Gardening For Fun, Beauty And Relaxation

I’m back from my camping trip. It was a tremendously fun experience. I have to spend some time to share my experiences online.

For now, I have found a new hobby. I look at my backyard. It is in the worst shabby condition ever. I just realized that all these years of work have caused me to neglect the maintenance of my garden.

I have decided to do some gardening. Gardening is fun, and I enjoy the moments I spend while working in my garden. This is the only time I can honestly relax and not worry about the burdens of life for a couple hours.

Since I’m starting my garden from scratch, I need some planning.

Now, there are many types of gardens I can start with. Flower garden, Vegetable garden or just a garden filled with plants. There’s really a lot of choices.

I guess I am unable to decide just yet. But one thing I know I would have to do is plan the garden layout, or it will be a chaotic mess.

At least, I know that my first step towards a beautiful garden is dealing with the landscape and laying out how I will divide the little space available, and decide what types of plants I will be using and how I will sort them by type or color.

Next I would have to choose the garden decor that will blend well with my humble home.

It seems like it’s a difficult task. But I can do it!

I’m going to do some research now.

Camping Trip (continued)

Once the rain began in earnest, I found an intact building and set up a movie theater and picnic zone...yes, it was a zombie movie. After the movie, I moved back to camp and set up some tarp-based shelter and got out fire going to ward off the cold and damp as I headed into my second night in the ghost town...
There was just one more challenge awaiting a select few of us...crossing the Hudson river to explore a few buildings on the far side that have been less picked over/through than the ones on my side of the Hudson...the snow in the High Peaks is still melting, and it had rained most of the day Saturday, so the Hudson River was full and fast and freezing...
I went into the water, and although the water was thigh-deep, and the current was very strong, I climbed out on the far side a few minutes later...I warmed up in the sun and ate some snacks to replenish my bodies before bushwhacking the rest of the way to the buildings...
They were in great shape, fixtures and an amazing amount of detail still intact (note the drapes in the far room...all of the main doors were missing the stairs leading up to them, so I had to climb in through this window. This room was likely a dining room at one point...the woodwork and glass was still in place throughout the room...
In another spot though, some water had leaked in, and over time had soaked the insulation layer between floor and ceiling. The kitchen was in great shape, with some pots and pans, and a towel by the sink.
There was a great breezeway behind the kitchen that led up and away towards what might have been a pantry or storage area, or servants' quarters...it was a raised walkway with some great Adirondack details...
I found a place that was more shallow, but significantly wider, for the crossing back over to the civilized side of the Hudson...I traded an easier/safer crossing for a longer time in the extremely cold water...I posed, in the water (up to about my knees this time) for a victory picture...the crossing and exploration on the far side of the Hudson was a remarkable adventure...

Camping Trip - A getaway

I have just returned from a camping trip in Tahawus, an area that was once a mining town down at the southern end of the High Peak region...it is a rugged and beautiful part of the Adirondacks, which is saying something...
Even though spring is slow to come to this part of the world, it is slower still to come to Tahawus, and there was still a considerable amount of snow back in the woods where I camped...

There are apparently lots of bears in the area, but with proper precautions, I didn't see any during my weekend camping trip...
I fit all of my gear for the weekend: clothes, shelter, food, gear, booze, cigars, in this pack, and I walked in to my camping spot back behind the ghost town...back in the woods, not too far from some of the abandoned buildings that are set back in the forest...

I slept the weekend in my Hennessy Hammock, a camping hammock that provides me with an incredibly comfortable night's sleep...

Once I had set up camp, I explored the buildings around us, and all over the town...I found this hatch covering a tank by stepping on it, and feeling the lid give a little under my weight...it was hidden under the leaves, and could have been a nasty surprise, but I were careful...

One of the buildings had the remnants of cedar bark siding on it...something that makes sense, although it had never occurred to me...

I explored a dramatically collapsed building with a phenomenal fieldstone fireplace...This child's cart/toy outside one of the buildings reminded me of "The Godfather II"...This beautiful brick fireplace was in great shape, as was the rest of the house, except for the right half of the room...

Exploring the upstairs of one house was really neat, until I came on a gap in the floor that made me wonder at the overall stability of the building...

After exploring Tahawme pretty extensively, I headed over to the blast furnace, from 1850, which is almost 100 yards tall and constructed from massive stones. I was able to crawl inside, through a hole in the base, and get a view up through the center of the stack. There are also massive bellows still in place on the ground outside of the furnace, used to feed the flames...these gears would have made a wheel about 60 feet in diameter...

The next day I took a walk in the factory zone, which was beautiful and incredibly quiet...I frightened a huge group of white-tail deer. Shortly, I set up a range and did a bit of shooting for a while, until the rain started...
(to be continued….)

Camping - Relaxation Away from Home

I have taken a break from work.

I should stop staying at home and go on a camping trip. It’s a long time since my last camping trip back in college days.

Camping can be a great experience, especially for first time campers. You get to leave the comforts of your home and spend some time in the outdoors. It can be challenging and very
enjoyable.

Now, I need to pack my camping gears and other essential items. Having the proper camping items is important to an enjoyable camping trip. You may be roughing it away from home, but relaxation is still on the itinerary during these outdoor vacations. So, I have to be sure that I have the best equipment with me.

I can’t handle my life anymore. It is stressful!

It is getting common to hear people around you saying "I'm fine I can handle the stress". This is getting real with my friends and relatives.

But you may not know, unhealthy stress levels can take a toll on both your mind and your body. Typically, your mind will start to react differently.

In fact, I have seen many cases of happy and energetic people crumpled under stress and plunged into depression. In effect, they lose their vigor and passion for things they once loved or cared.

I have noticed that the environment rarely has to change for this to happen.

Just keeping things bottled up or just simply not enjoying your life and dealing with issues alone, will eventually break you down.

You might wake up one day and get into an argument with your wife over something that shouldn't have been more than a thought.

You might punish your children over something that you should have laughed at.

This is not the kind of life anyone would want. In most cases, this can be easily avoided.

We all know life isn’t a bed of roses. It is difficult and probably is only going to get more difficult. Nevertheless, our mindset to dealing with this increasingly stressful environment will shape our lives.

I myself had to make some changes.

I woke up one day and told myself, "NO MORE!". I had had enough, so I started looking down deep and decided I needed some major changes. And start enjoying life again.