Discovery

For the past four days I have been working at camp getting the site ready for staff training and a whole slew of summer campers. A few of us took on big tasks around the site like putting in waterfront docks, shoveling out old wet and moldy leaves from the perimeter of a basketball court, setting up hogans (kind of like platform tents, but not), painting, powerwashing, weed-wacking, mowing, organizing, moving, etc.

It was so good to put in long days of really physical work. There were moments when the group of us just collapsed on the ground under heat and exhaustion, but in the long run, it felt great to use our bodies for the kinds of work that they were made for. Running on a treadmill or sitting on a stationary bike inside an air conditioned gym just doesn't do the same things for your soul.

While we were cleaning out a storage cabin, we discovered that the cabin had become a bed and breakfast for all sorts of creatures over the winter -- rugs were chewed up, hammocks dumped on, craft supplies shredded. As we were cleaning out our archery cabinet, a mother mouse scurried out after realizing we were cleaning things out. She left behind six babies, only a day or two old. We picked them up and put them in a safe spot where we hoped she would find them again... one can only hope that's what happened and that they didn't become dinner for a feral cat or racoon. Either way, they were so adorable. Naked, translucent, blind, and helpless, I saw so much vulnerable beauty in their tiny bodies. :)

Then this morning our camp chef, John, pointed out a family of birds out learning to fly. I love this place.