Hi everyone! Coltrane the Turtle here. I can’t believe it’s time for Tollgate Turtle Tells All: A Camp Exposé Part IV already! This week is truly flying by. Probably because every day is so full of awesome adventures! Take today, for instance. By this point, campers are very familiar with animal chores. So what did those edu-leaders do? They let some of the peppers take two of our animals (can you guess which species?) out of the barn so that they could hang out!
It was our rabbits, Elenore and Opal!
They told me that they really enjoyed getting out of their hutch for a bit.
Then, campers got to play a really great game called “Metamorphosis.” Basically, everyone started as an egg and had to work their way through the stages of metamorphosis in order to become a beautiful butterfly. The catch? The only way they could advance to the next stage is by beating a fellow camper who is in the same stage at a game of rock, paper, scissors!
Two eggs face off
Orange and Yellow Peppers came together for a huge game of Metamorphosis!
After that, campers had to put on their veterinarian coats and grab their stethoscopes because it was time for “Kid Vet!” During this activity, campers got to use stethoscopes (although most campers thought it was easier to feel the animal with their hands) to determine the average goat breathing rate and pulse. Ask you pepper if they remember what the correct numbers are!
Feeling for the pulse
Who needs a stethoscope when you have perfectly good hands and ears?
Then it was time to head to a place that has become a camper-favorite: the garden. Today, the campers did something really cool in the garden; they dissected an egg! Just by peeling back the outer membrane of the egg and then cracking it, campers were able to have great conversations about how the hatching process works.
Trying to shake up the egg to scramble it before cracking it- not as easy as it sounds
Try your own egg dissection at home!
After a little break for lunch, campers got to work on their creature creations! My loyal watchers will know that campers have been molding their creations out of salt dough for the past two days, so today, they put the finishing touches on them. I wonder if anyone made something resembling a turtle…
Camper creativity for the win!
This pepper did a great job translating their drawing to dough!
After that, it was time for an interesting challenge called “That’s My Apple!” In this activity, the campers had to draw the apple they were given. But then, the apples were taken away, mixed up, and put in a row. The campers then had to identify their apple based on their drawing! It’s a lot harder than it sounds, but a lot of campers were able to ID their apple!
Apples and “say cheese”
Insider info: All the apples were exactly the same type!
? ✏️
And then, one of my all-time favorite camp activities: horse rides! I’ve been chatting with the horses, and they all said they’ve been looking forward to this day. The campers this week got to ride Friday, a frequent guest on the blog, and Jade, a new arrival joining us for the summer!
Riding on Friday on Thursday
Insider info: every single camper gave the horse ride a try!
A big thanks to our stewards and SIT’s for helping with horse safety!
Future cowboy
And now, I will reveal the much-anticipated Thursday Garden Kitchen dishes! Today, we cooked up beet hummus and squash saucers with Italian herb spread. This resulted in two very colorful (and scrumptious) dishes!
A dose of healthy greens
A glowing review from these peppers
Take a beet, ordinary hummus
Hummus in pretty pink!
NOTE: beet hummus has 1/2 teaspoons of salt, NOT 12!
And a great day was had by all
Next up, I have a special message from the Winged Wonders campers! Ms. Ellen says:
Campers and leaders of Winged Wonders Camp 2018 have had a grand adventure as they explored the world of birds in the forest, field, and lakes of the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary at the Kellogg Biological Station in Hickory Corners, Michigan. Thanks to our hosts and co-leaders Misty, Abbey, and Malik, as they helped lead our hardy campers through many miles of birding escapades.
Adventures included:
Bird Olympics
Binoculars and Bird ID
Nestbuilding (Ravens, Great Blue Herons, Bald Eagles, Redtailed Hawk nests)
Egg Dissection – compare and contrast Turkey, Bobwhite, and Chicken Eggs
Predator Prey Game
Swimming and Marco Polo at Gull Lake
Hiking and Migration Mishaps
Night Sky Hike
Friday includes mapping the birds at Tollgate, Flip, Flap, Fly, The Great Beak Challenge, Garden Kitchen, and more. Here’s to many more Winged Wonders to come!
And to wrap up today’s documentation, here’s Coltrane’s Captured Moment!
Good times & great friends
For more pictures (including lots of great horse ride shots!) visit the Google Folder!
The much-awaited finale of my exposé comes out tomorrow! Make sure to check back in to see exactly how the week wraps up. So get a good sleep, and I’ll see you tomorrow!