As we sat down to dinner, Bill found a channel on Roku called Cozy Campfire. How funny. I thought to myself, “This will have to do, now that the season is over..” But it’s not, really, in fact this is perfect weather as long as it stays dry for a while. I’m one of those who will post a photo of my backyard campfire on Facebook with no caption, just a quick pic of what our weekend evening consists of. At least I’m not alone. 🙂
I’ve always loved outdoor fires and I’m so glad to live in a town where it’s not prohibited. It’s not uncommon to take a walk through our sub on a summer night, smell the smoke and see the glow from neighbors’ fires. Even the local convenience stores and gas stations sell firewood, something we used to only see up north. With all the mature trees, it makes for a nice setting, like your own permanent campsite. And, of course as long as you’re not being a careless idiot, the authorities don’t bother you.
Thinking back to my youth, however, I don’t ever remember anyone having outdoor fires. Our lots were much bigger, also, in my old neighborhood, pretty much every house had a half to a full acre. I have just barely a quarter acre now. Perhaps the laws were stricter. And, many of our neighbors had indoor fireplaces or stoves so they probably just never bothered with it outside.
My phone contains many campfire photos from all the camping we did this year. It seems so long ago now, yet our last trip of the season was only 30 days ago. Sigh.
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I’m sure we’ll have a few more. And on the freezing cold wet days of winter, we’ll have Cozy Campfire. But the real thing is a simple joy that I won’t ever grow tired of.
At least I hope not.