2011-2012 HICOP Blog
January 28, 2012
I am sitting in the HICOP typing this. It is very quiet today. The camp is fully booked for a sub-area camp however we have had no visitors. They must be running a full program of their own. It means that we can get a lot done but we really do miss the activity.
I would like to thank Maggie Tremblay, from 97th Hamilton, for sending me some fantastic images that she took last weekend. The three pictures of Beaver Scouts that I posted this weekend were in fact taken by her last weekend. It is always a pleasant surprise when I receive photos in e-mails especially when it is from a weekend that I am too busy to take any.
58th Hamilton Beaver Scouts came in for a visit mid afternoon. They are a fun group and they tried very hard to hand feed the birds however the wind and blowing snow had most of the birds hunkered down out of the cold so they didn't have very many land on their hands.
58th Hamilton Cub Scouts came by a little later and we helped them identify three birds and three trees for their Winter Cubbing badge. The birds were a bit of a struggle but they did all manage to see at least three different species of bird.
It was a pretty bleak day at camp. Wind, rain and blowing wet snow kept most campers inside for much of the day but it is still way better than being in the city.
January 21, 2012
Today was an incredibly busy day for us and we loved it. Unfortunately a busy day means my camera stays in my pack most of the day.
Scouter Marty spent the day with the 26th Cambridge Scouts. They came to camp for the day and he helped them earn their Fish and Wildlife and Forestry badges.
The 97th Hamilton Beaver Scouts spent the morning with Scouter Debbie. She had them doing crafts, hiking, playing games and singing songs. All related to how animals survive the winter. They had so much fun that they came back for a while in the afternoon to hand feed the chickadees on the lower deck.
Mohawk Trails had an unofficial sub-area camp this weekend. They had about 70 Cub Scouts working on their Green Star requirements. They asked us if we could come up with activities to help them identify three birds and three trees in the winter. I helped them with the birds and Scouters Linda and Elaine showed them how to identify the trees.
The birds around the HICOP were very accommodating. I spotted seven different species of birds during the day and every Cub Scout managed to see at least three, usually more. I had them attempting to hand feed the chickadees and as far as I know every youth managed to have a chickadee land on their hand. The highlight of the day for me was when a child who couldn't touch the seeds because of a severe allergy held up an empty hand and had a chickadee land on it. He went from possibly being left out to being the star.
Have I said that I love my job?. Well I do and so much so that I would happily do it for no pay.
January 14, 2012
It was a relatively quiet day for us today. The Venturer survival camp was this weekend so they occupied most of the camp. It was a very wet day so they must have been rather uncomfortable.
The only visitors were the 68th Hamilton Beavers. What a fun group. They were all very well behaved and full of questions which always endears groups to us.
Because it was quiet we managed to get a lot done in and around the HICOP and the camp.
During the week Marty finished building the new bunks in Hencher Den so there is now sleeping for 6 on bunks. We still need to have someone sand and paint them. There is also room along the back wall for a full bunk bed if someone wants to get one down there and set it up. Once this is done and a smoke detector is installed the building will be back on line. I suspect that an electrically heated building in the valley will be in great demand.
Elaine and Linda spent most of the day remarking parts of the perimeter trail. The trails have been sadly neglected while we were focused on the HICOP renovations. They are in need of a lot of work.
I spent most of the day working on the Jeopardy game. I added a column of "Deciduous Leaves" which meant that I had to crop and size 31 leaf images. I think that I have also managed to eliminate the bug that kept some of the frog sounds from working.
Next weekend the camp is full and we are all booked for program so it is going to be great fun.
January 7, 2012
Yes I did type 2011 and then had to correct it. Happy New Year everyone.
We started off the new year with a busy day at the HICOP. The 17th Guelph Beaver Scouts spent the morning and part of the afternoon, with Scouter Debbie and Bailey, learning about how animals survive the winter. They hiked, had story telling and a game and did crafts. The comment left in our guest book by a leader was "Fabulous fun". I know that Scouter Debbie had fun.
I spent the morning with the 17th Guelph Cub Scouts. We started with a discussion of Leave No Trace ethics. Scouter Marty stepped in and did his, always popular, fire lighting demonstration for them and I followed that by having them pair up and light a LNT fire. Cubs and matches are always fun. They certainly seemed to be having as much fun as me.
Marty and the 17th Guelph Scouts headed out, in the afternoon, to work on their Forestry Badge. Cutting down trees is always fun for Scouts and if they can earn a badge at the same time all the better.
