Let’s Get Primitive

Primitive How-Tos on Howcast.com

Next time you have some web time to kill, visit Howcast.com, a new how-to video site where you can write/read guides and make/watch videos. It just launched last week…and, I work there.

I wrote two how-to guides for Let’s Get Primitive. The guides are really neat because they’re nicely arranged and you can print them out to bring to your kitchen or workshop. Check them out here:

How To Make Fantasy Bananas

How To Turn a Take-Out Container Into a Bird Feeder

Go and contribute. Or stop by and learn a thing or two. I’m learning all kinds of things. One of my goals for the week is to do this:

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Woodland Creatures Week at Delight.com

Imagine my surprise when I clicked on a link to Delight.com and discovered it’s Woodland Creatures Week! One of my shopping fantasies becoming reality right before my very eyes. And even better (because it fits in the “meant to be” realm, which I’m a sucker for), I had never even heard of this delightful online shopping experience until today.

If you’re here then you probably love woodland creatures just as much as me, so head on over there and pick yourself up the Woodland Creatures Copper Cookie Cutter Set or the Alabaster Stag Head. I’m getting the Happy Camper Mega Tote. I’m pretty sure it’s meant to be mine.

Enjoy!

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Camping for Christmas?

Doubtful for me. Though I fantasize it would be as magical as a Bob Ross painting, I have yet to pitch my tent in winter on the east coast. If you are planning a wintery escape, I’ve got a recipe to keep you warm.

And, if you’re looking for a thoughtful, fun, inexpensive holiday present, I’ve got a suggestion: Let’s Get Primitive! Give a city slicker the gift of wild abandon. Get a camping virgin ready for an outdoor adventure. Turn a friend on to camping and they will thank you f-o-r-e-v-e-r. I promise!

Check out reviews here, here, or here!

Then, buy here, here, or here!

Happy, happy, happy holidays!

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Urban girls gone wild on the radio

Steve Sergeant produces an audio journal called The WildeBeat (great name), a weekly 10-minute radio documentary about the wilderness. Steve’s an experienced backpacker with an approachable, laid-back style. He covers everything from wool-blend socks to the question of providing desert bighorn sheep artificial watering holes. I really like his take on the show. He says:

A typical outdoor recreation publication focuses on extraordinarily fit and highly-skilled people taking spectacular risks in distant or exotic places. Or they focus on the latest high-priced gear proffered by their supporting advertisers. Perhaps they sensationalize the brutality of wildlife and nature. Or they preach about environmental politics, and forget the enjoyment of natural settings in the process. We show you that you don’t need to do extreme sports to enjoy nature and being outdoors; anyone can enjoy backcountry activities, such as camping, hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, rafting, kayaking, canoeing, climbing, skiing, or snowshoeing.

A few weeks ago he invited me on to talk about Let’s Get Primitive and my transition from civilized urbanite to run-with-the-wolves camper gal. As someone who is both NOT extraordinarily fit or highly-skilled, I was a shoe-in.

Listen to the program here:

And while you’re at it, check out some of Steve’s other programs. He’s got a great show about the Sierra Club’s Inner-City Outings, a program for city kids who don’t get much exposure to the wilderness, and an awesome series called Listening to Parks about the sounds you do (and don’t) here in the backcountry.

Can someone please inform Ira Glass this unskilled clumsy girl is available for future radio interviews?

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She camped, rolling suitcase and all

Just wanted to share this great trip report from Laura over at My Little Orange Kitchen. Laura took an awesome solo camping trip to Rock Island in Lake Michigan. With her miniature lawn ornaments, vintage coffee pot, and rolling suitcase, she is definitely not your typical nature gal. But her crazy, rainy, character-filled trip is inspiring. Plus there’s skinny-dipping, always the mark of a good campout in my book. Check out her story here.

I love that this went camping!

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The Wildman & The Unlikely Nature Girl

Back in March I took a foraging tour of Central Park with New York’s most famous naturalist, “Wildman” Steve Brill. It was a lucky sunny spring day. The group was an eclectic collection of city folk, ranging from NYU students to an eccentric elderly woman out for the walk. We tasted sheep sorrel, oyster mushrooms, and my favorite, mustard garlic greens. We got our hands dirty, talked recipes with the Wildman, and made promises to do it again soon. I overheard one supercute urbanite say it was the best thing he had ever done in the city! So, when I found out Steve was coming to my new stomping grounds in the Pocono Mountains for a mushroom tour, I signed right up.

Coming soon…the story of our day, our search for edible mushrooms despite the dry weather, the other neat stuff we found along the way, and chef Laurie Diaz’s delicious foraged feast prepared right at the trailhead.

