Seussical Saturday

The trail pace on Saturday was like none other. Riders rode the trails looking for Dr. Seuss book titles. We've not done book titles before. So there were giggles and talk as teams of two scoured the woods for one book title, then three or four and upwards to thirteen.

I personally love trail pace day. I see kids helping other kids as they mount, need fly spray, check girths and stirrup lengths. Reassurances are offered to those who are a little nervous, and yet when riders return to the barn, they look calm, confident and even a bit taller in the saddle.

Trail pace day is a transition from one week to another. During the first week, riders get comfortable with the barn routines and their horse. They learn their way around. Many practice

defining their needs and speaking up about them. Others discover how to involve themselves in the Sprucelands way of doing things. It is after all different from their barn at home.

The second week everyone knows their way around and riders function with a confidence that comes in part from knowing they can be independent. The trail pace helps develop that

confidence and consequently riders are more in tune with their horses during the second week.

Well, the kids were all about business on Saturday. They moved with determination, dedicated to completing their independent ride on Spruceland trails. So you know, we place adult staff around camp with walkietalkies in case the kids get lost or need help. Interestingly, our riders are so courageous that

help is seldom needed. They trudge on. The ride generally takes between 25-45 minutes.

There is a briefing of team leaders prior to the ride. Saturday they were told their team had a task to do: (1) To count how many Dr. Seuss book titles were listed on the marked trail; (2) to see how many titles the team could remember when they returned to the barn; (3) to figure out which Dr. Seuss title was longest; and (4) to tell how many different colors were used in the book title signs. In order to qualify in the pace 'competition' everyone had this job to do.

In every trail pace riders are timed. Their is an actual time for individual teams and we also ask each team for a guesstimate of how long they think the ride will take them.

The winner for the actual time is the team that rides closest to the average of all those who participate in the trail pace. It's not about going fast. And then there is of course the winning team closest to their guesstimate. It is a way we have of insuring an all inclusive safe ride.

I plan the trail and mark it at 6 a.m. Sigh. That means I thoroughly appreciate rest hour on Saturday trail pace days. It also means my team is the first man out, so to speak. Gives us a chance to participate in the pace and check out whether the trail is marked appropriately.

Well, when teams returned to the barn, we got our heads together on book titles. That meant a hunk of time was invested in remembering just what was seen on the trail. Here you see Dani and Hannah working hard at recalling their titles.

Riders carefully and thoughtfully cooled out their horses so the horses were ready to do it all over again with a different team. Quite a number of horses repeat the trail two or three times, sometimes more, in a busy trail pace Saturday.

The average winning time was 31 minutes 4 seconds. Actual time winners were: Emily K on Marea and Jessica L on Honey with a time of 31 minutes 5 seconds. That's pretty

awesome, don't you think? We also recognize second and third place teams.

Guesstimate winners were: Alie R on Sunrise and Chris B on Boomer. They guessed they would ride the trail in 29 minutes 29 seconds. Their time was 29 minutes 26 seconds, only three seconds off their guess time.

Saturday afternoons we have an extended rest hour and then Saturday evening we thoroughly enjoy a combined karaoke/dance night. Never a dull moment...and each one is memorable.

Fabulous Friday

Friday was a lot of fun. Riding filled the morning and then in the afternoon campers and staff alike joined creative energy in the art room and on the athletic field.

Jaime was busy in the art room teaching anyone

interested how to make beads out of something

called sculpey. Since she has been going to art school and has become expert in art mediums, she is passing along some of her artistic knowledge especially ideas for jewelry.

Of course, the kids ended up building novel sculpey sculptures in addition to beads for necklaces and bracelets. They engineered everything from Dr. Seuss items to little horses, gumby creatures and even Snoopy sitting on top of his doghouse. The sculptures were completed in the cook's oven upstairs. Our cook has such patience with us. We are very lucky to have her.

In the evening, we problem solved in another novel evening program. One activity started with everyone having letters of the alphabet. Their job was to mingle until they found others with letters that could help them spell a word or the name of a person or place.

For a while, camp sounded like the noisy

marketplace or perhaps the stock market because everyone was shouting out their different alphabet letters in hopes of building a word. You can see Matt in the photo above as he does his best to find the letters he needed for his word masterpiece.

Eventually both simple and complicated words were made and many were cleverly done. The exercise was yet another team spirit effort. It was amazing to watch teamwork in action.

