TBT: Zac and the Corn Snake

Calvin the Corn Snake!

As I was getting packed up for my return to Camp Foley in 2013, it made me think about all the memories and friendships I made. One of the activities that I really liked to teach was the nature class. The campers were always excited to go on nature walks and hold the snakes. The nature room was very busy some days and I always enjoyed showing the campers the snakes. One of my favorite and strangest memories from the nature room was during my snake class. I had taken out the Corn Snake so the campers could hold it and see what it looked like. What happened next was quite strange and I have never had this happen to me before, but when I set him on the table all of a sudden he decided to go to the bathroom on the table. It startled me for a second because it was so random and it hadn't happened before. It was very memorable and will always remind me about my first year at camp.

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

One of Camp Foley's best traditions (in my professional opinion) is it's birthday tradition. I love when the entire Dining Hall sings "happy birthday" to someone as they stand on a milk crate and followed by the counselors surrounding the birthday camper and singing the staff birthday song. Who can resist ominously chanting, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, we hate do it, but we must we must," as campers and counselors follow the birthday boy or girl to the lake to be thrown in by his or her counselors? Follow all of this up with a special Foley birthday cake - amazing! Guest blogger and 2013 counselor Melissa Martutartus recalls the birthday of one of her 2012 campers.

Melissa helping to throw Jessica into Whitefish Lake.

I have many favorite moments that I can recall from my first summer at Foley. I love the fact that there are so many traditions that one would only understand having gone to Foley. One of which is to be thrown in the lake on your birthday. It was one of my favorite moments, being a new counselor, that I was a part of throwing my camper into the lake. It made me feel like I helped make Jessica’s day even though she knew it was coming. However, it made my day even more because the entire camp was watching. I felt as though it is an honor to throw someone into the lake. And since Jessica was a member of my cabin, we were able to laugh as a cabin about it that night together! 

-Melissa Martutartus

Have you ever celebrated a birthday at Foley, or  might you be a first-timer camper this summer and have this tradition to look forward to? Do you have another Foley tradition that's your favorite? 

TBT: Parker Remembers Some Camp Dances

One of the favorite nights of camp is the Grand Dance Festival. Campers dress up crazy and make their way to the Wabi for a memorable night of dancing like a fool with friends. As you grow up and out of camp, you'll definitely remember a lot of the dance themes, popular music and spending time with friends in the Wabi (or Basketball Court if you were around for those dances).

This summer will be my tenth at camp. For most of my summers, especially as I got older, one of my favorite nights was the dance. Gettin’ my boogie on to some classic Backstreet Boys hits and rocking out to Bohemian Rhapsody--what could be better? When I look back at my dances as a camper, two moments jump out at me.

Parker with friends at the PJ Dance in 2009.

One of my very first memories of camp is from my first summer in 2003. I was a wee young ten-year-old in Yakama, and first session had been progressing quite nicely. I had made new friends, and I learned how to play Mafia; everything was great. Then, disaster struck. The dance theme was announced: Cabin Colors. Each cabin picked a color and everyone was supposed to deck themselves out from head to toe in said color. My cabin-mates decided that pink was the best choice, and I started freaking out because I didn’t own any pink. Worst case scenarios started flashing through my head: Would my cabin-mates stop liking me because I didn’t match? Would they bar me from the dance if I wasn’t dressed for the theme? Ten year old me couldn’t handle it. I was so distressed about not having any pink that I started crying.  

Everything turned around when, probably about twenty seconds later, some of the girls in my cabin asked if I needed to borrow anything.I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to don a bright pink rain poncho than I was on that night.  All of my earlier fears were completely unfounded. I really hope that I gave my friends a caring bead at our cabin counsel later, because their offer to share brightened that entire session for me.  

Fast forward to my last year as a camper, 2009 first session. Something about being a CIT, being back out on the basketball court, and being there with a ton of my friends made that night incredibly special. When all the wolves got together at the end of the night to circle up and sing along to Piano Man (because that had magically become a thing the year before), I felt like we were a family. That dance was the cherry on top of a great session, and one of my favorite camp memories.

Parker with staff and campers at the dance in 2012.

As a counselor, the dance is still one of my favorite nights of camp. The Wabi and its new tech is cool as can be; the flashing lights just make me want to break out into a round of Call Me Maybe or Aaron’s Party. All of last summer’s dances were fantastic, and had some particularly brilliant themes (I’m looking at you, Bro-down Throw-down). Even if it’s a little warm, when the music is blasting, I feel the need to dance with anyone and everyone. I will dance at you until you dance with me. Though my dance skills are a bit lacking, I like to think I make up for that with enthusiasm. I’ve got at least four spectacular nights ahead of me this summer-- who’s going to dance with me?  

