Great Spirit, We Give Thanks

Each year since I began writing this blog, I offer my thoughts, in one form or another, about being thankful at Thanksgiving.  It’s that time of year again, and more than ever, I am reminded how important it is to pause and reflect on the importance of what really matters – faith, family, friends, priorities, and the privilege of living in the greatest country the world has ever known.  With those thoughts in mind…

Great Spirit, We Give Thanks for our brave warriors.  We thank You for their selfless sacrifice, and the honorable way in which they serve our great land.  Without them, the freedom we cherish would never survive.  Watch over each and every one of them and their families.

Great Spirit, We Give Thanks for the beauty of Your creation.  As we go about our daily routines, do not let us forget to pause to admire that which You have created.  Let us always respect Your creation enough that we care for it so that others may enjoy it’s beauty.

Great Spirit, We Give Thanks for the bounty of the land.  All that we hunt and harvest with our hands, came first from Your hand.

Great Spirit, We Give Thanks for your provision.  Let us always be grateful for that which you provide; too often, we waste our time complaining about what we do not have, rather than being thankful for the many things we do have.  There are so many in this world who would be grateful to have that which we take for granted.

Great Spirit, We Give Thanks for our friends.  The journey of life is empty without good friends to share both our triumphs and our defeats.  Let us always be grateful for the friends in our lives.

Great Spirit, We Give Thanks for our families.  The family is the foundation of our lives together.  Thank You for the joy our children bring to us, and guide us as we teach them, so that they become all that You want them to become.

To all of you, your families, and your friends, Happy Thanksgiving!

Yatehey!

Chief Bald Eagle

Federation Fire Keeper

Cornfest...For the Pyro in All of Us....

Go ahead....admit it....a gigantic fire every once in awhile is pretty cool, isn't it? You don't want teach your kids to play with fire, but deep down, you enjoy watching a stack of 200 wood pallets burn, right? I can only assume this attraction to fire is genetic somehow - we're born with it. How else do you explain the fact that every campout, the #1 issue us adults deal with is admonishing our kids to "quit playing with the campfire"? The only difference between us men and the kids is that they feed the fire with piles of pine needles, while we use gallons of kerosene and black powder!

Check it out!
Looks harmless enough....


But looks can be deceiving!

As the firefighters say, "fully involved"...

Oh yeah, there was some other fun stuff like pumpkin carving, archery, and drop-dead gorgeous weather!  The Mighty Kiowa also welcomed the Soaring Eagles to our circle - glad to have you camp with us.
Now it's on to Doe Lake - get your pine cars ready!


Yatahey!
Chief Bald Eagle
Federation Fire Keeper

Anastasia 2011

Some people look forward to horse races or Indy car races in May, but for The Mighty Kiowa, May means Anastasia State Park! This year was the ninth straight year of camping at Anastasia, and as usual, it was awesome! When you have a beautiful natural beach, great weather, and excellent grilled fish for dinner, how can you go wrong?

It was a great way to end another year of camping:

We also got some "throwback" photos. Many thanks to the tribe for altering your plans to be at the fort Saturday morning to replicate the picture of the kids we took 9 years ago. I'm saving those shots, and several other really good pictures for the photo book, so you'll just have to buy a copy to see them. Trust me, it will be worth it!

So, another year of camping comes to a close. I hope each of you has a safe and blessed summer with your families. For my part, I will be preparing for Cornest by rebuilding the ignition switch that melted and planning a bigger, better fire - if that's possible! Maybe Chuck can help me with that.....

Yatahey!

Chief Bald Eagle

Federation Fire Keeper

Cracker Creek

This campout was lightly attended, so I only got a few pictures. Nevertheless, it was a good time! Ed Normand was kind enough to invite the tribe to his home in New Smyrna Beach Saturday afternoon - nice digs Ed! After taking kayaks out to the oyster beds for awhile, we went down to the beach for awhile, then returned for a tasty dinner of ribs and chicken. Thanks Ed for sharing your weekend retreat with us!!!

Next up, everyone's favorite, Anastasia State Park!!! I look forward to seeing all of you there!!!

Yatahey!!!
Chief Bald Eagle
Federation Fire Keeper

Seasons

Another of my random observations about family…..

If you spend any amount of time outdoors, you can’t help but be aware of the different seasons of the year. To me, there’s nothing like that first wave of cool weather in the fall, after 4 months or so of that hot sweltering heat we call summer. Before you know it, the first freeze, or near freeze of winter rolls through (yes, we get freezing weather even in Florida!). After dealing with the cold for awhile, I find myself looking forward to the moderate temperatures of spring, when all the foliage starts to bloom and turn green again. As we progress through the spring, I can’t help but look forward to the summer, when it’s actually hot and the water is warm enough to swim in without getting hypothermia. A couple of months into summer, I start to realize that it’s just too darn hot and….we’ve come full circle, and the cycle starts all over again.

What is the common thread in our continually changing seasons? I can think of several, but for me, the special events that we associate with the seasons of the year stand out the most – holidays, sporting events, family activities, and so on. It’s a continual cycle of looking forward to an event, sadness that the event has passed, that soon gives way to fond memories of the event, which quickly transforms into anticipation of the next event.

When I consider the cycle of the seasons, I find that it is much the same in the life of my family. There are seasons in my marriage, and in the lives of our kids. When our kids were born, it was much like spring – new flowers blooming for the first time and everything is new. Sometimes, I’m not sure what season we’re in. As both of my kids are essentially into the teen years, I’m reminded of the latter part of spring, when the weather starts to get stormy, as both of them evolve toward independence. On the other hand, when my son sleeps until noon, I wonder if it’s time for winter hibernation!

As our kids pass from one season to the next, I find myself a bit sad at times that the things they used to say, the way they acted, and the cute things they did as young children no longer occur. However, like the seasonal cycle, each new season is filled with its own unique events and accomplishments that I have come to cherish and appreciate.

What season are your kids in? Take time to consider that question, and enjoy the change of seasons in your family!

Moss Park

As they say - whoever "they" is - timing is everything, and our timing was certainly good this past weekend! After several really cold nights last week, the temperatures warmed just enough Friday and Saturday for some real pleasant camping weather!

The kids had lots of fun doing the scavenger hunt, looking for critters to race, and just hanging out!

A few had their own silly face contest!

To top things off, we held our 2nd annual Kiowa Hamburger Contest! There were lots of good and interesting hamburgers for sure! The winner of the Most Likely to Cause Indigestion award went to Isabelle Normand for her burger that had unknown quantities of hot sauce. Megan Smith and Chloe Kranston tied for Tastiest/Most Creative burger. It was a lot of fun, and good eating!

Speaking of good eating, get ready for our tribal campout at Juniper Springs in February. Lots of canoeing, and, we're bringing the smoker!

Yatahey!

Chief Bald Eagle

Federation Fire Keeper