Campfire Chat: Backyard to Backpacks—A Wild Fall Shift
Turns out, the scariest thing I did this spooky season wasn’t a haunted house or horror movie marathon — it was opening the door to the wild and watching two tiny sweethearts run straight into it.
🌿 On My Mind
Harry and Henry — the baby squirrels I started rehabbing at just two weeks old — have officially left the rehab nest.
Our wildlife rehab group practices what’s called a slow-release method. Basically, instead of opening the door and saying, “Good luck out there,” we create a transition period where the animals can explore the outdoors during the day and return to the safety of their enclosure at night. It helps them (and me) adjust gradually.
But I won’t lie: the first time I unlatched that outdoor enclosure, my heart was in my throat. They scurried out, wide-eyed and twitchy-tailed, then scurried right back in by sundown. It went like that for a few days… until Henry didn’t come back to sleep. He did come back for snacks the next morning (caught on our Ring cam — modern wildlife monitoring at its finest). Harry followed suit the next day, and that was that. They were off.
Bittersweet doesn’t even cover it. But here’s the thing: I know they’re thriving. They’re nesting in the woods right next to our house, and every so often, one of them will pause at the edge of the yard and just… watch me. Like a little ghost of our time together, reminding me it mattered.
With all the doomscrolling and dire environmental headlines, it’s easy to feel like nothing we do is enough. But this? This was enough. I helped save two wild lives. And in return, they reminded me why I keep doing this work.
🥾 On the Ground
Liam and I just wrapped an 11-day road trip from South Carolina to Cody, Wyoming (a gateway to Yellowstone), and back — glamping all the way. (Stay tuned for next month’s Great American Glamp-Out article — yes, I’m embracing the word reluctantly).
Yellowstone was a first for both of us, and while it absolutely lived up to the hype, honestly, all of Wyoming left us speechless. We saw a T-shirt that read: “Wyoming is not real,” and yup…accurate. The wide skies, the wildlife, the weirdly magical energy of the place — it felt like driving through a dream.
And Cody? A total gem. Quirky, creative, and full of surprises. More on that next month, too — promise.
📦 What’s in My Pack
After two decades of working from home, I’m suddenly… back in the office. Sort of. The middle school where my husband teaches needed a long-term sub for 8th grade social studies, and when they asked if I’d step in, I couldn’t say no. Kids + community = always a yes.
And guess what? I’m low-key loving it. It’s been a big adjustment (hello, 5 a.m. alarms), but as soon as the students file in, everything lights up. They’re funny and sharp and so present. And after saying goodbye to Harry and Henry, it’s kind of nice to have a new batch of creatures to care for.
🧵 Thread I’m Pulling
Crows. Yes, really. A reader wrote into Trail Mail asking about them, and I fell down a research rabbit hole. Did you know they recognize human faces and pass down information generationally? These birds are basically flying folklore factories. Check out Trail Mail this month for all the cool crow facts.
Also on my radar: bats. Our People Who Give a Damn feature this month spotlights the team at BatBnB, and they are doing incredible work to promote bat conservation through design-forward roosting boxes. Big fan over here.
🫖 Steeping
Trail Mix will now go out once a month instead of twice. With everything on our plates — and making sure we keep the content quality — this shift lets us keep doing what we do best without burning out. It may not be forever, but it’s what works for now. And, hey, you can always keep up with us on social media at @ExploreFieldTrip.
About me
I’ve spent the last 15 years writing about the outdoors and conservation, often with muddy boots, dirt under my nails, and too many bug bites to count. I’m a certified Bee-Friendly Gardener, a certified Pollinator Steward, and a volunteer with those who care about conservation, wildlife, and treading lightly. I’m also a DarkSky Advocate and a proud member of the SC Native Plant Society, The 89 Percent Project, and 1% for the Planet. I volunteer with Wildlife Rehabilitation Group of South Carolina, specializing in rehabbing squirrels. My backyard wildlife habitat—certified by the National Wildlife Federation, Pollinator Partnership, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology—is a wild little résumé of its own. I started Field Trip for people who like to play outside. Thanks for being here with me.
