We suddenly decided today to head out to the Camp. It was a lovely fall drive, the sun shone, the leaves were turning colour everywhere we looked.
Every fall we need to prepare Grace the trailer for the winter. This is not very involved, because there is no running water, and no hydro connection. It is a matter of cleaning the roof of the slide, then retracting it into the trailer. Then I close all the windows, and the door, everything is locked up, and we are done.
This visit was there was a pleasant surprise. NO MICE in the trap. Not a one. No mouse dropping on the counters, or furniture, or floor. No sign of mice at all. I have a sneaking suspicion that we have a resident garter snake in the trailer, and to be honest I prefer the idea of a snake to the experience of mice.
Attila cleared leaves, which is a big job, the driveway is long and winding, the clearing is largish. I burned downed branches all day. I enjoy a good campfire. Feeding a fire with small branches keeps me busy, I move constantly, breaking the wood into short pieces, keeping an eye on the fire and the sparks it throws. The fire lit with three crumpled pieces of newspaper, a lighter, and kindling I collected as fallen branches in the bush.
We enjoy our time in the bush. The hush of it is broken only by the calls of birds, and the sound of wind rustling through the leaves. The only movement is the sunlight navigating the fluttering leaves.
When I was a kid we had evenings like this from time to time on the farm. Our camp fire pit was down behind the barns, in a treed area we called “the park”. With sticks whittled to a sharp edge at one end, we roasted hot dogs, and marshmallows. Those were special evenings.
After an enjoyable day doing all the chores at the Camp, we packed everything up ready for the winter months. We may or may not go back out there before the snow flies. We don’t need to use Grace the trailer for our visits, and will not reopen the trailer until next spring. We enjoy a day entirely out of doors, even when it is cold outside, because we can sit by the campfire to keep warm.
I did not always feel this way about being out of doors in the winter. In fact, it made me miserable. I think inappropriate clothing choices had a lot to do with my feelings. I lived in the city at the time, and so did not have a coat that made sense for being out of doors for long periods of time in the winter. Even worse, the boots I had were stylish, touted as warm and dry, but were wet and cold after a short time in the snow. Now of course, I have my Gore-Tex parka, good warm footwear, and my Cowichan sweater, so that being out of doors in the cold of winter is not the ordeal it once was. There is a saying, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”, which has been attributed to many different authors. I suspect this was observed by the first humans to walk naked on the planet.
Pleasantly contrasted with the trip to the bush, was having freshly picked strawberries from the garden with my breakfast this morning.
Worldly
Weather
13°C
Date: 8:00 PM EDT Friday 17 October 2025
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.6 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: 12.5°C
Dew point: 4.0°C
Humidity: 56%
Wind: W 12 km/h
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“Gluttony is not a secret vice.”
Orson Welles
1915 – 1985