The Short Tailed Weasels met at Locust
Beach for their last outing of the 2016-2017 season. We were glad to
have some unseasonably warm weather today that allowed us to swim in
the shallow waters of Bellingham Bay. Many of us were reacquainted
with sunscreen in the parking lot before our outing for the first time this year.
The word of the day was expansive. The
scenery, the beach, the clear skies, and the boys' excitement for mud
and exploration were all expansive in a certain sense. The goal for
the day was simple: get as far down the beach as we could and see
what we find along the way! As it turned out, Locust beach had many
hidden treasures for us that we uncovered during our exploration.
 |
| Heading out across the rocks |
 |
| Where the mud meets the rocky beach |
 |
| Our first discovery of the day, what kind of skeleton is it?! |
 |
| One of the many cool beach forts that we found |
 |
| What lives in the mud? |
 |
| A neat tire swing we found |
 |
| The head of a flounder! |
 |
| Dungeness crab legs a-plenty |
 |
| Another skeleton! |
In addition to cool things and places,
Locust Beach has plenty of mud that begs to be splashed in, walked
through, formed into sculptures and smeared on our faces. We enjoyed
the freedom of getting totally muddy and loving it! Afterwards, we enjoyed a swim to get somewhat clean.
 |
| Yeah...this seems like a good idea! |
 |
| Slowly but surely making our way |
 |
| The mud is a kid trap! |
 |
| Some of us utilized tools to more efficiently cross deep sections of mud |
 |
| Out "at the edge" |
Whether it was due to the excitement of
the warm weather, the vast expanse of the beach or some other reason,
the Short Tailed Weasels had difficulty today with respecting
boundaries and making smart decisions. There were numerous times
when the mentors had to remind boys to stay within sound distance,
which was disheartening considering that the Short Tailed Weasels are
no longer our youngest group and should be at a point where they
follow our safety rules responsibly. Certainly, we all need gentle
reminders that keep us on track throughout our lives, and hopefully
the conversation that we had at closing circle regarding safety and
respect resonates with these boys through the summer and carries over
into the start of their 2017-2018 season next fall.
 |
|
After our closing circle, we made the
long trek back to the parking lot. Many of us met our edge in terms
of sun exposure and hiking through knee deep mud today and it showed
on our faces on the walk back. The expressions on our faces showed
exhaustion for sure, but inside our cups were full of gratitude for
an interesting exploration of Locust Beach.
The pictures from this outing are
particularly awesome, given the setting of our location. Be sure to
check out the rest in our photo album by clicking
here!
