Wednesday, September 28, 2005

What's In Your Hiking Pack?"Robin's Adventures In Camping Equipment"

by: Chuck Fitzgerald

Every time I leave the pavement, I take along my trusty hiking pack – even if I have no intention of hiking. Doing this has become a habit rather than a conscious decision. My pack goes with me when a hike, camp, hunt, fish, bird watch and even when I drive out of town. I’ve been a boy scout and a United States Marine so I suppose I have learned to be prepared for almost anything. My pack is full of items I hope I will never need.

What’s in Your Hiking Pack? As an outdoor enthusiast, you have complete control over what you carry or what stays in the car – such as a cell phone, do you carry one? I wouldn’t dare go in the backcountry without all of the items listed below as “Highly Recommend.” What’s in My Hiking Pack? Here is my list split into two categories with the weight of each item in ounces:

Highly Recommend: Cell Phone (5 ounces), First-Aid Kit (9), Flashlight (4), Food - Beef Jerky (4), Insect Repellent (3), Map & Compass (4), Multi-Tool (9), Pack (24), Signal Mirror (1), Spare Vehicle Key (1), Sunglasses & Sunscreen (2), Water, Waterproof matches (1), Waterproof windbreaker (24), Whistle (1). Total weight: 5 pounds 12 ounces, not including water.

Nice to Have: Bandana (1), Binoculars (12), Cash & ID (1), Disposable Camera (4), Emergency Blanket (1), Extra Batteries (4), GPS Unit (10), Hand warmers (1), Hunting knife (8), Lighter (1), Lip Balm (1), Mini-Umbrella (10), Paper & Pen (1), Rangefinder (8), Road Flare (4), 12 feet of rope (2), Saw (7), Toilet Paper (1), Two-Way Radio (7), Work Gloves (2). Total weight: 5 pounds 2 ounces.

The total weight of my hiking pack not counting water, is 10 pounds 14 ounces. My pack has a shoulder harness system that takes the weight off of my lower back and distributes it evenly across my shoulders and upper back. I hardly notice my pack when I’m wearing it. One last point, if you carry something – make sure you know how to use it.

We’ve all heard quotes about being prepared, such as “Chance favors the prepared mind.” – Louis Pasteur and “The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.” – Joe Paterno and “Chance fights ever on the side of the prudent.” – Euripides. I suggest carrying a well thought out pack is a good habit and a good outdoor life-skill. One day it may save a family member, an outdoor companion or even you.

Plan ahead before you venture into our backcountry, even if you plan to be gone only an hour or two. It makes good sense. With just this small amount of planning you’ll get the most out of your backcountry experiences. Use this information and you’ll Get It Right The First Time.

Get Outdoors!

About The Author


Chuck Fitzgerald is the President of Arizona based BackCountry Toys, an online store providing backcountry specialty gear and educational information for outdoor enthusiasts. Visit http://www.backcountrytoys.com/ to receive the free newsletter "FreshAir” or call (800) 316-9055. chuck@backcountrytoys.com

Sports & Outdoors Its just a matter of time!


My Blog On Your Site
Subscribe to my blog feed through My Yahoo!:



You still want to be able to read the feed with no reader and you have IE? Well Pluck

Good Night Camping Equipment For all your camping info!

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Primitive Navigation in the Outdoors"Robin's Adventures In Camping Equipment"

By Greg Rouse


Everyone has been in the outdoors at some point and wondered which direction they where traveling or possibly even been lost. So if you don't have a compass, how does the average person figure out direction of travel?

Here's 3 different methods to try during the daytime:



Shadowless Stick Method: Place a stick in the ground and then move or adjust it until the shadow disappears completely, soon it will reappear with the shadow running roughly East/West.


Shadow Stick Method: Place a stick in the ground and mark the tip of the shadow it casts with a small stick or stake in the ground. Then wait 10 minutes and repeat, after 30 minutes or longer, you'll have a row of small sticks marking the East/West line (North/South is perpendicular to this line).


Watch Method: Take a fine stick and place it in the center of the watch hands (do not use a digital watch), hold the watch level and rotate the whole watch until the sticks shadow is parallel with and/or falling over the hour hand. 1/2 way between the hour hand and 12 o'clock is North/South. (Here's the digital watch version: Just draw a basic watch pattern on paper with the hour hand indicating the correct time and repeat the steps above based on the correct time).

