At the beach today, I pulled up a length of willow root, stripped off the root bark and produced a strong piece of cordage. I lashed it to a hook I carved from washed up wood, and tied it to a long piece of willow bough, carving small niches in the pieces. I then used it to lead my distractable beagle back to my car - I had left the leash there trusting he would pay attention to my commanding voice. By the time we'd finished our walk, he was interested only in the input provided by his olfactory senses. Tied up using natural resources, he hardly complained.
For my birthday I got a headlamp for camping. I wanted one because camping presents certain lighting challenges. The sun goes down earlier than our incandescent-trained brains would like, and putting a naptha or propane powered lantern in a tent at dusk just won't do. Positioning a flashlight over one's shoulder to illuminate a book is an awkward job, and candle-lanterns don't give off enough light. But my new little toy will do it just fine - strap it to your head and light pours from it in a triumphant blaze of heavenly glory. In green LED, white LED or yellow halogenly happiness. Plus, as my concierge likes to repeat, it helps me find the tree at night.
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