My dad grew up in Selma, Alabama.  His father and two of his uncles worked on the Southern Railway.  At that time, Selma was a railroad town.  Now like many other places in Selma, the depot is on the National Register of Historical Places. A few years ago, we visited the Old Depot Museum and toured some of the places that my dad remembered from childhood.  We saw where he would ride his stick horse to town, where he went to high school, and where his paper route was.  We also rode past the house where he grew up, the church where he was baptized, and the cemetery where my grandparents are buried.  We couldn’t visit the one place that I had always wanted to see because it was closed to the public.  When my sister and I would ask my dad about his childhood, he would usually include a story about riding his bike to Kenan’s Mill to go swimming or how when he was older he would go with his dad to Kenan’s Mill to fish.  It always sounded like a really great place.  Kenan’s Mill is a grist mill that was built in 1861.  It used the creek running behind the mill to grind meal, grits, and corn.  The Kenan family donated the mill to the historic society in 1997 and it has been renovated so that the mill actually works again.  They now have a Kenan’s Mill Festival in the fall and the place is open to the public.  As soon as my sister and I heard of the festival, we knew that we had to go.  This year was my dad’s 75th birthday so we decided that this would be a great way to celebrate his birthday.  My dad, mom, and I met my sister and her two children in Selma and then we all drove out to the mill. 

We had a great day at the festival.  Everyone enjoyed seeing the mill, crossing a swinging bridge, going on a hay ride, listening to music, but most of all we enjoyed spending the day with my dad.We are still trying to solve a mystery about the mill, though.  My dad remembers there being a water wheel on the mill.  One year, we found a painting of the mill at the Art Festival in Foley, but the mill was minus the wheel.  My dad talked to the man who was grinding the corn and he said that the mill never had a wheel and had always used the water turbine.  The funny thing about that is the side of the mill has an opening that looks like a wheel could have been attached and the festival T shirt shows the mill having a wheel.  If anyone reading this entry can shed light on this mystery, I’d sure appreciate finding out who has the better memory;  my dad or the miller.

We recently lost our family dog, Minnie, a ten year old yellow Lab. We are considering getting another puppy and I thought I would write an article about how to select a puppy or new dog.  Man’s best friend provides so much pleasure for us in the outdoors. One of my favorite times with my grandson was shared with a chocolate lab puppy who had escaped his yard and took a walk with us.

The first question to ask is why do you want a dog? Many people see a beautiful puppy and purchase it. Consider asking yourself the following questions: Do you want only a companion? Do you have job for your dog such as herding animals, hunting, etc.? The answers to the above questions may assist you in deciding whether to adopt from an animal shelter or buy a pure breed from a breeder. An estimated 2 million puppies or dogs are not adopted each year and are put down. Many of these animals would have made great family pets. Also part of this decision is whether or not you only want a young puppy or will an older dog meet your wishes.

Second: Decide on a breed. There are hundreds of different breeds which have special abilities or talents. Each breed also has it’s own needs and exercise requirements. Breed selection is the cornerstone of the puppy selection adventure. I will write following article on the 15 or 16 breeds we are considering.

Third: The size of the dog may be a factor for some people but is not really an issue for us. We live out in the country on a two acre lot. Apartment dwellers should generally have a smaller dog.  Most large breeds are not suited for apartment living due to the exercise needed. 

Fourth: Type of coat is a consideration for most individuals. If your animal is to spend considerable time inside, how much do they shed may be a factor. How much grooming would your dog require is a factor.

Fifth: The energy level of the breed and your own energy level should be considered. Directly related to this is the required exercise required. I think it’s unreasonable to keep a hunting type dog in a kennel all day. I know many people do but I do not think it’s fair to the dog.

Sixth: Can you afford to feed and care for your dog as it should be cared for? Good nutrition and regular vet visits are essential to the well being of your dog. Therefore, one should pay a great deal of attention of the health of the puppy or adopted dog. Look around the owner’s kennels to see if they are clean and well maintained. Many pound dogs have health issues and may have been exposed to various diseases.

Seventh: Consider your neighborhood and neighbors. A constantly barking dog is never appreciated and sometimes may be illegal. This leads to another point; research the local laws to determine any restrictions which need to be considered.