Another Fabulous Friday hit was the game 'Murder'. That was in fact a very innocent and funny approach to eliminating friends and adding a bit of mystery to the evening.

The group mingled on the front lawn of the lodge. There was a murderer and a detective.

Everyone shook hands with each other a multitude of times. The person secretly dubbed murderer would rub or gently itch a person's hand during the process of shaking hands and that was the signal to die. The detective was challenged to figure out who the murderer was. Good game.

We had kids dying all over the front lawn, and often dramatically. I have to say we have a bunch of drama kings and queens in this session. They are hysterically funny. I keep saying that I know, but it's true and it's wonderful.

Barn Routines

Remember my puppy, Lily? She was 8 weeks old on Valentine's Day and has been increasing in size and personality ever since.

I get a big kick out of Lily because she makes sure camp is cleaned up. Anything on the ground gets dragged around to unimaginable places and shredded if the item goes unnoticed. That includes everything from sneakers on the waterfront to brushes at the barn.

So I'm finding campers are being very careful what they leave around. I wonder if the Health Department passed Lily a message when I wasn't looking!

Anyway, we want you to know that the barn routines are underway. Riding lessons are in full swing. Riders are getting schooled in walk, trot, canter, balance and control as well as practice with subtle and clear messages to their horses. It takes time to feel the importance of quiet communication between rider and horse, communication through aides like voice, weight, hands, seat, and legs.

At the start of each lesson, there is a warm up. Riders like Lia stretch with exercises that were first learned years ago by Eileen at Center Riding clinics. Stretching helps each rider get their seat into the saddle correctly. In the process, horses like Romeo readjust and gradually balance so they are solidly under the rider.

We school riders in the basic warm up skills so they can transfer those skills to their riding at home. That way rider horses also benefit from the Sprucelands camp experience.

What is fun about seeing the barn in motion is enjoying the addition of trail rides. As riders become adept in the ring, they are included on trails, and that means they must be comfortable with starting and stopping as well as steering at a walk and trot. Eventually, trails move faster and riders enjoy adding canters to their ride.

This is a photo of our first trail ride for the 2009 season. The horses are looking good. They have entered our summer season in much better shape than previous years. Putting them on a more holistic diet has made a huge difference. Their coats shine. They are round. Their stamina is good, and they are more settled meaning less agitated with each other and less reactive around and away from the barn. For that I am grateful. While riders are safer, so horses are happier, and that means life is good.

Lightning Letter

This is a letter to Lightning's mom who is very busy anticipating a new baby. So that Lightning had something active and special to do across the summer, he came to camp. We think it's appropriate to write a letter home.

Dear Mom,

I'm so glad you let me come to camp 'cause I've been makin' tons of new friends. It was rough with the horses at first. I was scared of Harry 'cause he didn't like me. He put his ears back and chased me around.

One time I jumped the fence and went into the pasture with the girls 'cause I thought they'd rescue me. Instead, they said, "Get a grip. If you think you're so special, then convince Harry. Stand up to him or you'll never like it here. We certainly aren't going to spend our time rescuing you."

So I swallowed hard, planted my feet and told Harry to cut it out and he leaves me alone now. We're best buds. The other day we ate next to each other in the pasture and guess what? He told me I was cool.

The campers came last Sunday. That changes the barn routines. There's groomin' and tackin' up every single day. The kids actually talk to me while they put my saddle on and do up my bridle. Doesn't matter though. It's kinda fun. You should hear the secrets they tell me.

Hey. Guess what? I don't get upset anymore when I'm in my stall. In fact I like it there. I get a chance to sleep and dream about all the pretty mares in the back paddock.

I really think one of them likes me. She smiles and winks at me sometimes. Her name is Thunder. She's cute, a little shorter than me. We could make a good team if she'd let me be her friend. We'd be Thunder and Lightning.

This is Tarrah. She rides me in lessons sometimes. We have fun together. Tarrah has her own horse, and believe it or not, she still likes me. A few other riders like me too. One of them said I was handsome and I blushed. We ride in the ring and we're doing trails.

Anyway, I'm being a good boy, Mom. I'm so glad I'm here. It's really fun. Thanks.

School is Out

You may be wondering where the horses are because there haven't been photos of kids riding or grooming or connecting with their four-legged buddies. Well, that's because I've been in school while the riding program buzzed at the barn. Thursday was my last day.

So Friday I celebrated my freedom by taking my camera and capturing moments in horsey-town. I clomped around in the mud with the kids after major rains on Thursday, and enjoyed watching the Sprucelands horse experience happen.

