Breakfast Round the Campfire

Now that you’ve blown the dust off your trusty camping tent, head out for this 4th of July for a weekend of outdoors life. Dont leave home … without a plan however. These websites can help you make your outdoor trip and activities much more fun by giving you the information you need to make knowledgeable decisions.

www.mapquest.com - If you’re heading to a new locale to hike, backpack or camp, Mapquest will give you directions from your door to your destination. Just click the “Directions” icon, enter your starting point and destination and soon there will be a detailed map on your monitor complete with written directions, the number of distance miles (total and segment) and how much time it should take you to make the drive. Advanced options allow you to choose shortest time, shortest distance, avoid toll roads, avoid highways and show seasonally closed roads, or to convert your map to a satellite view with road graphics overlaid.

www.weather.com - Knowing how to get where you’re going is only part of the plan. You’ll also want to know what the weather will be like when you arrive and while you stay at your destination. This website is the online version of The Weather Channel, which is a standard on almost every cable TV lineup around the world. This site will answer just about any weather forecast question for almost any destination that you can imagine. You can find out the current conditions and forecasts for the coming weekend, 10 days ahead or a month ahead, so planning ahead for the weather systems on your next hiking, backpacking or camping trip is easy.

www.reserveamerica.com - It’s hard to beat the convenience of this site when it comes to reserving your chosen campsite. If you’re not familiar with campsites and/or parks in the area you plan on visiting, you can perform a search based on different criteria, according to the specific amenities or features you are interested in enjoying. If you know the park you’re planning to stay at, it’s easy to book a site or sites for the number of nights and people you need. There is a wealth of helpful information available including directions, maps of parks, regional maps showing other parks, whether pets are allowed, and if sites are primitive or not, as well as many other useful functions. Yes, there is a service charge when booking sites, but the convenience ReserveAmerica offers is worth it.

Have a “Camping Basics” list….you know, the stuff you always take camping.

Pack all of the non-perishables into one of those plastic containers and if you are an avid camper, just keep it stocked.

Create a “Food Staples” list. These are the items to pack the day before into a container with a tight fitting lid. These are the items that you don’t want to share with the bugs.

As you are tending your outdoor kitchen, don’t hesitate to pass on your camping wisdom to whomever is within earshot.

To cook a meal for 8-10 hungry campers, clean it all up, repack it away and store it in the tightly closed box, cooler or back in the vehicle. This requires methodical planning, patience, time management, resourcefulness, and a good sense of humor. (The humor comes in handy when you have to haul all of that stuff back out again for the next meal). What school can teach all of these valuable lessons and result in a plate of delicious grub?

What you pack should be basic, but not sparse. You can offer an amazing menu from just a few basic food stuffs. Avoid packing mayonnaise or lunch meats, as they are quick at spoiling.

And you can even bring the kitchen sink with you. Get two of Granite Gear’s Kitchen Sink and you can haul them from the creek to your campsite by balancing them on a stick over your shoulders. Better yet, get your kids to do it. Or you could just get one Kitchen Sink and end up spilling water inside both your shoes while trying to scramble back to camp with an awkward bucket.

Monday - Everything Breakfast

Also makes a great sandwich.

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 eggs
• 1 pound sausage
• 3 ounces shredded cheese
• 15 tatertots

PREPARATION:

Brown sausage, add tatertots, and cook until potatoes fall apart. Then add eggs and cheese. Scramble them to your preference and serve.

Servings: 4-6
Preparation time: 10-20 minutes

Tuesday
This tried & true Dutch Oven Blackberry Cobbler recipe will make you the hero around the campfire. Enjoy this delight of a camping dessert!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 1 1/3 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Cinnamon, to taste
• 2 x 29 ounce cans blackberry filling

What’s Next:

Line a 12-quart Dutch oven with heavy duty aluminum foil for easy clean-up. Place on bed of coals to preheat for 10-15 minutes. Mix all ingredients except for blackberries. Remove Dutch oven off of coals and pour in fruit, drain if needed.

Pour batter over top of fruit. Add cinnamon on top, if desired. Put lid on Dutch oven and place back on coals. When using charcoal, place about 8 pieces on bottom and 13-15 on top. Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from coals and crack lid to allow it to cool. Now go be the camping hero!

