Living in the woods

One of the things I love most about summer camp is that it allows children to experience the world at a different pace. There is a schedule, of course; but within that framework there is time to see the world in a different light.

This morning I was on a trailride with 10 girls. As one child decided not to ride, Monkey rode along with us. As we came into the cover of trees from an open field, we had an issue with one of the horses (they've been out to pasture all winter and the first week or so they can be rather "frisky"). While I helped the one girl, the rest of the group stayed still around us. A camper heard something in the woods, just off the trail, and then three of them saw a grey fox kit in the shadows. Then they saw another and the mother. Amazing. We were all able to see them (twice, as we had to pass by the spot again). A grey fox is a rare sight. Her den must be right there off of the field and near the trail to the lake. I guess living that close to camp has made her a little braver than most and we were graced to see her little brood in the shaded underbrush.

One of the girls commented that if the horse hadn't acted up, we may never have seen the foxes. Quite true. If we hadn't stopped in just that spot, we wouldn't have noticed the rather well camouflaged kits. Today we were thankful for a difficult situation that allowed us to glimpse the magic all around us.

Take time to look in the shady spots and to the sides of the path you are on. No telling what you will see.