I honestly don't know if I came to the right place because someone asked me on my introduction what my camping style was as if it's expected. I'm new, but I started getting interested ever since I started going in my backyard (I live in suburbs) and trying to do what I can with the natural resources I have around me. My parents aren't interested into any of this, so it's hard getting started when you don't have the independence necessary to have freedom and responsibility (don't many other teens want this? )
Well, I started practicing making fires, using a lighter. I would get leaves or pine twigs from the next door neighbors, and light them up as they are real flammable. Then I would take small sticks, lay them on top of one another in a traditional manner, to allow distributed airflow. I learn oxygen is key to get your fire flowing. Then you just sustain your fire by placing more and more larger items inside the fire. If available, I use pine as the resin is flammable to start the fire, then sustain it with the long lasting oak.
Today, it snowed here in Bartlett, and oxygen supply was crucial to keep the fire growing. I was still letting my wood season in a crate, so I had to use a few dry leaves, and an old twig from our Christmas tree in the recent past. Well, I took a few sticks out of the pile, and set them on top of one another. After a few minutes, the lighter I used finally ignited the leaves, so I set the evergreen twig on top. The twig proved effective, as it was long lasting enough to provide an ember base to which to use as an igniter. By the way, this was all in a fire burner. This is where oxygen was key. Using the embers, I took a bunch of leaves, and set them on top of the embers, below the stacked sticks. At this point, it was kinda of like working a forge to heat metal. I blew in the embers to turn them firey red, and the leaves caught despite have a bit of ice on them, and the sticks caught. I was quite proud of myself, and ever since I wanted to go further. I took an old axe, and chopped down a tree branch, then chopped it to pieces.
Currently, I'm trying to make a spoon but sadly my parents have no interest in getting me any wood working tools, and I'm stuck on making the bowl of the spoon. I'm also trying to make a chair by splitting the wood, shaping it with a knife, and nailing it together with a hammer. So, as you can see, I'm quite limited in what I can do out here. That is why I joined this forum. I want to learn so in the future, I can gather money for college, then later on move to Montana and be part of nature. People seem to think I'm weird around here because of how much I admire everything, even here in the city park... Watching the birds, feeling trees, exploring the wilderness, it just astonishes me.
One good thing about reenacting is that some of the NPs we reenact in are exclusively opened to us, and they are perfectly preserved since the early 20th or late 19th century. I feel alive when I feel cold air blowing at my face, red rosey running nose, beside the fire living life instead of living a sedentary life in a modern house.. People view this as impractical but those people don't know what beauty is when they feel it. I'd be very surprised if you took the time to read my incredibly boring and cringey short story but I wanted to get that out... The suburban environment is heavily limiting and really the only options I have are the backyard, and watching or learning from others on internet, like this forum.
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