And lets not to forget you nightime travelers, here’s 4 different methods for you to try during the nighttime:



Cresent Moon: Draw a line from tip to tip in a straight line and where the line hits the horizon is roughly South.


Big Dipper Method: Draw a straight line through the two stars that make up the end of the pot (opposite the handle) and continue this line away from the opening of the pot until it intersects a star known as “Polaris” (the North Star) and you have North.


Latitude Method: Look at the North Star and hold your 1st arm straight out and parallel with the horizon, now point your 2nd arm straight at the North Star. The angle between your arms is roughly the degrees latitude (i.e. 45 degrees).


Latitude Stick Method: Put a vertical stick in the ground, align a 2nd stick with the 1st stick and the North Star, then place it vertical in the ground. Now, slide your thumb and eye down the 2nd stick until the North Star is aligned with the tip of the 1st stick. Mark the spot and measure the angle from a parallel line with the ground and the line you created from the tip of the 1st stick to the spot you marked on the 2nd stick. This is your latitude and the 2 sticks are pointing in a North/South line, which means perpendicular to this line is the Easy/West line.

In the final analysis, there's many ways to navigate with a little help from nature. Our forefathers used these methods for years and probably only got lost once in awhile...

About the Author:
Greg Rouse has been teaching wilderness sports and emergency response at the university and college level for over a decade. He is also the founder of a unique web site called WildernessTrip.com, a one-stop resource for self-guided wilderness trip planning. This web site is basically; a free online guidebook that photo-documents trips with interactive maps and detailed route descriptions. Each trip has free pictures and free topographic maps of the trail, all in a print-friendly format. Check it out at http://www.wildernesstrip.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Sports & Outdoors Its just a matter of time!

Intro To RSS


My Blog On Your Site
Subscribe to my blog feed through My Yahoo!:



You still want to be able to read the feed with no reader and you have IE? Well Pluck

Good Night Camping Equipment For all your camping info!

Monday, September 26, 2005

Overwintering Pond Fish"Robin's Adventures In Camping Equipment"

The metabolism of koi and goldfish is controlled primarily by water temperature. As the water cools, pond fish require less protein in their diet. When koi and goldfish are fed high-protein food in cool water, the excess protein is excreted as ammonia from the gills. The microscopic organisms that make up the biological filter (and consume ammonia) also slow down in cooler water.

Improper seasonal feeding can lead to a build-up of toxic ammonia, which stresses fish and reduces their winter survivability. When the water temperature drops to approximately 65° F, start feeding with Spring & Autumn Pond Food. This type of fish food is better suited for the dietary requirements of pond fish in cool water and won't pollute the water with excess ammonia. Some water gardeners continue to feed their fish until they no longer come to the surface. I stop feeding my pond fish when the water falls below 42° F.

There is no need to worry about "frozen fish" if a section of the pond is at least 18 inches deep. Pond fish will seek the deepest part of the pond and over-winter there until the water warms in the spring. If your pond is less than 18 inches deep, the fish may freeze during a harsh winter. Check with your local pond supplier if you live in an area with harsh winters.

Some water gardeners with shallow ponds attempt to keep their koi and goldfish in kiddie pools or aquariums set up in a cool basement or garage. This is not recommended because of the extra stress involved in netting, transporting, and re-acclimating the fish to the new environment.

However, if you dont have a choice, and need to bring your fish inside for the winter, be sure to have an aquarium air pump or small fountain to provide oxygenation. The fish should be fed infrequently, if at all, depending on the water temperature. pH, ammonia and nitrite, which should be monitored weekly and especially if the fish are fed.

Small water changes (20%) each month will keep the water in good shape until spring. Koi are "jumpers"-so be sure to cover the pool with bird netting!

Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens and several pond-related websites including macarthurwatergardens.com and pond-filters-online.com. He also publishes a free monthly newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over 6,000 pond owners. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive a complimentary 'New Pond Owners Guide' for joining, just visitMacArthur Water Gardens <<>>

"Reprinted from Zongoo.com Daily Press & Consumer Information"

Sports & Outdoors Its just a matter of time!


