As part of my commitment to put down the computer keyboard and enjoy the outdoors this summer; I’m also trying to become more self-sufficient.  One of the cornerstones of self-sufficiency is growing your own produce.

I was tired of paying through the nose for fruit and veg at the grocery.  The higher and higher prices for inferior taste, toxic pesticides, and playing Russian Roulette with tainted produce is just ridiculous.

I wanted to break with the conventional wisdom on gardening and focus on low cost, convenience, and staying organic.  After lots of searching I found the revolutionary technique of hay bale gardening.

The hay bale gardening experiment began back in March.  I got some old dried out hay bales from a local farmer who was happy to be rid of them.

The next step was to find a good spot in the yard for my experiment.  The only real requirement is full sun and a ready water supply.  The roots of your plants stay within the bale, so you could put your hay bale garden on pavement or a deck.

Bales that have been outside for more than a year don’t need much prep work.  Just use a trowel to slice in to the bale and throw a little potting soil or peat moss in to give your seedling a nice inviting home.  You can sow your seed directly into the bale, but you’ll want to use more potting soil for that.

Green bales need to be seasoned before you can plant in them.  I bought two green bales a month ago, and here’s the seasoning process:

Days 1-4 – Water the bales twice daily to make sure they stay wet.

Days 4-6 – Sprinkle a half cup of ammonium nitrate on the top of each bale and water it in.

Days 7-9 – Cut the amount of ammonium nitrate back to a quarter cup a day.

Day 10 – Water in a cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer on each bale.

Day 11 – Start planting.

A green hay bale is an organic bomb waiting to go off.  Once it gets wet the microbes inside begin to digest the hay.  The by-product of this feeding frenzy is heat.  My bales went from ambient temperature to 150 degrees Fahrenheit before they cooled back down.  Barns have burst into flame due to leaky roofs and stacks of green hay overheating.  Imagine what 150 degrees would do to a seedling.  This is why seasoning is essential.

After planting your only task it to water diligently.  I rigged up a drip irrigation system on a timer to free myself from this chore.

I’ve been harvesting regularly for about three weeks now.  My only problem is I planted way to much.  I running out of friends and neighbors to share the bounty with.  I’m drying, vacuum packing, and pickling what I can’t give away.  My pantry should be stocked in no time.  I’d call the hay bale garden experiment a success.

I put more pictures of the hay bale garden results in this photo gallery.

I like to take advantage of nature’s bounty if possible when I’m camping.  A fish cooking on the fire, some wild greens, and various nuts & berries would be my ideal “living off the land” camp meal.  This perfect sampling of nature’s treats only exists in my imagination though, and it sure didn’t happen on my last camping trip.

The fish weren’t biting, I can’t tell an edible wild green from poison ivy, and the birds have cleaned out all the berry bushes in the area.

If you want to guarantee yourself a meal on the trail you have to pack your food in with you.  Most of my backpack cuisine consists of freeze dried prepared meals, rice, and oatmeal.  I threw a little something extra in my mobile pantry this time as well.

The good people of the town of Mayberry are apparently in the canned good business now.  From their selection of old time recipes under the “Mayberry’s Finest” label I chose a can of chicken and dumplings.  The idea of relaxing near the fire with a hot bowl of comfort food after a long hike made up for the added weight in my pack.

The chicken and dumplings were actually pretty good.  They did hit the spot after an afternoon hiking.  Watch out though, they pack a pretty strong sedative effect.  I was out cold in the tent before the sun had completely set.  No handling of heavy machinery afterwards.  I think Aunt B is slipping some Nyquil into those dumplings.

There’s quite a commotion going on in the Rookery at the Noxubee Refuge these days. The wading birds are busy nesting.  They are squawking, flapping, and fighting like neighbors in some cramped tenement that just refuse to turn the stereo down.

I decided to pay a close visit to the Rookery in my kayak, and the scene it just crazy.  Flight after flight of birds arrive and depart as they look for food and building materials.

As I watched an Egret swooped down 15 feet from me and pulled a lily pad stalk from the water and flew back up to cram it into the side of a nearly complete nest.

The smell is the kind of thing that has to be experienced to believe.  It was like a million poorly cleaned bird cages combined with a hint of Indian food.

The smell would have to discourage all but the most determined predator from getting to close.  That being said, there were a few Alligators hanging around in the cypress knees just waiting for some bird to linger at the water line a bit too long.

The water was coated with what could only be used bird food.  To the fish it was dinner though.  Fish were nibbling and gulping down gobs of the stuff everywhere I looked.  The food chain was in overdrive in the Rookery.

