The Wilderness holds answers to more questions than we have yet learned to ask.
― Nancy Wynne Newhall
We have less than a week before the first F&W overnight session ends, and I’m in denial. The smiling faces, and singing voices of our first campers running through our property give all of us energy and infectious joy. We’ve been blessed with enough sunshine to grow our gardens and tempt us into the water for swimming and canoeing around Woodward Reservoir and Lake Nineveh. Vermont’s summertime rains are exciting and dramatic. Your campers will be able to share some great stories of endurance when they return home. Full summer campers are just getting into the rhythm of the season and long for letters from home.
I’ve spent a full day at Salt Ash Mountain Camp and another day at Timberlake Camp to experience first- hand the flow of a camper’s day and staffer’s responsibility, which on any given day may be far from routine. Highlights include nail art, a game of cowboys-and-pirates “capture the flag” at TL. I’ve also visited Tamarack Farm and watched campers frame the floor of a cabin they’re rebuilding. The creativity and talent of your children is limitless and fun to observe. One clear example of this is the Interdependence Day skits and songs given by each camp on July 10.
Last week, I convened the first overnight camper council meeting, and heard thoughtful ideas and suggestions. The camper council is a group of two campers from each of the overnight camps who meet once each session and share their perspective on how we can improve and what works well at F&W and the camps. The representatives shared some highlights of the summer so far: Cooling off in Lake Nineveh, cabin cookouts, apprenticeships, strong connections between staff/campers, and a great first Naming Ceremony at Flying Cloud. I know that campers are having fun and busy when rest hour across all of the camps is quiet as people recharge their batteries.
Next weekend, when we say good-bye (and hello!), and create fun for our full summer campers, we will also recharge. As Joy Alper in our Main Office reminds us, “It’s only 21 days until Fair!”
If you are just joining us on this Sunday to drop off for the August Session, I hope you’ll stop by the Plymouth Notch for a nosh and chat. We’ll have refreshments and there will be plenty of socializing with old friends and new! Each of these summer days is a gift, and your children make Farm & Wilderness a vibrant, warm community, which is the greatest gift of all!
— Rebecca Thomas Geary, Executive Director