My Blog On Your Site
Subscribe to my blog feed through My Yahoo!:



You still want to be able to read the feed with no reader and you have IE? Well Pluck

Good Night Camping Equipment For all your camping info!

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Wildlife Scouting Cameras"Robin's Adventures In Camping Equipment"

Wildlife Scouting Cameras
by: John Cook

For years I wondered how big the bucks were that were roaming our property in the dark of night. After all, I knew that monster bucks had to be eluding me during the daylight hours only to roam the woods at night. In an attempt to reveal these mysterious nocturnal monsters I purchased a scouting camera in 1996.

After a couple of years of using the camera I was very disappointed. The camera worked fine and we had many pictures of deer, but they were the same does and spike bucks that I was seeing during the day. Something must be wrong; I knew that there had to be big bucks stalking the hillsides at night. After all, everyone always said "you know there is a big one in there somewhere".

After many rolls of film and an equal number of anxious trips to retrieve developed pictures, I came to realize that there simply were not any mystical trophy bucks roaming our property.

This scouting camera was the proof that I needed to convince myself that the problem was not nocturnal deer but it was actually a deer management problem.

In the eight years since that initial camera purchase I have gotten pictures of bucks that I had not seen, but this wasn't until after I had implemented a quality deer management plan on our property. One thing is certain, if mature bucks are not on your property you will not get a picture of them and you will definitely not see them.

You can use your scouting camera pictures to get approximate buck to doe ratios simply by observing the ratios that are in the pictures. Also it is easier to estimate the quality of the bucks on your property once you have a picture that you can study. You will also get pictures of the other wildlife that make their homes on your property.

With a scouting camera you can practically perform 24 hour scouting, especially with the new digital scouting cameras. For those of us who work it is difficult to spend a lot of time scouting, but the camera can be your eyes.

A scouting camera cannot find bucks that are not there but they do a real good job of letting you know what is.

Camera Placement

Where do you put your scouting camera? This is one of the fun parts of having a scouting camera. Deciding where to put the camera is just like deciding where to hunt.

The easiest way to get pictures of whitetail deer is to have something that attracts them. If you do this, a camera can take a lot of pictures in a short period of time. Be careful of your delay settings on your camera or you could get a lot of pictures of the same deer.

It is interesting to put the camera up at various places such as: well used trails, scrapes, rubs, food plots and minerals licks. I'm sure that you can think of a few places where you would like to know how much deer activity takes place.

Most scouting cameras have the ability to place the date and time on the photograph. This can be very helpful in determining the time of day the deer show up at your particular hotspot. I use it to let me know what time I have to be in the woods in the mornings so that I don’t have to get out of bed any earlier than I have to.

Set Up Tips

There are a few things that will help ensure that you will not be disappointed with your scouting camera.

Try not to place the camera where it is facing into either the rising or setting sun.

Clear weeds away from the front of the camera so that you do not get pictures of weeds swaying in the breeze.

Do not set your camera up too close or far away from where you expect the deer to travel. A camera set up on a tree within 3 feet of the trail is too close whereas most flashes cannot reach much beyond 30 feet or less.

Fresh batteries! It is very disappointing to find out that you didn't get many pictures because your batteries have died. Rechargeable batteries are gaining popularity lately; I’m having good success using them with my digital scouting camera.

I advise buying a scouting camera that has a locking device. It would be too easy for someone to walk away with your camera if it is not locked.

I am using a digital scouting camera for the first time this year and highly recommend them. There are many advantages to the digital camera, in particular the capability of viewing your pictures right away.

The exciting part is seeing a picture of a nice buck that you didn't know was on your property. These pictures help you get out of bed on those cold mornings and make you stay in your stand longer when you get bored. Get yourself a scouting camera and have fun with it.

You can read more about our experienced with scouting cameras and our latest digital adventures athttp://www.whitetaildeer-management-and-hunting.com/.

About The Author


I have been deer hunting in West Virginia for close to 30 years. Now I am teaching my children to hunt and enjoy it more each year.

Sports & Outdoors Its just a matter of time!


My Blog On Your Site
Subscribe to my blog feed through My Yahoo!:



You still want to be able to read the feed with no reader and you have IE? Well Pluck

Good Night Camping Equipment For all your camping info!

