more critter talk ~ Tom

[Guest guest]

Hey, don't be sorry. I enjoy talking about my experiences living out. People are

so scared of the idea, and with that fear they stay in compliance with a

lifestyle that is destructive - like the way so many people are simply scared to

try a vegan or vegetarian diet thinking they're going to starve. I do have some

stories from when I lived in a van in Orange County too, including a night when

the coyotes gathered just outside my van and did a group song. I would love a

chance to explore Vancouver Island as you do.....

 

When I'm not in town - which is where I am most of the day - it's just my body

heat. People are so spooked at the idea of a fire around here, that it would

only get me into trouble to have one. Also, making one on a cold night is a bit

impractical, since I'm already warmed up by the time I get to my site - often

too warm and I need to sit out and cool down a bit before climbing into bed. The

factors that might make a fire desirable - cool damp weather - also make a fire

hard to get started. By the time I can get a fire started, I've chilled down

uncomfortably, when instead I can climb into bed when I'm just right....

 

I sometimes pull out my hotplate and go cook a pot of something at one of the

parks in town - also, have waffle iron, will travel.... More often, I use the

microwave at the co-op. More often than that, I use the hot water at the drop-in

center for things like ramen noodles or oatmeal. But most often, I prepare

things that don't require cooking. Unfortunately, this takes more packaged

foods, though I do incorporate fresh produce into meals. My diet isn't as raw as

might be optimal, but I do have occasional raw meals (the Boutenko family,

http://www.rawfamily.com, is here in Ashland, after all), and I do snack often

on raw wild foods....

 

My tent is 7'x7', and I don't keep very much up there, so my site is only

slightly bigger than my tent. Most of my belongings I keep in town in a storage

unit. Besides the tent, there is a tarp suspended over my tent to help keep my

tent dry and give me a fairly dry area at my door so I can take off my shoes

before bringing my feet inside. My bedding is just a sleeping bag that's enough

to keep me warm up until a hard freeze, but then I wear extra layers on those

particularly cold nights - and remember, things dry out when it's so cold, so

the bedding actually insulates better then. I also have more bedding that I can

bring up from my storage unit if I felt the need. I have a bottle of water. And

then I have a wind up alarm clock with an empty cookie tin that works as a bear

warder - the tin helps to amplify the ticking.....

Peace and love,

Tom

 

 

, steff davidson <steffdav46>

wrote:

>

> Your posts are so interesting and...well....amazing. I lived most of my life

in So. California and knew little of any wildlife. 11 years ago, I married a man

who has lived all of his life on Vancouver Island so I moved here. Since that

time, I have been amazed at the wildlife that I see on a daily basis, but it

comes nothing close to what you live with. I hike (well really it's more of a

walk) around a lake every morning and well-wishers are always warning me of

bears, cougars, and whatever else lives up here. Mostly I just see a lot of

deer, bunnies, different beautiful birds, and our lakes resident beaver. I find

it all awesome. My question to you is, what do you use for heat? Do you cook

your food or do you eat it mostly raw? What about heat in the winter? How big is

your site?

> Sorry for all of the questions...it's just so ....well......AMAZING to me.

> Stef

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> Argue not with dragons, for thou art crunchy and go well with brie.