There's something perfect in this tulip

There is something quite perfect in this tulip. If you see it from a genetic glimpse, then you see where somewhere in it's germination the DNA faltered. This single red petal is caused by a mutation, and the imperfectness causes it to be different from the dozens of yellow tulips that surround it. Yellow tulips can be said to symbolize "bright thoughts." Red tulips "perfect love." Without this mutation there would only be a sea happy thoughts but instead there is a wave of perfect love as well.

Currently I feel an imbalance in my life. Something is not quite right, and my ability to handle changing environments has faltered. I am missing this red/yellow combination that this tulip has that makes it subtly more perfect than the others. It is a perfect balance.

*this photo was taken in Central Park, New York*

Trawl Net Adventure and Code Purple

Sarah, Amelea, and I (or formally known as "First Flight" or "Sky Island" people) went on an adventure to Wanchese yesterday. More specifically to the Fishing Industrial Park. This was not just a random adventure out, but yet we were looking for a trawl net with the grand idea in mind that we could suspend it from branches and create a "springboard" for our kids on Friday (today).

It took a few phone calls on Amelea's part to find Faron Daniels who runs the Wanchese Trawl and Fishing Supply store. She spoke with him on the phone and he invited her to drop by because of her slow accent over the phone. We ventured out and had an experience that will be kept in our memories for quite some time. Our first introduction to Faron was through a very intense, verbal argument he was having with a customer that had not paid his bill in over a year. Faron firmly told him that if he wasn't making enough money then he shouldn't be fishing. The man angrily left as Faron turned to the three of us, awkwardly posed in old fashioned chairs, and asked, "What do these boys want? Which one of you is Ohio (Amelea)?" He was friendly, in a very southern manner. If you're not from the South then this style of joking is with bold, can be taken as rude, comments from an already burly, inherently intimidating man. He guided us to the warehouse where all of the rope and nets are kept. A skinny dog tied to a rope wagged her tail and growled at us. Very mixed signals. He kept asking what size net we wanted, but we still weren't even sure he was just going to give some to us or if he expected a discounted price. Even when I asked him, he didn't give us a direct answer. In the end, he gave us 20 feet of brand new net, and offered his son up for marriage. We kindly declined and went on our way but not until after he asked us to return for a visit. We definitely are.

The actual net is suspended a couple of feet off of the ground. Although we have fit 7 adults on it at one time the plan was not to have more than 3-4 kids "learning to fly" on it at a time while we spot them from the edges. I can post a picture when I am able to get one.

Today was pretty sad. The smoke from the fire at Alligator River has caused a Code Purple warning. Which is the worst warning. The childcare centers are not allowed to let their kids out of the building because of hazards for children with respiratory issues. Our playwork narrative has been canceled for today, with hopes of re-scheduling for Monday. Everyone is pretty upset that we had to put our excitement on hold for each of our "play habitats", and we have been in front of our computers throughout the morning trying to upload photos and update blogs.

The weekend begins.

Viewpoint of an "IT"

Today our challenge took us into the enemy's territory. We actually had to create an enemy territory. All week we've been protecting ourselves from the mysterious "IT" creatures that lurk everywhere and today we had to place ourselves in their mindset in order to design an "IT" den. I was sort of lost on what to do until I saw Molly digging a "bathtub" in the black, moist mud. This area would be completely uninhabitable if it weren't for the roots of trees holding the earth together. The effect of this causes a vibration in the ground when it is walked/jumped on. So we cleared away the roots while some built a bridge from stray logs across a forbidden stream of mud. Some people have fallen in an ended nearly waist deep in mud.

And it smells. Bad.

What a great day.

Captivated in a world of play

So much has happened in the past few days!! I don't have a lot of free time, nor the energy during any extra half hour to update this. So I find that my list of things we have been doing is backed up pretty far.

Let's start with Friday; the reason I am here! Friday our first group of kids came to play in our play pockets. The Adventure Theater was a success, minus enthusiam from a child or two. But really I cannot say for those kids if they didn't enjoy the experience because perhaps they did. The first group did not have long enough to actually create or act a skit. The second group contained three gung-ho kids, two boys and girl. The girl had an incredibly imaginative mind and created all sorts of stories and a really cool "ant" type creature. The boys made bows and arrows and hunted down here creature in about 20 seconds and proceeded to smash it to pieces. The last group was filled with young girls who were shy and desired to be Indian queens and princesses. They didn't so much as act out characters or roles but I think they enjoyed holding royal staffs and wearing leaf crowns.

