qwazse

The old Arbor day projects were generally aimed at instant gratification and the notion of forest progression from field to pines to hardwoods. My brother planted firs and spruce in part of our property, and they loomed large in a decade. But there was no plan to bring up maple, oak and sassafras behind it. Hardwood plantings are challenging. Deer love rubbing those saplings!

I took for granted that everyone knew about Dragon Boats. It's quite popular around the three rivers of Pittsburgh.

The ranger at one camp in our area refurbishes motorcycles as a hobby. He picks up and refurbishes scrapped bicycles for the camp to use in the process. When our area VOA has an event there, he puts them out for anyone to use.

Perfect day here. After early church, I was "running" in an Orienteering course (2 1/4 hours - not great for an medium, but a new stretch of county park for me), then worked on some carpentry on the back porch before Sunday dinner. I figured the Steelers could win this one without me,

To be a scout in the BSA now, you must: have four others of the same sex willing to do the same have two minders aged at least 21 and if you are female, have at least on of these minders match your sex sacrifice about three camping nights of funds for this of past minders. Heaven help you if you are so foolish as to go hiking and camping with friends who are members of the GS/USA.

Yeah, it's not the kid who's makin you want to walk away. It's the folks on the sidelines yelling at the ref for calling out of bounds.

Yeah, tell the parents that they need to be present when their son scandalizes scouts with his foul mouth.

Well, if you want more suggestions. Take the "liked" slogans, put them in a poll, and invite everyone to vote on their favorite. Then you'll get hundreds of comments with alternate suggestions.

IMHO - this is entirely a youth problem. By now those cross-overs should be either their own patrol with an elected PL or in existing patrols with their established PLs. In other words, they ain't crossovers, they are first-years. It's very simple. In the PLC, ask each PL how many of his boys have not earned scout rank. Then ask why. Then ask what he will do to change that. Then at every PLC ask those same questions until most of those crossovers have advanced. If all of the 1st-years are in one patrol, the other patrols will obviously have near zero who haven't earned scouts and the one patrol will have the large number. That's not an excuse. That's an opportunity to ask that one PL why, and what he will do to change that. I never make a distinction between AoLs and never-cubs. I find it makes precious little difference in their rank advancement in the troop. All that matters is that each PL knows that you will ask "How many?", "Why?", and "What?" If your PLC is working, expect them to be brutally honest if you're the problem. Obviously, if you haven't allowed them to sign off, then they should point that out. They may point out that their scouts are able, they're just waiting for an SMC. At scout rank, you don't even need 5 minutes for advancement conferences. What else are you doing that's so important that you can't have a conference with three or four 1st-years every meeting? Are these boys coming to campouts? You should be able to meet with them all between breakfast and lunch! Your PL's might not point these things out at the first PLC where you call them out on this, but by the time you ask those three simple questions at the fourth meeting, one or two of those PLs will say "Sir, we've done our job. We're waiting for you to do yours."

We're up to $120 for scouts. (The leader's fee is less, but I'm inclined to put the same amount in by way of donation.) No complaints, and we intend to support anyone who can't afford it. The boys got serious with popcorn and wreath sales, which helped. But ... we told boys that we had a few fat years where we skated on camp fees. (An adult decision which I did not approve of.) Now they will have a minimum to pay for each campout (unless a volunteer proffers his/her back nine for a weekend). My hope is that will motivate them to sell aggressively. I'm more concerned about the junior high student who never did scouting and might want to do join the troop. Or, the high school students who might want to join the crew that some of the boys want to start. That's a big commitment compared to the evenings at the skating rink or bowling alley.

Stand by your SM and TG. Don't waste time in explanations. This is how your troop runs, like most troops. Scout demonstrate skills to a leader, Scout presents his book to that leader, that leader signs off. It's the scout's advancement, not the leaders. The boys know that. No further explanation necessary. You're in the unfortunate position of needing to remind parents ... the scout has control of his advancement destiny. If the scout wants results, he'll take action. If he's not taking action, what does that tell you about his desires?

We'll, I learned the names (generic and street) of common drugs in 4th grade science class. It's about the right age. I'm just wondering why have a den do something that a school should be doing?

It always feels colder at the beginning of the season ... this frosty morning on my walk to the coffee shop I crossed paths with one of our committee on his way home with his dogs. He busted my chops for me having my balaclava on. "Too soon for that." Said the guy who already had his coffee in hand! Come spring, same temperature, and I might be in shorts.

Keeping that plate at 17"!

