The View 3

This is Joe on a very important call with his view. His panorama incorporates the Basketball, Tether-ball and Volleyball courts and sneaks in a little bit of Spectacle Pond. Maybe this is what inspired him to start creating a sun-dial on the tether-ball court.
Right now Joe is busy booking school and college groups in for the spring and fall. He is also helping to plan Trek, our bicycle fund raising event which will take place on May 30th.
Joe likes boats both big and small and is our resident kayak guru.

The View 2

Laura has a pretty sweet view out over Triangle Pond which is now totally frozen over. She is busy at the moment dealing with lots of registrations. Laura also looks after Rafiki and Nala, the camp pigs, which is not easy at this time of year. They are eating lots because of the cold winter we are having and pretty much every morning she has to get there first thing to break the ice on their water. Laura is our resident animal expert and she is away today looking at horses for the summer with Rachel and Donna.

The View

We have some pretty special vistas here at Camp, but the view from some of the staff's desks is better than others. Over the next few weeks we'll take care of two birds with one stone and not only show you the nice views (that some enjoy) but also tell you a bit about the person who gets to enjoy it.

Meet Donna. She enjoys this view out over Triangle Pond. At this time of year Donna is busy organizing our teen programs and is currently interviewing CIT's. She is getting psyched to lead the Ski & Snowboard Adventure during February Vacation. Just out of shot on the photo is Gage, a black labrador puppy who Donna is training to be a seeing eye dog.

Tracks in the snow

Most of you will know, by the fact that you have to dress like the Michelin Man just to let the cat out, that large parts of the Northern Hemisphere are a tad cold at the moment. Camp got some fresh snow on Thursday and the super cold temperature has meant that it is still perfect powder. Cape Cod is a bit too flat for skiing or snowboarding, but there have been some cross country skiers out and about. It is also perfect for tracking. Here ar some shots of tracks we found around the old orchard and ball field at Camp Burgess.

Small mammal who knows where they are going..............

Small mammal who knows not where they are going............

Mice love log piles.........................

And foxes love mice.........................

Eastern Whitetailed Deer...................

The Deer's favorite restaurant.............................

This is not where the deer keep their coffee beans..................

Where the mouse leaves out the trash......................
Mouse highway...................................

Jonas Brothers @ Camp Burgess & Hayward

According to the latest gossip, the Jonas Brothers are scheduled to make an appearance at Camp Burgess & Hayward this summer. So goes the rumor at a local elementary school anyway. Now most of you, especially those who have been involved in staff training, know that rumors and gossip can be dangerous things. As much as we would like to roll with this one for a while, we thought it would be best (before we start getting too many groupies showing up) to let everyone know that it is true.
Sorry we couldn't resist. There will be no Jonas Brothers but who needs celebrities when you have cabaret and campfires.

The Purple Beech

One of the early names that we bounced around for this blog was “The Purple Beech”. The two Purple Beech trees that grow near the Burgess office, next to the old pump-house, are beautiful trees. One is both tall and broad, growing in the full sun, while the other has had to adapt. It has grown in the shade of the pump-house and first tree, sending out long crazy branches to catch the sun where the rays sneak past the neighbors. They're perfect for swinging and climbing on.
One of the cool things about knowing these trees well is that on a cold and miserable day in January, when the trees seem bleak and bare, you know that things will soon brighten up.

A breakfast date with Rafiki and Nala

First you've got to break the ice..............

Then pose for a photo outside the restaurant........

Maybe a quick drink first...............

Excuse me nature calls................

Once everyone is relaxed you can tuck into some nice food.........

A wee stroll around camp...

With the temperature being a balmy 16F with the wind chill, we couldn't resist a wee stroll around the place this lunchtime. Here are some a few shots of a sunny winters day on Spectacle Pond.

We promise we'll tidy up before the summer.........

Leftovers from the December storm...............

Polar bear swim?.................................

How about the Spectacle Challenge. Bring your own dry suit, ice axe and throw rope......

New year, new post.

We were trying to nail down our new years resolutions here on Spectacle Pond when we realized how bad we've been with getting posts on The Electric Spectacle.
It's not because we don't care or because there is nothing going on here, but sometimes you just get caught up doing stuff. Now don't get me wrong, some of this stuff is really important, like taking registrations, hiring staff and feeding Rafiki and Nala (the camp pigs), but you've always got to make time to keep in touch with friends. So from now on we'll keep our priorities in order and make sure we get out for 10 minutes during lunch to snap a few photos of the place. We've got some awesome ideas for stories and features, but if anyone wants to contribute let us know and you can send us a story and some photos. If one of our campers or staff has done something that deserves a mention get it to us and we'll get it out there.
Also, if you think we are slipping with our resolution, feel free to give us a friendly prod, that's what friends are for.
You can contact (or prod) us at camp@ssymca.org.