Nature is buzzing around the field school. The yearly show put on by fireflies is in full swing. After dark there are thousands of them over the field, blinking on and off and looking like a galaxy of stars you can reach out and touch. Were my photography skills developed beyond point and click, I’d try to capture it to share here, but such isn’t the case.

The snowshoe hare babies are growing quickly into adolescence. The parents have very little, if any, fear of humans this time of year. They’re hanging around camp, eating clover and taking care of their offspring. Snowshoe hares are born with a coat of fur and their eyes open. They can run within hours of their arrival into the world. The parents separate the babies, putting them in different locations so that if a predator catches one, the rest can survive. So as we wander around the area, we have to keep an eye out for them. Yesterday I was standing in some tall grass for a minute or so, and it must have been too long for the young hare to keep still. After I had stood there for a minute, the grass near my feet started to sway, and this little guy started crawling away to find more cover. They keep still instinctually, because when they do they’re difficult to see due to their fur blending in with the ground around them.

The northern harrier has been hunting the big field as well. I’ve seen it a few times over the past weeks, and am always excited to see such a big, white bird soaring only 10 feet off the ground as it hunts.

Yesterday we built a new table for the outdoor kitchen out of poles. It’s an improvement over the old one; bigger and more sturdy.

Today is day 4 of the Bushman course.  Burned bowls, 2 hour bows, peeling bark and cooking beans will keep us busy this morning.  This afternoon, natural cordage for bow drills and making nets.