Enjoy the Outdoors. Love the Planet.
All about Nature, about the outdoors<>I love it, photograph it and protect it.
Going to Winn Dixie for Milk, Beer, Pepsi and a Baby Sitter!
I’ve just got to post today about a memory that came up recently for me; it’s about going through the super market with your kids–looking for babysitters.
Our youngest had very curly, very red hair and people noticed him when we were out in public. In those days, there obviously was no craigslist, so if you needed sitters–which we did for our brood of three–church was option one but the grocery store was option two! (And, yes, sons one and two were terribly cute, as well!)
Here’s how that worked: once we were in the check out line, the cashier would, without fail, notice little Benji sitting in the cart and say “oh, that little guy is sooooo cute!” And I would say “he sure is! How would you like to baby sit him?” And we got three different sitters for Benji and his two big bros that way, including Traci, who was with us for almost a year. She didn’t stop sitting for us until she got a job interning for then Florida Senator Paula Hawkins.
Back in the ’80s, grocery stores pretty much filled cashier jobs with young women who were of baby sitting age. This technique would probably not work so well these days. I go back to when many young men made money by mowing lawns and their sisters often baby sat. There are many, many more ways to make part-time money now, but back in the ’80s when our kids were small, the local supermarket was a great place to find new–and good–sitters for those darling kids at home.
With this little walk down memory lane, I am,
Bulldog Ben Basile
© 2017 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Bulldog Carries a Lot of Gear While Cruising the Camping Trail
If you’ve taken a look around here on my blog, you know I love to camp. Some folks are into backpacking and carry everything they need on the camping trail on their backs. I’m going to try that one day.
Some folks are into RV’s. Good option for campers with deep pockets but to me it’s like taking a small apartment with you on your outdoor adventure.
My preferred camping style is somewhere in the middle. The term “car camping” is heard a lot on sites and blogs that cover “camping stuff” and that’s the way this puppy rolls! (By the way, the term does not refer to sleeping in the car.)
You’d be amazed at how much gear I can fit into my 2006 PT Cruiser. I added a car-top carrier about ten months ago and I tote around a lot of gear with my rear seats folded down. (PT Cruisers have a rear hatch.) In fact, I carry way more than I need.
I’m big on my tent, the Coleman Picton II. And, yes, you can see it in the Featured Photo for this post. My camping domicile measures 10’×10′ 6″ and is very comfy for one or two happy campers. (Shown here from the back side with the rear vent deployed.) They say it could sleep up to eight, but that would be sardine-style! It’s designed to keep you warm and dry in winds up to 45 mph, believe it or not. If rain is not in the forecast, I like to keep the rain fly off. Makes for comfy, breezy nights. More about that in a minute…
The tent is just over 5′ high and that’s just right for me to change clothes in. I’m not very tall so that works out fine. I don’t like sleeping bags or cots, though I have a good cot. I’m into sleeping in hammocks or recliners. I have a camping recliner that works very well; it’s the camping equivalent of a Lazy Boy (but can be carried by 1 person) and has the added bonus of eliminating the worry of acid reflux being a big deal and spoiling my camping fun. The docs tell me to never sleep laying completely horizontal anyway; so a camping recliner is a great way to go!
One other bonus of sleeping in a recliner: if I didn’t need to use the rain fly, in a recliner I can see the stars above me through the tent ceiling! It’s a great thing, one of the reasons I camp so much! Seeing the boughs of trees above–same awesome pay-off!
I have two different one-burner stoves, one propane, the other uses the “shorty” composite propane/butane tank. That one is so tiny when folded for travel. Most cooking, though, is with my Texsport 2-burner; you could think of this as a “store brand” Coleman 2 burner stove. Just a bit cheaper. It’s been a champ. It’s easy to clean and when folded is really easy to carry around. It uses the 1 lb propane tanks you can buy anywhere; if you have the adapter, you could use your big 4.5 lb propane tank.
I carry three tables with me, one three-footer that uses the screw-in table legs that store under the table itself when not set up. The other two are the type that fold/unfold easily and snap together; those are 18″x18″ and 24″x24″ and are handy in or out of the tent. The three footer is the main thing in the tent but is not bad for cooking with my two-burner stove at sites where that standard over-sized picnic table is not provided.