The other groups had some really cool things going on with a Bug City, a Fire Escape, a neat mud trampoline, and creating creature masks. Already we have re-grouped and have been conjuring up themes for this Friday's rendezvous in the woods.

I was pretty wiped by the end of Friday. Saturday we rose early to head to the waterside Farmer's Market. There were a lot of homemade crafts and a couple of produce stands. I imagined more people selling fresh shrimp and fish but that definitely was not the case. Still enjoyable. We walked back to the Guesthouse and prepared for the annual Crab Rodeo at Pea Island. Imagine a group of 12-15 college aged kids sitting along shallow, still water each latched to a piece of hemp string tied around a chicken neck. Kara used a plastic bag to "catch" the crabs as well pulled them out of the water and into the cooler. Eventually a car nearby let us borrow one of their nets. Overall we caught 8 big crabs, enough just for a taste. Some went wind surfing afterward, others to a lighthouse, and still more went to the kite flying at Jockey's Ridge. By the time the car with the cooler arrived to the house most of the crabs were dead and still some were dying. It ended as a fiasco and crabs were buried in the backyard.

Kite flying at Jockey's Ridge was phenomenal. We're not talking about tiny little kites you can make at home with tails and other weak sauces. These were HUGE!! There were squids, a whale, a scuba diver, and other various twirling and whirling kites.

Saturday night we ended with live music at a local, and very tiny, bar. There was barely room to fit our group comfortably plus a handful of locals. But we made it work, we are all proving to be comfortable near each other. Terry and Will met a man that takes sunset tours out on a sailboat and promised to take us Sunday night...for no cost!! We rode with other tour folk (several tipsy older couples) and it was one of the most relaxing experiences I've had. Smoke from the smoldering fire surrounded us but it hazed the ugly picture of mansions and hotels along the shore around us.

Yesterday we began Week 2 with Phil Waters, a brilliant playworker for the Eden Project in the UK. Check it out!! They have the largest indoor rainforest and the biomes are all "bubble" shaped to conform with the landscape. We have a narrative that we have been following the last couple of days, dodging and guarding ourselves from a population of "Its" that take the form of anything! My name in "Courterfall" (Waterfall = Courtney) and my powers (inspired by a small piece of the obituary page) allow me to cremate the Its. We're all totally into the narrative and have spent the past couple of days building the most pimped out fort, villages for our Guard Its (just accept it) and beach sculpture.

I am learning so much in a single day between the seminars and interactive sessions! I hate not updating frequently enough that I can do more creative reflection of the things we have done rather than just trying to list all of the things that have been going on. I reflect in excess amounts but we do so much here that most of it comes out.

But however I leave with one thought that occurred to me earlier: When captivated by a moment, where you become completely involved with what is "in hand", you are playing. It doesn't matter if you are in a formal work setting, school, climbing (for me), or whatever else you are playing. And play is a keystone for happiness. Do the things you love. It makes waking up each morning fun.

Status: Still a blast!!

"Today I saw the world differently because..."

I saw it from a picture frame. Literally!

Our first activity this morning (Thursday) had us taking foam boards cut and pieced into picture frames, and then we followed up by finding a stump, or a branch, or a bug, whatever interested us and placing the frame around it. It forced me to look closer to the intricate nature of the environment instead of just "trees and soil." Often I look through a broad scope instead of allowing myself to see details. In a science-y description I see populations not individuals. Today I saw the world as an individual. And I feel that I played with it the same as I had the opportunity to play with Terry and Debi while creating our skit for the "Adventure Theater" (actual name pending).

Everyone's play pockets came together today. In just a few hours everyone transformed the forest into other worlds and places inviting imaginative minds to wander through. I wish I had time to describe them all!

