Summer Nights
Last night the moon was in a 64% Waxing Gibbous phase (that means it will be getting larger tonight and will be a full moon next week). I mention this fact not only to inform (just in case you weren’t able to check the moon out last night) but to enhance your sense of what the campers are enjoying this week.
Sunrise arrives later and Sunset arrives earlier now than when we first arrived at camp. The days are getting shorter, a fact that was driven home at the Corn Roast last night. Sunset officially arrived at 8:45 last night, but the mountains make it feel like it set at 8:30. As the sun set behind the mountains and lit the twilight sky with brilliant colors, we danced with delight under the light of the brilliant moon. The music was amazing and our enthusiasm encouraged the band to play long after the planned 9:00 closing time. We let the program go till 9:30 at which point we gratefully fell into bed and slept deeply until reveille this morning.
Nightime at camp is wonderful. Most nights are enjoyed in our cabins with the shades kept open to let in the cool night air. We can hear the frogs croaking in the lake, the crickets chirping in the trees, and the occasional hoot of an owl. The peace that envelopes camp comes in stages: first introduced with “Call to Quarters” (our bugle that reminds us to return home), then “Lights Out” (our bugle that reminds us to turn off all lights and get quiet… this is when the counselors have devotions and tuck ins), and finally comes “Taps” (devotions end, all is quiet).
When the camp becomes quiet it’s personality changes. What has been a place of intense community (the sounds of laughter, dancing, and conversation filling the air) suddenly becomes a place provided for intense personal time. It is a wonderful aspect of the camp experience!
If you are like me, you seldom notice the moon phase or watch the first star come out. You don’t notice how high a firefly rises late in the evening or the various hues of color that a camp fire presents. You don’t provide yourself an absolutely silent and absolutely dark environment to drift off to sleep… and if you are like me you wish that you could once again enjoy those simple gifts without effort.
We love camping out, playing on the lawn after EP, dancing as we get ready for bed, and scampering into our bunks as the lights out bugle plays. We anticipate the time with our counselors as they tuck us in and we love sneaking in that occasional “last chapter” of a great book. We love nightime almost as much as we love our days!
It is a warm, sunny, humid, heavenly day. Chance of rain showers, and that usually means rain will fall on Greystone between 3:00 and 5:00 this afternoon. Breakfast was “Truckdrivers Special” (home made biscuits with gravy), Lunch is Fish Taco’s, and Dinner will be our Birthday Ball Blowout of Pork tenderloin, raviolli, roasted veggies, and tomato pie.
We will invite the Birthday girls (anyone who will celebrate their birthday at camp) to sit at the head table and be served by the Head Staff. They get dressed up and are given special favors and a HUGE cake (seriously, that cake weighs about 40 pounds). Afterwards, the birthday girls are the guests of honor in the Camper Talent Show (one of the really great EPs of the summer).
We are shocked at how quickly the days are passing and loving every minute!