Chaga-laga-egg-nog Latte

To start, I admit there are prerequsites to understanding this blog post.  One, buy (or harvest if your brave enough) a fine grind of chaga.  Two, look up my blog post on brewing chaga in a slow cooker.  Lastly, let me suggest my new favorite holiday concoction.  50/50 chaga to egg nog.  While still warm, add a little candy cane for extra flavor.  The egg nog and chaga separate a bit when poured which makes for an interesting visual.  Handle this at a party and you may be considered cool or just plain weird, but thats whats going to happen any time the word chaga is mentioned.  So educate them!  

Vacation - Stone Carving Courses

Random update on life.  As my last blog said, I've made the jump to live in a small trailer for the summer, and still do it comfortably.  Possibly in style.  Without an ultimate fail.  

It's a little more daunting than you think.  Namely, all your stuff that is useful and valuable (necessities) are inside a trailer which has a tarp hanging out the side (fold out bed), and all someone has to do to get in is undo the velcro seams and crawl in when no one is looking.  

My other trailer park is quite safe and has no theft reported except for a golf cart last year.  I couldn't blame them if it was from the lot that overlooks a huge cornfield.  A golfcart and a downhill cornfield.  Yup.   But the trailer park I currently reside in has a creepy name.   Rip's Sleepy Hollow. Weird eh?  The owner has a slight stutter...  hmmm... a reason why perhaps?   Whats even weirder is that street name I live on in Cambridge is called 'Sleepy Hollow'.  

The park is quiet and peaceful though.  Not a lot happening here.  No gravestones either to prove it.  No ghost sighting yet.  

So the reason I'm here though is because I've enrolled in 2 stone carving courses over at the Haliburton School of the Arts.  It's a little break in the monotony of daily living.  I'm doing this vacation purely for myself and my artsy interests.

Many years ago, I took a blacksmithing course at the same school.  Really enjoyed the time out to find my roots.  So it feels a little like replanting those same roots again.  The feeling of driving out to Haliburton was euphoric.  The sights are spectacular for a an affichio of flora.  What really got me almost teary is the pleasing aroma of so many varieties of plants that I could often identify.  Beautiful and unique each one.  

So here I am.  On a plot of richly green grass, where my grass in Cambridge is the colour of aged hay.  Cool temperatures, and a thick blanket of rain chiming on my trailer ceiling.  The trailer is still intact after the move.  Nothing tipped over or broke after careful planning prior to the move.   And tomorrow, I'm off in the morning to a new adventure.  

To top is off, just had a lovely cup of peppermint tea.  :)

Tea at the Trailer

Yes, I officially live in a van down by the river.  But what do you care?  Because I have tea in it, and there is plenty to share.

So I love my baby-boo (yes I do), so I thought it was about time I get down to the area to be all close and snuggly with her in the boom-town of Cambridge.  In fact, I hate the city (city life in general) so I found a comfortable in between.  Twelve minutes from the edge of town, I reside in a trailer I purchased which is quite livable in for the unfrozen months.  Yet to test that.  But it is equipped with all those things that keep you hot and cool, including tea.  :)

Set and setting make a big difference to any situation, including tea.  I'd like to think of tea as being slightly ceremonial, and slightly sacred.  We do what we can to make it so, butI wanted to remind you that I do like in a van down by the river, so I can prove to you that you can still enjoy a little romance in the small things in life.  The other day, me and the lady broke open a fresh award winning tea, turned on a good internet radio station that suit the desired vibe, and lit the trailer with a few LED candles (from the dollar store).  It hit the spot, and all that stressy-bessy stuff soaked away, esp since it was enjoyed with my lady-loo.  

This goes to show that you too can put aside a little time at the end of your day.  With a little prepped set and setting, stress melts away to a warm cup of tea.   Even if it's just you - it's your you time.  

Cheers!

Snowshoeing - Tips tor Trips

G'day y'all!


Okay, drop the Southern drawl, we up here in the North have our own type of hickyness.  It's all in the way ya step out your door when its -35 (celcius) and say, 'ain't it a good to snowshoe, eh?'  Well, I will say that, but not many else.  Last time I took my girlfriend out on a romantic snowshoeing trip (Valentines Day) with a thermos of our stew, and a frozen bottle of wine in -25 (celcius) at night, she burnt a boot practically off her foot at the campfire trying to warm up, and that was the end of that party.

Well, I digress.  My post is about how not to do it right ... I mean how to do it right.  No mean to brag, but I've been doing it for a tad, and experimented with a number of different kinds of snowshoes, poles, hats, mitts, gloves, scarves, coats... etc etc etc.  So you can trust Uncle Wes for a few tips, okay eh?

So this is my current ghetto gettup for +5 (celcius).  Was pretty damn warm, so I later took off the sweater.  I have a backpack full of survival stuffers on my back as well which isn't shown.  I won't hit on too much here, but 2 things.  Laying down some emphasis on how much I love traditional hybrid type snowshoes.  The old deerskin are the best for something that lasts.  I just had a pair of mountainering style that kinda snapped at the side, but the epoxy should fix that.






