From Nature's Classroom

From Nature's Classroom a lesson in Butterfly ID.

Here is the little guest in the garden. Since no introductions were made I had to go and find out just who our company was. The internet is such an easy tool for identifying the garden guests and backyard visitors.

                                                               Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Here are the sites that helped me figure this out:

www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Butterflies

www.butterfliesandmoths.org

www.gardenswithwings.com

Come to Holiday Hill Day Camp this summer and meet up with some wild guests in our backyard! www.HolidayRecreation.com 

A Bumper Crop Of Trouble, Mansfield CT.

Forecast for Mansfield CT. Spring 2011

The rain filled skies, the foggy mornings and now a blast of heat coming our way add up to one thing.

A bumper crop of trouble...in the form of luscious Poison Ivy!

       Do you have a personal relationship with this neighbor? Have you come to recognize it where ever you are so you can avoid the offensive trick it will play on your skin. Holiday Hill Day Camp wants you to learn to recognize this so you can enjoy every day of your summer!

Leaves of Three Let It Be

The leaves grow from a red color on emerging to the bright glossy green. Yes, they do grow in a cluster of three.  Here is bright patch the birds seeded right near a hiking trail and the edge of the road. Like a lot of weeds it has help popping up in new places and  doesn't mind less than quality soil or growing conditions. It loves this long string of wet weather for making it extra juicy and  the foliage thick and plentiful.

Poison Ivy as A Climber

Poison Ivy will climb trees to great heights in search of sun and  just for fun! The best way to avoid a outbreak of the nasty rash it creates is to avoid it all together.

If you get in to it anyway the next best thing to do is wash very well the area that came in contact with the plant. It is the natural oils in the plant that cause the blister like bubbles of Poison Ivy to pop up all over your skin. Some people are more sensitive than others. Some will catch it from petting an animal who has the oils on their coat from walking through the vine.

Another word of warning, even in winter the vines can pass on the oils and create havoc on your skin. The dried leaves in hay for animals can cause some to break out . The winter vine is leafless and will be brown with hairy roots all over it. Some will grow to a thickness of several inches in diameter.

To late? a trip to the pharmacy will get you relief from some tried and true remedies. My favorite summer remedy for a Poison Ivy outbreak is to spend a day at the ocean the salt water dries it up really fast! Get a good look at the plants now and just don't go there!! 

                                                                          

Build Trust & Teamwork With A Corporate Outing

  Does it seem the new guy in the office doesn't spend any time talking to the long term employees? Is there a team  that lacks cohesiveness when it comes to getting the job done? Are you feeling removed from the people who impact the company bottom line? Has your company suffered a major setback economically or through loss of key workers?

It is time to build trust and teamwork through a corporate outing at Holiday Recreation. The grounds of Holiday Hill Day Camp become a garden for new workplace relations and invigorates your employees by introducing games, ropes course, relaxation and fun into the annual gathering.

                                                                                      
                                                                                              

   Come away knowing new strengths your team players have. Learn to respect the variety of untapped potential. See your staff in a relaxed  environment so you can begin to see who they really are. Let go of the gadgetry of modern business and come enjoy a day together.

   Our office can design your day to match the needs and desires of your staff and their families. Remember an old saying," all work and no play make Jack a dull boy"!

   It looks like we are ready for your call.  Just dial 860-423-1375 and check out our website at www.HolidayRecreation.com  we can seat 300 for dinner in our tent and D & D Caterers will feed them a meal to remember after a day of memory making, building trust and teamwork through challenging activities.The tent is up, the season has begun and the staff is ready to welcome you.

Caution Turtle Crossing - Holiday Hill Day Camp Mansfield

CAUTION!!!! Watch out in the road for turtles on their way to nesting grounds above high water level. With all the high water this week we are bound to see some turtles moving to ground they have not explored in some time. They look for well drained shandy or gravel soil to dig their pit nest in. They bury those eggs so that mother nature can keep them warm and dry until they hatch and the little ones instinctively head for water. Snapping Turtles, Painted Turtles and more are on a journey this time of year.

                                                                        
This video highlights some important safety considerations!) Snapping Turtles can bite. They could break your bones and cause serious flesh damage! You will know it is a Snapper by the prehistoric look to the rough shell, the size big to extra huge, and the quick spinning reflex to snap out at you.