--Parker Poche

Are you ready to put on your dancing shoes this summer? We hope so because each session you can count on attending an awesome and memorable Grand Dance Festival! 

If Tess Can Conquer a Fear, so Can You!

This week's guest blogger, 2013 counselor Tess Lee, tells us all about her fear of spiders and how her time at Foley has helped her to (slowly) begin conquering the fear. This year, we think it would be awesome if every camper took a page out of Tess' book and tried to conquer a fear this summer at camp! 

Let me give you small snapshot into my life, I feel comfortable in a city, in the mountains, in lakes, rivers, oceans, pretty much wherever, as long as I am surrounded by good friends. But what really makes my skin crawl are bugs...spiders especially. Now I know what most people are thinking, all that, “they are more afraid of you then you are of them”, and the “they wont do anything if you dont bother them.” I have tried hard to believe in these positive thoughts, but the honest truth is that I can’t even look at a spider without my palms sweating, and some sort of yelp coming from my mouth.

What is so great about camp is how completely engulfed in nature you are in nearly every activity, so bugs and such are going to be a natural occurrence.

It started the night of one of last year’s Flick-n-Floats, I was in the Washo getting ready for bed with my cabin when one of my campers casually let me know there was a spider right on my forehead. One can imagine what a scene I made, ripping off my sweatshirt and slapping myself in the face, all the while screaming. I realized this was getting out of hand...
 Being a referee on the paintball course last year, I would be walking through webs on the woods ball courses, take a deep breathe, wipe off the spiders and such, and just keep on moving. I learned that if I had spent day in and day out in those woods all summer and never got bit by anything worse than a mosquito or a tick here and there that maybe I was being a little irrational with my fears all along. Although my fear of spiders has not completely disappeared, I have learned to deal with them without tears, and running now. 

Tess, paintball ref extraordinaire! 

Being a camper I always relied on my own counselor to get rid of creepy crawly things, but now being a counselor, I have tried to take on that responsibility. Even though many times I am still running away, I stop, take a deep breathe, and try and walk back and deal with that small little creature, which may seem like a small insignificant step, but for me has taken years. If I think about the line that I have heard hundreds of times over, “they are more afraid of you than you are of them,” I cant help but think that is a little true now, if I was a small tiny insect (even shorter than I am now), and saw some giant screaming at me and running, I would definitely be a scared.

-Tess Lee 

What fears will you conquer this summer? Perhaps you'll try a new activity, talk to someone you've never met before or try to earn a difficult award. With whatever you try to conquer, we're excited to help you try!

TBT: Mary Claire and Spidey Sacajawea

Counselors Katie and Mary Claire
with CIT Maddie L (center).

For this Throwback Thursday, guest blogger and 2013 counselor, Mary Claire, recalls some of the weirdness that happens at camp and how fun it can be! We can't wait for all of the counselors to start planning cabin themes and special events for summer 2013. Who knows what kind of crazy shenanigans they'll have the campers doing in 2013!

When I think back on my time as a counselor at camp, I think of being creative, quirky, and weird! That's what is so magical about camp to me: you can be the person you want to be without fear or reservations. I think this is perfectly demonstrated by the themed cabin activities we do at Foley. 

Everyday Sacajawea

Every session, the cabin theme changes and along with it, a cabin event. Regardless of the age group, each cabin has some kind of themed evening. One that sticks out to me happened this past summer during 3rd session.  

Our cabin theme was Spidey Sacajawea. On any other day, the girls in the cabin looked like normal, Coyote girls but on that night, everyone looked like a little bit silly and a lot red! That evening we had a spider web made out of rope that everyone had to make it through, Spider-Man style (that means no touching the rope!) We walked like spiders all the way to the short climbing wall and climbed across it sideways. Then at the end, we made some pretty tasty cookies with chocolate frosting that looked like webs. And during all of this, we had a BLAST. 

Spidey Sacajawea.

Just like most things at camp, cabin activities are what you make them. If the girls had had bad attitudes or didn't want to do the cabin activity, it could have been a mediocre evening. But instead, they decided to make the most out of it by dressing up, taking funny pictures, and being unafraid to be a little weird and have a lot of fun. 

-Mary Claire Costello

What kinds of fun activities are you looking forward to this summer? Before you come to camp, be sure to visit the Meet the Staff page on the website. Find out which counselors (like Mary Claire and her 2012 Spidey co-counselor Katie McGuire) are returning in 2013, and to learn more about the first-time counselors.

