Wild Hearted Boys – Session 8

RAIN!

For the first time this season we had an entire day of wet, cold and wind – we were well prepared for it. With the roof of our fort in place, the boys put the last touches on their fire pit and spent the day baking bread, roasting apples and playing games in (relative) warmth and comfort.

Instructor Chickadee brought his wood burning kit for the boys and they took turns drawing the tracks associated with the animal names that they were given at the beginning of the program. Once completed, these will be made a permanent part of our quickly growing outdoor camp.

The Sunday group has also constructed a shelter of their own! More primitive in nature, the boys researched and decided upon a traditional tipi style home. We used saws and knives to fell small saplings while instructor Coyote revealed his background in forestry to teach the boys how to harvest trees in a way that wouldn’t damage the overall health of the forest. We have been sworn to secrecy not to tell you where our new scout camp is but from how soundly it was constructed, it is clearly going to be home to many generations of Wild Hearts to come.

Construction of atlatls (top picture), a type of primitive spear launcher, also begun last week but it was a little too chilly to finish the job. Near the end of the day, a few of the boys discovered how to harden clay around the fire which, when we saw how fantastically clay explodes after hitting a target, led to the inevitable conversation of slingshots. It seems fairly clear what the boys are going to want to do this weekend although we will try not to ‘project’ too much into what the day is going to look like.

-Coyote