How was your month for Free Range Naturism?

[jbeegoode]

I have a sauna and it has been well worth the investment. I put mine in the garage and with the lights out in the garage but the dim one on in the sauna I could be almost anywhere.

Davie 

The sweat has a fundraiser in another week. There has been a valiant effort attempting to buy the property. We have acquired $14K in a non-profit corporate bank account and $16K in promises, but need twice that to secure it by the Feb. 1st deadline. I started clearing crap off of the foundation and sorting materials yesterday to build one out back at my place, for the community and my health. Sadly, most will probably not make the drive from downtown. Perhaps internet created ride share will come about.

Gonna miss that ol' skinnydippin' pool, too.
Jbee

[nuduke]

Local ramblers! Please, let us know how that evolves, how you slyly scope and what info that you gain without letting the cat out of th ebag. Something tells me that you will end up getting out and about with the textiles for some hikes. Will you ask them about places to commune with nature quietly and privately, without including the nude aspect of the inquiry?

Yeah, ...the meeting with the ramblers was less productive that I'd hoped in that they were really nice folks and we chatted for ages and eventually got on to rambling.  They showed me a few of the hikes they had taken, gave me a few tips on what to take/wear, recommended two rambling clubs but fell short of inviting me out with them!  ...Can't have made that deep an impression but what does one expect of a first meeting almost strangers.  However, we are likely to meet again so hope springs eternal.  I shall be contacting the local ramblers society - they have a wider range and those questions can easily be asked I suspect.

I'm both ashamed and not about how little I'm getting out in my new environs.  I determined to go hiking yesterday as time was available - it chucked it down in the morning so I changed plan, got in the car and went about other duties e.g. to the dump and not least getting a prescription filled for (which I had to visit 2 pharmacies).  By the time I got back the sun had come out but there was only about an hour of daylight left.  Today was a good day to go for a hike but wifey was getting her hair done and topping off her christmas shopping - I had to stay in for 2 deliveries and a collection.  By the time she got back I was engaged in fitting some light fittings and the darkness was deepening outside by the time I'd finished.  Tomorrow we have to go to a neighbouring large town (Lincoln) for some medical tests (routine) and looking at spas (that one's still live!).  These 3 days are typical of our life at the moment and is why I'm not hiking obsessively - too bloody busy doing nothing!  Still, it's early days - we've done a massive amount of moving in and decorating etc.  One step at a time - renovation before recreation!  Ha ha!

should you find yourself in the general locale of Chateau Milfmog, you have my phone number so give me a call and wander over for a beer

I certainly will, my friend, if I am in your neck of ye woods.  Similarly if you're up the Great North A1, north of Grantham, the invitation to Chateau Nuduke is entirely reciprocal! We have a couple of nice pubs too!
A few weeks ago we were with our friends that we go on the canals with and we were speculating on whether we would like to go this year too.  My friend enthusiastically suggested a cruiser on the Thames and many of those trips go practically past your front door through the Cookham/Marlow stretch.  If we do that I'll be sure to keep you posted to try and rendezvous and engineer a meeting with Mrs N too!  That would be nice.

John

[jbeegoode]

  These 3 days are typical of our life at the moment and is why I'm not hiking obsessively - too bloody busy doing nothing!  Still, it's early days - we've done a massive amount of moving in and decorating etc.  One step at a time - renovation before recreation!  Ha ha!

I attach my thinking of the recreation of hiking to the necessity of health maintenance and spiritual health, as well. It elevates the activity up on "the list" to get ourselves out and about. Then, when we get out there and into this "serious" order, we just have fun anyway.
 The trick is to get out at it, then we don't want to come back.
"Oh, we NEED to get out there and hike." "Yes, we do." "We NEED the exercise." "Yes we do." We then go out to dutifully meander, screw the exercise. "This ain't no march, what's your hurry."
Yea, we get ourselves convinced that if we don't get out there, we will just get old and die quickly. Quick we NEED a hike like we're battling life and death.
Jbee

[nudewalker]

There was a discussion of this sort on another forum as to what the body needs in relationship to sunshine or exercise for that matter. One thing I do not miss from my employment days; this time of year one goes to work in the dark and comes home in the dark. Besides the lack of natural light being a depressant a lack of exercise also adds to the problem. I did the treadmill for awhile but it does not have the same effect for well being.

