Enjoy Time OutdoorsIt's a great day to get outdoors…

One of the most beneficial and simplest home made organic fertilizers to make yourself  is comfrey tea.

Comfrey is a nutrient accumulating perennial herb that mines nutrients from deep in the earth, depositing them in it’s nitrogen rich leaves.  Comfrey is a Permaculturist’s dream plant due in part to it’s full NPK profile, it’s heartiness- it can be harvested several times a season, it’s ease in propagating, and exceptional value as a compost booster.

To make your own comfrey tea simply cut your comfrey close to the ground.  Cut the leaves and stems into small pieces and pack it into a plastic bucket- preferably one with a tight fitting lid. Kitty litter buckets work great for this.

Fill the bucket as full as possible.  The comfrey will lose its mass rather quickly as it begins breaks down.

Add a little water, put on the lid, and place in the sun to brew.

Be kind to your comfrey and water it. This will help it get a good start on it’s regrowth.

After a couple of weeks, add a little more water to the bucket, stir, and strain the comfrey liquid into a pump sprayer.

Top with additional water, if needed, and foliar spray your plants liberally.

They will love it!

Mix the remaining leaf matter into your compost pile. The nitrogen rich leaves will surely give it a kick!

It’s free, it’s organic, and it’s nutrient and nitrogen packed- your plants will thank you!

Photo courtesy of snowtubes.com

The snow tubes are ready.  More snow has fallen.  Enough for us, as adults? probably not, but if we were still kids it sure would be!

Now the only thing standing between us, an inflated snow tube, and a snow covered hill is time.  Plus a little thing called ‘work’ and the hundreds of trace elements of life, better known as ‘interruptions’.  If the eye drifts off the prize, going snow tubing, life’s interruptions will silently transform the anticipation of ‘wanting to go’ into the regret of ‘having not gone’.

When we were kids it didn’t matter how much snow there was.  If our sleds or snow tubes could make it down the hill without getting torn up by glacially deposited rocks or stalling out on bare patches of ground, we were game.  The cost was cheap- a little time, plus some energy, topped off with some adrenaline and fair amount of smiles.

Fast forward 10, 20, 30, 40 years (enter your corresponding decade).   Why is it now such an undertaking to get up and ‘do’?  Maybe it’s our minds playing tricks on us.  The mind tells us we don’t have time, we’ll do it later.  Will we?

We all share the same 168 hours per week so time may not be the whole factor.  Time can’t have fun by itself.  It needs it’s two buddies- opportunity and desire.

So I ask myself- do I have time?  Yes.  Do I have opportunity?  Yes.  And most importantly, do I have the desire?  Yes, but…. (insert over thought reasoning here).

Am I simply waxing nostalgia?   Not entirely.  Snow tubing is still a blast!  It hasn’t changed.  The only factor that has changed is us.  Likewise, the only factor that can un-change is, you guessed it, US!

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Old Man Winter

Here in North Eastern Indiana (USDA Zone 5) Old Man Winter has still yet to unleash his seasonal wonders upon us.  Last night we received a preview of things to come, a thin blanket of brilliantly white snow.

Just enough that the ground is covered in white.  Not so thick that it restricted some of taller grass blades from poking through, providing a touch of texture to the otherwise smooth surface.

In the cloud diffused early morning light the leafless skeletons of the deciduous trees stand proudly in the foreground of the otherwise nondescript landscape.  A scene reminiscent of an old 35mm film negative.   Timeless art that only nature can create.  Though unlike any art captured on film, nature’s creation will only last for a few moments before it morphs into something else uniquely of it’s own creation.

Nature is the essence of art and art,  nature.

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The morning sun shares it’s brilliance across the Eastern skyline.   It’s hues of red, and orange, and yellow reach up to share it’s illumination with the low hanging clouds, softly back lighting and contrasting their puffy blue, grey, and black edges.  Day gently nudges nighttime forward.  It’s Day’s turn to share.  It’s not just a new day upon us, it’s a new year!

I open the porch door, quickly passed by two excited dogs who are as happy this morning as they are any other morning.  Not happy because they will get a treat when we’re outside, or because they have to go potty, but because they know the rest of their world exists out there and they get to experience it (again).

Riley offers up her ritualistic beaconing bark to see which friends and acquantences around the neighborhood are out in their yards this morning.  Today, her call goes unanswered.  She’s not phased, she doesn’t mind at all.  She turns around and commits her energies and love to her sister.  She tries to get Lacie to play ‘chase me!’.  Lacie doesn’t take up the offer.  Riley goes about her business and goes potty.  Their day has begun.

