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Jenn and Clooney –
Jenn’s written these for lots of years already so she asked me to write our bio instead. I’m Clooney, her 5-month-old black lab puppy. I’m going to be a Guide Dog one day. Jenn tells me it’s a very important job and I’m learning all the skills I need to do well here at Camp, just like her last puppy, Neil. She also tells me that at 40 lbs I’m too big to be carried, even if I don’t like walking through puddles and that she really hopes this doesn’t mean I’m not going to want to swim, because she really wants me to come to the Yuba River with her and the campers. As long as swimming doesn’t involve getting my feet wet, I think that sounds fine.
Jenn’s notes are in italics.
Let’s see, where to start. Jenn is very tall, I have to sit back and look way up to see her face. Everyone is pretty tall when you’re only two feet off the ground. I’m a pretty average height to most people. She doesn’t have any fur except for some on her head. Sometimes she’s kind of cold without it, especially when I need to go out to pee at 6am and she’s in her sleeping clothes, but most of the time the lack of fur doesn’t seem to bother her. She claims it’s because she grew up in Canada where it can be really cold. It even snows in Canada, it gets that cold!! I saw snow for the first time last month and loved to shovel my nose through it. Jenn didn’t want to do that for some reason but told me she likes to slide down snowy hills on a piece of wood in the winter – I don’t get it; I’d much rather just chase the sliding wood down the hill than sit or stand on it.
We live here at Camp Augusta all year round. In the winter we live in a warm, wooden box called the Nurse’s Cabin. Jenn says that’s kind of suiting, because she’s a nurse when she’s not working at camp. Our house is pretty cozy and warm and we spend a lot of time sitting by the fire, working on creating amazing things for the summer. Well, Jenn creates stuff on her computer and I help by trying to walk across her keyboard, stick my wet nose in her ear or drop my toys in her lap or on her keyboard. Sometimes she needs a play break!! Sometimes we go for walks around Camp and I love to go play in the lodge and walk up to the big grassy space (this is the horse arena and pasture, before the horses arrive it’s actually green). Jenn keeps telling me I’m going to love it here in the summer when all the families and kids arrive! I’m really looking forward to meeting all the new people and playing with all the kids. I really like playing tug with my rope. Jenn even said I might even get to be a counselor this summer and have my own group of campers to play with (don’t worry parents, a dog will not be looking after your children. I might get to be a counselor this summer and he would get to join us).
Other things you might like to know about me… Between this summer and last I went on a month-long road trip through the western US and Canada with three other camp folks. We did some camping and visited our families and friends along the way. I have never spent much time traveling through the US, typically my travels take me overseas, but it was really amazing to experience the beauty of what is so close to home.
I love to ride horses and have lately become an avid aerial silkist. Both of these skills are things I picked up as an adult and neither has come particularly naturally to me. I think I like them even more because of that, the challenge to continually improve keeps me engaged. For all of you campers who are in the same boat, I couldn’t climb for the first month or two of aerial classes and now I’m in the campfire performance. There is hope and persistence pays off. You’ll often see me teaching silks at Camp these days. We are also introducing lyra (hoop), which I am very excited about, similar moves in some ways, but with a different feel, as you can rest against and on the hoop.
This is the 7th summer since I first stumbled across Camp Augusta while looking for one final, fun summer prior to my final year of my Bachelor of Nursing program in 2004. I am drawn back year after year by the amazing opportunities to both grow personally and encourage and support the growth of other staff and campers. Looking back to my first summer, I am amazed at the strides Camp Augusta has taken to grow and develop as an organization and a community. I truly believe we offer a unique and enriching experience for the campers, staff and families that have the opportunity to create and experience the wish, wonder and surprise that is camp and I am thrilled to be a part of it for another summer.
This will likely be my last summer at camp (though I have been saying that since 2004 and keep finding ways to reappear if only for a week or two). The skills I have learned in my many years here will support and strengthen me wherever my life takes me, be it overseas with an aid organization or into a small, rural community in the US or Canada. I am truly grateful for having had the opportunity to be involved in this community and to make it my full-time home for the past three years.
Campingly yours,
Jenn and Clooney
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