red feather

Heartwood is the center core of a tree that no longer has the ability to carry nutrients up and down the trunk. This wood will still be moist and will need seasoning. Heartwood provides the structural strength of the tree or bush. Sapwood is the outer layers of the tree or bush that is the circulatory system of the tree that moves the sap up and down the tree. The bark of the tree protects this layer. This is the layer that when pierced all the way around the trunk preventing this movement will kill the tree. Hope this helps yis red feather

As a SM of the troop that I serve with 3 yrs as a SM and 12 yrs in other duties with the troop. I can relate with this conundrum. Regardless of the experience of the current SM and the history of the scout, the issue seems to me to be one of why does this parent have so much influence on the advancement of her son? If he is a 'fast track scout' then that is one thing.(Don't like them but they happen) If the scout is one that needs special care that is another. I wonder what the scout thinks and what he wants, nowhere have I found that question asked on this thread or in any of the r

Welcome to the campfire. Pull up a log and have a cup of joe. Good info in this thread. For fire starting or making purposes I prefer the dead twigs/branches from any conifer as they have pockets of pitch in them that burn hot and will get other woods started. I also keep some birch bark in my kit for fire starting. Birch bark will light in almost any situation even when wet. A small roll about an inch in diameter and 6 inches in length will work very well. As the others have said, look up and around, you will see where the downfall has come from. Practice, practice, practice a

As a SM of the troop that I serve and working now in my 3rd year of trying for a true Scout led troop, it is a curve that is almost always up.(been with the troop 15 years) One of the things that I have seen in the difference of my views of scouting and those of 'new' adult leaders is not so much that they were not scouts as a youth but that they have not gone through Wood Badge. They have done the outdoor training and all the other preliiminary training that we can get them. I do not know the new syllabus for WB today as I went through it before the change. ( note to those who may be

The troop that I serve usually has ECOHs planned by the family and the Eagle. We had one that did not plan his ECOH for 3 yrs and we contacted the family around Christmas one year and they gave him his Eagle packet as a present. Was told that it went over very well. Regardless of a ECOH or not the Eagle gets presented some way. yis

Been trying to figure out how to respond for a while. Been there, done that and got the scars. Do not let the b***ds win! You have a connect with the youth of the troop and that is what scouting is all about. If the boys were not there then there is no reason for us to be there. It will be difficult to find a way to coexist, ignore or discount the 'rabble' that has caused your troubles, but a way is there just may take a bit of time or conivery to find it. As the Eagle thing goes I remember some of the thread about that and I remember thinking at the time some Eagles soar and some fl

Good info all around. As far as personal gear, sunglasses with croakie and sunscreen. You can get a lot of bounce of sunlight off of the water so even protect the underside of the nose. Boonie style hat to protect your head and neck. In case of rain showers do not bring a poncho that turns into a shroud if you go into the water. Take a rain jacket instead. PFD! PFD!PFD! Take shoes that can be discarded after the trip as river soaked shoes tend to get a bit ripe later. No cotton clothing if you can help it as it takes forever to dry, wear nylon or other similar fabrics that dry quickly

Not sure what the storm in the tea cup is all about. Been around awhile and it seems to me IMHO that things are a bit calm these days. There will always be the exteme and there will always be the not extreme. Not sure I put that right but there is always a place around the campfire for ideas and opinions. These opinions are not always agreeded upon but if we do not discuss them (with a not always good cup of joe) we will never learn what is out there that is not what we perceive. If a campfire is dull, we all go to bed. If the discussion is anti-scouting, I for one wish to hea

Source, I feel your pain. The advise that you have and will receive from this campfire will not always be what you wish to hear but will be for the most part good advise. I have been with the troop that I serve almost 16 yrs, 10 or so as ASM, couple as commitee member and after I forgot to duck, the last 2-3 yrs as SM. The troop is 40 plus years old. When I joined the troop it was a 'social club' and not a lot of scouting as I knew it. It has transitioned through many variations since then. I have seen the troop grow from 10-15 scouts to 45-50 and back again, currently 30-35 scout

As a youth 63-73. Earned AOL and Eagle. Jambo in 69 and 71 As a adult 92-07. WB 95 Both sons Eagle. Beem DL,ASM,Committee, and currently SM. The ground is farther away and a bit harder, but still would not give up the chance to work with the young men of scouting for anything. (she who must be obeyed is of course the detemining factor in that. ) Not sure who is having more fun: the scouts, scouters, or me. yis

We did Scouting for Food pickup. This is a local benefit for Second Harvest. Last weekend the troop placed over 1200 flyers and bags on doors requesting non perishables to be left on the door step. We collected 4 pickup loads of food for Second Harvest. One of our largest collections and the scouts worked 9 service hours. A scout is Helpful in action. yis redfeather and the scouts of Troop 216

