Owls, January 22nd

The Owls went to Edworthy! Unfortunately the Douglas Fir Trail is still closed so after some warm up and team games in the park we swung to the west of the park by the Timbernook spot, which many of the Owls had memories to share and up to the an old wooden bridge that spans a little creek. The Owls spent quite a bit of time at the creek. First they explored around the bridge. They explored an old metal drum that we think is a remanent from when the area hosted a sandstone quarries and a brick making factory. The Owls continued their exploration to the top of the creek. Clay exclaimed that it was the prettiest place he had ever been. They checked out the ice formations and realized that the creek was actually a spring, finding the source at the top of the creek.

At this point the Owls were pretty tired, but we left the creek and continued on to the top of the icy trail. It was not easy. There was a lot of slipping and sliding, but everyone was staying toasty and warm with the exertion. Along the way we met two lovely dogs. Ask your Owl about their names and what Piper renamed them. At the top of the hill we walked over to one of the biggest toboggan hills in Calgary. Some Owls went a couple times and some opted to only go once to avoid climbing up the hill again.

At this point everyone was ready for lunch! We collected wood throughout the morning. The Owls now have eagle eyes for tinder. The question was would we have enough to sustain a fire. Working together the Owls got the fire going, using tinder that they found and the char cloth from last week. We toasted cheese croissants over the fire, Gregory toasted his frozen sandwich and we settled for lunch.

The Owls are always wanting to make their fires bigger. At forest school we typically make smaller fires and sit closely to them. Taking advantage of the big fire pit, I challenged them to collect as much wood as they could in 10 minutes and then we would use all the wood. It was the biggest fire I have seen in forest school. Once we pranced around the fire and enjoyed it, we put it out with a bucket of snow, which immediately suffocated the fire. Clay yelled its a 'smoke storm from Fortnite!'

We ended with another blindfold game where the Owls had to trust and listen to their partner and headed to Angels Cafe! Hot chocolates were the popular choice and the Owls pooled their money to share some Nanaimo bars. It turned out that we didn't need to go in during the day to warm up, but it was a lovely way to end the day!