We were out at the Camp yesterday.
What a lovely day it was, sunny, and warm, and breezy.
Every year I apply for a burn permit, which allows us to have a campfire. I call their number every day that we want to have a fire, so that the fire department in the municipality knows where we are and what we are doing. I like that, because I think it protects everyone, open fire is nothing to take lightly. The call was made yesterday.
Camp fires serve several purposes at the Camp. Cooking is the most important one for us now. Previously though, the dead wood and tree stumps that were piled 20 feet high on the property were slowly burned up in small camp fires. That took years of work, all done now. Now I spend my time at the Camp tending a small campfire that burns dead branches that come down during the winter. Since the property is primarily rough bush, there is a lot of deadwood to collect.
The birds are back! We heard jays, pileated woodpeckers, regular woodpeckers and another that we could not identity. There were also four large turkey vultures circling overhead. The turkey vultures always come to check things out when we have a camp fire, looking for food I suppose. Unfortunately for the vultures, the fire is small and contained.
There are no flowering shrubs or trees on our property at the Camp, so no blossoms. There were lots of white trilliums, trout lilies, wild strawberries, wild violets, Mayflowers, and coltsfoot.
There were frogs in the pond, and turtles sunning on logs in the water.
I meant to take some pictures, but forgot to bring the iPad, which is my only camera. I need to keep a list of things to bring!
The few hours that we were there the leaves partially unfurled. With unfurling leave come the black flies. We used bug spray, I was only bitten once. This is just the beginning of black fly season, so they were not yet swarming. The flies tend to leave me alone when I am tending a campfire.
We opened up the trailer, Grace, and gave her a good airing out. We had caught quite a few mice, and they didn’t smell wonderful. The had urinated all over everything. The first thing I did was spray everything with hydrogen peroxide, to make cleaning safe from viruses. The solid surfaces can be washed clean, but fabrics are more challenging. Last year I removed all the fabric curtains except in the bedroom and bathroom, that made a great difference in the smell. The fabric washed well, the smell gone, so I have a lot of lovely fabric now for projects. My eventual goal is to have no fabric at all in the trailer. I might put up fabric curtains for the summer months, but they would have to come home for cleaning and storage every fall.
Two throw cushions from the couch had been chewed and stained, so we threw them out. The couch itself has mouse droppings and stains every spring. We plan on removing it one of these days, but it will be tough to get out of there, as it will not fit through the door and will have to be dismantled. The carpeting will be the only fabric left after that, and will stay until we manage to mouse-proof the trailer, which is going to take some time.
Grace the trailer is 23 years old now, and showing her age. Attila spent yesterday attending to the roof, which leaked over the winter. So strategies to keep water and mice out are at the top of our to do list at the Camp.
One of the things we enjoy only at the camp is toasting grilled cheese sandwiches with sliced sweet onions over the campfire. Because I make very low sodium bread, use sodium-free margarine, and a lower sodium cheese, this is a viable meal for me. Using regularly salted commercial versions of these ingredients would put me over my sodium limit with one sandwich. The grilled cheese sandwiches are accompanied by home canned coleslaw. There is nothing quite like a cheese sandwich grilled over an open fire!
Worldly
Weather
Updated on Fri, May 3 at 2:17 PM
22 °C
FEELS LIKE 22
Clear
Wind 16 SE km/h
Humidity 45 %
Visibility 24 km
Sunrise 5:55 AM
Wind gust 24 km/h
Pressure 101.8 kPa
Ceiling 9100 m
Sunset 8:13 PM
Quote
“Making duplicate copies and computer printouts of things no one wanted even one of in the first place is giving America a new sense of purpose.”
Andy Rooney
1920 – 2014
Having somewhere to get away to sounds wonderful. Where did the birds go and what brought them back, do you think? Spring is finally here. We’re confident we won’t get any more freezing weather. All in all it was a mild winter. I’m still going to wait a bit before I start my balcony flower garden. Enjoy the beautiful spring weather!
I’ve never had a fire-grilled cheese sandwich. It sounds wonderful!
Teri, grilled cheese over an open fire is wonderful, it is something we look forward to at almost every visit to the Camp!
Sandy, it is truly a blessing to have somewhere to get away to. It is a lot of work keeping it up, but since we enjoy being there so much, and Attila loves to be busy, it doesn’t seem like a burden.
Two summers ago a lot about a quarter mile from us sold, and they blasted, and filled in wild and wet land to build a driveway into the property. That is when we noticed the six foot long rat snake hanging around our camp. There was more than one, we found long moulted snake skins in various locations around the trailer, and one actually in the trailer, yikes! The snakes eat birds and mice, and rat snakes ascend trees to capture birds. So eventually the birds were either consumed, or relocated to a safer location. Since the nice are prolific once again, and the birds are visiting our Camp again, we think the snakes have migrated to a new location, having consumed all the available food at our Camp. I prefer having birds around to having snakes around! But the mice, oh how I dislike the mice 🙂
There is no frost in our forecast for the next few weeks, but you never know, the weather people are not known for their accuracy. When we think frost might hit we put sheets of plastic over the plants, and that usually protects them. Enjoy starting your balcony flower garden, and the spring weather!