The Campfire Trail: August 21 - DIY Homestead

August 21, 2022

Day 325 of the Adventure

I had to make a mathematical correction today. I don't know where I got the "Day Number" of the adventure in the heading, but I was off by probably three months. We bought Camp Run-Amuck on September 30 last year and will be coming up on our first anniversary pretty soon. So, correcting that is the housekeeping portion of the posting today. More importantly was the campfire. We received a decent rain early this morning and I was planning on being content with a cup of coffee and the sounds of the woods. At least until Shelley pointed out that there was no fire going....... That has now been remedied.

Rain is coming more frequently now and it's a welcome change from the hot, dry, dusty July and early August. Everything that can be, has gotten green again. I enjoy the morning reflection and thoughts while sitting by the fire each day. Something about the solitude of nature along with a crackling fire and the smell of the deep woods is like an elixir of sorts. Even the taste of pine needle ash in my coffee is not that offensive when soaking in the magical ambiance of the outdoors. Enjoying the "Great Outdoors" is something that everyone, at least everyone I know, is hopelessly drawn to. I guess nature has that effect on a person. For me, it was made even more captivating partly because of my reading list when younger. One book in particular that I happened to pick up at a "pound sale" from a book store Shelley and I worked at when we were first married reinforces that felling every time I browse through it. A pound sale was what they used to clear out excess stock by selling books by the pound. Literally. A bargain by any sense of the definition. I stocked a library full of books on construction, gardening, self-sufficient living and other related and nearly related subjects by way of the pound sales. One book in particular has found a space on the shelf for all these forty plus years as others have slowly found their way into yard sales and gifts to friends who would appreciate them. Conrad Meinecke's book "Your Cabin In The Woods" has been an endearing companion of mine from the beginning. It chronicles Conrad's many cabin building experiences through the years. The technical aspects of the book are thin. Much too thin for my tastes. While accurate and workable, they are a bit too primitive for something I would be very interested in. What makes the book so irresistible to me is the way he paints a picture of life in the great outdoors. It's a description of life as I would imagine it surrounded by woods, a warm fire, a cup of hot coffee, a red flannel shirt on a cool night (or morning) and stew bubbling in a cast iron Dutch Oven over a fire just outside the cabin........ I could on here, but I think you get the picture.

I think that if I were to look back forty years and say, if life were to follow it's most natural path, it would eventually lead to a morning fire with a cup of coffee outside a cabin in the woods. This morning, here I am, sitting by that very fire with Shelley. The rain has subsided and there is nothing in the air but a curl of wood smoke and the fresh aroma of woods after an early morning Summer rain combined with a hint of fresh coffee.

Carry On

Adventure Quote: “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” ― Mae West

Base Camp Coffee of the Day: Highlander Grogg (Butterscotch/Rum flavors and Shelley's favorite blend)

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