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Audio for sleep by hatch.
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All right. I'm Matt.
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And I'm kp. Welcome to the nightly from Hatch, where your late night thoughts go to
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kp. You're sporting another piece. Your wardrobe of merch for random places never ceases to amaze me.
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Yes.
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You've got a T shirt with Wisconsin on the front.
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Wisconsin. Absolutely. My dear best friend has a lake house in Wisconsin and it's really peaceful and really lovely and I got myself a little merchant from a small store nearby.
B
Nice. It's great that it's all got a story to it as well. You normally, when you see somebody wearing a T shirt with the name of a different town or city or state on it, it's normally because that's what Zara had in.
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Ah, yes. Well, I like those too. I think I have one. I have a Montana one that it's just a good. It's just a good sweatshirt, but I've never been there.
B
Never been to Montana?
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No. I've heard it's beautiful.
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Yeah, I've heard good things.
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I've heard really good things. But it was just looked like a really comfortable sweatshirt. And so I have some stolen valor on that.
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Stolen valor. That really makes me laugh.
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I stole Montana's valor. I'm wearing it. I'm sorry.
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To them, you're a phony and a fraud and you must be stopped.
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Absolutely. Well, there's not much more story to this merch. I mean, it was just a nice little lake spot last time I went there. I was training for a competition that I've spoke on where I was in the woods doing Survivor for five days. And so I had to teach myself how to swim. And luckily the lake was there because I really, I don't swim well.
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No, really? Are you better now? Did you learn for that Survivor competition?
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I find that that's a tough one to learn in adulthood. That's a real brain. It's hurting my brain to learn swimming because I think as a kid, you're like, okay, this all makes sense. Your face goes in and then you turn it and then you take a breath. But I think I'm overthinking it as an adult. And I keep. I'm swallowing water like I'm like an idiot.
B
Interesting. So you are, you're, you're properly going for it with the technique. Because I'm the same where I'm not a. I don't know, I'm not a technically good swimmer, but I think I'd be all right. Like, I can do length, but I don't do the whole face in the water. Turn it to the side. I just. I think my neck hurts quite a lot afterwards because I just try and keep my head out of the water.
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There's a real brain issue with me with that technique. So I did. I learned. I feel now very fine and comfortable doing the one where my head is just constantly out of water or constantly under. But I don't feel good at the one where you're cranking your neck every. Every breath. That one's not working for me.
B
Too much coordination involved there. It's like trying to pat. Pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time.
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Yeah, do that either. Yeah, that one's. That one's not working, but Wisconsin, beautiful place. Beautiful lakes. A lot of beavers.
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Oh, really?
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Tons. Yeah. We had to kind of shoo the beavers away in the morning because they keep messing up the lake. They are putting in all their apartment complexes that they're building out of sticks. And then you have to kind of be like, all right, move it along, boys. Enough to save. They're really. They're quite cute, but they are a little damaging.
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It's the same with all of those, isn't it? It's like koalas. Like, really, really cute. But you would not want to come face to face with them, because as much as you'd love for them to just cuddle you, they'd probably rip your face off.
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I know. Well, Australia has a million of those that. I'm like, it is insane that you just think those are pests, because to us, it's like, we don't see one of those unless it's in the zoo.
B
Yeah. Cute and cuddly, but actually very violent. And that's just the people.
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That is probably. That is kind of.
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Yeah.
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Koalas. I think. Aren't they a little bit disease carriers, too?
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I think they do. I think they carry STDs.
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That's what I was gonna say. I'm sorry to any koalas listening to this, but I've heard bad things.
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Yeah. You don't want to be slanderous towards the koala population, but they're really super spreaders. Yeah.
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Gosh.
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Not cool. Out of interest, I was. While we were talking about swimming there, did you. Did you have swimming lessons while you were at school?
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In school or just at that age,
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like as part of school?
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No, no, we didn't have a pool in our school.
