Archive for the ‘photo’ Category

Hi everyone,
I hope you’ve had a chance to check out some of the lodge photos that got posted on the photo gallery http://www.farmandwilderness.org/photo-gallery. I’ll probably put the rest up here on the FC blog soon. As always, feel free to share the photos with friends and family. Often it’s hard to explain the wonder of Flying Cloud with just words, but perhaps the photos can help….

We’re full on into winter mode now, and I hope you’re all doing well with your lives at home. I know school can be hard, but I hope you remember to wrap yourself up in your Flying Cloud blanket every once in a while and travel back to the FC clearing in your mind. I just added a maple leaf (made of leather) to my blanket and a wooden button that allows me to turn it into a poncho! I’ve been really enjoying wearing it around as I wander in the woods here in Washington.

After campers left, the staff stayed on for four more days, doing mysterious counselory things like cleaning and having meetings. One of my favorite parts of post-camp is how tangible the presence of campers is. In one sense, Flying Cloud is just a clearing in the woods, and for nine months of the year it’s filled with birds, bears, bunnies and moose. On the other hand, anyone who’s ever walked into our clearing can say without a doubt that there’s magic there. Thanks to everyone who was there this summer making magic, and I hope to see most of you back for summer 2009! For those of you who are interested in staying connected during the off season, you should definitely check out the house parties around New England.

To leave you with something to consider for next time, here’s a little tracking mystery to check out. This little critter was cruising along the Oregon sea coast, but we’d find its family members around New England as well. Check out the number of toes, and note that this is all four feet in a group. That’s a clue! Can you tell which ones are the left and right? And what about front and rear?

Hey everyone,
        I wanted to share with you a little piece of exciting news. Flying Cloud has an owl!
        Over the last few years we’ve heard a variety of late-night bird calls from some critter just south of the clearing usually sounding loosely like “who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?” For those of you with a birding interest, you’ll recognize that as the mnemonic for the call of the Barred Owl (Strix varia).
        A few weeks ago we heard the owl making a single “whooo” call as we were circling up before bed. A few days later, after our final Friendship Fire of first half, I was walking up to the Food Shelter when a white form lifted off the ground in front of me. The owl flew silently and landed just a few feet away on one of the stone towers marking our main trail. It sat for a few minutes as I and a few other staff watched it, and then flew off into the night. I was thrilled by this little encounter, but I didn’t know what was to come….
        A few nights later two more staff encountered the owl, and then one evening we had to call “emergency pumps”. Sometimes if we’ve been using a lot of water, we’ll run out in the afternoon or evening, and we’ll blow a conch and yell “emergency pumps” at which point everyone runs up the hill to the pump and does fifty as fast as they can.
        On this night we were all sprinting up there when people started yelling “stop! Stop!” We did, and a staff member pointed out the Barred Owl where it was sitting on the branch of a beech tree maybe thirty feet away. Everyone that night got to see it, and we all watched in awe as it hop/waddled around on the branch before gracefully taking flight into the oncoming darkness. Wow!
        Surprising but true, a few days after that, the owl was spotted again. This time, an intrepid staffer with a camera went chasing after it with a small group of campers. After a few minutes of pursuing it from tree to tree, the owl settled down a bit and they were able to sneak in close. Through careful attention to the environment around us, and a little dedication, Forest Flame was able to snap this lovely photo:

(Click for full size.)

        So called for the stripes on its chest, the Barred Owl is a relatively common nighttime visitor in New England. One important factoid about them is that they will reuse the same nest site year after year. That probably means that the owl we’ve been seeing this summer is the same one we’ve always heard up at FC, it’s just getting bold!

        After this critter we’re all looking forward to more cool nature sightings and I’ll let you know when they happen!

This week I pointed out to my staff that the summer’s almost over! It’s hard to believe but after nine months of preparing, it certainly feels that way.