Friday, September 23, 2005

Maples for Autumn Colour"Robin's Adventures In Camping Equipment"

By Geoff Bryant

As the weather cools in late summer and the days shorten noticeably so the deciduous trees and shrubs begin to withdraw chlorophyll from their leaves in preparation for the winter shutdown. With less of that vital green pigment to mask them, the other colours within the leaves begin to show through. While the best of the autumn color may be over for this year, the coming winter months are the time to consider how best to prepare for next years autumn glory.

When it comes to the most vibrant tones, the genus Acer, the maples, includes many sterling contributors. Most of the 150-odd species of maples are deciduous trees, though some are shrubby and a few are evergreen. Acer is primarily a temperate northern hemisphere genus, ranging from around 59°N southwards to the mountains of the subtropics. With the exception of a few Eurasian species, principally the Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) and the Sycamore Maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), most of our garden maples are derived from Asian and North American species.

Maples do flower, but apart from a few with showy tassel-like blooms, most are grown solely as foliage plants, And while the thrust of this article is about autumn colour, many of the best autumn maples are also excellent spring and summer foliage plants.

Of course, getting good autumn colours depends greatly on the climate and the shades vary from year to year even in districts known for their autumn foliage. Generally the best colours develop during a prolonged autumn with warm, still days and cool but not freezing nights. Soon after the first frosts strike the last leaves fall.

Although most maples colour to some extent in autumn, the following species and their cultivars are readily available and among the brightest and most reliable.

Acer buergerianum
Trident Maple
This 10-12 m tall, round-headed tree eastern China and Japan gets its common name from the leaves, which usually have three lobes. The leaves are small and primarily red in autumn, with tints of orange and yellow.

Acer cappadocicum
Caucasian Maple
Found from the Caucasus to northern India, broad-crowned, 15-20m tall tree is best known for its bright golden yellow autumn foliage. Cultivars include 'Aureum', with yellow foliage in spring and autumn, and 'Rubrum', which has bright red young stems and spring leaves.

Acer davidii
Snakebark Maple
Best known for its white-striped and flecked green to purple bark, this 15 m tall Chinese species has 3-lobed or unlobed leaves that often colour brilliantly in red, gold and orange tones before falling. 'George Forrest' is a large-leaved cultivar.

Acer griseum
Paperbark Maple
Again, best known for its bark, which is warm brown and peeling, the foliage of this 5-10 m tall Chinese tree turns bright red in autumn. Because of the red-brown bark, the foliage colour can seem muted and is perhaps best seen at a distance where the colour of the whole tree can be appreciated.

Acer japonicum
Full-moon Maple
This slow-growing Japanese native is a small tree with tiered branches and 7-11-lobed leaves that can be almost round in some forms. The autumn colour is a combination of bright red and yellow on a green background. The Fernleaf Full-moon Maple, 'Aconitifolium', has very finely divided foliage reminiscent of aconite leaves.

The Golden Full-moon Maple (Acer japonicum var. aureum) has rounded lime green spring leaves that become yellow as they mature then turn golden and red in autumn. It is now more properly known as Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum'.

Acer palmatum
Japanese Maple
Everyone knows the beautiful Japanese maple with its seemingly endless range of cultivars in every imaginable leaf shape and colour. Originally found in Japan and Korea, it has been highly refined and developed by both Japanese and Western gardeners.

Regardless of its preference for cool, humid conditions and a tendency to develop die-back, the Japanese maple is nearly everyone's favourite small tree. The autumn foliage colour of the purple- or red-leaved forms is usually just a more intense shade of the summer colour, while those with green to pale gold leaves develop shades of red, orange, gold and yellow.

For autumn colour consider: 'Bloodgood', deep red; 'Aureum', deep gold; 'Beni Kagami', bright red; 'Hessei', red; 'Dissectum', bright orange; 'Dissectum Atropurpureum', red; 'Linearilobum Atropurpureum', bronze; and 'Linearilobum Rubrum' bright red.

Acer platanoides
Norway Maple
Found from northern Europe to the Caucasus, the Norway maple is a strong-trunked, round-headed tree to 30 m tall, with 5-lobed leaves up to 18 cm wide. While the species has deep green leaves that rarely develop much colour before turning brown and falling, some of the cultivars offer brighter hues. 'Schwedleri', in particular, is a purple-green form that often reddens intensely in autumn. 'Goldsworth Purple' can develop similar tones.

