Tresca Weinstein, Author at Flying Deer Nature Center

It’s Apple Cider Season!

We started our Cobblers Apple Fest day in the field gathered together and sharing something we are feeling grateful for. We sang a song, learned how to greet aliens with a movement, and chased a delicious “moose” around like a pack of wolves! Then snack, and many more riddles before we got to pressing cider.

Along the Trail with Wild Ways

What a hike! We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day with a cool breeze and perfect hiking temperature. Reminiscing with those students who have been around a while, we came to the conclusion that it’s been at least two years since we had a Wild Ways hike with no rain! About time.

Before the day even began there were beautiful dandelion crowns woven and placed upon some heads. Then we kicked it off with our morning circle. We shared gratitude and made sure we all knew how to be safe and respectful around other hikers/a new place.

New Growth in the FOREST

As the rain turned on and off around us, we danced amongst the droplets as only beings with deep nature connection do! As the showers ebbed and flowed, we went into our guilds. The bow guild had to move under the pergola roof to protect the bow staves and because it’s really difficult to carve in the rain. Everyone made some great progress and the bows are moving closer and closer to completion.

Dan and Nathaniel took the Stealth guild up into the forest across the road to work on their skills of silent movement and deep listening. It helped the motivation that they were told they would need these skills in an upcoming game with the Treetop group next week.

LeeK FEST 2023!

Today the Cobblers program celebrated wild leeks, also known as ramps or allium tricoccum, during our spring Leek Fest!

We began our day with sharing gratitude, stretching, and warming up our voices by singing “Wood, Stone, Feather, and Bone.” Cobblers have been on the hunt for new signs of spring throughout this semester. This morning they were given the challenge to beat their previous record of 22 observed signs. Students were also given the challenge of figuring out a riddle …

I am the beginning of the end, and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation, and I surround every place. What am I?

Riddles and Sledding Hills

The morning scene of a sled obstacle course and tree/shrub buds on the nature table foretold our adventurous day at the Cobble. Once all had arrived we enjoyed the morning circle in the radiant sunshine. We got our blood pumping with a game of predator prey, learned about the day, and guessed the answer to a ridiculous riddle: “What have I got in my pocket?” Then we played a game of Towhee, Towhee Drink Your Tea, and the students discovered a new triumphant strategy.

Building the Foundation

We had a nice little bevy of activities going on while students were arriving for Wild Ways today—the beginnings of trap making alongside a nature table display of fire-making implements, and a game of Mumblypeg to one side! The traps we worked on today, which some students continued pursuing throughout the day, are called Figure-Four traps, and their construction involves relatively precise carving work, and the fitting of three sticks into a stable configuration that will stand under the tension of, say, a heavy rock, yet fall at the slightest touch on the lowest stick. Quite a skill! Mumblypeg, for those who’ve yet to hear of it from students, is a group game requiring precise throwing skill, balance and coordination, leg strength, and cunning!

Fall at the Cobble

It was a picturesque fall day at the Cobble, with breezes whipping through our camp and heating up our fires that kept us warm. The sun shone through the trees and the atmosphere was sweet and social as friends found themselves back in the forest with new and old friends.

We started our day with a circle of parents and children in the field that has held our circle so many times for many years. Our gratitude is immense for the opportunity to be at Bartholomew’s Cobble on the unique landscape and in community with so many bright and unique children.

Wild Ways Campout!

Our final days of Wild Ways were blessed with beautiful weather and a cool night. We spent our morning together in the field playing games and reminiscing on everything we had learned and accomplished over the spring semester. Up at camp we had some time to settle in, set up tents or bedrolls and spend quality time together chatting and playing. After a short sit spot we all circled together for some honoring. Each person in turn received a gift to acknowledge their year with us as well as kind words from their peers/teachers honoring the qualities and growth that we have seen in each other.

Thanks, Trees!

It seems like all the teachers arrived today expecting the same warm weather and were equally surprised to feel strong gusts of pretty chilly wind insisting that, no no no, it’s not quite spring yet, friends. So we made sure that, after marching over to Elky Elm, we had a short and sweet morning circle with just enough introduction to what the day had in store to get the imagination moving, and the rest spent actually moving and singing to keep the blood flowing, before making our quick way up to camp where the wind was a little less biting, and where we could get a fire going and have the space to run around with as much wildness as we could muster for warm bones.

A Saturday SNOW EXTRAVAGANZA

Today was a beautifully crisp snow extravaganza! Upon arrival, our Saturday Explorers were invited to begin constructing their respective quinzees (big ol’ mounds of fresh powdery snow, left to compact for an hour or two, then carved out into a domed shelter—a more temporary cousin to the igloo), enjoy some sledding time, or experience some grounding snow meditation. Morning circle brought an icy riddle from Hawk Moth, an invigorating series of animal forms from Chickadee, and a more thorough introduction to quinzees from Red Oak.