Tag: Camp

Just a Little Bit

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I’ll consider myself an avid rider for the moment. The first time I rode a horse was when my trainer plucked me off the ground, from atop a tall horse mind you, and plunked me down onto said horse. He then proceeded to gallop 6467, the horse’s racing name and number, at full speed.

It was exhilarating and supposedly terrifying too, though I don’t recall feeling any fear. I remember my eyes tearing up due to the wind and the world around me reduced to blurry shapes. My heart was beating to the sound of stomping hooves.

I rode and jumped Tai Yan, sun in Chinese, for two years before stopping due to health reasons.

One of the first things I saw upon arriving at OVS was an Equestrian coach, sitting on a horse, and watching the cars go by.

The first day of sports I nearly hurtled myself into the barn to reunite with equine life.

After two more years riding horses and training ponies I’d say I’m quite familiar with equine creatures, big or small.

Little Bit was a dwarf miniature horse.

Dwarf. Miniature. Horse.

DWARF. MINIATURE.

IN WHAT WORLD DO HORSES COME IN THAT SIZE.

During camp I finally got a chance to explore the Back Pastures. Malachi, the Dromedary Camel, was the focal point of the back pastures, mooing and grunting and giving icky sloppy kisses.

After escaping Malachi I look around and practically trip over what I thought was a baby pony.

“Hey Little Bit!” our counselor croons, bending down to pet the creature. “This is Little Bit, our Dwarf Miniature Horse!”

OH MY GODS.

I stood gaping for a full minute trying to make sense of the little horse.

I did not understand how horses could be dwarf miniatures.

I felt like I had grown six feet because we were surrounded by miniature horses and they were so tiny. Little Bit dwarfed them all though and I was just speechless because it felt like Mother Nature bungee-jumped in front of my face waving a flag and said “NOPE”.

But not in the bad way. Walking around the mini-horses was an adorable experience but every second of it I was thinking “what is going on what is happening where am I what world is this.”

I’m still slightly in shock and denial.

Headbutts and Back Climbers

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Goats are like a strange mix of dogs and cats. They love like dogs and play like cats.

There are a few goats in our camp’s animal nursery, and we could always go into their pens during free time.

One of my favorite things to do was just sit cross-legged on the ground and stare at the baby goats until they headbutted me. Regrettably, I’m a human, so I couldn’t headbutt them back. I used my hand instead and pushed against the kids, and they were surprisingly strong.

A couple weeks into camp I realized yet another thing I could do.

Although it wasn’t allowed, I found out it was really fun to let the kids jump up onto my back and let them balance.

At fist I didn’t enjoy it very much as their little hooves would stun me with sharp pain. Imagine a full-grown goat jumping onto a younger camper’s back and you’d get the idea to why the kids weren’t allowed up onto our backs.

Although I would spend most days with Stevie, Sarah, and Legolas, I would always get dragged to the nursery by one or more of my camp friends. There I would spend time “head”butting the little goats and allowing them to view the world from my back.

Goats seem to be just another under-appreciated animal.

Kevin, Kenny, and Nicholas Cage

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We had missed our flight.

What a way to start the first day of camp, eh? Arriving at 10pm in the dark gives a great first impression.

I had pulled an all-nighter as our flight was at 4am, which was a very stupid thing to do. I felt like death while waiting for the next plane to fly.

I was grumpy. I’m sure my little brother was too.

The car ride was awkward because everyone but my little brother and the driver was asleep.

I remember waking up and groggily stepping out of the car. The first thing I remember from the camp was a startling loud cry of a very, very familiar bird.

It was a peacock call.

All over camp, wandering freely, were peacocks. I was told that the peacocks roaming the main part of camp were called Kevin and the ones that stayed near the Animal Area were called Nicholas Cage.

During nighttime Kevin would hop up waaay up there in a pine tree, startling children walking underneath whenever they make a nighttime call. I had made a little game out of it; trying to find Kevin whenever he was in a tree. He was usually camouflaged too well among the branches and leaves but sometimes I would see the little jitter of his tail feathers.

The Animal Area was what it was called: an area for the animals of the camp. What we called the “Bird Aviary” housed many different species of birds: peacocks, pigeons, silkie chickens, and a lionhead rabbit.

The most valuable peacock we had was a half albino, half normal peacock, and he was settled in the Aviary. Prince Charming and his Princess, two albinos, were also in the Aviary.

When I was in China I grew up hearing the calls of peacocks day and night.

Most people wouldn’t expect there to be peacocks in China but for some reason there was a hotel that had peacocks in it.

Being at camp and hearing Kevin and Nicholas Cage cawing all the time brought a slight feeling of nostalgia.

After my five out of six weeks of camp was up I was told that the peacocks were actually called Kenny.

Why had nobody told me this earlier?

I had been calling them the wrong name for five weeks? But even the counselors called them Kevin!

I still call the peacocks Kevin. Old habits die hard.

Legless Legolas

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There are snakes, and there are legless lizards.

Legless lizards are not snakes, they are legless lizards.

Legless lizards have eyelids while snakes do not. Snakes can unlock their jaw while legless lizards can not.

Snakes can use their belly scales to move around while legless lizards can only move with a side-to-side motion while also pushing up against something.

Russian Glass Lizard

Legolas was said to be one of the most vicious animals in our Reptile Room. The stories told was that the second you opened up his enclosure he would shoot out and bite your face.

I was not told of this little issue when I asked to take Legolas out, and neither did the current counselor in the room. I picked Legolas up with no problem at all and sat down onto the ground. Legolas simply laid there in my arms flicking his eyes back and forth to look at the many other reptiles occupying the room. His body was also much more leathery and stiff than a snake’s, as legless lizards’ bodies are much more muscled and has less movement dexterity.

