2019 Venture Vermont: sleep under the stars without a tent

oh, my. it's already nearly september and i have not written one single venture vermont entry and my excuse is i was BUSY.

like, i don't know if i will be able to complete the challenge busy. my ingress sojourner badge broke the weekend of my lifeguard training and i've barely played that since. because busy.

busy doing outdoor things, teaching outdoor things.

but let me try.

anyway, weekend of june 7-9 my girl scout troop camped at Little River State Park and of course there are no pictures of that i can share with you, but there are pictures and i could probably scare up a receipt if i had to.

the naturalist at little river will remember we were there, because as campers there were were the sunset adventure paddle and boy, wasn't that a time.

the weather was very nice, so for the first time ever i pitched my hammock and left the tarp off, and imma have to say that counts as sleeping under the stars; at least it counts as lying awake half the night under a blanket of "it's so pretty".

last time i checked sleeping under the stars had no requirement about sleeping on the ground. i'm not into that anymore. stars = A-OK.  ground = nope.

since that first night (which i did because of this item on the challenge), i have enjoyed several other nights under the stars, a thing i had not done since maybe the late '70's?

i'm calling that one thing checked off on my list.

a conversation with MB

flask
i dropped some food on the floor.
i went to pick it up and pop it in my mouth.
the thing i picked up and tossed in my mouth wasn't food.
it's time to vacuum the closet.
carpet. it's time to vacuum the carpet.
the closets are all pretty clean.

MB
Yeah, or you could stop eating food off the floor. That might be easier
But at least vacuum

flask
it was food-adjacent!

MB
NOT GOOD ENOUGH

flask
why you no like food adjacency?

MB
Because adjacent to food isn't the same as BEING FOOD

flask
but still good enough to TRY.

MB
No

echolocation

i have known for a while that some people can echolocate effectively.

here's a youtube video that helps explain how.

fairy houses

children at girl scout camps have a fondness for building fairy houses. one time we had very many notes to the fairies and we needed to close camp and get business done, so i wrote a letter. i signed it with the glitch name of a real person, so i can't take credit for that, nor can i take credit for using the glitch calendar system to date the letter. i just thought it would lend a lovely not-quite-of-this-world quality to it and quite frankly, i do not think i could have invented a better name for the purpose.

so here's the letter:


Hairday, 29th of Fever
Year 66
Wye Pond Hill
Eventide

Dear Children,

Your eyes cannot read our Fae language, but I and some of the others have some learning in your letters.

Wee are very fond of Girl Scouts ever since they named Brownie Scouts for our cousins, the Brownies.

Wee have enjoyed so very much your gifts, and when wee are small wee love living in the houses you build. It has been so much fun trading notes and surprises with you that wee will be a little sad to get back on out tour bus after our convention is over.

Wee have stayed perhaps too long in the houses of our sisters and brothers on Wye Pond Hill but they will enjoy quiet again soon.

Remember that wherever there is a spirit of kindness, a playful spirit or merrie magic, wee are near. Take care of yourselves and take care of each other. Be kind to the land and the water and the air and care for all the creatures that walk, crawl, slither, swim, or fly.

Thank you for your kindness, and look for us again in green forests where there is laughter and delight.

Yours Truly
With Love and Respect,
Voluptua Sneezelips
Corresponding Seretary
Jethimadh Chapter
International Guild of Traveling Fairies

festival of pernicious odors

two weeks. four different camps. a limited number of showers. no shortage of opportunities to get dirty and sweaty.

clothes for paddling, clothes for swimming, camping gear, naturalist equipment, nine pairs of shoes.

in short, my car smells terrible.

things go to hell

facsism is on the rise. nationalism is on the rise. racism is on the rise.

sometimes i just have a difficult time coping with all the shootings and the poverty and the fear.

what helps me is to go to camp.

yeah, going camping is nice, but i'm talkin' 'bout summer camp. with children.

for the girl scouts in particular, but it would work with any camp, i guess.

because when things are going to hell in the adult world, i like to retreat to a small enclave where i can talk to children about Being Good People and what that looks like.

it looks like taking turns. it looks like settling arguments fairly, with as little adult intervention as possible. it means not calling people nicknames they don't like. it means giving everyone a chance to try things and not criticizing them if they're not good at everything yet, or if they don't know things.

i get to work with girls especially and teach them how to use sharp tools and do experiments that require safety glasses and i get to take their concerns and their lives seriously. i get to help them negotiate practicing adult skills because, i tell them, one day you will be an adult and you will be glad you practiced this.

i'm a nicer person when i'm helping young people do things. i don't have as much time to ride my bike or go camping myself or read novels, but i can feel a little better about one little corner of the world.