I step out the door and walk into the yard.  I feel the cool winter breezes on my face and sleeveless arms, and the soft, wet grass on my bare feet.  Like a plush carpet of life I feel the blades tickle between my toes as I walk.  I meander to the fruit trees and check on the buds that will blossom in a just few short months.  Everything’s looking great!

Yes, it’s cold- but my body focuses outwards and absorbs the energy of the new day, recharging my soul.   No, I’m not deep in the woods, 0r surrounded by an expansive and beautifully manicured public park, but my  soul doesn’t care.  The calmness and peace of mind holds the same effect, without regard.  One word explains my feelings- tranquil.

Though this morning looks and feels like any other winter mornings, this day is  little different.  It’s the first day of the new calendar year.   Not that the sun, winter winds, Lacie, Riley, or I would ever have noticed otherwise.

Some use the expressions “time passes quickly” and “time passes slowly”.  Time does neither.  Time just is.  Time is the most constant thing we know.  It’s just our perception of time that makes it seem fast or slow.  Like light through a prism, a crystal.  Our life is the crystal. Time is the light.

Every day, we are all gifted with precisely the same amount of light.  The key to our creating brilliant rainbows is the angle at which we choose to refract that light.

Yes, it takes practice to find the perfect angle which will produce the most brilliant rainbow.  Practice is known by a simpler name.  Life!

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere it’s been just ten days since the winter solstice.  The miraculous occurrence that brings us more daylight and solar energy each and every day, at the expense of equally shortened nights.

The change that’s underway is ever so subtle, seemingly unnoticed to the naked eye.  But the wheel is in motion and nothing can stop it.

I can’t help but think about how this lunar cycle stirs and mixes the energy throughout this beautiful planet’s diverse  flora and fauna, of which we are just one small part.

In just a few short months the flora will know, miraculously, when it’s time for the sap to begin flowing, the seeds to germinate, the bulbs to emerge, dormancy to break and photosynthesis to begin anew.

So does the animal kingdom know that it’s time to begin their new cycle.  Birds, by the millions take a seemingly choreographed flight to begin their spring migration as if being directed by the almighty Conductor.  Animals in hibernation awaken, fish begin their spawn cycle, and so it begins.  A new cycle is underway.

We may no longer be as directly connected to our environment as the rest of the flora and fauna that surrounds us but we do still have a strong connection, realize it or not.

Maybe it’s our most primal connection to this energy shift that gets us thinking about the changes that we wish to make and see in the new year, and world in general.  Both our personal worlds (our world views) and the world (in it’s entirety) of which we all share.

We, as humans, have adapted our annual spring rituals from our former hunter-gather ways into a different type of hunter gather activities.

Instead of hunting for  game and fish, or foraging for wild berries, tubers, and roots, we find ourselves hunting opportunities to help feed and better our lives or foraging for self-fulfillment.   At a closer look, we are not all to distant from our more primal ancestors of which we’re only a few generations removed.

Think the world has changed?  Has it, really?  Or was it just our world views which have changed?

Happy (belated) New Year!

2011 was a breakthrough year for me!  I had more goals, over 200% more (or at least I wrote down more) than in any other year.  I even added new and adjusted existing goals throughout the year.

Progress was made on almost all of the thirty four 2011 goals I had on my list, but I didn’t fully accomplish many of them.  Not even a quarter of them!  I failed a lot and I’m happy with that.

There were many small failures, none were so big that I couldn’t pickup and continue again.  So I get to continue the game.   The more I failed the more I realized that every failure resulted in a ton of tiny successes, new ideas,  new experiences, new micro-goals, etc.

The tiny successes (and failures) were nothing more than accomplished (or failed) micro-goals, most that probably weren’t even identified when the big goal was set.

This unforeseen realization brought me a whole new perspective on goal setting.

In the past I set goals I could simply check off when complete.  That was okay, but it degraded them into “all or nothing” accomplishments.  I either made the goals, or I didn’t.

This year was different!

This year I realized and accepted that value exists in the micro-goals, complete or not.  The knowledge and ideas gained from the nine books I’ve read (the goal being 12),  the incomplete weight loss goal (ending the year down 34lbs, instead of 36),  having published only eight YouTube videos (instead of 12), writing only 54 blog posts (instead of the 104),  harvesting only 24.3lbs of food (not the targeted 25lbs), getting my Permaculture Certification (attended one weekend session instead), or building my tribe by x amount, were just a few of my failed goals.  Even the failed totals topped any previous year’s accomplishment.  Not bad for a failure!

These goals were all failures.   Yes,  I failed the big goals, but succeeded in a zillion micro-goals along the way by accumulating  some great experiences, knowledge, friends, and ideas.

The age-old saying holds true- The value lies in the journey, not the destination.

