Sunday, May 11, 2014

A Day At Camp

My friends invited me to come for a fish fry at their camp in the woods today. They've been building the camp for a couple of years now and I've been avoiding visiting there because I am a wuss.  And because there is a Bridge of Death to traverse on foot in order to get to the camp.


The Bridge of Death starts out easily enough but eventually narrows to one plank, with no hand rails, stretching over a river.  Well, actually, a stream I guess...but fast-flowing and rocky and generally wet.  One wouldn't want to fall in.  Before and after this treacherous section, the walkway is two, or even three boards wide with a whisper of rope strung along either side that one can grip for an illusion of security. Fortunately, I was travelling with my sherpa and he lent me his hand to guide me across the worst part. For obvious reasons, I have no pictures of the traverse, needing both hands to have at the ready for flailing in case of a fall. I am proud to say that I screamed only once during the crossing.


Once safely across the Bridge of Death we caught sight of the fish pond and noticed how the dock had collapsed.  We learned later that it had been washed away, along with the fish, in a recent flood from the thawing snow.


I was completely charmed by my first sight of the Tree House.  Originally, it was to have been built up in the trees, but plans and ideas got bigger and it became evident that the structure would probably be more secure if built on the ground, between the trees...though hanging over a bit of a precipice because my friends like living on the edge.


Being at the camp felt like stepping back into a simpler time.


If you axed my opinion of it, I would have said it was a pretty sharp place to have created from a pile of wood and that I was very impressed with how my neighbour had got a handle on the whole project.

(I have Photochopped this picture)



Inside the house, potatoes were already being fried up in a skillet on the woodstove


while outside, haddock was being cooked in a pan in the fire trough.

It was a lovely spring day and the three mothers that were there, myself included, were treated royally by the men folk of various ages.  
After a time, it started to rain and we retreated back inside the tree house to enjoy some hot tea while we listened to the pitter-patter of the rain on the roof.

And at the end of the day, I had my first--perhaps only--ride on the back of a three-wheeled all terrain vehicle as my host took mercy on me and drove me out by a neighbour's road, thus sparing me the trial of returning over the Bridge of Death.

I have coincidentally been in interesting places on other Mothers' Days, such as London,  Paris, and New York City...but I think just maybe this one at the tree camp will outshine them all in future memory.


19 comments:

  1. Not sure about the bridge of death and the puns (!) but the whole place looked blissful to me - especially the treehouse.
    Always dream of surviving in nature in the woods - but fear I have more of a Marie Antoinette love of nature - preferring the pretty bits to killing my lunch and mucking out the stables.
    It LOOKS beautiful anyway!

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    1. It is a lovely secluded spot but I'm with you, Elizabeth, in not being terribly keen on the more specifically natural bits of Nature.

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  2. Looks like a cool spot and the camp appears as if it is almost floating. The Bridge reminds me of places our father would take us as kids when he went exploring the back woods.

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    1. That must have been such an adventure to go exploring like that as a child, Gwen. No doubt prepared you for all sorts of rugged undertakings and an ease of being out in the world of nature. I'm more of a city girl so a bit challenged in such an environment, though I do of course appreciate its beauty.

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  3. Amazing post, Lynne! Fun & quirky as always. The smoke rising from the potatoes is gorgeous, and the treehouse is just...no words.

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    1. Glad you ventured in with me, Jann! If the tree house leaves you speechless, you should see the sauna/wash house. No pictures of it as it's still under construction, but it may require a return trip across the BoD.

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  4. Maybe could be seen as a "Floating Bridge of Dreams" rather than a bridge of death ? :-)

    Glad to hear you survived, and maybe got some extra omega proteins by eating lots of fish... always a pleasure to see you punning away, chopping away as you prune the language into fascinating new forms like a topiary garden...

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    1. I'm pretty sure you would have gamboled over over that bridge be it of death, dreams, or dentures, Owen, half blind or half drunk! I'm very pleased that you extended your wanderings this far afield and that you enjoyed the topics and topiaries. Unlike in at least one of your haunts, no one has been bludgeoned to death here, despite of a wealth of potential weapons at hand.

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  5. You are always so clever and entertaining!

    Could make a nice hermitage, if I were a brave monkess. :) But - I'm not... All I have to say is: Are you kidding me! - No Way - No How! LOL :)

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    1. I prefer those hermitages with good sturdy drawbridges and ample wine cellars, myself.
      :-)

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  6. Ack.. ummm no. I would not have been able to make it over that bridge if you had "axed" me. In fact, I'd hatchet my pants. ;)

    But what an adventure. You're a gutsy lady, dear Lynne. But I'd rather have Paris.

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    1. Really, Hilary? I am truly surprised by your reaction. I had you for a brave outdoorsy take-no-prisoners kind of adventurer, especially having moved where you've moved. (Took me a minute to figure out that "hatchet job" you did on your pants...but the penny finally dropped its full load and I caught your drift). :-)

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    2. A fear of heights gets in my way. And I'm not that outdoorsy.. or brave. I'm typing from the fetal position.

      I knew the hatchet comment was a stretch but I also had no doubt that you'd get it.

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  7. Anonymous17 May, 2014

    What an amazing camp - so picturesque!

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    1. It truly is a special place. Utterly unique. I'm glad you enjoyed the visit.

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  8. i wanted to make a joke about bridge of death/ my floating bridge of dreams but i see with great surprise Owen was here and thought of the same, for which i am amused and grateful (HI there Owen!!! :-)...

    i am very taken with those photos of food cooking, the meals must have been delicious, prepared in such rustic ways!!! MMM

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    1. I goaded Owen across the bridge to visit! Nothing short of a cattle prod to get him to show his face in these parts, Roxana.

      The food was extremely tasty. What is it about eating in the great outdoors that makes food just that much tastier? Perhaps having survived looking into the jaws of death?

      The bridge here is truly a bridge to my neighbours' dreams. But you know what they say, one man's dream is another woman's nightmare. ;-)

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  9. Anonymous28 May, 2014

    Bridge of Death in Winter
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/fundyheather/6561811965/

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    1. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      Scenic, but truly death-defying. Count on me NOT showing up in winter! Thanks for sharing.

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