The Jumping Mice learn about nature the hard way at 100 Acre Woods; 10/9/16

It was a little past noon when one of our Explorers inadvertently stepped on a Yellow Jacket nest during a game of Spider's Web. To quote from the related Wikipedia article, "These species have lance-like stingers with small barbs, and typically sting repeatedly." We certainly saw that behavior Sunday, as three of our number was each stung multiple times. In addition to the pain experienced by those unfortunate Explorers, each of the group members was justifiably alarmed at this sudden turn of events. "Expect the unexpected" is a Boys Explorers Club (BEC) motto, but no amount of preparation can keep your heart from racing when these wasps swarm. 

Hmmm...not supposed to look like this!

The mentors first concern was to quiet the excited reaction from all 11 Explorers. We identified the sting sites and treated with a little antibiotic, then turned our attention to reuniting the hurting three with their parents and discussing with the group what happened, why (see Life Cycle and Habits in the Wikipedia article), and how to react. You might want to check with your Explorer to ascertain how he's feeling and what he learned about wasp behavior. The boys, including those stung, were able to calm themselves and "Grasp the Nettle" (Motto).

A lighter moment with mentor Jedidiah

"Bees happen." was the reaction of a parent of one of the lucky boys who avoided the stingers. His perspective was typical among all the parents and illustrates an important approach that we at Wild Whatcom often see, and always appreciate, from parents. A caring but measured, unalarmed reaction communicates a lot to young boys. If you're not freaking out, they see that the situation is manageable. 

Spider's Web

This incident will likely stay with all the Jumping Mice for a while. Jedidiah and I will work to assure your Explorer that, while there are certainly hazards in the natural world, we will do everything in our power to keep them safe and teach them to be self-reliant in the outdoors despite those potential hazards.

Effective camophlage!

The "yellow jacket incident" dominated the experience, but it wasn't the only thing that transpired on Sunday. The Jumping Mice continue to struggle with the focus their mentors expect in circle. Mentor Brian will take responsibility for abandoning the "talking stick" approach too soon; we will reinstitute it soon. There has also been some turnover in the group membership, which could be resulting in social posturing. The presence of a Girls Explorers Club group nearby was a distraction as well. I'm not sure why they were squirrel-y, even before the yellow jackets struck. 

Fascinating mushrooms

Just so you know what we're saying to them - there are interesting and fun things older Explorers get to do such as carving, making and managing fires and backpacking (what is your Explorer looking forward to?). However, these are privileges that require focus and discipline and the mentors track whether each Explorer or group is ready to move up to these activities. The Jumping Mice have their shining moments, of course, but overall they're slow to embrace the necessary behaviors. No biggie; in the meantime, we'll have fun and learn other things. 

In circle...

Lest I forget to mention it, our skill for the fall is the Art of Harvest. There's so much going on in the forest this time of year; it's a good time to pay attention to all the land offers, how we impact it when we play and learn out there and what we do to mitigate the impact we have. To that point, we next meet at Connelly Creek for our service outing. Our work there will put a sharp point on the connection each of us has to our natural environment and afford us the chance to do some wholesome, satisfying work. We meet on October 29th, from 10:30 am 'til 2:30 pm.

See you there. More photos here.

The Jumping Mice Traverse from Galby Lane to Lake Padden Dog Park

The Jumping Mice kicked off their second year with a traverse in one of BEC’s favorite locations, Lake Padden Park. Lake Padden offers so much wonderful forest for us to explore and learn in.  This park is seemingly right in town but as soon as the exploration begins, we often find ourselves marveling at large Douglas fir trees or crawling alongside spiders underneath the camouflage of sword fern fronds!

After spending a whole summer apart the Jumping Mice were quite excited to see each other again as we started our outing gathering our group members in the Galby Lane parking lot.  Many of us dove into the woods, hooting, hollering, running, jumping, sticks already in hand even before all of us had showed up.

Once we were all there and accounted for we decided to play a few games of Hungry Hungry Marten before having an opening circle because we knew we were not going to be able to sit still with all of this energy and anticipation! The squirrels largely prevailed and a few Pine Marten went hungry during these rounds, but we were all glad to be able to run and jump and use some of that wonderful energy that sometimes seems to come from nowhere at all.

