Our "Final Four" - Farm & Wilderness

In the next four days, we have our “Final Four.”  We are harvesting much of the food from our gardens so that we can have a meal entirely from our farm.  We have already been making our own aged cheddar and other types of cheese and having breakfast greens from the garden every morning.  Now we can involve the whole “family” (ie, everyone at camp) in the harvesting and preparing of a meal of harvest celebration.  This meal will include salad, roast vegetables and also chicken that was raised at F&W.  The preparation of the chicken is entirely voluntary, and allows campers, if they wish, to truly experience the full farm animal-to-table experience in a compassionate way.

We also will be continuing our run of unforgettable All Camp Games with an anticipated classic – “Spy Night,”  where contacts, apprentices, and spies collaborate to find clever routes into the upper lodge, eluding capture, and even more clever means of concealing their message from searchers.

Immediately after Harvest Meal, we will begin decorating our lodge for a full 24 hours so we can utterly transform it for our final Banquet meal.  There is a theme, and we create an unrecognizable and magical world with a complex skit and set of tasks that must be accomplished before entering the Banquet Hall.

And yes, we will also be a contributing part to The Fair, when F&W throws open it’s doors to friends and neighbors and we run homemade rides and food and fun for families from near and far.   We are working on training campers to run the rides, our burger stand, preparing tea bags full of farm grown tea and much more.

Between all these events, campers are working to complete goals they have committed to – there is a swim around the entire lake, a 24-hour solo, a new hanging bench swing for the waterfront, leading local hikes and many other skill areas.

Finally, there needs to be enough energy to hold the most simple things – the way we treat each other each day.   We can never be so focused on grand unforgettable events and personal goals that we forget to appreciate each other, to laugh with each other – the be friends with each other.

Thank you for being part of this journey.  If we measured time in experiences and significant events rather than minutes and weeks, then I believe your child has been here for about a year.  See you at Fair!!