Campers left on their First Half trips just a few days ago and arrived back in camp tired, dirty, hungry and happy. It was great to have them home, and we’re all excited to share stories from the adventures we had. The only group that’s not back yet is of older campers who went for a week up to Flagstaff Lake in Maine. They’ll be back on Tuesday and we’re definitely looking forward to having our full community back together again. Adventures this week that I’ve heard about so far included having Quaker Meeting on top of Killington Mountain, swimming in Little Rock Pond in the rain and sneaking back into Flying Cloud one night to “steal” s’mores ingredients from a group of inattentive counselors! The campers were certainly busy.

We’re all really thankful that the weather on trips was almost perfect. Warm, sunny and only one afternoon of rain. It seems like summer might finally be in full swing and we’re happy about it. One pretty amazing sign that it’s summer was in the world of the birds. This week we got the opportunity to watch a young vireo learn to fly! Over the course of a few days, after finding it resting on a root by the breakfast table, we watched as it was fed grubs by its parents until it grew strong enough to fly up into the trees. We didn’t see it today, but can only hope that it’s doing well. Here are a couple of cool photos. Kind of ugly now, but a mature vireo is quite lovely. Keep an eye out for them around you too!

For all you parents out there who have a camper at FC this July and are planning to come up to visit, you should soon receive a letter talking about first half Visiting Day! It’s a great time every year, and we really look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it and giving you a little taste of what Flying Cloud is like for your son.

To go along with this weeks update, here’s a Monarch butterfly I found resting on a lovely Cow-Parsnip flower. A member of the wild carrot family, cow-parsnip is one that’s edible but easily confused with a poisonous relative. The carrots as a family are ones we teach the campers to avoid until they’re 100% certain about their identification skills.

Hello hello hello!
I miss you all!
First, I just want to toss up a couple of fun photos from Ice Cutting.

What a weekend it was! We had tons of people (more than two hundred were at dinner on Saturday night), great weather for working, and lots of good times. I’m happy to say that the Ice Mines are full and ready for camp to start. Thanks so much to everyone who contributed their time and energy to helping Flying Cloud. I always like to recognize that FC really couldn’t enjoy every summer without all the hard work people outside the clearing do to help us.

As we approach camp nearly all the lodges are full. We’ve got a great crew of returning campers and staff, and as always, if you have a friend who you think would just love life at the Cloud, encourage them to sign up now! We still have a few more bunk spaces and it would be sad to think that anyone who could be at FC missed that opportunity because they didn’t know about it! As always, campers and families are our best ambassadors, so get out there and spread the good word.

For this summer, we have a pretty amazing crew of returning staff. As the list grows, I’ll be sure to update it here, so check back often!
Striding Ash will be back as Assistant Director.
Sun Panther Gives will be there making sure we have everything we need, and planning trips.
Forest Flame will be doing his first summer as the Sensible Health Person.
So far we have a great crew of lodge staff, led by Tends the Grove, River Sways and Spring Rhythm, plus former campers Glowing Waters and Squirrel Moon putting in their first summers on staff. We also have three new guys: Elliot, Sam and Joe. Be sure to give them a hearty FC welcome when you meet them. Welcome aboard everyone!

Just like usual, feel free to get in touch with me whenever you want. I’m always happy to hear from Flying Clouders! It’s shaping up to be quite a summer, and I can’t wait to see you there. We’ve got lots of new campers, a new Crafts Lodge, and I’ve learned a few really funny new games we’ve got to try! Be sure to check back here regularly through the spring and summer, since I’ll be updating this page more and more as we get into the swing of things.
Thinking about you and another great summer at Flying Cloud,
Peace,
-VZ

Happy Holidays to one and all! I’d like to take a moment to say how thankful I am for each and every one of you, and for the special web of connection we all share thanks to Flying Cloud. So often I’m amazed at how far our network stretches, as well as how deeply it’s rooted in me. As I travel the world, I always fall back on the values I’ve learned in my special summers at Flying Cloud.

