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| In our opening meeting, we talked about carving, but our outings don't always go as planned. |
There are several consistent, or “core”, routines that we practice during outings and encourage our Explorers to do on their own. Giving thanks is a good example…we give thanks and share apples at the end of every outing. Questioning and tracking are skills we work on regularly and address more intently when we focus on Tracking and Bird Language. It may seem sometimes that we’re a bit lost or without a destination; we’re actually Wandering, following where our curiosity leads. Each of these is a core routine that we incorporate into our time with the Explorers as appropriate (sometimes what we end up doing isn’t in the plan because the mentors seize on a chance to practice a core routine!).
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| Wildlife observation is one of the many potential benefit of a nature based contemplative practice such as a sit spot. |
The Sit Spot is a core routine that we employ more often than some others. This is quiet time alone (but always within “crow call” distance) in a natural setting with no purpose other than to connect. The usual way we connect is through sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. In fact, Senses is one of the 5 S's of a Sit Spot. The others? Solo/Silent/Safe/Still. With the younger boys, we ask them to sit for about 10 minutes. The Cave Dwellers are more capable so we set the time at 15 or 20 minutes.
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| A big thanks to the Stimpson family for setting aside this wonderful site. |
I bring this up now because your Explorers sat in a steady rain at Stimpson Family Nature Reserve on Saturday. They gazed through the raindrops at the moss covered logs and irregular pattern of growing circles on the surface of Geneva pond, all the time showing an impressive interest in deepening their relationship with the natural world surrounding them. I was proud of each of them.
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| Trying to fit close to a dozen boys under a tarp to carve brings new meaning to the term "blood circle". We decided against testing it! |
Our skill for the spring is carving; our intention was to begin work on carving projects that will run throughout the season. However, the rain got the better of us. The tarp shelter that mentor Tim constructed wasn’t large enough to accommodate a cadre of boys with knives! Likewise, the thought of carving in the rain was unappealing and potentially unsafe. So, in the spirit of following the inspiration provided by the weather, we played an awesome game of Spider’s Web and several rounds of Hungry, Hungry Marten.
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| The rain didn't deter the Explorers from playing Spider's Web and Hungry, Hungry Marten, seen here. |
A few boys were bothered by being cold and wet, but all persevered. Soaked to the skin and more than a little muddy, our hike out felt a good bit longer than the walk in. Again, these boys showed resilience and persistence. We were quite late (sorry about that), but left the Reserve a little more connected than when we got there.
The rest of the photo gallery is a portrayal of boys and rain and boys and rain….
We next venture out on Saturday, March 25th, from 10:00am-4:00pm. Note that this is an *EXTENDED OUTING*. We're going to hop in one of Wild Whatcom’s trusty buses and motor out to Racehorse Falls, a beautiful site and a great place for a Sit Spot!