Wednesday - CampFire Eggs
No camping trip is complete without at least one breakfast of campfire eggs,.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 dozen eggs
• 1 pound bacon
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• small can chopped mushrooms
• shredded cheddar cheese

PREPARATION:

Cut bacon into thirds and put into large cast-iron skillet on camp fire (or stove), stirring to separate pieces. Cook until about 1/2 done, then add chopped veggies, and stir until bacon is crisp and veggies are tender. Meanwhile beat eggs in large bowl, adding a little milk if available, and stir into bacon mixture in skillet. Cook stirring constantly until eggs are set. Remove from fire and sprinkle with cheese.Servings: 4-5

Thursday Stuffed French Toast

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package maple flavored sausage
• 1 package cream cheese
• 8 slices bread
• 2 eggs
• butter
• maple syrup

PREPARATION:

Brown sausage in pan. Drain grease and add cream cheese, more or less depending on how much you like cream cheese. You can do this step at home, if you like, and bring premixed. Use the sausage mixture to make a sandwich with two pieces of bread.
Dip the entire sandwich into a well beaten egg mixture. Toss this onto a buttered skillet, and fry up just like French toast until light brown and sausage is warm. Serve with maple syrup.Servings: 4

Friday Easy Breakfast Scramble
* 1 Lb. Bacon - fry crisp & crumble
* 1 - 32 Oz. Pkg. Frozen Country Hashbrown Potatoes
* 1/4 Cup Chopped Onions
* 1 Dozen Eggs
* 1/4 Cup Milk
* Salt & Pepper

Directions:
In a large iron skillet, melt the bacon grease and add the onions until they are transparent. Add the potatoes and cook until brown. Add crumbled bacon. While potatoes are cooking, whisk eggs and milk together until slightly foamy. Pour over potatoes and cook. Turn every few minutes until eggs are done. This can be cooked on a camp stove or an open fire. Great served with fried biscuits.

Comments:
Before leaving home, I fry the bacon and crumble it. I place the cooled bacon grease in a small container with a tight lid, and chop the onions and place them in a small baggie. This cuts preparation and cooking time at the camp site to 20 minutes.

For some variation, try sliced mushrooms, red, green or yellow peppers or salsa. Feel free to create your own variations, too!  Best of all enjoy the journey and each other  Git ‘r done safely

Gear Up for Green Grilling

With the barbecue and grilling season heating up here **finally** in Montana , If the griller/bbq hero in your household has been itching for a new grill or smoker that won’t break the bank, the Weber Smokey Mountain just may be the answer for you. They are extremely fuel efficient, affordable and need minimal messing about with the fire– they’re ’set it and forget it” cookers.

The WSM is a low cost, low tech bbq cooking solution. Plus, it’s multi-seasonal and are small enough that you can put it right by your back door and not spend a bunch time out in the cold this winter.

Another option here if you cook the food for yourself at the table is this handy dandy Portagrill. It’s fun and seems like it would be great for a party. Chop up some veggies and slice some proteins and give everybody the opportunity to make up their own meals.

It comes with a stainless steel handle which makes it easy to carry, even when hot.

The grill sits on a wooden trivet, providing stability while protecting your table from the heat. There’s also an internal heat shield and bowl that stops the charcoal from contacting with the porcelain. Available from the A+R Store: $300

Nobody Here But Us Chickens or so it sometimes seems.. I’ve been doing research on free range farming practices in our ongoing eco-friendly quest. What I’m discovering is that industrial poultry farming is also for the birds. Some corporate farms crowd a million beakless chickens in cramped dark cages where they soak up antibiotics and lay their guts out for the duration of their miserable lives. Yikes.

And the chickens are coming home to roost. Industrial farming isn’t just bad for chickens and hogs — it destroys family farms and pollutes aquifers, soils, air, and water. A subject nearer and dearer to my heart here in Montana We should look for free-range chickens from suppliers they trust and seek out local markets and producers who buy from sustainable family farms. There are still networks of farmers who raise their animals to range freely on grass pastures and natural feeds, who don’t use steroids, sub-therapeutic antibiotics, or other artificial growth promotants, and who treat their animals with dignity and respect. And it tastes lots better too. And with that it’s time to fire up the barbie with some free range chicken

Ingredients
* 1 lime, juiced
* 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
* 1/4 cup orange juice
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 1/4 cup honey
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
* 1 tablespoon paprika
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1 pinch red pepper flakes
* 1 pinch cayenne pepper
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 6 skinless, boneless free range chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness

DIRECTIONS

1. Whisk together lime juice, vinegar, orange juice, wine, and honey in a bowl until the honey dissolves. Add salt, pepper, chipotle powder, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, cinnamon, oregano, cumin, ginger, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and olive oil; whisk to mix. Place chicken breasts into a resealable plastic bag, pour in marinade, and coat well. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil grate.
3. Remove chicken from marinade and shake off excess; discard remaining marinade. Cook chicken on the preheated grill approximately 5 to 7 minutes per side, or until the juices run clear and there are no signs of pink in the meat.