I’m writing to let you all know about one of my favorite F&W events of all time…. That’s right, Ice Cutting is coming up! In just a few weeks, hundreds of F&W campers, families, friends and alumni will be gathering at the Tamarack Farmhouse for a weekend of playing in the snow, delicious food and lots of good hard work packing away ice for next summer!

No matter what your connection to FC, it would be great to have you there as part of the team. Perhaps you’re a former camper or staff member and you just need to get a little of the Flying Cloud love. Perhaps you’re a current FC’er and you know how important this work is for making camp run. Better yet, you’re new to the F&W community and this will be your first experience. Lucky you!

Ice Cutting this year will happen on President’s Day weekend, February 15th–18th with the official cutting all day Saturday. Usually this means that everyone arrives Friday evening and settles in at TF, and then after a big breakfast of Farm sausage, scrambled eggs and hot tea, we all head up to FC where the fun begins! Whether you’re sawing ice, pulling blocks out of the water, or running them up the hill, you’ll have a blast, and whenever you need a break there’ll be hot chocolate, GORP and oven-fresh pizza to get you fired up!

So far, we’ve got a nice little handful of FC staff on board, and I’ve heard from a few more guys who really want to be there. I’ll be flying across the country from Washington to see you all! I wouldn’t miss it for the world. You can also expect to see Medicine Shield Dancer, Buffalo Brother Smiles, Wind Stirs the Embers and Osage Panther out there cutting up the ice and packing the Mines chock full!

Come for the weekend or come for the day, however it works out, it’ll be great to get together as a Flying Cloud community and show just how much we love life in the woods. For more information, please contact Janet Stocker in the office at (802) 422-3761 or check the website: http://www.farmandwilderness.org/.

As a reminder of how great it can be, here are a couple of photos from last year (click on them for a larger version):

First you have to get there, which can be hard if you don’t follow the trail!

After cutting ice for a while, it’s time to pull it out.

And make sure to take some time for fresh hot pizza and igloo building!

Once the ice house is full, it’s time to reflect on all our work before heading down the hill for a hot dinner and some dancing! Just one more reminder that work really is “love made visible”.

Hello everyone! It’s been ages I know, but finally I have news!
First, you’ll see on the left that there are two new links in the “Pages” section. One for July and one for August lodge photos! I’m sorry it took me so long to get them up, but I’ve been really busy. (More to come on what I’m up to soon!)

The other main goal of this post is to ask that if you have any amazing photos from the summer, or know anyone who does, please get in touch with me! I’d love to collect and compile all of them so we can share some on the blog and make sure some end up in the F&W archive. I’d especially like to see photos from any trips, and the Fair.

Enjoy the lodge photos, and hopefully you’ll hear more from me soon!

Just a few years ago, Flying Cloud added a wood-fired stone-hearth baking oven to our kitchen repertoire, and we’ve been loving it ever since! For those who can’t quite imagine what I’m talking about, here are a few photos of the process for making one of our favorite products…. Pizza!

First, of course, here’s the oven. As you can see, it’s a large stone base, with a smooth stone hearth, and a brick arch on the inside where we build the fire. On top of that is a layer of clay to help store the heat, and above that is the roof to keep us dry while we work.

To get it ready for baking, we build a nice big fire inside, close up the door and wait a while. As the fire burns, it heats the stone of the oven. Once the fire dies down a little, we sweep out the coals, and then close it up again to give the heat a chance to equalize. After that, we’re ready for baking!

Step 1: Mixing the Dough and shaping it out into pizzas.

Step 1.5: “Proofing” or letting it rise, since everyone needs a little time to rest! (As you may note, those are whole wheat pizza crusts we’re making!)

Step 2: Topping and getting it to the oven. As you can see here, we’ve made a classic and it’s on the peel (the wooden paddle) waiting for its turn in the oven.

Step 3: Baking! Looks gorgeous, doesn’t it? You’ll note here that for a thin bread like pizza, we actually keep a fire going in the back, to make sure the toppings get nice and hot.