So there are a lot of traditional designs out there, and all have their benefits.  You'll only find this model in the store these days, but if you look, there are a lot of traditional designs sold at different name like Faber (Quebec).


 So whatever... great design mean optimizing for the type of terrain you want to hit.  But point number 2 to hit;  POLES.  Not the kind you lick in the winter and get stuck to.  Yes, you can use poles for showshoeing.    I admit -- I have little experience with using poles, or dancing on them, but there is a bit of a science as to what wonders they can do for you.  USE THEM!!!   Here is why.  They counterweight the extra weight your feet have on them (and they snow that sometimes sticks on), and force you to carry your posture correct -weight forward to carry each step centimeters to inches further.  Plus they add stability, and when used properly save a lot of energy and strain in the legs.

I was snowshoeing today, and forgot my poles behind for the first kilometer.  I actually turned around because it was just getting too difficult to travel without them.  When getting the poles, it certainly felt like I was moving with less effort and strain, and could cover much more distance then I would have attempted without them.

The sled you see here behind me is helpful for when you want to lighten you load.  Throw the backpack in there, or the kid, or the chaga you harvested.  Or the snow.  I gotta add a rug on the top to keep snow from falling in.  

Well, thats it for now.  To summarize and add; type of snowshoe for terrain pretty important.  Climbing a hill with traditional snowshoes sucks.  2 - Poles are a must.  Saves your ass.  3 - Optimize on gear every trip to find what works for you.  Temperature is difficult to deal with, but you gotta have gear for the worse swing.  Getting stuck out longer than anticipated in freezing temps can be dangerous to say the least.  Might just burn your boots off in a makeshift campfire.
Aight - hope you learned something.  Don't take your girlfriend out on Valentines day snowshoeing.  Unless your me. Actually - it was beautiful.  A sky full of stars above us and a holy boot.   Only on the lakes of Canada -- too bad for you Southerners.  All you can see is an giant orange glow.  Sucks to be you.

Now plan a trip with a bud and get out there!  :)  

Chaga for Scoliosis?

Quick note here: food for thought.  Or Chaga for your food.  

A lady at our church found great pain relief benefits from using chaga.  She was initially recommended it from her husband, as he must have read its anti-inflammatory effects being helpful.  But specifically, her issue is long-term scoliosis.  This is defined as abnormal lateral curvature of the spine.  Her pain was so bad, she has been taking pain meds for a long time. 

She was recommended chaga from one of her fellow nurses in the hospital.  This lady is actually a nurse too.  So she figured the educated testimonial was more valuable than her husband's opinion.  Tisk tisk.  So she went with it, and they bought one of my chaga kits.  I am skeptical of chaga myself sometimes as a cure-all sota panacea thing, but it was effective for this.  She has been off her pain meds as I've been told.  So then she went off chaga for 3 days, and found it wasn't a placebo as the pain returned.

They came back for a 1 lb refill the other week.

So, there you have it guys.  Maybe it's more effective than one thing.

If you're interested in reading on, here is a random link.  

http://www.chagatea.org/chaga-tea-benefits/

Reishi (Mushroom of Immortality)

 

Now if title didn't peak your interest, I don't know what will!  I know I blogged a lot about the recent interest in chaga of today's health culture.  About time for a change.  

Reishi Mushroom is also known as Lingzhi.  It's been used as a Chinese medicinal mushroom for over 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest mushrooms known to be used.  A few erroneous sources even claim it to be used for 4,000 years.  

Its health benefit claims are boosting the immune system, fighting viral infections (influenza), lung conditions, heart disease, high blood-pressure, high cholesterol, kidney disease, cancer, liver disease, HIV/AIDS, altitude sickness, chronic fatigue syndrome, insomnia, anxiety, preventing fatigue, stomach ulcers, poisoning and herpes pain.  Quite the list eh?  

Its tumor prevention, and immune system boosting abilities are what is mainly known for, but I read some strong claims to use it regularly as tonic to reduce anxiety.

So, with that teaser of info, let get to the tasty stuff.  Actually, to be honest, its not that tasty.  People have described it as having a 'earthy woody' sort flavor.  I would agree.  Its a mushroom; what more can you ask for?  Although it's easy to get used to.  I've been brewing pots for a while and drinking it as a iced tea for a while.  I haven't figured out a way how to make it into a delicious iced tea yet, but perhaps you tell me your secret when you harvest some.    I talked to a lady from a tea shop who puts some into her smoothy blender everyday.  I guess that works too!

So here is my adventure in picture form how I got hunting this year.  Out behind Horne Lake in Elliot lake, I found a few trees that had fallen that had a number of these shelf polymers. 

This is is!  I know this photo brings out the colours way too much, but it does come out like a rich deep red fading out to the tip.  Notice there are some bugs responsible for the holes -- they chow down on this stuff.

Early development of reishi.

Was happy to find this cluster.  

All on one tree!  You'll notice them on the base of old trees that have died prematurely for various reasons.  There was a small bush fire that skortched this place a while back.  This is a hemlock -- seems to grow well on these.  

More early growth of reishi.

The beginning phase of reishi.

These are about a week after I harvested the reishi.  Doesn't seem to be growing again. 