It was really something to see so many birds and so many species all in one place.  There were Cattle Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Little Blue Herons and White Ibises.  I’m no professional bird watcher but identifying so many different birds gave me a feeling of accomplishment.

Despite the assault on the senses the Rookery is a must see.  This is the kind of wildlife viewing opportunity that makes the Noxubee Refuge so special.

There are a lot of commercial rod holders and storage boxes out there you can purchase for your fishing kayak.  The accessory market for kayaks is huge and growing.

I try not to put money in someone else’s pocket when I can do the work myself though.  This is an easy DIY project that gives you multiple rod holders and an convenient storage tote for all your fishing gear.  Best of all it only costs you a few bucks or a few hours scrounging for materials.

Low cost or scroungeable materials needed:

1. An old milk crate – There is one of these in everyone’s basement.  I think they come with the house.  If you don’t have a basement, your local grocer is your best source.  I bought an extra crate from the grocery for $2.00.
2. 2 inch diameter PVC pipe – I had some of this laying around too, but a 6 foot section of this was $3.00 at the hardware store.
3. Zip ties – Get a big package of these.  The more zip ties the more stable your box will be.

Just cut your PVC pipe into lengths that fit flush with the top edge of your milk crate.  Next zip tie as many of the pieces of pipe to the inside corners and sides of your milk crate as you like.  The 2 inch diameter will accommodate your fishing rods, net handle, or even an umbrella for a little shade.

On the next version of my fishing box I’m going to have two of the pipe pieces placed at an angle so my rods aren’t pointed straight up.  Fishing under a low hanging branch and hearing your rod tips crunch and crackle is about as fun as leaving your antenna up in the car wash.

I had some bad luck when I purchased my Therm-a-Rest ProLite 4.  FedEx dropped it off on Friday afternoon before a weekend camping trip.  There was no time to give it a proper back yard test before heading out on the trail.

The ProLite is so thin and compact when it’s still in the shipping bag I didn’t even take it out.  It went right from the FedEx package into my pack.  This is when I first learned the importance of always checking your gear before a trip.

The ProLite slept like a dream for about three hours that night; right up until I woke up sleeping on the ground.  I had to blow it up three times before the night was through.  A slow leak in my brand new, sate of the art Therm-a-Rest cost me any refreshing sleep that weekend.

Patching a sleeping pad is a skill every owner will need at some point, so I guess it’s just as well I had to learn right from the start.

The first step is too identify the spot of the leak.  The bath tub test works best for this.  Just inflate your pad and put it in a tub full of water.  Therm-a-Rests can be folded in half and completely submerged.  This makes spotting the leak quick and easy.

My Big Agnes Air Core is a little more unwieldy.  I have to use more of a dunk and rotate method to get every part of that big girl under the water.

In either case a tell tale stream of bubbles will let you pinpoint your leak.

Now to patch that leak.  This is where a trusty tube of SeamGrip comes in.  This stuff is pure magic.  In terms of multi-tasking, SeamGrip is just below duct tape and zip ties.

I’ve used it to fix the sole of a blown out boot, repair the buckle on my backpack, and even plug the leak in aluminum boat.  Its also the best thing for patching sleeping pads.  There is always a tube of this stuff in my pack.

Just put a few drops on the leak and give it a good 8-10 hours to dry.  After a miserable night on a leaky pad a few drops of SeamGrip can save the rest of your trip.

I took my kayak out on Bluff Lake in the Noxubee Wildlife Refuge yesterday.  It was a beautiful, clear, and windless day.  Temperatures have been down 5 degrees from last weeks highs as well; an all around perfect kayak opportunity.

Just as I was lifting the kayak off the top of the Jeep I noticed a creature I’ve been waiting to see.  With a huge log-like body, long tail, and gapping mouth it was Alligator mississippiensis.  The problem was this 8 foot predator was hovering 40 feet off the boat launch.

The other boaters with their high-sided aluminum and fiberglass watercraft weren’t paying the dinosaur much attention.  I was going to be a little bit closer to the action in my sit-on-top kayak.

As I slid my kayak into the lake it was obvious the Alligator’s head sat higher in the water than the top of my bow.  This put all sorts of lovely images of the gator’s mouth chomping on the bow of my kayak in my head.  Or maybe he would just swim along side and give me a playful bump; sending me into the drink with him.

All of this is just irrational fear though and perfectly normal, in fact healthy, when a human being comes in close contact with an animal that could make a meal of him.

There have been no incidence of an alligator attacking a person in the Noxubee Refuge.  No one attempts to feed them, so they maintain their fear of us.  In fact, the commotion of me putting my kayak in and banging my paddle against its roto-molded hull a few times sent the gator on a path straight out of the area.

