My Happy Place
@ModernNorthwoodsLumberjack and I drove up to the lake this weekend to camp and work on projects..It was our first full weekend up since last season, and wouldn't you know, the weather was lousy. But all that matters, is how great it felt to be outside in my happy place. Why do I love camping and exploring outdoors, almost more than anything, no matter the weather? Here are 5 reasons the Northwoods is My Happy Place:
I heart campfires!
Being outdoors is chillaxing! Breathing the fresh pine air, listening to the call of the loons, watching the dragonflies hover and softly land, creates an atmosphere of peace; which helps me feel truly relaxed after a very long MN winter.
I love campfires! There is just something about the crackle of the fire, the dancing flames, and the cozy warmth... it brings out the best stories to be shared, but is also the perfect time to be together in the silence.
Camp food is the BEST! We do a lot of the prep at home ahead of time to save time. food storage space, and make cleanup easier. Our big meal this weekend was loaded fajitas, cooked over the Weber grill (which does a good job of maintaining high heat during a rain shower). Sooo easy and sooo good! We pre-seasoned the skirt steak with olive oil and Penzey's fajita mix, chopped onion & bell peppers ahead of time, then cooked them on the grill. We made fresh guacamole and salsa mix to load on corn tortillas, then assembled our fajitas piled high with the good stuff Even better- the leftovers made a perfect fritatta for the next morning' breakfast. Stay tuned for more camp food ideas in upcoming blog articles for you to try.
We have little sensory adventures, discovering new plants, watching the forest critters, and making things from found treasures. This weekend we identified what we think are edible mushrooms (most likely oyster mushrooms, though we are having an expert weigh in before we cook and eat it), we saw evidence of a black bear visiting the campsite (on our game camera), and we started to slab up the Giant Log a.k.a. dead oak tree that we cut up late last fall, with some pretty cool results so far.
Being on and near the lake! We got our vintage (old!) pontoon out of storage and on the lake this weekend, and took it for a spin around the lake, and put a line in the water. We caught and released a little bass, a little northern, and had a nice sized crappie that got away. Also,our lab retriever mix, BuffythePheasantSlayer, had a ball swimming around and sniffing at everything she saw.
Buffy the Pheasant Slayer
Fajita good-ness
Modern Lumberjack and the Giant Log