Yesterday (Wednesday): There were several highlights to yesterday. From games with Jess to seeing 6 bears at the Alligator River Wildlife Refuge! Afterward we drove down one of the main roads where the fire initially occurred. Bonnie (who works with the USFWS) describes it as a "moonscape." Some bases of trees still had small flames flickering around the bases. A few of us got out to take pictures which turned into drawing on each other with ashes. As hungry as we all were, it was great for us to take a few moments to play in the woods (what were once tall pines and thick vegetation).

Update about feelings toward the internship: Still incredible. This has gone beyond my expectations of experience and fun.

Tuesday. Day 2!

I've been slacking on taking pictures. My camera is bulky and I've been caught up in all of the activity that I haven't even sat to weigh the pros and cons of taking it to the Gateway site with us. I regret not having it to take pictures of the "Fairy Garden" that Terry, Debi, and I created. It was pretty special. Special in a way that we made it so fantastic that I think if we waited long enough fairies would have started to actually inhabit the area.

So I'm here! In Manteo, an island in the outer banks. It's hot, but honestly not that much more than home. The Alligator River NWR has been fighting a wildfire for the last several weeks that has swept through around 45,000 acres of refuge-owned land. On my way in I noted all of the smoke miles before I even approached the bridge leading to the refuge. The sun behind me, due to the aerosols in the air from the fire, was a blazing and hazy red that hovered over marshy vegetation. It was such a great welcome to the coast!

Everyone here is willing to reach out, play in the woods, bring ideas to the table, and willing to get to know each other. We spent Sunday evening with the sun depleting while walking on the beach and chasing crabs.

Today, as part of an animation seminar, we had the opportunity to explore the woods surrounding our 30x30 tent and entrance trail that we cleared yesterday afternoon (in record fashion). Terry, Debi, and I found a great location that we want to clear out and create a space to build in and an area to relax in. It's the woods! Just some different vegetation and fauna that I am itching to identify. My wildlife interaction has been limited to 2 stray cats that hang around the Guest House and a couple of chattering chickadees fluttering around.

Today threw me back quite a few years, and even to recent memories. I do play in the woods in a much different way than I use to. But I still find a thrill chasing after salamanders in streams and searching for the biggest crawdad in the creek. But now I climb mountains, or hills, or crags, or trees. The trees part is not that different that being a child but the rest is. I appreciate more the environment nature creates to reflect and relax rather than as a place to jump all over, and probably destroy in the long run.

Status by day 2: This place is great all the way down to the people that it consists of. I am learning from those that are overseeing us and the other participants. We're all different, with vastly different backgrounds but connected by how we have been affected by the natural world.

Edit: I rode my bike a couple of miles down to the west end of Manteo Island tonight. I hit the sun as it was setting at the perfect time! I found some treasures along the beach, which also had a shallow canal that followed parallel with the thin shoreline hidden just beyond some tall grass. I also met a man on my way in that gave me a website for a man who is a "real" politician, none of that lying stuff and informed me in casual conversation about how crazy Switzerland is for wanting to suck up the earth in the black hole they nearly created. Anyway, here are some lovely pictures.

Another New Place

I leave tomorrow, after the baptism of my dear cielo, for a long drive to Manteo. It's in the same state, but it is still a 7 hour drive. The same amount of time could also get me to places like the Panhandle of Florida, or Nashville, TN and almost to my family and loved ones in IN and Ohio!!


I leave and there is still much to be done before I go. The past couple of days have been high demand for my constant movement from one place to another, from one activity to the next. It's been fun but oh boy I am tired!


I leave for an internship. Just in case you were at the edge of your seat and wondering why the world I would choose to drive to Manteo the same day as my niece's baptism. But if you are reading this blog you also are probably a person who is close enough to me that you already know. The internship is ultimately through the NWF and USFWS, then through the NC State Design Program, then through 15 of us interns who will be working with several current and future wildlife refuges along the coast to help begin a program that includes activities to excite kids and their families about the environment and its importance. So....it's call Nature Play Corps and you could probably just Google if it you really wanted to.

I am excited to spend a few weeks in woods that aren't WNC mountains. Occasionally I will update on what is going on with the internship, how I think this will affect my future goals, etc. and lots of blah blah blahs involved. So feel free to follow for the next couple of weeks and leave a comment or two on exciting things that may be going on in your life!! (Caroline T you best be updating about Germany CONSTANTLY). Lots of you are doing cool things. I want to know about them!