A Day in the Life of an Earwiger

Posted By: Tess Hartigan

It's not every day that one can claim to have made it down a local gulch through the redwood forest, greeted the ocean, and made it back to camp for a beautiful afternoon. All in the span of two and a half hours. That is just the beginning of the amazing stunts that this group of Second Sessioners have accomplished today, and I cannot wait to see what else they have up the sleeves of their new Plantation tee-shirts!

My name is Tess and I have the luck to be the counselor of the amazing twelve to thirteen year old boys in the unit Earwig, the second oldest male unit. From campfire talks to perfecting our football spirals, Earwig has been the ultimate mix of respect, adventure, excitement, and above all else, fun! Waking up in the morning and keeping perfectly silent as a flock of wild turkeys strut by, my boys tend to vacillate between complete awe and complete exuberance. Who could ask for more?

Having always been a first session camper and staff member myself, I had no idea what to expect of these late summer outward bounders. All I can say is that these kids are blowing me and my fellow counselors away at every turn. The first drama of the session was on Friday night and I have never seen a better impression of an orangutan in all eighteen years of my life. Improvised by a thirteen year old girl in the unit Alpine. Did I mention she was also simultaneously imitating a counselor as well?

Throw in a group of avid horseback riders who are currently circling the corral with supreme postures, a yoga activity finding their zen at the lake, and a raging water slip n' slide that is in construction as I type, all I can do is thank the parents who lent me these incredible kids for three and a half weeks of summer. I don't want to return them! I'll be heading off to Stanford, a different kind of farm so to speak in the fall, and I know that I am a much more vibrant, intrepid soul for these extraordinary experiences with your children. Thank you.

I'm off to make treats for afternoon tea, so until next time!

Tess