We had a new member of BEC joining our group for the day, so during opening circle we took turns explaining certain aspects of the BEC culture such as Attitude of Gratitude, Challenge by Choice (mottos) and jobs. It took us a while to get through opening circle because many of us had trouble maintaining focus and respect for others while they were speaking.  This was the first outing of the year, and the mentors expected some of this.  As we grow in our second year as a group, the mentors are excited to watch us seize opportunities to grow in our listening skills and our understanding of respect for each other.

As we transition from the last days of summer into early fall, we enjoy turning our attention to all the ways in which the forest changes at this time of harvest. To grow our awareness skills so that we can see some of these changes, we played a game of Wildlife is Watching.  We all began to Lose Our Minds and Come to Our Senses (mottos) as we became focused and more in tune with our surroundings as we either hid or tried to spot the hidden.

Because this was a traverse as opposed to an out and back style exploration, we had multiple opportunities to use our group decision making skills to decide which direction to go when we were faced with a fork in the trail. Luckily for us, the explorer who was our Tribal Elder today did a fantastic job of Widening Our Circle (mottos) by making sure all voices in the group were heard.  He seemed to have a magical ability to read the pulse of the group and help guide us to consensus.

These decision making sessions were interspersed with many games of Hide! and plenty of general romping about through the understory.  

Toward the end of our day we came across the “Big Fallen Trees” of Lake Padden and couldn't resist running up and down their long trunks. While most of us managed to stay out of the knee deep mud, some of us couldn’t resist our natural urge to jump in, splash around and act like the young boys that we are!  

As always we ended our day together with a closing circle of thanks. Some of us gave thanks for having the opportunity to enjoy natural spaces and a few of us expressed gratitude for our group, th Jumping Mice. The mentors were happy to see that we still had our energy, curiosity and excitement and also were encouraged by the moments where our squirreliness took a backseat to some serious maturity and good group cohesion.  

More photos from our outing posted here.  Our next outing is on Sunday, October 9th from 10:00am-3:00pm at 100 Aker woods. Click here for our whole Fall season schedule.

A snake, crabs, and important social issues: The Jumping Mice experience Clayton Beach and more

The Jumping Mice completed their first year as an Explorers Club cohort with their Clayton Beach outing on Saturday. That’s cause for celebration, so we began with an “Epic” game of Spiders Web. 

Imitating animals in the wild, Spider’s Web rewards guile and stealth. A swarm of “flies” attempts to sneak past the watchful spider to capture his food source and return it for a feast. On this day, the spider (mentor Brian), protected the food source well, until he wandered too far in pursuit of hiding flies and lost his treasure.

We followed that up with “The Wildlife is Watching”, another game that emphasizes quiet and stillness when being stalked. One might be tempted to accuse the mentors of using this game to conceal a Sit Spot!

Before heading to the water, mentors Conor and Brian spoke with the Jumping Mice about the graffiti recently scrawled on the rocks at the beach. They were uncharacteristically focused as we talked about vandalism, hate speech, WW II and more. 

An Explorers Club motto is particularly relevant - The Trail is the Teacher On the trail, as in life, the lessons emerge as we walk our individual and collective journeys. Everything that appears and unfolds along the way – whether happy or sad, joyful or difficult – is a teacher. Lessons are often unexpected (and sometimes unwelcome) but we learn to use them as opportunities to learn and grow.

We offered an ear to any boy troubled by the graffiti when we got down to the beach. None took us up on our offer. We also encouraged them to talk with a trusted adult if they had questions or concerns after the outing. 

Clayton Beach is a natural playground like few other. The Jumping Mice took full advantage. Rocks were overturned, crabs and sea anemones were examined, deer tracks were, well, tracked, rocks were climbed….

A game of “Otter Steals Fish” simulated that reality of life in the wild.

