Songbirds and Oreo Pie

Songbirds… they just make me happy. Waking up to songbirds is a delight of summer, songbirds so loud they literally sing away the dreams.

Greystone is the “Manhattan” of songbird cities, a destination for migratory “tourists”, and a busy “workplace” for the many varieties that live here year round. I have a big feeding center at my house (empty now… “get your own food you freeloaders” is my thought); in the winter I go through 50 pounds of seed every week! That says we have a lot of birds! The birds eat more than the dogs, less than the horses… humm, interesting— never thought of that before.

Do songbirds live in such abundance in your hometown? Here they act as a huge “muzak” system, providing a constant background noise to our days. They wake us up in the morning and go silent at dusk… earning their winter seed I guess. Sometimes they will take a break (being musicians, maybe they need to go off campus for a smoke or something), then they are back. Weird how all of them go quiet sometimes during the day…

I don’t know if your girls are noticing this component of the camp experience yet. I lived here a long time before I started to pay attention… and that is one of the lessons we try to teach in this last week of camp. Pay attention to the beauty that surrounds you, starting here but extending out to every place you will find yourself every day of your life. Adam and Eve were placed in a garden, full of wonder and discovery every day… we are “hard wired” to appreciate nature and the majesty of creation. This world “declares the glory of God”, we will enjoy it more if we notice the good gifts that surround us.

As I said yesterday, This is going to be a “home run” week. Many girls have the countdown started in their minds. Let me introduce you to the “math”:

4 Days (Monday to Thursday) but Thursday doesn’t count because we have hotdog buffet (confused yet?) so it really is 3 days.
Wednesday is packing day (it takes a while to get organized, we start the process on Wednesday), so it really doesn’t count either.
JUST 2 MORE DAYS!

The point is, there is a lot of anticipation going on around here. All are excited to see you again… they want to tell you about what they have been doing (do we ever really enjoy an experience if we don’t share it with those we love?), they also want to enjoy some of the culture that they have been deprived of for these three weeks (cell phones, computers, happy meals, and so forth). There is also excitement about spending each and every minute with this particular community. As I have said before, this community becomes quite intense and quite wonderful. We genuinely hate to see it break up… so we make each minute count by spending it wisely. We are careful to use every minute of class (passing levels is a huge deal for the next two days), between classes (walking and talking intently no matter what the age of the camper), and during meal time. It is a good feeling… time is very fruitful and fast. Minutes disappear in an instant (is that the bell already?), days rush by and are gone. Just like real life for us old people (48 is old at camp).

Lots of requests for the Oreo Pie recipe, smart move. This dessert drives children mad with giddy joy and giggles. Be the most popular mom on the block… the envy of every other grade school parent… the hero of every child who likes dessert (if you don’t already know it, ALL CHILDREN LIKE DESSERT). Laura did a post on this back in the winter, check it out if you are so inclined. <a href=‘http://www.campgreystone.com/bubble/author/laura

EP’ >http://www.campgreystone.com/bubble/author/laura

EP tonight is the Production night (every class that learned something that translates into an act for the stage). It is the best variety show in the nation, the chance to shine and be praised with thunderous applause. Dance, Music, Drama, Modeling, Jump Rope, Juggling, Scrapbooking… an amazing show. Just kidding about scrapbooking. Is anyone still reading this book?

Breakfast featured Grits and Scrambled Eggs. Grits are a sublime Southern tradition, simplicity itself and often skipped in the “real world”. Good grits take time (NEVER use quick grits). They take love (“a little butter with that hon?”). They speak to you softly, not an in your face side item… quietly sit there waiting to be noticed. Ahh…

Don’t know the rest of the menu. Gervais won’t answer the phone… will tell you about it later.

Sunny, warm, getting warmer. Highs around 90 today, going to hit a week-long/ session long high of 92 tomorrow! A good week to test the new solar gable fans out… Friday is supposed to be mid 80’s, talk about perfect! I bet you wish you lived here.

Cheers,

Jimboy