You can be sure there will be even more great opportunities to fail in 2012.  As long as you remember that the goals are not the accomplishment but are mearly a compass needle that points you in the right direction, you can’t fail!

That’s what will be required to make 2012 the best year ever!  I’m sure it will be (because I’m planing for it to be)!

When deciding to undertake the journey of competing in the 2012 Ore2Shore I knew I needed to get in better shape- beginning with losing a lot of my extra weight. And there is plenty extra!

I’m slightly over 20-years away from my former “young, relatively fit, and active guy” that still lives in my mind (dreams), and spirit. I’m currently an early 40′s married guy who has spent most of the last twenty years sitting behind a computer for 10-12 hours per day. Over the years I packed on the pounds a little at a time. Before I knew it my weight maxed at around 240.

Every few years I would ‘care’ and focused my energy on diet and exercise, resulting in a yo-yo between the max and just over 200, never breaking through the evasive sub-200 lb goal. For most of the last 10 years my weight hovered between 210-225.

When I decided to set out for my O2S goal I knew the first thing I needed to do was lose weight. It would be the key to the rest of my plans.

70 Days on the 4-HB Diet (click for larger image)

By dropping the weight I knew I would feel better, have more energy, build my endurance quicker, build my stamina, be more efficient in my training, and be far less injury and heart-attack/stroke prone. As side benefits my blood pressure, cholesterol, and risk of diabetes and heart disease should all be significantly reduced.

For my weight loss plan I’ve chosen to use Tim Ferriss’ Slow-Carb diet, which he outlines in his book “The 4-Hour Body”.

The Slow Carb diet is so effective and simple to follow, it’s really amazing and hard to believe it’s real! In 10-weeks I’ve steadily lost at least 20 pounds of body fat.  I actually lost more than 20lbs because some of the fat weight was displaced with lean muscle.  For the first six weeks I did no exercise at all, outside of 20-minute lunchtime walks I’ve been doing for years.  Over the last four weeks I’ve been adding lean muscle by incorporating the Wii Active 3-5 days per week and (very) occasionally some barefoot running on the treadmill.

In a nutshell, the 4-Hour Body Slow-Carb Diet consists of five basic rules.  The rules are Tim’s, but the descriptions and meal examples are my own personal adaptations.  They have been working for me and are simply presented as a real-world example.

Rule 1- Avoid “white” Carbohydrates, or anything that can be made white

- This includes things like breads, wheat flour, all rices, oats, sugar, cereal, potatoes, pasta, tortillas, breaded fried foods, pastries, etc.

Rule 2- Eat the same few meals over and over

- During the week, I eat the same breakfast- two eggs scrambled in a little olive oil, topped with salt and pepper. 1-cup (or there abouts) of microwaved frozen spinach, and (sometimes) a couple of pieces of sausage or bacon.

For lunches I often eat a chicken and veggie stir fry, made with baked chicken, red, orange or yellow peppers, onions, canned bean sprouts, (sometimes) canned stir fry veggie mix, and an assortment of fresh veggies that we have on hand (celery, broccoli, carrots, etc.), tossed in an olive or toasted sesame oil with some Italian seasoning.  I’ll also toss in a 1/3rd can of a legume when I pack the lunches- usually a tri-bean, black bean, or great northern. (We make the stir-fry in bulk and divide for several days’ lunches)

For dinners, if not eating the stir fries we prepare for lunches, I’ll often have taco bowls- taco seasoned ground beef, hot sauce, black bean and corn salsa, onions, chopped romaine hearts, and chopped tomato.

Another personal favorite that’s fast to make is a frozen shrimp, frozen edamame, and fresh mushroom stir fry- with a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Snacks during the day include carrots and celery, cucumber, and/or small handfuls of raw almonds, cashews, or sunflower seeds.

Rule 3- Don’t drink calories

- Drink a lot of water, morning noon and night. This helps the body flush out the toxins and other crap that’s being emptied from the fat cells and helps the digestive system work more efficiently.

Drink as much unsweetened coffee or tea as you like.  Just don’t drink sweetened soft drinks, milk, or fruit juices.  I also avoid all carbonated beverages, alcohol, and artificial sweeteners.

Rule 4- Don’t Eat Fruit

- This rule is about as straight forward as it gets- the exceptions to this rule are tomatoes and avocados (the latter in moderation).

Rule 5- Take one day off per week- and Binge!

- This rule makes the whole process work.  By having a binge day once per week you can postpone anything you want during the rest of week, simply add it to your ‘I’ll have it on x-day ‘ list.  Nothing is off limits, so go crazy! Think big and go for it. After doing this for a few weeks I eventually settled down- you quickly realize your eyes are bigger than your stomach.  Don’t deprive, don’t measure, and don’t worry about it.

