Pickles showed up at camp on June 13th and 14th to help out with a couple of Council events - a special program for girls who sold a lot of cookies, and a camp open house.  Yes, it’s true: Pickles is still a dedicated volunteer at Timbercrest summer camp and other events.  What she didn’t know when she arrived to volunteer is that this open house would have an event in her honor…  The council would award her the Thanks Badge.

Pickles, Donna, Marlene

She was probably wondering why so many of her old friends were on hand on such a rainy day for “just another” Camp Open House.  As the afternoon was winding down to a close, Marlene made the announcement that something special was planned to honor Pickles and Gwen came out of the kitchen with pickles on the end of barbecue skewers… so that we could start the “Pickles” roast.

Michelle, a former camper who had Pickles for a counselor, related a story about how she had insisted that they try to cook pizza over a campfire.  Pickles was skeptical, but wanted to empower the girls, so she gave in.  They made the dough, covered it with sauce and cheese and attempted to cook it over a campfire.  When they deemed it done, Pickles raved about how good it was.  Michelle confessed that actually, it was awful.  Still, Pickles had the girls convinced that they had achieved total success!

Binky was on hand to tell a story that probably should not be related here…  Suffice it to say that when Binky started working at camp and found out how cool the other counselors were, with Pickles as ring-leader, she knew she had made the right choice for a summer job.

Pickles and Binky

Burnsie couldn’t be there.  Instead, she sent a story which Pickles was asked to act out as she listened.  We were all in hysterics.  It seems one day after a cookout, Pickles was getting ready to toss the dishwater.  Apparently Pickles was well known for throwing out silverware and scrubbies, and all sorts of things when she dumped the water.  This time, she thought she’d reach in to see if anything remained in the dishpan…  Her hand squeezed around… A DROWNED MOUSE!  Pickles even re-enacted the scream that still echoes through the woods around Keyser Lake!

Donna told a story about a Girl Scout trip to Washington DC during which Pickles got into all kinds of trouble… opening doors that were supposed to stay shut… having her jackknife confiscated at a security check…  Oh, Pickles!  Can’t you behave?

 Joanne Nelson added a serious note about how Pickles and all the counselors that worked at Timbercrest have made it a very special place.  She put Pickles in the top ten counselors she has ever worked with.

Joanne and Pickles

When all the roasting was over, Pickles was pinned with the last ever Girl Scouts of Southwestern New York Thanks Badge.  (Our council has now merged and we are part of Girl Scouts of Western New York!)

Lisa, Pickles, and Marlene

We love you Pickles!  You certainly deserve this award!  Congratulations!

Monday was the only day in this week’s forecast that showed sun. Since I didn’t have to be to work until 2:00pm, I decided to hop in the car at 7am and head for my favorite place in the world: Girl Scout Camp Timbercrest. I thought I’d see what was blooming and take advantage of the wonderful early morning light. Here are some of the photos I snapped:

Pin Cherry (Prunus pensylvanica)
There are several of these lining the road between “Three-Bay” and Bellinger Lodge.

False Hellabore (Veratrum viride)
Keyser Lake is a little higher than usual which put these right in the lake. I loved the reflections of the surrounding forest around these plants. This photo was taken near the bridge over the creek that feeds Jackman Bay.

Early Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)
I knew about the patches of this at “Lakeview” - that flat area past Sunset that looks out over Keyser Lake. I guess I never paid attention before to how many of these are out on the Peninsula! Why, the ground is nearly covered with them. How come I never noticed before?

Sessile-leaved Bellwort (Uvularia sessilifolia)
The Peninsula has fairly harsh living conditions. The beavers keep the trees short so there is little shade out there. The wind whips over most of the time. As a result, the plants out there are often dwarfed. This Bellwort looks normal in this picture, but it was soooo tiny compared to others I find in the woods.

Large-Flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)
I found Red Trillium, too, but none of my pictures came out particularly well. I forgot to go up to the road behind Sunset to see if the Painted Trillium were blooming. Darn.

Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)
Oh my gosh… I found the BIGGEST patch of Wintergreen sporting the BIGGEST, ripest, most delicious berries ever! (Yes, I ate some!) You have to get off the trail and go close to the lake over in Beaver Bay. Yum.

Fiddlehead
I’m not sure what kind of fern this is… Haven’t tackled ferns in earnest, yet. It was right along the shore of the lake in pretty soggy ground - in fact, the stand, I’m sure, is sometimes IN the water. Anyone out there want to take a stab at species?

Golden Saxifrage or Water Carpet (Chrysosplenium americanum)
There was just enough of a breeze to make photographing this tiny plant nearly impossible. I spent several minutes on my knees on a rock on the side of a creek. I snapped dozens of photos. This one was the best of the lot. Oh well… Isn’t it tiny and weird?

