This was Week 2 of our Guilds, with the morning spent focusing in on our chosen subject. In the FOREST Minks group, arrows were completed and launched! The other group engaged in a race to build the finest fire, and spent time practicing carving fine “feather thin” wood curls around their campfires for kindling. In the River Otters group, the Craft Extravaganza guild worked on nature mobiles, utilizing many useful items found in nature. They learned about Sweet Birch and Honeysuckle, talked about responsible harvesting and the Rule of Three (taking some for humans, leaving some for the plants and some for the animals).
The Throwing Stick and Scouting Guild took their finely crafted throwing sticks to the range! They practiced their accuracy and had fun exploring the creek on the way back. The Bowdrill group put finishing touches on some really beautiful bow drill kits and got right down to practicing. They will continue working towards coaxing a coal from the kits next week! The Billeting/One-Stick Fire Challenge group tried their hand at the fine carving of feather sticks, a careful carving craft that turns wood into tinder. They will need this next week as they culminate the project by making fire from a single piece of wood!
At the Cobble this week, half of the Bobcats were hard at work building their tree house shelter. They learned to weave cattail mats, worked on their sawing skills, and cut logs to make the floor and sides of the tree house. The rest of the Bobcats continued to work on their throwing sticks and finished carving, sanding, and oiling them. The Bobcats ended their day with some free time, played around a huge fallen pine tree and nearby stream, and shared their favorite thing from the day.
The Gray Foxes were busy at work with half of them starting their willow basket bases, tracking and frog catching in the marsh, and a cold plunge in the creek! The rest of the Gray Foxes finished up some journal entries from last week and took to the forest and fields for our second week of journeying and journaling. We explored along the stream and discovered a beaver latrine filled with scat! After a hot and arduous trek up Hurlburt’s Hill, we were rewarded with views of the surrounding mountains. The hilltop was filled with tree swallows zooming around and perched on nest boxes. Their indigo iridescence was on full display. The Gray Foxes wrapped up the afternoon with a game of ultimate bandana ball, sharing about our guilds, and some refocusing and relaxing breathing exercises.
Other nature observations this week included:
- A toad!
- A butterfly
- Migratory darter dragonflies
- Wildflowers: bloodroot, coltsfoot, forsythia, skunk cabbage, and a mystery purple flower
- Trees in bloom: red maples, willow catkins, oaks, birches and elm
- New birds: white-throated sparrow, tree swallow, fish crow, ruby-crowned kinglet, brown-headed cowbird
- Amphibians: spring peepers, pickerel frogs “snoring”, and bullfrogs
—Josh, Mary, and the FOREST and Cobblers staff, April 9, 2021