That’s it in a nutshell.  There’s not much to it- no measuring, counting, etc.  Eat good food, eat as much as satisfies you, and look forward to your binge day.

Note- I prefer to log my data every morning, upon waking.  This helps confirm the incremental progress is being made and keep you motivated during the first few weeks.  Once the weight starts (and continues) to drop, the routine fuels itself.

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions- please leave a comment on this post or email me at steve at enjoytimeoutdoors (dot) com.

Looking for more 4-Hour Body Slow-Carb Recipes?  Please stop by EnjoyTimeCooking.com and subscribe.  You will be the first to be notified when the new Slow-Carb recipe section goes live.

What diet related post would be complete without a cool disclaimer?  Well, here’ s mine!  Please be sure to consult your doctor before beginning this or any diet or exercise program.  Have a great day and get out and EnjoyTimeOutdoors!

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What is he talking about, you ask?

The idea for Enjoy Time Outdoors was inspired by Gary Mittelholtz’s awesome podcast, Doing Stuff Outdoors. Listening to his podcasts I could easily drift off into daydreams. partaking in whatever adventure Gary brought us to.  Through his warm and relaxing style, Gary rekindled something in me that was all but forgotten- my love of spending time playing in the great outdoors.

After nearly twenty years working in the Information Technology field, many in windowless computer rooms or offices, my long lost love for the outdoors was a dusty and distant memory.  Replaced by stress, career, and grinding through the day-to-day tasks of ‘life’.  Gary helped me rediscover my core.  After working through the backlog of his 140 episodes I was finally ready to write Gary a letter thanking him for his work.   That was when, sadly, I learned of his passing less than two months earlier, on March 13th, 2008.

This was when I decided to launch a blog about doing fun and adventurous stuff outdoors.   ETO would be my ticket for getting out and doing more fun stuff outdoors.  I could muse about my research, interests, and adventures.

Somewhere along the way I lost the focus and drifted off.   Other day-to-day activities took over as the subject of my writings, things like gardening experiments, and the such.

While writing my recent post about the goal of competing in the 2012 Ore to Shore, I rediscovered the mission of ETO- the O!

If you have read any of my posts over the last six months you have probably noticed a few common themes-gardening, cooking, and preparedness.  Well, these topics now have their own dedicated domains.

Following the EnjoyTime… naming convention, future gardening posts can be found at EnjoyTimeGardening.com.

Future cooking posts can be found at (you guessed it!) EnjoyTimeCooking.com.

Not to slight my interest in Preparedness, Modern Survival and Peak everything, those future posts can found at PrepForToday.com.

The rest of my ramblings that don’t really fit any of these four can continue to be found at my original blog, Spisblog’s Journal, at spisblog.wordpress.com.

“Why would I make such a NetFlix’ish move?”, you may ask.  I believe that I will be able to offer better and more relevant content for those who read my writing.

If you are interested in receiving spam-free emails when new content is posted to any of these sites, please take a moment to subscribe to each.

I would love to hear what you think about this change- please let me know by leaving a comment below, or shoot me an email at steve (at) enjoytimeoutdoors.com.

Thank you!

Looking to make your own homemade garlic bread or garlic butter for pan grilling shrimp, fish, or veggies?

Here’s a quick and simple recipe to get you cooking…  You are less than four minutes away from a delicious garlic spread…

Ingredients

• - Unsalted Butter- one stick
• - Crushed Oregano (dried)- 1 heaping tsp
• - Extra Virgin Olive Oil- 2 tsp
• - Fresh Garlic (pressed or crushed and diced)- 3-4 cloves
• - Sea Salt and Pepper (to taste)  *- See note

Directions-

In a mixing bowl combine butter, crushed Oregano, olive oil, garlic, salt*, and pepper.  Mix well.

Transfer combined ingredients onto a piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap.  Roll into a log and place in refrigerator to firm up.

Your fresh garlic butter is ready to enjoy!  It’s that quick and simple!

*-If you will be using the butter to saute shrimp or veggies I suggest leaving the salt out of the butter.  The salt content can be better controlled by adding directly to the dish during or after cooking.  If using for garlic bread or as a spread add it while combining other ingredients.

Enjoy!

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It doesn’t matter if you are simply enjoying some time outdoors or in dangerous weather can wreck your day and possibly your life!  That’s why it’s so important to have a good quality, working, emergency weather radio on standby.

Keeping  the radio within ear-shot and on! (with good backup batteries) can make all the difference between an incredible story about how your life was saved because of, or possibly lost due to the lack of, early notification of an oncoming storm, tornado, hurricane, or other natural or man-made disaster.

Listen the audio podcast and full article I’ve written on ‘five key features to consider when evaluating weather radios’.   They can both be found at The PrepForToday podcast.