Always there is a sense of humor, especially in this session. We all know having a horse is more than riding. It is feeding, grooming, tacking, and cleaning stalls. It is dedication to our horses; it is teamwork fair and square.

Friday our boys put a fun twist on the work. They made a relay to do stalls quickly. I laughed when I took this photo. They are characters. Talk about Ma and Pa Kettle. This is the motley stall-relay-in-the-mud-barn-crew. They crack me up. That's Andrew, Josh, Matt and Daley.

Moving around the barn, I witnessed those wonderful connections between kids and horses again. I suddenly realized how much I missed the campers over the winter. While I keep riding lessons and weekend clinics going, it just isn't the same as the day-to-day sharing of responsibility that happens at camp. I actually get lonely here in the off season.

Anyway, the horse connections give me wonderful photos like this one with Robyn and Harry. Robyn is one of our Counselors in Training this year. She loves Harry and is doing well with him. Their relationship has been ongoing. Harry needs Robyn as much as Robyn needs Harry. In fact, Harry's people-to-people summer experience helps him with an optimism about life that is so important, even for horses.

Hit-the-Deck 2009

Whacky Wednesday proved our game Hit-the-Deck is alive and well at Sprucelands. We want everyone who has ever been to Sprucelands and who has ever played a version of Hit-the-Deck to know that Hit-the-Deck is BACK!!!! Those of you who are registered for future sessions will participate, laugh hysterically and be as tired as we were when we finished on Wednesday.

Of course, we were all decked out, pardon the pun, in our Whacky Wednesday fancy duds from the Fashion Show. After we strutted our stuff on the Dr. Seuss tennis court runway, we put on our game face, found a partner and played Hit-the-Deck until our heart's content.

In the past, we adapted Hit-the-Deck to previous summer themes. Our Harry Potter theme, for example, came up with a unique and rather interesting approach to Hit-the-Deck. So did last summer's SHREK.

This year we are with All Things Dr. Seuss and I think we have added something called Jellyfish. Otherwise, we are enjoying the traditional Hit-the-Deck directions. You can see Lia and Liana here doing the jellyfish move as they shake their legs in the air and laugh. An added perk for silliness are their whacky outfits.

So the fun continues. Laughter keeps us in the game and motivates us to beg for more. Every player's physical stamina is taxed. It is an exhausting game because the leader calls out commands that require a quick response.

When "man overboard" is hollered, one player leaps onto another's back. Another direction - "up periscope" - means the entire population dives onto the ground and thrusts one leg into the air. There are directions for which way to move on the athletic field and more.

With every game, there is a winning team. You see three pairs above: Matt and Tarrah, Kristin and Taylor, Hannah and Liana.

Sprucelands says everyone is a winner who dares to play. Those who last the longest, however, are definitely recognized for their stamina, courage, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Someday you need to come play with us. I promise you'll sleep good at night.

Whacky Wednesday

Wednesday was another beautiful, clear summer day and all of camp made it Whacky Wednesday. Everyone came to the lodge for breakfast dressed in outfits that were definitely out of the ordinary. Dr. Seuss would have included every character in one of his stories. They were bright and funny. Each camper and staff member expressed their individuality in fun.

There were whacky surprises waiting in the lodge. Furniture was rearranged. The buffets for all three meals were backwards. Songs were as silly as ever. There was lots of outrageous Dr. Seuss rhyming. All day long, the day entertained.

When the temps heated up in the morning however and the humidity increase, everyone begged to shed their outfits. They were overwhelmed with their layers, especially uncomfortable when thinking about riding in classes. So lots of noise was made by our medical personnel about drinking enough water, and the outfits waited for a Whacky Wednesday Fashion Show at evening program.

One of our Hill Parents is a nurse. She has been working hard for several years to teach the kids the importance of water in the heat. With her medical background, she humorously says the key to knowing you have enough water in your system is that you'll have to go to the bathroom. Her motto in camp is: Drink 3 and pee.

Because of her kid-friendly emphasis, we thankfully have very few incidents of heatstroke and sunstroke. Anyway, she created a poem for getting us to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Here goes. You might as well join in the fun!

The sun brightly shined and we wanted to play,
So we drank lots of water on that hot, hot day.

We drank one cold water, then two and then three,
We made sure we were hydrated, then had to pee!

So hydrate dear campers and staff one and all,
and wear proper footwear when you come to play ball!

