Tender Tracks Thurs. Day 28

Dec. 20, 2018
Waxing Moon
Lake Lagunitas

All were here, the sky was foggy and grey all day and the air was cool and in need of warm coats unless running around quite a bit.  Ruby and I were instantly greeted with presents from some of the children with delighted faces to be giving us something.  Throughout the day we opened some up here and some over there with the children who gave them and shared with everyone the beauty. What a treat!

We set up our home base where we used to, near our first “Back Pack Tree” and Fire pit.  Ruby and I brought out many things and they were wondering, wondering all the while, “What are we doing? What is all of this?” and little by little the answers showed themselves.

Josie and Uma carried the buckets for us to sit on out to the circle in a very comical way. They did finally get there. Ellie helped get water in one of our cooking pots and Theo got water in another one.  They all set up their bucket seats around the fire pit but, “are we going to have a fire??”  No, not really. And then our one burner camp stove was put on there. Then a pot with another pot inside it with, “What was that??”  We took out something yellow and chunky and they smelled it. “What do you think this is or what does it smell like?”  Beeswax! some figured out. We melted that, got all settled in, sang our songs, and heard a fine story that is a deeper unfolding of the story they have been hearing. In the tale, they saw how Trilly Trully and Trippy Troopy learned to hammer open stones and find crystals and how to make candles for their lanterns.  We then had a wonderful special snack that the Gnomes had shared with Trilly Trully and Trippy Troopy and that they shared with me and now I was sharing with the children. They ate up with delight. Luna and Eamon cleaned up snack and then the boys asked for the hammers.  They hammered and hammered the rocks around us looking for crystals.  They did not find any. Eamon told me of his crystal and rock collection that he is starting at home and wanted to find more and more.  This hammering happened on and off throughout the day.

Finally came the time to dip our candles. We sang our song that they have been singing all month as we dipped. Round and round the campfire they went taking turns dipping and watching their candles get larger and larger. Then we tended to getting the candles sturdily in their lanterns. They went off for a bit more and then, we called them back in for a wonderful adventure to find the gifts the Gnomes left for them. We quietly walked over to the forest, lit our candles and walked around looking, looking until…What did they find??? A Gnome and large Geode wrapped up neatly for them. They took them to the nearby table, opened them and some starting asking, “What are you going to call your Gnome??”

Soon after they got their hammers and cracked them open. What did they find but beautiful crystals!!!  Uma was the only one that did not hammer hers open and Luna tried but hit herself and snuggled in my arms for a bit as that oowwee settled down. Which it did and she was happy for that.

Later, she and Ellie figured out how to crawl through the small culvert nearby. They showed the other children and all had a great deal of fun crawling through it or watching the others do so.

At the end of the day there were a few rousing Coyote and Rabbit chase games as well as Bandaid tag and then off to home we went with an encouragement to light their candles the next night as, it will be the LONGEST night of the year. They made such beautiful lanterns that let the stars from inside beam brightly out to the night.