nature

Reasons why winter is awful: part 760

/ Jo Redd / Leave a comment

I realize that this is a reoccurring blog post, but as long as I live in the midwest, that’s just a part of life. We are once again experiencing record low temperatures. Kids have to stay home, businesses are attempting to remain open while customers and patients refuse to go outside, and there is no good reason for going out in this weather.

Every year I say the same thing, “It isn’t so bad as long as it isn’t snowing.” Then, once it begins to snow, I can’t help but turn into a negative Nellie. I hate winter, I wish I could somehow convince my entire family to move somewhere where the weather doesn’t turn so harsh in the winter months, but I know that will never happen.

My grandparents used to vacation in Florida every winter, but they haven’t gone in years, and I wish we could make that a tradition in our family. I just want to be able to go outside without a million layers on; I don’t want to have to worry about frostbite; I want my son to get fresh air without his cheeks turning pink from the cold. I just want the weather to be excellent for everyone.

Life in the Midwest

/ Jo Redd / Leave a comment

We are always privy to videos like the one below whenever the snow shows up. Thankfully, this kind of snowstorm didn’t show up until halfway through January. This is a common occurrence, typically, early on in December.

Life in the midwest is impossible without a snowblower. A big snowblower. When there isn’t anything to catch the snow, it sure does pile up fast. The first big snow can be the last one if mother nature deems it so.

Winter can be over now

/ Jo Redd / Leave a comment

Yesterday the midwest was slammed with a major snowstorm, and the area where I reside was finally caught in the crosshairs. Roughly eleven inches of snow fell. Initially, the snow was heavy and wet, but just as the winds picked up last night, the snow became light and fluffy. It was beautiful to watch the snow yesterday. Most businesses were closed early, and so it was tranquil, even in the heart of town, and the snow wasn’t being blown about; it was just falling silently to the ground. I even managed to keep my car cleaned off yesterday afternoon.

Last night was a different story. Keeping up with shoveling was next to impossible due to the high winds, and the temps dropped rapidly. Going outside last night was awful, and I couldn’t stay warm for longer than a minute or two. At about 9 pm, I gave up and decided I wouldn’t be going outside again. Now my car is completely stuck. I am supposed to move it so someone can come to take the pile of snow away, but I don’t think that’s going to be possible today.

I feel trapped, I am currently experiencing cabin fever, and I am in an awful mood. I hate winter, and I’m ready for it to be done. Spring can show up any time now.

Best Purchase of 2021 (so far)

/ Jo Redd / Leave a comment

The item I have been waiting for over a week for, has finally arrived!

In an effort to be more self-reliant, I decided that it was time to invest in solar lighting options. Due to living in an apartment, large scale changes to my energy consumption is not up to me, so I’m trying to think small. I bought two of these small solar lanterns and I absolutely love them. They are collapsible so they do not take up much space, and they have three different settings for the intensity of the light. They are somewhat smaller than I imagined them being, but that doesn’t really bother me because they’re technically more for outdoor settings like camping or night hikes. These lanterns seem pretty durable, I already dropped one (whoops) that has not seemed to affect it.

Not only can you charge these lanterns through the small solar panel, there is also a micro USB port on it. I think the placement is a little goofy because the lip of the lantern is slightly higher than the battery, but its something I can live with. I plan on using it over the next couple of days so I can figure out just how much time I get in between charges. Assuming that there are no issues, I definitely plan on purchasing a couple more lanterns before the summer season hits.

Fire Starters Don’t Have to be Complicated.

/ Jo Redd / Leave a comment

When I first started hiking and spending more time out in nature, I found myself looking for tips and tricks on Reddit and other websites so I could have the best “survival” bag out there. One issue that my mind kept going back to was the issue of “how am I going to start a fire?” I don’t feel like I will always need to start a fire but I also don’t want to be out in the middle of nowhere when I realize that I need it. Circumstances can always change, and before you know it you need to set up camp and you don’t have any light source other than a flashlight.

I will recommend the same thing that a fellow Reddit user told me: Don’t overthink things and don’t make an issue more complicated than you need to. People are going to try and convince you that you need a product that costs ten times as much as a lighter when the reality is that Bic lighters should be your go-to fire starter. They work even after getting wet, they can be used over and over and they are cheap. I also always recommend carrying some sort of tissue paper that is kept in a waterproof container so that you have something to easily light should you be making a larger fire. For long-term use, I realize that a Bic lighter doesn’t seem realistic, but it really is just as easy as trying to maintain a flint/wick set up and they are cost-efficient.

Into the Wild.

/ Jo Redd / Leave a comment

My books came in the mail today! A couple weeks back I had been looking up all the edible wild foliage that is in my state, and I realized that I could describe everything in incredible detail and I might still end up picking the wrong berries/nuts/etc. It is valuable for me to have pictures to accompany that information, so I opted to pick up a couple books that would help me out with that. I’m excited to be able to use this for the upcoming mushroom hunting season and hopefully I will be able to find some secret spots of my own that I can return to each year.

Happy Hunting!