Puttering
Slept well last night and my first thought upon waking was “ah fresh air!”. Jubs was staring at me so we got up and did our usual routine. The sky was blue and the sun was out. There is still some haze but the AQI is much improved. I checked the smoke forecast again and tomorrow’s has improved slightly. Checked on the rain and it’s not great for the rest of the week.
So I made the call and cancelled my trip into the interior. If I were with someone else, I’d still go but being on my own is a different game.
I booked a spot a few sites down that still has water access but the plus is it’s electrical so I can finally charge up everything. I move in tomorrow.
I really wanted to get out and paddle today but the wind is howling. It’s doable but would be such hard work. Hopefully tomorrow.
The bugs are something else. I was prepared for mosquitoes but it’s the deer flies and horse flies that are making us crazy. No amount of thermacell or bug spray seems to deter them and boy do they hurt. They seem to bother Juno more than me and while I feel some guilt about that, I’m glad that there’s another target. Most definitely the bugs are worse than last year, I’m sure that’s not just in my head.
I’ve been trying to do a better job than last year at cooking dinners. I have a mess kit that a friend gave to me that has a decent sized pot, a stainless fry pan, some bowls, plates, and cutlery and it all nests together. I like it. I’ve been trying to master the stainless fry pan. There’s definitely skill to it and getting it the right temperature so stuff doesn’t stick. The day I went into Atikokan, I bought chicken breasts and made fajitas for dinner. They turned out really well, surprisingly. That pan was “hot as the hinges” and the chicken did not stick and cooked well. I also picked up some ghee when I was in Marathon because I wanted something like butter for my toast in the morning and with no way to refrigerate I figured this would be a great solution. The ghee has helped with cooking on the stainless too. I’ll be bringing a jar of it anytime I go camping now.
It’s now 7pm and Jubs hasn’t slept all day. At home, she usually naps all the way through the day, as dogs should, but she’s got FOMO so out her is always on the move. She just asked to be let into the tent, thinking I was joining her because she wants to sleep. She’s now whining and wimpering because I chose to sit on my chair and enjoy the breeze. The nerve!
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