Toothwort or Crinkleroot (Cardamine diphylla)
There were tons of these all over the place, but this was the only one I found blooming. I also found tons and tons of Spring Beauties, but not a one with blooms open… Guess it was just a little too early in the morning.

Prickly Gooseberry or Dogberry (Ribes cynobati)
I found this one up behind Strawberry Hill. The breeze challenged me on this one, too, as did the closing canopy. But somehow I managed a couple of shots that were fairly well focused and in good light.

It was the perfect morning for a walk. Started off cool, but warmed up quickly. Well worth the drive to camp. (This is cross-posted at my WinterWoman blog.)

This year’s Camp Spruce-Up will be on Saturday, April 26th.  Your help would definitely be appreciated!  This is the day that the platform tents get set up.  Other ways you/ your troop can help are to clear trails, clean out the lodge, set up cots and mattresses, etcetera.  Anything you can think of, really!  If you plan to go, be sure to call Scott, the camp ranger, ahead of time so he knows you will be coming and can plan for lunch.

I hiked at Timbercrest today to see how things look behind the units where the logging took place.  It’s not too bad, all in all!  And I’m hoping the company will be back to do a little more cleanup of the roads before camp.  If not, then we need some volunteers with chainsaws to help on work weekend!  (I’m not sure when that will be…)

There was still ice on the lake.  But there were some signs of life.  I cleaned out some of the nest boxes.  As soon as I cleaned the one by the lake, Tree Swallows started investigating.

There were Red-tailed Hawks soaring overhead.  But the most spectacular sight was when the Sharp-shinned Hawk flew right in front of my eyes and snagged a little songbird right out of the sky.  She dropped it, though, apparently freaked out by me and my dog.

Hepatica covers the ground behind Strawberry Hill and I was hoping to find some blooming.  All I saw were leaves and buds.

Attention Camp Timbercrest alumnae!

This is Emily, aka-Butterfly speaking.  In case we have not tracked you down yet, my friend Rachel, aka-Spoot and I are in the process of compiling a camp history, and we need your help!  We have both been going to camp for as long as we can remember, and we are currently counselors there.

We are looking for any stories, traditions, memories, pictures, and the like that you might have concerning Camp Timbercrest.  If you have a favorite camp song, we want the lyrics.  If you got married at camp, we want to know about it.  If you know when the treehouse was built and when it fell down/was taken down, we’d love to know.  Anything you might remember about camp, even if it seems insignificant, please share it with us!

Drop us a line here or at our respective blogs, http://summerbutterfly.wordpress.com for Butterfly or http://murmurationofstarlings.wordpress.com/about/ for Spoot.
Or, look us up at the next Camp Open House.
Or, track down my mother, Jennifer Schlick or the current camp director, Mariah Kramer.
Or, look us up on facebook.  We’re both members of the Camp Timbercrest group.
Or, be creative!

Really, we could use your help!  Thanks so much!

Butterfly on a Camp trip to Virginia

Spoot on a Camp trip to Virginia

(We’re a bit goofy, but that’s no reason not to help us out!)

Emily and I decided to hike at Timbercrest to celebrate the New Year.  Of course we took Lolli.  Camp sure looks different in winter.  The canvas tents are all down, only the platforms remain.  On New Year’s Day, everything was covered with a fresh layer of snow, and the flakes kept coming down.  Beautiful!

We hiked Butterfly’s and Spoot’s Five Senses Trail and then headed up to Sprucewood for a rest under the shelter and a snack.  Then we took took the old logging road behind Sprucewood back down to the creek.  Along the way, we noticed several trees marked with blue blazes.  We had been wondering which section of camp would be logged this year… now we know.  Since the timber company will have to restore the road when they are done, the Timber Trail (which had gotten pretty eroded and rutted recently) should be in good shape for next summer’s hiking adventures.

Use resources wisely.  That’s one of the things we promise to do as Girl Scouts.  The timber plan at Timbercrest is a shining example of how we do that.  Over the years a very careful and sustainable timbering plan has generated necessary income for the maintenance of our beautiful camp.  As a side product, it has also created some of the trails we love to hike.

We headed down to Willow Bridge, then followed the road back to the Ranger’s house where our car was parked.  Here are a few images from that trail:

Happy New Year, Everyone!  See you at Snow Camp?

At least one beaver lives at Timbercrest… maybe more.  I’ve been lucky enough to see one swimming on Keyser Lake more than once.  Never, however, was I lucky enough to have a camera and good lighting. This photo is from Tom LeBlanc’s Flickr site. Tom lives and works at Allegany State Park - so this is not “our” beaver. (Be sure to click on over to Tom’s photos and his blog! He’s amazing.)

