Because we could
“Under the live oaks, shaded and dusky, the maidenhair flourished and gave a good smell, and under the mossy banks of the water courses whole clumps of five-finger ferns and goldy-backs hung down. Then there were harebells, tiny lanterns, cream and white and almost sinful looking, and they were so rare and magical that a child, finding one, felt singled out and special all day long.”
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Inspiration
The smell of wood burning in fireplaces always reminds me of camping. If I close my eyes and take in the woodsy smoke I can see the campsite in Arroyo Seco. The first couple of years after high school we went camping often. One year, we went camping in May at Arroyo Seco, at the deserted Girl Scout Camp, Camp Cawatre. We set up camp under a canopy of thick oaks and made our campfire and cooking area in an open clearing surrounded by sycamores. (When camping, one never sleeps in the same place where food is prepared.) We wished it to be the sultry, hot Indian summer of September and October. It was May, the ground was so cold and damp we couldn’t sleep. The sky was still black when we got up to rekindle the fire and boil water for coffee and tea. Then we made S’Mores for breakfast because we could.