The Storm Wolves had a change from the norm as they arrived
at Larrabee State Park to hunker down and work on the skill of “coal blowing”
instead of head out on a hike to explore and play games. Although we were
straying from the norm in terms of our outing, the Storm Wolves made sure to
keep things in line by demonstrating their top notch abilities at free play
while balancing things out with pointed focus when called upon. Of course we had
to start things off with the usual opening circle where we discussed our plan
for the day, chatted about the Art of Fire, and finally got into some basics of
carving and coal-blowing spoons.
Our initial circle ended up taking a bit of time to get
started as there was just too much energy in the group. Clearly these guys are
used to hiking in a bit before hunkering down and working on skills that
require patience and focus, so we took some time to enjoy ourselves and catch
up with fellow Storm Wolves before getting into things. Not surprisingly, the
Storm Wolves were off searching out adventure and whether it was tossing
Douglas-Fir cones over the sheltered area or working together as a team to
retrieve a Frisbee from the other side of a fence, everyone was able to get
their wiggles out and more importantly have a lot of fun doing so.
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| Sometimes the best team building activities are organic |
Transitioning to our focused skills work, the Storm Wolves
gathered up around the fire ring to review the basics of lighting a fire.
Luckily they have had plenty of experience on their prior outings utilizing
Western-Hemlock to make a kindling bundle that they were able to light with a
single match, so this was a walk in the park… so to speak. However, Tim decided
to switch things up and demonstrated how to use Western Red-Cedar bark to make
a fuzzy tinder bundle that was lit with a ferrocerium rod (also known as fire
steel, “flint and steel”, etc.). Not only is it important to know how to create
your own flame from a simple spark, but honing these skills will aid us when we
finally take on fire-by-friction and need to use the very same tinder in order
to blow our bow-drill coals into flames.
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| Using a ferrocerium rod to start the fire |
After getting a fire going and demonstrating the importance
of preparation, intentionality, and anticipation to properly process and organize
your fuel it was time to transition to coal-blowing. With our initial “spoons”
taking shape due to some expansive carving time, we were ready to transition to
making the concavity. Being careful with our coals and remembering to be aware
of those around us, the mentors extracted coals from the fire for the Storm Wolves.
Placing the red hot ember on the wood and using a stick to press down on the
coal, the Storm Wolves each began blowing steadily on the coal to increase the
heat and transfer the heat into the spoon. After a few seconds the wood of the
spoon began to heat up and become an ember in itself. After exhausting their
coals, each Storm Wolf took some time to scrape out the charcoal on the concavity
of the spoon and before they knew it their spoon was taking shape. This process
must then be repeated until your concavity is sufficiently shaped to the
coal-blower’s specifications.
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Transitioning to free time, some of the Storm Wolves continued
to work on their spoons while others reverted back to games of tossing the Fir
cone over the shelter or playing with the newly retrieved Frisbee. Only a few
of us got to complete our spoons, but the mentors were grateful to hear the
Storm Wolves each exclaim how cool it was to learn this skill. Despite the
requirement for preparation, patience, and strong focus the group was able to
ebb and flow between focus and play with impressive ability. Although there
were a few times where some of the group members began transitioning to play
during circle or while a mentor was talking, the other Storm Wolves kept them
in line before the mentors needed to stop and ask for refocusing. Seeing this
group mentor themselves, fluctuate between play and focus, and most of all get
excited about an ancient skill made this a very rewarding day for mentors and
Storm Wolves alike.
Make sure to check out the rest of the photos form our outing here!
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| Learning alongside a friend always makes things better! |