Man is an outdoor creature. Sure it I nice to have a shelter that provides heat in the winter or cooling in the summer. Our treasures and food stores are safe from scavengers and we can rest in peace free from attack. However, there is the disconnect with nature. We need to be outdoors and moving even if it's textile! Battling life and death Jbee? We sure are and there are enough studies to prove the point. Without getting into details when the misses and I had to face a major health crises the first piece of advise given to me was "take time for yourself". Even if it is just for a walk around the block, get away and move!

[Davie]

I agree. Fresh air is more vital than ever now with our sealed up homes and central heating. Good to be warm and cosy but germs are just retained within the environment. I also see too much cleanliness - we need to have our share of bugs to be resistant to them. I worry that kids aren't getting out and about as much as they should, getting mucky and having fun. The surprise is when they are given the opportunity they lap it up. Parents need to let go a bit more and let their kids discover themselves and learn about risk.

Davie 

[JOhnGw]

<snip>
Parents need to let go a bit more and let their kids discover themselves and learn about risk.

Davie 

That is why I tried to make sure that our garden had plenty of opportunities for grandchildren to hurt themselves but with minimum chance of serious injury.

[jbeegoode]

<snip>
Parents need to let go a bit more and let their kids discover themselves and learn about risk.

Davie 

That is why I tried to make sure that our garden had plenty of opportunities for grandchildren to hurt themselves but with minimum chance of serious injury.

Ya got me curious. It sounds like a bed of traps designed to hurt children the way you put it here. Any off topic specifics that you might list? My garden designs have generally been set to protect the garden from the children.
Jbee

[JOhnGw]

The basic premise was a grassed area with a couple of climbable trees and not clearing nettles meticulously.
I made sure the area under the trees was free of rocks but other than that it was a free play area with corners hidden from the house windows.
Plenty of opportunity to run free and trip over if careless as the grassy areas wer not meticulously flat.
To the best of my knowledge only one child has fallen out of a tree so far and that was my neighbour's granddaughter. We only found out by accident after he overheard one of the children's telephone conversation.

In other words - space to run a little wild without supervision at their own risk.

[jbeegoode]

I used to play in the woods, the creeks, and the desert as a kid. It was always our place and wondrous. Forts, trips, war games, nature, even some naked time. The world needs to be known as user friendly. The kids can most often watch themselves, anyway.
Jbee

[nudewalker]

Thanks for the memories! Growing up was much the same as Jbee described. With all the safety emphasis it is a wonder none of us got killed or seriously injured. But our greatest plaything was imagination and before much of our play land was destroyed by construction nakedness too. When my daughter talks about playhouses, forts, swing sets and such from big box stores for our grandson I cringe. Just give him some basics and let his brain take over.

[jbeegoode]

"Don't you even begin to think that you are coming in here with those muddy clothes! I just waxed the kitchen."
Thanks to my Mom, I may have enjoyed my first streak through a place that I'm not supposed to be naked, across the house and to the bath, from the back porch.

Since this has become a somewhat health thread for the time being, I saw my doctor the other day and we discussed a physical at the end of the month. His records revealed the low vitamin D from the last one. He asked if I had taken the recommended supplements. I mentioned to him about my all over brown skin in the dead of winter and told him that I was taking eggs with good cholesterol to make more D, curiously looking forward to these next test results.

His answer to to my query, "What's up with that?" was this, in his down home demeanor. "Well, ya see that we used to run around naked 10 or 12 hours a day in the sunshine, and we just don't do that anymore." My mainstream pill pushing, general practitioner just told me indirectly that we need to get naked. Clothes are unhealthy. The AMA is catching up and more people need to hear about it. 

