The Final Push!

It's hard to believe that 48 hours from now we will be putting the final touches on our summer by packing camper belongings and preparing for our end of summer banquet out on the lawn under the tent. The last few days have been joyous and frantic, and the next two promise to be no different. We postponed the Talent Show for tonight rather than Wednesday night to give all of our cabins a chance to add a little polish to their acts. Additionally, we still had a few cabins out on their cabin wilderness trips, and none of the cabins wanted to miss talent show. Now that all of the cabin trips are back, we are gearing up for the grand finale. Today has been the annual all-camp treasure hunt, followed by Talent Show this evening. Tomorrow will be our final Sag-Hoc scouting game out in the woods, followed by our Waterfront Regatta and Field Day. There will be more blog details emerging about all of these events of the next day or so. There are so many events going on right now that it is hard to find a moment to sit down and jot a quick note, but we hope to keep you up to date with all the exciting goings on.

MONDAY DEPATURES: For those campers being picked up by car, please be here between 8:30 am and noon. Please note that there is no major programming on Monday, so their is no reason to delay departure. We will say all of our goodbyes on Sunday evening. You are welcome to tour around campus with your son if time permits as I am sure he will want to show you his cabin, the waterfront, and his favorite activity locations, as well as introduce you to his counselors and fellow cabin mates.

From the Farm:

The wettest June in Maine history; weeks between sunny days; very hungry deer. It hasn’t been the easiest summer to be a farmer. Despite these setbacks, we’ve explored—rain or shine— the plants, animals, and products that live or come from our farm her at Camp Chewonki. It’s always a bummer when we have to go inside, but this allows us to cook kale omelets, spin wool into yarn, or even go see a movie, Food Inc. When the weather cooperates (and it has, for the most part, Session II), we go strawberry picking, drive the draft horse, Sal, or collect eggs from our flock of laying hens.
We’ve also managed to link up with other activities and do some interdisciplinary learning. Art and farm morphed into ‘fart’ where we wrote and illustrated a farm-themed book, among other things. Additionally, farm activity extends beyond the regular day through farm dinners, where cabins can have a meal predominately produced on our farm. The rhubarb crisp was definitely a crowd-pleaser.
The most exciting news to come off the farm in awhile came to us just this week, when we had a baby calf born, Gus. Along with Gus came his mother, Lola’s, milk. For the first time all summer, we got to enjoy ‘farm ice cream’, a camper (and counselor) favorite. It was a hot, humid day, and thanks to the hard work of our animals, farmers, and a bit of elbow grease from the campers, we devoured the cool, creamy treat.
It’s truly been a blessing teaching the campers about the wonders of farming and rural living and I hope that their curiosity and passion only grows when they return home.

Robin Lewis, Farm Activity


Thanks again for sharing your son with us! It has been a wonderful summer.

Sincerely,

Garth Altenburg