And since we’ve passed the summer solstice and from here on our days will only be getting shorter. There are plenty of good grilling months left though. Check out today’s Fish Creek Find If you expect to be out cooking for friends and family after dark, here’s a gadget that might help: flashlight grill tongs. What will they think of next?Now you can increase your BBQ guru’s after-hours efficiency by taking the flashlight out of his mouth and putting it right where it’s needed—where he’s grilling.

The extra-long stainless steel tongs run on 2 x AAA batteries and an LED flashlight. Now you can make sure that meat is done all the way through before you toss it on the plate, even after the sun has gone down.

$50 at RedEnvelope

Other Helpful Camping Recipe & Technique Links:

- Campfire Cuisine article by Marcia Kiesel, Food & Wine (1998). A for the dedicated car campers, don’t miss the sidebar - Tips for Packing your Cooler

- Martha Stewart shows us how to do campfire potatoes.

- Wikipedia: Campfire Cooking. Check out the photo of the oven made from scraps!

- An interesting round-up of assorted campfire cooking techniques - coffee can cooking, cooking on leaves, cooking on rocks, etc. Be warned there are an irritating number of ads cascading through the content on this page.

- Lots of good prep and packing tips in this Associated Press article by Annmarie Timmins. Spice up Campfire Cooking with a Little Prep Work

- The GORP community food section. Sections include - Making Good Joe, Top Trail Recipes, GORP-Tested Stoves, Campfire Staples. (registration required)

Happy cooking and camping!

Slow Down to Go Faster

The words “going on vacation” can sometimes conjure up the desire to escape the “day job” and as often as possible. For these folks, sitting on a beach is probably the most appropriate option, because the idea of working while on “vacation” wouldnt enter the picture.

And yes, working on a farm can beat sitting on a beach; or and can be way more more rewarding than tourism of the conventional sort.

1. You can stay longer

If you’re working on a farm, you typically stick around one place longer than the typical tourist.You’re able to get a more real understanding of the environment and culture. You ‘ll get a genuine sense of place and even of having “come home”.

You ‘ll also have time to truly relax, and because you aren’t flying frantically around a country or region, doing the “if it’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium” routine. . It’s something most conventional tourists never notice, because they turn up and leave during the “tourist season,” or when the boss gives them the pefunctory two weeks in summer.

2. You can travel cheap

You usually find yourself pay a huge premium for food, accommodations and entertainment, which are located in the tourist zones aka “tourist traps”. If you avoid the “tourist traps” by living and working with a farming community, you will get room and board for next to no money Often you can arrange some kind of work-trade in exchange for a place to stay. This makes it feasible to travel for months at a time.

3. You can experience reality

Even though you’re technically still a tourist in a foreign land (and don’t be tempted to forget this), we get a deeper glimpse into what “real life” is like for the locals.

To find a more “authentic” experience, you have to make the effort to do what the touristy tourists aren’t doing, When you get out of the “tourist trap” zone, you must respect the cultural values of the local community. Flaunting material wealth or otherwise disturbing the peace is not cool.

4. You can enjoy a deeper, more meaningful experience

When you work on a farm, you and the locals are mano o mano. You share a common purpose, whether it’s building or repairing a home, planting or harvesting a crop, or tending the animals. When you share this experience with the locals, you come to know what is valuable to them, and what is valuable to that place.
It’s the finding and playing “a game bigger than yourself” and the lessons learned is actually what many people seek when they travel.

You will return home transformed, a new person with fresh insights into the world and a broader, deeper context and meaning for your life. Slow down to go faster.

A Happy Green Camper

Camping season’s just around the corner and yes you can be a happy and green camper. Luxury Eco-Camp Kit from Biome Lifestyle.