We finished the outing and the season as we always do, with a circle of thanks. The boys spoke their appreciation for the wondrous gifts bestowed by our natural surroundings and for the opportunity to experience it through Explorers Club and the Jumping Mice cohort. Mentors Conor, Bobby and Brian extend their thanks to the Jumping Mice parents and guardians who entrust their young sons to our care for these outings. We feel privileged and grateful to know your boys.

Click here for more photos from our outing. Have a great summer; we look forward to seeing you in the fall.

JM: The highs and lows of our Sehome Arboretum traverse - 4/29/16

When I think about leading an outing with the Jumping Mice, I’m reminded of a quote from Tommy Lasorda, former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. Mr. Lasorda described the job this way, “Managing is like holding a dove in your hand. Squeeze too hard and you kill it, not hard enough and it flies away.”

In one five hour outing, these boys excelled in a navigation exercise, failed to listen and follow

Just one route down!

direction with potentially harmful result, managed rock-climbing risk responsibly, and demonstrated decision-making focus at a level way above their pay grade. So, do the mentors loosen or tighten the grip?

As mentors, we look for opportunities to stretch each Explorer’s edge (see mottos). Situations that cause them to assess, to think things through, to exercise restraint while challenging themselves are sweet spots for us; at these times, we encourage the boys to think before acting (soon we’ll introduce the  “S.T.O.P.” model of assessing challenging situations), while reminding them that the guideline is challenge by choice (mottos). The tricky thing with the Jumping Mice is their tendency to lurch forward; the great news is they’re showing they have what it takes. A little more practice….well, perhaps a lot more.

Oregon Grage - We looked it up!

So, what actually happened on this “Purple Friday”? Well, the spring shower that made itself felt as we gathered was no match for the boys’ spirits. We began our exploration with a look at the trail map and a discussion of what the heck “traverse” means (in this context, it means don’t leave your water bottle, or whatever, behind because we’re not coming back past here!). After a short hike up the trail, we came to our first decision point - Douglas Fir or South Ridge trail? With input from one of our number that “They meet up again not too far.” we chose Douglas Fir and soon found some cool climbing rocks. In addition to working their muscles, the boys had ample opportunity to negotiate single lane routes in use by multiple climbers.

Back on the trail, we soon came upon the promised junction with the South Ridge trail - another chance to form a circle and come to consensus as a group. This decision also raised the stakes a little in that the boys were aware that a traverse doesn’t double back on itself (the South Ridge trail leads from this point back to our original junction), but this option offered the opportunity to play spider’s web, a favorite. After struggling with the alternatives a bit, they decided they had time for the diversion. The Jumping Mice had once again demonstrated singular focus and a quick, clean decision. Very impressive indeed!

After a few years of spiders web games, I still can’t tell exactly what makes for the perfect spiders

Decision time

web course, but I can say, in retrospect, that the placement of the food source in a small ravine made its capture by our band of “flies” a measure of patience and stealth. Likewise, the thick brush and numerous ferns on either side of the ravine provided decent cover for flies willing to take it slow, frustrating the spider. So, a test for both sides, with a predictable draw as a result. I guess it was a pretty good course after all!

Five steps South; 9 steps Northwest (curved tree); 11 steps Southeast (upturned tree root); 6 steps West; 8 steps North.

Next we tried our hand at creating and navigating a path described in terms of Cardinal and Ordinal directions. We’re working on navigation this season. This exercise saw an Explorer set out the target ribbon and create directions, like the ones above, for two Explorers to follow. The Jumping Mice did very well, another instance of strong focus.

And we thought they wanted to go THROUGH the tunnel!

From here, we gathered our packs and returned to the main trail. Our objective - the observation tower. Of course, the boys wanted to run up and down the tower steps, which the mentors encouraged. Throwing things such as pine cones and spitting off the upper levels, however, were expressly forbidden. This is where their inner compulsion to act before (without?) thinking got the better of them; a woman out for a pleasant afternoon hike was caught in the crossfire. Fortunately, she was both unhurt and understanding, but it was time to tighten the grip. Regrettably, we ended our short time at the tower with a stern reprimand for the group. Please remind your Explorer that the throwing of anything is expressly forbidden until further notice. 