Step 4: Dinner time! As a pizza lover myself, I always consider the plain cheese the true test of quality, and I’m happy to say that ours is fabulous!

We’ve also instituted a bread chore this year, which means that every camper gets a chance to bake in the oven at least a couple times each summer, in addition to use on Cook Crew or for an activity. By all reviews, this thing rocks!

Well, amazingly enough we’ve made the transition from first half into second! I’m having the surprising realization that no matter what we do, the summer still slides by. We’re at the fun part of the year now when I’ll casually mention a day of the week, and kids will say “cool…. When’s that?” It’s a nice sign that they’re truly living here and in the moment.
As always, the transition from first to second half can be difficult and painful, with a lot of really wonderful young men leaving the community, but at the same time, we’re all thrilled to be forming a new community, with even more excellent Flying Clouders. This year we had fourteen campers stay full season, which means that nearly half of the camp has already been here for a month. As a result, we’re finding that campers are jumping right into the flow of things with very few of the regular bumps around establishing community norms.

Since we had so many people here over Changeover Day, we decided to do something extra special. I’ve been telling people that the goal for this summer is to make Flying Cloud even more like Flying Cloud, basically meaning that everything we do should be from us, and based on the values we want to uphold. For Changeover, this meant having a party, of sorts….

By lucky chance, I discovered that a handful of people were planning to have a barbecue in our gravel pit the day of changeover, and so we decided we’d send our campers down to investigate. In teams of eight, including one counselor, the campers camouflaged themselves and stalked down to the party as silently as they could. As they approached the gravel pit, they recognized the party-goers as FC staff, listening to music, tossing around a disc and roasting hot dogs. Reassured that FC was at no risk, the campers decided to have a little fun with their beloved counselors. One camper snagged the watermelon we were keeping in the shade, and others snuck up as close as they could, planning all sorts of nefarious tricks. We counselors were caught completely unawares, and the campers were quite happy to have an opportunity to exercise their stalking and invisibility skills.

In another tidbit of exciting news, we’ve hired one more staff member! Wind Stirs the Embers has agreed to join us during second half, to help out with perfecting our FC bread baking techniques and to be a general support person. We’re thrilled to have him, and he’s thrilled to be here.

Finally, here’s a nice photo from the end of first half of our Fire Keeper lighting a bowdrill fire under the watchful eye of his mentor Forest Flame for all the parents who came and spent the day with us during Visiting Day. We played games, did chores, and spent a little while on activities, as well as having a delicious potluck lunch, courtesy of the parents. Thanks to everyone who came!

Hi everyone!
We’ve just finished up the first week of camp, and what a week it was…. Here are a couple of highlights:
Campers arrived on Sunday, which was a wonderful chance for me to meet lots of you parents out there, and finally put faces to names. Thanks to everyone who was able to make it up!
On Thursday we did Work Projects, including such efforts as sprucing up the pond, building steps on our entrance path, and digging stumps out of the trail on the way into the Naming circle.
For your enjoyment, here’s a photo of the new stairs, nearing completion. By the time you come to camp we hope to have a big wooden sign hung over the entryway saying “Welcome to Flying Cloud!”

Thursday closed with a conch stalk as an evening activity. This is one of my favorite wilderness skills training activities, and for many participants the experience can be life changing.

Saturday was set aside to celebrate our interdependence on one another, and the F&W spin on Independence day. After a nine mile hike to Timberlake for dinner, all of F&W gathered together to sing songs, dance, eat ice cream (or soy-cream!) and have a big bonfire. Much fun was had by all.
Interdependence Day is a very special one for Flying Cloud, because it allows us the opportunity to recognize and talk about the value of living in community, and how important all the other camps are in allowing us to live as simply as we do. Without the logistical help from them, and Saltash Mountain Camp in particular, FC would struggle mightily to exist. Our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone.

More next week!
From the clearing with love,
-VZ