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Well, yeah, neither did we, but we had.
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Oh, you'd go.
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Yeah, it's like every Tuesday or something in the morning in primary school. So what would that be?
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Elementary?
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Like every Tuesday you get on a bus and go to the leisure center and have a swimming lesson.
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That is smart, because it's really not. It's good to know how to swim. I wish I knew more. No, we didn't have any swimming lessons. That would be something you had to sign your kid up for, like on Sundays or like in the summer. You had to like, electively do that.
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Some of it was pretty pointless, to be fair. It's like it wasn't just swimming, it was that whole, you know, they'd throw like a brick in the deep end and you'd have to go in your pajamas. You'd have to jump. I don't know why, but then you'd have to jump in and retrieve the brick. Yeah.
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Yeah. Well, this is the. I was just talking about this with a friend because in this neck of the country, water polo is really, really popular. Growing up, it's like. Which we had never heard of it growing up, nobody did water polo, but in California it's really popular and everyone's like, yeah, you'd get to the school at like 5am and then you'd have to do, you know, your training for like an hour and then you'd go to your classes. And I was like, you're wet all day. Or you'd have to be like chlorine soaked to get to be in the pool at 5am before class. Sounds miserable to me.
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I mean, you've got to assume there's probably a shower in between the two.
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Even still, I go, it's too much. Too much moisture in a school environment.
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How much moisture will you accept in a school environment, kp?
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Very little. Very little. I want that desert dry in school. I don't even want a water fountain. Nobody's drinking water.
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No, it's a very dry experience.
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Yes. Dust baths, if anything. Like chinchillas.
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Again, chinchillas.
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There they are.
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Probably cute and cuddly, possibly violent. Do you reckon a chinchilla?
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You know, I lived with some in college and they were really unviolent, very sweet.
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They were roommates.
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They kind of were like.
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What were they studying?
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Kind of running at 3am that was their big elective. Yeah. Irritating me.
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What were they? So what. What do you do with the chinchilla? Can you just. Do you sort of let them do their own thing or have you got to let them out and do exercise outside? Do you walk them?
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They're one of those, like, breeds of animals that they would prefer you. Don't bother them. It seems like they're just not. They're not interested in human compassion. They don't want to be like. And this is maybe just the ones that I lived with, but they're kind of doing their own thing. And then you can try and play with them. And they're like, okay, thank you. It's time for me to run around. Please let me down.
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Right, okay.
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So they're just kind of running and hanging out with each other in dust baths. They're really soft and cute though.
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So that could be. I mean, that could be what a chinchilla's like. Could. I mean, it could be you. They might just not like you.
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Fine with me. I wasn't trying to bond. Maybe. Yeah, it was.
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So they weren't your chinchillas?
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No, no, this was just a roommate. Had these two. They just came with the apartment. Just bonus chinchillas.
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They were landlords.
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I also lived with two ferrets. Now that is worse.
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Ferrets are fun.
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They're cute, they're fun. But the smell.
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Oh, I don't, I've never, I've never smelt one. I'm not really into them.
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Go sniff a ferret this week, Matt.
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Honestly, the weekends must have flown by for you.
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Sniffing.
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Just sniffing ferrets again.
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This was my landlords after college. He owned two ferrets next door to us and he would be like, oh, I'm going out of town. Can you guys watch them and play with them? And that was not. I did not like that.
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I think ferrets are quite competitive, aren't they? Oh, I swear over here there's a. I don't know whether this is a stereotypical, like a northern stereotype that's not actually true or not. But like a ferret racing. Oh thing at like fairs and stuff. Like people will race ferrets.
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They race the wildest animals at fairs. There's a bar that does turtle racing around here. There's frog racing.
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Frog racing? Yeah. I've just looked in the pillow for encyclopedia here just to get verification on this. Ferret racing is a popular quirky rural sporty where ferrets sprint through custom built 10 meter long transparent plastic tubes or obstacle courses. Spectators select or bid on a ferret jockey, which sounds like a really good insult. And the first ferret to completely emerge from the tube wins. It's a staple at UK country shows and festivals.
