October 8, 2009 – Smoked Umbrellas

The History. Carol and I have tried on numerous occasions to have a campfire. It seems that every time we plan one, it rains. Or, some other factor comes into play preventing us from having a fire. In NY, there is a problem with disease and insects in the wood, so you are asked to not move firewood. This helps to quarantine the problems. Consequently, we just never bought any wood. The first wood we bought was in Antigonish, NS. That evening, it rained. So we moved on and the wood move with us. In Bangor, ME (yes, we smuggled the wood into the U.S.), at two in the afternoon, we finally had the fire we planned in Antigonish.

Today’s Event. When we first arrived at this campground in Blackwater Falls, we bought a bundle of wood. After all the things we did that first afternoon, we didn’t have time to enjoy a fire. The next day is when it rained to beat the band and any thoughts of a fire were easily dismissed. Yesterday, the temperature dropped significantly and being the softies we are, we elected to stay inside. There is just something about the inability to enjoy a campfire when you are freezing your butt off. So tonight, knowing we are leaving in the morning, we wanted to have a fire. We had traveled all day and arrived back at the campground around 6:45. I started to build the fire and it began to sprinkle. I thought it might be just a short passing cloud and indeed, it did stop. As I got the fire started, I pour a couple of glasses of wine. Carol got out our chairs and we sat by the fire; and, it began to sprinkle again. I fixed a couple of salads for us to eat by the fire and notice as I was fixing them, the sound of rain on the roof of the coach seemed to be intensifying. Not to be daunted, we began to eat our salads by the fire as the rain began in earnest. Being the resourceful woman I love, Carol fetched the umbrellas from the coach and there we sat; a good fire, a good red wine and umbrellas to ward off the rain. We talked about our day, we talked about tomorrow and we enjoyed each others company. No computer, no photography; just the fire, the rain and us.

It seemed that all too soon the fire ebbed, the rain slackened and the wine ran out. It was time to call it a day, so we retreated to the warmth of the coach for a good nights sleep.

P.S. Umbrellas are not only good to ward off the rain, but as the wind occasionally shifts, they can be use to deflect the smoke away from you. Of course, this may come with the sacrifice of getting wet, but some compromises must be made.