06/14/2025
POLLYWOG TRIP, what a HAPPY SPLASH!
15 campers and 6 staff enjoyed canoeing, swimming, Pirate Capture the Flag, fishing and games. We learned so much about our Great Creator, even in the first moments: Read below:
Walking up the hill to a shady spot to begin our name game, we noticed lots of white fluffy fuzz floating in the air, almost like snow. Circled up I asked, “ What is this stuff ? “ One little boy questioned, “… Cotton??”
“Wow, you are close ! Where is it coming from? “ They traced it to a tall tree upwind.
“ What do you notice about it; how would you describe it to another?
“ Heart-shaped leaves, “ they observed. I pointed to one just like it - the logo on our Canoe Creation shirts. “ Cottonwood Tree! “ returning campers cheered.
These trees grow by the water, and their leaves wave even in the slightest wind, “Clapping their hands “ in praise. Is 55:12 Listen!” Al beckoned. Being still, we could hear the gentle rustling of their leaves, almost like applause. Delighted, we broke out into the song, “You Shall Go out with Joy “
“ … and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.. “
“ Why are their leaves waving when the other tree’s leave are still?” Amy asked.
“ Their flat stem, “ replied one camper who had come 3 year prior. Most are round.
Sure enough, as we picked up leaves from ground we found it to be so.
“ Growing by water, “ Al explained, “ they suck up so much of it, waving is how they expel the extra.”
“Here’s another river tree; who knows what it is? “ he questioned.
“ Maple! “
“What kind of Maple?” He showed them the silvery color on the back of the leaf. “When the wind changes and a storm is coming, their leaves flip over so you can see the silvery side. How do they do that? “
“ The water pressure (turgor) within the plant cell can be stronger on one side of the leave stem than the other, causing it to twist a certain direction.” AMAZING !
“How great are your works, O LORD , how profound your thoughts! “ Psalm 92:5
