Camp Log: 16/18/15

(From Hummingbird’s logs, edited and transcribed 6/23/15)

We had some excitement this morning!

I woke up periodically through the night, first to a sound like rain which I realized eventually was the waves whipping the shoreline, and then to the wind lashing the tent. Then around 6:30, I became concerned that the whole tent was going to blow over. The boys and I piled out and with grandpa's help were able to shift it to a more sheltered location, but as we did so, one of the hooks slid off the pole and caught on a nail which some dolt had nailed into a cedar tree. It punched a big hole in the rainfly. We were lucky, though; the hole was only in the part which became an awning over the door, not in the part actually covering the top of the tent. It still got blown around a little after that, but it was pretty clearly an improvement. Dad and grandpa took an extra rainfly and hung it up in front of the tent to divert even more of the wind.

Then, as if we hasn't damaged enough equipment already, mom discovered that a mouse or some other small rodent had chewed a hole in our red food pack. We hadn't bothered to hang the bags last night, as there were pretty clearly no bears on our small island, but in retrospect, maybe we ought to have anyway.

Not long after, the boys and I explored some more of the island, looking at all the neat mosses and lichens, and Nick pointed out some big red and black shelf fungi. I helped grandpa pull some water off the lakeshore (it was far too rough to go out on the lake) and we got the water bottles filled up. 

Grandpa moved the camp stove out of the wind and put the water on for breakfast. I had hot chocolate, raisin-date-walnut oatmeal, and some freeze dried berries. While we ate, Ben pointed out a big dragonfly nymph pupating on a log. 

After breakfast, I volunteered to wash the dishes so I could stick my hands in the hot water. Then I went to huddle for warmth in the tent (the wind was cold), and ended up napping for an hour or so. When I woke up, the boys and I played Quiddler, and dad and grandpa took an extra rainfly and hung it up in front of the tent to divert even more of the wind. The sun decided to come out circa 11:00, so I went out to lay instead on a flat, sunny spot near the fire grate.

I napped outside until lunch, when we had peanuts, crackers, summer sausage, bagels with peanut butter, granola bars, fruit strips, dried mango and coconut, strong cheese, and Twizzlers. I drank most of a quart of Tang.

After lunch, I moved to a different sunny rock to lay on for a while as the others went out on the lake to look around and fish. Eventually, the rotation of the earth moved my patch of sun, so I went down to the mini beach where there was sun and pretty rocks to look at. Ben found a leech, and I saw another Tiger Swallowtail and a teeny tiny dragonfly nymph in the lake. Later, I too was talked into going canoeing on the windy lake, so I went and paddled around with Nick for a bit, until I got nervous and wanted to get back to shore (windy lakes are dangerous in canoes).

Once back on shore, I went over to the fire grate. By this time, the dragonfly had pupated, and was drying off next to his old skin. I sat watching him while grandpa told Nick and I some stories from other countries he's visited. The dragonfly spread his wings eventually, but couldn't vibrate them fully without poking himself on a sharp piece of wood, so I helped him onto a nearby rock. He sat there a moment longer before taking off. A big flock of geese passed overhead, as did a bald eagle, which Nick saw swoop right over camp.

Not long later, we boiled water for three-cheese soup, which we ate with crackers, carrot chips, dried pineapple, and banana chips. We had banana cream pudding for dessert. While we were eating, we heard a seagull cawing loudly, and then we saw it was chasing a bald eagle across the lake. They turned and came back past our campsite, diving toward the lake, and we could see that the eagle was carrying a big fish, maybe a bass. The seagull was very obviously after the fish, and they flew all the way across the lake pecking at  the eagle's feet before they gave up.

After dinner, dad lit a fire and we did dishes. A tiny little caterpillar was hanging down from a tree on some silk until dad ran into it and dragged him off somewhere. I hope the little guy is okay. We all sat around poking the fire for a while. The wind finally just died down, and I'm going to bed.