I'm back.....

If anyone wonders where I’ve been, or why I haven’t been posting much lately, I have a couple of pretty fair excuses. I have a very sick computer here that needs to be replaced. Besides some other serious problems, despite running 2 different editing programs I am unable to edit or upload any video. Also, I was away and camped in the mountains for awhile. I shot some video while away, but am unable to do anything with it until a new computer finds its way to my desk. That will have to wait a little longer. The mountains are still calling.

I did manage to grab some still shots from the video using a feature of PhotoBucket. The quality isn’t to great, but it’s the best I can do for now.

At the time I shot this video, I thought all of these deer were does. It wasn't until I played the video back that I realized this one is a little buck.

That's the best I can do with what I've got. If this computer doesn't die completely I can still get online and read some blogs, send and receive e-mail, etc. If I disappear again for what seems an undue length of time, either the computer went belly up or I am in the mountain; or both.

Hammock update

Awhile back I made a post about my first impressions of using a hammock. I’ll preface a little by repeating why I was interested in a hammock in the first place. I’m an old guy, and have been fighting back problems for more years than I care to remember. I haven’t slept on the ground in years, and have no intention of ever doing so again if it can possibly be avoided. My back packing days are far behind me, so weight and bulk are not a problem. My standard camp outfit includes an army style cot and a foam pad. Even when I packed and camped with horses and mules, I took along a small folding cot. These days I’m reduced to truck camping, so I can really take along anything I want to. I’ve been reading glowing accounts by people who camp and sleep in hammocks about the comfort a hammock provides, ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE WITH BAD BACKS. Since comfort is the name of the game as far as I am concerned, I just had to give it a try.

My last post on this subject recounts my purchase of an ENO Double Nest hammock. I set it up between a couple of trees in my back yard, and likewise up on the hill behind my house a few times. Although I never have actually slept in it, in truth I never could really get comfortable in it. Fast forward to the present.

I just spent the last 2 nights sleeping, or trying to, in a full blown Brazilian hammock. I did manage to sleep, at least off and on, but still woke up with the same old back ache I was trying to avoid. About 4:00 AM this morning I finally gave it up and went to bed. The real one; the one in my bedroom. I finally woke up again at about 10:30 AM. Did my back ache? Yep, same as always; but I sure caught up on the sleep I had missed the previous 2 nights!

Hammocks may be fine for lounging around camp, or even the occasional cat nap; but when I leave for camp in the near future you can bet my old dependable cot will go with me. I’ll take the ENO along, and if there are a couple of convenient trees handy I’ll even hang it up; but when it’s time to go to bed at night I’ll be on my cot. I’ll leave the joys of hammock sleeping to someone else. It’s not for me!