Well, everyone managed the hot, humid day with water bottles in hand, and then the Whacky Wednesday Fashion Show was an evening program hit.

I can't resist showing you these photos. They are so colorful, and again the kids had a silly time just being kids together...and learning to hydrate in the heat. Good lessons for us all.

To Mom and Dad

I want to insert a little post here to let Manon's mom and dad know that she is here safely and enjoying herself with friends.

Manon (on the left) lives near Paris, France. She came last summer as a camper and this summer she joins us as a Counselor in Training. Her friendship has enriched our lives because she is genuine, caring, creative, and sincerely happy at Sprucelands.

We are happy to have campers from around the globe. Sprucelands is an awesome joining of many cultures. Two additional French campers join us during the last session of camp, and for six weeks we have a Romanian camper that will bring a whole new perspective into the Sprucelands experience. She will be joined by two siblings, so we are excited about making these new friends.

Often we talk about the Sprucelands Spirit. More than anything it is a connection with each other that is priceless. You'll hear me talk about it across the summer. It is a connection that both recognizes and celebrates the uniqueness in each person. To realize that we can join hearts around the world is phenomenal, and who knows, maybe together we will all make a difference.

Terrific Tuesday Creativity

Evening program on our Dr. Seuss Terrific Tuesday was interesting and creative. Campers and staff joined together to create innovative skits using items they were given in a bag. At Sprucelands, we refer to these as bag skits. It was a program requested by campers and so it was an instant design for evening fun.

Following the Dr. Seuss story framework for rhyming words, most of the groups put a skit together using the rhyming technique. It was awesome. I wish I could reproduce some of their rhyming stories. Here you see a character created by our wonderful camper, Rachel. She was the Cat in the Hat in her skit.

What I enjoyed watching during skit construction was the cooperation and teamwork amongst the kids. They gathered in their groups, looked at their items, and brainstormed about what they could do.

A little at a time, you'd see a light go on as individuals came up with ideas and shared the possibilities for using the idea in their skit. Then they'd laugh and laugh about whatever their visions were.

So the process was almost the best part of this program. I loved the collaboration that happened. Everyone contributed. No one was grumpy because an idea was rejected or because they didn't want to participate. No one complained about the props. Skits were played out and replayed until the kids had it put together the way they wanted.

The results were fun and funny, creative and spontaneous. I do believe we could have created brand new possibilities for Dr. Seuss books. In fact, I think Dr. Seuss would be proud of us and what we are doing this summer at camp.

Sprucelands is unique as she takes the kids back to the basics. I remember as a kid creating little plays with items that I'd find. My sister and I used to entertain each other and our folks with the stories we made.

Sometimes my grandmother would let us play dress up and that was great fodder for another little play. It was simple, basic fun and when I think of my childhood, it is a memory that makes me smile.

So Sprucelands is working hard to let kids be kids, giving them the opportunity to find joy in creating simple fun with silly friends. Ah, memories!

Terrific Tuesday

I am constantly amazed at the gifts I've been given. One of the many is the view we get across our lake in the morning. After seeing this view transform itself from fall to winter to spring and now summer, I really appreciate a picture like you see here.

Some summer days clouds hover over the water. The mist gives an early morning magic to what I see. Yesterday's view was as you see here: clear, crisp, sunny, blue. So the day started off really well. A lovely summer's day for everyone.

Riding at the barn was awesome both on Monday and Tuesday. Jaime says the kids are doing really well and the horses are happy to be back at it again. I missed it all because I'm still in school. Today is the last day with students. Hurray! Then I'll really be there taking pictures.

When I got home in the afternoon though, there was fun everywhere. The art room was busy with beads. Then there were Kan Jam Frisbee games on the front lawn while others were swimming and boating. It was actually warm enough to have fun in the water!

Kan Jam Frisbee is a new game for me. It's a bit challenging actually although after much practice the competition picks up and those participating really do well. Here you see Jaime taking turns with Tarrah. The kids rotated in and out so there was never a dull moment.

I love learning new games. Apparently this is popular amongst college kids. In fact, I understand it was created by some college kids out there somewhere and now they are millionaires because they thought outside the box and shared their creative thinking with the world. Wow! What kids can do!