Molly Challenges You...

Guest blogger and 2013 counselor, Molly McGuire put together a list of thing she wishes she had she'd done as a camper. Molly's list is a great challenge for all of our campers this summer! 

Camp is a pretty spectacular place, and I think we can all agree on that. But what makes camp so amazing? Is it the famous soda bread on Sundays or the sailing on Whitefish Lake? Or is it the nights spent giggling with your cabinmates or hitting a bull’s-eye in Archery? When I think of what makes camp great, I think of all of the friends I made and the experiences I had. 2013 will be my eleventh summer at Foley and my second as a staff member. As I prepare to head up to paradise for the summer, I've been thinking about all of the things I wish I’d done while I was a camper. So here goes...

Check out how fun getting dirty at the Muck Pond looks!

1. Try every activity! It seems silly, but break out of your comfort zone and try something new! Whether it’s you’re tenth year or your first, take a class you've always wanted to take! Try shooting trap, wakeboarding, or finally getting to the top of the climbing wall.
2.   Go on a trip! Talk about stepping out of your comfort zone! Take a three-day trip with your cabin or pack group! Trips create lasting bonds and endless jokes and songs that will last well beyond the trip.
3. Play paintball (and don’t scream like a girl)! Paintball is a blast; don’t let inhibitions get in the way! Something about paintball always intimidated me, but once I tried it, I couldn't believe how fun it was. It is such a rush!
4. Adventure to the Muck Pond! It took me ten years into my Foley career to experience the wonders of the Muck Pond. There is something about it that just screams summer camp. Where else in the world could you do something like that with your best friends?
5. Meet everyone in camp! This one sounds a little cheesy but it’s the truth. I challenge every camper to make a new friend each day. Sometimes we get wrapped up in with cabinmates or friends from last year. This summer, make it a goal to get to know everyone in the camp community.

-Molly McGuire

So there you go campers. How many of those challenges do you think you can accomplish this summer at Foley? Hopefully at least one of them seems doable! 

Camp Creature: Fisher

Let's start this off by clearing a few things up. The fisher (sometimes called the fisher cat) does not eat fish, nor is it a feline. So, we've already confused a whole lot of people just by introducing this creatures name. The name comes from colonial Dutch fisse or visse do to it's resemblance to the European polecat. In French, the pelt of a polecat is called fiche or fichet. It is sometimes called the fisher cat for unknown reasons, but it is comparable in size to a domestic cat, so maybe that's it?

The fisher is a member of the weasel family and resembles a very large mink. Adult fishers are 24 to 40 inches long including their long, bushy tail. Females weigh six to eight pounds, and males can weigh up to 18 pounds. Fishers are very agile and active predators. It is an excellent tree climber. Some of its favorite foods are mice, squirrel and porcupine and it shows a preference for snowshoe hare. If you read about the bobcat, the Camp Creature a few weeks ago, this diet will seem familiar you. Bobcats and fishers share the same habitat and eat the same foods, leading to some conflict between the two animals.

The fisher's fur changes with the seasons, and males have coarser coats than females. It ranges from deep brown to black, and the coat appears darker in the winter contrasted against the white snow. Its coat is dense and glossy in the early winter, and in the summer, the fur color is lighter. In late summer fishers undergo moulting. The underside of the fisher is almost completely brown with some patches of white fur. The face and shoulders can be a silvery gold. The fisher has retractable claws, and its feet are disproportionately larger than its legs so that it can move on top of snow. Fishers have extremely mobile ankle joints, which can rotate their back paws almost 180 degrees. This allows it to move through tree branches and climb down trees head first!

Fisher kits (babies)! How adorable are they?

Fishers live in a variety of forest types in northern Minnesota and are sometimes found in western and south eastern Minnesota. It is a fairly solitary creature aside from breeding season and when the young are with their mother. Fisher fun fact: Female fishers are pregnant for 350 days of each year! Yikes!

In the early 1900s, fishers were nearly extinct in Minnesota. In the early 1900s, fisher fur was very valuable and thus became popular with trappers. The highest-quality furs are from the winter trapping season, and the fisher is easily trapped. In the 1920s and 1930s, the average price for a fisher pelt was $100 US, which is about $1,000 today. Since the late 1970s, the population in Minnesota has remained at more than 10,000, which is enough to support a regulated trapping harvest of about 2,000 each year. The price of fisher fur has greatly declined due though, so trappers are definitely not raking in the big bucks.


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