More home cooking!

You are never too old to learn how cook in the open and scouts do learn this not least at camp.

It is quite probable I may well be assisting with cooking while away tomorrow for a halloween get together.

Here we have one I suspect a German Scout doing just that with a portable oven and his improvised saucepan 

A spot of cooking

A spot of simple home cooking for these Scouts out of doors done with wood from branches lit by tindering in a clearing.

It may be something like sausages or beef burgers given one boy is moving and testing they are well cooked inside as well as outside with his fork and is using an oven glove to avoid burning his hand .

I just love cooked food outdoors.

The 1978 BSA uniform redux

Today I'm looking at uniform but from across the Atlantic when tasked in 1978 with giving the Boy Scouts’ uniform its biggest overhaul in nearly 60 years, Oscar de la Renta designed its iconic olive-and-tan look.

There can be little denying a uniform makes a group stand out, it is one point of having one, but practicality in the field matters too so things such as easy to access pockets are a must as is being hard wearing.

It is interesting to note the historical resistance to short trousers as part of the uniform and how it was in 1947 that for cubs even a more "Western" influenced design with long trousers had become the norm.

Making the most of it Friday

When I was typing this I was rather more wishing you could look up a few places and maybe go on an adventure but it won't be this week as the weather really has been pretty bad for it with gusting winds and lots of rain.

It's been more of a week for reading things such as my comics such as the Beano which I read when I was first young, things like the Animal Planet magazine for nature and natural sciences and an adventure story magazine all of which I subscribe to.

Something I have been reading a fair bit of are a few old Cub and Wolf Cub annuals, I don't collect them in the way most grown ups do with every single copy sealed up in shelves with more of an eye to investment but more because I find as their original boy owners did adventure and inspiration from the facts and stories around what it means to be a cub.

That's the kind of thing I love to read as much as I still laugh out loud to Rodger the Dodger and Dennis and Gnasher's schemes that go awry in the Beano.

They will always be opportunities to act on inspiration later on.

On being out all year

 Monday was a pretty gloomy dark day here which isn't my idea of fun but sometimes the bigger thing isn't fair-weather exploration but that dogged seeing it to the end with your waterproof jacket and gloves sense of persistence and resilience.

Sometimes at this time of year we can have two or more different types of weather while you are out so while it may start of rather "meh" then the sun came come out as it starts to dry up so you start to feel more glad you made the effort, seeing it through.

I love the autumn sun a lot, as you may of noticed the bare legs soon feel the warmth as with me at least it doesn't take much time for my circulation to get going and so I'm seldom cold out, just with head and sometimes hands covered so I don't lose head at the extremities.

This life is the one I love.

 

More Cubbing 2021 style

 On what has been sadly a weekend of much reflection across the country, nonetheless I felt it appropriate to continue with last weeks exploring and posts.

The preferred way to hold a camera, providing it has a viewfinder for the most stability and hence sharpish images involves cradling it against your face, using a camera reliant totally on the screen means tucking your elbows well in while holding it straight while hoping for the best!

I was out exploring the woods which is more challenging with the light but with the colours of the Fall around well worth it using a spot of fill in flash as needed.

The majesty of trees in the fall against brilliant sunshine is a great sight to behold as as here a few leaves have utterly fallen.

Meanwhile near the woods that golden autumnal sun illuminates these leaves well as you feel invigorated for your exploration.

Paddling away

Water holds a fascination for most boys not least floating on it and here the scouts are literally putting their oar in propelling their boat along the river with their flags at the rear making their way upstream.

Messing about in boats was something I loved although I had to fight those who'd sooner wrap in in cottonwool to let me do everyday boys stuff and learn to handle risks.

Cubbing Autumn 2021 style

It's that time of the year I pay homage to the past of Cubs Scouts aka Wolf Cubs while out admiring The Fall as it is better know on the other side of the Atlantic.

This is much a period image carefully restored by me from the original on Tumblr of the Cub Scouts I knew with the things that were to go shortly such as the leather sandals  that would of been purchased for school wear back in the 1970's and the yellow detail on his cub cap.

It's that past that goes forward with me.

One thing that thankfully hasn't changed is the wearing of neckerchiefs and this handy illustration shows you how to 'do' yours properly.

Autumn came in suddenly this year, no build up as such and before you knew it we were greeted by such lovely sights such as this in a play area where the leaves are already beginning to fall.

Leaves are interesting and here are a few very much in situ on a bed of twigs, other fallen leaves and grass showing their structure.

The brilliant yellow low sun makes for lovely sights at this time of the year really bringing the colour out as you stand there in the pleasant glow enjoying the fresh air.

I love this life, the exploration, the taking an interest in things and the rigour of being outdoors while having fun.

The guide to neckerchief fastening was included in memory of Redneckerchief who specialized in youth organization posts that used the neckerchief whose tumble account was sadly terminated on Friday 9 August 2019 and who was an early inspiration of mine.

Meet the cows!

The improved weather showed itself down in the fields where the Cow shed was seen to have cows near it , something I hadn't seen for a bit with the cows usually in the fields some way off.

Here they are in all their glory, enjoying the grass on a sunny autumnal morning except unlike me they were chewing it. I prefer white choco and Magnum ice creams!

There still was a fair amount of bird activity taking place and butterflies floating about apart from the dozy wasp that tried to go after my woollen hat!

Early Fall

Thankfully things improved later on this week so I was able to get out exploring a bit.

Autumn came suddenly just a couple of days into the month so it was time to explore the trees.

I like tree canopies so seeing the strong backlighting thought I'd experiment a bit more with Contre-Jour which work fairly well  although there is a bit of flaring around the low sun and bags of contrast.

The more 'classic' approach yields a different result of sunlit leaves undergoing photosynthesis against the tree trunk and branches.

Here we have amongst a group of leaves in early fall literally having fell off with two lit up from the sun contrasting with all around them.

Alternative things to do when it rains

It was a rather wet and windy weekend which did limit my movements somewhat  so while catching up on what's going on in the World of Scouting,I did notice the odd squirrel about  and the start of the birds gathering together before thy fly off to other climbs.

I was experimenting with another camera as one learns to find all the settings and get used to the electronic viewfinder on it which does make for quieter operation although there's a 270 degree moveable viewing screen looking at the minimum focusing distance.

l decided to take a picture of this flower  that I'd had for a few days in the window sill where it lives in a crystal glass vase.

Although that distance does alter depending on the focal length which is not uncommon on wide ranging zoom lenses which you have to bear in mind, it does allow for good close ups which is handy or say insects on a flower.

Cooking for a pack

Original source: TedBanger

The link between the different sections within Scouting can be seen here where a Scout is cooking a meal for a pack of cubs on a joint adventure because presumably he's trusted with fire and hot foods.

I would guess he is about twelve as he's still got that rounded more boyish face rather than the more angular sort teens develop but he appears distracted in this picture by the conversation, if only for a few seconds.

Keeping dry

It's actual quite appropriate today to post this picture showing a massive waterproof padded jacket given it is raining really hard at the moment and I had a near miss while scouting first thing when the heavens opened needing me to run like the clappers to get into somewhere dry as I felt the rain landing on my legs.

Like the postal workers here I much prefer to be outdoors in short trousers because it never soaks as much into them, landing on me and so a quick rub down with a towel and a hot drink does the trick.

That is much better in my opinion than carrying damp or soggy cloth next to your skin for a long time as rain sooner evaporates from your skin than cloth although for extreme uses, waterproof trousers and the likes have their uses.