I spent the weekend away from home. No kids. No husband.
It wasn't a vacationing weekend. I spent the weekend learning how to teach Hunting and Outdoor skills for 4-H.
It started out Friday afternoon as a pretty nice afternoon/evening. I got to Camp Windermere in Roach, Missouri at about 5:15. I ran into a couple of familiar faces soon after arriving. Byron, the retired Greene County leader, and Dale Cox, the retired Polk County leader were heading up the Sportfishing workshop that was going on.
I carried my things into a very nice room. I give thumbs up to Camp Windermere for it's facilities and for its very nice cafeteria and staff. I had a balcony that faced the east with two cafe chairs and small table. I took the time to sit on my balcony and look out over the lake. It was very serene and peaceful. I took a moment to reflect and catch a much needed breather alone. As I looked across the lake, on the bluff facing my room was the church. It sits high on the overlooking bluff and appeared to be an a-frame building with many windows. The cross rose proudly from the top of the steeple.
I went to dinner with a handful of men that were there Friday night for the workshop. A nice fellow from the St. Louis area, Mike, and a young gentleman from the Kansas City area, Josh, were my tablemates. Mike had been at the camp a few weeks earlier for a church gathering. I enjoyed talking to both of these individuals and learning of their goals for the kids in their areas.
After we walked back the 1/2 mile to Lakeview Lodge that we were all staying at, I walked up the hill to the conference center and struck up a conversation with what I soon found out was my leader for the weekend, Tim Coy. Tim was an awesome leader with a load of knowledge. Since I was the only one there from our group, I got to start on a project early. Tim taught me how to mount wings. I won't go into detail cause I don't want to cause anyone with weak stomachs any distress. I did very well on this project. I mounted a Blue Goose wing and a male Mallard Duck wing. After this, it was starting to unload their trucks and pack all the stuff into the conference room. While standing on the hill outside the conference center, I heard rustling in the leaves in the stand of timber up the hill about 50 feet from me. I thought of Steve's parting words, "Watch out for Bigfoot." Surveying my options of run like a little girl screaming down the hill or remain planted until I could get a better look, I remained rooted to my spot. At the edge of the woods, just inside the shadows was a fairly good sized doe deer. Behind her, was her three yearlings. After this I went to my room to clean up and check in on Steve and the boys.
I resumed my position on the balcony while I talked to my husband on the phone. Paden made sure to tell me he was being REALLY good and that he needed a toy. As dusk faded and night time came crashing in, I listened to the sounds of the tree frogs, the calls of the birds, the fish jumping, the subtle sounds of nightime.
Saturday the rain moved in and it showered on us off and on all day. I taught the other four students how to mount a wing Saturday morning. We learned how to set up and run a compass course. We played a couple games and we went on a Carmelita hunt. Saturday afternoon about 4:30 came the fun part of cooking. The Sportfishers, fried fish, hushpuppies and made coleslaw. We, the Hunting & Outdoor Skills group, we learned Dutch Oven Cooking. We made potatoes and onions with cheese and bacon, peach cobbler and cherry cobbler. The dinner was awesome and both groups visited in the kitchen area and had a wonderful dinner.
It wasn't a vacationing weekend. I spent the weekend learning how to teach Hunting and Outdoor skills for 4-H.
It started out Friday afternoon as a pretty nice afternoon/evening. I got to Camp Windermere in Roach, Missouri at about 5:15. I ran into a couple of familiar faces soon after arriving. Byron, the retired Greene County leader, and Dale Cox, the retired Polk County leader were heading up the Sportfishing workshop that was going on.
I carried my things into a very nice room. I give thumbs up to Camp Windermere for it's facilities and for its very nice cafeteria and staff. I had a balcony that faced the east with two cafe chairs and small table. I took the time to sit on my balcony and look out over the lake. It was very serene and peaceful. I took a moment to reflect and catch a much needed breather alone. As I looked across the lake, on the bluff facing my room was the church. It sits high on the overlooking bluff and appeared to be an a-frame building with many windows. The cross rose proudly from the top of the steeple.
I went to dinner with a handful of men that were there Friday night for the workshop. A nice fellow from the St. Louis area, Mike, and a young gentleman from the Kansas City area, Josh, were my tablemates. Mike had been at the camp a few weeks earlier for a church gathering. I enjoyed talking to both of these individuals and learning of their goals for the kids in their areas.
After we walked back the 1/2 mile to Lakeview Lodge that we were all staying at, I walked up the hill to the conference center and struck up a conversation with what I soon found out was my leader for the weekend, Tim Coy. Tim was an awesome leader with a load of knowledge. Since I was the only one there from our group, I got to start on a project early. Tim taught me how to mount wings. I won't go into detail cause I don't want to cause anyone with weak stomachs any distress. I did very well on this project. I mounted a Blue Goose wing and a male Mallard Duck wing. After this, it was starting to unload their trucks and pack all the stuff into the conference room. While standing on the hill outside the conference center, I heard rustling in the leaves in the stand of timber up the hill about 50 feet from me. I thought of Steve's parting words, "Watch out for Bigfoot." Surveying my options of run like a little girl screaming down the hill or remain planted until I could get a better look, I remained rooted to my spot. At the edge of the woods, just inside the shadows was a fairly good sized doe deer. Behind her, was her three yearlings. After this I went to my room to clean up and check in on Steve and the boys.
I resumed my position on the balcony while I talked to my husband on the phone. Paden made sure to tell me he was being REALLY good and that he needed a toy. As dusk faded and night time came crashing in, I listened to the sounds of the tree frogs, the calls of the birds, the fish jumping, the subtle sounds of nightime.
Saturday the rain moved in and it showered on us off and on all day. I taught the other four students how to mount a wing Saturday morning. We learned how to set up and run a compass course. We played a couple games and we went on a Carmelita hunt. Saturday afternoon about 4:30 came the fun part of cooking. The Sportfishers, fried fish, hushpuppies and made coleslaw. We, the Hunting & Outdoor Skills group, we learned Dutch Oven Cooking. We made potatoes and onions with cheese and bacon, peach cobbler and cherry cobbler. The dinner was awesome and both groups visited in the kitchen area and had a wonderful dinner.
2 comments:
Wow, that sounds like an amazing weekend. And one that all women need now and then, just to be somewhere different and enjoy some scenery. I loved your writing here, I could actually picture it. I love to hunt and be outdoors too, so I know just how much your appreciation for its beauty is. Glad you had a good time.
Very nice blog post! Looks like the perfect weekend - now, when can I get away? ~Ms. A
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