faux spring...

we've been enjoying real nice weather here, last couple days.
for january anyway.
temperatures have been in the high 40's and the sun has not been obscured by clouds.

all this makes me think of camping.

my sister linda, always pines for spring. every year she uses her eagle eye vision to spot the signs as soon as they appear. birds returning, anything resembling green and the ever early crocus, she spots it all before anyone else i know.

at some point, she just can't wait for spring to actually arrive and she starts making camping plans.

for years, our two families always met in new hampshire in late july, around the time of her birthday.

linda had an older airstream that she spent countless hours restoring. i had a series of tents, some good, some real good. but i always envied her camper. she could keep all her camping stuff in one place, the camper. mine was spread out all over the place, the cellar, the shed, in closets, anywhere i could find a spot.

each time we went camping, she knew where all her stuff was, she didn't have to look for anything. i had to search high and low to find all the cookware and outdoor grills and lanterns. and without fail, i would need to replace something i couldn't locate, or in my haste to store it at the end of the summer, i jammed it in somewhere and broke it. worse yet, i often left stuff outside.
when i found it the next year, it had become fodder for the rubbish can.

i always wanted a camper.