As a child my Father would take me camping at least once a year on the family farm owned by my Grandfather. I always loved camping and my favorite part was spending quality time with my Dad and cooking around the camp fire. It always seemed like the coldest nights when we would camp, but as a child it did not bother me much as long as I was outside. Our version of camping was not near as extravagant or lavish as many people’s today. We pretty much roughed it with a basic tent, sleeping bag, a number of quilts and blankets, and some old pots and pans that my Grandmother did not use any more. It would have been a lot warmer with a cot or blow-up mattress, but I did not learn about those until many years down the road. I thought it was fantastic and the only way to camp.

One of my favorite part of camping was building the camp fire. My Dad and I would take turns stacking the wood different ways to see who’s fire would light and burn the best. Looking back it was a great learning experience and it also taught me how to safely build a fire. One thing that we were also careful to do was to put the fire out properly. We would never leave the camp until that job was completed properly. 

The shivers

The one camping trip that I do remember getting cold at, is probably one of the most memorable of my childhood. We must have been in a hurry packing and forgot to bring enough blankets because we seemed to never sleep and shiver all night. I remember vividly setting up camp and getting a fire going then cooking a small meal before getting ready for the night. I even remember discussing sleeping in the vehicle instead of in the tent, but I was young and thought I was invincible I’m sure. 

I must have fallen to sleep eventually, but it seemed like hours of moving around and shivering. It was the coldest time I can ever remember. I can not even imagine how cold it is up North, because I was in central Alabama and could not hardly take it. I hear people even from the North say that it is a different kind of cold down here and they too get cold here. But, when I see 0 and -10 temperatures up North my teeth tighten and I shake my head and wonder how anyone can take it. 

Staying warm with new products

As I grew older I began to camp a lot less and hunt a lot more. I would build all my own tree stand and scout out all my hunting areas. I loved getting ready for the hunting season more than the actual hunting season. I was never a great hunter because I have always had a problem with staying still and being patient. How can blame me though, when the wind chill is 5 degrees and I’m in a tree 15 to 20 feet off the ground. I use to stalk hunt many times just so I could curl up by a log and get out of the wind.

Last year I found an amazing hand warming product that I bought for my brother-in-law for Christmas. My brother-in-law is an avid hunter and outdoorsman that is always in the woods or on the water. I have been duck hunting with him once and sure wish I would have had this amazing product on the hunt. I was amazed how well it worked and how long it lasted. The product is shown in the picture below and is made by Zippo Manufacturing.

• No flame – The hand warmer uses a platinum-catalyzed glass fiber burner. I’m not fully sure what that type of burner is and neither is anyone on the internet that I can find, but it sure sounds cool.
• Hot Hot Hot – The hand warmer is much warmer than any disposable hand warmer that I have ever tried.  With out the case the warmer is quite hot!
• Long  Lasting – After the warmer is lite it last any where from 12 to 36 hours depending on the measured amount of fuel you add to it.
• Reusable – What else can you say, you can reuse it and it is environmentally friendly!

Reader Contributions

Here at Living4Outdoors we would like to invite anyone and everyone that has an opinion on our article to comment and be interactive. If you have used the Zippo Hand Warmer please let us know how you liked it or if you hated it. I also want to invite you to let us know about any amazing camping product that you would like to share or even any outdoors product that you would like to share.

One of my favorite childhood memories is of a family reunion of my Mother’s family. My Mother’s family did not get together much as I remember. Probably one reason was that her parents were divorced. Although they were divorced, they both lived in the same community and got along well. The reunion that is burned into my mind was held at a “rock mill pond”. Many of you probably have never heard of a rock mill pond but during the 1960’s and 1970’s they were home of some record sized bass. The reasons for the large sized bass were the thousands and thousands of bream which grew in these ponds.I grew up in Crenshaw County on a small farm outside of Luverne, Alabama. Much of the land in Crenshaw is of the heavy red clay soil type which constantly stained our cloths and bare feet. In this clay was a sometimes vast amount of iron ore which was mined in a pit. A critical part of the pit was the pond constructed to provide water required to wash the clay off the ore.The iron ore pits and ponds were crude affairs and built as cheap as possible. To construct a pond, they would locate a small stream and dam it up with out clearing up the pond site. Therefore, years after the mining operations had ceased, the trees had died and fallen down into the water. You can imagine the vast amount of cover afforded the bream which made full use of it to produce thousands of offspring.

