Good morning, friends and family! Humming Bird here! Man, camp sure is different without our campers! The swings are sitting quietly, the tetherballs hang limp in the still air, and the torches lay cold in the International House. The campers are gone, and our Valley begins its patient slumber until the beginning of the next season.

On behalf of everyone here at camp, we would like to thank you for sharing your campers with us this summer. They have each contributed their talent, compassion, humor, and light to our community, each member of which is personally responsible for the magic that we all saw and felt this summer. Thank you, folks at home, for allowing your campers to create the experience with us! 

In the coming months of anticipation for next summer, you can expect to find updates about the exciting things happening at camp, so keep checking in with us here on the blog!

And now I must fly off into the sunrise. Until next time!

Humming along,

Humming Bird

Good morning, folks!! Humming Bird here, bright and early this morning!

Camp awoke at 5:00– some of us woke up to the sound of music, provided by Taj and Forbidden! Thanks, guys! We ate our breakfasts as the sun rose over the Red Barn, and we did the Funky Chicken as all of our buses took off, full of happy campers!

Last night we feasted on none other but LOBSTER (or chicken parmesan or spanakopita) and BEN AND JERRY’S (or a dairy-free alternative)!!!!!! Then we had a beautiful Pine Grove– of course, there were a few tears. But all of last night’s weeping was merely evidence of the amazing summer we’ve had together! And now our campers are on their way home to you all, ready to tell you about all the amazing experiences they had here in the Valley!

Onward to logistics! Now that all the Funky Chickens have been danced, and second breakfast is in our bellies, our remaining campers are awaiting their parents’ arrival, watching a movie in the Red Barn! Meanwhile, counselors are working hard to pack up the rest of camp! We’re moving in the H-dock at the lake, we’re putting all the picnic tables under the deck of the Dining Hall, we’re cleaning all our facilities, and we’re checking in with all our chaperones, so that we can give you accurate updates on the estimated arrival times of the buses and planes! You’ll be hearing from us if you’re expecting a camper today!

Until then, enjoy these pictures from our LOBSTER BANQUET! And from DEPARTURE DAY!

I’m off to whistle while I work!

Humming along,

Humming Bird

Humming Bird here! This just in– THERE HAS JUST BEEN A SECOND CANDY DROP! WHAT?!?! YEAH! LITERALLY JUST NOW! I’ve just escaped the wild crowd of campers and staff, who are rioting for candy out on the soccer field! The plane came flying parallel to Camp Road and on, above our all-camp Transportation meeting (BOOOOOOORNING!) As we gathered to hear about our travel plans, preparing to haul our luggage to the front lawn, we heard the engines and turned in confusion to the Great Above, where the metal piñata hung like a beacon! Wow, what a rush! Check out photos!

Other than that, everything seems super boring…. but here we go! We’ve been preparing all day for our departure– we’ve been cleaning and scrubbing and moving things and sitting on stuffed suitcases to make them close! Now, as the shock and excitement is dying down from the second Candy Drop, we’re preparing to move that luggage into the front yard, where it will sleep for the night, until we leave tomorrow.

But let’s not think about leaving quite yet, there’s still so much ahead of us!! Tonight is the LOBSTER BANQUET!! And then it’s PINEGROVE!!! With stuffed bellies, we’ll line up to say our goodbyes up in our beautiful pine grove space. Then we’ll get a good night’s sleep before our 5:00 AM wake up!

We’ve got lots ahead of us, so stay tuned for more tomorrow! By the time I post in the morning, I imagine most of our campers will be safely on the buses home to you folks! We’ll give you updates on the buses’ departures and arrivals, so keep checking in with us here in the Valley!

I’m off now to find my lobster bib!

Humming along,

Humming Bird

Good afternoon, friends and family! Humming Bird here on this beautiful Fair Day! It has been an incredible day here in the Valley, so let’s check out what we’ve been up to!!

The morning began as most mornings do– with a delicious breakfast! We ate lots of yummy yummy eggs from the egg bar, and gathered for Morning Meeting, where we awaited our campers who ran in the Fun Run, down camp road! Then we went to set up our Fair Day booths! After set-up, we gathered by the horse barn for the Brumby Horse Show! Our five Brumby campers and apprentice have worked tirelessly this session to care for the horses and hone their skills in riding. Their show this morning provided an impressive glimpse into the life of our horsey people! They did a beautiful job, congratulations, Brumby!! Check out photos of their work!

After the show, we were released to the fair! Here’s what everyone was up to:
Forbidden Planet made fried dough
Taj Mahal wrote kiss-o-grams
Fiddler’s Green served ice cream
Camelot DJ’ed
Valhalla ran the marriage booth
Shangri-La gave out drinks
French Quarter manned the chocolate fountain
LCH painted our faces
Wombles facilitated pillow jousting
Loons ran the poop shoot
Chateau Fiasco refereed sumo wrestling
Avalon ran the slip ‘n’ slide
The Burrow managed the Jelly Bean Count
Down Under painted nails
Atlantis ran the moon bounce
Treasure Island ran the name change registration
Paquatahnee told our fortunes
HVA set up a backpacking obstacle course
The AWACs gave out pretzels
Kitchen staff served hot dogs

It was a SUPER fun day, check out photos of the shenanigans!

After all the dough was fried and the chocolate was consumed, we had one MASSIVE clean-up all together! Now our beautiful camp is sparkly clean! It’s almost as if nothing ever happened… except for that we still have all our memories and all these pictures for you to see! So check them out!

We just enjoyed our final slide show of second session, in addition to the presentation of all our video class projects! We sure have had a fantastic month here! Tonight we’re looking forward to a beautiful Fair Day Dance! Stay tuned for pictures tomorrow, when I also tell you about Packing Day!!

Also, enjoy photos of last night’s Alive show! The campers have been working so hard this summer, exploring different media of art, and all their efforts have culminated in this beautiful show! Enjoy the pictures of their work!

That’s all for now, folks! Talk to you tomorrow!

Humming along,

Humming Bird