5th Hamilton Cub Scouts dropped in for a visit. They brought in some feathers and a tiny lower jaw bone for us to identify. The feathers turned out to be from a Hairy (maybe downy) woodpecker and the jaw from what I thought was a mouse but turned out to be a vole. A discussion of different furs led to my putting a porcupine quill under the microscope and projecting it on our screen so that they could see the barbs. We ended up putting everything from the vole jaw to very dirty fingers under the microscope.
I was supposed to take the 17th Guelph Cub Scouts on a hike to search for animal tracks at 3:30 but I was having so much fun with 5th Hamilton that Scouter Marty took them on the hike.
Our programs are becoming very popular so be sure to book ahead for anything other than a visit.
December 17, 2011
This was one of my most memorable days at camp.
It was rather slow in the morning so we managed to get some paperwork and other chores out of the way. Jennifer Potter and some friends dropped in for a brief visit. We also had a visit from Roland who was a wonderful little guy with a huge smile. His whole face lit up when a chickadee landed on his hand.
1st Aldershot Scouts came for their first visit to the new HICOP. They were looking for something to do (read something warm) so we played "The Lorax" movie for them. I suspect that if they knew we had "The Jungle Book" and "Ferngully" they would have been sitting watching movies all afternoon.
Tonight was our HICOP Christmas party. The HICOP volunteers and Camp Committee gathered in the basement of the HICOP for a pot luck supper and fun and friendship. Debbie bought some clear glass Christmas ornaments and everyone poured acrylic paint inside them to make some great looking patterns of paint.
We played a game with a Christmas sticker on each of our backs and we had to ask questions to try to figure out what we were. Only yes and no answers were allowed. I was a snowman and when I asked if I made any sounds I was told yes and no. When I asked if I was living I was told yes and no. Needless to say I didn't win which was disappointing because there were prizes.
We also did an activity where Scouter Marty pretended to be an evergreen tree and we had five minutes to decorate him with anything that we could find in the room. He was the best Christmas tree ever.
Then the food came out. Oh the food. I stuffed myself and still wanted to keep eating. From appetizers to dessert virtually everything was great tasting. All washed down with a delicious dry punch.
This will probably be my last posting until the new year so I would like to wish a Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it and a very Happy New Year to everyone.
Be safe.
December 14, 2011
1st AFC Cub Scouts and Scouts came to camp tonight. Scouter Marty took the Scouts on a very dark, damp and muddy night hike and Scouter Linda did the same with the Cub Scouts. They all came back very muddy but grinning from ear to ear.
While they were hiking my son Alex boiled water and set out 25 mugs for hot chocolate and I put on coffee and tea for the leaders and built a campfire. It was very muddy on the hike and very muddy all around the campfire so the front deck and inside of the HICOP was a gooey mess but everyone had a great time and the new floor is easy to sweep out and mop up.
December 10, 2011
Today started off slow but picked up pretty quickly.
8 97th Hamilton Beaver Scouts visited us followed by 27 Cub Scouts. They were both fun and very inquisitive groups.
1st Dundas Scouts showed up all excited. They thought that they had found a dead beaver half buried in the creek down by Pod 1. Scouter Marty headed down with them to investigate what turned out to be a raccoon. It was mostly buried in the mud so it was hard to tell what it was. We are always impressed with how observant youth are. This was a good find.
December 3, 2011
It was another wonderful day in paradise. Marty spent the morning helping the 1st AFC Scouts learn about map reading and then they went out on the short orienteering course. They found every marker and got them all correct. Great job.
Scouter Daryl from 1st Bronte returned our large bow saw blade and our cross cut saws all sharpened and with the teeth properly set. Thank you very much. I am posting an image of the 1st Bronte Scouts making our coat rack because I neglected to last week.
The McCreadys came bearing a gift. They brought us a wonder specimen of a beaver pelt. We are starting a pelt collection and now have a rabbit pelt and a beaver pelt. We can use them as props in discussions around animal survival and how and why their fur is different.
Marty went back out in the afternoon helping the East Burlington Scouts earn their Fish and Wildlife badges. They cut quite a few more trees down which opened up the meadow even more. Bailey Thom went with them and took most of the images that I am posting.
I made some changes to the touch screen game and now it doesn't work so I spent a good part of the day pulling my hair out trying to figure out why. Part of the problem is that I have added bird calls and frog calls to the game however the computer that we play it on has no sound card. Oops.