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The tube looks really cute. I must say it is quite cute.
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It's basically. It's a drain pipe Isn't it? That's what it is.
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They look adorable coming out of it though. I'm sorry I came in with a negative attitude to the ferrets. I think justice for them. This looks really cute.
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Yeah. They're providing an important service here.
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Yeah. I like that.
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Have you lived with any other exotic animals?
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I really have. Now that I'm thinking back, I'm like, that is weird because I wouldn't consider myself. Myself. I wouldn't buy one of them, perhaps. But I've got ferrets, I've got chinchillas, turtle.
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Oh, of course there was turb.
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Yes. Yes. And then no snakes, no bugs, no rats.
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Speaking of bugs, please. I'll tell you what I saw earlier on my walk, which I've mentioned before. I try and go on a walk every morning now.
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Yeah.
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And I see some really interesting things. Kp. I've taken pictures of things all the time. As I was walking, I saw caterpillars from a tree. Wow. They were all. And I suddenly went, oh my God, have they been caught by spiders? So then I thought, do I need to try and get them down?
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Intervene. Yeah.
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Which I know you shouldn't intervene because like Attenborough wouldn't intervene. You should just let it happen. But.
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And we all try and be like him on our walks. Yeah.
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But then I googled it just to be sure. I had no idea this was a thing. Caterpillars are in trees and then I think sort of overnight while they're sleeping, to stay out the way of predators, they will put some silk out.
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Wow.
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And they will just hang in a tree.
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That is so gross looking. I bet.
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So they're all just. They just sort of dangle.
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Wouldn't you think that that makes it sort of a delicious little hanging treat for a bird? It almost makes them more delectable.
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That's a great point.
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If I saw a bunch of donuts hanging from a tree as opposed to sitting on a branch, I would do the ones hanging from a tree.
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You'd be like Homer Simpson doing the.
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Yeah, yeah.
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This is a good point actually.
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But maybe the birds just haven't figured out that tech yet.
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Maybe that's what it is. Because what I will say is they were difficult to see because obviously they blend in well. They're tiny and you can't see the silk.
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Yeah.
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So these little green things, once you see one. Wow. You see loads of them. But before you see one there, in
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fact they're a little invisible.
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Just get up a little photo here.
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Do you think people have walked through it before and just got.
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I reckon.
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So this is a nice little walk thing you've gotten yourself into. Just sort of watching and looking and taking pics and observing the world.
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I've got a couple of sort of circular roots that I do.
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Yep.
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And oh, I saw a little tiny squirrel today.
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I saw one yesterday with the tail straight up. It was so cute.
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It really could have fit in my hand. This one.
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Oh my gosh.
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And it was like super fluffy. So I was trying to get a photo of it to show the texture because it looked. It just looked really soft. Um, but yeah, it ran into a bush. Bit annoying.
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Favorite thing I've seen on a walk around my neighborhood recently was, you know, people are putting up their advertisements for like dog walkers or you know, just different things that they're advertising around the neighborhood, which is nice. And I saw one that was all in crayon and handwritten. Cute as can be. And it was Polly's book club. I'm a six year old that loves books. Are there any other kids that want to read a book? Every so often and we talk about was. I almost cried. It was the cutest thing in the world.
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Very sweet.
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And it was just backwards letters. And clearly the mom was like, I'll help you print it. Or the dad was like, I'll help you print it and we'll hang him around. And I hope to goodness Polly found some other people to read books together.
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I hope so. And I mean, Lord knows I don't have kind of dispersions on Polly, but if you're still doing backward letters. She needs to read a few more books.
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The books will be a little lower than what we're reading, but I know that's why I couldn't join. I probably. I don't think you and I will have the same taste, but I really think there's. This neighborhood is very kid friendly. So I'm sure there's a bunch of other families that would like to have their kids have friends.