All scouting is local. Guidance like this has been in place in one document or another for decades. The real sea change will come when folks (scouts, parents, and volunteers) heed it.

LoL - Come next month, that water's been done froze solid in 1/2 hour no matter what you do up here. (Based on daughter's reports from North Dakota, that's happening now.) To counter this pleasant phenomenon I have the following: Aluminum canteen. Cover that bad boy in some coals. Get your water back in as much time as it took to freeze solid. Propane stove works too. Make sure you've removed/protected the cap ... especially if it's plastic. (Plastic vessels? Lay on rocks that had been beside a fire, cover with a towel. Or, suspend in a pot of boiling water.) No rush? Keep your bottles in your tent with you overnight by your head just outside of your bag. They'll thaw by morning -- faster if your tent has a ridge pole from which to suspend them. Acquire water from under ice in the nearest stream Filter, then boil. (Sometimes you have to boil first if it's so cold your filter freezes.) What you don't use for dinner, store in bottle(s). Wrap bottle(s) in fleece. Store at foot of your sleeping bag. IMHO, I've seen plastic containers bust in so many elegant ways, I would never use one as my main water supply. However, the 96 oz collapsible canteens are pretty cool backups. What's nice is if laid between a couple of warm rocks, they'll eventually flex to the surfaces, allowing for more heat transfer.

I will point out that for a 16 year old in our state, the BSA registration fee exceeds the cost of a fishing and hunting license.

We used to thread our waxed rope from our troop supply to replace the lost tent flap ties. The USA Contingent World Scout Jamboree neckerchiefs had ribbing (white stars on blue and white "USA" lettering on red) that would make perfect replacement for flap ties. I wonder if the manufacturer has any overstock? What a great way for @karunamom3's scouts up their game next summer! Ask that camp commissioner for a canvas that needs a lot of tender loving care, bring a sewing kit and some elegant patches and chord, and bling up that baby!

That other hour a week ... well spent here.

Yeah. I guess it really didn't matter much exactly what I said. It was that I made a big deal about entrusting them with this responsibility. I've had 2nd class scouts work on teaching new scouts (especially one's who didn't come up through Webelos) the Oath, Law, etc ... By the way, our PLC is taking it upon themselves to arrange an evening to get everyone's cyberchip up to date. Now that we have several classes of scouts who understand what a roadblock it can be, they are beginning to help one another move along.

... so great scouters never have to leave the campfire.

@SteveMM, full disclosure: our PLC has been "planning" to do inspections for two years. Until that time, I will point out at boards of reviews, SM conferences, and ceremonies about how to look sharp. Since uniform police has become pejorative in some circles, I've told the older scouts to just call me the local insignia dork. I do agree with @ParkMan in that I want the scouts to be intentional about how they present themselves. So, I try to bring up deviations from the Insignia Guide -- including my own -- in a kind and courteous manner. I want the scouts to know there's a balance between a uniform that tells your scouting story and one that distracts from tasks at hand. But, none of that keeps scouts from showing up shoddy. The bottom line to my SPL: if you don't inspect, don't expect. I'm actually quite proud that all of our new patrols have their flags made. I figure my next move is to make a totem for the sharpest looking patrol.

Scouters, you're gonna "like" us!👍

Where great scouting gets upvotes!

@RainShine, Even though you didn't say it, I figured your were an SM by the way you asked questions. (... If it talks like a duck ....) To both you and @Treflienne, regarding youth sign-offs, the answer is now is the time to start. The question is how. Here's what we did: We had the first-class scouts and the patrol leaders sit in the circle, and asked them what we should expect from a person who signed off in their book to have seen: An argument that they did this here or that there was not enough. A display of paperwork was not enough. If you saw the scout demonstrate the skill in a "kinda sorta" way they day he was taught, that's not enough. If he did it partly (e.g., found 2 out of 8 controls on a one mile compass course) that's not enough. Some time after he had been taught, if you saw the scout demonstrate the skill completely, smoothly and confidently, then you could sign off. A signature in a book isn't just a check mark, it's a reminder for years to come of all the scouts who walked with that scout on his trail to first class. This took all of 10 minutes. I then asked, "So, you guys ready to help some scouts master their first class skills! We're counting on you, and looking forward to see your initials in some books soon." I then insisted with adult leaders that I did not want to see their signature in a book, nor did they want to see mine. I certainly have returned a book to the youth, saying "I'm sorry, I didn't see you perform that skill. Who among our first class scouts did?" Now there are plenty of times when adults do sign off (conferences and boards of review especially), but we look for those youth signatures on most of the skill requirements.