What comes in the Eco-Camp Kit:

• “Solar shower – One Solar heated reusable shower. 20L capacity, sufficient for 2-3 showers.
• Water-powered digital alarm clock – no batteries required.
• Solar powered iPod charger – One hour of sunshine gives about one hour of play time of Apple iPod’s.
• Organic cotton roll-up bed – Hand made from high-quality hand woven organically grown cotton using natural colourfast dyes. Easy to carry and much more sumptuous than a camping mat.
• Soft shetland wool throw – hand knitted throw made from soft, undyed Shetland wool. Can be used as a blanket or luxurious picnic rug.
• Self-powered LED Lantern - wind-up technology lantern. 60 seconds wind-up provides one hour of illumination.
• One bar of organic soap
• One Organic cotton bath towel – available in natural.
• All contained within an eco-friendly Biome Lifestyle bag.”

Before you hit the road green bake a batch of these oatmeal raising peanut butter cookies to take with and then hide the results in the furthest and most forgettable reaches of your kitchen. You’ll thank me later. From cooks.com
3/4 c. butter
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 c. quick oatmeal
1 c. raisins

Drop onto cookie sheet by teaspoonfuls. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 15 minutes

And if you like the idea of a campfire sans camping this Blomus fire basket, you can have a campfire in your backyard. Sometimes, there’s no place like home … right Auntie Em?

At Blomus USA

The 10 Commandments of Enlightened BBQs

One of the best and worst things about summertime eating is a backyard barbecue. Worst thing? What could be bad about enjoying some beer ‘n brats with family and friends ? There are folks however, that while the whole idea of a BBQ is fun, they really dread the eating part, because they are overwhelmed with all of the choices and abundance of the, literally, hours of eating. Whether it’s burgers, roasted corn slathered in butter, potato salad or super-rich brownies, we all need an eating plan at a barbecue to enjoy, but still maintain control

Forthwith another in t he sometimes series of 10 Commandments for Enlightened BBQing that you can stomach. Just stick with fruit for dessert? I dont think so , but you can get your grill on and still be able to hitch ‘yr britches. While we all know the basics - skip the foot long hot dog! - here are our 10 Commandments.

1. Thou shalt Check out the food before filling your plate; pick and choose to be a “taster.” (The first bite is always the best!)
2. Thou shalt Avoid grazing. Plan for one complete meal: Appetizer, main dish, dessert. You can keep your mouth busy with either non-calorie beverages when you’ve completed your meal or trading rodeo stories.
3. Thou shalt choose alcohol carefully,. I’m thinking so. Stick with light beer and avoid juice-based drinks and wine coolers. Try a white wine “spritzer” - wine with some club soda. These are great, btw.
4. Barter foods to stretch your calories. Choose your favorites, and don’t eat others. You are not obligated to try every dish on the buffet.
5. Thou shalt not heavy up on condiments. Mustard, salsa, and ketchup are basics. Limit mayonnaise and guacamole.
6. Thou shalt be a kid and jump into the backyard games, even if you’re not a badminton expert. Anything beats sitting.
7. Thou shalt not spend all your calories at the cooler (see Commandment 6 above)
8. Thou shalt pick one dessert and share with someone, or just start with a small piece. Add some fresh fruit, instead of going “a la mode.”
9. Thou shalt bring a dish YOU can know wont break the calorie bank. Think raw veggies; fruit platter; grilled portobello mushrooms, green salad with light dressing.
10. Thou shalt not announce to the world that you’re lightening up. That’s one of the surest ways to get people to offer you food!

So there you have it.. thou can grill without guilt. Git ‘r done

Room with a View

It’s that time of year again… Time to see just how much you can squeeze into the family minivan before it begins to sag in the middle. Time to see how far you can get before a child calls out the first: “Are we almost there yet? For all of you brave road warriors about to set off on a cross-country summer adventure–all the best. Just kidding. If you are choosing to laugh in the face of record high gas prices in order to hit family-friendly hotspots from Massachussetts to Montana, let not your heart be troubled.

Hopefully, this packing list will help you remember all you need to stuff in your bags:

First, regardless of theme or destination, the must haves:

Money and Documents

• cash
• credit cards
• debit/ATM cards (make sure these work in the country you’re visiting)
• travelers’ checks if needed
• picture id
• a photocopy of your picture ID, packed separately, just in case your ID is lost or stolen
• membership cards: AAA; Disney Club; etc.
• calling card or special phone number for long distance phone calls (-some phone services have such products for out-of-country travel)

Never Leave Home Without A Phone… Card.

