Dear Friends of Asto Wamah, April is here! What a strange end to a winter that hardly started.
The trees are just beginning to bud in the woods and there are signs of new and young life everywhere at camp. I have included two photos that show some of those signs of spring. One was taken from the porch of the infirmary, looking toward cabin 7. If you look closely you can see small green buds on the trees. The other is from Icky Water Bridge. Looking up the stream, the skunk cabbage is clearly evident. Next month’s pictures will show a much more dramatic change in the forest.
This unusually mild weather has given us a good jump on projects that would typically not be able to get done for another month or so. There is daily progress as Asto Wamah is readied for another summer of fun.
The most exciting project of the year is finally taking shape. Our new bathroom building has electricity and the plumbing is nearing completion. Soon the inner walls will go up, then the floor, the fixtures (4 sinks, 6 toilets and 3 urinals) and finally the partitions. The prospect of increasing our bathroom capacity without negatively impacting the environment represents a giant (and green) step into the future.
The lack of snowfall and rain has resulted in Columbia Lake stagnating at its wintertime depth. This is not a totally unprecedented issue. There are three months remaining before the 2012 season will begin and that will hopefully allow time for the lake to fill.
Registration has gone quite well. Both the second (all boys, July 8-21) and third sessions (all girls, July 22 to Aug. 4) are full with waiting lists. There are a few openings in coed for both boys and girls and in the fourth session (all girls, Aug 5 to 18) as well. If you know anyone who might be interested in either the 1st or the 4th sessions, I would be please if they would contact me for more information.
Because the next blog will not appear until early May, I thought this would be a good time to remind you of Open Camp Day. This year Open Camp Day will be held on May 5th from 3PM to 5PM. Please come by for a tour, lemonade and cookies. Old and new campers are welcomed. Invite a friend who had never seen Asto Wamah. The staff and I look forward to meeting new campers and their families. We always like to see returning campers!
Enjoy the longer days and warmer temperature as we move closer to summer and camp.
Always,
Nancy