Acer rubrum
Red, Scarlet or Swamp Maple
Native to the eastern United States, this fast-growing 20 m tall tree has 3-5-lobed leaves up to 10 cm wide that colour well in the autumn, developing intense red and gold tones. This species is occasionally tapped for its syrup. 'Columnare' is a broadly columnar cultivar, not to be confused with A. platanoides 'Columnare'. 'Red Sunset' has particularly good autumn foliage.

Acer saccharinum
Silver Maple
Often confused with the sugar maple because of their similar botanical names, the Silver Maple is found over much of eastern North America, grows quickly to around 40m tall and has an open crown. Its large leaves have silvery undersides and are red, orange or gold in autumn.

Acer saccharum
Sugar Maple
This species, widespread in North America, is both a timber tree and the source of maple syrup, which makes it the most commercially important maple. As it was the pattern for the maple leaf on the Canadian flag you might think it would have red autumn leaves. Well, sometimes it does, but it is very variable; sometimes red, other years orange, gold or combinations of colours.

Acer tataricum
Tatarian Maple
Found over much of the temperate northern hemisphere outside Europe, this 10m tall tree has rounded, toothed leaves that turn vivid shades of yellow, orange and red in autumn. The Amur Maple (Acer tataricum ssp. ginnala), from Siberia, northern China and northern Japan, is shrubby, extremely tolerant of wind and cold and has red autumn foliage. It used to be classified as Acer ginnala, and is often still sold under that name.


Cultivation tips
Except for a few species, maples are generally very hardy. They prefer a deep, well-drained, fertile soil with plenty of humus. For the best autumn tones plant in a sunny position but try to provide good wind protection, at least for young plants and Japanese maples, or the foliage may burn or fall before it has a chance to colour well.

Maples respond well to light winter pruning when young and are best shaped to a fairly round crown on a sturdy trunk. Some, such as Acer palmatum, tend to be fairly shrubby with low forking and these are best left to develop naturally.

Even though the exact autumn shades are difficult to predict and will vary from year to year, you won't go far wrong with maples. They're beautiful enough in any season to forgive them their vagaries.


Did you know?
It takes around 43 litres of Acer saccharum sap to produce 1 litre of maple syrup. A good sized sugar maple yields around 50 litres of sap and during the processing into syrup the sugar concentration rises from 2% to 66%. No wonder it's so sweet, but what a flavour!

I am a garden book author and horticultural photographer based in Christchurch, New Zealand. I run a stock photo library called Country, Farm and Garden (http://www.cfgphoto.com/). This article may be re-published provided this information is published with it and is clearly visible.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Sports & Outdoors Its just a matter of time!

Intro To RSS


My Blog On Your Site
Subscribe to my blog feed through My Yahoo!:



You still want to be able to read the feed with no reader and you have IE? Well Pluck

Good Night
Camping Equipment
For all your camping info!

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Take Your Children Hunting"Robin's Adventures In Camping Equipment"

by: John Cook

Few things can bring you more joy than to pursue two of your passions at the same time. This is easy to do by taking your children hunting with you. The first time I took my son with me he was only about 4 years old. We walked a couple hundred yards behind the house and sat down on a log. It was only a few minutes later he said that he needed to go back to the house to go to the bathroom. There was no talking him into relieving himself out in the woods, so back to the house we went. Our first hunting experience together wasn’t very satisfying or very long. After this first trip I wasn’t looking forward to taking him again for a while but in the years since it was I who had some learning to do about hunting with children.

After that experience I realized that I did want my children to hunt with me so I decided that we would keep trying. Since they had showed an interest I didn’t want to stifle it by telling them that they were too young. I wanted them there with me when they were old enough but I thought that if I stopped them when they were young that they may not want to hunt when they get older.

In the few years since, we have had some great times together in the woods. Stories about having young children with you usually do not conclude with the description of the trophy buck that you shoot, but the memories of being there with them are better trophies. I’ll never forget watching my son jump out of his skin when a grouse took off and scared him or of the first buck that he shot.

