Camp Season 2008

Summer camps are up and running.

Here's a shot taken a few days ago at my friend Rob's camp, up in the White Mountains.

A bonfire like this beats the tube every time.

Wish I was there.

Unplug

We've linked to other Lowell Monke articles in the past. Here's a link to his first article in Orion. Worth considering.

Computers not only divert students from recess and other unstructured experiences, but also replace those authentic experiences with virtual ones. According to surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation and others, school-age children spend, on average, around five hours a day in front of screens for recreational purposes. All that screen time is supplemented by the hundreds of impressive computer projects now taking place in schools. Yet these projects—the steady diet of virtual trips to the Antarctic, virtual climbs to the summit of Mount Everest, and trips into cyber-orbit that represent one technological high after another—generate only vicarious thrills. The student doesn’t actually soar above the Earth, doesn’t trek across icy terrain, doesn’t climb a mountain. Increasingly, she isn’t even allowed to climb to the top of the jungle gym.

The Times They Are a Changin'

NO gas, 2015. Mercedes takes the plunge.

National Pollinators Week

Bees and other pollinators are critical to our survival. They've taken quite a beating recently, and the Fish and Wildlife Service is focusing on their importance this week.

Check it out here, don't forget to listen to a podcast or two.

The Spot

There's a spot on Lowes Path in Randolph New Hampshire that's a special one for myself and a couple of my friends. It is situated above a place called the Quay, which provides the hiker with an incredible view to the north and west of Nowell Ridge on Mount Adams. Our spot is called the caretaker's throne, and it is a rock "chair" that I would sit in at some point every day I worked up on that mountain. It was that place where you could think about the world, yourself, and how incredible it all is--connect. It truly is my place, even though I have not been up there now for a few years. The picture above shows my friend Pete sitting at the spot, watching the intricate winter weather swirl around.

I came across a blog post that talks about these special spots in nature, and ways we can get to know them better and articulate what they mean to us. Check it out and give it a try.

Camp Food

In 1976 I worked at a camp in Bozrah, CT called Camp Tadma. It was an amazing summer as I worked on the waterfront and the nature center. A contributing factor to the great times was our chef, Joe Grillo. His cooking was masterful, and we ate like kings the whole summer. Joe made cooking good food fun. I won't even go into some of the mischief we got into as we lived outside the whole summer, but savored every meal and unfortunately we only got to benefit from Joe's cooking for one season.

Here's a different take on camp food from the NY Times.

“Camp food is terrible,” said Susan B. Roberts, director of the energy metabolism laboratory at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. “The problem is that they are doing what is easiest — the lowest common denominator for what kids like, and on top of that usually it has to be not something that goes bad and is no work to prepare.”

A postscript, Joe later went on to become Joe "Gypsy" Grillo, the famous PGA Caddy, and we never knew he golfed.

Campout

This weekend is the 4th annual Great American Backyard Campout.

Learn more here.