2.) When moving out of a lane of traffic here is the first things to consider:
     Park your car off the shoulder
     Use your emergency flashers
     Watch out for oncoming traffic in all directions
     Move the turtle in the direction it was headed
          they will just go back if you don't they are going to or from nesting

3.) wash hands after handling turtles and before eating

4.) Some turtles like the painted turtle are rare please do not remove from their habitat

5. I wonder how many turtles will come up out of the bog and come to camp?

                                                                        
Want to learn more about turtles in Connecticut? You should because they are your neighbors!
www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?A=2723&Q=325976  Here you can learn about Connecticut's Rare Bog Turtle!

Learn about Snapping Turtles and see a picture here:  www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/sturtle.html

                                                   Not just with bikes TURTLES TOO!

Rain Go Away - Activities for a Rainy Day

Rain Rain Go Away Come Again Another Day

Holiday Hil Day Campers want to play!

art time and clay

swimming all day and over by the tipi's to play

Rain Rain Go Away

I'm soggy I'd say and  sick of gray days

And ready for sun , goodbye wet May!!

                                                            Activities for a Rainy Day

 Play Clay Recipe: I Love this fun activity on a rainy day!

Kool-aid  Clay-Dough
Flour 3cups
Salt 1 1/2 cups
Water 3 cups
Vegetable Oil 2TB.
Cream of tartar 1TB.
unsweetened "Kool-Aid" 1pkg.
Mix ALL of the ingredients in a large saucepan.
An Adult will supervise or Cook over medium low heat, until the dough comes away
from the edge of the pan and it is hard to stir.
Remove from heat.
Cool until it can be handled.
Place on counter or wax paper knead 3-4 times.
Store in an air tight container or seal able bag squeeze he air out of the bag!.

Blog Elf Recommends:  Elfin Play Doh (glitter)

You Need
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water  ( best water comes from a stream in Kerry Ireland)
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Food coloring gel (this will make the colors more vibrant) I use melted rainbow!
Glitter  ( but don't get caught stealin from my stash of glitter!)

Have an adult help mix ingredients with the exception of the glitter in a sauce pan
 heat stirring the mix constantly until it forms a ball remove at once.
Dump out onto waxed paper on counter
Add the magic glitter and knead until smooth and uniform.
Store in a tight sealing container.This mix stores at room temperature.keeps well in Elf caves and woodland huts too!


Need a delicious project?
Make a packet of instant pudding and finger paint with the pudding on a sheet of waxed paper and lick the fingers clean!

                       Can You Paint this Rainy Scene in Chocolate Pudding and Pistachio Pudding?                                                                                

The Olympics

The Olympics is a tribute to athletes, to sport and to fair play and honor.  There is the chance that the camper you swim with this summer could become an Olympian. Maybe it is the kid who runs so fast they always are first when someone yells Popsicles. Well you have to have some incentive now don't you!  Could a future Olympian be hanging out in the train after lunch or is that possible world class athlete biding time at camp  while they wait for the return of all that snow?

There is so much info on the Olympics that its hard to look at just a bit. Wikipedia covers it pretty well with a few photos and some text divided by subsections. You can read about all or just a little part of the incredible history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games

         What is your favorite Summer Olympic Sport? It often has to do with an athlete whose personal story to attain the skills needed for Olympic competition have made them an instant celebrity.  There are all those more obscure Olympic sports too, the TV stations just don't give them prime time coverage to allow a following to develop.  Like archery,  and the  equestrian  sports( the only sport where men and women compete on equal terms)

    In 2012 the Summer Games will be in London all the pageantry and drama will come at us through every device the techies can muster and we will fill a couple weeks with Olympic Moments.

                                                                                   

You don't have to wait though, come to Holiday Hill Day Camp in beautiful Mansfield, CT for a summer full of Olympic Sport! http://www.holidayrecreation.com/

Think You Will Out Grow Camp?.....NEVER!

Students at  North Carolina State University never out grow camp, they go to a special Forestry Summer Camp or a Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences Camp.

           Some of your couselors are just campers who keep coming back! Year after year Holiday Hill retains many camp graduates as counselors. Who better to teach you all the fun things to do at camp!

