Resilience: Big and Small - Farm & Wilderness

Kids laughing. So many kids, laughing, smiling, silly, rambunctious. Camp magic is back after so many months when it felt impossibly far away. Timberlake is thriving, and so are your campers.

Let’s jump right into some stories:

• In Rocks & Ropes they climbed our chimney wearing blindfolds. One of our campers initially just sat and stared, refusing to even consider the challenge. Jeff (Our Rocks & Ropes Head) said that about an hour in he could visibly see the camper relaxing – not just staring, absorbed. “I have to do that” absorbed. He did do that – he dug in, and he finally climbed.
• In Outdoor Living Skills they made fire – only not at first. Using flint and steel they tried a miserable number of times. Then, the spark jumped, the fire was lit. They were so dang excited. They had to show everyone; they didn’t give up, their flame finally caught.
• In Barns & Gardens campers were tasked with designing a full 4-course meal using only food from our garden. The winning group designed a meal with a salad, stir fry, frittata, and goat milk ice cream for dessert!
• In Work Projects they are building. New bridges, new trails, new piss pots. Restoring trails, fixing doors, and mending stairs. It hasn’t been easy, but the work is so worth it.

When I reflect a bit on these stories and so many more sitting on my favorite log in the Silent Meeting circle (we all have one) one thing comes through to me: resilience. Big and small, I see it every time I walk camp. We’re all done being inside on screens – we’re here, now, present in the woods. Brilliant green everywhere we look, remembering how to talk to new people. and a puppy pumped to have 80 new friends to play with. After so much we’ve been through, it’s incredible to see it every moment of my day.

Timberlake is different as we adjust this Special Edition Summer to stay safe. We are split in two running parallel days: our older group is named Embers and our younger group is named Sparks. From my vantage point it feels a bit like parallel universes – I have breakfast in the Spark-a-verse and afternoon activities in the Ember-verse. At times there is mindboggling complexity as we keep our kids safe and the magic happening. Is the work harder this year? You bet. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

We have a ton of magic on the horizon – a barn raising, trips, cabin cookouts, Council Fire, and many more adventures we haven’t even dreamed up yet. I’m so grateful for my staff who are going above and beyond to make this the best summer yet.

Be sure to check out the Smugmug Photo Gallery and our Timberlake Instagram account!

Camp Magic for real, ya’ll.