It is hard for us serious hunters to accept that sometimes we will go to the woods and not realistically have an opportunity of shooting a deer or that the chances could be lessened because there is someone else with you that likes to move a lot and is a little noisy. Once you accept this and just watch them enjoy being there with you, you can have the time of your life.

Over the years I have found some ways to make the hunt more enjoyable for everyone. Quiet woods will only hold a child’s attention for a little while and then they will look for something to do. One of the first things that I do is to make sure that I have plenty to eat. A couple of apples and some candy can usually get another half an hour or so. Not that I eat any of the candy myself, it’s just for the kids.

I also take something for them to do. Word search books and crossword puzzles will deter them from moving around a lot and keep them interested for a while longer.

The hunt will be very short lived if they get cold. Make sure that they are dressed warm. On one hunt I took a sleeping bag for my son and he stayed nice and warm while the snow was falling on us. It also helps if you can keep them sheltered from the wind and rain. We used to get into an old building and sit, but we now have a camouflage hunting blind that we use. Last season we spent several hours in it staying out of the wind and rain. On one hunt my 8 year old daughter was the first to spot a group of does that came from behind us. She was real proud of her accomplishment.

The best way to keep them interested and coming back is to see game. I take them no matter what time of the day it is even during the non peak activity hours. It’s often hard to get them to go with you at dawn or dusk when activity is at its peak but it is usually colder during these hours anyway. They don’t have to see something to have a good time, but they will tell everyone about the animals that they saw.

Last year I had watched a group of young bucks that would come to a food plot and feeder. At the end of the season I took my son and a video camera and we climbed into two treestands side-by-side. After being there for about thirty minutes there was a shower of rain and he wanted to pack it in. I convinced him that if we could stick it out another thirty minutes we would probably get to see some deer. He decided to stay and the deer showed up and we had a great time watching and videotaping them. I used the opportunity to try to teach him that it’s not always easy and that the effort can pay off in the end. At eleven years old he is now learning more about hunting and is becoming a good tracker. I’m hoping that I have two hunting partners for life.

If you would like to read more about my families hunting experiences you can go to our website at www.whitetaildeer-management-and-hunting.com.

About The Author


I have been deer hunting in West Virginia for close to 30 years. Now I am teaching my children to hunt and enjoy it more each year.

Secrets Of A Professional Dog Trainer

Sports & Outdoors Its just a matter of time!


My Blog On Your Site
Subscribe to my blog feed through My Yahoo!:



You still want to be able to read the feed with no reader and you have IE? Well Pluck

Good Night Camping Equipment For all your camping info!

Monday, September 19, 2005

Hikers, Hunters and Guns"Robin's Adventures In Camping Equipment"

Hikers do need to be on the look out for themselves during hunting
season.

Hiking Hazards - Hunting Accidents

Sports & Outdoors Its just a matter of time!


My Blog On Your Site
Subscribe to my blog feed through My Yahoo!:



You still want to be able to read the feed with no reader and you have IE? Well Pluck

Good Night Camping Equipment For all your camping info!

Monday, September 12, 2005

Sept-Newsletter"Robin's Adventures In Camping Equipment"

Welcome! I hope you find some useful info that'll help you enjoy
your next camping outing. Let's start out with a good article
about keeping those pesky Mosquitoes at bay.

Staying Mosquito Free While Traveling
Sarah Yee

The last thing that any traveler needs is to be plagued by mosquitoes throughout their journey. Just as there are sure-fire ways to reduce the incidence of these pests in the home environment, definite steps can be taken to stave them off when you’re away from the home front. This is especially important in a society that’s been afflicted by the variety of diseases that are commonly carried among the mosquito population.


Just as that which is red is known to enrage and attract a bull, dark clothing will invite mosquitoes. Avoid the tendency to wear garments that are darker in color or shade, if you’re interested in keeping mosquitoes at bay. In addition, scents such as colognes, perfumes and after-shave also provide an invitation to these pesky insects.


Air-Conditioned environments are not conducive to providing the type of scenario that mosquitoes prefer. Whenever possible, stay indoors in a climate-controlled area so that you’ll remove the possibility of mosquitoes becoming a nuisance. You may still find the occasional errant mosquito, but will typically be safe in the air-conditioning. This is true for both the daytime and nighttime hours.


