with experienced campers is definitely much easier and probably safer.  We haven’t picked out a location as of yet–we’re going to be voting on that at the meeting.  Right now, we have 3 potential sites, all located in Mississippi and all are primitive.  (That means no power, no water, no toilets, so leave your hairdryer and tv at home!)

Site #1 has great fishing options, and is accessable by all cars, right up to the camping area in Mississippi in a WMA.

Site #2 has some fishing option, a swimming hole, but cars will be parked about 150 yards away (as the crow flies) and our gear will all be moved closer to the site by the vehicle with the most clearance, which will then be moved back with the other cars.  This is a moderately private area in a National Forest.

Site #3  is in a state forest in Florida, with the camping area accessable by most vehicles.  (My mini van can make it without much ado.)  Fairly private, but close to roads.  Fishing options are unknown (I’m not a Florida resident, and paying out of state license fees is expensive.)  There are great swimming options as well as hiking options.  This site is well known to the organizers of the Meetup group.

For the organizers, the typical arrangement is for everyone to pool their money for camp food, and I (Gia) does the cooking & menu planning.  It’s easy, at least for the ones who aren’t doing the cooking!  If we continue with this arrangement, it will be different to add people that I’m not as familiar with for my cooking “victims.”  I have to admit, I’ve come a long ways from my minimalist days.  I remember taking a package of hotdogs and a can of fruit cocktail on one trip…to feed 3 people.  I was not a very popular camp cook that weekend, in fact, I was informed that my name was “Mudd.”  That was about 25 years ago now…and I’ve gotten over that stage.  I do plan meals that don’t have me hovering over a stove for hours to present the meal, and we don’t do expensive foods.  I think I’m going to figure that I need to present meals that cost under $3 for dinner per person and under $2 for lunches & dinners, bringing a day’s food expenses to $7 per person.  With just a dinner on Friday night, 3 meals for Saturday, and a breakfast on Sunday…that means each person would add $12 to the “food kitty.”  Cleanup duties fall to the non-cooking parties to share, with everyone washing their own dishes for the meal, that means whoever gets “KP duty” really only has the cooking stuff and table to wash off.

If we have someone who wants to participate…but lacks gear, most of us have spares that we are willing to let others use responsibly.  Anyone can put together a bed roll, especially this time of year, from things at home.  Basically, a folded quilt can become your mattress, your normal pillow, a light blanket and a sheet…and you’ll be sleeping like a baby.  A folding chair is nice, but most of us started off without those too.  Add a flashlight, your drinking cup/glass, and your own drinks with your bed, and you’ll be ready to go.  Everything else is pretty much included in our group kit, like tables, chairs, pots/pans, dishes, etc. and everyone just makes sure its clean and returned.  Extras, like fishing bait, gear & licenses, bug repellant, backpacks, etc. also need to be supplied by the individuals, but none of them are required to have a good time camping. 

We always enjoy ourselves and believe in responsible camping.  When camping with us, expect to pick up after yourself AND pick up litter and debris left by less responsible users of the area. 

 If you camp with pets, expect to keep them under control & on leash at all times, and please leave the man-eaters at home!  I travel with two dogs myself, and we always have a crate to keep Sissy happy (and shut her up at night) and a cable/long leash for both dogs.  It is important to respect and protect the environment, as well as our companions.

Get-Ready-Go! has a Social Networking Group site

Get-Ready-Go! has a Social Networking Group site on Ning.com the URL is: http://exogeny.ning.com/getreadygo Membership is FREE. You do have to have a Ning ID Account to join the site. Like everything else we do, if you decide to include yourself, remember that the Ning site follows our Privacy Policy, so your information is as safe as we can hope for. As well, remember that even though we include Family Activities (of course), the site does not encourage users 13 years of age or younger, even though we are “G-Rated”. Kids, if you want to visit Get-Ready-Go! Have Mom, Dad, Grandpa or your Adult guardian’s help while you are visiting our sites!

Get-Ready-Go! Group on Exogeny Network