# Did your parents teach you outdoor skills!



## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Us 6 kids used to go fishing with my father, and we all helped my Mom preserve fruit. Some of us would climb the trees while others would help with the peeling and the sugar syrup. My Mom always timed the batches in the big water bath canner, for obvious reasons!!!!

Mom used to aim for 200 or so quarts of fruit and 100 quarts of tomatos every year. And, every year the extended family would gather at my Uncles place as he had maybe 30 apricot trees, and we would all harvest, cut the fruit, and set the halves on wooden racks. Uncle Don would then stack the racks, cover them with a plastic sheet, seal the edge, and light a container of sulfer beneath the racks to kill any bugs that might hatch. 

In a week or so's time the cots would be dried and every household would get their share. They were AWESOME!!!!!!!


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

Went fishing.
Weeded a garden.
Mowed grass.
Raked leaves.
Picked up sticks.
Cleaned the pool.
Took the trash out and pick up the cans.
That's about it for teachin' me outdoor skills.


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

I had a similar training as LauraZone5.

Mom and grandmother also taught me how to snap beans, shell limas and catch fireflys. Those tasks were done nightly throughout the summer.


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## Raven12 (Mar 5, 2011)

No. What I have going on tonight:


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## JohnnyLee (Feb 13, 2011)

I kilt me a grizzly bar when I was only 3! "Sometimes you eat the bar, sometimes, the bar eats you." That's what my daddy told me when he dropped me off in the canajun woods with only one match and a pocket knife. I was two years old at that time. All I had on was a blanket wrapped around me. I had to forage, hunt and build shelter, then the grizz decided to come and take my elk dinner one night, well, it was him or me I figured, didn't see no elk in some time and was going to be a long winter if'n he took'd the only meat I had, so, I kilt him.

Oh, sorry, was just free associating! lol

Actually, I grew up in the country, and when I was about 8, my mom married my step-dad and he taught us all we needed to know about the wilderness, hunting, fishing, etc. My mom bought 3 acres out in the country in 1976 and started her "homestead" at that time. She knows all about raising gardens and canning, and learned from my dad the rest of the stuff I needed to know. All I did as a kid was hunt, fish, and go camping. Even through high school, me an my buddies would pack up some stuff and take off walking behind our house to see how far and how long we could last out in the woods before coming home.


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## starjj (May 2, 2005)

We had a HUGE garden. Our house sat on one end of the block and my grandmother's house sat one house short of the other end of the block. We gardened inbetween. Now there are 5 houses that sit in that area and they all have big yards not houses like you see today that are right next to each other. We didn't can much but we did have a locker at the place in town that you stored all your frozen foods. It was like a ice house or a meat freezer but you rented an area to store frozen food. I don't know if any of those places besides our town's existed. Never heard of another.

My dad and I went fishing all the time. We always spent at least 2 weeks in Wisconsin with extended cousins, aunts and uncles from his side of the family. Lots of wonderful memories from my small town childhood.


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## NewGround (Dec 19, 2010)

"Get out of the house now and don't come back before dark"...

Does that count?


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

mostly my great uncles and grandfathers........


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## Raven12 (Mar 5, 2011)

I now smell like smoke. Isn't this one of those smells that turns on male homesteaders?


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## Qhorseman (Jul 9, 2010)

Grew up on a farm, with Uncle and Aunts that hunt and fish. Grandfathers good time was chasing **** dogs. My Dads great quest was catfish. It goes on and on.


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## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

No, my parents were/are very much townies(dad passed 6 years ago). My mom says she used to have to do the country stuff when she was little, but I highly doubt that she did much.

She doesn't understand that I enjoy canning when it's easier and cheaper to just go to the store. She keeps trying to get me to move into town, no matter how many times I've said that I want space between me and neighbors and that I will never ever live in any town again.

Learned a little bit of cooking from watching my grannies'. Learned basic canning from my MIL and the rest I picked up on my own. Learned to shoot a gun from being in the sportsman club in HS. Learned some basic mechanics from hanging out with a good friend at his dad's garage. Learned basic plumbing from watching my cousin(and then going back and fixing all his leaks).

So, basically, I've picked up things from life experience and reading when I need to learn/know how to do something.


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

Dad farmed and I was expected to learn from what he did. Mom gardened, and I was expected to learn from what she did. Neither actually took the time to TEACH me anything


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## Paumon (Jul 12, 2007)

Terri said:


> *Did your parents teach you outdoor skills*


Yes, only we called them chores, not skills. :happy2:

Wild harvesting, fishing, hunting and snaring, clearing and irrigating land, gardening, collecting pitch, cutting down trees for log structures, chopping wood, cooking and putting up foods, putting up hay, looking after livestock and butchering .... just to name a few.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

My dad took us fishing, drag netting, killy trapping.


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## NW Rancher (Mar 8, 2008)

What is killy trapping CB?