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How do you feel about that? Because it is quite. That is obviously, I mean, that's very sweet and it is a nice thing, but I'm trying to book a holiday at the moment.
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Yeah.
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As soon as I see like a colorful water slide on the pictures.
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Right.
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I'm out. Even though I would love to go on that water slide, I'm not willing to sacrifice peace and quiet for it.
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This is a big issue. I have camping sometimes. If I may. I'm really a stickler about camping where I'm like, I Go here to be peace and quieted. And I find that a lot of times, which I'm like, listen, I actually think it's perfect and you should be bringing your kids camping. I'm sure it's incredibly fulfilling. But then when I'm camping and I'm woken up at like 7am with screeching and some like Frisbees flying at my head, I wish that there was a no kid portion of the camping.
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Yes. I guess that's. That's harder to find, isn't it? You can get adult only resorts, but yeah, adult only camping. But that's probably not a thing, is it?
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I wouldn't even sign up if it said adult only camping because I would assume I'm getting involved in something, something weird. So I wouldn't even want to do that. I don't even particularly want that. But I, I've found this, the place that I like to go camping has a lot of different, like, trails. And so I'm finding which ones are less appealing for the parents and kids. And I think I found a quieter one. It's like an uglier trail with smaller sites. But I'm like, okay, perfect. Yeah, there's more peace and quiet.
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It seems it's through an active minefield. It's not ideal.
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I've relegated myself to like up inside of a tree.
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But yeah, what have you got to do to protect your peace? That's the main thing.
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Well, I'm just so irritating with. I'm sure I'm more annoying than the kids while camping because I'm like, okay, there can't be anybody with loudspeakers. There can't be any kids. There can't be any, you know, ATVs running by. I just need it to be peaceful.
B
I do agree with you. I think if you're gonna do something like that, surely that's the whole point, isn't it?
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Yes. But then I say all this and I will say, last time I went camping, the park ranger had to tell us to be quiet twice.
B
So listen, Kay, you are a hypocrite.
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Hey, absolutely. I want everyone else to be quiet so that I can have fun being loud.
B
What exactly was it that caused the ranger to come over? What was the tipping point? How were we doing?
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We were laughing really hard at the stupidest stuff. We were playing a game. We were just playing the dumb, dumb game that kids play. That one word story game where it's like one word at a time.
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All these books.
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Yes, the one at a time. You go around and you say one word of a story and you're all trying to make a story together. So it'll be like, once
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I went to the factory.
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Great, you understand one word story. And we were doing that and we were just coming up with the silliest, silliest things. And we just hadn't played it since we were young and so we were cracking up at the stories. It's the dumbest thing to get a violation for. But we were laughing.
B
It's. Yeah, it's quite embarrassing that, isn't it? When something like that happens, you've got to explain it to someone. You go, yeah, in the cold light of day. Yeah, it's not very funny. No, you're right.
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No, I think we weren't even drinking either. I think this was just purely making ourselves laugh. But it was like, you know, it's no phones, free fun.
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Yes, I remember you saying that. I'm fully on board with that. No phones.
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You have to turn to one word story sometimes. And if you're with a bunch of comedians camping, you'll laugh, you'll find a way.
B
Yeah. It was a very fortunate position to be in. People would pay good money for that.
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I know, I'll take it on the road. I mean, I think our story, once I went to the factory, had a really good start. It was about to be really funny.
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It was. Was going somewhere.
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Factory based comedy.
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It was. I had one of those, you know, you've got to explain something out of context and you suddenly catch yourself and go, what am I doing?
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Yeah, he had to be there.
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I'd have, I've mentioned it on here before. I bought a LEGO set, right. And I did a bit of it wrong. And I went, and my girlfriend was working from home and she went, what was that? And then I had to explain to a fully grown woman with an actual job that I done my Lego wrong. And she, she said to the cat, oh, your daddy's struggling with his toys.