I could easily put together another post about all the lanterns, flashlights, torches and miscellaneous small gear and tools I take along. It’s a lot of stuff. I’m not going to walk down that blogging path right now, but the main take-away is that if you decide to try the car camping method, you’ll probably be amazed at how much gear you can take along! A 30 ft RV is NOT required to have fun camping!
And besides, camping is way too cool to leave to the RV crowd! I’m not downing those folks at all. But campgrounds are mostly designed with RV’s in mind. In fact, there are destinations that have “campground” in their name don’t accommodate tent campers at all! They’re NOT campgrounds, they’re RV Parks! That’s a pet peeve of mine and I really like sites that don’t treat car campers, aka tent campers, as second-class citizens!
As I type this, I have a reservation to camp later this month at Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake. I really love their tent sites even though it’s straight-up primitive camping. But regardless of where you prefer to pitch your tent, there’s nothing like camping for those of us who love to get outdoors. I do a lot of it, but not nearly enough! Get out of the house and out into nature, people! You’ll be glad you did.
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
© 2017 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Fave Fotos: Two Fish Friends
This photo of two fish hangin’ out together is a 2016 shot of mine taken at the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida. I’ve always liked it and thought I’d feature it on the blog today. It matches the languid, lazy feel of this fine Sunday afternoon.
Have not visited the Brevard Zoo in a few months. I’ll be getting back there soon.
I hope you’re enjoying this Sunday. Not too much of the weekend left. Mine has gone well.
Check in with you another time.
Bulldog Ben
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Bulldog’s Journey Towards Rustic, Sustainable Living
Bulldog’s deep, dark secret: I have a huge interest in greener, simpler living and have wanted to live in a rustic setting for many years. Would go off grid tomorrow if I had all my preps made.
For some reason I haven’t had too much to say about that here on my blog. I’ve done something in the last 24 hours that will help me escape my typical suburban life and get closer to bringing to reality this long-held dream. I’ve launched a new twitter account focused like a laser on the stuff I think about a hundred times a day but rarely ever talk about: sustainability, rustic or off grid living, homesteading, micro farming and the like! Throw in home brewing, raising chickens, and on and on!
I could go on about why I’ve mostly kept all of this locked up in my over-worked brain but that truly would be fodder for another post. The important thing is that the foot-dragging is over and I’m on my way to making this thing real.
Now as far as how a new twitter account is an important first step, it’s true I’ve been on Twitter for a very long time. But my main focus there is political stuff. And I’m thinking that the folks I’ve linked up with on twitter about politics and so on may or may not be into my love for going green and living in a 340 sq ft shack in the woods! So it seemed like a new and separate account in the Twitterverse was the way to go. (Not kosher with Twitter’s TOS, but we’ll ignore that for the moment!)
If you’re on twitter and you’d like to “hook up” over green stuff and rustic/small living, would love to see you on that platform. Click on this next link and you’ll land on my teensie-tiny little home in the vast wilderness of twitter! Or anytime you’re on twitter, just search @sustainable4me and you’ll also find me. Would love to see you over there!
I will have a lot more to say about these very cool–and very trendy–subjects here on my blog in the near future. Because of my limited financial means I’ve been acting as though I’d never actually be able to make any of those hopes and dreams real. And I’m going to stop letting such baleful thoughts “drive the bus!” Whether I get my life arranged the way I’d like or not remains to be seen. But I damn sure would never get it done if I waited until I could concoct some perfect effin plan in my head! I know it doesn’t work like that so I’m off on that journey!
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
© 2017 Ben Lawrence Basile
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Photo description: that’s the Florida Cracker Cabin found at the Barberville Pioneer Settlement in Barberville, Florida. B’ville is about 25 mins north of Deland.
Fave Fotos: Awed by Mr Tree’s Weighty Presence
Here’s a shot I like that has not lived off my hard drive until now. It’s from Silver Springs State Park, I site I really love.
I’ll be back in wild Florida again soon. My last camping reservation was changed on account of some pretty damn rainy conditions in my neck of the woods. But it won’t be much longer before I’m back in the arms of Mother Nature.
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Fave Fotos: a Bird on the Shore of Lake Griffin from Mid-April
I got several good shots on this outing to Trimble Park earlier this year. Back on the 17th of April, to be precise. I’ve used a couple of them on this blog before, but this gem has not lived anywhere besides my hard drive until now.
