Ed’s Corner: What a Winter!

I know that I have always said that if we live in a four-season climate then let each season really be itself. Well, that is definitely happening this year!

Ice skating on the Pond happened as early as mid-December; icicles galore hang from many of the roof edges of Green Meadow School; the Fairy stream has been iced over from bank-to-bank with fast, cold water rushing below; our many gardens are quietly under cover, biding their time until the late Winter sunshine starts to stir the life within; the cows, sheep and chickens have needed extra food and bedding as well as their frozen water changed more often; our regular hiking trails in Harriman State Park have become cross-country skiing trails; walking along the woodland paths has proven challenging, with an icy cover over a foot of snow causing one sometimes to stay on top, sometimes to break through.

We noticed that as we broke through the ice to the snow underneath, big slabs were created from the frozen crust. We took these big, flat pieces of ice and stuck them into untrampled snow in a circular pattern. We had our own ‘Snow-henge’!
How I wish that I could bring the other seasons – for a limited time – to our 6-weeks of summer camp. What fun it would be to explore Fall, Winter and Spring for, say, a week at a time and still have 3 weeks of Summer left!

I hope you are able to come to one of our public programs or Open Houses and experience a bit of winter at camp. Mark on your calendars March 6, the date of our Maple Sugaring program, an event that always signals the end of Winter and beginning of Spring.