A little more climbing inside and around the tunnel and we were finished for the day. The Jumping Mice truly are showing they have what it takes to become a high functioning group of honorable young men. Time, patience and guidance….

Check here for more photos.

Second time's the charm: Jumping Mice explore N. Galbraith Mountain

Welcome to the Jumping Mice’s first Explorers Club Spring season! We gathered at N. Galbraith trailhead and immediately expressed thanks for the mostly calm air. The anticipation was palpable after our last Fall outing had to be moved from this location literally last minute due to high winds.

We were looking at two new faces as we sat in circle for our opening meeting. Mentor Conor joined us for just this day, subbing for Bobby, who has replaced Finn. The boys will get to meet Bobby when we venture out again on April 29. And Elliot (no, not that Eliot) is a new explorer in our group, but you wouldn’t know it from his quick integration with our culture and games. Welcome Elliot L!

Never Eat Soggy Waffles!

While in circle, we began our skill journey for the spring - navigation. Our task was made more difficult by the overcast sky. When thinking about the cardinal directions of North, East, South and West, as we were, it’s helpful to be able to glance at the sun to establish south and take it from there. Failing that, we looked for other clues such as the Canadian Cascades, which were peaking out from under our beloved “blanket” of clouds to the north. We finished with a handy way to remember the 4 cardinal directions - Never Eat Soggy Waffles!

Who needs a bike?

A short walk into the park brought us to our first planned “drop-your-packs” spot - mountain bike jumps that we prefer to run! If there’s a better way to get the “wiggles” out, I haven’t found it. We even put a cherry on top of that treat with a game of Hide!

While we were raising our heartbeats, an explorer suggested we investigate a cave and cool bridge he knew about just up the hill. Totally unable to resist the sound of that, we scrambled up to see a sheltered spot under a large boulder, then found the bridge. We weren’t able to determine exactly the purpose of the bridge built into the side of a hill, but we agreed it was cool.

Following lunch, Conor brought us back to navigation by explaining how indigenous peoples

Lewis and Clark's crew?

developed a navigational technique known as Story Mapping, or Songline. This ingenious process involves creating a story for each significant landmark along the trail and linking the stories together to create a route that can be followed on the return trip. Our Tribal Elder helped us decide whether to create one story as a group or 14 individual stories. The explorers did a great job of deciding on a compromise - one small group and several individual stories. With that plan set, off we went to find that great Spider’s Web spot I mentioned in my reminder note.

Connecting....

Since the EC was last to this spot out of the way of mountain bikers, an access road has been constructed, presumably in preparation for home construction. For us, that was more reason to celebrate this place by engaging in a few great games of Spider’s Web, which we did. The boys are figuring out that stealth is the best strategy as the flies sneaked their way to victory in the first game. The spider upped the ante in the second round, which ended in a draw. We finished our games with just enough time to test our story maps as we hurried back to the trailhead.

The Jumping Mice are a very special group of boys….but you knew that already. What I’m referring to here is the group’s special place in the culture and lore of Wild Whatcom and Explorers Club. By virtue of their name, they will always be associated with the definitive Native American story of The Jumping Mouse. In the story, a very industrious mouse hears a call to venture beyond his comfortable life in pursuit of a better day, a more meaningful way. His journey is marked by menacing, even terrifying happenings. The mouse perseveres, stretching his edges and even sacrificing himself for other, seemingly more important “brothers” he meets on his journey. Finally, he is rewarded for his courage and caring sacrifice. Although just a simple mouse, he proved himself to be a creature of character who comported himself with honor. 

The better to hide from the Spider!

We read the story of the Jumping Mouse during our outing at N. Galbraith on Friday. This group is working hard at self-regulation during our circle times, but we had very little talking over each other during the story (admittedly, they were eating lunch, so their attentive behavior might not have been totally due to the dulcet tones of my captivating story-telling!). We’ll read the story each season as we watch these boys grow into honorable young men.

For now, enjoy more photos here. We’ll see you at our next outing - Friday, April 29th, 10:00-3:00pm, Traverse: Sehome Arboretum (Lower Parking Lot). 

