Spring is springing

As the days get warmer camp starts to spring to life. We have our first group of campers in this weekend and to welcome them to camp the geese have started pairing up. This means that pretty soon they will be building nests, laying eggs and then vigorously guarding them. Before long out will pop the cute little goslings, who remain cute for about a week. You guys know the rest of the story. So far there have been no sitings of the "Doose" or "Guck", the mysterious creature that some have claimed to be a cross between a Goose and a Duck. We'll keep our eyes open and camera at the ready.

March

Have you ever heard anyone say that March is their favorite Month? Didn't think so. In New England it feels like one month of winter too many.
For the Romans, March was the first month of the year and named Martius after Mars, the god of war. In Rome, where the climate is Mediterranean, March is the first month of spring, a logical point for the beginning of the year as well as the military campaign season.
In Finnish, the month is called maaliskuu, which originates from maallinen kuu, meaning earthy month, because during maaliskuu, earth finally became visible under the snow. Historical names for March include the Saxon Lenctmonat, named after the equinox (more on the equinox later in the month) and gradual lengthening of days, and the eventual namesake of Lent.
It definitely means the start of the new year at Camp. Even though we've had groups here through the winter, March is when things start to happen, with groups here every weekend. At the end of March we will start to get our first staff arriving and things will really get moving.
Bring on the spring.

Crazy Ice

First the disclaimer - It is very dangerous to go out on frozen water unless you are with an adult who knows what they are doing. All of these photos were taken about five feet from the edge of Triangle, Lawrence and Spectacle Ponds where the water is only about a foot deep.

The ponds are starting to melt again, but here are some cool pictures of the crazy natural holes and gaps you could find walking around the ponds last week.

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...................................

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.