Yes, cellphones are extremely handy inventions, but you want to supplement them with a phone card, especially if you are driving in areas that offer limited cell signals. Having a reliable pre-paid phone card in your travel arsenal will be invaluable when you are traveling along Hwy 2 in the far reaches of the mountains with a non functioning cellphone. Trust me on this one.

– and all the trip documents:

• itinerary
• airplane tickets, or confirmation number for e-ticket
• car reservation number
• any coupons for hotels, car rental, etc.
• directions to hotel(s)

Packing List: toiletries & personal care

• tooth paste, toothbrushes, dental floss (packed together, in a ziplock bag)
• shampoo, conditioner, hair gel, etc.
• shaving gear
• contact lenses paraphernalia
• glasses /reading glasses/sunglasses

For Car Trips:

• stuff to amuse the kids
• snacks and drinks
• motion sickness preventatives
• handy to have: a cooler for drinks; plastic cups

Rain Gear

umbrellas or ponchos this is Montana

raincoat, rain-pants for outdoors vacations

appropriate footwear

extra socks

Outdoors Gear

• insect repellant
• Afterbite, for insect bites
• allergy medicine if needed
• good shoes for hiking
• layers of clothes, especially fleece
• socks that will “wick” (draw moisture away from the skin)
• blister kit
• wool hat and gloves for chilly weather - when in Montana….
• When you head out on a hike, it’s important to bring the essentials: Water, healthy snacks, sunscreen, warm layers and those ‘just in case’ safety items. But all that extra stuff can weigh you down after too long. Here’s a handy item I read about on Fitsugar: Kelty Chuck Wagon Dog Pack. It is what it sounds like: A backpack for dogs. So instead of carrying everything yourself, let your lovable mutt do some of the lifting.The dog packs are available in small ($45), medium ($50) and large ($55) and they’re bright red so you won’t lose site of your pooch in the outdoors. The packs are lightweight and durable, and while your dog won’t be able to carry everything you need to bring along on you hike, she’ll be able to take at least a bit of the load off of you.
  

Last But Not Least: Clothes
Some travel experts recommend “traveling light”, and that’s great advice; I just don’t find it applies much to trips with kids. some folks prefer to bring enough clothes that I never waste time doing laundry. Our laundry is your laundry enoute. But the choice is yours!

Clothes for Kids

• two swimsuits (it’s icky putting on a wet suit)
• lots of t-shirts or other tops (including a few oldies that can be thrown away, reducing the need to do laundry)
• for boys, pants than become shorts when the bottom part of the leg is zipped off
• fleece vests or jackets for colder weather
• waterproof jacket if needed
• sleepwear
• underwear
• socks
• extra shoes

Clothes for Grownups
Of course everybody’s different — very different– regarding the amount of clothes they think they need. Here are just a few tips:

• pick two colors, and coordinate around them
• don’t forget belts, scarves, other accessories
• two swimsuits are nice for grownups too (see above, for kids)
• washable silks are the lightest, most convenient fabric for hot climates: shirts weigh nothing, can be washed in the sink, and dry in a few hours
• avoid heavy slow-drying pants like jeans
• even in a hot climate, bring a jacket or sweater: air-conditioning can get cold.

Now that you’re all packed, try to remember: this is a vacation! smart2go – Share the world with your friends!

Hit the Road .. Lightly

Remember… “objects are closer than they appear”… including these clouds.

Packing for your summer travels can be a perfect lesson in “less is more”. The difference between packing for a two week European vacation and packing for an extended research mission on Marss simple: the number of garments that are actually essential. I recommend the following procedure. Take out everything you think you need and lay it on your bed.

Then put away 75% of it, replacing the entire rejected collection with one trial-sized packet of Tide. If you feel yourself losing your nerve in this process, remember these key points. A trial-sized packet of Tide weighs much less than a week’s worth of clothing. A suitcase larger than a carry-on might not even fit in the average European hotel room. Nobody on your travels will know if you’ve worn the same shirt for three days in a row. Nobody will know if you’ve washed your socks in the bidet over a beer in fifteen minutes. Furthermore, nobody cares.

If you’re still having trouble, try to remind yourself that the advantages are priceless. Road trips, whether going across country or only across your state, can be a lot of fun. But the trip can turn into a big hassle if you’re not prepared. Here are essential steps to take before and during your road trip to assure a smooth, enjoyable ride:

* Check For Problems Beforehand - Assure that your car is running smoothly before you leave. And make sure everything is filled properly, from air in your tire to oil. You don’t want to run into problems on the road, especially in remote areas.

