firestarters

Belle and I made a batch of firestarters this weekend. Take a paper egg carton (or in our case, several of them). Put a wad of dryer lint in each cup, and drip melted candle wax over the lint until it's well covered with wax. Then cut the cups apart, and use them to light fires; they catch easily and burn for several minutes.

Some people protest the use of dryer lint, since synthetic fibers can produce toxic fumes when burnt. However, almost all of our clothes are cotton, so this doesn't really concern me. Many people use sawdust instead or in addition to dryer lint.

l. l. bean discovery project

I'm very excited to be one of 18 chosen to take part in L. L. Bean's Discovery Project. The way this works, as I understand it, is that four times over the next year they will send me a kit of gear and instructions for an outdoor adventure of one kind or another. I will take that gear and go do my thing, and then social-media (can I make that a verb?) about it. Naturally, this will be one of the places I'll do it, so stay tuned!