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

FarmBoyBill said:


> Dad farmed and I was expected to learn from what he did. Mom gardened, and I was expected to learn from what she did. Neither actually took the time to TEACH me anything


Bill, sounds like my parents. My dad had a garden when I was five. He told me to go weed his garden but never took the time to educate as to which were weeds and which were the veggies. Well, I pulled all the veggies and left the weeds and thought I had done a good job. He was pizzed.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

NW, it is a kind of trap you toss in the water to catch little fish for bate. I tried to look up Killies and I did not find any pictures. It might be a slang name for the fish.


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## NW Rancher (Mar 8, 2008)

Oh, cool, thanks. So you'd trap the little guys and use 'em for bait, like herring or shad or smelt or something like that maybe.

Did you guys catch blue crabs too? That's one of my early memories with my Grandpa, catching Blue Crab in some waterways in New Jersey when we went back East to visit my grandfolks. I loved that.


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## Paumon (Jul 12, 2007)

Killifish - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Paumon, I pulled that page up but those were warm water fish. They did not look like the gray fish we use to catch in our traps.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

NW, we use to put bread in that trap catch the killies, then go fishing for young blue fish. We were kids we were not doing serious fishing. We use to go crabbing for Blue crab with nets and traps. We would go drag netting for Spearing for bait also. I did not think there was enough meat on crabs for all the effort we put into the hunt.

Some people with a drag net.









Honestly though, I do not know too much about fishing. I went out fishing for Bunker with my neighbor last year and it was ok. 

You are right on the water, right?


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## NW Rancher (Mar 8, 2008)

Yeah, I've got the Strait of Juan De Fuca at the end of my street, a little over a mile away. I've been a commercial fisherman and done a ton of crabbing and fishing of all kinds, and I love to hear about the regional traditions like you are talking about. One that's fun here is smelting. Most folks use a dip net and dip in the surf when they are running. When you are surfing though, you know they are running because you can feel them slip through your fingers as you paddle. You can stand in knee deep water and just kinda dig like a dog, throwing handfuls of water up the beach, and you'll catch a pan full in a minute. It's awesome.


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## Paumon (Jul 12, 2007)

City Bound said:


> Paumon, I pulled that page up but those were warm water fish. They did not look like the gray fish we use to catch in our traps.


I have no doubt that what you were catching were cold water killifish. Not all species of killifish are warm water fish. The warmer the water the brighter and more colorful the fish will be. Colder waters produce more grey and silvery killifish.

At Harrison Lake here there is an outflow from the hotsprings pools into the lake. The little killifish that live at the mouth of the outflow are all brightly irridescent colored like little tropical fish because of the warm hotsprings water. Further out into the lake where the water is cold the same species of killifish are dull, drab looking little things, mostly grey.

There are little sticklebacks at the hotsprings outflow too, and they also are more colorful because of the warmer water.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Sounds fun. So, foraging in the ocean is an everyday part of your homesteading lifestyle?


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## Paumon (Jul 12, 2007)

NW Rancher said:


> One that's fun here is smelting. Most folks use a dip net and dip in the surf when they are running. ...... you'll catch a pan full in a minute. It's awesome.


I love fresh caught smelts. We used to catch them that way down at Spanish Banks and cook them in a skillet with butter over a fire on the beach. Ate them whole without gutting and cleaning them, head, tail and all. Delicious!


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## NW Rancher (Mar 8, 2008)

City Bound said:


> Sounds fun. So, foraging in the ocean is an everyday part of your homesteading lifestyle?


Not everyday CB, but regularly. My freezer and canning cupboard are always full of seafood, and mussels, clams, oysters, and fresh fish abound around me so I try to make use of them as best I can. I'm learning more lately about the sea greens as well.


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## WolfWalksSoftly (Aug 13, 2004)

I've had many different Teachers over the years. While growing up, my family camped all summer long. And of course living in the Country, you take for granted the "outdoor skills"
because it's just what you do every day from one extent to another. Also years of Hunting and Fishing, you pick up differen't skills.


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## Qhorseman (Jul 9, 2010)

NW Rancher said:


> Yeah, I've got the Strait of Juan De Fuca at the end of my street, a little over a mile away. I've been a commercial fisherman and done a ton of crabbing and fishing of all kinds, and I love to hear about the regional traditions like you are talking about. One that's fun here is smelting. Most folks use a dip net and dip in the surf when they are running. When you are surfing though, you know they are running because you can feel them slip through your fingers as you paddle. You can stand in knee deep water and just kinda dig like a dog, throwing handfuls of water up the beach, and you'll catch a pan full in a minute. It's awesome.


I was stationed on Whidbey Island for 3 years, we used to go fishing and crabbing all the time at Deception Pass. We always had our freezer full of fish  The Steelhead run on the Skagit was awesome  My oldest brother lives not far from you, in Squim(sp?). He is an Ocean ecologist studying the effects of pollution on the crustations in the Puget Sound. PNW is a gorgeous place.


