Well, you might have noticed that we've been taking a bit of a break from the website after we finished the camping trip. We're sorry about that but it's for a very good reason. We're finally getting to work on the art for what will be the first MCFC book release, and the first in a series called "Oraculous Tales." Each book in the series will find the gang being transported to a different time and place in history to have an adventure and meet Rhetorical at the age he was then. Here is a sneak peek at the very first illustration that kicks off the first Oraculous Tale called, "Sword of the Ramurai!"

Our last night of camping was perfect. We had a beautiful sunset, a good fire, a perfectly clear night, and we even convinced Rhetorical to finally tell a scary campfire story (a little too scary for me).

We packed up early the next morning and all piled back into the car to head home. Not far from our campsite we saw this little turtle trying to make his way across the road.

I brought some empty notebooks, pens, pencils, crayons, and tape on our camping trip so everybody could make their own nature journal. I think it's the best way to remember and store all of the cool stuff you see when out in nature. Here, I'll show you how you can make one too!

Get a notebook that is a style and size that you are comfortable with. It can either be blank or lined, but spiral bound notebooks are the best type for this kind of journal.

Ah, it's my turn to tell a tale around the fire is it? Ramses & F.W. are bugging me to tell you a horror story that would keep you up for weeks, but I don't I don't think I'm in the mood. Although, I will be happy to tell you about some mysterious beings as old as time. Trees.

We're kicking off the second week of camping updates with the new MCFC Goes Camping Special Edition. Our official MCFC composer Christopher Staknys was kind enough to compose the perfect piece to really enhance the mood of our intro animation. Check it out...spooky.

One of my favorite things about camping is meeting new trees. All of the trees on our farm are my dear friends. We know everything about each other. But, in a new forest I see a whole bunch of new friends I can talk with.

Wait…why are you looking at me like that? Haven't you ever talked to a tree?

It turns out that Moo-Cow's not only good at starting campfires, but he's great at cooking over them as well. He showed us how to make a few variations on some campfire favorites.

Stickscuits

So, you really want some fresh baked bread to go with your campfire dinner, but you aren't about to try and cook a loaf in a fire pit. How about making some quick and easy Stickscuits instead! Stickscuits are biscuits on a stick, of course, and all you'll need to make them is one sturdy stick and a can of biscuit dough (the kind you find in the refrigerated section of the supermarket).

Camping is one of my all-time favorite vacations. It's not because of the marshmallows, or the rock skipping or tent sleeping. It's because of the sweet, delicious, juicy bugs! If you go camping in a nice wooded area you won’t believe the variety of bugs you can find right around your site! Hundreds and hundreds! I know you might feel a little differently than I do about bugs, but if you're camping bugs are one thing you can't avoid. I thought I would walk around the campsite and tell you about the different bugs that I see.

I guess I've been volunteered to tell the first campfire story of the trip. I know some people like to hear scary tales around the campfire, but I prefer telling inspiring ones.

You probably think it sounds fun to go camping for a few days with nothing but a tent and some snacks to get you through. But what if you went camping for over two years, and instead of you're tent being on the ground it was way up in the air on the highest branches of a very tall tree? Well, one girl did just that, but it wasn’t just for fun. She was trying to save the forest, and this is her true story.

Building a good campfire is one of those things that can seem easy until you actually go to do it. Moo-Cow happens to be a campfire expert, so on the first night of camping he gave us all a lesson that we'll share with you. Before we started Moo-Cow made us all promise that we would always be safe and responsible with our campfires and never build one without permission or supervision from an adult. We promised, and we need you to as well. Okay, good. Now you can check out Moo-Cow's tutorial "Campfires the Cow Way."

Our home for the next two weeks is actually pretty nice. It's a great spot, and it's completely surrounded by trees (when you are going camping with Moo-Cow and the gang it's best to have no other sites too close because a marshmallow fight can erupt at any time). We've also got an incredible view out over a nice big pond, and we have a picnic table and fire pit. What more could we possibly want?

We had a new friend come visit us the other day...a porcupine! We asked him to come inside (we were playing gin rummy) but he declined, ate lots of clover, and then wandered off in search of more food. (F.W. was making his famous oatmeal chocolate chip pancakes but the porcupine left before they were done. I guess he wasn't a pancake kind of guy!)

Porcupines are amazing creatures and often misunderstood. Their most obvious and unique feature is their quills. It might look like they are wearing a jacket full of nails, but porcupine quills are actually modified stiff hairs and their body is covered in thousands of them!