Long Island, NY

These are pictures from the children's primitive skills camp I went to. I connected with Jeff in NC at Fire Fly Gathering and somehow was lucky  enough to get to help at his day camp.

I got to stay at a house that backed up to the pine barrens, which was very peaceful.  Most of the Island was buzzing suburbia but Jeff took me to some nice natural areas (what little is left). I went sea kayaking and crabbing for blue crabs. They have quite the attitude! I also went to a house sing. Which was fun, people bring instruments and you sing folk songs from 1750s-1990s, but I was ready to leave after singing for 5 hours. Everyone else seemed to be hanging in strong. So the next 2 hours I started to fake singing because my voice was hurting.

Verrazano Bridge going in to Long Island,

The kids used a antique rope making machine and made three pieces of three ply rope.. and then plied those together. They had a tug of war to test its strength and then they decided to see if they could pull a car. I was surprised how easy they pulled the van, and they rope held up too.

Primitive cooking. Staring fire with a bow drill and cooking on a stone griddle. The kids picked wild berries to put in the pancakes.

Cooking meat on the fire.

Working a strap loom.

The kids often ASKED me to take their pictures.

Throwing spears and atlatl's

The atlatl is the peice the boy is holding under the spear. It is a tool that allows you to achieve greater velocity.

This boy and his brother are hillarious. Note his rambo headband (which he weaved on the loom). When he wore it he turned into a different person, and I often saw him giving out "ninja" type tricks.

I just loved Dylan's expression.

The beginning of a wig wam Jeff was building at a near by nature center.