I'd love to hear someone like Dr. Oz state that on some kind of Opra Show.
Jbee

[nudewalker]

Maybe we need a separate thread for health issues? As for vitamin D and my doctors: studies have been done in my area concerning the lack of D and autoimmune diseases. So, despite the amount of sunshine I get my levels are borderline low so supplements are encouraged. On one visit I was surprised by the fact that we have more cloudy days here than Seattle WA. Not as much rain but you can see the connection.

As for Dr. Oz; I would not expect any nudity endorsement but one show on the Doctors did a show on nudity. Despite Dr. Ruth's comments on children seeing parents naked the rest of the show was positive. In fact Tom and Mary Claire from Terra Cotta Inn were guests however very shortly. I tried to look for a link before posting this and could only find a Facebook link.

[Greenbare Woods]

"Don't you even begin to think that you are coming in here with those muddy clothes! I just waxed the kitchen."
Thanks to my Mom, I may have enjoyed my first streak through a place that I'm not supposed to be naked, across the house and to the bath, from the back porch.
Jbee

This reminds me of when I worked the wheat harvests beginning at age 14.  The old farm house had a shower installed on the back porch next to the laundry.  We men coming in from a dawn to dark day working the harvest would remove our filthy clothes, put them in the laundry, and take a shower before coming into the house.  We had to cross through the house to stairs up to the sleeping attic where our bunks and stuff were.   The farm women were still at work until we had eaten a very large dinner and dishes were washed. 

Bob

[milfmog]

My friend enthusiastically suggested a cruiser on the Thames and many of those trips go practically past your front door through the Cookham/Marlow stretch.  If we do that I'll be sure to keep you posted to try and rendezvous and engineer a meeting with Mrs N too!  That would be nice.

If you cruise from Cookham to Marlow you will pass within 500 yards of Milfmog Towers; should I ever learn that you'd done that without contacting me I'd be tempted to take serious offence. In fact The Bounty pub, opposite Bourne End marina, is my summer local, the most odd-ball (and dog-friendly) pub I know anywhere.

Have fun,


Ian.

[nuduke]

A few responses here:
1) Nudewalker's observation about going to work in dark not needing to happen in retirement: Whilst it's fairly early winter's days yet, on reading this it struck me that I wasn't feeling as winter depressed as usual. Maybe the warmer weather has an effect and maybe retirement and the stimulation of a new environment.  I wouldn't say the usual 'winter blues' were not there - just not so noticeable at the moment.

2) Re childhood safety:  Whilst I was brought up in a large town, we lived in a suburb and I have crisp memories of childhood, in a small posse of neighbourhood kids, going out on our own, climbing apple trees in a neighbours garden, digging to Australia in our back garden, baking potatoes on the embers of bonfires (my mum used to love making one), hunting frogs in a nearby waste lot and playing on an outcrop of sandstone in a lane nearby rubbing stones together creating a sand factory!  Happy days.  My kids were mollycoddled by comparison.  I used to walk to friends houses and to school at 7 or 8 years old crossing dual carriageways with no pedestrian crossing and self & parents in no fear at all of some murdering paedophile preying on me or getting run over.  My kids usually got taxied to their friends by a hapless parent and I don't have much memory of them having that sort of freedom to play, imagine and get grubby in nature that we did.  Society has changed in half a century to being much more protective of children from many dangers more perceived than real, and maybe more risk averse to relatively small risks.
That said, my kids seem to have turned out with reasonably normal levels of decency, work ethic, intelligence, balance, principles, morals etc. etc. so I don't think they suffered by having more controlled safety in their childhood and play, but maybe they have less appreciation of nature and the aesthetic of natural things than their parents?

3) Be assured, Ian, that I will do everything in my power to engineer a rendezvous with you, should we be passing by on the river in the spring or summer!

John