One of the many things that I love about the first session of the summer (besides the songs of spring peepers) is celebrating the Summer Solstice. Eagle’s Nesters have been waking up early to greet the sun and dance around a brightly ribbonned May Pole for as long as I’ve been coming here and many more years before that.

For Eagle’s Nesters summertime is our season! Summer means cookouts with watermelon, square dances with live musicians, Capture the Flag, creeks ready to be explored, and friends to reunite with. So we celebrate the beginning of the summer with as much joy and enthusiasm that we can muster.

This year that meant strolling minstrels woke up the campers singing “Morning Has Broken” and then we paraded down to the lake where we painted our faces, ate oranges, and lit sparklers. Throughout the day we learned about the summer Solstice and sang summer songs. In the evening we danced around the May Pole, enjoyed a bonfire, and shared our talents (as a gift to the sun) during coffee house. To wrap up the night the CITs launched lanterns into the lake as the sun set in the West.

By Paige Lester-Niles