I know answers are rolling in. I guess weÂre all busy in our various lives, but itÂs fun to compare. Since my gardening is collapsed into just the weekend (still a weekend commuter and a wage slave in the city during the week) I so regret the shortening of the days. Six am rolls around and itÂs pitch dark, so I canÂt be up and out to take advantage of every hour. As some of you know, I bought an old house last fall, and engaged in taking down an awful shed plunked right in the back yard last spring. As of April, said backyard was ready to "be gardened," but unfortunately, there was no money to buy any plants. I have divided a certain number of things from the community garden where I work in the city, and bought annuals only for the pots on the deck. The spring and summer was a time of discovery  the PO was a gardener, but had neglected the beds for awhile (it looked like). Now, keeping the theme of $$ outflow, the house is being painted, so I have a great incentive for cutting things down. I have bedded fallen leaves over the back of the beds near the walls where I think the painters are going to tramp. I pray for a clematis right in the line of fire. It was a hard choice  a new door that actually opens and closes with ease or a viburnum in the back. The horrid light fixture (florescent !) in the kitchen has stayed up way beyond its time so that I could splurge on annuals  I have foregone perennials (except for a large Russian sage on sale at the Stop n Shop). In the interest of pinching pennies, this winter I am going to try winter sowing. It seems such a shame  the last weeks have been balmy and summerlike -- to have the annuals wind down. My nicotiana, lantana, impatiens and wave petunias are still sprouting like mad. Zinnias and annual salvia had mildew on their leaves and had to go. So did the phlox and monarda. Cosmos too. A huge disappointment in April was that there was not one  not even ONE  daffodil on the property. I can live without nice shrubs, without exotic perennials, without roses (I think), and most bulbs, but I cannot live without daffodils. I planted 100 bulbs that arrived from BreckÂs (cheapo) -- Just a wee drop I know  so this April their trumpets of gold will welcome in the new gardening season. You will all see me next spring at the CT plant swap, for sure. ThatÂs what IÂve been up to. lucia

When i was back of pickup camping, i bought several sheets of styrofoam insulation-the semi-hard type, and fashioned a box that i could set the ice box in it. It was the old Coleman type, made and sold many years ago. everything i put in it was already cold and/or frozen. I'd set it in the shade, and it was ok for 2-3 days. Of course, drinking up the liquid, un-frozen stuff, sort of took away from keeping it cold, but I'd rather sacrifice some lunch meat, to keep the beer cold the whole time. Made sense to me.

OK - I have to put my two cents in here - for whatever it is worth. I have been camping with Dry Ice for a couple of years now - we do an 8 to 10 day annual trip and it takes some work to keep your stuff cold. There are no stores close enough to run down and get ice. This is what I do - I have two Xtreme coolers (they are great) - I take a cheap styrofoam cooler and cut it down and place my dry ice in it and then put it in the center of the cooler. Then I pack the frozen zip-loc bags on the floor of the cooler and up the sides. The Dry Ice has to be insulated really good - wrap it in news paper then place it in the styrofoam. You can also put newspaper around the inside of the cooler for extra insulation. After every thing is packed in the cooler (the tighter the better) then cover it all with newspaper and place more fozen bags across the top. I have had the perfect refridgerator for 5 days doing this. When the dry ice is gone I get a block of ice to take it's place and it will generally get me through the trip. Words of wisdom??? - don't wrap dry ice in a platic bag - the gas makes it explode, pop the water drain on your cooler - the gas need to escape and will pop the lid on your cooler and last but not least - don't place dry ice directly on the floor of your cooler - it will crack it - I left living proof at the last campground we visited!

Cast Iron is my primary choice for campsite cooking. If weight is not an issue, pack a 12" and maybe a 10" diameter pot. When choosing a brand, choose an american made Lodge as opposed to an asian import that lacks in quality. There are two types of dutch ovens. One type is made to use over a direct flame and has a dome shaped lid, and may be selp-basting. The other type is raised on 3 short legs and has a lipped cover that can hold hot coals. This one is the most versitile as it can be used over an open flame, directly in a campfire. or over a campfire with the use of a tripod. It may seem that it would take longer to cook using a dutch over, requiring firing up a campfire or charcoal fire, but I have found a way aound this with another piece of equipment I cannot do without. Again, this will not work for backpackers! I carry one of the CampChef double burner stoves with me on my camp trips. They put out much more BTU's (30k)than you are used to on your home range (7-10k). Either type of the Dutch ovens will seat on the surface of this stove. It produces enough intense heat to get a boil going fast, and then you can turn it down unbelievably low to keep a simmer going, because of the excellent seal produced by the dutch oven and lid. The propane tank can do double duty as a fuel source for other items such as a propane lantern when not cooking. If I want to bake on the stove, I can do that too. I have what is called a charcoal chimney for starting charcoal. This generally takes 10 to 15 minutes to get hot coals when using newspaper and a lighter to start the coals. However, by utilizing the other burner of the stove to start the coals, I have hot coals in 5 minutes or less. Then they are ready to pour on top of the dutch oven. I also like to carry a couple of teflon coated saute pans, a 7" and 8". Gotta flip my eggs in the morning and use the larger one for omelots. With these four pots & pans, a coffee pot, and a few utensils I've got everything I need to cook for 4 to 6 people.