When was the last time your grocery store gave you a hug, a handshake, and inspired you for the week’s cooking? That’s exactly what your market can do for you — there are people whose skills, hard work, and pride in their craft put quality food on your table, and I enjoy being reminded of that every Sunday that I can make it down to my local market.
Extra love goes out to friends I’ve met, Zach from Highmark Farms, Christian from Monforte Dairy, and especially the lovely Janaki for putting together the wonderful Leslieville Farmer’s Market! Thank you for a great first season!
And although the market season is over, I’ll be sure to pick up my winter produce box (pictured above) from Le Papillion on the Park every Sunday.
Tags: farms, fresh food, leslie market, local, market, produce
Posted in Conservation, News, Personal |
Ray Mears photo courtesy of http://www.guardian.co.uk
Ray Mears is famous for his many tv appearances where he teaches not only survival, but bushcraft. The difference from ‘survival’ shows is striking, as Ray attempts to convey the importance of long-term bushcraft and sustainability as practiced by many aboriginal tribes in a variety of different regions.
He has always expressed his special love for the boreal forests of Canada, and it looks as though he’ll be bringing his knowledge and teaching skills to about 25 lucky students this June 11, for a five-day bushcraft course.
Details are still sketchy, but I’ve chatted a bit with the course organizer, so here’s what I know:
- Ray Mears is confirmed if the class is full, and will shape the curriculum to match the students.
- The course will be five days long, with Ray instructing every day.
- It will take place near Brampton, Ontario, and will be on some 400+ acres of land.
- It also won’t likely be cheap, given his very high skill level and prominence in the field. However, this would be an amazing and unique experience, so start saving those pennies if you want in!
The organizer’s website is just nearing completion, but I’m told that that in a matter of days, there will be plenty more details available. Stay tuned for more!
Visit School in the Woods or the Bushcraft Canada site (where I first caught wind of it).
Tags: bushcraft, education, ray mears
Posted in News |
Who says a secluded retreat needs to be rustic and run-down? House & Home‘s Suzanne Dimma and 3rd Uncle Design‘s Arriz Hassam walk viewers through their amazingly designed cottage in this six-minute-long video.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: construction, cottage, off-grid, Suzanne Dimma
Posted in News |
I’ve been thinking of trading in my folding PakCanoe for a lighter, more maneuverable vessel (I have the 17-footer, but I would be fine with a 16-, or even 15-foot), but not because it has let me down in any way. For any of you who are unsure as to the viability of the PakCanoe or PakBoat on a rough trip, take a read through Cliff’s trip report in which he describes his canoe through many rapids, linings, portages, and drags in Norway with the owner.
Read the full article on Paddling.net
Tags: folding canoe, pakcanoe
Posted in Canoe, Gear, News, Trip Reports |
I just came across a great list of 15 Most Influential Survivalists over at Smart Survival Skills. Regardless of what you may think of their individual skills, it’s good to see anybody getting excited about the skills and experiences that these public figures bring to the masses.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in News |
On January 15, 2011, I had the distinct pleasure of spending the day with Pinock Smith, a master builder, known for his traditional canoe-building methods.
I first heard of Pinock in the second season of Ray Mears’ Bushcraft, where he and Ray built an authentic birchbark canoe in a week. They worked on screen again in Northern Wilderness, to build a set of snowshoes. They are both great shows, but nothing can come close to meeting and talking with someone with that knowledge in person, and being able to ask the questions that are important to you.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: algonquin, building, Canoe, first nations, native, pinock smith, ray mears, traditional
Posted in Canoe, HowTo, Personal, Uncategorized |
Perhaps not something that everybody likes to hear, but I, for one, found myself nodding along with many of the points in Don Tryon’s Leave-A-Trace editorial page.
He makes the point for a common-sense approach to camping, and takes issue with the extremes that some enthusiasts have gone through to erase our existence on the land. I agree with much of the spirit of leave-no-trace in preserving the land for future enjoyment, but, like Don, I find some practitioners take it too far.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: camping style, editorial, ethics, Leave no Trace, LNT, opinion, purcell
Posted in Conservation, editorial, Personal |
Of course, if your true need is for firestarting, the old dead-tree book might serve you better for dry tinder. The resource that an ebook reader such as the Kindle can give you access to, however, has such potential. I impulse-bought one last week, and have been loading up with guides and references. Some of these deal with the skills and references you may need in the wild, but some will help to pass time (although I never seem to have enough free time between enjoyable chores to get bored) on lazy afternoons or rainy days.
The battery life is great, and it’s now cheap enough (~$150) to put you more at ease about getting it smoky and dirty, and perhaps wet. I still wouldn’t want to smash it on a rock, but I’d drop that sucker faster than my iPhone.
I haven’t camped with it yet, but I plan to. The weight of it, and the amount of reference I can carry will surely change the resources I normally carry. No more worrying how heavy that “Hiking Light” hardcover book is.
Posted in Uncategorized |
Ontario Parks has a new reservation service that they’re going to be rolling out in 2011. This means that anybody that normally reserves during the late fall or winter months will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Not really a problem in the winter months, I find, but that’s only for the backcountry—I’m not sure how busy the campgrounds are going to be. For more information, visit the FAQ page for the Ontario Parks New Reservation Service.
Posted in News |
I came across an article on this subject from the Ontario Parks Insider enewsletter. It’s a quick overview of the main tasks to think about when you’re squirreling your gear away for the off-season, or just to give your gear a good clean after some hard use.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: enewsletters, Gear, maintenance, Ontario Parks Insider, storage
Posted in Gear, HowTo, tips |