The next day I asked to hold Legolas, but as this counselor had heard of his little antics I was not granted permission until I convinced her that I have held him before with no problems at all.

Legolas was a Russian Glass Lizard and had a very distinct slit starting from the neck and leading to the tail. When they get agitated they inhale deeply and puff up their scaly little bodies to scare away any potential enemies.

The counselor next to me seemed to be an enemy to Legolas so he puffed up and made a peculiar wheezing noise. I quickly scooted away from her and he relaxed instantly, laying quietly on my lap and continuing to eye the other animals in the room.

Legolas

Something about Legolas’s stiff body and behavior and such judgeful eyes made him one of my favorite creatures in that Reptile Room, also because not many other campers would like to handle such a ferocious creature.

Demon Geese

indigoshell3 Comments

It was hot and muggy, just another day in Missouri. The peacocks were calling, the insects were buzzing, and complaints could be heard all around. I remember walking quietly to my next course when several horrified children run past me.

They were screaming “DEMON GEESE!!”

Goose

No, not really.

We did have three fairly aggressive geese roaming the camp though. Whenever someone would walk just a tad too close to them those darned birds would start honking and pecking at their feet, occasionally giving actual chase. Sometimes they would ignore the accidental provoker and attack an innocent bystander instead.

HONK

Honestly those three geese were sort of cowards. They pretend to be all scary but really they just bluff and honk, I’ve never heard of them actually inflicting damage on any camper.

One of my best friends during camp liked to holler and chase them back to the lake, while I personally liked to slowly wander closer to them until I got them mad. Then I let them chase me around a little until I have to get to my classes.

The honest question here is why are geese always so angry?

Maybe because we don’t take them seriously enough.

Sarah and William

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All over the internet, a new trend has been circulating.

Sloths.

Me Gusta

Creepy sloths. Creepy sloths everywhere. Do people really know what they’re like? My guess is that not many people have seen sloths in real life.

Over the summer I spent six weeks at Cub Creek Science Camp and got to take care of a very wide variety of animals. Among my favorite were two two-toed sloths, Sarah and William.

Sarah Lookalike

Sarah was the more active one, slowly and carefully wandering around and around her pen. “Don’t touch her face!” warned many, many counselors. “Don’t let her grab you! Don’t let her bite you! Don’t feed her! Sit down on the stool and don’t move!”

“You can feed her and pet her if you’re very careful,” said Billy, a very mellow counselor that taught the “Jungle” class, which is where the sloths are located.

William was the one always sleeping in the corner of the enclosure and only awakened when I brought him a little lettuce. Only lettuce though, since William will take one bite of an apple and then drop it to the ground.

Sarah though, eats both apples and lettuce. Neither of them seem to like the sweet potatoes very much and I often wonder why they even have sweet potatoes anyways since none of the animals seem to like sweet potatoes.

After feeding Sarah her apples she would stare at me with her deep brown eyes and slowly reached her odd clawed hands towards me. Any other person would be told to duck and cover but I reach out and stroke her claw, playing a strange little game of keep-away. It’s true that if they grab on they won’t let go until they bite it, but I’m careful enough to not get grabbed.

When camp ended and I returned to OVS I felt myself pining for my summercamp and its animals. No, not for the dwarf miniature horse (my gods he’s small), not for the towering camel, but for the strangely charming sloths that have plagued the internet.

Not that I’m complaining about them.

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Lee Vining: DAY 1

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The OVS football team traveled to Lee Vining for the team’s first football game of the season. For those that are completely unaware of how far Lee Vining actually is from Ojai, the team needed to camp out overnight before reaching Lee Vining. Tinnemaha Creek was the stop for the team the first night, which was Thursday. We pulled in at about 10 PM and unpacked for the night. We relaxed and slept before we set off on Friday morning for Lee Vining.

Before leaving, we did a walkthrough of our plays for the game at Tinnemaha Creek. We got our work done and packed back up. We got on the road and moved on to our final destination.

Lee Vining is a very small town, but we aren’t here to sight-see. We came to do some business, and we plan on doing just that. With another practice session in the afternoon, we go into our game confident that we will be at our best. The game is tomorrow (Saturday) at 1 PM.

On to more miscellaneous things!!!

Let’s talk about the trip up here. There was music blasting and tons of inside jokes that I’m sure we are never going to forget. At our campsite, food is never an issue. Not only do we have a lot to eat, but we have a lot of guys that LOVE to eat. What do you expect from a bunch of crazed football players?

As I write this update, we are cooking a rather large pre-game dinner.

How could you say no to a meal like this?

At the campsites, we are finding ways to stay occupied. When we aren’t exploring or practicing, we are having a good ol’ time with the boys. Some can be seen off in the distance learning how to throw a ball properly, others are off wandering in to the great never ending creek, building wooden fishing rods with hooks (most likely infected with tetanus), or building makeshift fish traps. With so much to explore and so many unruly teenage boys always expect the unexpected.

The end of this story ends with two of the coolest guys around sitting at a gas station/restaurant/convenience store/bar writing a blog using internet off of an iPhone’s hotspot while Mr. Floyd and Mr. Wick just sit and watch us type away to entertain all of you readers, no matter where you may be.

John “The Honey Badger” Olivo and Keaton “That Guy” Shiffman signing off on night one in Lee Vining. Check for more blog posts to see if mama and baby bear left us alone tonight.

Lives are at stake here. Please send help (just kidding).