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## NW Rancher (Mar 8, 2008)

Cool Q, yeah, we are truly blessed in this area. Those steelhead runs are unbelievable to be sure. How cool about your brother being in Sequim, if you ever get out to visit him be sure to look me up please. I'd love to meet you.


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

Raven12 said:


> I now smell like smoke. Isn't this one of those smells that turns on male homesteaders?


I don't know about the males here, but I had a couple guys come into the store where I work to get more beer and ice earlier this evening, and they smelled like campfire. I wanted to eat them for dinner!! I told them it was dangerous to come in smelling like that, that I was going to strap myself to the roof of their car so they could take me back up the mountain with them! Mrow!


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

Interesting how the line between "outdoorsy" and "homesteady" blurs.  

Growing up, my family was quite outdoorsy. We were out on the water a lot in my uncle and grandpa's boats (ocean, bay, lake), and we did a lot of fishing and crabbing. The kids used to have contests to see who could catch the most crab in those little pyramid-shaped traps. I always won the crab contests, and always threw my crab back (bleeding heart, even as a kid)... I loved to fish too, until I started having serious meltdowns over killing the fish... 

We canned a lot, and made jellies, jams, juice, fruit leather, fruits chips, pie fillings, etc. I could pitch a tent and cook over the campfire at a young age. Camping is still, to this day, one of my very favorite ways to spend free time. The crackling of the fire long after dark, and breakfast cooking on the grill in the cool morning air are two of the best things ever!

Obviously I never graduated to hunting, although my entire family hunts. My mom and step-dad are both really into dutch oven cooking, but when I was younger, we didn't have the luxury of dutch oven pans in camp.

I did both Girl Scouts and 4-H as a kid, so I am very well-rounded when it comes to random outdoor skills. My dad was not as adventurous and outdoorsy as my mother. He preferred his electronics and music to the great outdoors.

My mother taught us to swim when we were just babies. We always had gardens. As a young kid, I remember shelling peas with my mom, and eating them raw right out of the pod. One year we harvested every cherry off the Bing tree in the back yard and canned them, and those were the best-tasting cherries I've ever had, to this day!

We weeded, plowed, planted, raked, and harvested the gardens. We grew sunflowers that were over 10 feet tall, and raised rabbits for butchering, chickens for eggs. 

We learned to clean up after ourselves, pack our garbage out, recycle our cans, make sure the campfire was completely out, and never take more than what we could use. I think those are still some of the most important outdoor skills you can have.

It's 4 in the morning. Seriously, I need to go to bed, so I'm not going to scan in a bunch of pictures... But here are a few I already have on the computer.

Stinson Beach (I'm the excited little one)









Ever the camper... This is me choosing to sleep outside in a sleeping bag instead of in the house while visiting my grandparents' in Utah one summer.









Roasting marshmallows with my mom









Camping at Bucks Lake (me closest to the camera, Uncle Dale center, my sis and bro and our friend Jimmie in the background)









Fishing with my Uncle Dale and sister (I'm the little one)


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

SilverFlame819 said:


> I don't know about the males here, but I had a couple guys come into the store where I work to get more beer and ice earlier this evening, and they smelled like campfire. I wanted to eat them for dinner!! I told them it was dangerous to come in smelling like that, that I was going to strap myself to the roof of their car so they could take me back up the mountain with them! Mrow!


I woke up smelling like smoke. I was hanging out with my neighors in their their yard and we had a fire in a fire pit going last night. I ate tons of smores and now i still want more. mmm. Smores, beer, hotdogs, hamburgers...it was a good night.


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

Smores are yummylicious. Unfortunately, vegetarian marshmallows cost like 5 million dollars per bag. But if you heat up the graham crackers, the chocolate melts right onto them, and I can eat marshmallow fluff.  

Campfire hot dogs are the BEST! There are even a few brands of veggie hot dogs out now that taste suspiciously like real hot dogs (thank the hot dog god!)

You trying to get me all riled up, CB?


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

Great pictures...looks like you had a wonderful childhood!


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## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

Basically, I learned outdoor skills by practice and experience just being in the outdoors and picking up what is of interest to me. Be that in the realm of shrooming (picking wild mushrooms), wild edibles, raising own meat, vegetables and fruit, harvesting wild game and fish (including a baitfish operation). Shooting skills I was fortunate to pick up from an uncle who was an excellent gunsmith that also led to interest in crafting sporting stuff (like custom fishing equipment). 
I would like to say that the 'closeness' of parents made a product of myself to foster self reliance, but that wasn't how it played out really. 
One learns what they want, and the practice of the learned skill is what will make the effort of that to give you the essentials for self sufficiency as much as you can, or want. 

Saying all that, I've also had a great childhood and never regret learning to this day.


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