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.
We started our circle moving our bodies to stay warm, meeting our mentors, and singing a new fire song. We also all worked together, Woolly Bears and Cobblers alike, to get a coal with Flying Deer’s WE DRILL! It took us more than one try, but we made a coal, got a flame, and carried our fire and wishes up to camp in a tinder mushroom.
We settled into camp ready for snack. We have some agreements at Cobblers, and the basis is the 3 Respects. Respect yourself, respect nature, and respect yourself. We also shared the animal language and calls we use daily to communicate without having to yell too loudly. All this we talked about while we snacked.
We break up each activity with some time to explore and spend time doing whatever draws the kids’ attention. So after some time apart, we split into two groups for a lesson, one group learning how to identify an Ash tree and the other Ironwood. The goal is to get to know our neighbors at our campsite, and the trees are no exception. Quickly, folks were began to identify all the characteristics about the Ash—tall, grey, rough, patterned, straight—and quite quickly they were able to identify other Ashes all around them. The same went on in the Ironwood group: smooth, bumpy, short. Everyone seemed to walk away really knowing at least what the plant looked like and its name.
We split into 2 groups again and began to collect the different pieces of ash we needed to make different types of backpack hooks. Lunch interrupted the project, but didn’t sway the enthusiasm. After a story about Great Rabbit and Wildcat’s great chase, we were back to our carving projects and really starting to focus. We worked on notches—Stop Notch and the X Notch. Many of the Cobblers had great success. We focused on the craft for an hour, and by the end we hung them from our backpack hook rack. There were many satisfied carvers!
In growing community,
River Otter, Hawkmoth, and Great Horned Owl (Chris, Quinn, and Finnoula), September 23, 2022