In nature when food is plentiful, prey animals such as bass also increase. Although these ponds contained vast number of fish, they were difficult to catch and mostly all you caught were small bream. My Aunt and Mother often took us fishing and we caught hundreds of small bream while replacing many hooks and broken lines. Of course for a young boy the size of the fish and lost hooks did not matter because we were fishing! Young boys and fishing have always been for each other. I am sure it was during one of these trips when my Mother and Aunt decided to have a family reunion at this old rock mill pond.

On the selected date Grand Parents and most of my Aunts and Uncles and their families showed up and starting fishing. Grand Daddy was placed in charge of cooking rather than Grand Mother who loved to fish. Someone had brought a few cast iron cooking pots and oil to fry the fish and hush puppies. I helped Grand Daddy locate a few large rocks, probably iron ore left over from the mining. I remember that the site was fairly clear due to the lack of top soil on top of the red clay. After we got setup, I joined my many cousins and started fishing.

After we had caught a good many fish, the adults began cleaning them and Grand Daddy starting cooking. In my memory it seemed that we fished, cleaned fish, and ate fish for several hours. I do not remember anyone catching a large fish but it created a large memory for me about a great family reunion in the outdoors.

Photo by Jwinfred

Being outdoors in nature and having a great time doesn’t require much money or equipment. I wonder if that old pond still exists where I can take my grand son for an outdoor adventure and catch a few fish.

On the trip up my son, always the thoughtful young boy, asked how we could distinguish between the wild doves and the “tame” doves.  After a few minutes, I told him that the neighbor’s doves could not fly that far.  Although he did not come out and say, I was certain he was uncomfortable about shooting the tame doves.

As anticipated, we had a great time and shot a few doves.  One or two landed a few feet from us just like I had bragged in my stories.  We were thrilled that we were able to create a similar experience as I had as a young boy.  What cemented the memory in my mind was when he put his arm around me and asked if we could spend another day and hunt again.

Although my new job prevented us from spending another day on this trip, I made a special effort to spend as much time as I could with him.  I now have a grandson and I can not wait until we get to take him dove hunting in the black berry bushes on the family farm outside Luverne, Alabama.  Maybe my little grandson can shoot the 20 gauge shotgun that my son now owns.

Take time out of your busy schedule to spend time with your children.  Outdoor adventures are a great way to spend time with your kids and you will create memories that will last a life time to you and your children.

Photo by NotQuiteSonic

Photo by Elle Rigby

Living4Outdoors is a place for myself (Brad Baggett) and my father, Kyle Baggett, to express our great appreciation for outdoor living and the fun times that we have had outdoors.  Living4Outdoors is a way to promote all things outdoors including becoming closer to your family and children outdoors.  We have both lived in the state of Alabama for most of our lives and have always loved being outside and really just enjoy nature in general. Throughout my childhood I remember watching nature shows, dog shows, camping, hunting, and fishing with my Dad.  Since I started JuiceofChampions, I have wanted to start another weblog and thought that one about the outdoors would be a great project for me and my Dad.  Our whole family loves the outdoors and the tradition is being carried on with my 15 month old son, who we can hardly keep inside.  Everyday he goes straight to the back door and wants to go play outside.  The apple did not fall far from the tree because I remember countless times coming in after dark after play sports outside in the neighborhood.  My friends and I would play basketball, football, baseball, swim, and any other outdoor activity from when we got up to when we were pulled inside. We hope you enjoy the new website and really hope this becomes an interactive place for everyone to promote the great outdoors.  If you have any stories, memories, tips and tricks, or just want to drop us a line don’t hesitate and get in touch with us through our contact page.We will post articles on pretty much any thing about outdoor living.  Here is a short list of subject that we will start writing articles about soon:

• Camping
• Hiking
• Hunting
• Fishing
• Outdoor Sports
• Swimming
• Growing closer outdoors
• Outdoor adventures and stories
• Gardening
• How to tips for various task outdoors
• Property management
• Wildlife management
• Wildlife and environmental conservation
• Childhood memories and adventures