It was another great day to be in camp.
November 26, 2011
What an amazing weekend in camp. The Woodbadge Part II training team had most of the camp booked so the camp was filled with adults acting for the most part like youth. Judging by what I saw on Saturday the training was definitely a success.
1st Dundas had all sections in camp and they kept us hopping. The Beaver Scouts spent the day hiking, doing crafts, playing games and singing with Debbie and Jennifer. They had a seed theme for the day so all activities had something to do with seeds. The seed pictures were very cool.
I spent the morning with the Cub Scouts. First we discussed the seven principles of "Leave No Trace" hiking and camping. They had already had some LNT training so they did very well. We then went outside and each Cub Scout lit their own LNT fire on a fire pan. They all managed it which is no small feat considering most of them had never lit a match before.
In the afternoon the Cub Scouts made pine cone bird feeders and went looking for birds. 31st Hamilton Beavers came for a visit and the Part II Troop group came and used our projector and screen to do the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) training which was very timely because we had a guest with a disability visiting the HICOP at the time.
It was just getting quiet in the HICOP when the 1st Dundas Scouts dropped in. They reminded me that they won the garlic mustard pulling event last Victoria Day Camp and they wondered why their group wasn't named on the trophy yet. My bad. Sorry, it's now on my ever growing 2DO list.
Because Marty, Linda and Elaine were all involved in the Part II training Debbie, Jennifer and I were left to manage the HICOP and we were busy all day. We came home absolutely exhausted but we wouldn't have it any other way.
November 19, 2011
I was remiss in doing the blog again this week but I had to come back and say thank you to 1st Bronte. They have been making coat racks with hand tools and they were in camp and brought us another rack which is just what we needed.
Paul Garofolo is updating the Blue Springs Scout Reserve nature centre and he dropped by looking for ideas. He is the Blue Springs warden and it was good to get a chance to talk with another representative from Canada's other SCENES camp.
November 14, 2011
What a fantastic weekend. This was one of my favourite weekends ever in the HICOP. We hardly had a moments rest.
In the morning Scouters Linda and Elaine helped 18th Willowdale Cubs earn their Trailcraft badge. They watched the Hug a Tree movie and then went on a hike to hone their new skills. At 10:30 AM Scouter Marty did his fire lighting demonstration for close to 40 youth who were awed by his skill with fire.
In the afternoon Scouters Linda and Elaine went through the Trailcraft badge program with 25 Cub Scouts from 13th Burlington while Scouter Marty helped the 18th Willowdale Scouts earn their forestry badge.
Scouter Debbie and I kept the HICOP open and were kept busy by many visitors. Our Grandaughter Bailey, a Medvent, and Amanda Reilly, a Scout, helped out at the centre. My touchscreen Jeopardy game, which seems to be a hit, had a major bug and they showed me exactly what was going on and helped me fix it.
Scouter Debbie now has a number of crafts and activities that Beaver Scouts can do in the lower level. These are by appointment through this site. She currently has, for her fall program, a story that she can read about seeds and how they cope with winter. This can be followed by the making of a seed picture by gluing different seeds onto paper. Bailey and Amanda created example pictures for her. She also has crafts such as critters made with teasles, or pine cone bird feeders. We are asking for a two dollar donation, for a two hour program, to help cover the cost of craft supplies.
November 9, 2011
The Grand Opening is over and we have had a couple of weeks to settle into routines in the new building. One of the routines that got lost in the shuffle is this blog.
On October 29 the Ancaster Cub Scouts came for a visit and program. We discussed seeds and how thay travel and then we went seed collecting to see how many different kinds they could find. While out and about we found some raccoon and deer tracks. Most were very shallow but one deer track was nearly perfect so we made a cast of it. Unfortunately it wasn't dry in time for the Cub Scouts to get to see it. We will try to get it to them. In the afternoon we went on a short hike and played "The Thicket Game" and then returned to the HICOP where Scouter Marty discussed with them how animals survive winter.
Last weekend we also had a visit by Paul Garafolo (Blue Springs Scout Reserve camp warden). He is looking for new ideas for their nature centre and heard that we had some good ones. It was a good visit and we got some new ideas too.
We also had visits by 1st Cooksville Cubs, 5th Kitchener Beavers and Cubs and 58th Riverdale Beavers. It made for a busy weekend which is just how we like it. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me so I have no images from this weekend.