The Jumping Mice adapt to stormy weather conditions

One of our mottoes in Explorers Club is the following: It’s About the Journey, Not the Destination We describe that classic adage this way - The point is to awaken to what’s around us, to revel in discovery every moment, not to arrive to a particular place. We are where we are going!

Apropos for the Jumping Mice’ last outing of their first season together as we first changed our planned

We haven’t lacked for weather this fall, have we? Wild Whatcom’s first day of outings this season was cancelled and the outings rescheduled due to high winds and the storms have been pretty persistent since. This outing was no different. With high winds forecast, we decided to play it safe and switch from our planned exploration of North Galbraith to a trek through Whatcom Falls Park to the relative safety of the open fields ofBloedel Donovan Park. We also recruited the explorers to track the weather. Awareness of the vicissitudes of our natural surroundings is a key component of self-reliance in the outdoors.

We were living in the moment as we continually made decisions with a literal eye to the surrounding treetops. Decisions are difficult in the best of conditions; factor in the age of the boys and add in the fickle weather and the decisions get trickier. A greatexample was the conversation we had about weather the “spider” for our Spider’s Web game should be a mentor, our Explorers Club Apprentice (EMA) Xavier, or one of the explorers. Underlying the conversation if the question of weather the Jumping Mice were up to the challenge of being the spider. Stepping up to that role is a bit of a rite of passage in Explorers Club; the Jumping Mice are just finishing their first season together. We discussed; we voted; we made suggestions; we voted again. This went on for 20 minutes or more. Frustration started to set in. Our circle got less and less circular. With no resolution in sight, nature stepped in as the tips of the conifers were seen to sway more dynamically. We decided not to decide, but to move along to be closer to Bloedel Donovan Park. The boys might understandably see it as time not well spent; you and I know the boys matured a little in that half hour as their edges were stretched in their common effort.

Another Explorers Club motto, The Trail is the Teacher, states: “On the trail, as in life, the lessons emerge as we walk our individual and collective journeys. Everything that appears and unfolds along the way – whether happy or sad, joyful or difficult – is a teacher. Lessons are often unexpected (and sometimes unwelcome) but we learn to use them as opportunities to learn and grow.” Frustrating and inconclusive as that experience was, the lessons it taught were apparently fresh in the boys’ minds when we soon stopped at a crossroads to address another question: Do we go left to our stated goal of Bloedel-Donovan or right, which promised better Spider’s Web locations? This decision we reached in about two minutes when an explorer suggested we might be able to play the game and then double back to the park. So, to the right we went in pursuit of the game we’d been anticipating for a few hours. Spoiler alert: we never doubled back!

Unfortunately, our reward proved elusive once again as our search came up empty and it began to feel like we were going to go home frustrated. Showing admirable resilience, the boys opted to play a few games of Fire in the Forest in the grassy area near the fish rearing ponds. It was following those games that mentor Finn came to the rescue by suggesting we could play Spider’s Web in the trees behind the toddler playground, a classic case of mindful attention to place. To be honest, the playing area for the first game proved inadequate, so we pivoted the course deeper into the trees. Our next game lasted just a few minutes as the spider (mentor Brian) forgot where the “food source” was! Hmmmmm. The third time proved to be the charm as all players turned it up a notch, with much darting through the trees and even some slow, steady progress as the Jumping Mice starting catching on to the natural advantages of camouflage and stealth. By this time, the rain had begun again (note: the wind never was a significant factor) so our walk back to the N. Galbraith trailhead was true to the saying on Wild Whatcom apparel: It’s raining, it’s pouring, let’s go exploring!” A fitting end to the Jumping Mice’ first season together.

As I plan the spring season, an exploration of N. Galbraith is top of mind. For now, it’s time to bring a close to a fun first season. Over the next few seasons, I expect the Jumping Mice to morph from a collection of individuals looking to play and learn in the outdoors to a cohort of mindful young men. Unfortunately, they’re going to have to do that without mentor Finn, who has moved on to full time work with the Department of Natural Resources. My thanks to Finn for his naturalist knowledge and dedication to the explorers.