* Fill Car With Gas - Top ‘er off. You don’t want to run out of gas in a remote area, or find yourself in a place where gas is a lot more expensive. Make sure to check your gas levels regularly throughout the trip.

* Stop For Stretches And Breaks - Breaks are a must, otherwise you’ll go stir crazy (and even risk dangerous blood clots). Stop every few hours and take a five minute walk. The outside air will also refresh you., not to mention that necessary “pause for the cause”.

* Carry All Needed Documents - Make sure you have all essential documents, including your license, car’s manual, your inspection and registration and your car club card. You’ll need these in case of any snafus.

*Bring Enough Money - Keep extra cash on hand in a concealed spot. You may prefer to stop at ATMs or use credit cards, but you may find yourself in a situation where someone, such as a tow truck driver or store, only accepts cash.

* Get Directions - You may not be one to follow directions, but it’s always good to have a map and compass in the car. Do a mapquest before you leave . You can also supplement these with a GPS system, but GPS systems aren’t fail proof.

* Have An Itinerary - You don’t have to have a specific itinerary, but it’s good to let someone know that you’ll be in Iowa by Tuesday. Leave your number, possible route and other important information with a person at home. Always good to have a plan.

Remember… less is more… vacation travel is supposed to de-stress you… Check here for a detailed list on making your travel (and life) simpler as you take the lead out.

Sing along the campfire

It’s hard to imagine a camping trip without a campfire they go hand in hand. Cooking over the hot coals and then firing it up and sitting around and singing campfire songs or just listening to the crackling sound of the wood burning. So warm, toasty and relaxing, what would camping be like without it? So many food favorites can be cooked over a campfire and hot coals. Most of the time all that is needed is aluminum foil. Using foil is also easier on clean up just cook, eat and toss. How convenient is that?

Let’s go over some tips about creating a campfire and the safety issues First find a level spot and clear all debris and avoid areas with overhanging branches that could cause a fire hazard.

You’ll need to construct a fire ring. Gather rocks and make a round ring to build your fire in. Always have a bucket of water, shovel and fire extinguisher nearby and ready to put out a fire.

Gather the materials needed to create a successful campfire

• Tinder – small twigs, wood shavings, dry leaves or needles. This should start to burn immediately with a lighted match.
• Kindling – small sticks one inch around or less. Small dry branches lying on the ground will work well.
• Fuel – larger wood that keeps the fire going.

Key elements required for a fire to burn properly. When one of these three things are removed, the fire stops burning.

• Fuel – material that will burn
• Heat – enough heat to bring fuel to ignition
• Air – to provide oxygen to burning process

Start with a couple hands full of tinder loosely piled in the center of your fire ring. Determine the direction of the wind, with your back to the wind, protected by the cup of your hand, ignite tinder with a match. Discard used match into the fire.

Slowly add more tinder. You may need to blow softly at the base of the fire this will provide the oxygen to the burning process. Once the tinder has fully started to burn, slowly add some smaller pieces of kindling. Keeping it close together but allow space for air to circulate. Gradually increase the size of the kindling you add to the campfire. When you have a good fire going, add the fuel one piece at a time.

Safety is the most important part of the campfire. Couldnt resist throwing in a quick Ten Commandments.. that is our 10 Commandments of Safe Campfiring

1. Thou shalt never build a fire near tents or other flammable items.
2. Thou shalt never start a fire with a flammable liquid such as gas or oil. - Definitely could lead to a bad hair day or worse, no hair day
3. Thou shalt never leave a fire unattended.
4. Thou shalt build only a fire the size you need.
5. Thou shalt completely extinguish the fire before leaving the campsite.
6. Thou shalt scatter ashes or ember out.
7. Thou shalt sprinkle with water and stir with a stick. Repeat until all ashes are out.
8. Thou shalt drench charred logs.
9. Thou shalt repeat above 3 commandments until all ashes and logs are completely cold.
10. Thou shalt pack it in… pack it out.

When you’re done feasting. now you dont even have to “walk on egg shells.” Use ‘em… Our Fish Creek frugal tip,.. when cleaning pots and pans while camping, a handful of broken eggshells is a good substitute for steel wool.

