I keep a couple tool rolls for specialty fixes but I really like this setup from over a century ago. I think I need to make and "essentials" kit like this for general travel to keep the tings I truly need in need place and handy. It might be a little heavy for the rambler … Continue reading Motor Car Tool Kit ca. 1907
Desert Dream This is a beautiful photo of Travellers in Britain, 1950. I came across it a while back while searching out vardo images for my own inspiration. This one has some great details and has a distinctive Scottish feel. There's a flag of the Scottish Caravan Club flying on the roof and some great … Continue reading A Perfect Vardo
I would like to re-share this older post I wrote about a caravaner, scholar, and philosopher I am quite intrigued by - Dugald Semple Dugald Semple was a Scottish philosopher of the early 20th Century and an advocate for simple living. After becoming and engineer he took to the woods and, for a period, a … Continue reading Dugald Semple and a Simple Life
Many years ago, in Morocco, I was able to tour an ancient tannery and see some of the process of creating beautiful leather. I use leather for many projects and although I do some brain tanning myself, I purchase all of my truly "tanned" leathers from others. One very important lesson about tanning I learned … Continue reading Tanning Leather: Not a Lost Art
Looking for an attention-getting color scheme for your vardo or caravan? Look no further than this fine little burro-powered wagon from Pakistan. A most cherished traditional dessert from Lahore, Pakistan, known as Kulfi, which is made with condensed milk, almonds, cardamom, and sugar is served from these little hand-built carts. The ice cream is then … Continue reading Ice Cream Cart
Make something with your hands every day, some wisdom from Mahatma Gandhi. It has been my goal for a long time now to follow this creed and it makes me happy nearly every day; even if it is something small, it is a small victory. "Its a tragedy of the first magnitude that millions of … Continue reading Creating Every Day
Working away on a weekend day a little while back. Enjoying time on the prairie in my little rolling home; coffee, a banjo, and connection to a HotSpot so I can get some work done. The best of all worlds. I don't remember for sure but I suspect there is a dog or two laying … Continue reading A View from the Vardo
Here's an interesting article about Thoreau's early career and the incident that may have been a catalyst for his move out of town into the woods nearby. As it happened a year before the Walden experiment, it may have had some bearing on the idea. From the Boston Globe: On April 30, 1844, Thoreau started … Continue reading Henry David Thoreau, “Woods Burner”
I love finding old images like this. They show that we never really change yet are on a continuum of adaptation. The bows that support the canvas top on this (I believe aftermarket) truck bed are reminiscent of much earlier wagons of the Old West. Space was extremely limited in the cab of these old … Continue reading Early Car Camping
Sad news, but not surprising with massive growth, industry given free reign, and populations far beyond that which our planet has ever seen.
The World Wildlife Fund just released their living planet report for 2018. Up front it seems it seem the report could well be titled the dying planet instead of the living planet report given the summary states “On average, we’ve seen an astonishing 60% declinein the size of populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians in just over 40 years, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2018. The top threats to species identified in the report link directly to human activities, including habitat loss and degradation and the excessive use of wildlife such as overfishing and overhunting.”
You can read the full report here.
or here
https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/living-planet-report-2018
Please pass along the report to all who care and even those that may not.
Photo: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, 2018.
