Week Nine: Electives
Week 9 was filled with unique and even some mischievous experiences as gappers spent time learning from and socializing with Glenbrook staff members.
From finishing carrier beams and working on plant identification, to blacksmithing and the murder mystery halloween party, gappers and staff worked together to further their knowledge and develop their skills during this second week of electives.
This week a couple of electives were offered several times so that gappers could continue to hone their skills in certain areas. One of such electives was Zach’s Naturalist Skillz course. During this elective, Zach took gappers on walks around camp to review tree identification, teach the basics of animal tracking, and to collect leaves and needles to make tea with. Every session of the elective was in Glenbrook’s woods, and yet even within the property new things were discovered each time such as animal fur, wolf or sentinel trees, and strips of birch bark eaten in a distinct but unknown pattern. Although these things may seem common, all of these items were new and intriguing, even to Zach who has spent a lot of time wandering around the property. Another one of the electives was helping Grant with finishing carrier beams for the cabin that is being built. In all, there were 4 beams that had to be built and each one got successively easier as the gappers, and Grant, figured out the quickest and surest ways to build the boards properly. By the end of the week, all of the boards had been built and screwed into place on their concrete pillar foundation so that Grant can now continue onto the next part of the building process. Electives such as Nora’s Orienteering and Wilderness Skills and Farmer Sam’s Car Maintenance were only offered once, but both served to refresh as well as add to information that gappers already knew.
Other electives this week included blacksmithing and herbal remedies. Romeek taught gappers how to use the forge and anvil to bend and shape metal into their desired creations, while Tori helped gappers to turn fresh herbs and plants from the garden into home remedies.
With Halloween fast approaching, gappers and instructors alike started to get into the holiday spirit. After some small hijinks earlier in the week involving a small bathroom and a lot of balloons, gappers got to work carving pumpkins and turnips, baking sweet treats, and decorating the barn for a camp-wide Halloween party. A few staff members showed up in costumes to hang out and chat, but were suddenly thrown into a murder mystery that had been planned previously. Staff members and gappers alike worked together to embody their characters while trying to solve the mystery of the poisoned cookie. Although it took a bit to figure out who had committed the crime, by the end of the night everyone had had a good laugh together and enjoyed themselves.
Friday was a busy day for the gappers. It was Ryder’s birthday and there were plenty of things planned for the day. After a more relaxed morning, the gappers and Maggie and Nora drove about 45 minutes to Pack Monadnock where we hiked to the top to get to the raptor observatory post. While no raptors were spotted during our time at the summit, we were treated to a beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding valley, as well as Boston! Once we were back at camp, a few of us headed to the main house for a crafting night with many members of the Glenbrook staff. There were many projects that were being worked on ranging from knitting sweaters and hats, to darning socks, and patching up pairs of pants. It was nice having more experienced crafters there to answer questions, but plenty of other conversations happened as well. After a slightly comedic detour to find the delivered pizza, dinner was eaten, and Ryder’s birthday was celebrated with a freshly made dirt cake.
With the weekend arriving meant trips not just to downtown Keene, but also to Peterborough for contra dancing, and to a nearby leather store for moccasins and hats. It also meant that Charlie was leaving the farm to head back west for the winter, and we were sad to see him go.
Instead of an interview or another piece of writing, the guest editor of the week, Davis, put together a list of songs that he felt encapsulated his week!
Burnin and Lootin by the Wailers
Lover You Should’ve Come Over by Jeff Buckley
Solo by Frank Ocean
Sparks by Coldplay
Tomorrow by Silverchair
Survival of the Fittest by Mobb Deep
Come back next week to hear all about our last backcountry adventure with guest editor Campbell!