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Oh God, no one understands me.
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Stop trying to turn a cat against me now.
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Well, yeah, that is just one of those in my head. Yeah, it all works. The park ranger. Yeah, he, he had to come by and say, hey, I love that you guys are having fun, but you know, it's midnight, so people would love to go to sleep, I'm sure.
B
Well, at least he was nice about it.
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Oh, he was very nice. Very, very, very sweet. I've never met a mean park ranger. If I may, there's the sweetest. People pick this job, I find.
B
Okay, so is that a Full time job, just knocking about in the woods then.
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So there's some volunteer positions and then there's some full time. Yeah. I've always thought it would be so fun post retirement because I've taken a few like tours. Park rangers will give tours of some places and it's always like a 65 year old that is like I love this place. And they're just volunteers that are doing.
B
Sounds like a great gig that it's really nice.
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Yeah. Just walk around, meet people, get outside, get. Keep yourself active.
B
Seems lovely post retirement. I think early retirement as well. I think early retirement and then that
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we should do that. Yeah, we should retire. We've worked too hard. Yeah.
B
Yeah. On that note, let's wrap this up. I'm gonna go and live in the woods.
A
I think let's retire for the evening at least. And I would like to say goodnight to the nice kind park ranger who didn't find our jokes funny but still said it all with a smile. And I am sorry that we were loud. I'll probably. I'll probably do it again though. I like laughing.
B
You do like laughing.
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It's important to me. Who are you saying goodnight to? Maybe the ferret racers of the world. The ferret jockeys?
B
Yeah, all the ferret jockeys and their respective ferrets actually. Yeah. Mm.
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The whole ferret family really deserves it.
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The whole kitten caboodle ferret family. Good night to you. And good night to you, kp.
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Good night to you, Matt. Talk to you next time. Bye bye. Sa.
B
Sam.
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Sa.
B
Foreign. To learn more about our phone free light and audio experience, head to Hatch Co. You can also follow us at Hatch Podcasts.
Podcast Summary: The Nightly — “Wisconsin Merch & Stolen Montana Valor”
June 28, 2026 | Hosts: Matt Bragg & KP Parker | Produced by Hatch Podcasts
This episode of The Nightly leans into the cozy, late-night vibe the show is known for, as hosts Matt and KP share a meandering, humorous discussion that covers everything from quirky state-themed clothing and “stolen valor,” to wildlife run-ins, odd pets, and the trials of camping or living with animals. The tone is friendly, playful, and gently self-deprecating, perfect for listeners seeking relaxing bedtime chatter.
[00:33–01:44]
[01:47–03:15]
[03:22–04:37]
[04:37–06:22]
[06:47–10:06]
[10:23–14:28]
[14:28–16:44]
[17:01–19:40]
[19:40–20:29]
KP on state merch and honesty:
“I stole Montana’s valor. I’m wearing it. I’m sorry.” [01:40]
Matt on animals:
“Cute and cuddly, but actually very violent. And that's just the people.” [04:09]
KP on camping divides:
“I want everyone else to be quiet so that I can have fun being loud.” [16:48]
Matt on accidental LEGO shame:
“She said to the cat, 'Oh, your daddy's struggling with his toys.'” [19:13]
On living with chinchillas:
“They were roommates…running at 3am. That was their big elective.” — KP [07:02]
On Polly’s book club:
“I almost cried. It was the cutest thing in the world.” — KP [13:19]
The episode maintains a breezy, friendly rhythm, with personal anecdotes, observational humor, and gentle teasing. Topics flow naturally, looping from quirks of adulthood (like swim lessons and state merch) to lighthearted animal discussions and the challenges (and hypocrisy) of seeking quiet but enjoying noise.
Perfect for listeners looking for witty, low-stakes bedtime dialogue—and for anyone who loves stories about animals, odd jobs, and the little ironies that make up daily life.