For now, check out my video of the Wildman demonstrating his Brillophone. If you take one of his tours, you’re sure to witness this special instrument.

To learn more about Steve visit his website. His tours run all the way up to December so there’s still time to get out there!

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Almost as good as camping

As far as “almost as good as…” things go, these necklaces rank pretty high up there.

Figs & Ginger
“metal smithing inspired by forests”

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Lata answers the big question

I have a secret aspiration to be an herb farmer (please, no snickering), so I was naturally impressed with this urban herbalist, Lata Chettri-Kennedy, founder of Flower Power Herbs and Roots in New York City.

I read her profile in New York magazine and it wasn’t just the mysterious jars behind her, or the fact that she sucked on red-raspberry leaf ice cubes to help her through her pregnancy that got me. It was her saying that being in New York actually reaffirms her connection with nature. “I like to see weeds pushing through the cracks of the sidewalk.” Hell yes, Lata! It is possible to maintain a connection to nature even in the big city.

Sprigs of green sprouting through cracks in the sidewalk remind us that everything is adaptable. Storm water gushing down gutters is working relentlessly to make everything fresh and new. Wildflowers thriving in busy highway medians are offerings to the brave. Although a primitive camping trip slaps my reset button like nothing else, nurturing your wild side surrounded by concrete and crowds can be inspiring in a very special way.

Still, the big question lingers. Why bother?

I’ve grown tired of singing the same old song so I decided to consult the green witch (a supercool name for an herbalist) herself. Here Lata weighs in on why a connection with nature is so great anyway, why it makes her feel good, and why it’s also good for you. Lata isn’t just the founder of Flower Power, she’s also a Flower Shaman who has studied herbal medicine in the Wise Women tradition. She offers a studied yet spiritual take on nature that might be unfamiliar to urban gals and guys. Her answers were decidedly fresh, unusual, and exciting to an unlikely nature girl like me. Thanks Lata!

Why does nature make you feel good?
I have found the answers to all my questions, fears, and doubts by studying nature and its elements. Water, fire, air, earth, and above all, the spirit that is the cord that connects us all–their wisdom is readily available to everyone who chooses to witness the perfection that is nature. I am inspired by every aspect of nature, I could talk about it for years.

Is fostering a connection with nature good for you?
I’d say! The Green Entities, the plants, are by far the best teachers of unconditional love, extraordinary beauty, joy, and creativity. Everything we consume is plant-based, from the air that we need to breathe, our foods, and our medicines, to fossil fuels. I trust the cycles of nature, forever evolving to meet the next challenge.

Why bother?
The entity that is earth is pure perfection. If you’d like to get inspired, check it out!

Visit Lata at Flower Power in person, at 406 East 9th Street & Avenue A, or online, here. She and all the other friendly herbalists there are eager to help newbies navigate the rich history of herb cultivation and use. I’m not sure there’s a better way to embrace our connection to nature than to affirm its healing and restorative properties. I plan to attend one of the Flower Power workshops. The next one is slated for September 15–Gearing up for Autumn: The Harvest.

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We have a winner!

Congratulations to Meg Weidner who won Ten Speed’s Let’s Get Primitive contest. Her story took the cake for camping calamity and made me laugh out loud. “Debutante’s First Bout with Poison Ivy” earned her a cute Coleman tent, a camp cocktail set, and a copy of my book. Woo-hoo Meg! Two of my other favorites were Jonathan Fox’s story of his lost friend Rosanna and Patrick Sauer’s Central Park adventure. Check them out along with all the other awesome entries at tenspeed.com.

In honor of Meg and her story of contracting a poison ivy rash in a very uncomfortable place, I’m offering this public service announcement:
Poison Ivy causes an itchy, itchy rash. Just ask Meg. Be careful. Be alert. Beware!

This is what it looks like:

Heading out into the woods? Get educated. Read more about poison ivy here.

*Photo courtesy poison-ivy.org.

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Revel in disaster–only 8 days left!

Horny teenagers in Central Park, a masked bandit, and truly Deliverance-like moments–come and take pity on the campers brave enough to share their worst backcountry memories. Camping has its challenges and they always make for great stories. But even the bad times quickly turn into happy memories once you’re back in the comfortable embrace of civilization. As a (thankfully, minor) disaster magnet, I get a big kick out of hearing other people’s tales of woe.

Read the essays here. And don’t forget, there are only 8 days left to offer up your own. Share your backcountry disaster and you could win a nifty 2-person Coleman tent, a camp cocktail set (complete with shaker), and a copy of Let's Get Primitive!

No purchase (or chest-beating) is necessary, just email your very best camping disaster story of 500 words or less to camping@tenspeed.com between July 1 and August 31, 2007.

Good luck!

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