A Year Ago in Cold January on Mungo Says Bah!

I haven't been posting as often as I would like so here is a taste of what was happening about a year ago on Mungo Says Bah! until I get my posting-mojo back. Give me a day or two...

Thursday, January 01, 2009
A Tutorial on How To Build a Coke Can Stove for Hiking and Camping

Okay, following up on a recent post about emergency preparedness, picture this: your power has just gone out. It is the middle of winter, and the battery-powered radio reports that a major substation has suffered an outage due to iced-over power cables. You are told to expect that power will return in no less than 7 days. So you get out all the blankets in the house, and warm up the bed. You find your 72 hour kit, first aid kit, candles, flashlights, your food supplies (some freeze-dried entrees and cans of food), water, radio and more. After all that fussing around, you decide you want a nice cup of coffee and a hot meal. You have a camping stove that runs on naptha but you'd rather use that outside so the fuel doesn't smell so strongly. You need a quick stove for in the house. A good option for this is an alcohol stove.


Sunday, January 04, 2009
Monty and the Well-Fed Squirrels

In fewer than 3 weeks we get a new arrival in the family. Spring is tired out and has decided that sooner is better than later. Suits me fine - all the sooner for a mini camping companion in Algonquin Park.


Monday, January 05, 2009
An Evening Before A New Boy Arrives

This is the evening before his arrival. It is a little boy.


Friday, January 09, 2009
James Ozan Peacock

Hello world,

I am James Ozan Peacock. My Mummy went through a long labour and after some consultation with the doctors, I made the decision to emerge in the operating room instead on Tuesday January 6th, 1 minute before midnight.

I've been told that I am looking forward to my first camping trip soon. I will have my own canoe paddle and wool blanket. I'll be popping in from time to time to make an appearance here. But first I am going back to sleep.


Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Farley Mowat's "No Man's River"

In the moments between learning about James, our new baby and making sure that we all eat and sleep, I have been reading Farley Mowat's No Man's River.


Friday, January 16, 2009
My Warm Military Arctic Gloves, Licorice Allsorts, a Ferret and a bag of Jelly Tots

The other week I went to the local army surplus store and poked around the racks and stacks of the stale smelling offerings. It's quite nice there, if you can get past the awkward people who examine you as you browse the products they sell. I came across a wire basket containing wool socks and grabbed a couple of pairs to leave in my car trunk for an emergency. As I lifted up the package, I saw beneath it a pair of military arctic gloves.


Sunday, January 18, 2009
Good Curly Feather Sticks

Basically, in places where you can't find dry tinder easily, shaving a stick of wood until you have fine feathery shavings will allow you to create the conditions for a fire to catch and grow.

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