Better Hide That Bait!

I was sitting here at lunch today, eating some wonderful, fresh cooked, fried chicken livers. Oh, how I do love a mess of good, fried chicken livers! As I was eating them, I had to smile as I remembered a camping and fishing trip with some friends when I was in my 30s.

My first husband, our kids and I had all gone camping with another couple that we were good friends with. The morning stuff had all been taken care of, all the kids were wandering around the campground, cutting loose and having fun, Judy and I were sitting in their trailer visiting, and our guys had planned to go fishing but remembered something they needed first, so had decided to run into the nearest Walmart first.

Somehow during our conversation, Judy and I got to talking about the baits the guys used to fish with. I was surprised that they had planned to use chicken livers that day because my (then) husband NEVER fished for catfish, but, apparently, hers did. So I guess that day, it was Lloyd's turn to pick the fishing style.

As Judy and I sat there talking, I mentioned how much I loved a good pan of fried chicken livers, but rarely ever cooked any because I was the only one in the house that ate them. Judy eagerly agreed that she loved them, too, but never ate them either because she, too, was the only one in her house that ate them and she didn't like to cook them just for herself.

So as we began to discuss how much we loved chicken livers, our tasters for them began to grow, especially since we each had someone sitting there to enjoy them with. We began to rummage around her trailer and my camping box and before you know it, we had put together all the makings for a great pan of fried chicken livers, including the onions and toast. But there was just one thing we needed . . . . . the chicken livers  .

Yep, you guessed it, we opened up the trailer refrigerator, eagerly and excitedly took out the chicken livers the guys had gotten to go fishing that day with, cooked them ALL up into a beautiful plate full of delicious fried liver 'n onions that we spread out over toast and gobbled up like starving pigs before the guys got back from getting the remainder of the tackle they had needed to go out fishing that day.

Let me tell you, SHOCK didn't even begin to cover it when they came back, opened up the fridge to retrieve their chicken livers to go fishing with, couldn't find them, then turned around to find the empty container sitting next to the greasy skillet and us huddled together with the 'cat that swallowed the canary' look on our faces. They were in such disbelief that they couldn't even yell. They just walked back out of the trailer together, absolutely stunned, and tried to figure out what in the heck they were going to use for fish bait without spending all of their fishing time driving back into town. (they did eventually yell a little)

Yes, they let us live, but they never let us forget it, either. Mad didn't even begin to cover it, but they couldn't help but laugh a bit in there somewhere. But it was all so worth it, because that was one of the BEST messes of fried liver 'n onions that Judy and I ever ate! So fellas, let this be a lesson. If you are planning on fishing with chicken livers, and it is fresh, unspoiled liver, you better keep it in your site or hide it well, because when you go to take it out to fish with it, it just might not be there!  

Solar Hot Water

It has been hotter than blazes here this summer! . . . . . high heat and heavy drought. It is, by far, the worst drought I have seen in my lifetime. I have been so busy with trying to keep up watering my veggie garden and keeping my farm critters comfortable, that I haven't even gotten to go camping once this summer. That is rare for me. I have gotten to go on a couple of picnics, though, and that was really nice and wonderfully enjoyable.

The intense heat of this summer seemed like it would last forever. Then we had a BIG break and we thought it was over, but, to our dismay, the heat came back, once again, with a vengeance. Nearly every day last week was well over 100°.F. One day, as I went to fill my goats' tubs of water and had to wait for the hot water to clear out of the hose, it reminded me of another interesting camping story of days past. . . . .

When I was little, that favorite campground I loved so much didn't have all the many strict rules that campgrounds have today. One rule it did not, at that time, have, was a set number of people camping in the park. There was no limit as to how many people could camp there, nor to how many people could hook up to an electric outlet or a water faucet. Even though most of us didn't have a problem camping without electricity, running water at our camp was very nice to have. So, yep, the closest, local discount store sold LOTS of y-connectors. The campground was packed with people (not bad because we all grew to know each other and became friends) and a network of hoses, branching out all over the lower end of the park with y-connectors, was a common sight. Unless you were there, you could not possibly comprehend the extent of the networking of hoses.

The area was heavy with flint rock, so the water in the hoses heated up quickly throughout the day. Most people camped in tents then (yes, the good kind of camping), and even with quite a few in trailers, the trailers weren't nearly so modern as today. Most hot water tanks were small and ran only on propane, which were also small tanks. Tent campers had to heat their water over a wood fire or camp stove..... either that or send their kids up to the bath house to the outside utility sink to fill up containers with hot water. So hot water was highly valued.

As the day began to wind down, the race amongst the campers was on! Pots and pans began to ding and rattle as all the women rushed to be the first ones finished with dinner. Why? Because there was hot water in all those hoses! Most people used the white drinking hoses, so the water was good for cooking with. Starting with already hot water saved on propane when cooking. And the first few to finish dinner got solar heated water to do their dishes with and didn't have to wait for water to heat or waste precious propane as the little hot water tanks refilled. Many never even turned on their hot water tanks in anticipation of always being the first ones done with dinner. If you were an outsider looking in, I am sure it was an hilarious sight, but it worked out very well, and inexpensively for those that were fast, leaving time to go back out on the lake for a bit after dinner settled, or play a game of horse shoes, croquet, etc. No one ever really got mad if someone beat them to the hot water for dishes. You only had yourself to blame for being too slow. But heaven help the ones that, on occasion, decided to use it to take a shower in their trailer instead of walking all the way up to the bath house!!!

Tentfire Is MY Name

Hello, all!

