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We found a nest above the shutter of the Campstore during opening. It was full of small blue eggs.
We knew if we left the shutter up until they hatched we were risking harm to the fledglings later.
If we moved the nest too far the mama bird would not likely return. So Tony built a small shelf
above the shutter and carefully moved the nest over to it. We got the shutter down. The mother
returned to her nest. All is well here at Pinewoods.
- Judy Savage - June 2010
The peepers and wood frogs are loudly celebrating the arrival of spring. The water is up to the
second step going up to the Camphouse and lapping at the underside of the Changing Room. Pond
neighbors are busy fetching docks that have floated away. Mayflowers are in bloom two weeks ahead
of schedule and Tony has begun to turn the water back on in camp.
- Judy Savage - April 2010
Otters are making the long luge-like paths running down the hills to the ponds throughout camp.
Mystery solved. While there seems to be quite a few, I haven’t actually seen any yet.
My neighbor, Jessica, and I want to set up her wildlife camera to try to get proof.
Campers aren’t the only ones who are frolicking at camp
- Judy Savage - February 2010
A lone ice fisherman was out on Round Pond early this morning. Long Pond is not quite frozen over yet,
but another week of this cold and it will be. Sophie (the new puppy) and I are finding interesting
tracks in the snow - fox, deer, mice, otter, mole. And something that leaves a long luge like path
running down hills to the ponds. Perhaps a fisher?
- Judy Savage - January 2010
Unseasonably balmy days have finally given way to the cold. The last storm blew away any remaining
leaves on the hardwoods. It finally feels like winter. A deer with a full rack of antlers crossed in front of
me on Cornish Field Road last week. Otherwise, all is quiet at Pinewoods.
- Judy Savage - December 2009
It’s the golden season at camp. Paths are covered with copper
colored pine needles. A canopy of bright yellow and gold leaves is still overhead.
On bright sunny days everything simply glows.
- Judy Savage - October 2009
Hermit Thrush song at dusk and ladyslippers in abundant bloom. Crew gather by the fire in
Pinecones after a hard day of opening cabins and scrubbing down the kitchen. We tell stories
about camp and count the days until we open.
- Judy Savage - June 2009
The peepers and wood frogs are loudly celebrating spring. My neighbor and I put on our rubber boots
and checked the bogs and vernal ponds last weekend. There are lots of salamander and frog eggs
floating in transparent balloon-like clusters. Buds are on the blueberry bushes and the pussy willows
are blossoming. Yesterday two osprey played tag over John Raymond as they swooped down to fish in
Round Pond. And Tony has just begun to turn the water back on in camp.
- Judy Savage - April 2009
Mergansers and Wood Ducks have returned to Round Pond this week. My crocuses
and daffodils are coming up and the Witch Hazel is in bloom. Birdsong mixes with
the sounds of construction at Ampleforth. It’s also mud season at camp, which
presents a different set of challenges for getting in and out of camp. Yet I am
so very grateful for the disappearance of ice, and the soft give of the earth
beneath my feet.
- Judy Savage - March 2009
With nine inches of snow last week, Pinewoods was a perfect place to cross-country
ski. The ice on the roads during the previous week made getting around and in and
out of camp practically impossible. But the days are getting longer, and the birds
that surround my birdfeeder are starting to fill the air with tentative song.
- Judy Savage - February 2009
All is quiet. Camp is in hibernation. Any dancing that might occur under this
enormous full moon is hidden from human sight. But there are promises
to keep under the snow and time enough to dream about the summer
- Judy Savage - January 2009
The fall colors were exceptionally beautiful and drawn out this year.
The view from Long Pond to the shore was the best.
A fierce November wind came through last weekend and took all the remaining leaves
off the trees. Walking through camp is crunchy underfoot now, but the sky has opened
up and, on clear days, camp is full of light.
- Judy Savage - November 2008
The old Ampleforth is gone as of this morning. Only the chimney remains standing,
but not for long. There were no astounding archeological findings under the floor, but
there are lots of fond memories posted on the Pinewoods Facebook page. Ampleforth
slumber parties- who knew?
- Judy Savage - October 2008
Quiet settles back down around the ponds and the paths. Geese stop by on
their way south, finding temporary safe haven on Round Pond for an evening.
