Four Wheeling the Logging Roads

As a sport perhaps Four Wheeling (also called off-roading) is less likely to be rated an eco-friendly activity. Depends on perspective and those participants attempting to improve the sport. My honey and I chose an eight-mile jaunt on logging roads to look at the forestry and check out the flora and fauna.

The area was clear-cut and then reforested. Clear cutting doesn’t have to be viewed as a bad activity. Especially when the goal is sustainability. All the usable lumber can be used and the slash allowed to decompose for soil enrichment. The diseased trees and dense undergrowth with broken branches and litter was taken care of.

The area was then reforested, the trees are fast growing, placed in neat rows and kept thinned to make forest management easier. Nature’s chance to begin anew and it didn’t take long for the native grasses and shrubs to reseed and take advantage of the rejuvenated soil and extra sunlight.

Preservation is fine to a point. Technology is fine to a point. Instead of seeking to win an argument or compromise, we as humans need to think about our impact on the environment and those around us and then be free to make the most workable decisions instead of relying on emotions.

To get you own information in your area:
1. go to the source instead of accepting regurgitated information
2. consider short-tem and long-term goals
3. forgo philosophical trends in favor of strategic action

For additional resources and information check out the Forest Stewardship Council.
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Need Warmth, Make Soup

Everyone has a go-to food or food pairing for comfort during tough moments. My food is the sandwich, hot or cold, sweet or savory, delicate for tea or hearty for tailgating. And sandwiches are wonderful during a storm, just in case we loose all means of cooking. The great things about the sandwich are versatility and portability. I can take it anywhere, use it for sustenance for any activity and leftovers make tasty filling. Mmm Hmm, mashed potatoes and sweet potato slices are good on pumpernickel bread with a touch of brown mustard.

I use sandwiches for dates too, on our last Friday evening stay-in date though when the temperature were expected to drop below freezing and the weather forecaster threatened snow for that evening all week, I made a slow-cooker stew. I started with 1 stalk celery, two carrots, 1 potato, ½ cup turnip, 1 cup cabbage, ½ cup cracked or bulgur wheat and enough water to make my 2.5-quart Crock Pot two-thirds full. I let the soup cook on high for four hours and added all the leftovers from the fridge (ok, so I need to be judicious not to let the slow-cooker overflow). I let the soup cook on high for another hour or two and then served it up with crusty bread.

The soup gave us a pre-romance glow. I’m experimenting on truing some leftovers into a sandwich filling. If that doesn’t work out, what better accompaniment for soup than sandwiches? May you always have warm toes, full bellies and wonderful evenings of romance.

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Shuffle, Forfeit and Dare

Popularity of televised high stakes card games allows for vicarious enjoyment of betting and winning. Perhaps not the greenest activity with a new deck used for each hand, but some casinos donate used decks to nursing home and there is recycling.

On a more personal level, my honey and I are using a 20-year-old deck of cards to enjoy card games combining skill, competition and winning. Numerous books written on the subject of card games provide standard rules of play. When playing as a couple, we negotiate and agree on rules before a game.

This last time we chose draw poker with the wild card determined by the non-dealer cutting the deck. Winner of each hand could claim a forfeit (truth answer, a kiss or touch and articles of clothing were fair game). Winner’s choice of pleasures or titillations. My honey insisted on a handicap to keep eyeglasses; seeing seems so important to a visual game.

If you are like us, winning is about more than who gets there first. Grab a deck of cards, (an old kid’s game works), a book of rules and imagination. Staying in for a chilly evening could be the most environmentally and romantically friendly activity of all.

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