Good to see ya posting Oz. I still use the work your scouts did as the way merit badge work should be done. Your scouts did a fantastic job. Most of the scouts from that time have earned their Eagle and have moved on and recently had some of them ask if I had heard from you guys and were wondering if we could work something up like that again. Since that time I have taken on the 'spreading the joy' job of Scoutmaster. One thing I have learned is that if you have a good program that the scouts buy into the number of adults increase. Good problem to have. HiLo, welcome to the camp

Having been with the troop that I serve for almost 14 years and the last two as SM, the thing that has been a changing factor in the troop is on 4 levels. First: Laying the groundwork of 'personal responsibility' of the scouts and adults for the troop and their own advancement. Once the scouts realized that the adults were not going to do it for them but would assist them in the accomplishment of scouting goals they have started to step up and embraced the fact that they would have to do the work. This is currently in its second year and is showing great promise. The program could

Bring your nickle and get a cup of sometimes decent camp joe and join the campfire. Always looking for new input and someone to get after. Been in scouting 20 plus and have two brothers each with 30 years experience and my dad before he passed had 35 years time in. All of us have been or are SMs and cannot figure out how we have not learned how to duck. gotta work on that Guess we are kinda 'doomed' to be active in scouting. Scouting is a good thing to do and has rewards that can not be tallied up on any sheet that I know of. gotta love it yis

As a scoutmaster working on getting the troop to scout led, having the troop going back to known locations is not always a bad thing even when doing so at short notice. When the PLC has requested this I have asked them what the program or theme of the o'nite will be. If it is the same ol thing, I try to challenge them to come with something new for the theme and stretch themselves in scouting skills. Some times it takes something like " I will probably do tarp camping and utinsiless cooking, you guys think you are up to that?" Amazing how often they will rise to the challenge and try

I am here, at least I think I am. "If it is not for the boys, then it is not worth a dam" Used to be a beaver C-5-95 yis

Ditto with John, need specific information in order to provide proper suggestions. Been there before and hope never to have to do it agian. Pmarius, welcome to the campfire and please give us more info. yis

Ditto with John, need specific information in order to provide proper suggestions. Been there before and hope never to have to do it agian. Pmarius, welcome to the campfire and please give us more info. yis

Looking for information on flag dedication/presentation ceremonies. One of the troops Eagles has a flag to present to our towns Drug Strike Force to be flown on the flag pole that was his project and everyone is drawing a blank on ways to present the flag. Thanks in advance yis

AS a relatively new SM (2 yrs, 14 with the troop as ASM or committee) the thing that we are working toward now is the transition from a boy led troop to a scout led troop.(had elections for SPL this week with 4 scouts running for the POR ) The 'buzz word' now is "personal responsibility" of each scout for their advancement in scouting as far as rank and merit badges. This means each scout is to be responsible for their advancment working with the troop advancement chair. In todays society this is a stretch for some scouts but is a good one as they are given ownership of what they a

To update all on our recent crossing. We had 15 Boy Scouts there to welcome the new scouts and their parents. Full uniform and willing. We did something not done before with the pack we crossed the parents after the boys crossed. Hope this will get some volunteers out of it. The scouts in the troop are starting to realize that it is up to them to help get new scouts for the troop and that is giving them 'ownership' of the troop. The new scout patrol had their first troop meeting last monday and working with their Troop Guides elected their patrol leader and patrol staff. They als

Thanks Anarchist, hadn't twigged to the Coke thing. (duh) will try that on a old skllet that I have been trying to decide if it was recoverable. Thanks again yis

Getting rid of rust can be a challenge. I have recovered many cast iron skillets and Dutch Ovens. Some just needed a good sanding of the rust spots if they were small, reheated and the reseasoning started. Some however that had really mistreated required more serious measures. (one old Griswold, 90 plus years old used as a planter, needed sand blasting) The ones that needed Iron EMT type work were cleaned of rust as much as possible then on an overnight or after a home BBQ were filled with coals and heated till almost red. This will burn out the rust residue and allow the deeper rust

To answer your question..... as many as you can get ! If you have a parent willing to go to training and uniform up and put forth the time to be an ASM go for them ! ( one of them may be a future SM ) The troop that I serve has had as few as 2 and as many as 15 ASMs. We average around 30 scouts over the 14 years that I have been with the troop. Don't forget those that who may not want to be ASMs can do good service on the committee. yis

Not sure if I have any good info as this is only my second bridging of new scouts into the troop. There has been two scouts (one an Eagle Candidate and the other a Life working on his Eagle) assigned as troop guides to this new scout patrol. We keep the scouts together so they can advance together. An adult leader has also come forward to be the mentor of the troop guides and point contact for the new scouts parents. Oh, both of the assigned troop guides volunteered for this duty. One thing that I have noticed is that my enthusiasm as SM to welcome the new scouts has caught hold of th