Die Midgie, Die!!!

My free sample of Deetfree natural insect repellant arrived today, courtesy of Outdoorsmagic and those nice people at Deetfree.com.

As you'd expect, there's no Deet in it. (Well, duh!: Ed) Good news for folk averse to covering themselves in chemicals. And it shouldn't melt plastic or damage man-made fibres either. It's a mix of various plant oils including Tea Tree and Eucalyptus so it smells great.

I don't expect it'll kill Midgies on contact but it'll probably make me smell a bit less palatable. It'll be interesting to see how it compares to Avon's Skin So Soft (Dry Oil) which I've been using for the last few years. With SSS, I found that the little buggers will land but not bite so all I have to put up with is that crawling sensation. Not nice but not as bad as loads of wee, itchy bumps. (Note to self: Buy a bloody head-net, this year!!!)

Looking on the bright side, if it wasn't for the Midgie, Scotland would be covered in thoosand's* of holiday villages.

I'm planning on heading out this weekend so I'll give it a go then. (I'll maybe pack the SSS as well tho'. Just in case like).

*Loads, hunners, millions etc

Reality Bites Part 2

I went for a walk at lunchtime. Just a wander up to town, an excuse to get out of the office and get my head straight. Life's transient. We're only here for a short time and then we're gone. If I needed a poke with a sharp stick then today was it. I'm more determined than ever to get out more and and actually experience life.

So more wild camping, longer walks and more effort to get to the less accessible hills that I only ever read about.

I bought up a copy of TGO for the first time in months. Nice issue with a lot of interesting articles on gear. I was a bit taken aback that it's been 6 years since the "traditional versus lightweight" article. Time really does fly.

Went online and picked up a few bits, to finish off my "kitchen", from backpackinglight.com. Knowing Bob, they'll be here tomorrow along with a wee bag of jelly babies.

Already thinking ahead to the first wildcamp in an age, preferrably before the midgies wake up.

The house is warm, the dogs are fed and walked and the future Mrs D is singing upstairs :o)

Life can be good.