Now you’re cookin’ - git ‘r done.

A Slacker’s Guide to Gardening

We are so blessed here to have our onsite greenhouse .. .it’s the perfect complement to the farmer’s market I love the *idea* of gardening, making things grow and thrive and eating the freshest of vegetables and fruits.

Sadly, the fantasy doesn’t always live up to the reality.

This whole gardening thing is fairly new to me, but these are some of the things I’ve learned in my quest to reduce the amount of work.

1. Pick your plants and seeds carefully. You’re looking for words like “Perennial” and “Enthusiastic self-seeder.” aka Things You Won’t Have to Plant Again. “Thrives on neglect” is another good one.

2. Don’t pull up weeds in a section of garden until you’re ready to plant that section. Nature abhors a vacuum, and if you pull weeds up without putting in new things, all it means is new weeds will come up and you’ll have to pull them, too. Besides, from a distance, who can tell? Hell, they’re green, aren’t they? When in doubt, throw in some marigold seed. Not only are they green, but they have pretty flowers and they are a natural insect repellent.

3. A remarkable number of garden problems can be solved by the addition of two things: water and mulch. By mulch I don’t mean gravel and bark and stuff; that takes work. I mean, stuff from the chicken house, old hay, newspapers, things like that. The mulch stops the weeds and holds in the water, resulting in Less Work.

4. Get animals, such as chickens, ducks, rabbits, or goats. What you clean out of the garden, give to the animals. What you clean out of the animals’ pen, dump in the garden. The circle of life. It’s a beautiful thing. (However, do keep the animals and the garden away from each other; the animals may have a different idea from you on what constitutes a ‘weed,’ and this can result in More Work.)

5. Redefine your idea of ‘weed.’ If you can eat it, it’s not a weed, it’s a vegetable. If I could get into the whole eating dandelions thing, I could save a hell of a lot of time.

6. If it’s ripe, pull it. Don’t wait for it to be perfect. If you do, either some damn bird or animal or insect will get to it before you do, or it’ll bolt or die or turn into a baseball bat or something, resulting in Wasted Work.

7. For every outdoor spigot you have, get one of these from somewhere. It’s called a manifold, and it lets you turn one faucet into four. Collect all the garden hose you can—garage sales are good. Then pick up a bunch of these. It’s called a soaker hose, and it’s a hose with a bunch of holes in it. The difference is that these are there on purpose.

Run a length of garden hose from all the new faucets to all the garden spaces, and surround them with soaker hoses. From then on, watering consists of sauntering outside, turning on a spigot, moving a switch on the selected faucet, and having a beer while you wait.

If you really want to be lazy, put battery-operated timers on each of the faucets and set them up to run on different days. Yes, this is all some work to begin with, but it’s just once a season. Leave them out there all winter. So what if it cracks? It’s just a $10 hose, and that way you won’t have to take it down in the fall and set it up again in the spring.

8. Especially if you do #7, set your lawnmower to 3 inches. At least. And say, maybe pick up some hose repair kits while you’re at it.

9. If you have a drip irrigation system, a couple of times a year it’ll suddenly quit working. You’ll think the well ran dry. You’ll think your neighbor was stealing your water. You’ll worry about the dwindling aquifer. You’ll look fruitlessly for leakage. Nine times out of ten, the connector between the hose and the system has gotten clogged with dirt or earwigs or something. Check it first. And check both sides.

10. For God’s sake, don’t get green-handled garden tools, gloves, etc. I spend half my time in the garden trying to find the damn things. Wait til May and get pink ones, even if you’re a guy. Better still, wait til August when they’re on sale. Ponder the notion of pink garden hose while you’re at it.

11. When it gets over 90, there are only two jobs I do. First, I mow the lawn, because I have a riding mower and no matter how hot it is, at least I’m sitting down. Besides, it has a cup holder. Second, I do things involving water—fixing the irrigation, hosing off the house and trash cans, etc.—because at least that way if I get wet it feels good.

12. If you’re uncoiling something dark for the first time—hoses, edging, etc.—pick a nice day, leave the damn thing in the sun for a half hour and go have a beer. You’ll both be a lot happier.

13. Practice the following phrases:

“I’m xeriscaping.”

“I’m creating natural habitat.”

“It’s a native plant garden.”

But in the “green segment”… do check out this handy dandy watering can for your container gardens or seedlings. Don’t let the flowers dry out with this classically designed recycled copper watering can. Handcrafted from hammered recycled copper.

