CG Express

1. Baby toads like bugs- Taking a grassy, woodland path to a small pond, I looked down and saw bugs crawling everywhere. My first thought was giant ticks but the scientist in me was too curious to run away. I reached down and allowed one to jump on me. To my utter amazement it was a tiny toad. When I say tiny, I mean super, spectacularly, small. The one in the photo was not the smallest one I saw. It was hard to believe that an amphibious life could be that small.
2. 17-year-old Cicada – I have a thing for bugs (and trees, and birds, and animals…okay so living things). I was lamenting that I forgot to bring my phone when my husband and I ended up on an impromptu hike (yes, we do that when camping in the woods). I said to him “I should know better to always bring a camera. Otherwise, I might miss recording something like this…” I pointed to a whitish looking thing on a tree up ahead. When I walked up to it and realized it was a newly hatched 17-year-old Cicada, I was doubly mad at myself. We ended up going back to camp and trekking out again (not a difficult hike) so I could get the shot.
3. A kid yelling at the top of his lungs on an electric scooter – Normally loud, raucous children would be annoying, especially at a campground that is somewhat remote and in gloriously natural surroundings. We saw the family settling in their campsite up the road and within just a few minutes this seven or eight- year- old boy was speeding down the road on his electric scooter, yelling whatever was on his heart at the top of his lungs. He did this back and forth for a good forty minutes. The next morning at a reasonable eight thirty, he was at it again but this time he added bits of singing. I’m not sure if it was meant to be rap, but whatever the case, he was completely in his world. Why was this be notable and not just my rant of complaining about wild children? The joy and pure enthusiasm this child displayed was inspiring. How much I wanted to join him and be as free, oblivious of anyone else and shout and sing all that was on my heart.
4. Chili bubbling on camp stove with cornbread – Is there anything better than a hot meal, of (low fat turkey – I mention for all my health conscious followers – tips to making this chili great below) chili and warm corn bread on a chilly rain, drenched camping night? Did you like that play on words – chili and chilly! That’s like a corny ‘dad joke’ in honor of Father’s Day.
5. Old bills and junk mail going up in flames. It’s funny in a sad way how modern life, which has created so many conveniences, improvements in healthcare and avenues of entertainment for humans, has simultaneously complicated our lives to the point of causing depression. Don’t you think? We have a practice of instead of shredding old bills, confidential documents, and correspondences, we collect them in a basket to bring on our camping trips. Watching the latest batch, curl, and flare in the flames, brought to my mind how much information a modern family has to navigate, take action on and somehow get passed without feeling overwhelmed. These things are like wasps circling my head, ready to sting whatever peace I might have with a question, a fear if I fail to respond, a missed opportunity. When the kids were in the house, that was compounded with school mail and forms. Watching the paper examples of this deluge of information burn was somewhat cathartic. At least these have been deemed inactive. But for every paper having its last glory day of life, there are ten more in an electronic format and that’s no even talking about work. It’s no wonder some of us are running for the hills, seeking to ‘go off the grid’, live like hermits or Hobbits. Sounds good to me.

Tips on making turkey chili not taste flat:

• Heat up a fry pan with a little, cooking oil then add the ground turkey in an even layer.
• Don’t mix it up.
• Keep the heat somewhat high.
• Add spices as you prefer on the top side of the meat. We add garlic, garlic, garlic, chili powder X2; cumin; salt; basil, oregano, sometimes smoked paprika otherwise plain paprika.
• Let the meat dry out and almost burn before turning it over.
• Add more oil if needed to keep the sizzle going.
• Blast the other side of the meat; add spices to the new top-side.
• Once the meat is what would normally be considered, over-cooked then add in other ingredients as preferred such as chili spiced diced tomatoes, siracha for heat, beans with sauce, ketchup or salsa for moisture. Simmer forever then serve or better yet, make a day ahead of planned meal, refrigerate overnight and heat up to serve the next day. We do this the night before a camp-out.
• The key point here is to nearly burn the turkey before adding additional sources of moisture. It adds a depth of flavor that combined with the spices and a little heat, does not scream ‘turkey’ or make anyone ask “where’s the beef?”.

Write on! Camp on! Make Chili or whatever else seems appropriate for a camp night in close quarters of a tent or teardrop camper.