Don’t forget to check out our slate of winter outings here. And look here for the rest of the photos from our Dec. 5 outing.

The Jumping Mice and Whatcom Creek run through Whatcom Falls Park

Upon reflection, it’s clear to me that Sunday’s Jumping Mice outing was a scarcely manageable tangle of ebullient energy.

According to Wikipedia, “Common energy forms include the kinetic energy of a moving object, the radiant energy carried by light, the potential energy stored by an object's position in a force field (gravitational, electric or magnetic), elastic energy stored by stretching solid objects, chemical energy released when a fuel burns, and the thermal energy due to an object's temperature. All of the many forms of energy are convertible to other kinds of energy, and obey the law of conservation of energy which says that energy can be neither created nor be destroyed; however, it can change from one form to another.”

The Jumping Mice experienced and exhibited all manner of energy atWhatcom Falls Park on Sunday! Our rainy, overcast November took a breather, resulting in an increase in radiant energy - the sun came out! Gravitational force pulling ferocious Whatcom Creek over the falls for which the park is named thundered at all times in a persistent reminder of the power of nature’s energy - it was loud! Mentor Steve taught us that the water in the creek is colder than the Pacific Ocean water at the surface, which combined with the raging and heavy surge of the water required constant vigilance on the part of both mentors and our first time EMA (Explorers Club Apprentice) and Vespula Veteran explorer, Xavier. It was nature in all its glory and we tried to soak in as much of it as we could in a few hours.

Of course, central to our interest is the Jumping Mice explorers. How was their energy, you might ask? Well, in just under 5 hours, we:

• played a name game so Xavier (and the mentors) could get to know who was who,

• checked out the juvenile salmon and trout in the rearing ponds,

• played a game of Cougar Stalks Deer,

• had lunch in the sun,

• launched sticks into the creek and watched them tumble over the falls,

• worked through the rules for Spider’s Web for a half hour or so,

• played Spider’s Web and Hide!,

• gave thanks in our closing circle, and

• checked out the raging creek one more time from the famous stone bridge.

Along the way, we learned about how to properly harvest licorice root, the qualities of Yew trees, the job of the Tribal Elder in Explorers Club, the importance of sitting in a circle when collaborating as a group, and marveled at the power of the creek.

Whew! Plenty of energy of all forms at Whatcom Falls Park for our outing. Of course, as long as no one gets hurt, on the inside or the outside, lots of energy is exactly what we want.

By no means is it our sole focus, however. We do things because they’re fun, energetic and exciting; we do things so the boys can learn and grow; we do things that combine the two. For example, most of our explorers love the game called Spider’s Web. It’s a capture the flag type game that emphasizes strategies that are often used by creatures in the wild, most notably stealth. Boys new to the game tend to run through the forest to get to the flag (or “food source” in our parlance) which more often than not leads to detection by the spider and a free trip back to the “web”, from which they need to start over. With greater experience, the boys are more inclined to sneak through the ferns and approach their prize stealthily. So, while playing a game, they’re learning about survival in the natural world.

In fact, before we begin a game of Spider’s Web, we discuss the ground rules for the day. This often involves meeting in a circle (so everyone can participate equally) to work through particulars such as how far the Spider needs to stay from the food source (to minimize “puppy guarding”). Or, as was the case on Sunday, how far away from the web a “fly” needs to be to free captured flies by waving them off. Our discussion was led by one of our explorers, whose job for the day was Tribal Elder. He did excellent work ensuring that all points of view were considered and consensus was reached. This takes a different kind of energy - a discipline on everyone’s part to listen, consider other’s input, suggest resolutions, and the like. The Jumping Mice are new to these Explorers Club expectations and get understandably antsy after a time in circle. On Sunday they showed great promise as they hung in there, mostly, for the better part of a half hour. It was great to see.

Two games of Spider’s Web and a round or two of Hide! and we were ready to call it a day. We have one more outing (Dec. 5 - check here for the details) in the opening chapter of the story that will be the Jumping Mice group experience. I can’t wait to see where their energy takes them.

Click here for more photos from our day at Whatcom Falls Park.