Harshing on my mellow.

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A headache.  A strong one.  Not a migraine, thankfully.  It simply feels like my spinal column, every few inches, is about a quart turn out of phase all along it's distance.  No, have had much worse.  Yeah, I overdid a bit the last few days, I do believe.  No, I'm not done.  If I can toss the flag further into enemy territory, then I will charge their ranks heedlessly to retrieve it.  Not entirely sure that is possible, but it is the plan.  I took some anacin and am enjoying coffee.  It almost sounds like it might have rained again, and is still spitting down from time to time.  Maybe.

Rain isn't a real problem in one sense.  Probably in most ways.  In spring, when it has been raining a great deal, everything, I suppose, can turn to mud.  Between melt and rain I would guess it can get pretty messy up there.  But after a month of heat, a lot of water would have to fall before it got too messy.  Some streams and rivers will swell.  Not a major issue so long as you watch where you are walking and setting up camp.  Anything that might come through won't be permanent, or even rise for all that long.  Pocket canyons would be extremely dangerous.  This isn't those.

I did get the kefir going.  Beyond the two half gallons, I set up two pints as kefir grain (snot) incubation jars.  I just like having emergency stores of the stuff, in case I do something really dumb.  Yeah, it's been known to happen.  I keep the dose pretty small, add milk, then let it ferment in the fridge.  At cool temps, it takes a very long time for the kefir to consume the lactose.  As it goes, I will change out one of those every other week, resetting and maintaining to spare cultures, beside the ongoing kefir for consumption, which is also a sort of prime culture source.  I really do like kefir.  Then again I am a bit odd.  I like better plain yogurt too.  Though most yogurt has been pasteurized... or something... down to... I don't know... boiled milk pudding?  I would like to do yogurt too, but the stuff you use for that has to be kept on order.  It is a consumable.  And kefir is continuing, simpler, drinkable, and probably very close in flavor.  So... gotta go with what is easy enough.  Both are safe, one just doesn't need a constant supply line.

Beyond setting up the kefir and back-up cultures, I did go ahead and pull the vegetables.  I didn't vacuum seal, merely storing them in ziplocks.  I bought more vegetables, as I mentioned, so I may just run those through while I am at it.  Technically you can use the dried corn to make corn meal.  I have seen people use rocks to grind the thing.  Not going to happen.  Perhaps here at home, if I get that better mill, sure.  But I'm not humping a mill sufficient to that task, nor am I going to spend half a day grinding dried corn!  Crazy what some people will do for "civilized" notions.  There is nothing I would need corn meal on the trail enough to do that.  If I want it, I'll take a small bag of it with.  Gah!  People!

After the veggies, I will be hitting fruits.  Some of it will be for roll-ups, some of it will be simply dried fruit.  Anything that is too seedy will be pureed and strained.  I have unsweetened apple sauce on hand, plenty for my needs.  Some of it will make pure apple rolls, some will be for a mix.  I don't really think I have enough fruit for, say, pure strawberry rolls.  Though I'll know more as I get into it.  While I would like to go without sugar, I don't think that is possible.  There are some options, such as honey, or splenda (don't like the other artificial sweeteners... stevia is okay, but has a licorice aftertaste imho, so wouldn't work for this, again imho).  I do have honey, and splenda, though if I have enough fruit to do much experimentation with is another thing.  I do fear that honey might make the roll-ups a bit too sticky.  A little oil of some sort on the platter would bring them up, possibly, easily enough.  But they would be sticky in the hands.  Still... will try various things to rein in ugly sorts of carbs and yet make the stuff edible.  Fine lines everywhere, and I'm a bull elephant.  So...  Still have my teeth and haven't died yet, there is that.  Not, necessarily, by choice though either, in all past times.  If I take it, humbly, happily, mostly, now.  Alone for life, but... alive in a new way so never really alone.

I doubt if I will shower again today.  Two showers in two days, even when oiled, is a bit much.  Plus, it's energy use and I will need all I can muster, if I can get out.  I would like to tinker with the pack, have a small meal, maybe two... grain type goop, a few eggs, and maybe later a little something else.  The kefir won't be done in time.  I can't remember what else is readily available.  More coffee to be sure, and medicine a little further along into the day.  Oh, and it was sprinkling.  But that turned into a full rain.  It's going back and forth between full auto, burst, and semi-auto.  :p  Relaxing, anyway.  Later.