Playing In the Mulch.

Just in case you're not up to date, I'm working at a camp in Maine for the summer. I've been doing this for 10 summers now and there is absolutely no better way to waste away the summer. Our counseling staff has not yet arrived and our campers are still a couple of weeks away also. Right now there is a small group of us working around camp to get the grounds ready and in tip-top shape. We're doing all sorts of fun things like vacuuming, weeding, raking, putting the docks in the lake, sorting the staff t-shirts, cleaning the rugs and carpet, painting, and plenty of other manual labor chores. A big task we (and by 'we', I mean the boys) do is spread brand new mulch around the cabins. The first load of mulch came in the other day.

It arrived in an 18 wheeler truck. This is only the first load. Have you ever seen so much mulch in your life?

Hobie thought maybe she could help. Maybe the mulch wanted to play with her. Maybe running through the mulch would make her feel young inside.

Ahhh! Crazy eyes!

To transfer the mulch to other parts of camp we use Gators. We have several on camp and they all have six wheels. Gators are tough machines and are worked hard everyday by our grounds crew.

But sometimes the mulch (and the work) gets the best of them. This one blew a tire in the morning. The solution? Amputation. 

By afternoon it had blown a second tire which was just too much for it's little frame. It's still sitting in its gravely grave awaiting repair.

It's a sad state of affairs.

What I've Been Doing.

I've been in Maine, working at camp, for almost two weeks now. It's my 7th summer at this camp and I still love it now as much as I did when I first started. My job at camp is to manage the water activities but we all wear many hats at camp and help out with whatever may be needed at any given time.

Next week 200 counselors will arrive and the week after that 400 campers will arrive. But before any of that can happen we have to get camp ready. All winter camp lays under a blanket of snow. During this time nature and it's animals have their way with the grounds. Camp spans almost 200 acres and contains over 60 buildings, including cabins, management housing, rec centers, the dining hall, the dance studio, and many, many others. There is a lot of work to be done in preparation for the summer.

To get this work done we bring in a pre-camp crew of about 25 counselors and staff for 2 weeks. It is our job to work our tails off and get camp looking good...and have a little fun while we're doing it.

Here are the Top 23 Pre-Camp Jobs:





1. Mowing. Mowing. And mowing some more. It's never ending.





2. Painting. And rubbing paint brushes. I'm not really sure what that is about, actually.





3. Moving wooden shelves (we call 'em cubbies) for the kids.





4. Rescuing wayward turtles that have put themselves in the golf cart's path.





5. Stripping and re-staining the decks.





6. Rebuilding the weed whacker motor.

7. Climbing into and cleaning the water tanks. Obviously a hot pink snorkel is required for this.





8. Jumping in the lake at 7am because you lost a bet.





9. Mowing some more. Have I mentioned that?





10. Hydrating. It's hot outside.





11. Going out for ice cream. We're wholesome like that.





12. Sorting, organizing and bagging all 2,000 staff t-shirts. Every staff member receives a bag of 8 t-shirts. It only took us 3 days to get it done. No big deal.





13. Picking up leaves.





14. Raking up renegade leaves and pinestraw.





15. Eating copious amounts of watermelon for dinner.





16. Cleaning out the showers.





17. Moving the outlaw leaves and pinestraw.





18. Building fires and eating s'mores. Duh. It is camp, afterall.





19. Building a new cabin. Okay, so we haven't been building the cabin, the builders have. But we've spent a lot of time watching them work.





20. Playing ridiculously intense games of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Don't ask...





21. Sweeping, vacuuming and de-cobwebbing the cabins.





22. Driving around in golf carts, acting like you're doing something important.

23. And finally, BBQ'ing. It's our bosses favorite thing to do.

It's a tough life. Try not to be jealous.

La Vie Est Belle: My Husband Has Good Taste.

I've told you all about my love of the jewelry store La Vie Est Belle in Seaside, Florida. It's amazing. 

Seeing as my birthstone is a pearl I feel I have every right to lust after and own every piece in the collection.

The Canadian is so amazing and has such good taste that he channeled my thoughts and managed to get me the most amazing ring ever for my birthday.

Two gigantic green Tahitian pearls all wrapped into one gorgeous ring. 

I think I've died and gone to heaven.

Looks good, right?

This made turning 30 totally worth it. I think I'll keep The Canadian around...