It's interesting to me how when people are on a beach, they seem to somehow feel more free to build things and play with whatever kind of natural detritus is available, from making sand castles to rock cairns to little boats with driftwood or shells.  In light of various recent studies about children being uninterested in the outdoors and their ( Read more... )

The fourth and final part.

From Oregon I travelled to Washington with my aunt and uncle. I stayed with them in the minuscule town of Coulee Dam for a few days before heading up to the winery where I would be working next. I worked in my aunt's garden, saw the laser show on the face of the enormous dam, checked out some cool architecture (and an ( Read more... )

Yes, I should have finished posting my summer pictures months ago.  But with needing to sleep basically all the time because of my broken knee and having a two-hour commute, I've been barely finding time to eat and practice, much less do stuff like this.  I'm working fewer hours for the next few weeks, though, which is a mixed blessing.  But it ( Read more... )

So it took me aeons to get my pictures uploaded and organized, but I'm finally getting around to [sloppily] posting about where all I was this summer.

I travelled out to San Francisco via Greyhound and America West, met my travel companion at the airport, and took BART to the financial district, from which we walked to our hostel.  We stayed at ( Read more... )

So I'm skimming various webpages to compile ideas for food on my upcoming backpacking trip, and I encounter this, um, suggestion:  (I love how zie thinks ancient civilizations ate food similar to Fritos.)

From: Trailblazer75

Survival diet

My survival pack that is always on my back when I am more than 200 yards from camp depends on the highest calorie ( Read more... )

I'm tired. I have been impatient lately. I've also had some little moments of joy, but it was joy from having something or accomplishing something--joy about a thing that has already taken place. In contrast, I haven't been enjoying thinking about the future so much these days. I don't think it's so much from anxiety about the future, though, ( Read more... )

My mourning doves are back!! This morning I wasn't exactly thrilled about that, but now that I'm not trying to sleep, I'm excited and happy to have them living on my windowsill again. Either it's the same pair as last year and they remember that I'm not evil, or it's a different pair that is less afraid of people, because I still need to move ( Read more... )

"The reason [low-impact camping] matters, I think, is not because of the people who will come next and have to live with your scars.  The reason it matters...is because, for a moment, you are placed in the role of an early settler of a wild land.  Will you make your decisions based on your convenience and comfort, thinking only about the next 10 ( Read more... )