Sunday, July 30, 2006
Summer half over
It's crazy to think that our summer is already half over. The past two weeks have gone by quickly. Two weeks ago we had a crowd of rambunctious 8-10 year olds come through camp and drain the energy of our staff. This last week, however, we had a bunch of veteran 10-12 year olds that helped the week run smoothly. Last weekend we went to two weddings, one in Rosthern and one in Tofield. We were fortunate enough to spend some time at my parents house and overall it was a wonderful weekend.
Friday, July 14, 2006
First Camp Week
The last week was our first full week of camp this summer. It was a smaller camp which makes for better bonding opportunities and smoother transitions all week. Our Nature Leader stepped up as our chaplain which was terrific and the campers and staff had a great time. Our staff is doing a wonderful job and it is a real pleasure to work at camp again this summer.
Even though I was fairly busy I did manage to get in some fluke birding as I was trying to find one of our overnighter spots off property. As I was on my way I was suddenly surrounded by at least three Great Grey Owls. They seemed agitated so I did not stay longer than 5 minutes, but it did not take long for me to realize that this was the family of Owls that nested at camp Valaqua. I saw at least two of the Great Greys and heard at least one more adolescence. The Mother had her defined features; the larger build and clearly lined face. The "babies" were now about as tall as the mother and had a similar wingspan, but were fluffier and skinnier and of course with less defined facial lines.
Another highlight for me personally was of course our hike. I was no doubt one of the people in charge but given the group this really wasn't a stress for me, but more of a break. Grotto Canyon was scenic and it had a variety of relaxing hang-out spots. We saw ancient hieroglyphs and unique watter lapped rocks.
Niki's is enjoying her job and doing very well at it. She just finished two busy weeks and is looking forward to a more relaxed schedule. I have heard very positive feedback from the CIT's.
Even though I was fairly busy I did manage to get in some fluke birding as I was trying to find one of our overnighter spots off property. As I was on my way I was suddenly surrounded by at least three Great Grey Owls. They seemed agitated so I did not stay longer than 5 minutes, but it did not take long for me to realize that this was the family of Owls that nested at camp Valaqua. I saw at least two of the Great Greys and heard at least one more adolescence. The Mother had her defined features; the larger build and clearly lined face. The "babies" were now about as tall as the mother and had a similar wingspan, but were fluffier and skinnier and of course with less defined facial lines.
Another highlight for me personally was of course our hike. I was no doubt one of the people in charge but given the group this really wasn't a stress for me, but more of a break. Grotto Canyon was scenic and it had a variety of relaxing hang-out spots. We saw ancient hieroglyphs and unique watter lapped rocks.
Niki's is enjoying her job and doing very well at it. She just finished two busy weeks and is looking forward to a more relaxed schedule. I have heard very positive feedback from the CIT's.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Camp Begins
Hey,
A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. First of all, last weekend was mini camp at Camp Valaqua. This was a chance for many of us to get used to our roles for the summer. It was my first time performing the duties of Assistant Director and Jon's first time as Director. It all went fairly well in our opinion. Families seemed to be having a great time and there were no significant problems. Seven hours after mini camp we started our staff orientation. At first it was a bit overwhelming to be overtaken by people, but I got used to it soon. We did lots of team building activities and standard sessions. We have a great staff this year. This week is our first "regular" camp and we don't have a chaplain. In my years at camp there has never been a week without a volunteer chaplain. Because we don't have many campers we can hopefully count on support staff to fill in for the chaplain role.
Outside of camp we are looking forward to going to Northern Ireland in the fall. We have received volunteer visas and bought plane tickets. We also look forward to going to see a play next weekend at the Rosebud theater with our parents and the weekend following that going to Matt and Emma's wedding and Kerry and Mark's wedding.
As for birding highlights, I had the opportunity to watch male and female three toed woodpeckers play together. And on the other end of camp we have found a woodpecker nest. I haven't actually seen any woodpeckers there yet, but we can definitely hear the young ones coming from the nest.
Regarding photography, Niki and I have been developing our skills and been given lots of opportunity to practice, as well as lots of compliments from all kinds of people. I personally don't like to put our nice shots on the blo
g because I'm afraid of someone stealing the shots. So simply ask us to see our pictures when you see us next. Since mini camp I have been given lots of time to practice people shots, so I am learning on that front. You can see one of my people shots (right) in the most recent Mennonite. It says "camp Valaqua photo", but what they mean is "Photo taken by Jason Fehr."
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