        
  These couselors are learning a name game with a RUBBBER CHICKEN! Now that's an intersting way to start a summer camp experience. Looks like they still love to go to camp too.

                                                                                   

I guess you can never be to old for a Baseball camp experience. Good Luck to Jan off to Tigers Camp!

So you see, camp isn't just for kids, camp is for everyone to enjoy summer with. See you soon at Holiday Hill Day Camp, Mansfield CT.! Campers, and our summer Special Event Guests we are getting ready for your arrival.

      

                                                                               

Paddlers Paradise 16.1 Billion Gallons

The canoes are all loaded up and the vans make their way the short drive to unload and set off on a new adventure at Mansfield Hollow. No two trips out on the lake could be alike. Each day there is always the question, what will we see? What experience will be new? Who will get wet?

                    So what do you know about the lake and the park that surrounds it? You can find out more at:

www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=325236 

High water below the dam


There was a nice article about the park in the Hartford Courant telling how it has something for each member of the family. Read more at:
www.courant.com/features/outdoors/hce-statepark-maho,o,1720506.story

16.1 billion gallons, that is the volume of water stored at flood stage in the lake at Mansfield Hollow  a paddlers paradise for the Campers at Holiday Hill Day Camp.  http://www.holidayrecreation.com/ 

The water can get really high when the dam is doing the job of protecting the towns down stream.

Come to Holiday Hill Day Camp 2011 and dip your paddle in paradise!

                                                                            

                                         

Bottom of the Ninth

Baseball -Hot dogs- Apple Pie- Chevrolet,  that's is the line from an old advertising jingle ( tune) why does it stick in our heads?

The words remind us of legends and hot summer days. They evoke memories of little league games all tied up in the bottom of the ninth. The tune makes us think about all the fun times we have had at a baseball game. The best or biggest hot dog ever eaten, they remind us of Thanksgiving apple pies and Grandpa's pick up truck rumbling into the driveway.

Are there four words like that, a perfect match with memories from camp? Words that  if you said them a few times would have you believe you were right back there scuffing the sand behind home plate.


Ropes Course  -  swimming,  paddling and  archery?

The words can be different to match each camp experience. Maybe you can make some new words this year. Maybe this is the summer you make a first home run, can you hear them cheering as you round third base. It's the bottom of the ninth and you're coming home.

                                                                   

Write Your Own Campfire Ghost Story

Use these pictures as an inspiration to write your own ghost story

Where did the ship come from and what did the people on board see? can you make up a story for  telling at camp? Where is the Captain? Why is no one at the ship's  wheel?

email the story to info@HolidayRecreation.com  and we will pick one to share at camp this summer. Or if it isn't very long put it in the comments.  put " Ship - Ghost Story"   in email subject line

Stories and music are always a great part of a camp experience. Share your story with us.  Come to Holiday Hill Day Camp to hear our favorite http://www.holidayrecreation.com/

Hiking Joshua's Land with Holiday Hill Day Camp, Mansfield

Hiking Joshua's Land with Holiday Hill Day Camp Mansfield

The Nipmuck Trail is a  part of the Blue Blaze trail system and a part of a summer hiking adventure at Holiday Hill Day Camp. The Connecticut Forest and Parks Association oversee the care and maintenance of the trails.  http://www.ctwoodlands.org/ 

A popular rock climbing face is Wolf Rock on the Blue Blaze trail and owned by Joshua's Trust

                                                                     
Read more about the 24.8 mile trail  in the book, "Joshua's Tract Walk Book 4th Edition  editing by Samuel G. Dodd and published by the Joshua's Tract Conservation and Historic Trust. http://www.joshuaslandtrust.org/

                                                           
     Wolf Rock is a predominant feature in Mansfield's history. It is located off Crane Hill Rd. The  rock was left there as glaciers from the ice age receded. The charcoal  beaver on the rock is a representation of Joshua's mark ( signature)  Joshua was the son of Uncas the great Sachem Chief  of the Wolf People. Joshua signed his beaver looking signature to a document deeding land to the white settlers.  ( the charcoal washed off the next day. Please protect and preserve our heritage   while enjoying the trails and learning about  Joshua son of Uncas.)

                                                                        
Come to Holiday Hill Day Camp this summer and walk on trails once walked on  by Joshua and Uncas.  Canoe in his rivers and play under is sky!