If at all possible, try to avoid participating in outdoor activities at night. After the sun goes down, the atmosphere is ripe with mosquitoes, and the possibility of being bitten is increased significantly – especially if there happens to be a body of exposed water nearby, since this is a breeding ground for mosquitoes.


When the need to go outdoors in the evening can’t be avoided, be sure to wear appropriate clothing that will discourage mosquitoes. Covering the arms and legs is always a good idea, since they tend to gravitate toward human extremities – particularly the legs, ankles and feet. Long-sleeved shirts, full-length pants and closed shoes are your best choices.


For those who prefer to spend time in an enclosed screened area – such as a screened porch – mosquitoes may be able to gain access to the room through holes in the screens or other areas which aren’t sealed. In the event that this happens, and the room is screened, you can apply pesticide to the interior of the room. Don’t make the mistake of doing this if the room isn’t properly ventilated by screens, though, or you may be overcome by the effects of the spray, as well.


If you’re sleeping outdoors (such as in a camping scenario), or need to open a window that doesn’t contain a screen when you’re sleeping each night, be sure to use mosquito nets that are designed to cover the bed area. Not only are you more vulnerable to bites when asleep – due to the inability to protect yourself and the fact that mosquitoes are out in force at night – but it only takes one bite to become infected by one of the many diseases that these pests can carry.


Insect repellants are always a good idea, and can even help to reduce the incidents of mosquito bites when indoors. There are a number of effective repellants on the market today which are easy to apply and non-greasy. This should be applied to all exposed areas, with the exception of those that are in the immediate vicinity of the facial features, and is effective when used on both adults and children.


Fighting mosquitoes doesn’t have to be difficult, expensive or troublesome. With just a bit of effort, you can ensure that you and your loved ones are basically mosquito-free.

About The Author
Sarah Yee is a writer for http://www.mosquitocontrolguide.com/, which mosquito information and mosquito control tips both at home and on the road.

Quick Tip



Easy Fire Starter



Here's a tip to help you get that fire started.

Its called a Buddy burner. Its made with corrugated

cardboard rolled up tightly into strips the thickness

of a salmon or tuna can which is what you need to make

this. First put the rolled cardboard strips on its side

into the cans, then pour melted wax inside the can leaving

enough cardboard showing for a wick. This can be used to

get a fire going or put a large can over top with some holes

punched in it and you can use it as a stove.

Outdoor Recipe



Cheesy Bacon Potatoes



Your favorite seasoned salt
Finely shredded cheddar cheese
4 med. potatoes
Butter
Real bacon bits
Non-stick cooking spray

Serves: 3-4
Cooking time: 1-30 min.

Using a large foil packet, spray w/ non-stick cooking spray.
Put a layer of potatoes, butter and seasoned salt in foil packet.
Spread cheese and bacon bits over the top. Repeat until you run
out of ingredients. Close up the foil packet and place it on
hot coals or grill until potatoes are ready.

Hope you enjoyed this month's edition!

Have a question just post it.

For The Love Of The Outdoors

Robin & Val Shortt

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Alaska Hiking Trails"Robin's Adventures In Camping Equipment"

Alaska hiking offers breathtaking scenery, from the towering peaks of central Alaska to the many glaciers along the Gulf of Alaska.

To go hiking here you will find some of the most incredible scenery to be found in the United States. Alaska has some amazing trail systems for hikers with different abilities.

There are plenty of trails for hikers of all skill levels. Hiking trails can vary from short ones, to guided hikes, to rugged backcountry treks.

Your encounters with wildlife, will more than likely, will be positive and memorable.

There are 75-80 butterflies species that live in Alaska. Butterflies are beautiful and fascinating creatures that will help you to enjoy your hiking experience in on Alaskan trails.


American Hiking Society: Trail Finder

Alaska Hike Search- A Guide to Hiking in the Anchorage Area

BACKPACKING LIGHTWEIGHT - Backpacking & Hiking Resources

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Camp Insurance"Robin's Adventures In Camping Equipment"

Camp insurance is an integral part of any flurishing facility and program. Camp directors are sometimes unaware of all the exposures
their businesses face. Being able to work with children brings its
own rewards and also has many risks, which need to be delt with
on an insurance basis. This should be done with a qualified insurance
professional. They can help owners and camp directors understand the fundamentals of a good camp insurance program.