$49.00 at Gaiam

Bein’a Chicken - Don’t Cry Fowl

Ah.. the joys of 4-H’ing.. Now I know i’ve gone country. And while I’m not a zoologist, but I am thinker.

Raising Chickens for the first time can be intimidating. When I first called the feed shop, I was trying to sound like a pro. I asked, “Do you sell pullets?” “Yes”, the man replied. “Are they all females?” It’s been an uphill battle ever since.

Pullet parenthood is an much of an adventure as child rearing, only with more feces per pound of body weight. However, I’ve been reading quite a bit on poultry matters. So here ’s a little scoop on how this chicken rearin’ goes.

Go to your local feed store and purchase $10.00 worth of chicks and $50 worth of food and supplies. Don’t forget the water dispensers. Buying the metal ones, never plastic is always advised. I have yet to see a metal one.

Next, place the chicks somewhere sheltered, like a bedroom closet. Toss in some highly flammable straw or wood shavings and promptly dangle a glowing heat lamp just above them. Note to self: Update homeowner’s policy.

For the next several weeks feed them 3 lbs of food per day and remove 4 lbs of sh*t per day from the closet. Despite all logic the birds get bigger. As the adult feathers grow in be sure to clip one of their wings. That is one per bird, not just one wing total. Clipping can be accomplished by tossing your scissors and your body into the heaping mound of chicks, poop and straw. Grab a wiggling screeching bird from the bile pile. Restrain it with one hand. Stretch the wing out with your second hand. Clip off 50% of the wings outer ten feathers with your third hand.

As the birds grow adjust the heat light temperature down by one degree per day. No, this is not actually possible. That’s not my point. You start at 100 degrees for hatchlings then continue down by one degree per day until your bedroom is a minimum of 3 degrees cooler than the spring blizzard outside your window.

Before the move, experience the Joy of Wing Clipping one more time. Feather clipping never works the first time. Still, after all the hassle you probably don’t want them to fly the coop in under sixty seconds. Of course, if you’re like me, by this time you may be inclined to pack them each a lunch and leave a stack of Greyhound tickets by the open coop gate.

The scoop on coop construction: Hen houses and chicken coops are an art form unto themselves. There are lots of web sites showing off architectural designs from Chicken Chateaus to Bird Bordellos. The meticulous craftsmanship makes my own home look like – well – like a chicken coop.

Always fashionable, I went with designer shabby for our coop. As for the coop itself, there is a gift for tight chicken wire, which eludes me. Inferior design aside, I ultimately learned a thing or two. The nesting boxes are supposed to be up off the ground. That is correct. For those of you keeping score you just spent two weeks cutting back the birds flight feathers only to hang their houses in the sky.

Higher than the nest boxes, you are to build a roost. This is where the birds crap at night so they do not crap on your breakfast eggs. Of course the roost is usually OVER the nesting boxes, so whatever you do, don’t use those perforated plastic milk crates. For young birds maintain a heat light in the hen house.

And finally there is the feed regime. I consulted several experts and read up on feeding as well. Make sure to give your chickens, starter formula, mash, growth formula, start & grow, brood formula, grit, no grit, scraps, no scraps, no antibiotics, medicated starter, non-medicated starter and never ever switch in-between.

Alas, if you want healthy, happy chickens that lay good quality, tasty eggs then make the effort to feed your chickens a balanced diet that’s intended for chickens.

Unless you really do know what you’re doing, the best option is to buy ready made feed from a local farm merchant.

Be forewarned; finding a label that identifies contents as organic and free range can be futile. Trust me. I’ve tried. But I won’t give up. Some farmers aren’t giving up either. Here’s a great article from one about the old-fashioned practice of letting chickens roam free on the farm. And another about why a free-range label might not mean so much. As with so many other issues, we’re left to wonder what’s best and what we’re really buying. Seems the only way to be sure is to buy from a local farm where you can see for yourself what goes on.

Ready made feed will give your birds a balanced diet that keeps them in good condition without risk of malnutrition or diseases and disorders caused by a lack of essential nutrients and vitamins.

Think about it. If a commercial, free-range, organic egg producer who relies on each and every one of thousands of birds producing an egg a day does not bother to feed his hens any old rubbish, why should you?

I may not be Queen of the Coop yet, but at least I’m not running around like one with my head cut off