Outdoor living: Be Prepared!

If you love the outdoors, you know it can be a challenge when weather hits. Forecasts predict inches upon inches of snow or rain. Wind gusts happen. Summer camping has different considerations than winter camping, depending on what part of the country you are in however a few things never change.
Don't set camp under a leaning tree or dead A frame limb "widow maker" is a common nickname for these luring spots.
Washes are beautiful, often level in places but NEVER safe especially in the desert to set camp in. The storm that sets them rushing may hit in the mountains, sending unexpected water your way.
Never go without proper gear, this includes being ready for sudden wet or cold weather: last spring a storm hit while we climbed the flatirons in Arizona. The rock became slick, the wind cold and the snow was icy. Having warm, waterproof gear and flashlights- we could have gotten stuck until the rock was safe enough to traverse back down without risk of serious injury.
Speaking of that: there's no race, no reason to rush. You miss out on seeing and appreciating nature of you act like it's a secret speedway.
There's a time to be loud, it's when you're scaring off predators not disrupting wildlife. Quiet down out there, you wouldn't want nature coming in and having a house party in your living room!
Leave no trace, pick up your trash! Pick up trash you find and discard it where it belongs.

Weather considerations: high ground and tarps.
Tarps keep out the rain, the wind, and they offer privacy.
Where does water flow and drain? Be aware when you pick a place to camp. There's nothing worse than waking up feeling an inch of water flowing underneath the floor of your tent, seeping through to risk mold and mildew and health!
Pallets are a great way to get your tent up for drainage. Carpets and carpet padding make great insulation from the cold winter ground.
Get off the ground! Hammocks, cots, even mattresses whether air or full size will save you aches and pains and keep you from catching chill from the ground. Hammock users will want to use a sleeping pad to add insulation, while air mattress users will want to buffer by putting blankets or insulating layers between the floor and the mattress to keep them from cooling you down.
Tents can have lightweight blankets put up between fly and tent to trap extra warmth in.
Layer up! Soft merino wool, sheepskin, alpaca are all examples of ways to keep you toasty and warm despite the ice and snow outside your tent, yurt, tipi, hammock.
Portable propane heaters are great with proper ventilation.
Winter camping doesn't have to tax your health, if you prepare! Insulate your living space, never underestimate the value of a few hot hands packets and a good old fashioned hot water bottle in your bed!

Get outside sensibly, there is a special beauty to walking outside after a night of cold, wind and snow to look around and realize you had a cozy night and you're getting to see an amazing world.

I think about the winter I decorated Wax Hands at Castle Christmas. Taylor Grant made his booth a comfortable living space for us. Outside ice grew like blades of grass on tree branches and power lines. It was so cold outside, but in the shared living room: the beds were insulated with blankets, the walls as well, the heater was hot and we all had a great winter despite repeated ice storms. Oklahoma does win an award for the most extreme and unpredictable weather from ice storms to tornados they even outdo Texas.

Don't let weather be an excuse to avoid the outdoors, just prepare properly. Be ready and don't set yourself up for discomfort or unnecessary challenges. I think of a patron at an autumn renaissance festival coming in a tube dress with no coat, no socks, no shoes on a forty degree day. I stopped security to escort her to first aid when I saw her. Her skin was deep blue without cosmetics. It wasn't sexy. It was dangerous like going into the desert hiking without water dangerous. It was dangerous like "watch me pose for a selfie with this angry copperhead" dangerous. Avoidable.

Be considerate of wildlife. Have great adventures and safe travels everyone!

A Chance Of Sun

Fifty years ago, the world was different. Technology was not so advanced. We live in a temperature controlled world where the only exposure to weather might be the race to and from a vehicle, and for the few agonizing moments until the vehicle blasts us with our desired warming or cooling air.
We have water proof boots, waterproof coats, cloaks, pants and shirts. We have washers and dryers that can take a soaked item of clothing and dry it in less than an hour.
No longer are we pawns being shuffled around on a chessboard between weather and time. Somehow, we forget that. We do not prepare for weather or like small children with terrified eyes we race for shelter rather than embracing the power we have.
In this modern day, it is possible to prepare and enjoy events in an outdoor venue without getting sick, without risking our lives like we might have centuries ago. I marvel when I am walking in the lanes at a festival storytelling, when I feel a single drop of rain land like a gentle butterfly on my arm only to look up and see a large throng of people politely walk racing to their cars. One drop. I struggle against my imagination which considers that perhaps these rushing folk are made of spun sugar, perhaps they all have dental appointments they forgot and now they're racing there belatedly. Perhaps it is a secret race they plotted in the morning, like musical chairs with cars played in the parking lot?
Once the throng is gone my heart leaps with delight to see the wise and brave folk who stay to play and shop. Gradually, their numbers grow as they tell their stories of personal interactions, excellent customer service, sometimes even occasions where they have gotten private shows instead of fighting for elbow room in vast crowds.
When I see a picture of rain in the forecast with a chance of rain below fifty percent I still wonder why the picture is rain. Less than even odds it will happen, yet the picture is pessimistic and nudges people in the historical direction of staying inside to avoid catching a cold.

Haven't we learned to dress for the weather? Haven't we learned hand washing? Haven't we learned to eat healthy and take our vitamins?

Technology has changed, today there is a chance of Sun.

Several years ago I was storytelling on a rainy day at Minnesota Renaissance Festival. I told people all day, rainbows are magnetic. Paint rainbows on my dress and enough of them would create a strong pull. Strong enough to pull the sun out and stop the rain. Folks laughed, painted and enjoyed the stories I gave them. We did not really pay attention to the rain, everyone was dressed for it. Everyone had fun. Late in the day, a woman came back. She had a look of tragic shock on her face. A friend offered assistance, she declined. She caught my attention. She pointed at the sky. She pointed at the golden sun. "How? I mean, how could you? There's no way. I thought you were joking. I don't know how you did it." I gave her a smile.

Her world is now a different one. It is a world where the impossible can happen and sometimes does. In her world a woman genuinely calling for rainbows to be painted in the hundreds on her clothing can pull the sunlight through the clouds and nudge the rain away, at least for a while on a festival day. Perhaps more of us should believe in the chance of Sun, more of us should bravely prepare and explore the world on gray days.

Pessimism is easy, negativity is like gravity drawing water down a hillside. Optimism takes effort but should not. Curious that auto correct did not even realize it was a word, while pessimism popped right up.

I tell people every day in the streets, we often remember to say what is wrong. We rarely say the things we know are true, the things that are good. You are beautiful. The weather is perfect. Lines are short. Service was excellent. Sincerity is appreciated.

We shape the world with choices. We choose often from our mood. What mood do you carry with you? Do you carry a rainbow or a storm?

Today I carry a chance of Sun, come and add to my dress. The more rainbows there are, the more it will draw the sun. Rainbows cannot be without rain and Sun, we can work together to shift the world. We can be magnetic.