The Rundown and Roundup! - Farm & Wilderness

We know wet!  And we have come out a better community for it.

On the first day, between rain showers, we managed to fit in most of the swim checks.  Nothing stops these TL-ers!

In one day, everyone visited every activity area.  The next day everyone could spend a whole morning in an activity area, and then sign up for a multi-morning cycle.

Some of the activities we have been doing are:

• Bouldering at onsite rock face called Campcraft Rock.
• Making multi-person giant debris shelters.
• Putting the wooden shiplap siding our new kitchen
• Watercolor and perspective work
• Swim lessons and tandem boating in the lake
• Make omelets using our F&W farm’s organic ingredients: eggs, cheddar cheese made with our farm milk and onions and greens that were grown in our garden.

This morning we had “Cabin Morning”.  Two cabins built tables for their cabins, another turned our entire Upper Lodge into one big blanket fort.  One cabin made a pie and ate it.  Another composed poems, which were vetted by counselors then inscribed in the “Haikubo” outhouse.  Some cabins worked on their cabin plaques and another went through the adventure course.

Middle school age campers leave on trips on Thursday – and it looks like the worst of the weather has passed us by.  These trips include hiking the Long Trail, rock climbing in the Adirondacks, canoeing in Maine, and practicing their wilderness skills on our 80-acre land in Chelsea, VT.

What excites me the most is the hardest to sum up in a few lines.  People are connecting.  We see how there is a lot of laughter from the boys.  We also ask them “whose needs are you serving?” When an announcement becomes more of joke than a public service, that becomes a teachable moment.  Being your best self is fun – sharing the joy of being yourself rather than hiding yourself behind humor.

The older campers did a blind trust walk from the Waterfront to our Outdoor Living Skills area as part of an “I Can’t Funeral”  They then burned their notes with “I can’t” in a bonfire.   Yes, there were jokes –   I Can’t… find Nemo.    There were some more serious “I Can’t….get up in the morning”   and there was a deeper layer “I Can’t … talk to girls”   “I Can’t…  get out of my head”.

And last night, during our appreciation beading ceremony, there were many tears.  For young men to be able to be emotional in front of each other creates a foundation of integrity and authenticity that everything else rests on.    And we are just getting started!

Be well,

— Tulio