Getting Back to the Outdoors
Earlier I set three goals for myself for my garden. The first of those three goals was to plan the organization of my garden better, taking better consideration into the light sunlight available in the garden. Between a combination of Spring coming late to Wisconsin this year and work commitments, I’ve been a little behind in getting my garden planted this year. However, this week we got the garden in the ground, so we should be fine for growing season.
I’m fascinated with the Dutch oven, and am trying to practice to get better at it. After demonstration and discussion on Dutch oven cooking during my Baloo training, I was inspired to continue the practicing. The Dutch oven is also a great tool for cooking in a back yard, and I hope to make it a compliment to more of our barbecues now that the weather is getting warmer and we spend more time outside. Plus, my Thanksgiving cornbread turned out well, so it was time to build from there. This past weekend, my boys and I made a pineapple upside down cake in our backyard.
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been impressed with Cub Scouts as I go through it again thirty years later with my own sons. In addition to programming for kids, scouting provides training opportunities for their adult leaders. Scouting is driven by adult volunteers. In contrast to Boy Scouts where the scouts themselves take on the planning, programming, and execution with supervision of the adults, in Cub Scouts, the adult leaders take on these roles to create experiences for these younger kids.
I enjoy growing vegetables in my garden in the back yard. Given the time and money spent each year, I don’t know that I’ll ever “make money” with my garden, but I enjoy it and that makes it valuable to me. What is my plan for a successful garden this year? Let’s dig 🙂 into it deeper.
I spent my youth outdoors. It was an essential part of who I was. Somewhere between then and now, that part of me fell aside. School, job, wife, kids, suburban trappings all took more and more of my time, until it had been years since I had been camping. I let those things take such a priority that something previously essential had become only a memory.
I’m working to take it back now. I’m raising two boys (with my lovely wife), and I want them to love the outdoors as I did and do. They’ll make their own mistakes, but I want them to learn from this mistake of mine and stay true to themselves.
I started I OF THE NORTH for some external accountability and to share some of my thoughts. I’ll share some of the things that I’m doing to get back to the outdoors. If anyone else is in a similar situation, then maybe something in here helps. Maybe we can learn from each other.
Ben