Treleven in June

Hay Crew

June was a beautiful month at Treleven. The weather was just about perfect for making hay. With the help of our neighbors and our intern, Megan Cousino, the first cut was promptly brought into the barns. Enough to take the flock through the winter, and then some. Don and Megan also loaded two years worth of fleeces to take to the wool pool.

Megan and Don load the fleeces for the Wool Pool

Nature camp unit on rocks, minerals, and geology

This was also the month that nature camp began, and we all had a wonderful time. With the guidance of Erin Ruble, we selected six units that were related to one another and that helped us to explore the landscape of the farm. The first unit: rocks, minerals, and geology, brought us to one of the more interesting geological features in the Champlain Valley, an escarpment located in the home pasture.  The next unit, finding our way, looked at the ways different animals, including humans, navigate to find food, shelter, mates, and safety. The children were introduced to geocaching, and we were stunned to learn how many geocaches exist in Addison County alone.

Peggy Greeting Participants in the Narrative Therapy Master Class

Perhaps the outstanding highlight for June was the Narrative Therapy Master Class taught by the internationally known Maggie Carey and organized by Peggy Sax. The class was seriously over-subscribed and Peggy is already taking reservations for next year’s session. You can find more information at the Reauthoring Teaching site.  You can also see many more photos and details about both the Nature Camp and the Narrative Therapy Program on the Treleven FaceBook Page.

In other activities we held a lovely discussion about the role of retreat centers and retreat practices in our lives, inspired by our visiting friends from the Mt Gilead Friends Retreat Center.

This led to some further discussion with other retreat centers about the possibility of establishing an informal network to share ideas and experiences.  Rita and Cheryl started practicing Tai Chi down by the pond on Wednesday mornings. Don continued to expand the trail system. We invite you all to join us for a formal (such as the upcoming class on stories) or informal event.