Spotting an Alligator in the Noxubee Refuge is really a treat.  They are extremely rare this far from the coast.  There are many people who drive for hours just for the chance to see and photograph the gators.  This was my first glimpse, and it was extra special because it was such a close encounter.

Moments like this make me want to invest in better photo equipment.  Digital zoom just doesn’t do this guy justice.

I now have a very reliable method for getting fire.  I got a Swedish Firesteel for Christmas and, combined with a little dryer lint, it will get your campfire going in no time.

Dryer lint is my tinder of choice.  It just takes a little to do the job, it catches a spark easily, and you can cram a mound of it into an old film canister.  Best of all, there’s a never ending supply of it coming out of the laundry room.

The missing piece was a trusty ignition source.  I try to approach my gear selection from a survival and emergency state of mind.  What’s going to be weather proof, not run out on the trail, and work quickly when time is a factor.  The Swedish Firesteel meets all of those requirements.

There really isn’t a learning curve, just spend a few minutes running the striker over the Firesteel and you’ll get the picture.  You can use any metal object as a striker too.  I find my knife produces a larger and slower burning spark than the included striker.

I first saw the Swedish Firesteel in use on a Ray Mears video.  Ray always gets his tinder lit on the first strike…as much as I may pretend I am no Ray Mears.

This post is purely for my own enjoyment.  I found some old pictures from February of my Golden Retriever Sally’s first camping trip.  It was her first time in the water too, and she took to it instantly.

I’m not going to turn OutdoorBlogging into a “dog blog”, but don’t be surprised if you see a few more pictures of my friend Sally popping up here and there.

If you can stomach more cutesy dog pictures I put a few more in this photo gallery.

The Dr. Ray Watson Memorial Trail is the newest trail in the Noxubee Wildlife Refuge.  This trail looks so shiny and new I bet they’re still playing with the bubble wrap it came in.  The trail is immaculate; with very few incursions from neighboring plant life onto its well mulched pathway.

The Watson Memorial Trail does double duty as both a scenic and educational trail.  There are 30 or so markers spread over the trail which identify a variety of local trees and plants.  I learned a few new types of oak tree along the way.

The trail is about 3/4 of a mile and the majority of that is continuous; so there is always something new to see.

At the halfway point of the trail you come to a fork with a large white sign directing you to make a left turn to stay on the Memorial Trail.  I of course took the fork to the right and added almost another mile to the trail.

The trail running off the Watson Memorial trail isn’t as well maintained, but it is well worth the diversion.  About half way down this side trail you come to what I’d call an outdoor classroom.  There are several benches made from logs and stumps and a tree trunk lectern at the head of the class.  This was an interesting find in the middle of the trail.

The side trail continues past the classroom to an even more interesting find.  The trail starts to narrow just before you burst out of the bush onto the gravel parking lot of what appeared to be a scientific facility.

I had stumbled upon the Larry Box Conservation Center.  It felt a bit like the television show Lost where they are constantly finding laboratories hidden in the jungle of a remote island.  The place hummed with the sound of modern convenience as huge air conditioning units spun up for their cycle.  I could see the standby lights of technology flickering wildly through the windows of the complex, but the lights weren’t on and no one was home.

I don’t know what they get up to inside the Larry Box Conservation Center, but it is obvious they aren’t expecting visitors.  The place made me nervous; so I backed slowly into the woods from whence I came and made a quick pace back to the more inviting arms of the Dr. Ray Watson Memorial Trail.

The trail continued on its circuit, I learned a few more oak trees, and exited the trail directly across from the Noxubee Refuge Headquarters.

The trip was quite interesting and I recommend you see the Memorial Trail in all its splendor.  I however, will never speak again of the mysterious Larry Box Conservation Center.

As always, there are more pictures from this trail in the photo gallery.

Any time I think about Dick Proenneke I associate him with the voice of the narrator from Alone in the Wilderness.  The folksy and plain stated narration blended with the beautiful images of Alaska and the skillful self-sufficiency of Dick Proenneke make Alone in the Wilderness worthy of repeated viewing.  I’ll watch it every couple of weeks or whenever my stress level starts to rise.  The film resets my brain chemistry to neutral every time.

Well that voice isn’t Dick’s.  The narration is done by Bob Swerer.  Bob produced Alone in the Wilderness along with Alaska Silence and Solitude, which documents a trip Bob made to visit Dick Proenneke at his cabin in 1997.

You’ll hear both Dick and Bob’s voices in this clip from Alaska Silence and Solitude.