Indeed the boys have been hungry and the food has been both copious and good.  But, that is not today’s story.  Instead, it was my pleasure to lead a small group of boys into the muddy swamp adjacent to the Kingswood property in search of the rare pitcher plants that reside only in the perfect environmental conditions that exist in this zone.

 

First we took the Moose Poops Trail which starts at the end of the soccer pitch.  “Watch where you step” was my admonishment to the boys since all sorts of scat – from moose to deer and maybe even bears – can be found in this gorgeous woodland. Guess who stepped into a pile of poop lying in the middle of the path?  “But, this is what you do for a living,” I said to myself as the kids bent over to thoroughly examine the deposit.

 

The pitcher plants were reliably in place as we reached that lone spot where they thrive. Indeed, we tread very carefully as we passed through the exhibit and the campers delighted in searching for bugs that get caught in the trumpet-like petals of the carnivorous plants thus creating nutrition for them. The trail was quite muddy which was received very favorably by the trampers.

 

The forecast called for nearly 100% chance of rain, which it did do for about 10 minutes during daylight hours, resulting in no activity let up or “pivot” whatsoever.  It was warm, even muggy at times, and a complete day of activities went off as scheduled.  I see that Sara offered another 100+ pics of the action while not worrying too much about editing in an endeavor to get as many looks into the action as she could.

 

Those boys jumping off the tower were the Polar Bears, who start each day with a plunge into the palliative waters of Mother Tarleton.  She was there for morning clinics, three hour long instructional sessions, one at each of three venues – waterfront, team sports and what we call the choice block that incorporates all the rest of the options. All of them got good reviews.  How do I know that?  I asked the boys.

 

I spent a bit more time going over my photos of the nature hike and Xavier’s birthday skit at dinner.  He was a wonderful “subject” and took all the joking with grace and humor. No one complained when the CIT’s hauled out ice cream and popsicles as a dessert to celebrate Xavier’s day.

 

Talk to you tomorrow.