Almost missed these ones!  Tucked away and hidden!  Pretty much ready for harvest.  Biggest one yet!!

This still looks clean and soft on the bottom.  No signs of going to spore.  

This is an example of one still growing strong.  White soft bulging edges.  

Notice the small darker spots towards the center.  I think this is sign that it is starting to go to spore.  I harvested this after seeing the early spore sign.  You do not want it to go to spore, unless you want to increase your chances for having more for next years harvest.  You wouldn't want to harvest it after it goes to spore.  

You can see some spore activity towards the back.  I think this one is drying up and going to spore.  I was watching this one to see what it looks like after it did go to spore so I could also have more for next year.  The spores are seeding for new reishi. 

This is the top of an old shrivelled up one from last year.  

Another example of the early spore activity.  See my fingerprints.  The bottom is very sensitive to pressure.  

I used a bread knife while the mushrooms were fresh and cut them up into thin slices.  They get much smaller after dried. I dried them in the oven and in the sun-porch.  They have a strong odor when drying, so try and do it in a well ventilated area.  This is about 6 mushrooms.

I place 3 slices in this crock pot food-warmer and just let it sit for 8+ to 16 hours and dump the water to steep it twice to 2 times, depending on appearance of colour of tea.  

Taken out of the fridge to show colour.  Iced tea -- just add honey.  I don't add the honey in the pitcher though since I'd imagine the 2 would 'break down' the reishi too fast (since honey is acidic), making is decompose while you're trying to preserve the drink in the fridge.

This one has gone too far.  Wouldn't harvest this one.  Going to spore for more reishi!  The reishi is essentially taking the nutrients from the tree and recycling is back into nature in its own way.  

I hope this blog post has enlightened you!  Tell me if you find some and gain immortality.  Keep your eyes peeled on prematurely dead trees -- esp fallen ones.

Happy harvesting!

Geocaching in Wes' Wise Words

Its summer, the sun is out, and your inside scrobbling your facebook as if it's a DJ's scratchpad. I have news for you; you need to get out. You waited a long winter for this, and you're wasting it with cheesy excuses about the weather, or feeling tired... etc. Well I have news for you; its because your ass is soggy and you need to get that right and tight!  

Okay, maybe this isn't going to get you fit like a 12 day 12 step program, but you'll see the benefits. Yes, I'm being a bitch - but life's one too. :) I present a solution to all who've taken my humor lightly.

Geocaching
Geo (of or relating to the earth)
Cache (a collection of items of the same type stored in a hidden or inaccessible place)
ing (... you get the idea)

To those of you who do not know the term - this is an actively growing activity which involves using a gps device which will give you coordinates that will lead to the uncovering of a hidden container, traditionally holding a log book, and sometimes tradable doohickeys if you chose to exchange goods.  There are multiple types of caches available, but roughly 95% of geocaches are of this traditional type.  The adventure lies in getting to said coordinates (which your gps will point on out to where).  The terrain and difficulty of each cache is rated on the cache details listed on the geocaching website, so if you're in a wheelchair, no one is asking you to climb a mountain (unless you want to try that of course).  Some geocaches are as easy as parking and grabbing an easily locatable container.  Some involve climbing a mountain.  Some even require 5 days backpacking adventures.  Some are just for the kids.  The point is there is something for everyone.  And there are some right outside your door.  Maybe 1 block away, but ya, seriously.  There is a map on the geocaching website which you'll see at this link.  

Now you may be asking 'what be ye GPS'?  I shall show ye.  Pull out that 'smart' phone you have in your left pocket, and see the apps section.  Download the geoaching app.  If you just want to check this out, see the intro app which is free -- otherwise the 10 buck app is worth it.  If you have a backpacking GPS device, this works great too, but depending on the model, will require some tinkering to transfer geocache coordinates.  I used to do it this way, but went to the smartphone device instead since all details about the cache are transferred right into the app - no messy paperwork.

Now I have a smartphone (iphone 4) but do not have an account linked to it.  I don't pay anything -- nada -- no charges -- no bills -- no fees.  But what can my device do?  Everything still.  A smartphone still works as a gps locator, as long as it has a SIM card in it (guaranteed you do).   So what I do, it download (from wifi) the hundreds of geocaches in my area to an offline saved maps list, and then access them on the go.  Works like gangbusters.  Now I drive out to the countryside, looking for someplace new, and find some odd places I've never been.  If you have a data plan on your phone, all the better.  The idea of geocaching too, is that someone put the cache there to show you something or someplace interesting.  I was geocaching in Cambridge with my girlfriend, and this one geocache led to an old amazing mill on the Grand River.  Something like that, people need to see. Someone else who was at the mill, told us he collected the coordinates from the geocaching website, just so he could see the location - but hadn't geocached before.  Anyway, this smartphone appy way of geocaching for free is a steal to find a way to get out and explore while keeping in touch with your inner-ninja and inner-geek at the same time.

Now I know my words are fickle and thin, but I hope to have wetted your palette.  Feel free to browse their website for all the other info I missed.

Happy Geocaching!

P.S  Check out the geocaches I made -- my screen name is hops118