I am about to be released into the wild again! Haven’t been camping for about three months or so. It’s just so ungodly hot here in Florida during the summer months! But I’ll be at one of my fave camping spots within a few days. Not Trimble Park, but a good one.
There are so many stunningly beautiful spots all over Florida; I’d love to get to all of them, but will settle for maybe a hundred or so! Can just barely scratch the surface, as that old saying goes… But it’s a lot of fun to get to the ones you can! And I do. Sure gives my life meaning and purpose!
I hope you’re able to take advantage of some good opportunities to enjoy Mother Nature’s embrace. As any outdoor enthusiast knows, my neck of the woods is not the only spot on the planet that begs for exploration and adventure! Make plans to get out and enjoy some of those places!
Getting ready for my next foray into the woods, I am,
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Pine Island Glacier: Manhattan-sized Antarctica iceberg breaks off
Ben writes: there are fresh stories in the media every day about the very serious changes happening on our planet because of climate change. Here’s another one. If you’re listening to what climate scientists are saying on the subject, here’s one more piece of evidence. If you’re a skeptic, let me encourage you to stop getting your information from sources tied to corporate interests or right-wing politicians lining their pockets with money from those corporate interests. We’re at the point where kicking the can down the road threatens our very survival.
The break comes two months after a 2,200 square-mile piece of ice detached from Antarctica in July.
Source: Pine Island Glacier: Manhattan-sized Antarctica iceberg breaks off
You’ve GOT to Love Libraries, Folks!
Bulldog loves libraries. Has his whole life.
If you’re reading this and you have a library card, good on you.
If you don’t, today could be your day! It just so happens that September is “National Get a Library Card Month” and I can point the way.
Folks who, like me, reside in Orange County can follow this handy link. The fine folks at the Orange Co. Library System will be happy to hook you up!
Happy reading. And viewing. And enjoying the educational and life-enriching activities available only through our public libraries.
Long-time library lover, I am,
Bulldog Ben Basile
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Bulldog’s Fave Florida State Park Just Reopened!
As many of you may know, many of our state parks here in Florida were closed after Hurricane Irma passed through. The state has been reopening them a few at a time and I’m on the list of state park lovers to be notified about such things.
I was mostly watching to see if Wekiwa Springs State Park was on the “good list” but it wasn’t until today that the word went out that she’s ready for more visitors. I’m not sure if they’ve green-lighted camping again, I’m going to check on that today.
If you’d like to see the list of which parks are up-and-running again or get any kind of info relating to our truly amazing parks here in the Sunshine State, follow this link to the official site for parks on our peninsula!
I’m going to celebrate the reopening of our lovely parks with a trip to one of my faves before October arrives. Wekiwa Springs is at the very top of the list. So many great ones from which to choose!
That featured photo at the top is one I especially like from a trip about a year ago.
Planning a new camping adventure, I am,
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
The Road Construction Project That Wouldn’t Die!
One of the things you get used to pretty quickly around metro Orlando is that we have road construction going on constantly. The project to improve I-4 is the mac-daddy one happening now. I’m not going to whine about that one, not at all. You can actually see the progress when cruising along I-4.
The one that I’d nominate for Worst Road Project in Metro O’do would be the job to widen/improve the intersection of John Young Pkwy and Sand Lake Rd. (Yeah, there should be an award called “WRPiMO”, shouldn’t there?)
It’s a major snafu. It makes it nearly impossible to get in or out of a major shopping complex used by locals and visitors alike; and it’s been going on for way.too.long.
When you cruise around this accursed intersection, you might not see any work being done. When you see that happening–or NOT happening, I should say–it can be very vexing, to say the least. Orange County needs to light a fire under this contractor.
When you do see work, it’s just one or two crews, and never more than two or three front end loaders. I’ve never seen a project inching towards completion like this one. And I’m over it. Completely over it.
I’m not daft enough to think that my rant today on this obscure blog will change anything. But I do feel better for getting it out of my system. Until the next time I have to go that way, that is!
Wherever you’re heading today, I hope it’s all sunshine and green lights! Little-to-no traffic, happy police with no quotas to fill and NO effin road construction!
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Enjoy the Outdoors. Love the Planet. 
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