Quote of the week: “Goodnight Kroka!”
Miscommunication of the week:
Noah: “Awww, shoot my necklace broke!”
Ezra: “Your knife broke?”
Noah: “Yah . . . my neck broke . . .”
This past week has felt as though it is the last push before the plunge—the plunge into Ecuador; the plunge into adventure. As we have been gearing up for our journey, we have also been working on a number of projects around the Kroka camp. One project was adding flooring to the upstairs of the 
carriage barn (that way when someone sweeps the upstairs a substantial amount of dust will no longer leak down to the first floor, which is always a good thing). This undertaking of ours was aided and overseen by the calm, disciplined hands of Hugh—a truly amazing carpenter who was kind and patient enough to teach us such skills as squaring boards, planing, how to properly use a handsaw, and so much more. As transient as his presence was within our community, it was sincerely appreciated by each and every one of us. Some members of our community seem to have a budding aptitude for carpentry—Robert’s dexterity with the plane never ceases to amaze me, and Clayton’s efficiency in measuring, squaring, and laying down a board was impressive.
carriage barn (that way when someone sweeps the upstairs a substantial amount of dust will no longer leak down to the first floor, which is always a good thing). This undertaking of ours was aided and overseen by the calm, disciplined hands of Hugh—a truly amazing carpenter who was kind and patient enough to teach us such skills as squaring boards, planing, how to properly use a handsaw, and so much more. As transient as his presence was within our community, it was sincerely appreciated by each and every one of us. Some members of our community seem to have a budding aptitude for carpentry—Robert’s dexterity with the plane never ceases to amaze me, and Clayton’s efficiency in measuring, squaring, and laying down a board was impressive.
In addition to the carriage barn, we have also been putting a prodigious amount of energy into creating a map of Kroka, which when finished, will be displayed in the office for all to see. Although it has been a stressful process and has tried our ability to work together as a group, in the end we have gained so much in community—our capacity to communicate our needs and wants to one another, our capability to compromise—and have come to the pleasing realization that we can accomplish much more in community than individually. To complete the map in the most efficient way possible, we split our group into various task forces. Hila, Isabelle, and Zoe were in charge of creating a general outline for the map, and Nelly was responsible for making the map creative and expressive. Leah and I had the pleasure of designing a logo for Kroka and then wood-burning it into part of the frame—gently
pressing the wood-burning tool until the wood sizzled and the image of our creation was imprinted in the grain of the wood. Hytham, Noah, and Leo worked tirelessly on constructing a frame built from a beautiful piece of cedar carved by Mathias, a long, unwinding piece of birchbark, two shorter strips of birchbark, and a flowing, wooden top-piece created by Noah on which the logo was burned. And when the map was nearly complete, Isabelle, Ezra, and Hila did a magnificent job at watercoloring our week’s work—mixing blues and greens to create entire forests from a drop of paint; swirling reds and yellows to express the beauty of our dwellings.
Yesterday, we spent the day with Misha on the Deerfield River learning the basics of whitewater canoeing to help us prepare for the rapids on our river trips in the Amazon. The day was filled with exploration and laughter while we navigated through the challenges of the waters. Many of the rapids had shifted during the hurricane and were
now entirely new to Misha, as well as to all of us. At times the ever-changing whims of the waters tried to overtake us, and a few canoes were flipped (Leah and Nelly held the record at four), but we paddled strongly and even had time to watch a lone beaver squatting on the riverbank. At the end of the day we emerged dripping but smiling at the pull-out and headed home to be greeted with a warm, comforting dinner at Lynne and Misha’s—our hearts and hands kindled by scrumptious burritos; our spirits burned with the pleasure of company and community.
Last but not least, this past weekend we had the pleasure of our families and friends joining us at Kroka. We shared our life with them and got spoiled with wonderful food and lots of love. Thank you parents, for your support and making this amazing journey happen for us.
Standing on the edge of discovery, more ready than ever to embark on the journey of a lifetime, we cannot help but feel the hum and buzz of exploration in our feet; in the depths of our souls. We step forward as a community—with hearts, minds, and intentions interconnected. In such an invigorating time, a poem created by our very own Leah comes to mind:
I am a spirit of fire
Of rhythm and love
My life goes on an endless song
and tell me, why should I keep from singing?
My love, let us dance!
Let us free our bodies
from ourselves.
Do you see this tree?
Let us all be this beautiful tree
It flows and it grows
together with you and me.
Let us be like this bird
who lets go of fear.
Let loose your soul
and take the jump.
Spread your wings out wide,
and love yourself.
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