Black birds descend en mass on a clearing, causing a ruckus for a short
while, and then once again there is the silence. The season’s music and
dancing feels well spent, as does the sunlight on the ponds and wood paths.
One last swim, and then its time to sigh and settle satisfactorily inward,
until Summer comes again.
- Judy Savage - September 2008
If you stand very still in the heart of the wood, you will hear many wonderful
things…the snap of twig and the wind in the trees and the whir of invisible wings.
- Judy Savage - August 2008
Midsummer and pipers are calling campers to breakfast. Hermit thrush compete
with the fiddles in the afternoon. Kilts sway as folks wander along the paths
to and from class. A Maypole flutters on the clearing in front of the dining hall.
Long Pond sparkles in the afternoon sun and C# is lit up at night with music and laughter.
- Judy Savage - July 2008
Ladyslippers are in bloom. A baby snapping turtle stops traffic in the middle
of Cornish Field Road. We held the first season’s dance in the Camphouse
during the Memorial Day Work Weekend. The crew hang out on Pinecones porch in
the evening, and the night is filled with music and laughter. Camp is opening.
- Judy Savage - June 2008
The peepers are now deafening. Mayflowers are in bloom. Haven’t seen any
Ladyslippers yet, but haven’t really had time to look. Tree buds are out
but the leaves have yet to pop. And where are the hummingbirds? They have
usually arrived by now. - Judy Savage - May 2008
Camp is greening with all the rain. I heard the first spring peepers this
week out by Blueberry House. I’ve been reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal
Vegetable, Miracle and I’m more determined then ever to get as much local
produce as possible to feed our campers this summer. I called our two local
farmers this morning because I wanted to tell them to plant more!
- Judy Savage - April 2008
Nothing but rainy wet weather after the unexpected snowstorm 2 weeks ago.
We got 12-14 inches, and I had a chance to do a little cross-country skiing
through camp. Neighbors tell me the resident eagle is back on Halfway Pond,
but I haven’t seen it yet. The ice is about gone from both Ponds, and we had
lightning and thunder the other night. But winter is definitely not over yet.
- Judy Savage - February 2008
The Ponds are beginning to freeze over, and the leaves are finally off the
trees. The wildlife is scarce probably because it’s hunting season on the
southeast shore. The raccoons are there, however. One got my cat a few weeks
ago. It was a sad reminder to me that the woods can be both peaceful and wild.
- Judy Savage - January 2008
The Ponds are beginning to freeze over, and the leaves are finally off the
trees. The wildlife is scarce probably because it’s hunting season on the
southeast shore. The raccoons are there, however. One got my cat a few weeks
ago. It was a sad reminder to me that the woods can be both peaceful and wild.
- Judy Savage - December 2007
Indian summer brings warm enough days to keep swimming right through the end
of September. Camp is quiet, except for birds and the rustle of the squirrels
and turkeys. The red-bellied cooters continue to sun themselves on fallen
branches in both Ponds. A full moon lights up the night, and invites me to
take a silent walk on now empty paths through camp.
- Judy Savage - September 2007
In spite of the cold and last night’s Nor’easter, spring has arrived at camp.
The changes are subtle. There are crocuses and daffodils in my garden, the
witch hazel is blooming, and buds are peaking out from beneath the leaves.
Ducks court each other loudly in the ponds. Wood frogs serenade me from the
vernal pond. Next week I will start looking for mayflowers.
- Judy Savage - April 2007
Round Pond has finally frozen with this last cold spell. Long Pond remains
ice-free. With snow on the ground I can see the fox tracks, which have been
invisible so far this winter. The stars are incredibly brilliant this time
of year, visible through leafless trees and magnified by the dark.
- Judy Savage - January 2007
One night last week I went out with one of my neighbors to check out
the action in the Vernal Ponds. Jessica works for the Wildlands Trust,
so knows what to look for. Serenaded by wood frogs and up to our knees
in muck, we found tadpoles and dragonfly larvae. We were looking for
spotted salamanders and migrating frogs looking for mates, but it was
still early. Spring comes a little later here at Camp.
- Judy Savage - April 2006
The winter has been mild so far, and our need for plowing minor. There aren't
too many foxes around. The pond freezes and melts, and then freezes again.
Both Round Pond and Long Pond are amazingly full. Wild turkeys continue to
roam the paths in large groups, almost like campers going from one activity
to another, happily discussing their day.
- Judy Savage - January 2006
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