It has just been brought to my attention that someone else has started using MY Tentfire name and has even set up a website under that name. Sheesh! But I assure you. I AM THE ONE AND ONLY TENTFIRE, I have copyrighted the name, and have been using it for many, MANY, MANY years. Anyone else using it is doing so illegally and that will be dealt with. Yep, it seems like anytime anyone comes up with something good, someone else wants to come along and take it. Ugh!

I also want to take a moment to thank everyone that has been reading my blog and patiently waiting for my new stories. I have a temporary computer going now (until I can get my main one fixed) and have lots of new, great stories outlined and ready to post. I am looking forward to sharing them with you!

Happy Camping to you all and I WILL be back shortly. I can't wait to get back to posting my old camping stories.

HAVE A TERRIFIC DAY!!!

TENTFIRE

Forever In Our Hearts

Oh, my! It seems I have a pattern of an annual post. I really must break that pattern and get back to this blog. I have so many camping stories I want to tell, but my non-camping life seems to be taking up far too much time these days.

Today's post; however, won't be quite so happy. Today ..... we laid one of the 'old gang' to rest.

When I was barely old enough to begin grade school, we began camping at Cherokee Landing State Park. The park superintendent lived in the house at the top of the hill with his wife and six kids. I got to know most of the kids well, became very close friends with some of them (and still am to this day), spent a large part of my summer hanging out with them, and visited them during the winters. Our dads were great fishing buddies (now THERE were some story tellers for ya!), and we kids became like extended families..... like close cousins.

But very sadly ..... at just 41 years young, the youngest one of that fun and caring group of kids was laid to rest today, leaving behind two young children of his own. It was a HORRIBLE shock, and I am still numb and speechless. This was faaaarrrr from expected! It just doesn't seem real. And it was very, very strange burying someone on Memorial Day weekend.

Although I am still in regular contact with a couple of them,  it had been many, many years since I saw any of the rest of the six. Although it is really nice to get to see old friends, talk, and catch up on what they are up to these days, I find it VERY SAD that we wait for a funeral to do this.... that we wait until one of our own is gone. We are all guilty of it, but we should really make a much harder effort of staying contact with those that we care about and not put those little talks off for another day. Life changes quickly and you never know when the next day is too late.

RS, when I think of you, great memories always come to mind and a warm smile to my face. REST PEACEFULLY. You are already greatly missed and will remain forever and fondly in our hearts.

Where'd They Go?

 I was walking through the produce section of the grocery store the other day when I came across some watermelons. Unlike when I was a child, they are often available year 'round, now. As I checked the sign for the variety and price, it said that they were seedless. When I was a child, it was rare to find a seedless watermelon. Now the seedless melons seem to be the norm. I honestly don't remember the last time I saw a watermelon with seeds in the grocery store. You can usually still find a few at a local Farmer's Market, but it seems next to impossible to find one of the jumbo, juicy fruits with seeds in the local supermarket.

I have also read that, like other fruits that formerly contained seeds, growers have been hard at work cultivating the seeds right out of the watermelons. The article I read suggested that soon, those slippery black seeds that contrast so beautifully against the crimson red of the melon will be a thing of the past. (I will have to search again for that article and post it here for you.) Now, where is the fun in that?! Watermelons without the seeds completely takes away one of America's favorite past times.

Fun? Past times? Just want am I talking about you wonder. As I stood there looking at those watermelons, memories of summertime, childhood fun came flooding back. I had to smile, even laugh a little, as my mind went back in time.....


We couldn't wait for that last day of school. We were usually already packed up and ready to head for the lake as soon as school let out. A good-sized group of us kids, in the same age range as my little brother and I, from various towns, and even other states, were all heading out to spend our summer at the same campground. We were a close knit group of kids and enjoyed many activities together all summer long. Unlike today, where watermelons are available all year long, we had to wait until the heat of summer for the luscious fruits to ripen. And with those first ripe watermelons came one of our most favorite summer games - our Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest, of course! Clad in our summer attire of swimsuits, we each greedily grabbed a huge, long watermelon wedge, the full length of one of those looooong, generously seeded, stripped watermelons. We ran and grabbed our place in line across a field in the center of the campground and eagerly dived into our hunk of melon, no eating utensils of course. With red, mushy watermelon all over our faces, and juice dripping from our chins, we each took our turn to spit our seeds as far as we could shoot them. Usually one of the 'hip' and courageous parents was the distance judge.

As the contest got underway, the squeals, giggles and laughter began to grow. It didn't take long for us to forget that we were suppose to be taking turns and the speed of seed spitting grew rapidly, turning our group of  kids into a human machine gun. The fun-filled laughter continued and soon we forgot that we were playing a game to win and orneriness set in. Yes, we started aiming the seeds at each other! The fun continued for hours as we aimed, spit, ducked, squealed, screeched, laughed, hit, missed, and just completely let ourselves go. It was summer entertainment at its best, no electronic devices necessary. And when the watermelon and seeds were all gone, and our mouths were just too tired to spit even one more seed, we ran across the road and jumped in the lake to wash all the sticky off. And right now I am smiling a big warm smile as I remember those good ole days.

But as the seeds in the 'new and improved' watermelon varieties disappear, so will those carefree, stress-relieving, seed spitting contests of days gone by.  It is sad that today's youth may never know the joys of the Seed Spiting Contest! Do something extra special for a group of kids in your life this summer. Search out a Farmer's Market with some old-fashioned watermelons, grab an armload of them, and treat a group of kids to some fun they will never forget. You will enjoy it as much as they will!