You can see signs of beaver activity all around the camp.  The most dramatic signs are out on the peninsula where all of the trees are stunted.  It’s really quite brilliant:  Beaver cuts the trees down - to be able to reach and eat the new twigs at the ends of the branches, nibble the bark off the trunk and branches, and then use the wood for her lodge.  From the stumps, fresh little twigs grow which are, of course, a perfect food source.  It’s almost like Beaver is pruning her own garden.

If you get off the trail, or canoe close to shore, you will also see channels that Beaver digs to make it easier to get to the food.  Sometime in the winter of 2006-2007, Beaver cut down a rather sizable maple which fell into the Jackman Bay side of the peninsula.  The branches near the surface of the water all cut at about the same level.  There is a channel that leads to the thick trunk, now mostly bare of bark.

Large Maple on Jackman Bay side of Peninsula.

Channel from the Lake to the Food

The lodge itself is over on the Beaver Bay side of the peninsula (duh!).  It is nestled right against the bank under a dead tree.  Each year, Beaver seems to add more sticks and mud to the structure.  (If you decide to hike to the lodge, please be respectful.  Don’t stand on the lodge (though it is very strong and could probably support you), and don’t be too loud (Beaver is nocturnal and (usually) sleeps during the day.))

The lodge is almost dead center in this photo.

When you visit the Beaver Restaurant (also known as the Peninsula), walk - don’t run - and watch your shins!  The stumps left behind are shin-high and sharp!  Wander over next the shore line, too, and look for cafeteria litter.  You might even take home a beaver-chewed stick as a souvenir!

Beaver Restaurant, Cafeteria Litter

The rennovations at Bellinger are pretty much done.  There are still a few loose ends that will be tied.  But for the most part, Phase 1 of the capital improvements at Camp Timbercrest are complete.

• Bellinger has been winterized upstairs and down.  Insulation was added to the inside on the walls, and from the outside for the roof - to try to maintain the look and atmosphere of the original building.
• The latrines were removed.
• The downstairs shower area was updated to include flush toilets.
• The kitchen was modernized.

Bellinger Lodge before the rennovations…

Bellinger Lodge after the rennovations…

Kitchen View from the Dining Hall

Kitchen view from back looking toward Dining Hall

Dining Hall:  Actually, this photo was taken before the new lighting fixtures were installed.  But you can see, the panelling that covers the new insulation still has a nice rustic feel.  And hey!  Those are still the same tables and chairs you remember from camp!

New Stairs to the Basement

Basement Program Center

I haven’t taken any pictures of the bathrooms and showers yet.  People get nervous when you go into that room with a camera.  (But I will!  Stay tuned!)

When you go to pick up your girls at Camp, you will first be entertained with a song or skit from each of the camp units for the week… or in our case - for the month!  Since Sugar was the only CIT (Counselor in Training) this summer, she did not put on a skit.  But she was congratulated and invited back to finish the summer as a counselor.  Sugar is pictured here with her Unit Leader for the week - Skip, from Australia.

Here are photos from the other units’ program offerings:

On my honor I will try…

On the first day of horse camp…

Bazooka zooka Bubble Gum!…

A coochi-cha, a choochi-cha, a choochi-cha-cha…

After the program, I had to wait a bit for the counselors to cleanup and have their end-of-week staff meeting.  So I snapped a few nature shots around the lodge:
  
Boneset on the path to the boats; Monarch on Swamp Milkweed near Keyser Lake

Finally, you can sleep easy tonight:  The Postcard Rumor has been proven false.  The rumor was that the last Timbercrest postcard had been sold. You know the one. We’ve had them in the Trading Post since… well… since I was a camper…  and well… that’s a long time.  But have no fear.  More were found in Loki’s office… so you can still get one, if you need one…  or several…

I wonder how many they ordered originally?

I had to drive out to camp in the middle of the week to get my daughter’s signature on a couple of forms for college.  It was getting close to sunset as I headed home.  I thought the light in the field at the small gravel pit, owned by the Girl Scouts, would be perfect for photos.  Evening light is so warm and soft.

A good bit of the field was covered with a dusty purple flower called Spotted Knapweed.  It’s an alien that we’re not supposed to like… but I find it to be so pretty.

There were a few patches of milkweed.  I searched the leaves for monarch eggs or caterpillars, but found none.  I did find this lovely milkweed beetle, though.  Isn’t he gorgeous?

The way the light was coming through the petals on this Oxeye Daisy struck me as so beautiful.

There were plenty of Black-eyed Susans on the field.  But the one with the perfect light was up one of the slopes where I heard deer snorting.

My camp counselors got me started learning flower names.  I wonder if the counselors today teach the campers the names of flowers?

There were many things I couldn’t catch with my camera:  the singing of the grasshoppers, crickets, and/or katydids, the flight of a couple of young turkeys from one roosting place to another, the snorting of the deer…  So many wonderful connections to the earth in so unlikely a place - the parking lot of an old gravel pit.  Nature is everywhere.