Arriving at Larrabee State Park on a beautifully sunny
Sunday, the Gray Wolves were thanking their lucky stars to have an outing on
one of the nicest days of winter thus far. Not only did they show up with an
eager enthusiasm, but we also got to welcome a new group member and have an
Explorer join us from another group. After getting to know each other a bit
better during our opening circle and sharing our highlights from winter break,
we jumped right into things.
Right off the bat the Gray Wolves were focused and ready to
learn. Luckily we had an extensive topic to talk about: carving and
coal-blowing spoons. Unluckily, the mentors were not anticipating such a
promptness and eagerness to learn this skill and had to take a little bit of
time to prep the materials while the Gray Wolves entertained themselves by
starting up a game of “Where’s My Egg?” and searching for the best walking
sticks. Not only were the mentors impressed at the focus the Gray Wolves brought
from the get go, but their ability to adapt and make the most of things was
also quite incredible.
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| Settling in at the beach and picking out our carving stations |
With materials prepped, a quick crow call got the group to
gather up. Tim took some time to review the basics of carving, and talk a bit
about what we will learn as we advance our carving skills. Today we got the
opportunity to try out our first advanced carving task by taking a block of
wood and carving it into a spoon. It sure does sound simple on paper, but once
you begin working with the wood, getting to know the flow of the grain,
identifying the knots that will take some extra attention, and just being able
to visualize a spoon within the wood, there is suddenly a greater appreciation
for something as simple as the humble spoon.
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| Of course there is always time to play at the beach too |
Talking as a group we decided to take our carving projects
to the beach to maximize our time in the sunshine. Not only was it nice to get
down by the water, but the rocks we usually climb around on served a new
purpose as premium waterfront carving station. Hanging out at the beach alone
could have made for a fantastic outing, but we had a lot left to do so after
some lunch we rallied together and trekked back up to the fire pit to get our
fire going. Tim took the opportunity of lighting the fire to introduce the Gray
Wolves’ next skills focus; The Art of Fire. The first lesson will be using a
kindling bundle of Western-Hemlock branches and a single match to start a fire.
With plenty of sunshine and pre-prepped materials this task was a breeze, but
on future outings when we aren’t so lucky things might get a bit more challenging.
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| Gotta get a fire going to make any coals! |
After getting a fire going and demonstrating the importance
of preparation, intentionality, and anticipation to properly process and organize
your fuel it was time to transition to coal-blowing. With our initial “spoons”
taking shape due to some expansive carving time, we were ready to transition to
making the concavity. Being careful with our coals and remembering to be aware
of those around us, the mentors extracted coals from the fire for the Gray Wolves.
Placing the red hot ember on the wood and using a stick to press down on the
coal, the Gray Wolves each began blowing steadily on the coal to increase the
heat and transfer the heat into the spoon. After a few seconds the wood of the
spoon began to heat up and become an ember in itself. After exhausting their
coals, each Gray Wolf took some time to scrape out the charcoal on the concavity
of the spoon and before they knew it their spoon was taking shape. This process
must then be repeated until your concavity is sufficiently shaped to the
coal-blower’s specifications.
As our outing was drawing to a close a younger Explorers
Club group, the Black-Tailed Deer, showed up for their outing. There were
definitely some familiar faces as this is the same group the Gray Wolves helped
teach shelter building at Stewart Mountain a couple months prior. Today,
however, the Black-Tailed Deer were beginning their journey in the Art of
Carving. Interested in our spoons and the process of coal-blowing, we made a
big circle around the fire and the Gray Wolves shared a bit about their projects
and offered up some bits of advice that they thought would help the
Black-Tailed Deer as they begin to learn the Art of Carving themselves. With
just enough time for a closing circle to share some gratitude to end our day
the Gray Wolves were whisked away by parents to head home smelling of campfire
and with a new carving project in their packs.
Make sure to check out the rest of the photos from our outing here!
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| Talking with the Black-Tailed Deer about carving |