At evening program, Dr. Seuss took over bigtime. There were funky, rhyming skits that tickled everyone's fancy, and then we played a drama game called Freeze. I have to tell you I haven't laughed as hard in years. Oh my gosh! The kids were spontaneous, creative, outrageously funny and ready to go on for hours. They graduated to yet another group game however and then it was bedtime. This was one of the most terrific Tuesdays on record!

Monday Madness

Yesterday's evening program was productive and fun. We started the evening by brainstorming program ideas: programs that campers wanted to make sure they do before going home and programs that have a new twist, programs we've not done before. My goodness! What a long list came out of the brainstorming! It will be interesting to see if we can accomplish half of what is on the kids agenda.

div>I love that we can encourage everyone to put ideas into the pot. Often that means we generate new programs for this year and years to come. Keeps us from getting stale. Helps everyone feel as though they are contributing and as a result everyone also looks forward to evening program.

After brainstorming, we moved onto the athletic field for a wide variety of tag games. Matt and Josh got into the spirit of things by insisting everyone stretch out prior to running. So they started us all off with football exercises. Then Alie led us in hospital tag, hug tag, mutant ninja turtle tag, and more. The kids ran and laughed and rolled on the ground and met new friends.


At the same time, I saw a new appreciation emerging from older campers for those in the younger set. Why? Because the younger campers have matured considerably since last summer and with that maturity has come speed in their running and agility which means a new sense of competition. The younger campers have longer legs and give older campers a run for their money now. It's really fun to watch. You can see in my blurry photo here that few were standing still in our games last night.

I must confess this all feels really good. To have camp busy again is wonderful. The buzz, the cheers, the enthusiasm, everything is so right.

Laughter Returns

One of the most exciting aspects of camp is the return of laughter. Silly laughter. Belly laughter. Laughter in the mud. Laughter in the rain. Giggles in the dining hall and at evening programs. Laughs on the waterfront and in the Nart room. Smiles during singing. Laughter at anything and everything, especially stuff that doesn't make sense or even stuff that makes sense. Just give us a reason to laugh at camp and we're there!

The staff gets into laughter. Campers jump in and even the dogs become entertaining. My puppy Lily has grown to a 6 month dog and is quite a character, playing tug of war with the lifeline on the waterfront, running away with life preservers, and carrying around sneakers and socks. She's a regular clown.

Camp is a great release. We get to do things here that are spontaneous, creative, and totally outrageous. It swallows us up and gives us permission to let the little kid inside us play. I of course love playing after being so responsible all year. Between school and horses and camp business and photography, I'm spread thin. Camp means I need to let go of the responsibility and just enjoy. I actually discover it's difficult to make that transition!!

I sometimes notice us crying when we laugh so much, especially us adults. It's as if we realize that we haven't laughed enough and there's momentary grief about that. But after we immerse ourselves in the laughter for a while, then we thrive on it and our perspectives about life in general become genuinely upbeat.

Just look at Tarrah and Jaime standing in a mud puddle. Where in our busy college-work-city life do we have an opportunity to do that? These are the girls on opening day. Long story. That's another blog post. Give me time. I'll get to it.

The other wonderful side benefit of laughter is how staff and campers care for each other. There's an open gratitude for the laugh connections we make, and spontaneous hugs happen that are real and heartfelt.

Memories are made. Sometimes deep discussions evolve. Other times, feelings sneak in that surprise us and we realize that sharing our weak moments make us strong together.

A lot of this laughter and talking and spontaneity is what Sprucelands is all about. Yes. We do horses until our heart is content, but the people connection is another of the reasons why we are here. Sprucelands becomes a summer experience. It is so much more than just camp.

Opening Day 2009

We're back and ready for a terrific summer! This is what we looked like yesterday. Sue has in fact engineered another decorating job in the Camp Lodge, this time for All Things Dr. Seuss. She's amazing! Best of all, Counselors and CITs pitched in to help her saturate the Lodge with characters from Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, The Lorax and more.

It's really fun to see the transformation from the cold, empty winter Lodge to the vibrant, alive, happy summer scene. The Teck family donated a wide variety of Dr. Seuss posters for the walls AND for campers to use in cabins. For their contribution we are totally grateful because it is possible then for our summer theme to permeate all parts of camp.

Of course, it didn't take long for the ping pong and foosball games to begin. Campers find a reconnection with each other as they catch up on the year's news. A little at a time, they also rediscover their friends and are enlightened by changes that have happened to them across this last school year. For many, the year was stressful, but now they have an opportunity to let themselves be free and funny. It's so good to feel the energy ignite the Sprucelands spirit again.