I stayed out in the woods for several hours today. It gives me a chance to think when I’m out there. Eventually, I needed a fire because even though there’s no snow right now, the temperature was still in the 30s. After a while, that can feel a bit cold.
 |
| The sun warmed the stone. It was a nice seat. |
I brought a thermos of coffee with me, and I had a small pan
in my pack. I knew once I opened the
thermos and poured, the contents would begin to cool and I’d need a pot to heat
the rest up. So that’s what I did. I suspended my little pot above the fire and
poured my coffee into it while I drank a cup.
There’s something wonderful about a hot, hot liquid on a cold day. The steam was rising up all around me as I
drank, and honestly it was like nectar of the gods. Imagine how much you love your favorite
drink, and then multiply it a hundredfold when you get it under adverse
conditions.
I also brought a couple of sausages with me. It was cold enough that I wasn’t worried
about refrigeration. I whittled a stick
down to a good point and pierced them and held them over the open fire. They tasted better than usual, too. When I finished them, I poured the rest of
the steaming hot coffee into my cup. It
was perfect.
Many people headed off to the malls today to exchange gifts
or spend their Christmas money. They
probably sat in little shops and drank coffee and ate lunch, too, just like I
did. They probably didn’t return home
smelling like smoke, and I’ll bet their hands were clean as well. Mine weren’t.
I still think I got the better deal, though.
I sat by the fire for a while and whittled some sticks. I found many large pieces of fallen wood, and
I stood them up against trees and rocks so that they’d dry out for the next
time I visited this spot. It’s hard to
get a good fire going when things are wet as they were today. It’s a good thing I have a lot of
practice.
All in all, I’d say it was a pretty good day.
